“If you won’t marry one another, you may donate your stocks to ShellOil. You will not get a vote on the outcome of the port and you will not pass go and collect that 200 dollars, Morina.” Mr. Finley looked up at me. “She had me write that in.”
If my grandmother were here, I would have tried to strangle her. She always wanted me to marry for god knows what reason. I swear this was her stupid version of haunting, and wow had she done a fan-fucking-tastic job.
“The stipulations are strict. One week to become engaged, one month to be married. You attend two quarterly meetings while married. At that point, which will be six months from today, Morina may sell or give the shares to whomever she wishes. Until then, they must belong to her or to ShellOil.”
“An ultimatum?” Bastian whispered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.
She believed I needed a week's time for an engagement, then we’d move in together, legally get married, and I’d figure out if we could trust Bastian with the shares in six months? “Why can’t I sell to him now?” I asked, waving my hands about. He seemed to understand what businesses needed.
“You wouldn’t be able to anyway,” Bastian grumbled like he had all the answers and didn’t like a single one. “There’s probate and estate processing.”
“So what?”
He shook his head. “You don’t understand anything.”
I wanted to scream that no shit, I don’t understand. This is all news to me.
“This is the most ridiculous way of handling a will.” I hoped Grandma’s dead spirit could hear me. “I don’t think it’s even legal.”
Bastian’s lawyer chose that time to speak up. “There’s a lot of legal jargon through this will, but I can assure you that everything Mr. Finley’s saying is the truth.”
I rolled the beads on my wrist over and over again as everyone waited in silence. I tried some deep breathing. I counted to ten.
Nothing worked. No answers appeared and I definitely didn’t feel calmer.
“There has to be a way around these stocks going to ShellOil.”
“Yes, you marry me, we have it be legal for six months, nothing more and nothing less. Then, I’ll buy it from you for a fair price.”
“Absolutely not.” I wasn’t marrying that man.
“Suit yourself.” Bastian stood and glanced at Dante, who rose an instant later.
The man reading the will cleared his throat. “Make sure to put in paperwork to the courthouse on time. We don’t want to break the terms of the will because of a mishap with marriage certificates if that’s what you both decide to do.”
He was hinting at Bastian’s status, yet staring at me as if I were suddenly important.
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”
“The judge has some ties to the company just like the town does, Morina,” he murmured like Bastian wouldn’t be able to hear him.
I needed to get out of here. I needed some fresh air. “I can’t do this.”
The only person who seemed to get me or who would offer any type of helping hand spoke up right then. “Morina,” Dante said in his deep, soothing voice, “your gut is pulling you in a lot of directions right now.”
I glanced at him and the frown on his face suggested sympathy
“It’s okay.” He patted me on the shoulder. “Put your hand right on your stomach. Feel the heat and let it out.”
It was a reiki trick. I had practiced it before a little but had never gotten into it.
When I didn’t move, he put his hand right over my belly. “Release all the negative shit flying through your head right here, right now.”
I nodded and closed my eyes for a few seconds. He grabbed my wrist and put my hand over my stomach. I felt the heat, so much hotter than the rest of my body. Maybe the energy was passing through my hand to his, and he was getting rid of it.
The energy left me in some way or another and a hint of calm crept in.
When I opened my eyes, I mouthed a thank you to him and took a deep breath. “I just need a day. I need to think.”
Bastian opened his mouth to speak.
I cut him off with my pointer finger in the air. “One day, Bastian. That’s fair.”
The muscles through the beautiful man I now hated rippled like every bone in his body wanted to disagree with me. He straightened that navy suit of his and closed his eyes like he needed his own relaxation method.
“I want to work with you. I want this to be an equal partnership where you understand I’m here to make this company better.” His voice held genuine kindness.
Yet, we were on opposing sides of the world. How could I believe him? Hell, we weren’t opposing sides of the world–we didn’t even live in the same world. His was more complicated, more astute; nothing at all like mine.
I grabbed my bag and walked to the door. Bastion grabbed my arm, right above the elbow. He spun me so we were eye to eye. His dark eyes pierced into my soul, into my fears, and peeled them back, shining light on my vulnerabilities.
I bit my bottom lip to try to stifle the fact that his hand on me sparked a fire I’d tried so hard to squelch. Now, we were lighting it again, and I’d have to surround myself with that for six months.
“What are you afraid of, Mo? Of me? Or us? This will only be to your benefit,” he whispered like he was trying to piece it all together. “I’ll pay you fairly. There won’t be many rules. We can make this work. It’s just us.”
“There is no us!” I shot back, my voice loud enough to show them all I was ready to go to war. I ripped my arm from his grasp and my bracelets jangled together, the black one stark against the pastels of the others.
Strength in my rage. I felt it now.
He let me turn so fast that my hair flared out around me, the drama was there for everyone to see.
“Morina.” Bastian’s voice stopped me at the threshold. “You need this more than I do. Your town needs this. I don’t. But I’d like it. It’s a partnership. And it’s an opportunity to do things safely and legally.”
“You’re asking me to give up everything,” I choked out. “And to trust you, a complete stranger who I know has a questionable past. Don’t you get that I have a life? I’m happy. I have a job and maybe a guy or two that likes me. I like coming home and watching what I want to watch and taking care of my grand…”
My grandma.
“Morina...” He said my name softly, like suddenly he had some sort of soul that could feel something other than business transactions. He reached for me but I jerked away.
“No.” I shook my head as I squeezed my eyes shut. “I know. She’s gone. It’s just… it was a slip up. And I… I deserve time to think. Right? Someone agree with me. Dante? The moon is…”
I’d forgotten what day it was. Everything was all out of whack.
“It’s about to be a full moon, Mo. It’s all going to be just fine. Breathe it in. It’s the universe moving with you, huh?”