Chapter 12
On Wednesday afternoon, Joan stepped into Stone’s office. “Oliver Humphrey has arrived.”
“Thank you, Joan,” Stone said. “Please show him in.”
A moment later, the president of Oliver Humphrey College entered, dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and dark blue tie.
Stone stood and extended his hand.
“Mr. Humphrey, thank you for coming,” Stone said as they exchanged formalities.
Humphrey nodded solemnly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, though I wish it were under different circumstances.”
“As do I.” Stone motioned at the four chairs set up in front of his desk. “Please have a seat.”
Before Humphrey could do so, Joan stepped in again. “Aaron Sidney and Ryan Sidney.”
Trenton’s sons entered. Ryan had the sunken look of someone still processing his grief. Aaron, on the other hand, looked like he was in a hurry to get this over with so he could move on to other things.
Stone came around the desk and greeted each, then gestured to his first guest. “Have you met Oliver Humphrey?”
“At the funeral,” Humphrey said, then shook the brothers’ hands. “Again, my condolences, gentlemen. Your father was a great man.”
Aaron barely acknowledged the comment while Ryan looked to be holding back tears as he said, “Thank you.”
“Please, have a seat,” Stone said.
Aaron and Humphrey took the two middle chairs, and Ryan the one on the end next to his brother.
“So, we’re here,” Aaron said. “Can we get this going?”
“We’re still waiting for someone,” Stone said.
Aaron grimaced. “Right. The mysterious unnamed beneficiary.”
“I promise you. She has a name.”
“She? Dear God. Don’t tell me my father is leaving a part of his estate to some gold-digging mistress.”
“If he were, that would be his prerogative. But that’s not the case.”
Aaron snorted derisively and muttered, “Sure. Whatever.”
The door opened and Ash Williamson walked in. Under his arm were several manila envelopes, and in his hands a tray upon which sat a carafe of coffee and six cups.
“Gentlemen,” Stone said. “This is my associate, Mr. Williamson.”
“Good afternoon,” Ash said as he set the tray on Stone’s desk.
“Good afternoon,” Ryan and Humphrey both said.
Aaron merely grunted.
Ash handed the envelopes to Stone, then poured coffee for each of the men. When he finished, he took a seat off to the side.
Aaron looked at his watch. “Can we start? It’s two o’clock already, and I have things to do.”
Stone gave him a tight-lipped smile and said, “Per your father’s instructions, all those named need to be in attendance before—”
The door opened again.
“Susan Vest,” Joan said.
Susan entered, looking as if she might turn back around and leave at any second.
Stone rose again and walked over to her. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“Sorry I’m late,” she said. “My taxi hit traffic on the way here.”
“You’re not late. You’re right on time.” Stone motioned toward the empty chair in front of his desk. “Come. You can sit there.”
With obvious reluctance, she took the seat next to Humphrey.
From the moment she’d entered the room, Aaron had stared at her as if wondering what rock she’d crawled out from under.
After she sat, he said, “So who the hell are you?”
“Aaron, this is your one and only warning,” Stone said. “If you can’t be civil, you’ll be asked to leave.”
“Who is she?”
“This is Susan Vest.”
“Never heard of her.”
Ignoring him, Stone said, “Susan, the gentleman next to you is Oliver Humphrey the Fifth, president of Oliver Humphrey College, and next to him are Aaron Sidney and Ryan Sidney, Trenton’s sons.”
Though Stone had told Susan that her half brothers would be there, her eyes still widened as he made the introductions.
“Hello,” Humphrey said.
Ryan gave her a small wave from the other end of the row. “Hi.”
Aaron looked impatiently at Stone. “What are you waiting for? Let’s get this going.”
Stone stared at him until Aaron finally looked away. He then extracted the will from a file folder.
“ ‘I, Trenton Charles Sidney, of New York, New York, being of sound mind…’ ”
Stone read out the rest of the preamble before getting to the heart of the document.
“ ‘To my alma mater, Oliver Humphrey College, I leave one hundred million dollars, to be used exclusively for scholarships. I have created an addendum that lays out instructions on how the scholarships are to be handed out.’ ”
Stone set down the will, picked up the top manila envelope, and handed it to Humphrey.
“Inside is your copy of the will and the addendum, which we can discuss separately.”
“I see,” Humphrey said. Though he was smiling, his expression looked more bewildered than excited. “Thank you.”
Stone picked up the will again. “ ‘The remainder of my estate will be split between my children, in the following manner.’ ”
Most of what Stone said seemed to fly in one of Aaron’s ears and out the other, as he smiled in anticipation. Ryan, on the other hand, furrowed his brow and took a quick glance at Susan.
“To my youngest, Ryan, I leave thirty percent of my estate, less the bequest to Oliver Humphrey College. This is to include my house in Sagaponack, and cash and holdings to be determined by the executor.’ ”
Aaron looked like he was about to explode in excitement about what he believed Stone was going to say.
“ ‘To my Aaron, I leave thirty percent of my estate, with the same caveat.’ ”
Aaron’s greedy grin vanished in confusion. “What did you say?”
“ ‘This is to include my Central Park Tower duplex,’ ” Stone went on, “ ‘and cash and holdings to be determined by the executor.’ ”
“My brother’s and my shares are only sixty percent,” Aaron said.
“Your math skills are impressive,” Stone said.
Aaron’s eyes narrowed. “What about the other forty percent?” As the last word left his mouth, he whipped his gaze to Susan. “Don’t tell me the rest is going to her!”
