"Mr. Grayson, your mother, died in 1993," Mr. Mitchim stated. "At the time, she was married to a man named Frank Bridges who was her fourth husband. They had been married six years before they were both killed in a motorcycle accident. No children ensued from that or any of her prior marriages. When her father, your grandfather, Harold Bentley, was notified of his daughter's death, he changed his will to make you his sole beneficiary."
Josh shook his head in disbelief. "I had a grandfather who knew of me, yet he left me in foster care?"
Mr. Mitchim nodded. "Apparently, yes. Mr. Grayson, I did not know Mr. Bentley, as he was my father's client. He was one of many I inherited after my father passed away three years ago. I only met Mr. Bentley once. At that meeting, he was… well either cantankerous, or he was exhibiting symptoms of senility. Harold Bentley died six weeks ago and I have been executing his will since then. I have spent most of my time locating and investigating you to verify if you were indeed the correct heir to his estate. This broken foot, unfortunately, delayed me last week."
"You were investigating me," Josh repeated. "That's why you know of the litigation. A stranger to me, who always knew I existed, has left me an inheritance. Yet, he did not have the decency to meet me, or to step forward and help when I was a child. What kind of a person does this?"
"Please, don't shoot the messenger," Mr. Mitchim said. He pulled a folder out of his briefcase. There are at least forty flags on these documents all requiring your signature. After you sign them, I will file the papers, and you will become the sole heir of the Bentley estate. There were originally two beneficiaries. He had bequeathed a generous sum to his housekeeper, but she died two months prior to him. Officials then placed Mr. Bentley in a long-term care facility where he soon died. He was only seventy-one years old, but I understand he had been dealing with heart problems for many years."
Josh looked at the folder but did not open it. "My mother's father left me something? What?"
* * *
After Josh had closed the front door on the attorney, he took the folder upstairs to his office. He immediately walked back downstairs, realizing he had left Emmie behind. He brought her upstairs with him. He opened the folder, closed it, and opened it again. He finally slid it into his desk drawer and slumped down into his chair.
Emmie came over, caught his face between her hands, and looked him squarely in the eyes. Her eyes were intense and Josh realized he was frightening her.
"I'm all right, baby girl. Daddy is okay," he smiled to prove his point. She nodded and went to play with one of Adam's toys he had left on the sofa.
Josh picked up his phone and selected #3 on his favorite contacts.
"Tyrell Grayson!"
"Tyrell," Josh said. "I need to see you."
"I'm coming your way tomorrow," Tyrell said.
"I need to see you tonight," Josh exclaimed.
"What's wrong, bro," Tyrell's voice changed from taunting older brother to concerned big brother in a fraction of a second. "What is it? Has there been an accident?"
"No, but it is important, very important. We are not hurt or anything, but I need…"
"I'm on my way," Tyrell interrupted and the call disconnected in Josh's ear.
* * *
"Tyrell is coming by this evening," Josh said over dinner.
"Violet and the boys, too?" Jenny asked eagerly.
"I don't know, he didn't say."
"I'll make some cookies for the boys just in case. Does that mean he has come to some kind of a settlement?"
"He hasn't said yet," Josh hedged.
Tyrell did bring his family, his wife Violet and his two sons, James, and Dillon. The boys, aged four and six, played well with Emmie, so the women sent the children off to the playroom. Violet took Adam in her lap for what she called her 'baby fix,' which made Jenny smile, but made Tyrell frown with concern.
Josh and Tyrell went to the office where Josh closed the door.
"Well, what is wrong?" Tyrell demanded. "Whatever it is you haven't told Jenny about it."
"No, I haven't," Josh said unlocking his desk drawer and handing the thick folder to his brother.
Tyrell sat down at his brother's desk and perused the sheaf of documents from front to back. After he had turned over the last page, he closed the folder and tossed it down on the desk. He surveyed his younger brother with a serious look before a grin broke out over his face.
