AllFreeNovel
Share Us
OH WOW,”I SAY, SWALLOWING HARD.“CHECK OUTTHISONE.”
She takes the phone from me, digests the caption, and shakes her head. “If he doesn’t take no for an answer out in nature, where else is that word a problem for him? When you get home, why don’t you do an internet search and see if anything turns up. If he’s stalked other women, he might have even been arrested.”
“Right,” I say, already anxious about what I might find and kicking myself for not doing a thorough search when he first asked me to dinner. “Thanks for all your wisdom on this.”
“I’m glad I could help a little,” she says, and I realize she thinks this is the subject I wanted her advice on.
“Do you mind if I actually ask you something else, though?”
“Sure, go right ahead.”
For a brief moment, I find myself hesitating.Am I really going to share something so private with a near stranger?I’m not in the habit of unloading stuff on other people, not even Nicky. And it feels like such an imposition, especially after all the advice Mikoto has given me in the two days I’ve known her. But I need to protect the moneyand that means I need a lawyer, and she’s the only person I can think of who might have leads.
I give Mikoto the broad strokes: a guy named C.J. who I had a one-night stand with over a decade ago has died and left me money (I call it a “significant” amount rather than share the exact figure); his wife is furious and is apparently going to claim I’m an extortionist; it’s been suggested I consult with a lawyer, but I have no idea where to find one.
“Wow,” she says once I’m finished. “My life is starting to look like twenty-four-hour C-SPAN compared to yours.”
“Well, until last week,mylife made C-SPAN look like a Jason Bourne movie.”
She laughs, then her expression turns serious. “When you say you didn’t speak to the guy again after that night, you meannever? Not even one more time?”
“Right, never. No phone calls, emails, texts, anything. We didn’t even exchange contact info.”
She nods softly, clearly accepting my answer at face value, which is refreshing after Kane’s dubious reaction.
“And he didn’t leave any kind of letter with the estate lawyer explaining his reason for making you the beneficiary?”
“No, nothing like that. And the lawyer claims to be in the dark about the reason.”
She cocks her head, clearly weighing what to say next.
“Here’s my take—and keep in my mind I’m not an attorney yet, okay?” she says, and I nod, eager for her to continue. “If you didn’t have any further contact with him, it’s going to be impossible for his wife to prove extortion. And that theory doesn’t even make sense anyway. If you were extorting him about a brief moment of infidelity, why would you accept terms that didn’t give you the money until he was dead?”
She’s right. If I’d been desperate to get my hands on the cash, Iwould hardly have settled for a payday at some undetermined date in the future. I would have demanded itimmediately. I feel a tiny swell of relief—until Mikoto flips her palms up, in a way that suggests she’s about to deliver an “on the other hand” kind of comment.
“Of course, the wife might use other grounds to contest the gift, or she might try to hold it up in probate just for spite.”
I prop my elbows on the table and let my face sink into my hands. “Oh god.”
“A good estate lawyer will know more. The firm where I did my internship last summer doesn’t have an estate practice, but my uncle’s a lawyer here in the city, and he might have some names. I can give him a call.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
“Thank you,” I say, incredibly grateful. “Thank you so much.”
As she takes another sip of her coffee, her expression is pensive, and I sense she’s still mulling over what I’ve told her.
“One more question,” she says. “Do you have any idea yourself why this guy left you the money?”
I shake my head. “None. Zero. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure it out, but I’m drawing a blank so far. My only guess is that it was a spur-of-the-moment thing after he found out he was dying. Maybe he’d always felt oddly nostalgic about our night together or it had happened during a difficult period in his life and for some reason that helped him get through it.”
“And then when he found out he had only months to live, he decided to do something generous for you in return?”
“Right. Or maybe he just wanted to do one wild and crazy thing before he died.”
Mikoto looks off briefly, pursing her lips together and then returns her gaze to me. I love how she manages to always seem engaged, concerned even, but at the same time unflappable. “Like Isaid before, I’m not qualified to give any legal advice yet, but if I were you, there’s one step I’d take even before meeting with an attorney.”
