AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Julia
Holy crap!! I could not believe what I was hearing! Grandfather Armani had amended his will? Edward had to be a married father-to-be by the end of October if he wanted his family fortune? I knew I liked that old man! But I never realized he had such a wicked sense of humor. Halloween! What a crack-up! The look on Edward’s face was absolutely priceless. Too bad snapping a picture of it with my phone would’ve been in bad taste. It sure was funny! Man was he ever hopping mad! That surprise marriage/baby clause sure did liven up that dull ol’ meeting!
And the best part for me, of course, was that my job was now secure. Way to go Nonno! Edward was undoubtedly going to need full-time help in finding a wife. Especially one who would be willing to have a child with that emotionally immature playboy. It was gonna require a lot of spin on my part to pawn this guy off on any self-respecting woman. I mean I liked Edward a whole lot and all, but would I want to marry him? And have his baby? That was a pretty tall order – money or not.
Yep, he would definitely still need me whitewashing his public image. I’ll bet we’re talking lots of over time on this too. I would finally be in a position to demand a raise and make my own life better. Maybe I could even afford that trip to Europe I’d been dreaming about…..
It was almost noon now and Edward was still pleading with Raymond Bidwell and trying to negotiate some sort of legal loophole.
“There has to be some way around these outlandish conditions! I need you to get me out of this!”
“Your grandfather’s codicil is as legally binding as the rest of his will. Unfortunately there is no way around his terms. However, there’s nothing in any of the documents that says you have to stay married.”
“That’s true! Now you’re talkin’! I like the sound of that! But in any case how can I protect myself from the inevitable greedy gold-digger?”
“We can draw up a standard prenuptial agreement to avoid any major problems with your prospective wife……..including a tidy little seven-figure sum to ensure the adequate care and education of the child. There’s quite a bit that we can do to protect you financially Edward.”
“Alright! That sounds like a pretty good plan! I’m definitely down with that!”
“But keep in mind you’ll still be somewhat vulnerable… A judge may see your prenuptial as a way to skirt your responsibilities, and juries are known to be less than sympathetic toward billionaires these days… You could be risking half of your empire, or more, given what the stock prices would do under such a circumstance…”
“Well how the hell do I avoid that?”
“It would be advantageous if you had somebody whom you already knew and trusted implicitly; Someone close to you who was already vetted. Ideally she would be a woman who was willing to work with you and make a fair deal. Do you know anyone like that Edward?”
Leave it to Edward to have a conniving schemer for a lawyer. Why was I not surprised? So now what? He’s going to enter into a phony temporary marriage with some poor unsuspecting woman, sire a child with her and then kick her to the curb? Very classy! All of a sudden the room got kinda quiet…… I wondered what was going on……and why the hell was Edward staring at me with that goddamned goofy smile? And now Raymond Bidwell had that same wild-eyed look on his face…….Oh hell no! They can’t be serious! No way in hell was I going to be part of this!
Both men nodded at each other and Edward yelled out “Julia Jones!”
Was he insane?
“No way! Edward c’mon. This goes WAY beyond my job description.”
Edward yanked me by the elbow out of my chair and pulled me over into a corner of the room, only about five feet away from everyone else’s ears. He must have thought that as long as he whispered, that would be enough to ensure a private conversation.
“Are you saying you won’t help me out with this Julia?”
I was furious at being ambushed and I sure as hell was not about to whisper back.
“I don’t know what I’m saying! But we are NOT going to have this conversation right now. You are NOT going to put me on the spot like this. I can’t believe your nerve!”
I grabbed my things off the table and stormed out of the conference room, slamming the door as I exited. I didn’t care how unprofessional it looked.
I called Michael from inside the ladies’ room. My sobbing echoed off the tiled walls and made it hard for my brother to understand what I was saying. Eventually I was able to intelligibly relay my address to him. He comforted me the best he could over the phone and told me he’d get a friend to bring him down to Bidwell’s office; That way he could drive me home in the Tempkar. I was simply not up to fighting with that car after the bizarre morning I had just had. What would I do without my dear sweet Michael?
The restroom had a small sofa in it so I decided to wait there until I got Michael’s text that said I’m here. Where are you? Then I ran out to the parking garage and gave him a big hug as soon as I saw him.
“Thanks so much Michael. Here’s your Tempkard. I hope I didn’t inconvenience you by taking it.”
“No. Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t going anywhere. I just wondered what happened to it, since I knew I had left it on my dresser. But why are you so upset Julia? Why are you crying? What has that Italian mother-fucker done to you this time?”
Michael opened the Ford Focus with his card and we both got in. He backed up the car and pulled out of the lot, shifting like he was some kind of racing pro. I was astounded.
“Where did you learn how to drive a stick?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just taught myself. I used to take Uncle Avery’s old El Camino for a joyride sometimes after he fell asleep. You know back when I lived with him in his Oakland house. He never knew. But please stop changing the subject and tell me what’s the matter.”
On the drive back to our neighborhood, I described my entire morning to Michael including all the sordid details of the meeting and Edward’s proposition.
