Page 30 of Code of Heart
Aurelia forced a smile, uncharacteristically annoyed with her friend. “I don’t want to monopolize too much of your day. Give me a call when you're settled with your new phone so we can go grab drinks. My treat.”
Selene grinned mischievously. “Absolutely.”
Thankfully, Charles was in Eleanor’s study when Aurelia peeked in. Her timing was perfect as he was currently between meetings. He smiled with relief as she sat.
“What a lovely surprise,” he said warmly, then blinked. “Your hair!”
She grinned, running her fingers through it. “What do you think? It was a bit of an impulse, but I wanted something different.”
“Definitely different! It’s quite becoming on you. Had you asked my opinion before seeing it, I wouldn’t have thought it a good idea. But even an old man can learn new things.”
She blushed. Compliments still threw her off, but she was starting to enjoy receiving them.
“What brings you to see me? Hopefully, an update from your consultation?”
“A few things. First, I hadn’t been able to get a hold of Selene for days, so I came here to track her down.” She then noted Selene hadn’t said a word about her hair and frowned.
Maybe that’s why I was annoyed with her.
“Second, I wanted to talk about the Harvest Charity Ball and how I can help...and yes, also updates about the consultation.”
“Let’s start with the consultation.” Charles pulled up a document. “I have a preliminary draft prenuptial agreement ready for your review. The most prominent section that I added states that any assets or inheritance, current or future, will remain separate.”
Aurelia raised a brow.
“This protects you without requiring disclosure until you're ready. It’s your choice whether or not to share with your husband. That conversation would fall under spousal privilege and not violate Eleanor’s anonymity clause.”
Relief washed over her, followed directly by unease.
“That makes sense.” Her next sentence was slow and drawn out, a foolish attempt at evading the inevitable. “Estrella told me she had a potential match in mind,” she said softly, toying with the strap of her bag.
Charles’s brows shot up. “That quickly?”
“I met with her yesterday, and she had another client sign on at almost the same time...There could be a wedding in a week if everything works out.”
“How do you feel about that? You’re suspiciously calm.”
Aurelia chuckled. “Scared. It hasn’t completely hit me yet, so I’ll probably panic the moment I have to make a real decision.That’s how I felt driving in—realizing this estate might be mine too.”
Understanding filled his gaze. “Take it one day at a time. Don’t do anything you're not comfortable with and keep me updated.”
“I did all the self-assessments this morning. Tomorrow is the full-day interview session. After that, it’s up to her to match us. In the meantime, I figured I’d help with the Harvest Charity Ball.” She needed something to distract her from the sharp U-turn her life had taken.
Charles exhaled loudly and hastily pushed a stack of folders toward her. “I can’t express how excited I am to hear you say that! These are for you. I’m not a party planner and hereby officially delegate all of this to you. Selene has already requested to take this on and—”
“Wait, what do you mean she requested to take this over?”
The anger in her tone caught Charles—and herself—off guard. “I've helped Eleanor plan this event since I started working for her. I could do it in my sleep. Also, it’snot her job.”
Aurelia had concocted and selected the themes for the last three years. Eleanor valued her ideas, letting her make most of the decisions on her own. She wouldn’t let Selene erase that.
Unsure of how to respond to her outburst, Charles hesitated before continuing. “She came in after you left on Tuesday. Since no heir had been named, she offered to take over, saying, ‘that’s what Eleanor would have wanted.’”
“That’s what Eleanor would have wanted my ass,” she muttered to herself. The smothered laugh that came from Charles caused her face to heat. Apparently, she wasn’t as quiet as she thought.
Awkwardly clearing her throat, Aurelia replied, “That won’t be necessary. I can take it from here. Send any future calls on the matter directly to my cell phone.”
“Consider it done,” Charles said. A hint of a smile still lingered on his lips; his eyes crinkled with amusement.
