Blown Away

by K'Anne Meinel

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE WILL

  The reading of the will was a nightmare. Melody kept interrupting to ask impertinent questions, to ask for clarifications of certain points, and to generally make a nuisance of herself. Since it was a videotaped will the lawyer kept having to stop the tape to answer her.

  * * * * *

  “I Ryan Mahoney being of sound mind,” he began with a self-depreciating little smile and then an out-right laugh. “Okay, we all know I’ve always been a little crazy. All the legalities can be covered in the actual will,” he dismissed as he waved a document to the camera. “Basically it’s this. I leave it all to my sister,” they all held their breath and glanced at Melody who began to puff up in greedy pride tinged with a bit of surprise, but the video went on. “…Ellen Christenson. The only ‘true’ sister I have ever had. The only one who actually understood me, got me, and could really understand what this crazy business we have here is all about,” he smiled sadly into the camera. “Except for a few trusts I have arranged,” he indicated what looked like legal paperwork in his hands. Grabbing his glasses he read the first one, “To Bill Cartland, I leave the sum of ten million dollars in a trust to be administered by Ellen Christenson as she sees fit, I also leave the right of usage of my two homes, both here in the valley and in the city for his use.” He looked up into the camera. “That’s tenancy for life Bill, you have a place to stay and Ellen will take care of the taxes, but you,” he pointed at the camera. “Have to keep them clean!” he waggled a finger and Bill nodded as though Ryan was talking to him directly.

  Switching to another two documents he held up and continued, “I further leave the sum of ten million dollars to my biological sister Melody and my biological brother Rudy to be also held in trust and administered by Ellen Christenson as she sees fit.” He looked up into the camera. “Try not to strangle anyone eh Ellen?” he asked with a grin.

  “This is an outrage,” Melody huffed arrogantly. “I’ll sue!” she swore.

  But the video went on as though she hadn’t spoken, and as though Ryan had heard her. “You can sue,” he shrugged looking directly into the camera. “It won’t hold up in court of course. But, you can try,” he smiled his smirk. “This is what will happen though, you will lose it all. The money, the prestige, and the anonymity.” It was almost as though he could see through the camera to his sister as he explained. “It is written in my will that you will get nothing,” he stressed. “If you contest my wishes, my will,” he smirked again at the double meaning of the word, knowing he had his sister in a bind. “Furthermore, the terms of the will shall become public.” He leaned forward towards the camera to emphasize the fatal blow. “Everyone will know Mel, everyone will know you lost millions and not the billions you probably bragged you were inheriting,” he halted for a moment to let that sink in to his greedy sister. He sat back in the chair. “Everyone will know that I detested you, and you calling me a faggot,” he spat out the word distastefully. Ellen flinched in her chair as she listened, but she watched Melody out of the corner of her eye. She was even more uncomfortable because she couldn’t respond, she couldn’t argue, she couldn’t do anything but take it. “Which you thought didn’t get back to me, I know,” he grinned wryly. “But I still have friends back there, I still have people who have heard of you and your views,” he said with a sneer. “You will have no power, you will live off the interest only, and then your kids will inherit upon your death. You will have achieved nothing, you will get nothing more,” he finished with relish, almost as though he could see how humiliated his sister actually was. “You will have to learn to adjust your expectations Mel and while I know you aren’t stupid, you will imply to everyone you inherited all my money, we both know you won’t let this small sum of money slip through your greedy little fingers now don’t we?”

  He went on to address a few other things he wanted done, including a private video he held up for Ellen to view later, when everyone else had gone. Both Melody and Rudy looked at the video as it sat on lawyer’s desk. Ellen could see the greed in Melody’s eyes; she wanted to know what was in that video.

  Ryan had a few smaller bequeaths to friends he had known over the years as well as a few employees he wanted to generously bestow the funds upon. It didn’t take long, the video, but then they had the actual reading of the will and Melody became her obnoxious self once again.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY

  “Hey babe,” he began the private tape to her.

