One Step Closer(67)

“Not much. If you want to sell your shares after five years and donate the cash to charity, that’s the only way it can happen. The shares remain with the company, and it remains a viable entity.”

“Can I run it without Wren? I mean, if she doesn’t want to stop dancing right away?”

“That’s an option. What you work out between the two of you is up to you.” Jonathan shook his head in silent contemplation. He’d known Caleb would be willing to sacrifice his own plans for his design firm, take on all the work, and still give up half of the estate for Wren.

“That’s it, then.” Caleb’s clear blue eyes locked with Jonathan’s. “Do I have to sign anything?”

“Not until the reading. All of the beneficiaries have to sign.”

“Beneficiaries? You mean us, and Jonesy?”

“Your father left Jonesy a small sum of cash for her retirement, and he gave me one thousand shares in Lux.”

Caleb felt Jonathan and Jonesy deserved anything they received and more. “Good.”

“There’s one more thing, Caleb,” Jonathan said as he put one copy of the will back into an official looking envelope and sealed it. “Veronica does receive a small bequest.”

Caleb was in the process of standing and buttoning the front of his blazer. “What?” His tone had lowered and took on a slight seethe at the mere mention of Veronica’s name. “Why would Dad do that? Can we fight it?”

Jonathan shrugged. “It’s not worth it. I’ve seen cases where the ex-spouse will go to court and try to contest a will, citing that they were in the process of reconciling. This would have been difficult to disprove because your father was an extremely private man and he wasn’t seeing anyone else at the time of his death. Your absence also made that possibility likely. Veronica could rely on your estrangement with your father to keep any validity of your rebuttal in question.”

Anger was starting to boil inside Caleb. He could feel the heat creep under his skin, his pulse quicken and his muscles coil as adrenalin started to course through his veins. He’d have to get a workout in later that night if he wanted to keep his cool. “So he caved and gave her a piece of it all, is that what you’re telling me?”

Jonathan was smiling, which seemed to piss Caleb off even more.

“No. He gave her one hundred dollars.”

Caleb paused, intrigued and beginning to understand the other man’s amusement and his anger cooled instantly. “That’s uh… funny.” He smiled; then chuckled softly.

“If Veronica gets anything at all, she can’t contest. If he stiffs her completely she may argue he was ill and overlooked her. If she’s given a specified amount, especially one this laughable, his intentions are crystal clear. We wrote this in with a no-contest clause. It’s for your protection, and Wren’s.”

“Will that hag be here for this? I’ll throw in another hundred if she’ll make herself scarce.”

The two men laughed out loud. “No, she’s not a principal beneficiary so she doesn’t have to be in attendance at the reading. I’ll notify her via registered mail next week.”

“Well that bitch can smell money from thousands of miles away. I just hope she doesn’t show up and harass us all. Especially Wren.”





THE PARKING LOT was almost full to capacity when Caleb and Macy arrived at the funeral home.


Local and national news media vans were lined up outside, and reporters and camera people were filming live reports. He held up his hand when one of them asked him for a statement, and kept on walking without a word.

“The national news media is covering my dad kicking off. Awesome,” Caleb muttered as they proceeded past them toward the doors.

“Lux Cosmetics is a global brand, Caleb. You had to expect press coverage of your father’s death,” Macy said simply.

She was right. Caleb was thankful that the actual funeral the following day would be closed to the public, with only a few very close friends and family in attendance.

When Caleb opened one of the double wooden doors so Macy could enter in front of him, the odor of the place smacked him square in the face. He remembered that same scent from the three other funerals he’d attended in his life. If the way Macy wrinkled her nose was any indication of her distaste, she found it equally offensive. She was clinging to his arm and had made two attempts to hold his hand, but he was feeling emotionally closed off.

His defensive demeanor might be due to the wake, but he gave more weight to the combination of events that happened over the past couple of days. Macy’s selfishness and her lack of compassion, the way his heart had literally leapt at the sight of Wren and having her close, and wanting her to remain that way, all added to his father’s death. Caleb felt disengaged with Macy in every way, and it was just another unpleasant situation he needed to deal with.

The sickening scent of the mortuary was lessened by the bevy of flowers in the entryway and the many wreaths and large arrangements strewn around the room; on the floor, and on stands of varying heights. They were obviously sent by business associates, board members, and vendors who his father dealt with at Lux.

The funeral director had called him the day before and asked him if he wanted a private viewing, and he’d declined. He found the whole business of dying sickening and humiliating. When he thought about what actually happened to his father’s body before it was laid out for people to leer at, he cringed. And really, what was the point to any of it?