“If you’ll allow me to finish,” Stone said, then continued without waiting for a response. “ ‘To my eldest child and only daughter, Susan Vest, I leave the remainder of my estate.’ ”
Aaron jumped to his feet. “Daughter? Our father didn’t have a daughter!”
Stone picked up the next envelope from the stack and held it out to Aaron. “Your father thought you might need proof. Inside is your copy of the will, plus DNA results that confirm his relationship to Miss Vest.”
Aaron slapped the envelope out of Stone’s hand, and it fell to the floor. “That doesn’t prove a thing!”
“Science and the courts say otherwise,” Stone says.
“Bullshit! It’s probably not even real.”
“It’s okay,” Susan said. “If they—”
“It is not okay,” Stone said. He looked back at Aaron. “Your father’s instructions are clear and immutable.”
“I repeat,” Aaron said. “Bullshit! You’re trying to trick me out of what is mine, and there’s no way I’m going to let you get away with it! You will be hearing from my lawyer.” He turned toward the door. “Come on, Ryan.”
Ryan looked unsure, but having spent a lifetime following his brother’s orders, he reluctantly rose to his feet.
“You’ll want to hear this next part before you go,” Stone said.
Aaron, already halfway across the room, said, “Just more garbage.”
“Maybe, or it could mean you walk away with nothing.”
That grabbed Aaron’s attention. “What do you mean?”
Stone read from the will again. “ ‘In the event any of my beneficiaries contests this will and the court rules against them, their inheritance will be forfeited and divided between those who were not a party to the action.’ ”
Aaron’s mouth fell open. “He can’t do that.”
“He can, and he did,” Stone said. “And I should tell you, your father left supporting documents and a video interview that will refute any claims of being unduly influenced or not of sound mind when the will was created. Plus, I’m the one who wrote it for him, and wills are an area in which I have considerable experience. I guarantee you, his is ironclad.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes and snarled. “We’ll see about that.” He marched the rest of the way to the door, then looked back at his brother, who hadn’t moved since getting to his feet. “Ryan! Let’s go!”
Ryan jerked at the sound of his name, then looked apologetically at Stone.
“Here,” Stone said, holding out the final envelope. “Your copy.”
Ryan took it. “Thank you.”
He picked his brother’s envelope up off the floor, then glanced at Susan and gave her a small smile and nod of his head.
“Ryan!” Aaron bellowed.
Ryan jerked again, then hurried after his brother.
As soon as they were gone, Stone said to Susan and Humphrey, “The rest of the will is the standard language, including directions for me as executor. If you’d like, I can read that to you. Or you can go over your copy at your leisure.”
Neither Susan nor Humphrey appeared to have heard him, as they both looked to be in shock.
Stone glanced at Ash and mouthed, Water.
Ash grabbed a couple bottles and held out one to Susan. “Water, Miss Vest?”
She blinked and said, “I’m sorry. What was that?” She then noticed the water. “Oh, thank you.”
She took the bottle but didn’t open it.
“Mr. Humphrey?” Ash said.
Humphrey took the other bottle, twisted the top off, and drank nearly half the contents. When he finished, he took a moment to compose himself.
“Thank you,” he said to Ash. He then looked at Stone. “Is there anything more?”
Stone nodded at the envelope Humphrey had been given. “Nothing pressing that you can’t review in your copy, but if you’d like me to read the rest to you, I can.”
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
Susan nodded in agreement.
“There is the matter of the addendum,” Stone said to Humphrey.
“I’m sure it’s self-explanatory,” Humphrey said.
“It is. But if you have questions about it or anything else concerning the will, feel free to call me.”
“Well, then,” Humphrey said and stood. “I should get back to the college. Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate what Trenton has left us.”
“He would be happy to know that,” Stone said. “We’ll be in touch soon concerning the transfer of the bequest.”
Humphrey shook Stone’s hand, then nodded at Susan. “Miss Vest, a pleasure to meet you.”
“You, too,” she said.
As soon as he was gone, Stone said, “I’m sure you have questions.”
“It’s too much,” she said, looking a bit like a deer in the headlights. “What am I supposed to do with all that money? I’m a teacher, not a business tycoon.”
“For starters, you don’t have to be a teacher anymore, if you don’t want to.”
“But I do want to. I love teaching.”
“Then teach.”
“But what do I do with…How much is it?”
“After taxes, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of five hundred million.”
“Holy shit.”
“May I make a suggestion?”
“Please do.”
“Have someone invest it for you while you think about what you want to do with it.”
“I don’t know anyone who does that kind of thing, and I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for one.”
“I do. My friend Charley Fox is an investment expert. He runs a company called Triangle Investments. In full transparency, I’m a partner in the business. But Charley also handles all my investments, and I’ve never been disappointed.”
“That sounds great.”
“When are you heading back to Portland?”
“My flight’s this evening.”
“Perfect. Give me a moment.”
Stone picked up his phone and made the call.
“Afternoon, Stone,” Charley answered.
“Hi, Charley. I’m wondering if you have some free time this afternoon.”
“I’m always busy, but I don’t have any meetings, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Would it be okay if I brought by a potential client?”
“Sure. How large of an investment are we talking about?”
“Half billion.”
Susan’s eyes widened at that.
“Got it. What has the client being doing with it until now?”
“Nothing. It’s new money.”
“What about their other investments?”
“I don’t think she has any.”
“Oh,” Charley said, surprised. “Well, come over anytime. I’ll be here.”
“Thanks, Charley.”
Stone hung up.
“If you’re up for it,” he said to Susan, “I would be happy to escort you to Charley Fox’s office right now.”
“Um, sure. Why not? This day has already been surreal enough. Might as well discuss how I can make even more money.”
“That’s the spirit.”