Chapter Five
“Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Atheron and Mr. William.” An older gentleman spoke from the screen of Willem’s laptop. He and Willem were gathered around the island in the kitchen, while Sadie and Derek had taken the kids in town to do a little early Christmas shopping – the perfect excuse to get the kids out of the house while Eli and Willem attended the virtual reading of the will. Damn COVID and all the restrictions it brought with it, Eli thought.
“Of course.” Willem sat next to him on a barstool. “We understand that we’re waiting on a few more to join?”
“Yes.” Jonathan Grantstaff gave a solemn nod. “Mr. Atheron’s mother and father also need to be present for the reading of the will. We should get started shortly. I like to give a few minutes extra when dealing with these virtual meetings. Technology and all that jazz.” He gave Eli a small smile. “I know this is hard for everyone concerned. Reed spoke fondly of you, Elias. His loss is heart-breaking.”
“Thank you.” Eli whispered, tears burning the back of his eyes. This was ridiculous. He still shouldn’t be tearing up at the mere mention of his brother, especially when Reed would’ve expected him to be strong.
“It’s okay, boy.” Willem whispered softly, his hand finding Eli’s and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Once this is over, we’ll go up to the playroom and you can play with your trains, okay?”
He nodded, wanting nothing more than to curl up with Willem and pretend he didn’t have to be an adult today.
A few seconds later another ping sounded from the computer, then his mother’s visage appeared on the screen. He stiffened. Lillian Atheron hadn’t changed much in the past seven months. Her ivory hair was coiffed to perfection, her pale chiffon pink lipstick accented her pursed lips, her green eyes, so similar to his own, narrowed in disapproval, and her ivory skin held nary a wrinkle. Personally, Eli thought she looked like she was sucking on a lemon, but he knew his mother had been seeing a surgeon for years to help her keep her youthful appearance.
“Mrs. Atheron, welcome,” Mr. Grantstaff spoke politely. “Is your husband with you as well?”
“Edmund has been called out of town on business. He’ll be joining shortly from our office in Montana. So hard to get good help these days, as I’m sure you’re aware of.” She spoke the words matter-of-factly, as if she weren’t making a subtle dig about the fact that she thought it was his fault that the Montana office was struggling. It had been her decision to disown him and strip him of his position as Sales Director of the Montana office.
He opened his mouth to blast her when he felt the gentle nudge of his electronic pet Tamagotchi against his fingers. He refrained from looking over at his daddy, even as he accepted the device. He rubbed his thumb over the edge of it, taking comfort in its familiar presence. Petey had seen him through so much. This would be no different.
“Good boy.”
Willem’s barely audible praise helped him relax. Thank God Willem was here. Otherwise, this could get nasty fast.
“Then we’ll wait for a few minutes more.” Mr. Grantstaff replied. “I cannot proceed without all those who have a stake in the will being present.”
“Totally understandable, Jonathan.” Willem spoke up for the first time since Lillian had joined. He and Daddy went back several years and were close friends. It’d been Willem who’d recommended the other man to Reed when he’d been looking into writing a will after his ex-wife’s death. Personally however, Eli hadn’t ever met the man before today.
“Why is that man here?” she asked abruptly. “He should have no stake in my son’s estate.”
Mr. Grantstaff frowned. “As Elias’s partner, he very much has a reason to be present.”
“Is that what he’s calling it these days?” Lillian spat. “I refuse to have him present. If he’s not listed directly in Reed’s Last Will and Testament, he has no business being privy to what should be a private family matter.”
“I want him here, Mother. Willem has been a godsend in the aftermath of Reed’s death. As my partner, whatever Reed has put in place will affect him as well.”
“Ridiculous! You’re just too wrapped up in his proclivities to see the truth…”
“Enough!” Willem gritted out, the vein his temple visibly throbbing. Eli normally loved how protective his lover was, but now wasn’t the time for Willem to go into protective Dom mode.
“It’s okay, Will. Just let it go. She’s just a bitter old woman who is too set in her ways to accept that love is love.” He gave his daddy’s knee a reassuring squeeze.
“Only for you, boy.” He drew a deep breath in, obviously fighting back anger.
“How quaint,” Lillian scoffed. “He’s just after your inheritance, Elias. Mark my words.” Lillian warned.
Anger filled Eli. “This is not the time nor the place for this, Mother. You’ve made your feelings on my relationship quite clear, and they have no bearing on the matter at hand. All I can do is be grateful that the children aren’t here to witness their grandmother acting this way.”
Before she could give another cutting response, another ping filled the air and his father’s visage joined his mother’s on the screen.
“So sorry for the delay.” Andrew Atheron was the opposite of his wife in appearance. His once red curls were now streaked with white at the temples, and Eli knew that he was looking at the image of how he himself would appear in forty years. Other than his mother’s eyes, Eli was the spitting image of his lanky father. “I got wrapped up in a consultation request. Please proceed.”
“Of course.” The lawyer had an obvious look of relief on his face. Eli would have to send a thank you note with some chocolates or something to Jonathan as a thank you for dealing with Lillian and the drama she brought to the meeting. The man had a notorious sweet tooth. “Let us get started on this, shall we?”
There was a shuffle of papers as the man arranged something in front of him, then a click as the legal document appeared on the left side of the screen. “Okay, I’ve shared Reed’s Last Will and Testament, so you can follow along….” Then he began to read the legal jargon, most of which was white noise to Eli, because, honestly, he didn’t care how monetary stuff was divided up. All he was concerned about was Raelynn and Jeremy. Their happiness was paramount to him. Even if the kids ended up not staying with him and Willem, he wanted them happy and taken care of.
“Now, with the bulk of his estate going into trust for his children, Mr. Reed has appointed Hill Brothers Trust and Bank to manage and distribute the funds as needed to the children’s legal guardian.”
