Unbound: The Pentagon Group, Book 2 (8 page)

*****

I commuted to work on Tuesday, reading the library book on the bus and train. On the T, a handsome man was reading the same book. When we made eye contact we smiled and made a mock ‘cheers’ of our book by lifting each in the air. I returned to my book, restraining myself from giggling during the funny sections. Jonah, the library intern, made a homerun with this selection. I’d hoped I would run into him in the future; for book selections, of course.

At midday, I received a call from the front desk. A messenger was there to drop off a delivery. I took in a deep inhalation, and prayed it wasn’t Matt resending the tablet I’d dropped off yesterday morning. I signed for the package and walked back to my office. It was a manila folder, but it wasn’t heavy enough to be the tablet.

I opened up the envelope and retrieved papers with blue backing, signaling I held legal papers. I scanned the cover letter and determined the documents came from Kevin Zipperer’s law firm. I read the letter once and like the trustee letter sent by Ben’s attorney, I reread the letter to ensure I fully understood what I read. I read through the blue backed forms, which confirmed the cover letter’s summary. I shook my head and called Carson.

“Hey, Carson. Can you have Turner call me on my cell phone or at work? I need his legal expertise because things just got weirder with Matt and Pentagon. Love you.” I left the message and hoped Turner could explain what my brain couldn’t register.

Turner called me within an hour. I explained the papers I had in hand, and he asked me to fax the paperwork to his office. He offered to call me once he was done reviewing the documents. I was nervous and anxious to hear what Turner analyzed from Zipper’s letter and documents.

When the phone rang, a gut wrenching hour later, I answered it on the first ring. Turner greeted me with his smooth southern drawl.

“Hi Turner, please tell me I misread the papers.”

“No darlin’, you didn’t. It was clear and I spoke to Kevin myself. The letter and documents are plain as day, Matt has signed over his entire shares of Pentagon to you. You own the houses, the cars, his personal bank accounts, as well as his personal investment portfolio, which is pretty vast. The only asset he’s keeping is his medical practice and business, which is to protect his other partners outside of Pentagon. The only way you can give it back to him is if you marry him within thirty days of your signing a prenup, which must be signed by Friday of this week. You must remain married for at least five years and hold yourselves out as a married couple with all the things crazy heterosexuals do in a marriage or the assets and liabilities revert back to you. You’ll be responsible for all the tax costs and penalties. There are added penalties if you don’t comply with the bylaws of the Pentagon board of directors. Congratulations, darlin’. You’re a billionairess.” My heart plummeted, and my stomach roiled within, making me nauseas. I took a sip from my water bottle. A deep breath calmed my boiling blood.

“This is ludicrous, Turner. There’s no way I can keep this money and responsibility. As easily as he gave it to me, then I can give it back to him. I’ll pay you to work on a way to sign everything back over to him.” I decided.

“Well, it doesn’t quite work that way. His gift is in contemplation of marriage, which is the wording on the legal forms. It’s kind of like him giving you the ‘Hope’ diamond as an engagement ring. If you give it back to him without it being a ‘gift’ as a spouse per say, it can create a, pardon my French darling, whole shit load of taxation and legal problems for both of you; mostly for you. Then there’s the transfer of rights to the corporation, which has been limited to designees with power of attorney, spouses and children of the main board members, who cannot give those rights away to others not designated by the original board member. He designated you to have ownership, but retained final veto power in your decision on the Pentagon stocks. If you choose not to marry him and keep the fortune, he still has rights to decide how the fortune is managed. You’re required to meet with him at least once a week, at his discretion, to implement and discuss the state of his finances and decisions for Pentagon.” I thought I would throw up. The saliva collected in my mouth, and I turned to grab a tissue so I could spit into it because I couldn’t swallow.

