McGyver

by Candace Blevins

  “You’d have no hopes of winning if you tried to sue him for it. It’s clearly written so he has total control until he signs it over. He’s enjoyed tax breaks for the money that went in, but whether you get it or whether his favorite charity gets it is completely his call.”

  “I know.” She stopped, looked around, and met his gaze. “Speak up if something isn’t right, or point to something on a page you want to bring to my attention. Otherwise, just having you beside me makes me feel like I have someone in my corner. Daddy’s held my trust fund over my head since I was a child, and walking into this room makes me feel like a twelve-year-old kid again.”

  “You look professional and beautiful. Hold your head up and look them in the eyes. Shake their hands. You have this.”

  Iris took a breath and breathed it out. “Thank you. Okay. I’m ready.”

  They were meeting in the law offices of the firm her father employed the most. Iris didn’t expect to get a “Happy Birthday,” from the top man at the law firm, but she thanked him, shook his hand, let Zeke introduce himself, and took her seat.

  “I’ve debated this decision a million ways to Sunday,” her father began. “I’m so proud of the woman you’re growing into, but I feel it’s important to safeguard your fortune against gold diggers. I don’t believe Danny is one, but if the two of you don’t work out, the next man you get involved with could be.”

  He looked to the attorney sitting beside him, who told her, “Your father asked me to come up with a plan that would show you he puts his faith in your choices and responsibility, and yet will shelter your funds from future suitors, should your relationship with Mr. Franklin fall by the wayside. I’ve devised a structured payout I believe will satisfy both requirements.”

  He put a binder in front of both Zeke and Iris. “Ten million today, and then one million per year for ten years, three million a year for four years, and six million for the next three years, which will give you the total fifty. The final year will be significantly larger, as you’ll also be paid whatever the fund has earned while it’s been in trust. However, payments will stop during the first seven years of any marriage unless a prenup is signed, so your husband or wife gives up any claim to funds received from your father during the marriage. You’ll find a copy of the required document in your paperwork.”

  She looked at Zeke, who explained, “Funds you have before a marriage are yours. Funds you receive during a marriage can be subject to a fifty-fifty split. He’s making sure the marriage lasts at least seven years before payments continue.” He’d glanced through the first page already, because he’d already flipped to the second. “Looks like you’ll be able to submit a business plan to your father, should you need more funds to begin a commercial enterprise. Funds would technically be a loan, in that case, and not an asset. The loan would be paid from your first payout, after the initial seven years, and you’d pay the interest to yourself.”

  Part of her wanted to scream and pitch a fit, but that would only prove his point. She focused on making her voice sound calm.

  “It feels like you’re trying to keep me from marrying Danny, and yet, I can understand…”

  Iris closed her eyes, took a breath, and opened her eyes again to meet her father’s gaze. The part about the business loan sank in. He wasn’t keeping the money from her, he was generously structuring it. Ten million up front was much more than she’d dare hope for.

  Considering his control-freak tendencies, he was giving her a lot. “Thank you. The message is that you trust me to make good business decisions, but you aren’t convinced I make good decisions when it comes to men, but that’s a better place than we were three years ago.”

  “I love you, Princess. If I thought there was still a drug problem, you’d get it as an allowance per month, you’d have to take random tests to prove to me you weren’t using, and you’d have to go to rehab to continue receiving payments if one came back positive. You’re right — we’re at a much better place now than we were. I can see you’ve grown up, and you’re looking to the future.”

  Zeke was turning pages beside her, but she wanted to personally read through the fine print before she signed anything.

  “If you can give me some time to read through it, please?”

  His smile told her he was pleased. “Of course. I’d have been disappointed if you’d signed it without doing so.”

  The first ten million would consist of a million in liquid funds, split between ten banks. The other nine million was already with two different investment companies, and she’d need to look through those details later, to be sure she was good with the investments. The notes told her she was in everything from hot dogs to toilet paper to bullets, not to mention real estate in a multitude of countries, and that she’d be okay no matter which direction the economy went. Some of her fortune was shares of the family business, and the note said if she changed her mind and wanted to be involved, her future installments would include more shares.

  She read through everything, got the okay from Zeke, and then signed her name in a zillion places — not only the agreement with her father, but to officially establish the accounts with every bank, and with both investment firms. The adjoining room was packed full of people, because each organization had at least two representatives present.

  Nearly four hours later, it was just Iris, her dad, and a helluva lot more security than she was accustomed to. The driver pulled into the country club, wound through the golf course, and pulled up to the event building behind the clubhouse.

  “We’ll go in a side door, so we’re up on the mezzanine to greet your guests together. I’m going to give you your present first, Princess.”

  They were whisked inside, and then they were standing above the crowd. Iris saw the group of bikers first, and then found Danny and Brain standing together with Harmony between them.

  She smiled at Danny, he smiled back, and then she had to focus on her father, who was handing her a gift. If it was jewelry, it was big. Otherwise, it was a smallish box.

