Page 5 of The Endowment Effect

“They’ll do what I tell them to do. I’m the head of this family now.”

Birdie smirked at that and walked toward him with bravado she didn’t possess. She was cornered and she knew it. “You’re not half the man your father was and couldn’t come close to giving me what he did.”

He blinked slowly, his smile becoming darker, more ominous. “I think it’s time we quit this charade. We both know your marriage was a sham.”

Oh, how wrong he was. Her marriage to Marshall was the best thing that ever happened to her. “I loved your father, and he loved me.”

“Oh, I’m sure you loved him, given all the wealth and prestige you gained. You were nothing more than a poor, uneducated single mother, looking for a handout.” He pushed off the door, standing at eye level, uncomfortably close as she felt his hot breath on her cheek. “Let’s be honest, he never loved you.”

She felt her throat constrict, wondering what he was implying. What he knew.

Errol fingered her cashmere lapel with a glint in his eye, causing her to swallow convulsively. “Not like he loved… her.”

His eyes homed in on Birdie’s, as if to gauge her reaction, and it was all she could do to remain calm, when on the inside, her heart was palpitating, the blood rushing through her veins and pounding in her ears.

She scoffed but didn’t quite pull it off. “I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

She knew exactly who he was talking about.

Birdie pulled a paper towel from the receptacle, doing her best to appear unmoved.

“You always were a terrible liar. Allow me to net this out for you. I have secured the controlling shares of your meager little company. I will own controlling shares of Shepherd Industries, as well as the luxury homes dear old Dad bought for you and your mongrel over the years. And let’s not forget any personal items gifted to you personally with a value of over two thousand dollars.” He sucked on his blindingly white veneered teeth as he stared at her lips. “It would be irresponsible to allow a known drug abuser to walk around with readily available cash, now, wouldn’t it?”

She shook her head as she threw the paper towel in the trash. “Do you really believe it was money that drew me to your father? What you don’t seem to understand is you can steal my money and assets, but you can’t begin to touch what I loved most about Marshall Shepherd. Because what we had together wasn’t about shares, property, or assets.”

Errol reached in his pocket and pulled out a stick of gum. He slowly removed the paper and placed it in his mouth.

“Let’s see how long you can survive on all those worthless intangibles now that Dad’s gone, along with his influence and money. I’ll say this one more time, you can either walk away with enough money to barely get you through the summer, or you can walk down the aisle with me and regain all you’ve lost.”

“Gee, Earl,” she said, crossing her arms. “Wouldn’t people question your motives?”

“People do what they’re paid to do.” He stepped forward to push a lock of hair behind her ear.

She smacked it away. It was all she could do not to spit in his face.

“You know, there always seemed to be a piece of the puzzle missing with you and dear old Dad. I never bought in to the idea of you two being a romantic couple. I guess you could say you looked at him more like a father than someone you couldn’t wait to fuck.”

He stepped aside, holding the door handle. “I’m going to give you some time. Time to think about everything you’ve lost and could lose. But I’ve only got so much patience, and I won’t be satisfied until I have it all. Which includes you.”

He took a step toward the door, opened it, and turned to her. “We’re going to return to Braniff’s office, you’re going to sign the paperwork and finish this. You have three months to come to the realization that you’ve made a grave mistake. Plenty of time to realize what you’ve lost.”

He opened the door, indicating the discussion was over.

As she passed through the doorway she whispered, “Believe me, I already have.”

* * *

Birdie wasin the process of packing the last of her things, which wasn’t much after her feral stepsons managed to strip her of nearly everything.

Everything except her dignity, which, if she was being honest, ran pretty slim these days.

The sound of yet another moving van exiting the quarter mile driveway from the estate brought her attention to the view outside her window and the circus taking place on what was once her front lawn. Errol and Flynn had insisted on overseeing her coup d’état in person, ensuring their coerced agreement and her public humiliation was followed to the letter and on full display.

The jackals were doing a smash-up job of it from the looks of the so-called photo-journalists and local news vans outside the premises. There for the purpose of memorializing her eviction.

How in God’s green earth did two awful human beings like Errol and Flynn originate from Marshall’s loins? She couldn’t imagine more unlikely progeny from the kindest man she had ever known and had the honor of loving.

The last few weeks of damning articles and local news stories, depicting her as a morally corrupt, money hungry, gold digger, whose magical vagina had managed to pit Marshall Shepherd against his sons and ex-wife, did an uncanny job of turning everyone of consequence against her.

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