Page 38 of The Acquisition

"Yes, he replaced me with my cousin."

"That explains this then," he murmured to himself as he pulled up another document.

Colt leaned forward. "Shit. That's to an attorney?"

Doug nodded. "Yeah, it looks like he's trying to gain access to your inheritance since you won't be in an executive position in the company. He is arguing that your incompetence in the handling of Easton Vodka led to the financial decline of the company's financial position, and that led to your demotion."

"Wouldn't I have had to be notified about this?" I asked.

"All the correspondence was sent to the apartment you were prohibited from occupying."

"My inheritance wouldn't be enough to cover the money the business is hemorrhaging."

"What is the total of your assets in your inheritance?"

"Well, there's my apartment, some stock in the company, and an account of ten million dollars."

"How much stock?" Doug pushed.

My brow furrowed. "I think about five percent."

"You think?"

"My dad said–" I never once questioned what I was told, and I never asked to see the will.

Colt leaned forward. "We need to find the rest of the will."

FOURTEEN

COLTER

Jana settled back into the guest room after our meeting with Doug. She was even more rattled than when she was locked out of her apartment. Everything she'd believed to be true was shaken. Her life was changing dramatically, and I knew I had to give her some space to let it all settle. At least I did for one night.

I've always been an early riser. For more years than I care to count, I'd woken with the sun after tossing and turning all night. The sun was the permission I needed to finally end my nightly torment. This morning, however, I found myself waking from an abundance of excitement about what the day might hold.

I went about my morning ritual, making coffee and scrolling through various stock reports and the news, while waiting for my lawyer to get back to me. Doug had hit a brick wall, and we needed a bit more legal muscle in order to track down the missing will of Jana's grandfather, the man she was named for, Janus Easton.

I'd barely poured my second cup of coffee when my phone started to ring.Caroline Jamesflashed across my screen. I scrambled to grab my phone and accept the call.

"Thanks for getting back to me so fast, Caroline. Did the court grant the injunction preventing Maxwell Easton from accessing Jana's accounts?"

Caroline was the best estate lawyer on the West Coast. If she wasn't able to protect Jana's assets, no one would be able to.

One of the reasons I insisted Jana and I reach out to Caroline was to keep Maxwell from liquidating Jana's assets to dig himself out of the legal trouble currently splashed all over the media.

"I did. I'm also working to track down the complete Last Will and Testament of Janus Easton. I've never seen anything like this. The entire document should be on file with the court, but there's docket numbers without files. I'm trying to find Janus' attorney, but he retired years ago."

"Doug told Jana and I last night that it appeared her grandparents didn't trust her father. I'm willing to bet there's a backup somewhere."

"Good point. We'll go through all Janus' transactions before his passing and see if we can find a thread. Was there anything else you needed?"

"A judge. We've already got a marriage license." I held my breath while waiting for my longtime lawyer and friend to release her opinion.

I heard her exhale on the other side of the line, and I could picture her pinching the bridge of her nose. "How long have we known each other?"

It was a rhetorical question. We were in the same undergrad classes at the University of Washington. "Since you shot me down when I asked you out during freshman English class."

"Me telling you I prefer women was not shooting you down," she scoffed. This was a common exchange between us over the last twenty years.

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