The Inheritance

by Ali Vali

  “You won’t be able to do this when you have a family of your own.” Margo’s statement was so out of the norm that she stopped and stared at her. She reviewed the last few bits of conversation they’d exchanged to make sure she hadn’t missed some big part that required her to procreate.

  “I never really wanted kids, and I doubt I’ll change my mind about that.” That mothering instinct had been something Monique had been born with, not her.

  “Never say never,” Margo said in her upbeat way.

  “Sure I can, and will, many times until my biological clock winds down for business.”

  Chapter Ten

  Tucker sat with her coffee as Syd finished with breakfast. This wouldn’t last forever, but she was enjoying the attention and the company. It was like having a wife, but without the sex part of the equation. Though, if she believed everything her married friends said, that was sometimes the shitty outcome of saying I do.

  “What are you thinking about?” Syd looked good in her robe, with a spatula in her hand.

  “I’m looking over the press release Jefferson put together. If he’s done with the succession, we can release it.” She handed it over when Syd placed the plate of pancakes in front of her. “If I asked you to marry me, would you?”

  “I would, but I’m too high maintenance for you, and I’m only cooking because you’re sad. When it comes to talent in the kitchen, you might want to wait on the right girl to come along.”

  “You could keep your job.” She covered her plate in maple syrup and butter.

  “You’d make me work, with all the money you have? That’d be bitchy of you.”

  Syd had a talent for making her laugh, and she would be irreplaceable if she ever decided to move on. “You could retire and stay home making pancakes.”

  “Are you touched in the head? Eat those and get to your appointment. If he’s really done, call me and I’ll put this out.” Syd held up the press release. “You’ve got a couple of things you need to clear off your desk, so don’t take too long.”

  “Yes, boss, I’ll do my best to keep it short and sweet.”

  She called and checked on her parents as she drove downtown, glad to hear them getting back into some of their regular routines. They’d all had to adjust to the reality that Jim Bob was gone, but her mother had done her best to get them to start living again. Stella had been a rock even though Tucker knew her brother had taken a huge part of their mom’s heart with him.

  She parked at their building and walked to Jefferson’s office, not minding the time alone, considering this really was a new beginning. The business and all the responsibilities were on her shoulders now, but in a way she relished the challenge. Missing Jim Bob was an ingrained part of her being now, but the enormity of what she faced swamped her brain enough that it left hardly any time to dwell.

  “Hey,” she said to the receptionist. “Is he in?”

  “Hey, Tucker, go on back. You know where it is.”

  Jefferson was standing in the middle of his office, appearing nervous. That was worrisome since Jefferson was more of an even-keeled, steady kind of guy, and nervous meant Ivy probably owned the business and chimps were now tearing up her office. “Do I need to guess, or are you going to share the bad news?”

  “It’s not bad news, just news you should be getting from Jim Bob, not me.”

  Jefferson spoke so fast Tucker barely understood him. “Did you buy a Ouija board then, or are you going to share whatever this is?” She unbuttoned her jacket and wished she had a cigar or smoked cigarettes. Maybe a two-pack a day habit would take the edge off the emotional pummeling she’d taken lately. She could see the train coming at her, even if she didn’t know what was on it yet.

  “We don’t have to review how unhappy Jim Bob was at home.”

  She stared at him and Jefferson stopped talking. The pretty blonde from the hospital and funeral walked in before he could say anything else.

  “Hello, Ms. Delacroix, it’s been a while, but I’m Monique Vernon and I work for Jefferson. Don’t blame Jefferson, but I asked him to set up a meeting so we could talk. Would that be okay?”

  “Sure, what can I do for you?” She followed Monique to the table but stopped close to Jefferson.

  “Keep the top of your head on, okay?” Jefferson placed his hand on her shoulder. “You’re supposed to be the reasonable one.” That was all he said before he walked out.