  “I know you would want to argue with me so I’m putting it on tape so you know my personal wishes,” he said with a familiar grin.

  Ellen glared at the screen, he knew, he knew exactly what he had done to her.

  “We’d have talked about all this,” his hands spread out over the paperwork he had at hand on the desk he was sitting behind. She could only guess it had been video-taped at the offices of their attorney’s.

  He began to tell her how much she had meant to him. It choked her up. He also admonished her for not living her life to the ideals she had often touted to him. She wasn’t the girl who had been caught up in the drama of her father’s making anymore. She needed to grow up and grab life by the horns. He knew she had it in her. He had the utmost faith in her. She had to get therapy though, if she didn’t, his shares would be given to the homeless shelters of San Francisco.

  “And you know what a paperwork nightmare that will be,” he grinned as he said it but she didn’t doubt it would be enforced if she didn’t go into therapy. He had been after her for years to do it and she had repeatedly promised, but life had a habit of getting in the way and she’d been busy. Or that’s what she told herself over time. She knew she needed help, and without Ryan there as her friend, her best friend, she wasn’t sure she could do this all by herself.

  He detailed his wishes regarding the trusts, not only for Bill, but for his brother and sister. “I’m sorry to saddle you with Medusa babe, but that’s the way it goes. Maybe the attorneys can work out something so your interactions with her are minimal.” He gave her a sad look.

  “There’s one more thing,” he looked uncomfortable as he looked up into the camera. “I know I never kept anything from you. But, this one thing came up a couple of years ago and I didn’t know how to tell you.”

  Ellen’s heart was in her throat wondering what it was he had to tell her, her hand reached for the remote control to fast forward the tape. The look on his face was actually frightening her.

  “You are probably worrying about the possibilities,” he laughed. “It’s nothing bad babe, I assure you. It’s actually something good. Something I did all on my own. I need you to take care of it for me though.” He paused as he thought of how to tell her, his best friend, his confidant, his sister-of-another-mother. “I have a daughter Ellen,” he said quietly.

  Ellen waited for the punch line of his joke but it didn’t come. She blinked as she waited for him to continue. He couldn’t possibly…she would have known!

  “It happened in college actually,” he continued. “You remember Blossom right?” he asked and almost as though he could see her he waited for her nod.

  “Well, you do remember me telling you once that we hooked up?” Again, as though he could see her he waited for her nod.

  “Well, I also hooked up with Greg,” he grinned, showing the old spark of humor that she well remembered. He looked…well in this video, she absentmindedly wondered when it had been filmed. His will, she knew was old enough that Medusa couldn’t win if it was contested. He’d been of sound mind.

  “Anyway, that all aside. That time Blossom and I shared…” he looked down, almost ashamed at what he was willing to admit. “Resulted in a daughter.” He looked up, as though to see her reaction. “I didn’t know though, I swear I didn’t until she came to me a few years ago. She was really finding it hard to make ends meet. She wanted me to have a relationship with her.” Here he paused again and she saw a beatific
and unrecognizable smile come on his face. “She’s beautiful El, she really is. She’s got Blossom’s beauty and my brains, that’s a helluva combination,” he said modestly. “She’s ready to come work for the firm,” he bragged. “Don’t you let her though!” he said emphatically. “I want her to travel, see the world, go to school and enjoy life until she settles down. You’ll like her El, she’s fantastic.”

  Ellen shook her head listening to her best friend confess about something that she had had no idea of. She’d never suspected. She knew that Bill had once spoken to Ryan about having children but that her good friend had laughed himself silly at the thought of either of them changing diapers. Even adopting older children hadn’t appealed. To hear him talk about a daughter, and one that had to be in her teens was a complete surprise to her.