"Son of a bitch! Why haven't you signed anything, yet?"
"Because I am too stunned," Josh exclaimed pacing back and forth across the room. "Do you think it is real?"
"It looks legitimate to me," Tyrell exclaimed. "Josh, I know you are an idiot. I also know you have a bucketful of pride, but please tell me you are not going to throw this back in the old man's face. He is already dead. You can't hurt him!"
"Of course not," Josh snapped. "Contrary to what you believe, I am not stupid. Fifty-seven million dollars just landed in my lap, after inheritance taxes and attorney fees! The old bastard left me in foster care, yet he was stinking rich! He knew I was out there alone, yet he did nothing! Nothing! All because he cut off contact with my mother!"
"Yeah, well, he has sort of balanced out the asshole scale," Tyrell said laughing. "I guess you will be looking down your nose at the rest of us from now on. We still have to work for a living."
"So do I," Josh said. "The attorney, Mr. Mitchim, is staying at the Homewood Suites in Southington. I told him I needed twenty-four hours to think about it. I need you to make sure this is legitimate by tomorrow."
"I can do it," Tyrell promised. "Why haven't you told Jenny?"
"I wasn't sure it was real," Josh admitted. He sat down across from his older brother and frequent sounding board. "Also, because I am not sure how it will affect us. We have recently started putting us back together, Tyrell. The last several years have been bad. We were talking divorce only a couple of weeks ago. When the shit hit the fan, somehow Jenny and I pulled together to put our marriage back on solid ground. I do not want to lose our momentum. Most people would have called it quits by now, but somehow this crisis has brought us back together. I don't want sudden wealth to destroy it."
"Does anyone else know?" Tyrell asked.
"You, Mr. Mitchim, and the IRS," Josh said.
"Then don't tell her," Tyrell suggested. "Pretend it's not there until your marriage is back on solid ground. I will conduct due diligence to make sure everything checks out, but I can already tell you by the paperwork, it looks good. Meanwhile, you are going to get a couriered check from DQ&H, which should arrive tomorrow."
"You settled with Pugh and Barkley?" Josh's interest perked.
"Actually, it was with the corporate heads of DQ&H," Tyrell answered with a grin. "This time, you will have to sign a disclaimer not to discuss the details, but I made them pay for it. I also made sure your plans belong to you and only you. They didn't follow their own company directives and it cost them big bucks."
"You are going to make me ask, aren't you," Josh demanded.
"Hell, it's worth a little groveling from my little brother," Tyrell said, baiting him.
"How much," Josh growled.
"The eighteen architects let go in the first round of layoffs will each receive $300,000. You and Glenn Franklin, the architect already suing them who joined our suit, will each receive $600,000. It was a $7.2 million settlement total, but my attorney fees came off the top. DQ&H will probably make some upper management changes shortly. We caught Pugh and Barkley dead to rights skimming past government labor laws and trying to cheat you and Franklin out of your work. The Labor Department is also charging them with ethics violations and fining them heavily for their misdeeds. DQ&H is not happy with its latest acquisition. They will have to go into overdrive to keep this from becoming a public relations fiasco."
Josh dragged his brother out of his chair and hugged him. "Damn, you are good!"
"Don't I know it," Tyrell crowed. "Violet thanks you too, since she now gets her new kitchen.
Will you hide this from Jenny, too?"
Josh lost his smile. "No, I'll tell her about the settlement. I need time though to work through the inheritance. I think this windfall will buy me a partnership deal I had to turn down a couple of weeks ago. It will also get us out of Waterbury, which we desperately need. If we put distance between Denise and us, we might make it. Jenny and I have been talking about moving west. The partnership deal is in Colorado."
Tyrell leaned over and flipped through several pages in the folder. "In addition to a slew of investment properties, the old man left you several personal properties. One of them is in Durango, Colorado, estimated value at 1.3 million. Hello, bro, that is worth checking out. Ah, it looks like it was where the old man lived for the last part of his life.
