Page 37 of Keeping My Wife
“Maxine Murdock,” I murmured to myself.
“What did you say?”
My head jerked up to see my mother in the doorway. “Mom.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you all dressed up?”
I looked down at the simple cream shift I was wearing. My grandmother’s pearls at my ears and neck.
I swallowed. “It’s Thanksgiving, remember?”
She folded her arms under her generous chest. “You dressed up to sit alone here?” She sneered as she looked around. “This place is a dump. I can’t wait to sell it.”
“I’m not selling it.”
“The hell you’re not. We have to get some money out of it. And when I marry Leonard, I’ll have the money too.”
“Who is Leonard?”
“Some old geezer. He’s got more money than the devil. He just wants some arm candy for his parties. I can handle that to get my hands on the trust.”
“I’m keeping the house. Cam and I are getting married today. It’ll be mine and you can’t ever touch it again.”
“What?” she shrieked.
“You heard me. I’m going to take care of this house like Gram wanted me to.”
“And cutting me out of it?”
“I wouldn’t do that. I’ll give you a portion of the money, but then I want you gone.”
“A portion? When I could have all of it?”
I frowned. “If you married this man, you’d have left me with nothing, wouldn’t you?”
“As if you weren’t set to do the same.”
“I’ve given you thousands of dollars over the last few weeks. You spent half a million dollars in less time than it takes for your braids to grow out.”
She threw her head back with a mocking laugh. “Oh, look at you growing some teeth, Maxine.” She brushed her long micro braids over her shoulder. “I’m investing in my future. I needed to make sure I had good product for my boutique. Marcella’s will be elegant and the talk of Saratoga’s elite.”
“You don’t know the first thing about running a business.”
“Handily Benny does.”
“And he doesn’t care that you are marrying this Leonard guy?”
She laughed. “Of course not. He’s married too.”
I shook my head. “Do you care about anyone other than yourself?”
“No.” Her voice was like a whip snap. “You should do the same. And if you think you’re going to steal my money, you’re going to learn just how ruthless I can be.”
“Did you even read the will, Mother?”
She waved me away. “I got the gist.”
“You really don’t. The house and the trust go with whomever is married. I don’t have to give you a dime. I was going to give you a portion because you’re my mother, but not now.”