  She opened it and the room swirled around them. She couldn’t say anything, she could only stare. She’d never expected to be given her mother’s most-prized necklace.

  “When you were born, you were the most beautiful baby I’d ever seen. I didn’t expect to love you as much as I did. I wanted to give you the world, but I also wanted to give your mom the world, because she grew you inside of her. My perfect little princess. Everyone knows I paid way more money than is sensible for this, but it was the only way to show her my gratitude for bringing you into our lives.”

  He lifted the necklace once worn by a queen. “I provided a sketch of the size and shape of the jewelry to the designer who made your outfit, and asked that he tell you it should be worn without a necklace. He made it so it will go with your birthday present, princess.”

  Her father had paid fourteen million dollars for the necklace twenty-five years earlier. Iris had no idea what it was worth now, and she couldn’t believe it was around her neck.

  She burst into tears, and her father held her. “You were supposed to be happy.”

  “I... I... I... I am!”

  He rubbed her back. “You’re my special princess. Only the best for you.”

  She lowered her voice. “I can’t keep this at my apartment.”

  “I know. It can either continue to be stored where it’s been for the past fifteen years, or I can make arrangements for it to be kept in a bank vault in Chattanooga. I’ve already made inquiries. Either is fine with me.”

  She reached up and touched it. Her mother had put it on her a few times, but never more than a few minutes. Now, it was hers.

  “I’ll need to think about it. I can’t make that decision right now.”

  “Nothing has to be decided tonight. The insurance company will cover it for fifteen days while we transition between ownership, but we’ll need to fill out some forms and sign some papers during that time.”

  She took a breath, pulled herself to
gether, and addressed the crowd. “I’d like to thank you all for helping me celebrate turning a quarter of a century old. Sorry for the emotions, but I hadn’t expected this gift from my father, and, well, it’s kind of a big deal. It also explains why there’s so much more security around than usual.” The crowd laughed, and she smiled. “I’ll be down shortly so I can talk to everyone one-on-one, but I haven’t seen McGyver in a few days, so I hope ya’ll will understand that I need a few minutes with him. It’s been a big day, and it isn’t over.”

  At Danny’s request, she called him McGyver when talking to people outside their immediate friend groups. She’d always think of him as Danny, but she had to respect his wishes.

  Chapter 38

  McGyver and his brothers had roared through Birmingham to the ritzy Country Club outside of town, and every golfer had stopped his game to watch them roll through the winding road to the clubhouse.

  He didn’t know the details of the trust fund reveal yet, only that Iris wasn’t thrilled, but wasn’t angry. Whatever had happened, the two seemed to be okay with each other, and that was the important thing — not the money.

  The necklace was a surprise. He’d read about it, but the speculation was that it’d been sold privately after his wife’s death. A quiet sale, instead of the publicity of an auction. Apparently, the speculation had been wrong.

  Iris’s father walked her into the room on his arm as if he owned her, and McGyver’s wolf wasn’t happy, but the human understood his Blueberry needed this connection to her father. The man and wolf rejoiced when she saw him, let go of her father, took a half-dozen fast steps to him, and went right into his arms.

  “I missed you,” she told him. “I had fun with Clay, but I don’t like going so long without seeing you.”

  “Missed you, too, Blue. The necklace is beautiful on you. Happy Birthday.”

  She pulled away and touched it. “I can’t believe he gave it to me. I mean, it’s probably worth nearly what my trust fund is, and he’s parceling it out in bits and pieces, but he just gave me the necklace.”

  He’d have to sit down with Brain to come up with how to store it safely, so thieves couldn’t get to it. How did one go about insuring such an item? He’d have to research that, too. Brock would know, but McGyver would do his own research.

  “Your text was kind of cryptic about your trust fund.” He was worried about how she was handling whatever had happened. He didn’t give a flying fuck about the money, only about how she was handling it emotionally.

  She shook her head. “Let’s not talk about it tonight. It’s complicated, and I’m trying to be positive. In a nutshell, I get ten million now, and the other 40 million over the next 18 years, except with his stipulations, it’s probably going to be the next 24 years, and I could easily be pissed about that, but I'm choosing not to be.”

  His phone gave the tone set aside to let him know when social media was blowing up about his Iris, and he grinned. “I’m guessing everyone’s talking online about your birthday present. Someone beat you to the punch.”

  “I’ll do a selfie in a little bit.” She realized the MC had closed ranks around her, and she smiled at the men and women who’d claimed her as family. “I love ya’ll, but I’m sure both the necklace and I are safe. Daddy’s security seems to be on steroids tonight. Now, I understand why.”

  Maybe, but she wasn’t going to leave McGyver’s side while she was wearing it. Too many people would kill for that kind of money. He didn’t like it being around his true love’s neck like a glittery noose, but no way was he going to spoil this for her. Still, he nodded for his brothers to back off a little. They’d sensed his wolf’s worry, and had closed ranks.

  His Blueberry spotted the ice sculpture, and walked to it as if in a daze. “It’s perfect. How did...”

