Page 16 of Omega's Pretend Mate
“And you think she won’t approve your property taxes?”
Gabe shook his head. “I know she won’t, she’s already stated as much.”
“But… why?”
“The official story is that it’s quote-unquote,” he made air quotes as he talked, “fiscally irresponsible for a single omega to have such an expensive house to themselves. But the truth is that Evelyn’s daughter, Ivy, has been jealous of me having this house since grandfather bought it for me. She has a penthouse in Manhattan that cost easily three times what this place did, but thinks she deserves a second home on the beach just because she wants it, and decided that this house in particular has to be it.”
“And you know all this because?”
“That night when we learned about grandfather’s cancer… she threw a tantrum to her mom and I just happened to overhear, even though they had gone to another room to talk. Somehow she’d gotten it in her head that Evelyn would be placed in charge of all properties, not just the trusts. She’d thought her mom could just kick me out as soon as grandfather dies and give the house to her. She then demanded that aunt Evelyn do something so that she could get this house. While they were talking Evelyn suggested the property tax route.”
“Is there a chance she changed her mind?”
Gabe shook his head. “Property taxes were due a few weeks ago. Grandfather paid them as usual, but Evelyn had included notes detailing what she would have done, and she stated that she would not have paid them.”
“Damn.”
Gabe tugged at his hair, and it made me want to pull him into my arms. “I know it’s ridiculous, and that this is such a rich-boy problem that most people would laugh at just how privileged I am. My property taxes alone are more than what most people pay for their entire house. But this is my home. I knew it was where I wanted to live as soon as I walked through it the first time. I’ve made it my own, and to have it so callously taken away, not because I did something wrong, but because my cousin is an entitled brat who’s decided that my home is the next shiny thing she wants… I just…”
He paused and wiped fresh tears from his eyes.
“I’ve been over everything several times. I’ve looked for the tiniest clauses in the trust documentation, any loophole that would either get me to argue that I should be in charge of my own trust, or would force Evelyn to keep paying my property taxes. But there’s nothing. Plenty of rules about when I should be named a trustee, but nothing about what else other than my stipend should be paid until then.”
He took a deep breath.
“After that I went through my finances and savings. But the math just doesn’t add up. Since I was getting a salary on top of my stipend, I hadn’t asked for a cost of living adjustment since I started working. Not to mention that I just never saw the need to pull money from my trust just to shove it into a different savings account. I could still easily cover all the little extras that I was used to, and everybody in my family would expect, and still had money left over. But even if I fired my housekeeper and chef tomorrow, and put their pay into savings for my property taxes, I would only be able to hold out a year or so. The taxes are more than my salary and stipend combined. The first year without money from the trust would all but wipe out my personal savings, and there wouldn’t be enough income to replenish it.”
“Can you talk to your grandfather? Or ask for that cost of living increase?”
Gabe shook his head. “I’ve thought about that, but I don’t think either will work. The cancer treatments are leaving grandfather weak, and I can’t stress him with this. Besides that, he’s already aware that Evelyn was going to look for ways to save money and to any outside observer, her arguments can make sense. He might not agree, but she will be the one in charge once he passes and technically high expenses would be something she’d be on the lookout for as a fiduciary. Without solid proof that she’s doing it to benefit Ivy… Well it makes me look like an overly emotional and entitled omega rather than the target of scheming.”
A spark of anger wound through me. Sure I’d admired Gabe around the office, he was a gorgeous man, but my alpha side wanted me to protect him.
“Damn…”
The entire situation felt so needlessly callous. I didn’t know if he had a history of money problems that might change how his aunt saw him, but in my interactions he’d always been practical.
And, like he’d indicated in the garage, I’d never known how much money he really had. He wasn’t flashy about it. His suits were always nice, but didn’t stand out as overly expensive. His car was a solid brand with a nice interior, but was far from what most people would describe as a high-end luxury model.
If I had to say anything, it would be how down-to-earth he was.
Hell, even the night before the other bartender—Beau—had said that he lived just a few houses down.
I blinked. “Wait a minute…”
“What?”
I shook my head. “Last night, before I took you home. Beau said that he lives just a few houses away.”
Gabe chuckled. “Yeah, he moved in a month or so back. He and Kent, the alpha he mated, decided that they were perfect for each other. Technically Beau is like me now, and wouldn’t have to work another day in his life if he wanted, but he says he enjoys bartending so plans to keep doing it for a while at least.”
I shook my head. My coworker was a billionaire, and apparently so was one of my bartenders.
“Back to the topic at hand,” I said, trying to reorient myself. “Are you sure you were able to see all the relevant documents?”
Gabe’s smile faltered, and he nodded. “My grandparents might think that I shouldn’t be managing my money, but they don’t believe in withholding information. All I had to do was tell them that I wanted updated documentation for my records and it was all sent right over.”
“Can you ask your parents for help?”
