Love and Chaos (29 page)

“He
instructed me to wait until just before your 41st birthday before revealing the
addendum to you,” the lawyer said, clearly uncomfortable with what his client
had asked of him.

“Go
on.”

The
lawyer leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other and grasping
his ankle with one hand. “Your uncle was concerned that you may marry in haste
in order to get his voting shares. As, indeed, you did,” he added. “But he did
not wish you to be bound to a woman for three years if you were unhappy.”

Mason
shook his head. “I don’t understand,” he stated firmly. “He is the one who put
the three year time commitment on this to begin with.”

“Yes.
He did that so that you
would
commit. And hopefully choose a woman that
you could see spending time with. If he’d said one year initially, he was
afraid that you wouldn’t put any time into the decision. Any woman would have
done.”

Mason
was silent for a moment before asking, “So what is in the codicil?”

“If
you choose to end your marriage after one year, there will be no penalty.”

Mason
leaned forward, spearing the other man with a sharp look, “Say that again.”

“You
can divorce Emma at the end of this year, when you turn 41. You will keep the
voting shares. Is that what you wish to do?”

Mason
leaned back in his chair, his eyes still on the lawyer. Slowly, he asked, “Is
there a time limit on this decision?”

The
older man shook his head. “Not at all. Your uncle wanted you to be free to make
plans if things were not working out.”

“I
see. And I do not need to marry another woman and do this whole thing again?”
he asked sarcastically. The lawyer took him seriously.

“You
do not. Your uncle just wanted to push you in what he called the right
direction.”

Mason
laughed without humor. “The right direction, huh. What a stand-up guy my uncle
was. So I can terminate this marriage.”

“Yes.”

“And
nothing will change.”

“Apart
from you being a divorced man, nothing. However…”

Mason
grimaced. "However what, Howard?”

The
lawyer hesitated. He knew that his client, from the grave, was controlling the
lives of two people, one of whom remained completely in the dark, and he was
uncomfortable with it. Still, it was his job to continue, and continue he did.

“The
codicil to your uncle’s will also stipulates that if you and Emma stay
together, if you have a family, you will inherit the remainder of his estate.”

“If
we have a family,” Mason repeated.

“Yes.”

“I
see.” He was silent for a good long while before saying slowly, “It was my
understanding, Howard, that the remainder of his estate was being held in trust
for unnamed charities of his choice.”

The
lawyer cleared his throat. “Yes. Well.”

“Howard.”
Mason’s voice was even and low, and the lawyer felt his anger from across the
room. “What other tricks does my uncle have up his six-feet-under sleeve?”

Shaking
his head quickly, he responded, “That’s all that I know of, Mason. And I’m
aware that this is unconventional….”

But
Mason had already made up his mind. “I don’t want the money, Howard. I don’t
want his estate. Whether Emma and I stay together or split up, whether we have
children or not – none of that can be dictated by a dead man. Not even my
uncle. What happens to the estate if there is no family?”

“It
goes into the trust described in his original will.”

“It
should do that, then. Now. Or as soon as legally possible. Can you draw up
papers in that regard?”

“I
can, Mason. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Quite
sure. While I wished to retain his voting rights for my own company’s sake, I
have no wish to inherit his estate.”

“Very
well. About the other matter…”

Mason
shook his head slowly. “Let’s keep it between us for now. I’m not yet sure how
this will all play out. And I need time to think about it, and probably time to
talk to Emma.”

The
lawyer looked surprised. “Talk to Emma? But...”

“She’s
my wife, Howard. This affects her.”

The
older man nodded, unable to completely hide his shock at Mason's statement. He
knew this man well, and was accustomed to him taking charge in all situations.
Talking to his wife? A wife he’d met and married in a matter of days as a
business decision? This was unheard of. Looking more closely at Mason, he
sighed. “Take all the time you need, Mason. And just let me know what you
decide. I’ll start drawing up the papers for the rest of the estate.”

Standing,
Mason reached out his hand to shake Howard’s hand. “Thanks for taking the time,
Howard. Give my best to your wife.”

Howard
watched him go. It was the first time Mason had ever mentioned or sent
greetings to the lawyer’s wife. Maybe this marriage had really changed him.

Two
weeks later, Mason was back from his business trip, and ready to talk to Emma.
He had had a lot of time to think about his meeting with his uncle’s lawyer,
and decided to fill Emma in on the details. One thing was certain in his own
mind - divorce was not an option. He told himself that it was for social
reasons - it would reflect badly on both of them if they were to split only one
year after a hasty marriage - it would call to question his ability to make
decisions, and make them well. But deep down, he knew it was more than that. He
needed more time with her. The thought of his house without Chaos, without Max,
without Malcolm and Michelle, but most of all, without Emma, made his heart
hurt. No, he wasn’t ready to call this marriage over yet.

Back
in his home, after letting Chaos out to scour the yard for anything edible that
he hadn't managed to find on his previous 600 trips out there, he picked up Max
and scritched him before calling his wife at work. Emma’s secretary put him
right through.

“Mason,
you’re home! How was your trip?”

“It
was fine, but I’m glad to be back. Listen, are you free for dinner tonight? I
have a few things I'd like to discuss with you.”

Emma
paused, hearing something new and slightly strained in his voice. “Sure. I’ll
be home by 6:00. Do you want me to cook?”

“No.
I’ve made a reservation for 7:00 at The Attic. Will that suit you?”