"There are also some rental properties around ski resorts, and here are two more personal residences. One is in San Diego and one in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Each of those is worth about a half a million or more, it looks as if they have been rentals for a while."
Tyrell sat back in his brother's chair and watched Josh continue pacing the floor. "Okay, little brother, I will keep your secrets. However, I have a price for my silence. I want your promise to not try and pay back Dad and Mom."
Josh's head snapped around.
Tyrell raised his hands to ward off his brother's words. "I didn't have to be a genius to figure out you were in over your head. I have no idea what Dad gave you, though. It's between the two of you.
"I know how your mind works, Josh. You have always been a proud bastard. Paying Dad back was the first thing to cross your mind when you saw those figures in the folder. It was also the first thing to cross your mind when I gave you the settlement figures. Don't do it.
"You think of it as paying a debt… as money owed. Dad and Mom think of it as extending love and help to their child. If you pay it back, they will forgive you for your misguided intentions, but their feelings will also be hurt, although they would hide it from you. Your dang pride has always made you fight to make Dad and Mom proud of you, but you would never let them help you get there.
"That's what parents do if they can, Josh, they help their children. You will be there for Emmeline and Adam. I will be there for my two hellraisers. Children become adults, but parents always want to be there for them, which is what family is all about. They help each other. I know if Dad suddenly needed every cent of your inheritance, you would hand it over without a qualm. It works both ways."
"Can I at least offer to give it back to them?"
"No," Tyrell replied firmly. "This is the deal on the table. Take it or leave it, but I don't think you want your mother-in-law in on your recent windfall anytime soon."
"That's extortion," Josh growled.
Tyrell grinned.
"All right," Josh said begrudgingly. "However, after the dust settles and I figure how to handle all this, I want to at least talk to Mom and Dad about repaying them. Fifty-seven million dollars and I am not discounting what you got out of DQ&H. Six-hundred-thousand dollars is friggin amazing! I can't wrap my brain around all this!
"Jenny went out to the grocery store today and I lectured her about not buying anything which would cause us to go over budget. Now there is no budget."
Tyrell leaned back in the chair again. "You need to slow down, little brother and take a chill pill. You are a freaking side show right now. Not that I don't enjoy watching it, but you need to take a deep breath and take the time to digest everything. It is not in your personality to do so, but do not immediately splurge and blow a million dollars on junk!
"You know what? I changed my mind. You should talk to Dad. He is somewhere close to your new financial bracket, and probably knows the terror it comes with. He will be thrilled for you, and will be able to give you good advice. If the subject of the money he gave you comes up, and I am sure it will because you are a single-minded bastard, talk with him about it. Don't be surprised if he doesn't want it back.
"My advice is to go about your business as usual. You need to keep on top of the estate attorney to make sure no claims come out of the woodwork from people wanting to dip their fingers in the pie. With this kind of money, there are usually a lot of suits claiming the old man promised them something. Unless they got it in writing, the courts would bounce them out if they even make it that far. Maybe somebody shoveled the old man's walk or ran an errand for him at some point. When millions of dollars are at stake, everyone thinks they are entitled to a part of it."
"Well, that would be more than I did," Josh exclaimed. "I didn't know he existed."
"It doesn't matter," Tyrell said. "He knew about you and he is blood kin. He named you in his will sixteen years ago. That, my bro, will hold up in court.
"Take the settlement money and go into business for yourself, if that is what you want. Give yourself time, and give your marriage the time it needs. Your relationship problems are still there, Josh. Right now they are shrouded in your current blind panic. If Dad drilled anything into our heads, it is family comes first."
* * *
Jenny was sitting in her walk-in closet surrounded by a mountain of clothing. How she had accumulated so many clothes she did not even wear was not a mystery, but she still regretted it. Emmie was playing dress-up in a shimmery silver cocktail dress and high heels Jen had not worn in years.
