Page 3 of Fake Fiance with Benefits

“Come on in, Beau, Rain,” Roy Adler boomed as he opened the door to his office to invite us inside a short time later.

“Thanks, Roy. This won’t take long. We just need to get Leigha Harper’s will probated.”

“Yes, of course. I was so sorry to hear she passed,” he said, turning toward me as he spoke. “She was a lovely woman. We’ll miss her greatly around here.”

“Thank you for that,” I replied.

“Here, have a seat, and we’ll get this on the way for you.”

Beau and I sat in the chairs across from his desk as he sat and faced us, accepting the document Beau was passing across the desk to him. We had barely begun our discussion of how the process would work when there was a tap on the door. Judge Adler looked up toward the sound, his face twisted into an annoyed mask as he called out for them to come in. He looked surprised when someone other than one of his clerks popped his head in and spoke.

“Judge, Beau… Rain,” the man said, though I had no idea who he was. “Lane Ralie. I’m an attorney hired by Bertha Simms to file a claim against the estate. I’ve only just spoken to her, so nothing is formal yet. This is just a courtesy notification that a claim is forthcoming.”

“A claim for what?” Beau asked indignantly.

“Mrs. Simms intends to mount a claim that she is the rightful owner of the property.”

“She’s not even related to Leigha!” Beau said.

“Her claim will be based on her right as the widow of Ms. Harper’s brother, Jack Simms.”

“That’s ridiculous! Your case has no merit whatsoever!” Beau told him, putting his hand on mine as if to console me.

I just sat there, slack-jawed. I wasn’t sure what to say, but it seemed that Beau had that covered as he waved the lawyer away dismissively.

“File your paperwork, Ralie. Meanwhile, you have no business interrupting this meeting. Who let you in here, anyway?” the judge added.

“I’m sorry. There was just the young girl outside. I told her I’d only be a moment.”

“Interns,” Judge Adler grumbled to himself and then waved his hand in Ralie’s direction. The intruding lawyer quickly left, closed the door behind him.

“What does that mean?” I asked Beau.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s a nonstarter. No case. Let’s just get this done, and we’ll talk about it back at my office.”

Beau finished up what we needed to do with the judge, and we left for his office, discussing the situation along the way. Beau didn’t think it was anything to worry about, but I had a deeply unsettled feeling I couldn’t shake, even after leaving him at the front door and making my way back to my car parked along the curb near the Crème Delite, an ice cream parlor I used to go to as a little girl. I had thought I might duck in for a cone once I was done with Beau, but I now found I had no appetite. Instead, I climbed into the car and drove back to the house.

So many emotions ran through my head as I drove. Why was I even bothering with this? Didn’t I have enough on my plate with my failed engagement and figuring out what to do with a clinic on the other side of the country? I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I needed to hold onto something that was only going to bring me more trouble.

2

Rain

“She seems to feel that the property should belong to her because it would have belonged to her husband if he hadn’t passed away,” Beau told me over the phone later that day, after having talked to Aunt Bertha’s attorney.

“Well, that’s not the way it works though, is it?” I asked him.

“Not usually, but she has a copy of the old will that had previously deeded it to Jack before he died. She claims that you coerced your grandmother into changing her wishes.”

“What? That’s absurd! We never even discussed her will.”

“That may well be, but it’s enough for the probate court to allow her a counterclaim to the estate.”

“Surely they won’t take it seriously.”

“I can’t say, Rain. She’s claiming that Leigha was bragging about your fiancé and your vet clinic in Los Angeles.”

“So? Is it a crime to be engaged and successful?”

“No, of course not. However, she is claiming you lied. She says that your engagement was broken off, and you never told your grandmother. She says that your share of the clinic is in jeopardy because of the split. She’s apparently had someone doing some research on you.”

“I didn’t have a chance to tell her, but I hardly see what it matters,” I snapped.

“It shouldn’t and wouldn’t under normal circumstances, but she will use it to make you appear both deceptive and unstable. You’re going to have to be very careful about the company you keep while you’re here.”

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