“Rejecting his proposal could tie you to him and Pentagon even longer than the length of the marriage he expects you to give him, not to mention the legal expense to put this back in its original order. And Perla, when you’re dealing with billions of dollars, the taxes will be a son of a bitch to manage.” My heart skipped a beat. This was more than I could take. Matt couldn’t have possibly tied me to him through the very company I wanted to distance myself from.

“Turner you can’t be serious.” My breath was jagged from the anxiety attack brewing in my chest.

“Unfortunately, or fortunately for you, I am. The only thing you need to do is marry him and spend five years with him with all the trappings of marriage and you’re free of Pentagon, and him, if you wish.”

“What if I keep his ‘gift’ and rights to Pentagon?” I asked knowing the arrangement wouldn’t work either.

“You basically will become Dr. Mathias Keene and would vote on matters he would normally decide. You would have to meet with his friends who are also owners of the corporation to discuss issues put to vote. You’d have to be completely involved.” A string of expletives coursed through my head, none of which I uttered to the charming and refined Turner.

“What about proxy vote? Can’t I assign someone else to vote in my stead?”

“I asked. Matt and his friends have a pact to meet at least once a month for dinner to discuss business, and only the five friends own stock. They have a closed corporation, which means it’s only the parties holding stock who can meet and no one else can vote in their stead. You would be required to follow through on all the bylaws which I’ve also read. As the original shareholder, Matt is the only one who can designate a proxy or release you from the proxy. And darlin’, the proxy is you.” Those meetings are precisely what I had to avoid. I didn’t want to meet or make decisions with men I abhorred. Matt knew what he was doing when he signed over to me all of his money and power.

“And if I don’t go to those meetings?”

“There will be financial penalties in the thousands for not complying with the bylaws. Do you have that kind of money?” He asked.

“What happens if I don’t marry him within the thirty days?”

“You’re the new stock holder of Pentagon . . . congratulations.”

“Turner. This is blackmail. Isn’t this illegal?”

“Perla, women would kill for this kind of gift. I know you wouldn’t, but you’re in love with him. He’s trying to make amends.”

“He’s trying to control me, Turner, which is not making amends.” I yelled, misplacing my anger on a person trying to help me. “I have to think about all of this. What should I do next?” I asked with a calmer tone.

“If you agree to the marriage, they’d like to meet on Wednesday, tomorrow, which is the only day I have free time. All four of us would meet to hash out the pre-nuptial agreement and . . .”

“Prenuptial agreement?”

“Yes. It’s necessary and part of the offer of marriage. They’ve drafted a prenuptial agreement, outlining the way the marriage will be conducted, expectations, and limits. We’d have to hash out everything you agree to versus what Matt agrees to. Once you sign on the dotted line of the prenup, then you get to plan your wedding in thirty days.”

“This is insane. Turner, I’ve never heard or read of anything so preposterous in my life.”

“Crazier things have happened, I’m sure. Listen, how about you come over for dinner. We can discuss your terms. Kevin sent me a copy of the prenup and its best we come in prepared with what you want and have them complete it by Friday’s deadline.” I sighed and groaned.

“They’re damn prepared, aren’t they?” Turner gave a hardy chuckle. “Yes. I’ll come over. Thank you. I’m so happy one of us is marrying a lawyer. I appreciate you, Turner. How about six?” He laughed again.

“Perfect. I’ll call Carson now and he’ll have everything ready.” We hung up.

I went online and started looking into this phenomenon, giving your “fortune away as an engagement gift” or “in contemplation of marriage”, as Turner put it. I kept drawing blanks in search terms. I needed to find something that would allow me to return the damn ‘gift’ without penalty. By the time I was done with my search, I was incensed. I was about ready to kill Matt. With thirty minutes to spare on my shift, I wrote down the terms and limits I required for this faux marriage. If Matt had properly proposed a week ago, I would’ve jumped at the chance. However, once I discovered the way he used me, I walked away without looking back.

When I finished my list, I tucked it in my purse. I rose from my desk and closed down the office. I handed the key back to the front desk. I walked to Chelsea’s office to see if I could get some advice.

