Page 5 of Never Let Go

“Mr. O’Brien,” I said as I smiled and extended my hand toward him. “My name is Shelby Lowe and I’m handling your grandfather’s estate on behalf of Harrison and Harrison. It’s very nice to meet you. Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Shelby Lowe.” He repeated my name as he slid his palm into my mine, sending a cascade of fireworks shooting through me at the feel of his firm, dry hand. He canted his head, those green eyes burning as they peered into mine. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

3

FOSTER

As I stared into Shelby’s piercing blue eyes, I knew that I’d seen her somewhere before. The shiny, golden blonde locks framing the delicate, heart-shaped face. Those eyes. I knew her. I knew I did. I just couldn’t figure out where I knew her from.

She released my hand and shook her head, a slight furrow appearing between her eyebrows. “Uh. No. I don’t believe so.”

Taking a step back, she motioned for me to take a seat again and then she turned to walk back around her desk. While she was facing away from me, I saw her shoulders rise and fall on a deep breath, and I frowned, but when she sat down and flashed me a small, sympathetic smile, there was no evidence of nerves or dishonesty on her features.

“Our sincerest condolences for your loss, Mr. O’Brien.” She rolled her chair closer to her desk and pushed a thin file toward me before she folded her arms on the desktop in front of her. “I know this is a trying time for your family. That folder contains all the paperwork and contracts that we’ll need to review before you sign, but if you’d prefer to take it with you, we can—”

I shook my head to stop her. “No, thank you. I’d like to review it all today. Are you sure we don’t know each other?”

“We don’t.” There was a brief flash of something in her eyes, but then she shook her head again. “Alright, if you’d like to review it all today, we can absolutely do that. We will have to set up another meeting to finalize everything, but we will be able to get through the preliminary steps in the next hour or so.”

I nodded, wanting to get whatever this was over with, but I also couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that I knew this woman. Or had known her.

An annoying voice at the back of my head kept telling me that she’d gotten older, but like a fine wine. Her features were sharper, her gaze steadier, and her hair straighter, but still, there was definitely something familiar about her.

As I nodded, she turned to her computer and pulled up a document before she inclined her head at the folder in front of me. “If you turn to page one, you’ll see that you were named as the primary beneficiary of your grandfather’s estate.”

The words snapped me right out of my thoughts, my heart and stomach feeling like they were being yanked by chains from behind. I blinked at her. “The primary beneficiary? That can’t be right. What about Mrs. Chesterfield? I mean, my grandmother.” I cleared my throat. “Surely, she should be the primary everything.”

Shelby shot me a curious look but didn’t pry. Instead, she simply gave her head a light shake. “I’m not at liberty to discuss the remainder of the provisions in your grandfather’s will. He specifically stipulated individual meetings and we’re honoring his wishes to the word.”

“Of course.” I frowned at her. “Are you sure, though? That I’m the primary beneficiary? That just doesn’t seem right.”

“I assure you that there has been no mistake, Mr. O’Brien. Mr. Chesterfield left the bulk of his estate to you. We’ve already spoken with your grandmother as well as several of your grandfather’s closest friends, relatives, and advisors. We’ve also discussed the matter with his personal lawyer. You are the primary beneficiary to his estate.”

Everything in me froze except for my brain, which galloped ahead and spun as I tried to comprehend the words coming out of her mouth. My grandfather hadn’t been a pauper. In fact, the old man had come from old money—generations of it.

When my heart restarted, it was racing too, pumping my blood through my veins so hard I could feel it happening. “Why’d he choose me? I have a brother and a mother. Assuming my grandmother has been taken care of, which I’m pretty sure she has been, what about my mom and my brother? You haven’t called them for any meetings.”

“No, we haven’t,” she said softly, glancing back at her computer and scanning whatever was on her screen for a moment before she turned back to me. “No mention was made in the will of either of them. I’m sorry, sir. I don’t have any answers for you. The only thing I’m privy to is the contents of his last will and testament. We didn’t receive any letters or other personal instructions.”

My mouth dried up and my heart kept going berserk. This made no sense whatsoever, but I supposed she was right. She wouldn’t have the answers to these questions. “Okay. Great. Thanks. Let’s review this, shall we?”

She nodded and started taking me through it slowly, page by page until we got to the paragraph containing the amount of money I was inheriting. At first, I couldn’t breathe. My lungs seized when my gaze caught on the amount of zeroes following the number, and I blinked hard.

That’s millions. A lot of millions. Holy fuck.

I was beyond shocked. I hadn’t been expecting this at all, but on the outside, I played it cool. I need to get this done. I need to get out of here. “Where do I sign?”

“On the solid line on the last page. You also need to initial each of the pages before that. Are you okay? You seem a little bit pale. Can I get you some water?”

“No. Thanks. I’m fine. Just a trying time for the family, like you said earlier.” I grabbed a pen from her desk and scribbled my initials and signature where she’d told me. Then I pushed my chair back. I really did need to get out of here.

This was all just completely unbelievable and overwhelming, and I needed a drink, a fuck, fresh air, and about a million answers. Not necessarily in that order.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Hundreds of millions of dollars? Because my name is Foster? How the hell is that possible?

Doing my best not to hyperventilate, I stood up and shook her hand, already reaching into my back pocket with my other hand to grab my phone to call Porter. As my gaze snagged on hers again though, a brief flicker of a memory suddenly appeared in my mind.

“Wait. Did you go to college at Seattle Green Lake? Honors dorm, right?”