Page 55 of The Billionaires' Prize

“What about Ford?”

“Okay, he’s the other.”

“And Sutton,” she prompts.

“And Sutton,” I agree. Three good men.

“And your dad isn’t so bad.”

I’m not sure our relationship will ever feel normal after I was so cringe to him. To be fair, I’d believed my mother’s lies. It took years to realize that some people can build such a web of deceit the fabrication feels completely true and plausible.

“But my grandfather was a manipulative bastard.” I take a deep breath and tell her about the inheritance stipulation.

She’s silent so long I reach for the phone to make sure the call is still connected.

It feels good to share that truth with someone who understands. We’ve known each other for years. Shared so many secrets. We’ve been there through ups and downs and twists and turns. Heartbreak and triumph. Lost pets and family members. Holding our breath together through college admissions.

And now this.

One last twist of the knife from the grave.

Shon’s grandparents adore her. They don’t have the means to leave her billions of dollars, but I’m positive that they’d never insist she marry someone in order to inherit anything.

“That scumbag!” Her outburst brings a smile to my face and warm, squishy feelings to my chest. “You went to Harvard! Attended all those boring board meetings. Ohmygod! What is wrong with him? You did everything they asked you to do. You’re gorgeous and smart and capable. What more does he want?”

“For me to have a husband, apparently.”

An indecipherable sound explodes from her lips, and she starts babbling about legalities and guys who need a swift kick in the nuts.

“Now, do you see why I’m tired of talking about men?”

“I’m spiraling.”

I huff a laugh. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I drank an entire bottle of Chardonnay,” I admit.

“I’ll join you. I can’t believe he did that. What the actual, and I say this with my full and ample chest, hell was he thinking?”

This is what I love about LaShonda. She loves fiercely. Once she’s in your corner, she’s not leaving. She’ll fight for her friends and support them with her last breath.

My other friends are more subdued. Which is probably why my mom didn’t want me around Shon. Shon’s real. She’s loyal to things that really matter.

“If I had to put money on it,” I say, sliding my left stocking into place, “I’d say he didn’t believe a woman was smart enough to handle her own money. And that we’re too emotional.” I roll my eyes. “Which is ridiculous because his own daughter has been at the helm of the company for years.”

“In name only,” Shon scoffs.

True. Grandfather never could fully let go of the reins. Even after he’d appointed my mother, he’d gone behind her back and made backroom deals that left her screaming like a banshee. Luckily, that wasn’t long before I left for Harvard, so I didn’t bear the brunt of most of her wrath.

“Anyway. So that’s that. Stupid flu. If I’d been well enough, I wouldn’t have been blindsided by the whole thing.”

“Ford didn’t tell you?”

“He didn’t go. You know how he is. He distanced himself a long time ago.”

“Did your grandfather leave him anything?”

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