Since we were not able to have a serious discussion, I’m going to outline in this letter some important key things for you to consider. It is my hope that you will want to be a willing participant in this process, but after receiving this letter, should you choose not to, I will help extricate you from any obligations.
And here’s where I decide to give him the bare facts, so he’s forced to at least respond to me in some way. I decide good old-fashioned bullet points are the way to go for simplicity.
• Upon his death, your brother’s trust appointed me to become his successor trustee. That means I am in charge of ensuring his estate is parceled out pursuant to his wishes. Please note that I am doing this free of charge.
• You are not the sole beneficiary of the trust and the pour-over will, but you are by far the main recipient. This includes not only substantial savings and investments, but two homes here in Pennsylvania.
• If you do not want what your brother has left you, he has given very specific instructions that his estate be doled out to various charities. I mention this only because you told me to contact your father, but Brooks was adamant that your parents not receive anything other than some specific bequests he has made.
• Lastly, your brother has left you some personal effects that I must hand over to you in person. You can either arrange to meet me here for such transfer, or we can meet at a place of your choosing. At that time, you can sign either documents transferring the estate assets into your name or the necessary paperwork for the assets to go to charity. Whichever course you choose, you will have to sign paperwork.
• If you refuse to sign the paperwork, I will be forced to ask the court to compel you to do so, which will be a nasty affair and a complete waste of our time. Please just get off your high horse and come do the right thing.
It is my hope after you read this letter, you will call my assistant, Bonita Hernandez, and set up a mutually convenient appointment. Please do not show up and expect to be seen. Please do not walk into my office again uninvited, because I will let Odin eat you next time.
Lastly, I’d send you a bill for the broken chair, but unfortunately, you can’t put a price on an eighteenth-century Hepplewhite passed down through our family to each eldest daughter from my great-grandmother. But your gesture was somewhat thoughtful.
I smirk at those last lines. If the man has a conscience at all, that should at least prick. If he doesn’t, he’s a bigger asshole than I thought, but regardless… I just want him to accept his fate so I can get this over with.
I consider how to end the letter and decide to do it with complete formality.
In sincere appreciation of your consideration, yours truly,
Harlow Alston, Esq.
Perfectly written, if I do say so myself. I read it over one more time, save the document, and then shoot it in an email to Bonita.
Standing from my desk, I move to the reception area just as Bonita is pulling the letter up on her screen.
“I know it’s late in the day, but do you mind getting that out certified mail?” I ask.
“Don’t mind at all,” she says as she reads over the letter. I watch as she makes a few proofing changes, not bothering to ask if I agree with them. She’s far better at that stuff than I am. I’m about the substance—she’s about making it pretty.
“You know,” Bonita drawls as she spins her chair toward the printer to grab the letter. “Stone Dumelin is a hottie.”
My eyebrows jet upward. “You think?”
“Oh, come on, Harlow,” she chides, knowing I’m being intentionally obtuse. “He and Brooks look just alike, and we both know Brooks was a hottie too.”
Shrugging, I lean against her desk with my hip. “You can be the hottest thing since Stephen Amell in Arrow, but if you’re a jerk, it makes you unattractive.”
“But is he really a jerk, or is he in pain and doesn’t know how to be any other way?” she queries.
“Stop it,” I order, laughing at her immensely huge bleeding heart. She does it with all my clients, looking for that inner trauma that causes them to do the things they do. She immediately forgives them for it and fosters a loving atmosphere while they’re clients of mine.
It’s sweet sometimes, but right now, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for Stone. I’m still grieving for Brooks, and I don’t like that Stone doesn’t like Brooks.
It makes us enemies, actually.
Bonita hands me the letter and a pen, and I sign my name to it.