“Okay.Wait.Time out.”I made a T with my hands.“Who the fuck is our grandfather?”
Mr.Pendleton grimaced again.“That information is confidential.”
Archer hefted with a humorless laugh.“You seriously can’t tell us?”
“I can’t.It’s very explicitly stated in the will.”
“So Mysterious Grandpa wants to give us fourteen billion dollars but doesn’t want us to know who he was?”I asked.
“It seems that way,” Mr.Pendleton said.“I don’t presume to know the reasons.I am just here to deliver the information and allow you two to make your own decisions.”
I sighed, nodding.“Okay.Yeah.Well, let’s hear the conditions that Mystery Gramps placed.”
Mr.Pendleton cleared his throat.“The sum of fourteen billion dollars would be divided between the living heirs.There are others, so this fortune will ultimately be divided.Your portions would come to something close to two billion each.This would only be paid out if you comply with the conditions your grandfather set forth.He requested that his grandchildren be legally married by December 31 of this year.Married in a genuine fashion.Motivated by love, not financial gain.”
I squinted at Mr.Pendleton.I was beginning to think this was a joke.Was it possible this guy had done a little research on the internet, wandered in from the street, and was set up with a hot mic to record our reaction?What were the odds this was all an elaborate prank?
“Now I think you’re fucking lying,” I said.
“That has to be illegal,” Archer added.
Mr.Pendleton laced his fingers together, barely flinching at our reaction.“Not lying and not illegal.Like I said, how you proceed is entirely up to you.There’s nothing compulsory in the will.The only requirement, should you comply, is that the marriage must be completed by a specific date and with a specific motive.”
“How would anyone verify if we’d married for love?”I asked, unable to keep the laughter out of my voice.
“There’s a committee, of sorts,” he replied.
“A committee.Of sorts,” I repeated.This sounded like a load of bullshit.
“And if we don’t marry?”Archer asked.
“Your portion of the inheritance will go to charity,” Mr.Pendleton said.“All of it.”
Silence flooded the conference room.I leaned back in my chair, swiveling slightly so I could look at Archer.
“How many others are there?”I asked finally, feeling something slicing through my chest.It was just the pain of the past resurfacing to the present, even though I’d convinced myself I’d left it behind decades ago.“Living heirs.”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” Mr.Pendleton said.
“Cousins…siblings…?”My voice disappeared for a moment as I forced myself to say the word.“Parent?”
“Like I said, I can’t speak further on that aspect according to the dictates of the will.I wish I could, but I can’t.”
We all looked at each other for a few moments as the news sank in.I still didn’t fully believe it.Two billion dollars from a grandfather I never knew, as long as I married someone for love?
Absolute bullshit.
“Okay.Well, thanks for your time.”I surged to my feet, more than ready for this meeting to be over.Mr.Pendleton, hot mic’d or not, was treading in dangerous waters when it came to my past.“We’ll be considering the information you provided us with today.”
“I’m leaving the legal documents that relate to your portion of the inheritance,” Mr.Pendleton said, pushing the papers he’d laid out before across the table and snapping his briefcase shut.“It has our office information, my number, email, anything you might need in the meantime.And if you do proceed with the conditions, the information about next steps is there as well.”
“Excellent.”I did not think this was excellent.“Thank you.”
Archer and I shook hands with Mr.Pendleton before seeing him out of the conference room.As soon as the door swung shut behind him, Archer turned to me with a scowl on his face.
“There’s no fucking way,” he spat.
“None,” I agreed.
