Page 26 of Reckless Chance
“I’m dead serious.”
“What happens if I ignore that provision of the trust agreement?”
“You lose control of the Grand Athena. It will remain in trust for perpetuity. A board of directors will be formed, and the board will decide who runs the hotel going forward. That could be you or anyone else of their choosing.”
“Why the hell was the trust set up that way? Why didn’t I know about this part?”
“My father drew up the trust. I checked with him. He said you were given a copy of the trust document when your dad died. My father tried to explain the various terms to you. You shut him down when he brought up marriage because you never planned to tie the knot. Dad said he insisted that you still read the agreement in its entirety, specifically the marriage clause.
“I’m guessing you didn’t read it because if you had, you would know about this provision. If you ever decided to marry, my father assumed you would reach out to us to prepare a prenup before taking the plunge. He would have gone over the terms with you then.”
“I wasn’t planning to marry. Of course I didn’t read the whole damn document. It’s an inch thick. I skimmed it to understand the key terms. This one must have been buried somewhere. Back to my previous question: Why include this restriction at all?”
My father said it was your dad who insisted on this term. He took marriage extraordinarily seriously and loved your mother deeply. He wanted you to find that same happiness. He didn’t want you to take marriage lightly, and if you got married before 40, he wanted you to give it a real chance. Your dad wanted to require you to stay married for a year. My father talked him into a tiered, age-based scheme instead. The younger you married, the longer the marriage had to last. Since you’re past 35, it’s only three months. You owe my dad for that.”
“Damn it. You know my dad was never the same after Mom died. He couldn’t have been thinking straight. No one in their right mind would include such a draconian requirement. You’re not telling me it’s enforceable, are you?”
“Actually, I am. My father’s an extremely talented lawyer. It’s airtight.”
“Shit. So, you’re saying you can’t get the marriage annulled?”
“No. I’m saying that unless you’re willing to lose the Athena, you’ll stay married, living with Lowri, for three months. After that, we can file for an annulment. There’s also something else you should know. Nevada is a community property state. That means Lowri could own half of all the assets you acquire while you two are married, unless the marriage is eventually annulled.”
“Are you freaking out of your mind? We didn’t even intend to get married. It was an accident,” I say in shock.
“That’s the law. You need to follow the rules of the trust and then get the annulment. It will be as though the marriage never happened.”
“How the hell am I going to convince her to move to Las Vegas for three months?”
Gabe shrugs, saying, “The usual way. Give her something she wants. You’ll come up with something. Give me a call if you need my help. Until then, I need to return to my office.”
Fuck.
I’ve always avoided letting women get their hooks into me, and now I’ve not only been hooked but also been nailed to the wall. My entire future depends on convincing Lowri to help me keep my inheritance.
Wait! Does she need to know? What if I hired her as my lawyer for the lawsuits that Mr. Brentwood’s family are certain to file? She said she could temporarily represent a client in Nevada.
With the help of my management team, we can insist that she work from Las Vegas until the matter is settled. She was there when the accident happened. No lawyer is better positioned to know the facts and look after the Athena’s interests. It would only make sense that she stays with me while she’s here. That would satisfy the term requiring us to live together. With excuses about delayed paperwork for the annulment, we can stay married for the necessary three months.
There’s a problem though. If she ever finds out, she’ll never forgive me for tricking her into staying married longer than necessary.
I’ll tell her. Eventually. I’ll just wait for the right moment.
The next step is to inform my management team that we’ll be engaging Lowri’s legal services.
On the one hand, I’m relieved that telling Lowri about the trust terms can wait a day or so. On the other hand, my shoulders feel the brutal weight of what’s at stake. The consequences of this accidental marriage are potentially devastating.
Based on my experience, most people would think they had won the lottery if they were in Lowri’s situation. Luckily, she doesn’t seem the type to take advantage of me. Let’s hope I’m right because otherwise, with the control that she holds over me, it will be astronomically expensive.
Shit.
18
SEAN
Gabe left me sitting here in stunned silence.
I’m in deep shit. I still can’t believe that Lowri would own half of all the assets I acquire while we’re married if something goes wrong with the annulment.
