"You will not inherit the company unless you are married." My father's lawyer Greg, tells me simply.
I share a look with Turner, his expression mirrors my slack with shock one. We cannot believe what we were hearing.
"Come again? From the top?" I ask, my voice screamed incredulity.
Greg pressed his thin lips together like he was not doing the job he was paid to do.
"Your father left his full estate, his company and basically every last penny he made in his time on earth to you, and his only condition was that you got married.."
I let out a string of curses, interrupting him. My father did it. He really did it.
"I would appreciate it of you let me finish, I have other places to be asides here." Greg sighed.
How could my father do this to me? Even in his death, from beyond the grave the man found a way to make a mess if my life. And I would be damned if I let a dead man control my life.
"And if I don't? If I don't get married then. Surely you have to give me what belongs to me sooner or later."
Greg shook his huge head, as if pitying me.
"After one year of hearing this, if you do not get married, then all of his assets go to charity."
My eyes bulge. What else was I expecting from a man like my father?
"All of it?" Turner asks quietly as if scared to annoy the lawyer.
"All of it." Greg confirmed.
A bitter laugh bubbles out of my mouth, tumbling out hard and fast, leaving me breathless. That man needs to win in my life, always. The laugh dries up as quickly as it starts, like I'd let that happen.
"Listen, you are his lawyer. By pass that condition and give me everything. And then name your price."
Greg has a disgusted look on his face.
"You can't pay me, get married and then come back. Your deadline is a year from now."
"Listen to me, you might have worked for a hot shot like Anthony Hart but he is no more, you have no clients at the moment and your family has to eat, your daughter has to keep attending that snobby rich kids high school, so help me out here so I can help you too." I say looking right into his eyes. He looked alarmed that I know of his daughter, but the look vanishes instantly.
"You and your father are more similar than you think, using my family like that." He spits out.
I open my mouth to argue because being similar to that man is akin to be dead. Or be a narcissist before you die, or a self centered, vile creature who puts stupid conditions on their Will before you die. But he beats me to it.
"For your information, your father is still paying me till you inherit everything. So the longer you wait the more I get paid."
My mouth curls into a sneer and i hurl the whiskey glass I was using in his direction, he ducks last minute, and Turner rushes to him, checking to see if he was hurt. I look away. Anger bubbled in my veins. My father knows I would never get married. And he knows the reason, but as a sadistic father who only cares about torturing his only child, this is what he will do. I should have expected it.
"Logan, apologize right now." Turner hissed at me.
Greg looked red in the face. He struggling to sit back up.
"I do not care for his apology. I just want to be done with this family's madness, Lord knows I've had enough." He gathered his papers into his satchel. I felt a twinge of guilt, I poured my anger at the wrong person, it wasn't his fault.
"The marriage has to last nine months before I give you the assets."
My eyes snap up to his face. You have got to be kidding me. Not only do I have to get married, but I have to stay married for nine whole months.
"One last thing. Your grandfather has to approve of the girl."
"What??" It was Turner's turn to shout.
Even Greg knows the last part is stupid. My grandfather and i do not have a grand father and grandson relationship. Even my father didn't have a father and son relationship.
"He doesn't want me to inherit his asserts, he lived his life for them after all, giving them to his son would seem like a waste." I say bitterly.
Greg has nothing to say to this.
"You have my e-mail address, you can contact me when the nine months are over. You still have your one year deadline. I hope the next time we meet you will be on your best behavior."
He says as he hurries out of the room like his tail was on fire.
Turner collapsed against the sofa wordlessly. I pluck the bottle of whiskey off the table and take a large gulp directly as I had no glass.
"It's over." Turner whispers more to himself but I catch it.
I know what he means. Both of our hopes and dreams banked on this inheritance. Especially mine, it was part of my vengeance plan to squander every dime he spent his life on, just to piss him off. He must have known what I would do to his life's work now that I had the chance, that is why he put in the conditions.
I take another sip of the whiskey and as it burned my throat going down, a new idea formed in my head.
"It might not be over. Not totally at least." I tell Turner, who had his head in his hands. He turned slowly to look at me.
"What do you mean?"
"What if we hire a bride?" The idea had solidified in my head and my palms had gone sweaty from excitement. I wanted to start on it immediately.
He blinked slowly, "like hire a bride, convince your grand father whom you barely know, and then get married, after nine months you get the inheritance, and then what?"
I snort, "And then get a divorce."
He regards me for a while.
"And give her half of the entire properties?"
"Nope. We are going to define the terms before that. Nobody's walking away with half of my properties for nothing."
"So like a contract marriage?"
I nod, a slow smile spreading across my face,
"A contract marriage."