"I remember that outfit," Josh said from the doorway of the closet.
"It is going out to a resale shop or into Emmie's dress-up box. I doubt I would fit into it again."
"You are not much bigger now than when we married," Josh said, looking at her. "You are a little too thin, in fact."
"A woman can never be too thin," Jenny protested. "Even so, I went up a dress size after Emmie and another after Adam. Childbearing has had an effect on my figure."
"So what," Josh teased in her ear. "I love your hips, and your butt, and the fullness of your breasts, all of which are only a tiny bit bigger now. You are a woman, Jen, not a skinny, size two adolescent. You are beautiful and you gave us two amazing babies out of your stunning body."
"Thank you," Jenny said as he squatted down to kiss her.
Josh plopped down on the floor, and began a game of tossing clothes over Adam and pulling them off him to make him giggle. "I have a job offer."
"Really," Jenny exclaimed. "Is it a good one?"
"It sounds good, but I have to fly to Denver for an interview. I will be away for a couple days. While there, I also want to take the time to go to Montrose and check out Brice's proposition. Can you handle things alone for a few days?"
"You have been on business trips before," Jenny said mildly.
"Yes, I have," he agreed. "Denise has also used those times to corrupt your mind and pick our pockets. I cannot come back to discover several thousand dollars of debt that was not there before I left. I need you to be strong."
"I will be strong," Jenny promised. "I still have a ton of stuff to go through. Each time I mark a box for auction or resale at a consignment shop, it reminds me how stupid I have been."
"I hate being a hard-ass, but I have to be," Josh said firmly. "You don't have a good track record of turning down your mother. I think she's implanted little time bombs in your brain, she says a keyword and you cave."
Jenny shook her head. "I won't cave," she promised. "You read too much science fiction."
"Okay, I have your promise. If I come back to discover she has conned you into something, your ass will pay for it and not in a fun way."
"I will bury myself in packing, and I will ignore her. You have my solemn word that I will not go near a mall. The Engleson's want settlement and occupation in twenty-eight days. The idea of being homeless in less than a month scares me."
"We will never be homeless," scolded Josh. "We have the settlement and we are going to fine. We will recover from this mess, and be stronger than ever."
* * *
Josh left home after many, many hours of reassuring Emmie about his going away. He didn't want his ba
by girl traumatized by his leaving. At one point, he and Jenny had even discussed him taking Emmie with him. With a lot of discussions and promises, Emmie agreed that he could go if he called her every day. She wasn't talking yet, but she was very good at shaking and nodding her head to make herself understood.
He flew into Denver where he caught a local flight into Grand Junction Regional Airport. From there, he drove to Montrose to spend the better part of a day and evening talking to his old college friends and now potential business partners. The business was still in its planning stages so it would be months before they could finalize the deal. They had a lot of research and development to conduct before putting any money on the line. There was also the issue of where he would live. His friends assured him telecommuting would make it viable wherever he lived. He bought into the partnership.
His next stop was Durango to meet with Mr. Mitchim and take possession of several envelopes filled with keys to houses and safe deposit boxes, as well as large boxes filled with portfolio files. He had already been in contact with the money management company who had dealt with Harold Bentley's fortune. At least, he knew that was not an issue. It was the same firm that worked for his father.
True to what Tyrell had promised, Henry Grayson was elated at his son's sudden turn of fortune. He had also dispensed good advice and given his son several contacts in investment and asset management firms. His father echoed his brother's advice to get his marriage on solid ground before making too many major lifestyle changes. Money was a complication in marriage, not a quick fix for relationship issues.
With hand-drawn directions from Mr. Mitchim, Josh drove outside Durango to view the Bentley property. Within a few minutes of wandering around, he got an idea he thought might work. He spent two long days inspecting the buildings and making lists. He went back to Mr. Mitchim's office to set arrangements in motion for the house to be readied for his family. He put Mr. Mitchim under retainer as his attorney.
Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) Page 6