Room One Hundred and Twenty Six: Denied

Prologue

Sitting at the attorney’s office, I was nervous about what he wanted. My grandmother had passed away a few weeks ago and he’d been pressing me about coming to his office since the day I put her in the ground. I was still mourning my favorite person in the world and wasn’t worried about her estate.

It’s not like she had money anyway. That mansion she lived in belonged to this guy she once dated and his two friends. Some kind of business venture. She was their assistant and lived there because it was convenient. She had her own wing that offered plenty of privacy whenever I visited. She walked around that big ol’ place like she owned it.

When they passed, their will allowed her to keep living there. It was tragic how two of them died in a crash together about nine months ago. Three months later, the other friend died of a heart attack. Now here was Nana following soon after. She was always sad after she lost them. I guessed when you lived with them for all those years, they were more like family than friends or her bosses.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Ms. Deadwood. I had to finish up a few things I found at the last minute.” Adam shook my hand and then sat across from me. “It seems as if there was a bit more to the story than I originally had. According to the estate of Thomas, Ellington, and Harding, they left everything they owned to your grandmother. Shares to their law firm, houses, cars, dividends, jewelry, deposit boxes… I’m talking about all of their assets. They had a separate account for taxes, so that follows the mansion here in Seattle. However, Ella was also to receive Thomas’ benefits as her spouse. And then Harding’s benefits as his spouse. Ellington’s benefits were just finalized through probate court and they belonged to her as well.”

“Wait, my grandmother wasn’t married to those men. She worked for them.” I corrected.

“I’m afraid not. Between us, your grandmother was involved with all three of them.”

Nope. He had it wrong. Nana wasn’t into any freaky stuff like that.

Aren’t you?

Yeah, but I’m not eighty something years old. Plus, I hadn’t tried a relationship yet. Date? Yes. Menages? A few. But a marriage? How would that work?

“The point to all this, is that what was theirs, was hers. Now, everything that was hers, is yours. That includes the bookstore that you co-owned with her.”

I blinked in total shock. What was he saying?

“Excuse me?”

“Ms. Deadwood, you’ve inherited enough money that if you manage it well, will leave money for three or four generations down the line. It’s amazing what three men can accomplish when they’ve pooled their resources for all these years.”

“And it all belongs to me?”

“Yes. Your father was her only child. You are your father’s only child and he’s incarcerated. Ella made it very clear that if he ever sees the light of day, he never sees a dime of it. I wouldn’t want to give him access to billions of dollars either.”

Did he say billions?

“There is a fund that helps you manage it. It comes out to be a monthly spend of forty two thousand. That doesn’t include any bills since it comes out of a separate account.”

“What am I supposed to spend forty two thousand dollars on when I barely spend four thousand now.”

“Well, your lifestyle is about to change. Who knows what you’ll spend it on?”

I do and I couldn’t come up with a single thing to spend the remaining thirty eight thousand on. And we’re talking monthly. Even if I paid off the debt that the bookstore was in, I’d have money left.

“Are you able to help me invest this? I don’t care what you say, I’m never going to be able to spend that.”

He chuckled. “Yes, I can do that but we do have a problem.”

“What’s that?” I asked, half alarmed.

“There are quite a few buyers looking to purchase the mansion. It’s a great time to sell it and get a pretty penny for it.”

“Maybe.” But my grandmother loved that place and so did I. However, what was I going to do with all those rooms?

“You have time to think about it. Before we worry about the logistics, what do you say we get this all signed over to you so we can get the hardest part over with?”

“Hard part? All I’m doing is signing, right?” I assessed him, wondering if he was in a relationship with my grandmother, too. I wasn’t giving up ass for billions.

“Yes, but that’s the hard part. Money comes with a lot of responsibility. It also makes you a target in ways you’ve never dreamed of before.”

More money. More problems.

I understood, but I was my grandmother’s granddaughter. I could carry the weight.

But she had three men to help her.

That was even better, because I was in search of my men, too. Hopefully, they understood the power of money too because I couldn’t be the only one looking after our assets.

“Where do I sign?” I asked.

Mr. Orlando came around the desk and talked me through everything. He explained to me the need to know information and promised he’d be around if I had questions. When it was all done, he felt more like an old friend than my attorney.

“There is one more clause here that I have to make you aware of.” He pointed to a new sheet that was titled marriage decree. Beside it he placed another document that was in my grandmother’s handwriting.

At first glance, I saw “arranged marriage” and I shook my head to make sure that I was reading this carefully. Elara Samantha Deadwood. Yup, that was me. I picked up the paper to read it, completely flabbergasted by Nana. She’d arranged for me to meet my future husband at a place called Club Sin. She promised that all would go well for me if I agreed. If I chose to forfeit the marriage, I forfeit the inheritance, too.

“But I’ve already signed it.” I wearily looked at the old man.

“You have.” He crossed his arms and waited.

“So now what?” I sighed.

This was crazy. I wasn’t about to marry some man my grandmother picked out for me. She’d been able to live her life with the three men she chose, and she thought I was going to settle for one? Not to mention, one she chose.

“Is there a way out?”

“If you can stay married to him for one year and it’s not working, your contract is satisfied. You’ll go your separate ways and be done. He’ll sign a prenuptial agreement so he’s not entitled to your money or you to his. If you conceive a child before that one year is up and you try to leave, it’ll also void the inheritance and be rolled over to them at the age of twenty five.”

Was any of this legal?

“Ms. Deadwood, what really is the harm in giving it a try? It’s one year. What could possibly go wrong in that short amount of time?”

I didn’t know, but unfortunately, I was about to find out. I was officially homeless after moving out here to help Nana. I gave up my place to make sure her last days were as good as they could be. I’d closed down the bookstore for the last six months, deplenishing my income, and I’d paid my people because it wasn’t their fault that I had to disappear on them. I had some savings, but depending on how long it took to re-establish my customers, it wouldn’t last long. A year gave me time to figure it out, though. It also gave me the money to get someone to manage the bookstore while I pursued my dreams. I’d been a chef before the restaurant I loved closed. It forced me to ask Nana for a job at the bookstore. Since she was thinking about closing it, she allowed me to go in and make it my own. I did and was able to buy into a partnership agreement with her. It wasn’t my dream job though. By agreeing, I’d be able to correct a lot of the errors in my life, giving me a second chance at everything.

“Ms. Deadwood?” he called my name to get my attention.

“One year,” I said to confirm.

“One… year.”

I signed on the last two lines, sealing my fate. He gave me my copies and told me he’d be in touch with me soon. He handed me the master keys to the mansion and told me someone would be in touch with me from Club Sin. Now I had to find out what that was and what I was supposed to do when I got there.

Lord, help me.