Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
“We understand,” Matthew says smoothly as he steeples his hands in front of him.
Jace nods along with his brother, but I see him looking around the room, assessing my office. “We were told she was visiting here for some fresh air.”
“Ah yes, I let Oliver know that Miss Cinder would be staying here until she felt better. The country air seems to do people wonders.” I slide my hand under my desk and clench it into a fist so that I can keep my cool.
“That was very gracious of you,” Matthew agrees. “She wasn’t feeling her best at the time you came to visit.”
“Is she close by? We’d like a chance to speak to her,” Jace asks, and I have to bite my tongue. “Our mother misses her and would like for us to give her a message.”
“That can be arranged after our meeting.” I nod and put on a polite smile. “In the interests of saving time, I’ll get to the point. I spoke with Sebastian Evermore, the president of Evermore Holdings.”
“Yes, we met with him a few weeks ago.” Matthew is the one speaking again, so I’m assuming he’s the one in charge of their financial assets.
“He told me that you two were looking for a more permanent position in Cinder Financial once—” I grab the paper off my desk and scan it over for the exact language even though I’ve got it memorized. “Ella Cinder is unable to fulfill her duties and is no longer the designated beneficiary.”
Matthew and Jace share a quick look before Matthew nods. “That’s correct. But we’ve also taken into consideration that Ella’s presence will give the board a sense of leadership, and we’ve decided to include her.”
“Oh?” I sit back in my seat and do my best to keep my position casual. “How do you plan on including her?”
“We’re getting married,” Jace says as he sits up a little straighter. “I thought—”
“We thought,” Matthew corrects him.
“We thought it would be good for business to keep it in the family, so to speak.”
Rage bubbles inside me like hot lava, but I was prepared for this. Ella told me everything, and I’ve spent the last few weeks planning for this moment.
“Yes, now that the contract is null, the estate can be closed,” Matthew continues. “We’ve secured support from Evermore Holdings and plan to hold the wedding ceremony this week. Once Jace and Ella are married, we can start working on a baby.”
“We?” I say, and I’m surprised at how calm my voice is.
“They.” Matthew pretends to laugh it off, and I see Jace cut his eyes over to his twin. “I misspoke. My brother and Ella can begin to start a family. It’s one more way to secure the future of Cinder Financial.”
“I’d like to be perfectly clear on this since I’ve got a stake in Evermore Holdings.” I straighten some of the documents on my desk before I look up at the twins. “You two, who have absolutely no experience in investments, property acquisitions, business, or literally anything related to making money want to take over one of the wealthiest financial portfolios in the country?”
Based on their blank expressions, they look like I’ve just told them that I’m part dolphin.
“I don’t think that’s an accurate assessment—”
“Oh it’s more than generous,” I cut off Matthew and stand from my desk. “I’d like to point to section four in the will that includes the pregnancy clause. This legality is tricky, and I had my team of lawyers look into its validity.”
“Why would you do that?” Jace scowls, his and his brother’s casual demeanors quickly fading.
“Since I’m the one that got her pregnant, that makes her my responsibility,” I say as I look between the both of them. “And before you start to make demands or stomp out of here in a rage, I want to make a few things very, very clear.”
Jace’s face pales, and Matthew’s turns red with anger. Slowly, I walk around to the front of my desk and stand over them as I lay out exactly what’s going to happen next.
“You two will vacate the Cinder Estate by the end of the day. I’ve got a group of men waiting out front to take you back and make sure that it’s done.” Matthew starts to open his mouth, but I hold up a finger to stop him. “You will be allowed to see your mother under supervised visitation that is prearranged and at an alternate location.”
“You can’t keep her from us,” Jace hisses.
“I can, and I will,” I say evenly. “You will be provided a monthly stipend from your mother’s estate that was established before her marriage to Ella’s father.”
“That’s nothing!” Matthew roars as he stands so quickly his chair nearly topples over. “You can’t expect us to live off of that.”
“You two have all but drained her dry while waiting on a payday from Ella. I will no longer allow you to have access to her money without her consent, and now that Ella is her power of attorney, she’ll be the one to make those decisions.”