Chapter Four
The boat with my brother on left two hours ago. I’d held in a laugh as it did. Not just at my brother, but at the other guys glaring at me. They would have rather been a man down than have Denny helping, but I know they can’t get as much done with a man short.
I spent the last couple of hours going over the paperwork. Sarah is amazing at what she does, keeping the office running, but I know she’s looking for another job. She isn’t getting paid enough here. I don’t want to lose her, so I’m pinning everything on today. Acer assured me I had nothing to worry about, but neither he nor I know what his daughter will do. She could wreck everything if she contests the will.
Once I’ve done all I can, that doesn’t involve being out on the boat. I head home, take Jedi for a quick walk, then grab a shower and put on the only suit I own. Funnily enough, it is the one I wear to funerals. And weddings. I’d been to more of the latter than the former lately, but I’d need to get it out again when we bury Acer.
It made me feel a combination of pissed and sad that Acer organized and paid for everything before he died. I mean, who the hell wants to organize their own funeral because they don’t think anyone else will do it for them? I’m pissed as fuck he never contacted her to tell her what was going on with him. At least he didn’t die alone, well. He died in his sleep. He still has a lot of friends. His funeral will be packed. I don’t know if she intends to stick around, or even show her face.
Part of me gets it. I know what she went through all those years ago. Fuck, I contributed to a lot of the shit she ended up dealing with, but is that any reason to completely cut your family out? I couldn’t imagine not seeing or being around my family, even for a week. As much as they can be a pain in the ass, they mean the world to me.
Who the hell knows? She won’t be the same girl I knew all those years ago. I steel myself for seeing her again. I want one thing from this meeting, and it is not a reunion with Elle George.
Jedi isn’t impressed at being left alone, especially as he got himself excited I’d be around when I got back earlier than usual. I indicate his bed and he drops his head and walks over like a sulky toddler. I roll my eyes and grab my keys and phone and head out. It’s only a short walk into town, so I forego the truck and take off.
The receptionist welcomes me with a huge and flirty smile. We dated for a while about two years ago. It ended amicably, but I have no desire for a repeat, even though she hints at it endlessly when we run into each other. This is the reading of a will and discussions about Acer’s assets. He was my friend. I’m not in the mood for any flirting. Still, I can’t be rude.
“Hey Ev,” I lean against the counter. “How’s things?”
“Oh, you know, can’t complain. How about you?” her eyes roam over the suit.
I’ve made something of an effort, but I’ve not shaved off the beard, just tidied it up a little. I’ve been far from clean cut for the last decade. It’s never put anyone off. If anything, the rugged look attracts more women.
“Not so bad. Today is not a great day, though.”
She eyes me with sympathy. “I know. It’s going to be tough.” She reaches over and puts a hand on my arm. “If you need anything, I’m here.”
“Thanks, Ev. Appreciate that. Am I first here?”
“No,” she indicates behind her. “The other party arrived about ten minutes ago,” her voice has taken on a more hardened, cold edge. Ev knew Elle back in high school.
I turn around and do a double take. I don’t know how I hadn’t spotted her sitting there when I first came in. I hate to admit it, but my stomach jolts.
Fuck. She is even more gorgeous than she was when we were kids. My eyes travel up her legs, which are bare up to her knee where a navy-blue skirt ends. She’s wearing matching heels that accentuate her calves, even sitting down. She always did have amazing, long legs.
The perusal is slow as it continues up. Her blazer covers most of her top half, hiding what I’m guessing is as impressive as the rest of her. Her rich brown hair is down and tumbling over her shoulders. Her face is more angular than I remember. She could do with a few good home-cooked meals, but it doesn’t distract from her beauty. It’s almost blinding. I feel a bit sick.
The knowing look on her face doesn’t help. I get an odd sense of satisfaction from that look. She didn’t like witnessing the flirting with Ev.
“I’ll let Larry know you’re both here. We’re just waiting for Susan, though you know her, always late,” Ev draws my attention back. There is a small scowl on her face, like she saw the way I checked Elle out. It’s hard, but I manage not to roll my eyes.
“Thanks, Ev,” I say, giving her a wink. She blushes and I grin. Behind me, Elle huffs. I turn, still resting my elbow on the counter as Ev makes the call to let Larry know we’re here. I raise a brow at Elle. She glares back, but her heart isn’t in it. I don’t know what the hell to say to her, so we both just remain silent, staring at one another. She’s checking me out just as much as I checked her over.
“He won’t be a moment,” Ev interrupts the stare off. “Would you like a coffee, Ben?” she asks sweetly.
“That’d be great, thanks.”
She beams and heads out from behind the counter. She spares Elle a brief glance but ignores her.
“Typical.”
“What was that?” I ask, lifting a brow.
“Nothing,” Elle turns away, her eyes lower to her lap.
My gaze follows, noticing her hands wringing together. It is a nervous tic I recall from when we were younger. A small twinge of sympathy and a touch of guilt passes through me as her face falls. She’s trying to be strong. I don’t doubt this is hard for her. Even though she made her own bed when she abandoned us. Her dad, I mean.
