Chapter 8
8
M argo left in a huff back to the office with the completed offer in her hand. Yeah, men were all alike, they were out for instant gratification. Throw away the old bag that you've been married to, who's devoted her life to helping you build this business. Yeah.
Just start new with the first tall, thin redhead that walks your way. She couldn't stand watching Jace flirt with the women in the restaurant. She couldn't stand the thought that he was just like Logan. Not that it mattered. She just needed to get this real estate deal done and move on. That's what she was going to do, dammit. She was going to make this real estate company the best real estate company in the state. That's what Logan had always said he wanted. She thought he was working toward that end, but he never accomplished it because he wasn't working toward it at all. She was going to work her tail off and show that lying, cheating piece of shit exactly how it was done.
She walked into the office and took a deep breath. "Hey, Addison, I've got the offer signed, and we're all set and ready to go now. Please call the title company to get the closing paperwork set for next week. Let's target Friday. That will give them a week."
Addison smiled. "Sure thing, Margo. And you've got a couple of voicemails on your phone."
"Thanks, Addison."
Margo walked into her office, set her laptop on the desk, and opened it up. She picked up the receiver on her phone and listened to the first message.
"Hey, it's Carley. I’m just checking on you and wondering how things are going. If you need me to come back and stay with you for a while, I'm happy to do so. Just let me know. Love you. Call me when you get the chance. Bye."
She grinned. No, she'd be fine. She didn't want her sisters putting their lives on hold for her anymore. They'd been with her for nearly two weeks while Logan was in the hospital and after the funeral for a couple of days. She needed to do this on her own.
Logan had been dead all of four days now. Her sisters had gone home, and the house was empty. She knew she needed to start thinking about getting rid of his clothing. Maybe that's what she'd do tonight. She'd go home and toss all his crap out of the closet, so she didn't have to think about it, didn't have to look at it, and didn't have to do anything with it. That would be a good cleansing in more ways than one. That's what she would do. As that thought seeded itself in her mind, it grew. Soon, that's all she could think of doing. Better to get rid of any trace of him than to hang on.
Determined to make that her evening's project, she listened to the next voicemail.
"Hello, Margo, this is Jailisa Burns from Grant Park's office. Grant would like you to come into the office tomorrow at noon. He received a phone call from an attorney in Miami who has a copy of Logan's will and wants to discuss it. Please let me know if you can make it. Our number here is 555-1212. Thank you."
Logan's will? Did they still do a reading of the will? My god, she hadn't even thought of it. When did they have them done? Gosh, it was probably twenty years ago when they first started this business they'd gone in and had wills prepared. She probably had a copy of it somewhere at home. Why would she need to go in for a reading of the will? And how would an attorney in Miami have a copy? That didn't seem to make any sense at all.
She shrugged, picked up the phone, and called her sister, Carley.
"Hey there, Margo, how are you?" Carley answered brightly.
"I'm good, just closed a real estate deal.” She sighed. “Well, it didn't close, but I got the offers signed by the buyer and the seller, so we're all set. Closing's next week. How's that for a good week after a horrible week?"
Carley was quiet for a moment. "That's a good way, I guess, to end a terrible week. How about we say that?"
"Yep, that's a good way to say it. I'm with you on that. So, I'm thinking about going home and tossing all of Logan's stuff. I don't need you to come and help me. I don't want you to put your life on hold anymore, but that's what I'm going to do today, and I think it'll be therapeutic. I'm going to box it all up. Everything. And I'm going to take it down to the thrift store. Anybody who wants it can have it."
"Some of that equipment is worth some money, Margo. Maybe you want to reconsider that. Maybe you need to give yourself a little bit more time to process everything."
