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When neither Teague nor I stood, he waved us over. If this was Kane Zegas, he certainly didn’t seem interested in schmoozing potential clients.
We hustled down the hall through a set of double mahogany doors into an expansive office.
“I read the letter.” He tossed his briefcase on his desk and collapsed in the chair behind it. “I also had a surface check of assets of the deceased.”
Teague and I took the chairs in front of his desk, even though he hadn’t offered them. I liked that Mr. Zegas, at least I presumed that was who this was, was so detached. If he’d referred to my family as such, it made them more human, more real. And I needed the distance.
For all practical purposes, they were strangers to me even if I shared their blood.
“They had zilch.” Zegas leaned back, clearly at ease in his domain. “They were behind on everything. Utilities, property taxes, loans.”
I appreciated that this man had practically no time to study the situation, yet he was familiar enough with it that he didn’t even refer to any notes.
“If you have nothing, why would you go to the trouble of paying an attorney to sort out your estate?” His sharp gaze landed on me.
It was such a simple question, one that made perfect sense. I felt silly for not thinking of it earlier. In the onslaught of emotion, it hadn’t occurred to me how odd it was my aunt had a lawyer.
“When is the last time you had contact with the deceased?”
“Thirteen years ago,” I answered easily. “My aunt, that is. I wasn’t aware my parents were alive.”
He picked up a pen and made a note. “When you were in correspondence with her, were you ever aware of her retaining legal counsel?”
“No.”
There’d been one lawyer in Cope. We knew who he was, but he and his family lived in the biggest house in town and pretty much didn’t know people like us existed.
“Do you want the property in question?”
The man didn’t waste time, and I appreciated his directness. Teague remained quiet, like he was a silent support beside me. I was so glad he was here.
“Absolutely not.” I never wanted to go back to South Carolina, let alone own the property that would only remind me of my mistakes.
“I’ll draft a letter rejecting the assets. If you accept them, you can be held liable for the associated debt. Since you have no interest, and you aren’t legally obligated to take them, this should be fairly cut and dried.” He put on a pair of reading glasses. “I’ve contacted a colleague of mine licensed to practice in the state of South Carolina. I’ll have him cross-check in case there are any laws I’m not aware of.”
“Thank you.” My head spun. Was it this easy to get rid of the mess they’d left me?
“The thing you need to ask yourself is who retained that attorney. How did he know where you are? Why would they bother to involve you?” Zegas leaned forward, his gaze penetrating.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
“Can you fix this?” Teague asked tightly.
Zegas flicked an annoyed glance in his direction. “I said I could.”
“Sorry I’m late. New baby. No sleep.”
We spun around. A younger man in an equally expensive looking suit rushed into the office.
“I don’t know why Elliott thinks we need you too,” Zegas muttered.
“I’m Patrick Whitley,” the other man said as he dropped onto a nearby sofa. He pulled papers from his briefcase and scattered them on the coffee table.
“By all means, make yourself at home.” Zegas waved his arm in the general direction of the sitting area. “I thought you weren’t practicing anymore anyway.”
I glanced between the two men, confused by their dynamic. Did they like each other?
“Which is why you should be grateful I’m here,” Whitley said.