She has no one left. Well, here, I’m not sure what family she has out in New York. Acer did say she got married about six years ago. They did not invite him to the wedding. He also informed me she got divorced. I didn’t think there were any kids, but who knew?
Although I’m not the kind of guy who reads, nor would I ever entertain the kind of books Elle writes, I picked up one or two, from Amazon, obviously. I couldn’t have anyone seeing me buy that kind of thing. I didn’t read them, but I spent far too much time staring at her portrait on the back. I’d tossed them in a box a while ago, though, and forgot all about them.
Ev returns with my coffee, a smug look on her face as she goes back behind the counter, and I realize why Elle is irritated. I glance at Ev as she sits back down. I’m about to ask if she even bothered offering Elle a drink when the door behind the desk opens and Larry peers out.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he says, genuinely apologetic. “We’ve had a small school related emergency.”
“Jacob okay?” I ask .
He waves a hand. “You know what he’s like, Ben. He fell off the monkey bars and banged his head. I swear that kid has a head made of rocks. He’s all good. Come on through,” he steps out and looks over at Elle, who gets to her feet. “Ms. George,” he holds out a hand.
Elle comes forward and reaches for his hand, giving it a delicate shake. She studiously avoids making any more eye contact with me. I sip my coffee in her line of sight. It’s petty as shit, but I decide to take it a step further and walk into the room before her. Larry gives me a look, but I ignore it.
There is another man and woman already in the room. One is the admin person, I guess. She has a laptop in front of her and a glass of water. The other guy is Larry’s partner in the firm, Stephen. I greet them both and take a seat close to the window, facing the door. Elle sweeps her hair behind her ear and sits on the other side of the table. Not opposite me, though. Larry closes the door and joins us at the table.
“Susan will be here soon, no doubt. Would you care for a drink, Ms. George? They did not offer you one?” he eyes my coffee.
“Water is fine, and please, call me Elle,” she gives him a small smile.
Larry smiles back. He sorts out all the drinks and returns to his seat. Susan arrives then. She’s as disheveled as ever in mismatching clothes and an old navy pea coat. She grins widely though and apologizes for being late. Elle looks at her curiously. Of course she won’t know Susan. Why would she? She never spoke to her dad.
“Okay, shall we get things started? Firstly, I’m sorry for your loss, Elle. Acer was very highly thought of in the community.”
“Thank you.”
I can’t help the scoff and her head shoots in my direction, her eyes narrowing. I just stare back, my face clearly saying I know she didn’t care one bit about her father. Larry gets the rest of the formalities out of the way and confirms Angela is taking notes, then Stephen gets down to the matter at hand. He takes out some paperwork and hands us all copies. I don’t look at it, instead I watch her as her head dips, some hair falling across her face.
She turns a few pages as Stephen goes on discussing the funeral arrangements, what is going to happen with Acer’s house and the belongings inside. The house is obviously Elle’s. When Larry enquires if she would like to keep it, she shakes her head. He tells her they will arrange for the sale as specified by Acer. She nods but doesn’t speak.
I get it. There are a lot of bad memories in that house. I never understood why Acer stayed. He’d lost everything from that house. Darren’s suicide affected the whole town. He was the star football player, tipped to be heading for the NFL. Everyone loved him. He had the brightest future ahead of him.
It shocked everyone when he killed himself. No one more than Elle. She idolized her brother, and it devastated her when he died. I’d watched as the family fell apart, as her parents slowly forgot about her, and how much it hurt her.
Shit, I need to stop being such an ass.
“There is a sizeable sum of money that Acer has left to you also,” he tells her. “He requested that at least a third of it be donated to a couple of different charities he supported, but the rest is yours.”
“I don’t need the money, you can donate it,” she says.
I shake my head at that. Must be nice not to need money. Her eyes flick to me and again they hold. She desperately wants to know why I’m here.
“Susan, Acer states that although he knows you didn’t want anything from him, he has left you five thousand dollars. He says if you don’t take it, he’ll haunt you.”
Susan laughs slightly at the comment and nods. She’s in her sixties and has been dating Acer for nearly three years. Although it was a very loose relationship, they were comfortable with each other but never lived together. I wouldn’t expect him not to leave her something .
Stephen runs through a few more things. Acer didn’t have much besides the house and his savings.
“Finally, we come to the business, George Fishing and Charters,” he says, reading the paperwork. His nose twitches slightly and Larry shifts in his seat. It’s the first sign that something isn’t right.
I sit forward in the chair and Elle glances over at me. She now knows the reason I’m here is for the business. She’s not cared to take anything else. I’m confident this won’t be an issue either, but given the lawyers’ actions, now I’m not so sure. And I can’t think what the hell could be the problem.
“Acer has left you both the business. Fifty, fifty partners and,” he clears his throat. “If you don’t accept taking it together equally, he has requested the business be sold to Day Away Fishing.”
I don’t realize I’ve got up until everyone turns to me and I blurt out. “What the fuck?”