18. Marcus

"What's this?" I was in my office actually working for once and not plotting against my enemies when she buzzed through to let me know that my grandfather's personal attorney was here to see me.

I thought he was supposed to be in the middle of the ocean? I kinda knew he'd said that so his son wouldn't try contacting him about getting fired, but I also hoped he"d actually take a vacation and get some rest.

He"d spent the last couple of years hounding me to come home until I told him my terms, and he caved. Now that I think about it, he gave in too easily, but that's a different story for another time.

The snake oil salesman entered my office all smiles, and I knew he and the old man were about to fuck with me. Every time this bastard shows up, there's always some shit behind it that's meant to drive me insane.

He passed me the leather folder he was carrying, and I asked what it was before opening it. "Look inside."

It only took one glance at the first page to realize what it was. "Is this a prenup?"

"Yes, your grandfather is aware of how you spent your weekend. He's also aware of your proposal and thought it best we get ahead of things." Who the fuck is the spy on my team? I'll think about that later. It doesn't help to take my eye off this one because he's slippery, just like the old man.

Birds of a feather. Grandpa had paid to put him through college a hundred years ago, and he's been his lawyer ever since. The two of them are the oddest pair. An old wealthy white man who was born with a gold spoon up his ass and a black kid from the mean streets of Chicago.

How the two of them came to be, a match made in hell is a story I'd heard all my life. Calvin, the lawyer, had saved Grandpa from a robbery or something when he was fourteen, and that's where their bond began. I can't tell which of the two is more annoying when they start their shit.

"I'm not signing it, and neither is she. If you go around me to get to her, they'll never find your body. Here."

I tossed him the envelope with my own prenup inside. "What's this?"

"Read it." It took him a few minutes.

"There's no protection for you in here. You've only safeguarded the company, but what about your personal assets?"

"I safeguarded the company because I didn't start it, so if things don't work out with her and I it would be safe. As to my assets, I don't need them safeguarded because nothing is going to go wrong between her and I."

"You want me to set up trusts for her daughters?"

"Yes, college fees for six years; find out which school is the most expensive and use that as your blueprint. Two-fifty for each wedding, one million for their first home. It's all spelled out in there."

"You're opening an account for her with five million dollars? You do realize this is a bit excessive, don't you?"

"No, I do not." It may seem that way, but knowing her, she's not going to find it easy to trust without proof, and I don't blame her. Her ex had betrayed her, so how is she to know that I won't do the same?

I'd worked on the prenup over the weekend and made sure it was skewed in her favor so that she'd know I meant business. Taking care of her girls' future would put her mind at ease somewhat and hopefully free her of stress so she could actually enjoy all that I meant to do for her.

"Your grandfather might not like this."

"Tell that old man for me that what I do with my money is none of his business. He could always put his son in this seat and save me the headache of having to deal with his shit."

"I'll be sure to pass on the message." His lips were twitching. He always was a gossiping fuck.

"You do that."

JUSTINE

‘Now, see here, heifer….'

"Let's go!" I was sitting at my desk perusing the Internet for rings because Justice said we needed to get a head start so we could pick something he liked, never mind that I would be the one wearing it.

It"s been a week and a half since his grandfather's lawyer came to see him, and he's been a busy little bee ever since. I didn't know what was going on because he never shared anything with me, and Monique had gone to see her son and I didn't want to interrupt her to get the gossip.

Now, he just stepped out of his office and asked me to follow him. I grabbed my leather-bound folder with the notepad inside, even though he didn't ask me to, and got on the elevator with him.

I've noticed since we came back from that weekend away that whenever we're alone together like this, that tic in his jaw goes haywire, and it always seems like he's fighting to hold it together. He also seemed to be avoiding looking at me for some reason, which made me feel a little bit nervous and lost.

We headed to the conference room, and I was expecting a roomful of people like last time, but there was just one young black man who looked strikingly like his grandfather's lawyer, which made sense after we were introduced.

"Caleb is Calvin's son."

"So, his dad is your grandfather's lawyer, and he is yours?" Why don't they just have the same lawyer? I asked myself that question but didn't voice it out loud.

"Yes, because I don't trust those two old men."

Caleb started laughing and trying to hide it as we sat at the table. I still had no idea what was going on or why I was even there as Marcus sat at the head of the table with me on his right and Caleb on his left.

Then Caleb opened his briefcase and started taking out sheets of paper. I was surprised when he passed them to me as well. "These are your husband's hidden assets…."