  The door closing made her hyperaware of Monique waiting for her, and she suddenly was in no rush to know whatever this woman had to say. Having had the curse of politeness drummed into her, though, she sat and waited. This wasn’t her show, so Monique would have to speak her mind.

  “I met Jim Bob when I was twenty-three and had just become Jefferson’s paralegal and assistant. Your brother was the one who handled most of the leases, and I do most of the research for those.”

  “When did you start a relationship with him?” Monique’s history lesson had to be leading up to a shakedown, and Tucker was going to kill Jefferson if it was.

  “About six months after we became friends. He wasn’t like any man I’d ever known, and neither of us could help but to get involved.” Monique sat with her hands folded together and spoke with an almost mechanical tone.

  “And he promised you something?” The anger was irrational, but she didn’t have time for this shit. “How much? That should make this easier for you.”

  “If Jim Bob were here, he’d tell you to fuck off.”

  The insult made her smile. “I’m sorry, Ms. Monique, and you’re right, he would’ve.” She held her hand out, glad Monique took it. “Let’s start over. I’m Tucker Delacroix and I’m glad to meet you, and please call me Tucker.”

  “You look a lot like him, only you don’t have any gray around the temples yet, and I feel like I know you already. Jim Bob talked about you often, and I could always tell how much he loved you.”

  Tucker nodded, even though she was confused as hell. Monique apparently didn’t want money. She thought about the strange things she still didn’t understand in Jim Bob’s will, none of which she’d followed up on with Jefferson, and the dimmer switch on the lightbulb began to turn. “Unfortunately, he didn’t tell me anything about you. That’s the weird thing about this. My brother and I didn’t have any big secrets between us.”

  “We talked about that regularly, and all I can tell you is that he didn’t want you to be ashamed of him for breaking his vows in such spectacular fashion. I’m not naive enough to think I was the only woman besides Ivy he’d slept with, but that was before me.”

  “I may not have agreed with all his choices, but I could never be ashamed of him for them.”

  Monique nodded and took a deep breath. “Neither could I, but I told him I wanted to wait until he didn’t have to introduce me as his mistress.” Monique glanced away at the confession, and it piqued Tucker’s curiosity even more. “That’s what I was, though, and I’m not proud we went behind his family’s back, but I loved him.”

  “Was he happy with you?” The life Jim Bob was leading before he died didn’t seem to have a lot of that, and it was one of the things that haunted her about an ending that came way too soon.

  The way Monique hesitated made Tucker think she was maybe trying to put her answer in the best possible light. Monique surprised her when she slowly reached for her hand. “He asked me to marry him the night he got back from the emergency room after Ivy cut him, and I said yes. Once we made those plans we both agreed to set up a meeting with you because he wanted us to get to know each other. And yes, we were happy. Losing him is something I won’t ever get over.”

  “I’m glad he had you, then. Knowing he had something and someone who brought him joy makes me feel better.” She saw the nice ring on Monique’s finger and figured the story had to be true, especially given that Jefferson seemed to know about it. “Why did he wait, though? There’s no way I would’ve been ashamed of him, and you didn’t have to hide from me. I’m not a judgmenta
l person—at least, I try not to be.”

  “I think I can answer that too.”

  * * *

  Mann had sent his secretary out, and that left the outer office open for Willow to eavesdrop, which she took full advantage of. “I’m telling you, Jon, you need to get that little bitch off this project. The new guy you sent is playing along much better.” Big Earl was as loud as ever.

  “Willow’s worried about safety measures, and she’ll play along when I send her back to the job site. Forget about her, and forget about all the changes you’re trying to make. This thing goes to shit, and we both have plenty to lose. We can cut back, but we can’t go crazy.”

  “You don’t get it, Jon. This is the time to make money. Once it’s done and they start pumping, the company will forget all about you. If something does go to shit, it’s Delacroix’s problem.”

  “If that big fucking thing fails, this job isn’t going to come close to letting us retire. Cut some corners, but don’t completely tank it.”

