Haze

He pats me on the back as he brushes past me on his way back to the elevator.

"There was a delivery, sir." Sophia rises to her feet. "I'm sorry but I didn't realize the flowers were dead. I can remove them right now."

"No." I wave her back down with my hand as I catch sight of the bouquet of stunning black tulips in a large vase on my desk. "Hold my calls. I'll buzz when I wish to speak with Caterina."

"Certainly, sir."

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Isla

"Your mother's attorney called this morning." Mr. Ryan nods to his assistant as he places a cup of coffee in front of him. "Are you sure you don't want something to drink, Isla?"

I don't. I had two cups of coffee this morning with Cassia before we both left for work which is two cups too many for me. I have exactly an hour for this meeting before I have to back from lunch. I want this to be over quickly. "I'm fine, Mr. Ryan."

"Garrett." He smiles softly. "You need to start calling me Garrett."

My gaze drops to the stack of papers he'd placed in front of me when I sat down. "What did her attorney say?"

"I'm obligated to tell you this by law." He leans back in his chair, crossing his legs. "If I wasn't required to do that, I wouldn't bring it up."

I scratch my cheek. "It's another settlement offer, isn't it?"

"It is." He reaches forward to grab the coffee mug. "It's not worth talking about. I see no reason to entertain any offer from them."

I haven't until now either. Up to this point, the money that I've been receiving from the account that my grandmother set up in my name has been limited to a few hundred dollars a month. It was meant to cover my expenses while I attended Juilliard. She had little doubt in her mind that I'd study there and the small offering from her estate was for covering my everyday expenses. A lot has changed now that I'm twenty-one. I'm now entitled to receive everything she willed to me.

"What if I settled with her?" I smooth my hands over the skirt of my dress. "If I did that, she'd drop her lawsuit, right?"

"Your mother's lawsuit has no merit, Isla." He sits upright in his chair. "Your grandmother's will was very clear. Your half-sisters each receive a small lump sum when they reach twenty-one. You inherit all of her properties, investments, and the remainder of her estate."

I don't need to hear that. I've heard it over and over from countless attorneys. The numbers may change slightly as the stocks rise and fall but the bulk of it is several homes in different corners of the world and more money than anyone can spend in their lifetime.

My grandmother and grandfather worked hard their entire lives and when combined with the wealth she inherited when her own father died, it's accumulated to what could be a life of leisure for me. That's not my intention though. My intention is to carry on my grandmother's legacy, including her dream of being a principal violinist with the New York Philharmonic.

"I want this to be over." I tap the top of the papers. "You've already told me that this may drag on for years and years."

"It's a possibility," he admits. "Eventually the case will be heard before a judge. I have no doubt that you'll be awarded everything your grandmother left you."

"My grandmother's heart was so soft." I swallow to curb the emotions I'm feeling. "She loved my mother, but she was disappointed in her."

"Your mother made some unforgiveable decisions." He coughs into his hand. "You know how I feel about the funds that were transferred from your trust account to her."

He's talking about the money I made when I was a child. The truth of what she'd done with that became evidence in the lawsuit that my mother launched more than two years ago in anticipation of my twenty-first birthday and the day I'd inherit everything.

Mr. Ryan has urged me time, and time again, to countersue my mother for that money. I can't do it. It's just money. It will never replace what I lost. I'll never again have a relationship with my mother that is based on trust and unconditional love.

"You can make a counter offer, can't you?" I inch forward in my chair. "You can offer less than she's asking for."

"Isla." He folds his hands together on his desk. "I discourage this, strongly. It wouldn't be a wise move on your part."

"It would end all of this." I wave my hand over the stack of papers in front of me. "It would stop this forever, right?"

"Your mother would have to sign off on the agreement, yes. It would be clear and final."

"What about my sisters?" Hearing myself refer to them that way is hard. My mother has poisoned their memories to the point that neither will even acknowledge I exist. "It wouldn't impact their inheritances, would it?"