Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
JO
The morning sunlight streams through the tall windows of the conference room, hitting the polished wood floor in sharp, golden rectangles.
I smooth my dress nervously as I step into the room, my heels clicking loudly on the floor.
The space is big and modern, with stark white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows.
A long glass table with shiny chrome chairs and white leather seats dominates the room.
The air smells faintly of polish and a whisper of men’s cologne mingling in.
Sheldon and I are alone in the large room, and we stand together by the refreshments table at the back of the room. Sheldon helps himself to a coffee and then makes me one. I smile and thank him.
“Are we early?” I ask.
Sheldon shakes his head. “No, Gavin will be in shortly.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” I quickly explain. “I just … Well, honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I thought the room would be full.”
“Dad requested it this way. Just you, me, and Axel to be present. You can imagine how much my mom liked that,” he says cynically, and I can’t help but give a soft laugh at the thought of the formidable Lydia being told her presence would not be required.
“She knows she’s not going to be left anything, but she just likes to be seen, if you get my drift,” Sheldon adds.
I do get his drift. While I try my best to melt into the background, Lydia Manswell likes to be out front and center of any event, especially something like a will reading.
The door opens then, and Gavin enters the room, followed by Axel.
My eyes are immediately drawn to Axel despite my best efforts to look literally anywhere else.
He is wearing a pair of tailored trousers and a white shirt, no tie, and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows.
The perfect picture of casual but powerful, and my stomach flutters at the sight of him.
As he stalks into the room he glowers at me, hypnotizing me.
I stare at him helplessly, and it’s only when Sheldon greets him and he turns to look at him that the spell is broken and I can look away again.
Red-faced, I turn towards Gavin, who now stands at the head of the long glass table, his suit immaculate, his expression calm but solemn with the weight of the importance of the occasion.
“Mr. Manswell, Miss Button, Mr. Rhodes, thank you for coming,” Gavin says smoothly, gesturing towards each of us in turn: Sheldon, me, and the perpetually scowling Axel. “Please, have a seat.”
Sheldon steps forward first, his tall frame easing off the wall he has been leaning against with studied nonchalance and moving into the room with a strangely carefree energy. It makes me wonder if he loved his stepfather.
“Come on, Jo,” he says, surprising me.
I follow him, and he walks to the end of the table where Gavin stands and takes the seat to his right. He gestures towards the chair beside him. “Come sit with me. It’ll make this ordeal less intimidating.”
I settle into the chair, trying to breathe evenly as my gaze flickers to Axel once more.
He’s sitting across from us, dark, tall, and disapproving.
His eyes remain fixed on me with a mixture of suspicion and barely disguised hostility.
Who the hell does he think he is? I bite the inside of my cheek and resist the urge to poke my tongue out at him.
Gavin clears his throat, and I force my attention back to him.
“We’ll begin the reading of Mr. Joseph Manswell’s last will and testament.” Gavin looks at each of us in turn and then down to the table in front of him, where he opens a large leather-bound folder and flips to the first page. I imagine him in court tearing his opposition apart.
“Sheldon Manswell, you are to receive a yearly stipend of five hundred thousand dollars. This is to be paid to you in equal monthly amounts. Your father believed this would provide for your needs while encouraging independence in all other matters.”
Sheldon’s eyes widen slightly, a flash of disappointment passing across his face.
It is subtle, fleeting, but still unmistakable.
Five hundred thousand dollars a year is generous by ordinary standards, but by the measure of the Manswell fortune, it is practically nothing.
I think back to what Betty told me about Joseph being closer to Axel than Sheldon, but this still makes me wonder about the reasoning behind what appears to be a slap in the face for Sheldon. I guess I’ll never know.
“Sheldon, I’m so sorry,” I murmur softly, but he shakes his head.
“It’s ok,” he whispers, forcing a small smile. “I’ll survive.”
Gavin turns the page in the folder and goes on.
“The next few items I won’t go through at this time.
Joseph Manswell has designated certain members of the household staff to receive generous sums on the condition that they remain employed for the next year.
He has requested that the sums stay private between the estate and the person concerned.
They will continue to receive their normal salaries in addition to these gifts, which will be paid in full at the end of the year.
Once the year is up, the staff may be kept on at the discretion of Mr. Rhodes and Miss Button.
In the meantime, if any of the staff members leave before the year is up, their sum may be awarded, again at the discretion of Mr. Rhodes and Miss Button.
If any member of staff is let go within this year, they will receive their salary and sum in full.
