His pleased grin infuriated me, but I kept my expression neutral.
“Could you explain to me how you’re cutting into my trust when you, in fact, arenotmy trustee?”
The colors of red his face turned was worth the two-hour drive up here.
“What do you mean I’m not in charge of the trust? Every request you’ve ever made has gone through me.”
I stood up from my chair and walked to the fireplace, shaking my head. “No, not all the requests. I made one yesterday that you would find very enlightening. I’ll save you the trouble of calling and just tell you. I’ve found my mate, and we’re expecting. The next heir to Papa Joe’s trust will be here sometime next year. And as soon as the baby is born, he or she will be the new heir. You see, Father, I hold the cards now, and I’m not playing the game you want to play.”
Father sputtered and turned so red in the face with anger that it looked purple. “How dare you go behind my back. I’ve tried to do my best for you your whole life, and you’ve never appreciated any of it.”
Mom finally jumped in. “Joseph, stop it. You’re only making this worse.” She turned to me and pleaded, “He doesn’t mean it, Joe. You both just need to calm down and talk this out.”
I love my mom, but I’d finally had enough. “No, Mom, I’m done with all this. He tried to marry me off to some man’s daughter like a prize cow for business and a tax break. I’m not a person to him. I’m a means to an end. I don’t think it will ever change, but I don’t care now. I found my mate, and he’s having my baby. We’re going to be the family I always wanted, Mom. You can be a part of it if you like, but not Father.”
I turned to the man I had wanted to be proud of me my whole life. “Goodbye, Father.”
I hugged my mother and walked out the door. “Sweetheart, call me next week. I want to meet him.”
I wasn’t sure if I would, but I hugged her tight and agreed anyway.
On the drive back to Lakeview, I decided to call my trustee. I stopped at a small diner and sat in the parking lot so I could have privacy. He answered on the third ring.
“Hello, Mr. Langford. It’s so good to finally hear from you. How can I help you today?”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Moffett. I was wondering if I could set up a time to meet. I’ve had a few situations arise very recently that will impact my life significantly, and I’d like to get some clarification on some things.”
“Absolutely, we can set up a meeting, but it’ll have to be after the new year. I’m currently not in the country, but can you tell me which of your situations you’re most concerned about? If it’s your mate being pregnant, I can email you a form to fill out with his name and the baby’s information, and we can add one or both to your trust in any percentage or limited access arrangement you wish. I will inform you that if and when you marry, any and all distributions from the ancillary trust to the company will end. You may wish to extend them, but it would be at your discretion.”
“Wait, you mean when I get married, the money my father has been taking from a related trust will stop?”
“Yes, sir, that’s correct. At that time, the only income would be the business and its assets. Your grandfather set it up this way because he believes, and rightly so, that his son, your father, wouldn't be as frugal or smart about his finances as he had been. He knew your mother would do a good job raising you, so he, in essence, skipped your father and settled it on you.”
Holy shit!
“Jesus, Mr. Moffett, then he’s been treating me like a surrogate for his inheritance this whole time?”
“Please, call me Grover. I tried to explain to him over the years that he had absolute limits when it came to the principle and all tangible assets, but he tried anyway. I’m so glad you’re taking an interest now.”
“Thank you, Grover. So as far as my mate, Preston, is concerned, as soon as we’re married he can be added to the account?”
“That’s correct, but you don’t have to be married for you to add him. That’s up to you. The only thing the marriage does is nullify the ancillary income.”
“So if I marry someone my father doesn't have an arrangement with, then he’s screwed.
Is that basically it?”
He chuckled and agreed. “That is exactly it.”
I nodded to myself in that empty parking lot and started to form a plan, but I had one more question. “One last thing, could you tell me the principal balance of the trust and any other assets? I’ve never been told anything about it other than it’s there.”
Grover mumbled for a moment to himself, then answered, “As of closing yesterday, the principal in the trust is nine hundred and sixty-six million. I can email you a breakdown of tangible assets, including real estate holdings, precious metals, gemstones, and other holdings, but a conservative estimate would be about another half a billion, maybe more. Did you want me to add you to the monthly statement email?”
I was stunned stupid for so long that Grover cleared his throat loudly. “Are you still there, Joe?”
I collected myself enough to answer. “Umm, sure. Yeah, I’m still here. I had no idea it was that much. I’m just surprised.”
His belly laugh made me smile. “Hell, I nearly have a heart attack every time I look at the balance for you. I get it. Now that you know, you can decide what to do with it, if anything.”
