To most people one hundred million dollars would have been an incredibly generous bequest. In fact, if anyone else but Trenton had left that much to the college, Humphrey would have been ecstatic.
The problem was that while Trenton had never come out and told Humphrey precisely how much he would be leaving the school when he died, hehadgiven Humphrey the impression that the amount would be at least double what it had ended up being.
Humphrey had been counting on that amount to get him out of his predicament.
And not only was the amount half of what he expected, Trenton had laid down rules on its use.
How dare he do that to Humphrey? Who was he to determine where the money was most needed?
It wasn’t until the wee hours of the morning, when Humphreyhad finally calmed down enough to think straight, that he realized the solution to his problem was in the will.
Anyone who contested Trenton’s last wishes in court and failed would see their share of the inheritance divided among the remaining beneficiaries.
Humphrey had done his research and knew Barrington was a big shot at one of the most prestigious firms in the country. So unlike Trenton’s son Aaron, Humphrey believed Barrington when he said that there was no chance of someone winning a challenge.
While he had no intention of mounting said challenge himself, hecouldencourage Aaron to do so.
The college’s split of Aaron’s inheritance would make its share come out to even more than the two hundred million Humphrey had expected. And if he could convince Aaron to fall on the sword, there was an excellent chance Ryan would follow his brother’s lead.
That would mean the college would receive half of the estate, or just over a billion dollars.
Humphrey all but salivated at the thought.
That would be more than enough money to cover the bad investments he had made without the board of trustees’ knowledge and leave plenty to pay for Trenton’s stupid scholarship idea.
For a few minutes, he even fantasized about tricking the long-lost daughter into joining her half brothers’ suit and having the entire estate land in his lap. Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure out a way to make that happen. Shewasthe reason Aaron was not happy about the will, after all.
So be it. Humphrey would have to be satisfied with what he could get.
He waited until seven a.m., then sent a text.
Hi Aaron. It’s Oliver Humphrey, of Oliver Humphrey College. I was wondering if you’d like to meet up for lunch. After yesterday, I’m sure we have lots to talk about.
He hoped Aaron would interpret the message as Humphrey sharing his concerns about the will. But if anyone else saw the text and questioned him about it, he could easily say that he only wanted to calm Aaron down after his outburst in Barrington’s office.
His effort bore fruit less than ten minutes later, when he received a reply.
Monkey Bar. 12:30.
Aaron was already at therestaurant when Humphrey arrived.
“Is your brother joining us?” Humphrey asked after he took a seat.
“Why should he?”
The terseness of Aaron’s answer caught Humphrey off guard.
“No reason,” Humphrey said, then picked up his menu. “Lunch is on me, by the way.”
Aaron lifted his menu but said nothing.
A waiter approached their table soon after. “Something to drink?”
“Gibson martini,” Aaron said.
“Very good. And you, sir?” he asked Humphrey.
“A glass of the Domaine Laroche Chardonnay.”