The staff members this will affect are Betty Maynard, Marjorie Johnson, Gregory Finch, and Elise Jackson, plus the remaining household cleaning team and gardening team. ”
I am glad to hear that Betty is getting to keep her job and then getting a nice pay out after the year is up.
I am more than a little surprised to hear that I am part of the decision-making team about whether the staff stay on after the year or not.
Why is their staying my choice? I don’t want to interrupt to ask, so I make a mental note to ask Gavin after the reading.
“And now,” Gavin says, his voice lowering. “We come to the primary beneficiaries of Joseph Manswell’s estate: Jo Button and Axel Rhodes.”
What? I glance at Axel, who raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued but wary. My stomach tightens.
“The bulk of Mr. Manswell’s wealth,” Gavin continues, “is to be divided equally between the two of you. However, there are specific conditions to be met before the inheritance is finalized. These conditions are as follows:
“Both of you must reside in the mansion for a period of one year. During that year, Jo Button will be responsible for the meticulous cleaning and restoration of Joseph Manswell’s private collection of invaluable paintings, and Axel Rhodes must continue to run the business empire, maintaining all operations at their current level.
During that year, all of your living expenses will be covered, and Miss Button will receive a salary that will match that of Mr. Rhodes.
“At the conclusion of the year, both of you must be in a position to produce an heir. This means Jo must be pregnant, and Axel’s partner must also be pregnant.
Should either of these conditions fail to be met, the entirety of the inheritance will be forfeited and redirected into several trusts supporting animal charities.
These are the final wishes of Joseph Manswell.
I confirm that he was of sound mind when he drew up this testament. ”
The words hit me like a hammer to the chest. My fingers tighten around the arms of my chair. I look at Axel, and the disbelief on my face is mirrored in his own. This time, I can’t stop my question from blurting out.
“You can’t be serious,” I gasp, my voice tight with shock. “Are you saying he expects us both to be tied to each other’s actions in something as important as producing heirs?”
Axel’s green eyes blaze with anger. “This is absurd,” he mutters, his jaw clenched with disbelief. “This is insane.”
I stare at him, not knowing what to say.
My mind is reeling, trying to process the implications.
One year. Living under the same roof. Tied together in fortune and biological obligation.
At least now I understand why I get a say in the employment of the house staff.
I feel the edges of panic creeping in. I don’t want this life.
I don’t want to play-act ‘lady of the manor’.
And I certainly don’t want to have to be pregnant in a year just to fulfill some clause in a will just so I can inherit some money.
“This … I …” I stutter, but then my voice trails off, unable to form the words.
Axel’s lips press into a hard line.
“I will not be a part of this charade Gavin,” he says finally. His voice is low and controlled, but the disgust in it is palpable. He gets up abruptly, his chair skidding across the polished wood floor. He ignores it and strides towards the door.
“Axel, wait,” Gavin starts, but the words die in his throat when it becomes obvious Axel isn’t listening.
The door slams shut behind him, reverberating through the room like a gunshot.
My heart pounds, my chest is tight, and my breath is coming too fast. I feel like I am on the verge of having a full-on panic attack.
I feel as if I can’t move, and I remain frozen, staring at the door; the enormity of what I’ve just heard is like a vice around my chest.
The implications are staggering. Axel and I are both bound to each other in ways I never imagined.
Our fortunes, our actions, even the continuance of our lineages are entwined.
And Axel, the man who is every bit as infuriating as he is beautiful, has just walked out.
Maybe I should do that too. I don’t think my legs would hold me right now, though.
I press my hands to my face, trying to steady myself.
The weight of Joseph’s final instructions presses on me like a physical force.
Every thought I had about his inheritance, about connection, about legacy, suddenly seems twisted into something I never signed up for, something I have no idea how to navigate, and honestly, after hearing these conditions, I am glad that I was never really that interested in inheriting Joseph’s money anyway.
For the first time, I start to wonder if my mother was right when she said he was cruel.
I can feel Sheldon’s gaze on me. I turn my horrified face towards him. His lips are pressed into a thin line as he glances away from me towards the door, as the slamming of it echoes through the room. He doesn’t say anything, but his presence is comforting in its steadiness.
I sink back into my chair, letting out a shaky breath.
My mind is spinning. And somewhere in the back of my mind, a small, stubborn spark ignites.
I won’t let this define me. I won’t let this break me.
I will hear Gavin out for the rest of my father’s instructions because that’s the polite thing to do, but I know that this isn’t really my life and I can walk away at any point.