“Of
course.” She hesitated before asking, “Mason, is there anything I need to be
worried about?”

“No,”
he said shortly. “I’ll meet you at the restaurant.” And he was gone.

Emma
worried a bit about his call, but had a full afternoon of work to take her mind
off him. By the time 6:30 rolled around, she was rushing to finish up some last
minute details and to make it to the restaurant on time to meet him. She was a
few minutes late when she walked in the front door, where Mason was waiting
patiently for her.

“I’m
so sorry I’m late,” she said as she walked up to him.

He
leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
OK, that was new
, she thought.
But
nice
.

“Are
you OK, Mason?” she asked right away. “You sounded rushed on the phone. Or
stressed. Or something.”

“I’m
fine.” His hand was on the small of her back as the hostess led them to their
reserved table. “It’s just been a busy day. You look nice,” he added as he
pulled out her chair for her.

“Thanks.”

As
Emma settled herself at the table and took a sip from her water glass, Mason
glanced at the menus in front of them. “Wine?” he asked.

She
looked over at him. “I’m not sure. Do I need a clear head?”

He
signaled the waiter. “I’ll order a bottle. You can have as much or as little as
you choose.”

After
ordering a bottle of Shiraz, Mason turned to Emma and said, “I want to talk to
you about my uncle’s will.”

NOT
what Emma had expected, though she really had no idea what she
had
expected. “His will.”

“Yes.”

“OK.
This is the same uncle that insisted on your marriage, just to be clear.”

“Yes.”

Emma
nodded. “OK. Go on.”

“His
lawyer called me before I left on this business trip, so I went to see him
about two weeks ago, right before I left. Apparently my uncle left a codicil to
the will, to be read before my 41st birthday.”

Emma
leaned back in her seat, eyeing Mason carefully. “Good heavens. Please don’t
tell me that you now need to have a passel of kids in order to inherit.”

“Not
exactly,” Mason stated evasively.

Her
eyes narrowed. “What does ‘not exactly’ mean?”

They
were interrupted by the waiter, arriving with the bottle that Mason had
ordered, and Emma had to wait through the ceremonial uncorking, tasting, and
pouring of the wine before Mason could answer.

“It
means that he essentially gave me choices,” Mason stated as the waiter left the
table.

“Well
isn’t that nice of him, given that he’s, um, how do I say this nicely...?
dead.”

Mason
laughed. “He’s more involved in my life now than he was when he was alive,” he
admitted.

Emma
took a sip of her wine and asked quietly, bracing herself for more craziness,
“OK, what are the choices?”

“We
can stay married, as originally dictated by the will. Nothing changes.”

“OK.”

“We
can divorce, go our separate ways, and I retain the voting stock.”

She
raised her eyebrows.

“Or
we can stay married, have a family, and I inherit, fully, my uncle’s estate.
Worth several million dollars. Or more.”

Emma
blinked.

Mason
looked over at her intently. “Emma, I told my uncle’s lawyer that I did not
wish to inherit the estate. His original will had it going into a charitable
trust, which would be managed by a board. I stated that I wished for that to
occur as had been originally planned.”

Emma
set her glass down and looked across the table at Mason. She wasn’t sure how to
take this statement. On the one hand, she was relieved that he wasn’t trying to
romance her into something that would provide him with financial gain. But on
the other... was he essentially saying that he saw no future with her? Despite
the fact that she frequently counted down the days till the end of their
contract, she knew that a part of her hoped that there might be some spark
of... something... between them.

Mason
was looking back at her with a serious expression on his face - one that she
hadn’t seen before. Oh, she’d seen him serious to be sure, but this was
different. There was an intensity here that was unusual.

She
leaned forward on the table, studying Mason carefully. Something was happening
here that made no sense, and she wasn’t even sure what questions to ask. She
started carefully.

Quietly,
she asked, “Is there more?”

“I
need to decide between my first two choices,” he stated, taking a sip of wine
and watching her as he did so.

“Stay
married or divorce me.”

“Yes.”

“And
I have no say?”

Mason
shrugged, his eyes shuttered. “Not really, no. The contract stands, unless I
choose to void it.”

She
shook her head, trying to figure out what all of this meant. “I know what the
contract stipulates, Mason. Believe me, I practically memorized that thing. But
that’s not really what I meant. What I meant was, this involves me. It involves
my life. Why are you choosing not to discuss it with me?”

“I
chose to tell you about this, Emma. I could have kept you completely in the
dark. I may have even been able to talk you into staying married to me, having
children with me,” he added, his eyes boring into hers, acknowledging their
mutual attraction.

Emma
flushed and reached for her water glass.

“I
removed that piece of the equation completely by instructing my uncle’s lawyer
to revert to the original will. My uncle removed the other financial piece from
the equation - the voting rights are mine, regardless.”

“So
you have no financial incentive to stay married to me,” Emma said quietly, her
eyes searching his for whatever he was trying to tell her.

He
seemed to hesitate for just a moment before leaning forward over the table.
Keeping his voice low, he firmly stated, “I may not have a financial incentive,
but I do have a social incentive. It will not reflect well on either of us for
us to marry and then divorce a year later. And for me, it will be particularly
difficult since you seem to have charmed every one of my business
acquaintances, my sister, and my mother. So while the reasons for the initial
marriage have been voided, I see no reason to, at this time, void the marriage
itself.”