Gigi whirled on me, long blond hair flying. “You’ve got no room to talk,Uncle Absent. Luke doesn’t even know your name.”
“That’s not true,” I argued.
“Pfft.” Gigi shook her head. “You Barringtons are all the same. Deluded. Oh, fuck this line. I need a drink.”
She stomped off, and Miranda pursed her lips. “I hope she doesn’t make a scene,” Miranda said.
“Gigi is a walking scene.” I shrugged. “At least she’s authentic.”
Miranda rolled her eyes, and I smiled. An authentic smile. Because Miranda had always been a pain in my ass, but now? She was officially the enemy. If my stepmother thought she was essential, and taking my company, Gigi was right.
Miranda Barrington was deluded.
Late that night,the staff alerted me that Gigi had asked for a car to take her and Luke to the airport the next day. So before the sun came up, I called my legal team.
“Gigi’s trying to take Luke back to New York,” I said as soon as my long-time attorney picked up the phone. “Can I stop her?”
“Yes,” Alan said. “She doesn’t have custody. William had full custody, and he’s made provisions for the boy in his will.”
“What are the provisions?” I asked.
“Are you sitting down?” Alan asked.
“For fuck’s sake, Alan. Spit it out.”
“You are Luke’s guardian,” he said, and I sighed in relief.
“But there’s abut, Rhodes. I reviewed the trust this morning. Your father and brother each revised their estate planning documents a few months ago.”
My pulse quickened.No one told me about this.“What’s changed? Am I still the heir to Barrington Enterprises?”
“Yes,” he said immediately. “But there are new stipulations. In order to take over the company and retain custody of Luke, you have to meet certain conditions. Both your father’s and your brother’s trusts named the same conditions—if you don’t meet them, Miranda gets control of the company.”
Over my dead body.“What sort of conditions?”
“You have to be married. The trust says you have to be married within thirty days.” He let that sink in. “And you have to stay married for a minimum of five years.”
“What?”
“Andyou and your wife have to make Barrington Manor your primary residence,” Alan added.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No, Rhodes, I’m not. You have to get married ASAP,staymarried, and move into Barrington Manor. Or you’ll lose everything.”
I dropped into the closest chair, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. You have todosomething: find a wife. ASAP,” Alan said.
We hung up, and I stared at the wall.
Find a wife ASAP.
My mind raced. My father and brother had boxed me into a corner. I wondered if they were laughing at me from the other side.Probably.
The good news was that I had custody of Luke—Gigi couldn’t take him. I quickly texted Philips, our longtime butler, instructing security to escort her from the premises. She’d be leaving Barrington Manor alone.
I also instructed Philips to give Gigi a large quantity of cash so she’d go quietly. She would burn through it quickly, I knew—a million dollars wouldn’t keep her away for long. But she needed to be gone today.