A sardonic laugh burst from her chest. "I don't need to process anything anymore. Basically, the last seven years of our lives were a lie. I'm not gonna hang on to anything from that bastard." She spun a pen on her desk as she talked. "Oh, and speaking of, I got a voicemail from my lawyer's office. I have to go in tomorrow at noon for a meeting with Grant and an attorney from Miami who claims to have a copy of Logan's will. So, I'm also going to be searching for our wills at home to bring in my copy. Isn't that weird?" Margo shrugged. But a hot pit was growing in her stomach the more time she had to think about it.
"Well, I suppose it's maybe a formality of his office. Maybe he just wants you to know how you have to proceed. After all, you guys have a business. It might be different for a business."
"I suppose that could be. Unless, on one of Logan's trips, he took his will down to Miami and consulted an attorney, how else would a Miami attorney have a copy of his will?"
Carley was quiet for a few moments. "Hang on," she quickly said. Margo could hear the tapping of computer keys in the background, and that pit in her stomach grew hotter. The silence dragged on, and Margo became uncomfortable. More than uncomfortable, she took a deep breath to alleviate the growing pain in her stomach.
"Carley?"
"Umm." Carley let out a long breath on the other end of the phone. "Margo, I just checked to see if you need to let your beneficiaries know of a change in a will in Florida. You don't."
That burning pit in her stomach erupted into a white-hot inferno. She stood abruptly as the inferno roared to life.
"That dirty son of a bitch. He had better not have handed over my share of anything to that slut he's been fucking."
"I'm coming to your place. I'll be there in a couple of hours."
Margo couldn't say anything. Her head spun, and she felt dizzy and nauseous. She planted her hand on the top of her desk as she tried to focus on anything in the room. Everything moved and spun. She ended up dropping her phone on the top of her desk and then bent over and retched into the wastebasket in front of her. She hadn't eaten much, so the only thing that came out was the bile in her stomach. She retched again as she dropped to her knees. Her head hung over the wastebasket, and she gripped it as if it were a lifeline.
After a few moments, she felt on the top of her desk for the tissue box. She blew her nose. Grabbing another tissue, she wiped around her mouth. Tossing that tissue after the other, she took in a slow, deep breath, grateful that the dizziness had subsided.
She heard Carley's panicked voice faintly and remembered her sister was on the phone. Getting herself to a standing position, she sat in her desk chair, and though her hand shook, she picked up her phone.
"I'm here, Carley," she managed to squeeze out.
"I'll be there in a couple of hours. Are you okay to drive home?"
"Yes."
"Get yourself home. I'll meet you there, and we'll figure out a game plan."
Margo was too depleted to say much more than "Okay."
Carley ended the call, and Margo leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She rested there for a few minutes. The ringing of the phone brought her around, and Addison's voice on the intercom interrupted her solitude.
"Margo, Jailisa from Grant Park's office is on the phone."
"Okay. Thank you."
She took a deep breath and steeled herself to take this call.
Picking up her desk phone, she tapped the blinking line. "Hello, Jailisa, how can I help you?"
"Hello, Ms. Price."
"Margo. Call me Margo."
"I do apologize. Margo. I wanted to make sure you did receive my voicemail from earlier today. Grant wants to make sure you can meet here tomorrow at noon."
"Do you know anything more than an attorney from Miami is coming in?"
"I'm sorry. I don't. His office called ours this morning. They didn't even check to see that the time worked for Grant or yourself. It was more of a demand."
"That's concerning."
Margo closed her eyes and kept her breathing even.
"Maybe. It could just be their demeanor. Some attorneys are like little pit bulls. They think the world revolves around them. You and I are spoiled. We work with Grant, who is the nicest man I know. Besides my husband, that is."
Margo smiled, but her energy was zapped. "Yes. We're spoiled, alright." She sat forward. "I'll be there tomorrow at noon. Thank you for calling back again today. I just got in a few moments ago and heard your voicemail, but had to return calls to make before yours."
Jailisa chuckled. "It doesn't matter to me, Margo. I just wanted to check once more before I leave for the day. I'll see you tomorrow at noon."