  “You’ll appreciate this El, her name is Iris,” he said with a grin into the camera. He knew her beliefs on the California names that came out of some people’s mouths. Blossom had been a nice gal. She’d been caught in a weak moment and allowed Ryan a night of passion, unprotected sex that had garnered them both a terrific young woman by the name of Iris who also happened to be his only daughter.

  “I left her a healthy trust, administered by you El, I hope I’ve not asked too much of you but I know you’ll take care of her. When she’s old enough to take care of herself you can let Rudy know about her but then that means Medusa will know too, so be prepared for that uproar. We all know that Rudy can’t keep a secret to save his life and I don’t want Iris exposed to that until she can handle it. They’d go after her share if they could though and I want to prevent that. The rest though is all yours my friend. You deserve it.” He smiled sadly into the camera.

  “I left something for you at the cryobank too babe.” He held up his hand. “No, not my luscious self on ice, you already know that if you are watching this.” Ellen nearly laughed because he knew her so well. “I left some of me, my essence for your exclusive use. It’s been tested, each vial. So we know it’s bug free.” He smiled with a self-depreciating smile acknowledging the disease that had killed him. “Someday I hope you find someone and that the two of you are gonna want kids. I know male-patterned baldness runs in my family so you might not wanna use my fine self but it’s there indefinitely. If you don’t use it, if you decide not to pro-create, I want you to donate it. My brilliance should be passed on. Iris might not be enough,” he laughed at his own joke. Then he leaned in serious and said, “Go out there El, find her, find you. Enough already. Delegate. Please enjoy life before it’s too late.” With that he pressed something.

  Ellen watched until it faded to black and sat there in shock over what she had learned. Ryan had a daughter! He wanted her to have children, someday. She was the least likely to ever have a child, she didn’t want to pass on the corrupted genes that had spawned her father and the chances that she had them and would pass them on were there. She stared at the TV screen for a long time before she hit rewind and replayed the tape.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  MOVING ON

  Ellen and Bill took the cremated remains out onto the boat and discretely disposed of them as they had planned. Bill got dramatic but Ellen managed to calm him and his vapors. She took him to the apartment in the city and they looked around. Bill took a couple of keepsakes but overall the place was left as Ryan and she had left it, as a place to escape to when they were in town. Cold, sterile, and expensive. It wasn’t a warm or homey place to live and as neither had lived there for any length of time it wasn’t hard to leave it.

  When Ellen opened the garage door at Ryan’s, at the house he had purchased across from their original side-by-sides, she shook her head over the Maserati sitting there. For a moment she flashed back to the Chevelle that Ryan had driven all the way from Michigan back in 1979. Comparing it to the car before her she grinned ruefully and shook her head. It wasn’t her style, she drove a Toyota Corolla but as she eased the expensive sports car out of the garage and drove it off to the freeway she felt the power, the expense, and the admiring looks she got and smiled, she could get used to this. She hadn’t needed the show of ostentation or the wealth that obviously went with it, but she knew Ryan had needed his toys and the more expensive ones were perfect for his frame of mind. She donated her Corolla to a charity as a tax write-off the next day and took the Maserati home with her.

  That next week Ellen hired a couple of people to help with Ryan’s teams. His energy would be missed. She had already promoted several of the existing team to continue with the development of his work and ideas. They sat in when she interviewed or hired people to complete the teams. She also began to sit in on meetings that she would normally have missed, trusting her business partner to represent them well. Eventually she would have to trust them to hire their own people.

  One meeting she had never attended she found that no one realized who she was at first.

  “Honey, can you grab me a coffee,” someone asked of her as she walked in the conference room.

  Ellen looked at him startled, put down her leather portfolio, and headed over to make him a coffee. Carefully she handed it to him, but perhaps she was too careful, or he was a bit clumsy, either way it landed in his lap. He jumped up with a roar of outrage.

  “Oh I’m soooo, sorry,” she said insincerely as she looked at the mess she had created. She had dropped two ice cubes into the hot beverage so she knew his outrage wasn’t from the heat of his crotch.