"Ex-husband." Marcus reminded him smoothly with no intonation whatsoever in his voice. It's like he was just stating a fact and that's that.

"Yes, sorry. These are your ex-husband's hidden assets, along with all his investments." I stared down at the papers not understanding anything of what I was looking at.

"Where did he get all this money?"

"He was one of the lucky ones who got in on the bitcoin action before it went bust. That's where the bulk of his money came from. He used some of that money to buy rental properties; one condo development is in a college town, and there's an Airbnb in a tourist trap that does pretty well."

I didn't know if to feel anger or sadness. If anything, I hurt for my kids, his kids, that he was hiding this from. Why would he do this? It's not like I was hungry for money or ever asked for more than he was willing to give. I've always gone with the flow and appreciated whatever we got.

Like when he said that things were harder this year with inflation and whatnot, so we weren't going to be able to take the kids on their yearly vacation to Disney, I didn't kick up a fuss. I just decided that the beach house vacation was going to have to be enough for the girls this year.

I'd even started looking for carnivals or anything of the like that was coming to town or going to be close to us. But it wasn't true; he'd been hiding money and assets. "How do I get what my girls are due? Are they entitled to anything, I mean."

"You're their representative here. Of course, there's child support, which we will be going for the maximum you can get according to his pay. But the properties are rightfully half yours by the laws of this state. Since you were a stay-at-home wife, your alimony is going to reflect that."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that since you've been home and haven't used your degree, which will make it harder for you to get back into the workforce, your alimony is going to be fat. I know just the judge to make that happen. She has a boner for deadbeat dads and husbands, especially the ones who hide their assets."

I was feeling better already. "So, we can get as much as I want for my daughters?"

"Yes, ma'am. But is that all you want? You don't want to….?"

"Caleb! No." I looked from Marcus to him and back.

"No, what?"

"Nothing, it's nothing. There was one more thing I wanted to ask. Has he ever been threatening to you or the girls?"

"No, he hasn't."

"Pity, that doesn't matter at this point anyway. Has he been back to the home since the night you confronted him at the party?"

"No!"

"Perfect."

"Why is that perfect?"

"It's an issue of abandonment. Since he abandoned the home and kids, we'll file an injunction that keeps him from returning to your home for now. Has he paid anything towards your children's upkeep since he's been gone?"

"No, come to think of it, I don't think I've bought anything lately, so I haven't been shopping. I have no idea if there's any money in the account."

"Check now."

How did I go for a month without spending money and not realizing it?

‘Big dick energy. Your man's, OUR man's been taking care of shit like a boss.'

Hush, Justice, don't show your ass now; I need to think.

‘What's there to think about? He had groceries delivered, and your kids are being driven everywhere, so you didn't even have to fill up that junk heap you call a car in weeks. That's why you didn't even notice.'

I looked at my phone, where I kept the bank app. There were about thirty dollars in the account, and that's all that had been in there for the month. Paul has no idea that Marcus has been helping me and the girls. So was it his plan to leave me with thirty dollars for a month to feed four people and all the other shit that needed doing throughout the month?

I didn't realize I was vibrating with anger until Marcus reached over and took my hand. "It's okay; it's okay."

"The thing is, you have a job now."

"She doesn't. She hasn't been paid since she's still training as an intern until she gets a handle on things here."

"That's good then, that's good. I'll be filing today. It's the weekend soon, so your ex-husband won't be able to do much of anything. I'll ask for an emergency fund for you and your girls, but if you think of anything else you want…."

"Caleb!"

"Okay, okay-okay, I'm just saying, that bastard needs to be taken down a peg."

"Yes, but I don't want her reliant on him. Trust me, he's not going to get away with anything."

"Okay, I'll trust you on that." He stood and shook hands with Marcus before winking at me when Marcus gave him a look for holding his hand out for me to shake.

He"s such a freak. I can't even shake another man's hand.

‘I like a bossy, disgruntled Daddy. Look at him; he's ready to rip poor Caleb's head off.'

Caleb just laughed as he left the room.

"Now, do you understand why I haven't been paying you?"

"You know, for some reason, I didn't realize that I wasn't being paid."

"That means I've been doing things right. Carl and Monique stocked up your refrigerator and pantry before she left to go to Boston, and the way she shops, I doubt you'd need to do another grocery shopping anytime soon."

"You did all that?"

"Of course, who else?" For the first time at the office, or anywhere else for that matter, I hugged him. "Thank you."