  “Long story. Clay helped make it happen. He and the ice sculptor get credit for this, not me. Your father thinks it’s just a wolf protecting an iris. He gets the iris part, of course, but he doesn’t understand the significance of the wolf.”

  “It’s perfect,” she repeated.

  “Yes.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Brain texted him. It’ll be paid out in yearly installments, but there’s a clause about all payments stopping for seven years in the event she gets married. If she divorces before then, the payments start back ninety days after finalization.

  Sonofabitch. Well, that certainly put a crimp in his plans. He’d brought the engagement ring with him, just in case it seemed asking her tonight was the thing to do, but he’d only planned to do it if her dad had cut her out or been a total asshole. She’d know her Danny would always be there for her, and maybe it would help rescue the night.

  However, he’d hoped to see her walking in happy, in which case he’d planned to let her enjoy her birthday party without adding anything else to it.

  Unfortunately, he really needed to pop the question before he was supposed to know about the clause, since asking after he knew about it would seem as if he were forcing her to choose between marrying him or getting her trust fund. Brock Wendel was, indeed, a formidable opponent who hadn’t ceded anything as of yet.

  McGyver would find out how Brain got the information later, but he didn’t question the accuracy. If Brain wasn’t positive, he’d have let him know this was rumor or supposition or gossip, and wouldn’t have couched it as a fact.

  He looked around the room and debated his options. Carry her up on the stage, stop the band, grab a mike, and ask her publicly? Take her into a side room so it was just the two of them? Or do it in the main room with the MC circling them, so outsiders wouldn’t see?

  And what if she told him no?

  Iris wasn’t amused when her security cleared the bathroom before they’d let her go in, but she drew the line at Danny going in with her.

  Thankfully, Harmony and Gen decided they needed to go, and Danny seemed okay with the three of them and Angelica going in. There were five stalls, so it worked out okay, but it was still annoying.

  “He loves you,” Harmony reminded her, “and I’d be terrified if Brain was walking around with something worth at least forty million dollars hanging around his neck.”

  “My dad didn’t pay that much for it.”

  “Right, but that was twenty-five years ago. It’s beautiful.”

  “Daddy’s currently wavering between being a control freak and being nice, so it’s hard for me to get too mad at him for the control freak stuff.”

  Angelica laughed. “As I’ve been reminded more times than I can count, girls tend to marry men a lot like their father. At some point, your dad’s going to realize Mac’s good for you. It’ll be okay.” She shrugged. “Bash and my dad beat each other bloody before my dad came around. Your dad uses his money and the legal system instead of his fists. Luckily, Mac can handle himself either way.”

  The little group was on their way back to the main room when a larger group of bikers came at them from the other direction and closed ranks around them.

  “It’s okay,” Danny told her. “I asked them to help me get some privacy. A few minutes alone with you.” He took a breath, as if he was calming his nerves. “I’ve wanted to do this for three months, but it felt like I needed to wait until you had closure over the whole trust fund thing before I…” He shook his head. “Iris Skye Wendel. I love you more than I ever thought possible. My heart belongs to you, and I want to make it official.”

  He pulled something from his pocket, and Iris’s heart raced as if she’d just run three miles at top speed.

  “I asked Clay if you had a favorite jeweler, and he told me about a guy in Italy. He helped me arrange for a video conference with the guy, and…” He shook his head. “I think it’s possible the old man has a crush on you.”

  Iris couldn’t breathe. The ring was exactly what she’d have designed, if she was creating the perfect engagement ring. A blue diamond the color of her eyes, surrounded by pure, clear diamonds, and she was certain it was platinum.

&n
bsp; Danny breathed in again. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife? I know you’ll want time to plan the wedding, and I’m good with it being a year out, if that’s what you need, but I want you to know how I feel. I want the world to know this is it. You’re mine. Off the market. Forever. Please, Iris.”

  “Stop talking.” It came out brusque, and that wasn’t her intention. “I love you. Give me a second. It’s been a big day, and…” Now it was her time to take a deep breath and grasp for what she wanted to say.

  “The short answer is yes, but I’m glad you said the time thing is okay, because there’s a long, complicated response before the yes, but I don’t want to make you have to wait through all of it to hear the part where I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “Does the rest matter? Yes, is all I need.”

  She put her hand on his chest to keep him from stepping closer, but also because she needed the physical connection. “Because of who I am, and who you are, we have to talk about it.” She took a breath. “Daddy’s going to see this as a slap in his face, but he started it with his control issues, so we’ll deal with it.”

  He put his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want to piss your dad off and not understand why. Please explain.”

  There was no easy way to say it, so she kept her voice businesslike and stuck to the raw facts. “My trust fund payments stop for seven years if I get married. Supposedly, his way of trying to keep the gold diggers away, but it feels more like a last-ditch effort to keep us apart a little while longer.”

  He closed his eyes a few seconds, opened them, and looked calm. Reasonable. She’d worried he’d get pissed off. He had every right to, but he wasn’t.