  “You bitch!” he returned as he grabbed the napkins out of her hand and began wiping at the front of his pants.

  “Yes, and you’d be smart to remember that,” the redhead said to him with a now steely eyed look. He gulped and then realized who she must be as she returned back to her things and sat down at the head of the table for the meeting. Embarrassed he grabbed his things and left the meeting.

  Later, Ellen was waiting for another meeting to finish and behind a partition she heard two women talking.

  “Yeah, she’s hot,” one of them was saying. Ellen smiled, leaning back and viewing the ongoing meeting through a glass window. It was tinted but she could still see the figures behind it finishing up their meeting.

  “Too bad really,” the other one replied.

  “Too bad?”

  “Yeah, she’d be hotter if she wasn’t such a bitch,” was said with a laugh and the other one joined in.

  “She fired a couple of women here at the company,” was confided, with a whisper that Ellen had to strain to catch. She was surprised at herself for listening to such gossip.

  “Are you sure she fired them?”

  Silence. And then, “Apparently they made the mistake of dating her,” was said with such relish Ellen had to wonder who they were talking about.

  “Isn’t that discrimination or something?” Ellen nodded, yes if they were fired for getting involved with a superior who got them fired, that would be a big thing.

  “Yes, but do you think they were fired for dating her or for something made up?”

  “Yeah, they’d have to prove it and she has enough money to hire the big lawyers who would protect her reputation,” she spoke with such conviction; Ellen had to wonder who it was. Not only who they were talking about but the woman speaking.

  “Love them and leave them eh?”

  “Still, if I were a lesbian I’d date her,” was said with a giggle.

  Another giggle was returned and then, “Yeah but that red hair, you have to wonder how hot the fires get,” a pause as though she nudged her friend and then, “Sometimes they don’t match, the fire above ya know?”

  The two women talking exchanged hearty giggles over that, trying to keep it low with the partitions between the cubicles. Ellen wondered at the red head remark. Trying to think of her executives who had red hair, were female, and were lesbians narrowed it down to…her. Were they talking about her?

  Just then she noticed the other meeting was over and she walked confidently forward as others began to converge on the meeting room
. “Hello Ellen,” she was greeted time and again as people took their places. The last two to enter the room were two women and Ellen couldn’t help but wonder if they were the two she had just overheard. Neither of the women would be her type to date anyway but she didn’t like the feeling she had that people were speculating about her, these couldn’t be the only two. Their tell-tale blushes made her certain that she had been the subject of their earlier conversations but she was the consummate professional as she went over plans that she had for this division of the company.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  THE THERAPIST

  “I hate it when people tell me I have to ‘get over it,’” she practically yelled as she made the quotation marks. “It’s not like they have ever gone through it! Every day for my entire life he put me down some way, or yelled at me for something he ‘thought’ I didn’t do, or how I did it.” She looked at the psychiatrist with nearly crazed eyes. “You know when I was the most suspicious?” she asked and waited for the answer. Her chest was heaving from her exertions.

  “When he drank?” Nancy asked astutely.

  “No, when he was nice,” she explained with devastating finality as she leaned back in exhaustion from bringing this shit out. To a stranger. A complete stranger. But she knew she needed help, professional help or she was going to lose her sanity AND her inheritance.

  “So do you think your resentment was because of his drinking or his behavior?” she asked trying to remain professional, but some of the stories that Ellen had told her were disturbing.

  “I think my resentment stems from him blaming me for my mother’s death. For me having to do all the work in the house at a young age, even though I wasn’t ready for it. His anger and put-downs…” she continued on for a long time. She vented until she was exhausted. It helped, just to exorcise it from her soul. She’d let slip to a few of her friends over the years, even an occasional lover, how horrific her childhood had been, but never had she told anyone the full extent of the abuse, not even Ryan, although he had suspected which was why she was here.