“I caught you.” I said with a half-smile.

“Hi, sweetie. I was so busy today and I’m kicking myself for not checking in with you.”

“I was busy too. Do you have about ten minutes?”

“Yeah. Sit!”

“First. I have some bad news. I’m resigning from teaching the two classes. I know this is short notice, but I’m not mentally and physically capable of continuing on with teaching.”

“Perla, your classes are really important to the club. How about I take you off the schedule for a couple of weeks, but then reschedule you when I do the new schedule for July?” I nodded, but knew I’d never allow her to put me on the schedule again. I wanted to pull away from the club.

“Sounds like a plan.” I smiled. “Yesterday morning I dropped off the tablet Matt gave me. His sister later visited me, claiming Matt had nothing to do with her visit. She gave me some insight to his life and mental state in regards to our relationship. However, this afternoon, he one upped the gift of the tablet and all the gifts he’s given me throughout this farce of a relationship, and confirmed Stella’s assertions of just how inexperienced Matt is with relationships. Through his attorney and best friend, Matt sent legal papers giving me his entire Pentagon fortune, along with the houses, cars, and bank accounts.” Chelsea’s eyes widened with the revelation.

She sat quietly listening, “Yeah. I’m to meet with his attorney tomorrow to sign a prenup for a marriage to be executed in thirty days, which is the only way I’m allowed to return all the property. How romantic, right?” She gasped. “So I hope you can give me some sage advice, my dear married friend.” I reclined in the chair, hoping she could advise me.

“What the fuck?” Chelsea screeched. “You’re stuck.”

“Replace the ‘st’ with an ‘f’, and I am.” I shook my head, resisting the urge to burst into tears. “I’ve been trying to move on, and he won’t let me. He’s been claiming me since the beginning of this relationship, and this takes possession to a whole new level.”

“Well, is this really bad?”

“Chelsea Marie Dunn Garrity, how are you questioning whether this is bad?”

“I want some hot doctor who happens to be a billionaire to give me his fortune so I could marry him. I’d be set for life.”

“Do you want to trade? I’ll take Dougie. You take Matt, and we can live happily ever after, you with your millions, and me with a guy who doesn’t want to control me.”

“Who says Dougie doesn’t control me? Men want control and power over everything. They’ll take it whichever way they can, especially with a woman they love. Matt’s taking back the power from you. Frankly, I applaud him for it.” She said cavalierly. I couldn’t believe my best friend would agree with his behavior. My eyes widened.

“He broke my heart Chelz. He ripped it out and stomped on it.”

“He’s trying to fix it. Not with money. It’s just a means to an end. He wants you back. You want him back, but you’re too bull-headed to allow him to work through this. And good on him for knowing how to rein you back in.”

“Have you been talking to him?” I accused.

“No. I told you the last time I’m not so sure he used you just for Liberty. He genuinely loves you, and this just proves the point. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, yet. I’m going over to Carson and Turner’s place. Turner is representing me in this transaction. We have to work through the prenup, and will meet with Matt and his friend, Kevin Zipperer. I’ll need Matt’s money to pay his exorbitant attorney’s fees. I’m still paying off the work he did on my divorce.” I stood up and walked toward the door. “If I decide to go through with the wedding, as ludicrous as it sounds, I’d like for you to be my matron of honor. I think you’d bring me better luck than Esmeralda did the last time.” I winked at her.

“I love you, sweetie. Keep an open mind.” She demanded.

*****

Carson welcomed me with open arms and a kiss to the forehead. “Honey, this is the craziest shit I’ve ever heard and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it for a movie. It would make a load of money. Think of it, a romantic comedy with the two most attractive and funny actors they could find.”

“So who would play you?” I asked mocking my own pain.

“The guy who played the twins in the social media movie. I so look like him, but I’m more endowed.” I grimaced.

“Not a visual I need right now, sweetie.” I informed. He pulled me to the living room.