know that?”
“You’re not getting it. Not one penny.” He folded his arms, rocked back a little on his heels. “I intend to fight my brother’s will in court.”
Faith stared at the man she’d once thought she loved, the man she hated with every bone in her body. You don’t have to fight it, she wanted to say. You can have the money, every cent…But there was Peter to consider, and the new life she had to make for him.
“Mr. Jergen?” she said softly, her eyes locked to Cole’s face. “Can he do that?”
“He can do whatever he wishes, Mrs. Cameron. But—”
“Forget the ‘but,’ Jergen.” Cole unfolded his arms and came slowly toward her. She wanted to back away but she knew what a mistake it would be to show him any sign of weakness. “I’m going to fight it, and I don’t care if it means the estate is tied up in litigation forever. That would suit me just fine. Watching you spend whatever money you already stole on court battles for the next umpteen years would be a pleasure.”
“Mr. Cameron. Please. If you’d let me speak—”
“Jergen, when I want your legal advice…” Cole let out a breath. “All right. What is it?”
The lawyer looked from one of them to the other. “There’s nothing to fight in court,” he said softly. “What I’ve been trying to tell you is that there isn’t any money left to inherit.”
CHAPTER THREE
FAITH stared at Sam Jergen. He had his finger inside his shirt collar again and from the look on his face, she knew he wanted to be anywhere but in this office.
“I don’t understand,” she said carefully. “What do you mean, there’s no money?”
“I mean exactly what I said, Mrs. Cameron. The money is gone. Well, unless you want to count maybe two thousand dollars that’s in your husband’s checking account…”
“That’s impossible!” Cole’s voice was whip-sharp. “You’ve made a mistake.”
“I wish I had. Unfortunately, the facts speak for themselves.” Jergen lifted a large file box from the floor and placed it on the conference table. “Here are all Ted’s bank and brokerage statements. I’ve been through them I don’t know how many times, alone at first and then with an accountant. Your brother’s accountant, in fact. You’re more than welcome to have your people go through the documents, too.”
Faith looked at Cole. His people? As stunned as she was, that almost made her laugh. Such a lofty phrase for a man who’d left town on a motorcycle and had probably returned on the bus, and never mind the expensive-looking suit. For all she knew, he’d talked some woman into buying it for him. Those were the only “people” he’d have dancing attendance on him.
“They can work here,” Jergen said, holding out his arms in a gesture that made it clear he was offering the entire suite of offices. “Naturally, I’ll put my staff at your disposal.”
“Yes,” Cole said. His voice was low, filled with authority as well as warning. “You will. But I want answers now.”
The lawyer’s string tie rode up and down as he swallowed. “Well, it’s a complicated story, sir…”
“Simplify it, then.” Cole’s smile was quick and chill. “You can do that, can’t you?”
Jergen blanched. “Yes. Certainly, sir.”
Sir? Faith looked from one man to the other. What was going on here? She was the sole beneficiary to Ted’s estate but Sam Jergen was treating Cole with deference and ignoring her. That was how it had gone since he’d entered the office.
“Unless you know the answer, my sweet sister-in-law.”
It took a few seconds before she realized Cole was talking to her. She looked at him. “Answer to what?” She blinked. “Are you asking me about the money?”
He leaned toward her, that chilly smile angling across his mouth again, and slapped his hands down on either side of the file box. The sounds, flat as gunshots, startled her, and she jerked back.
“That’s right,” he said softly, “I’m asking you, Faith. What happened?”
“How would I know? Ted handled the accounts. I didn’t have anything to do with those things.”
“You make it sound as if you weren’t interested in ‘those things,’ but we both know how wrong that is.” Cole narrowed his eyes at her. “You’ve had plenty of time to get your hands on my brother’s funds.”
“Are you accusing me of theft?”
“I’m accusing you of being one clever piece of work, baby. If you’ve been playing games with Ted’s money—”
“Your money. Isn’t that what you mean? You just said you were going to fight me in court.”
“Damn right, as soon as I figure out how you did this.”
“Well,” Jergen said cautiously, “that’s not exactly—”
“Stay out of this, Jergen. This is a private matter.”
“But—but…” Jergen cleared his throat. “You’re wrong, sir. Mrs. Cameron had no involvement in what happened.”
Cole stood up straight and folded his arms over his chest. “Prove it.”
“If you’ll just look at this…” The lawyer plucked a folder from the file case. Cole snatched it from him and began reading.
“I’m the one you should explain things to,” Faith started to say, but when she saw the look that transformed Cole’s face, her anger faded. “What is that?” she said softly.
Cole shook his head, went on reading. Then, slowly, he raised his head and stared at the attorney.
“What the hell…?”
“I know,” Jergen muttered. “Incredible, isn’t it?”
“What?” Faith said. “What’s incredible?”
Neither man answered. Jergen folded his hands behind him and rose up and down on his toes. Cole walked to the window and tilted the folder into the sunlight, as if that might help him make better sense out of the pages inside it.
“Why?” He swung toward the lawyer. “Jergen? Explain it to me.”
“I can’t, sir. All I can do is show you the dates and the figures but if you mean, explain how your brother got himself into such a mess…I can’t do that.”
“What are you talking about?” Faith stared from one man to the other. She knew they’d all but forgotten her existence just as she knew that whatever was happening in this office threatened all her dreams for Peter’s happiness. “What’s in that folder, Mr. Jergen?”
“It’s rather complicated, Mrs. Cameron. All you need to know is—”
“All you need to know,” she said calmly, even though she was trembling inside, “is that taking that tone with me is a mistake. I am your client. You work for me, not for Cole Cameron, or have you forgotten that?” She strode to Cole and grabbed the folder. She expected resistance but he let her take it, even smiled a little when she did.
“Read it and weep, baby.”
She opened the folder and stared blindly at the first page. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cole hitch a hip onto the window ledge and fold his arms. He looked amused, as if what was about to happen would be entertaining. She wanted to fling something in his arrogant face. Everything in her yearned to tell him what he could do with the folder as well as the money but that was her pride whispering in her ear and pride meant nothing. It hadn’t, not for years.
Peter was