  “Sure, but you took a cut and said I could do this my way. That means you’ve been paid to keep your mouth shut.”

  “You start threatening me and this isn’t going to end well.”

  “And you turn on me, and I’ll crush you.”

  She guessed it was Big Earl who pounded the desk.

  “We need to finish this together, and once we do you’ll forget all about it while you’re counting your pile of cash.”

  Footsteps drew nearer and she stepped out of the shadows, like she was just heading toward the office. Earl stopped at the door and she smiled at him.

  “Thanks for all your hard work, Willow,” Big Earl said.

  “Come in, Willow, Earl was just leaving.”

  “I wanted to drop these off before I left.” Willow moved around Earl like he was radioactive and dropped something on Mann’s desk. “I’ll be out in the field like you wanted, and once my replacement is up to speed, I’d like to be replaced on Delta Apache.” She tried to show no emotion, but Mann still gazed at her suspiciously.

  “Earl, I’ll see you later.” Jonathan glanced briefly at Earl, but Willow was the one who wanted to leave.

  There was no reason she couldn’t start looking for a new job while she was visiting every rig in their fleet in the southwest quadrant. “No need for you to leave,” she glanced back at Earl as she sidestepped around him again. “I’m headed out early so I don’t miss anything on your list.”

  “I’d like to talk to you before you go,” Mann said with a bit more force this time. “You’re throwing away a great opportunity by coming off that project, and I’d like to know why.”

  Because I’d rather learn to tango with an aggressive python than be associated with the total disaster this is going to turn into. If she already had another job lined up, that would’ve been her response, but the oil and gas business was full of bridges you never wanted to burn no matter how satisfying.

  “I’ve always believed everything is a team effort, sir. I appreciate the opportunity to work on this, but my sister’s not doing well and I need to stick closer to home. Once I’m done with these checks, I’ll be starting a new project that’ll keep me in town.”

  “I was counting on you,” Mann said.

  He kept repeating that, but all Willow kept hearing was how he needed a patsy in his back pocket. “The blueprints and all the engineering of the structure’s foundations are done, Mr. Mann. Our guy and Junior Peters just need to follow it. I’m no longer necessary on that project.”

  “Are you sure there’s not another reason for this change of heart?” Earl asked.

  “My sister is my only family, and she takes precedence over everything. I love my job, and I gained valuable experience with Apache Delta, but right now my sister needs me.” She had to get out of there before either of these guys sucked her soul out of her body and sacrificed it to the demons of bullshit. “I’ll be in the field, and I’ll see you in two months.”

  Willow didn’t look back as she headed for the elevator, not wanting to project the code-red level of freak-out she was experiencing. That Mann had taken a kickback from Big Earl wasn’t a total surprise, but she doubted anyone would believe her. There had to be something she could do before this turned into a Deepwater Horizon-type disaster, but if Tucker was all right with this, she didn’t have a lot of recourse.

  “Margo, I’ll be on my cell if you need me, but I’ve got to get ready for tomorrow.” She’d planned a staff meeting, but she trusted Roxanne to step in for her. Once she was ready to leave town, maybe she’d have an epiphany about how to remove her name from this project.

  “I’ll send whatever’s pressing to your email. Be careful and hopefully I’ll get to see you before you go.”

  “Thanks, and I appreciate you keeping everything up to date.” The guilt was crushing the life out of her by the time she got downstairs. She’d wanted to spend time with her family rebuilding their relationship, and now she’d chosen work over them again. She doubted Monique would say anything, but her life was veering off from everything she’d imagined it to be. Since when did pleasing Mann and her other supervisors become more important than Monique and Grady?

  “Time to break the news.” Her call to Monique went to voicemail, and the receptionist took a message. Monique was in a meeting and couldn’t come to the phone. The reprieve gave her the chance to do laundry and check out the house. She was proud it was the first thing she’d owned and she’d had so many dreams about it. It still didn’t feel like home, though, and she hoped she’d have some time soon to make it her own.

