Read Online His for the Taking by Julie Cohen - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Julie Cohen
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purpose the recipient desires.’
Jade and Di murmured to each other. Zoe, cynically, knew what they were talking about. Ten thousand dollars a kid wasn’t bad, plus money for kids who hadn’t been born, but to Xenia a hundred thousand dollars couldn’t be more than a token amount. All of Xenia’s living relatives were here in this room, and none of them except for Zoe’s dad had received anything directly.
Zoe smiled. She just bet that Xenia had written her will in the way that would pique her relatives the most. Xenia had never shown any signs of wanting to please the rest of the Drake family, and Zoe was glad she was carrying it on in her will, too.
‘If you turn to page three,’ Mr Feinberg said, ‘you’ll see the main part of the will, where Ms Drake bequeaths all her remaining property, money, and concerns to her great-niece Zoe Drake.’
Zoe’s head snapped up. She stared at the lawyer.
He cleared his throat again. ‘It’s quite a substantial estate, Ms Drake. You’re named as the executor, as well, so we will need to go through the particulars together, and of course there’s probate to consider, but with property and investments and income it’s worth in the region of fifty million dollars.’
Zoe thought her family was probably talking, but she couldn’t hear anything because as soon as the lawyer’s words registered in her brain her ears filled with a rushing sound. Her entire body felt cold and hot at the same time. She stood and walked out of the office and through the waiting room.
The stairs were at the end of the corridor. She pushed open the fire door and into the concrete stairwell, taking the steps down two at a time. She watched her feet in her running shoes hitting each step precisely in the middle and concentrated on her knees flexing, her thigh muscles stretching and contracting. The metal railing was cold underneath her hand.
The office was on the twelfth floor. By the time Zoe got to the bottom of the staircase her legs were burning but her breath was still coming steady. She slammed the door open, strode across the lobby, and out into the street.
She wanted to sweat, to breathe hard, to feel right in her working body. She broke into a run as soon as she hit the sidewalk, doing her best to ignore how her skirt got in the way.
Two blocks down she felt a hand land on her shoulder. Zoe spun, her breathing finally sharp, her hands whipping up to defend herself.
It was Nick.
‘Zoe, are you all right?’
She saw his dark eyes frowning and full of concern, his hair in disarray from running. She noticed she still clutched the blue folder containing Xenia’s will in her right hand.
‘Me?’ she said. ‘I’m just dandy. Didn’t you hear the man? I’m a millionaire.’
She burst into tears.
CHAPTER FIVE
N ICK PUT HIS arm around Zoe’s shoulders and steered her across the busy street and into Central Park. Maybe she could carry on a conversation in the middle of a sidewalk, but he couldn’t.
He was looking at the traffic and then looking for somewhere to sit down, but he could feel her body trembling under his arm. She didn’t make a single sound, not a sniff or a whimper. Just these silent sobs shaking her body. Nick found a patch of grass under a tree, as isolated as they were going to get, and gently sat her down.
She looked straight ahead, not at him, still crying. He’d seen plenty of women crying in his life and Zoe wasn’t like any of them. She didn’t screw up her face or hitch in hysterical breaths. Her generous mouth was turned down at the corners in unhappiness, and fat tears gathered in her eyes, spilled over, and rolled down her cheeks, leaving wet trails on her skin. The tears made her eyes look bigger and bluer. They clumped her eyelashes together, darkening them.
He reached over and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Her skin was much softer than he’d expected.
‘It was a surprise, huh?’ he said.
‘That’s an understatement.’ Her voice was
Jade and Di murmured to each other. Zoe, cynically, knew what they were talking about. Ten thousand dollars a kid wasn’t bad, plus money for kids who hadn’t been born, but to Xenia a hundred thousand dollars couldn’t be more than a token amount. All of Xenia’s living relatives were here in this room, and none of them except for Zoe’s dad had received anything directly.
Zoe smiled. She just bet that Xenia had written her will in the way that would pique her relatives the most. Xenia had never shown any signs of wanting to please the rest of the Drake family, and Zoe was glad she was carrying it on in her will, too.
‘If you turn to page three,’ Mr Feinberg said, ‘you’ll see the main part of the will, where Ms Drake bequeaths all her remaining property, money, and concerns to her great-niece Zoe Drake.’
Zoe’s head snapped up. She stared at the lawyer.
He cleared his throat again. ‘It’s quite a substantial estate, Ms Drake. You’re named as the executor, as well, so we will need to go through the particulars together, and of course there’s probate to consider, but with property and investments and income it’s worth in the region of fifty million dollars.’
Zoe thought her family was probably talking, but she couldn’t hear anything because as soon as the lawyer’s words registered in her brain her ears filled with a rushing sound. Her entire body felt cold and hot at the same time. She stood and walked out of the office and through the waiting room.
The stairs were at the end of the corridor. She pushed open the fire door and into the concrete stairwell, taking the steps down two at a time. She watched her feet in her running shoes hitting each step precisely in the middle and concentrated on her knees flexing, her thigh muscles stretching and contracting. The metal railing was cold underneath her hand.
The office was on the twelfth floor. By the time Zoe got to the bottom of the staircase her legs were burning but her breath was still coming steady. She slammed the door open, strode across the lobby, and out into the street.
She wanted to sweat, to breathe hard, to feel right in her working body. She broke into a run as soon as she hit the sidewalk, doing her best to ignore how her skirt got in the way.
Two blocks down she felt a hand land on her shoulder. Zoe spun, her breathing finally sharp, her hands whipping up to defend herself.
It was Nick.
‘Zoe, are you all right?’
She saw his dark eyes frowning and full of concern, his hair in disarray from running. She noticed she still clutched the blue folder containing Xenia’s will in her right hand.
‘Me?’ she said. ‘I’m just dandy. Didn’t you hear the man? I’m a millionaire.’
She burst into tears.
CHAPTER FIVE
N ICK PUT HIS arm around Zoe’s shoulders and steered her across the busy street and into Central Park. Maybe she could carry on a conversation in the middle of a sidewalk, but he couldn’t.
He was looking at the traffic and then looking for somewhere to sit down, but he could feel her body trembling under his arm. She didn’t make a single sound, not a sniff or a whimper. Just these silent sobs shaking her body. Nick found a patch of grass under a tree, as isolated as they were going to get, and gently sat her down.
She looked straight ahead, not at him, still crying. He’d seen plenty of women crying in his life and Zoe wasn’t like any of them. She didn’t screw up her face or hitch in hysterical breaths. Her generous mouth was turned down at the corners in unhappiness, and fat tears gathered in her eyes, spilled over, and rolled down her cheeks, leaving wet trails on her skin. The tears made her eyes look bigger and bluer. They clumped her eyelashes together, darkening them.
He reached over and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Her skin was much softer than he’d expected.
‘It was a surprise, huh?’ he said.
‘That’s an understatement.’ Her voice was
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