  “A few more months, and everything will be fine.” Her statement echoed in the sparsely furnished space, making it sound hollow. Maybe fine and normal had a new face, and it would take forever to get used to it. “No sense dwelling. It’s time to make it happen.”

  * * *

  “What did you just say?” Tucker understood every word individually. She wasn’t crazy and she didn’t have a brain tumor pressing on anything important in her skull, but what Monique said wasn’t computing.

  “Jim Bob and I have a son, and his name is Grady.”

  “How is that possible?” She didn’t mean to yell, but certain things deserved a certain response, and a nephew she had no clue existed deserved a whole series of tantrums with a chorus of dancers to scream with her. “My brother would’ve told me he had a kid. This wouldn’t be something he’d have kept to himself.” The name in the will. Jim Bob’s request that she do right by him, even though she had no clue who it was. She’d questioned it at the time, but Jefferson had put her off and she’d allowed it, focusing instead on her grief and Jim Bob’s crazy family. Now she understood why Jefferson said it wasn’t his story to tell.

  “He wanted to tell you, but that doesn’t change the truth of the situation. This wasn’t something we planned, and it wasn’t me setting a trap for him.” Monique sounded like a boulder rolling down a mountain, picking up speed so she could get everything in before Tucker bolted for the door. “He told me what Ivy did, and this isn’t it.”

  “Slow down—I’m not accusing you of anything. If you really knew my brother, you’ve got to know we were really close. It’s shocking he would’ve kept you, much less a child, a secret.” For once in her life Tucker was in a strange kind of limbo. She didn’t know if she should be happy, or sad that Jim Bob hadn’t trusted her to understand. Or maybe she should be pissed for the very same reason, but there would be time enough later to unpack the emotional train wreck her life was becoming. “A child?”

  “Grady is a joy.” Monique produced a picture of Jim Bob holding a newborn. “Part of the reason I asked him to hold off telling you was that I didn’t want to push him into making a rash decision about Ivy and his other children.”

  Tucker stared at the next picture of Jim Bob on the floor with a big smile and a baby sitting in his lap. “You’re going to have to give me a minute. It’s a lot to process.”

  “I’m sorry to dump this on
you, but I wasn’t sure how to handle it.” Monique fiddled with her fingers like she was nervous, and it made Tucker notice the ring again.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Monique nodded with an expression of fear.

  “Was he okay with you, with all this, I mean?” She hated to ask, but her brother had been trapped in a relationship he hadn’t wanted and had only stayed for his children. She hated the thought he’d been trapped again.

  Monique nodded again as she started crying. “I loved him so much, and that night when he got home from the emergency room and asked me to marry him, every wish I’ve ever had came true. We were planning a long life together, and the first thing on his list was to introduce us. I realize he was married when we met, and I’m not proud that we had an affair, but I don’t regret one second of it. He was the man I’d always wanted, and he was an excellent father.”

  The anger receded, replaced by relief. “It sounds like he had a lot to look forward to. That’s the one thing that’s haunted me the most since he died. I wanted to know there was something or someone he was happy with, and his life wasn’t all about the drama his family had been lately.” The damn tears were back, but she tried to smile through them. “Sorry, I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

  Monique moved slowly and Tucker cried harder when Monique put her arms around her and cried with her. “That I can fully understand. I’m so angry we were cheated out of the time we had left.”

  It took them a few minutes to compose themselves, and Monique let her go.

  “Do you need help with your son?” This was probably what the meeting was about, but she didn’t care. Jim Bob had left a piece of himself behind she could watch grow up and help mold.

  “I’m not after your money, Tucker,” Monique said as she placed her hand on Tucker’s forearm.

  She was truly beautiful, but there seemed to be so much more to her. The way she’d cried at the funeral meant she’d cared about Jim Bob. Monique’s grief seemed genuine compared to Ivy’s.