Read Online Lies Agreed Upon by Katherine Sharma - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Katherine Sharma
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swindled out of getting much more than the offer she’s being made,” argued Jen.
“If there was a great value to this property, wouldn’t her mother have cashed in on it? She was no dumb bunny,” Christina pointed out.
“She probably would have. She had received an offer from the same law firm, but she died before there was any deal,” remarked Tess.
“Well, maybe she didn’t accept it,” Jen suggested. “You have only this old lawyer’s word that she was interested. She never told you about it, did she?”
“My mom didn’t tell me a lot of things. She was always secretive about money. Now I find out she was covering up a lot more,” Tess answered, frowning.
“Jen, you just think it would be more exciting to help Tess go to war with the big bad refinery,” laughed Christina, and the slight flush on Jen’s cheeks showed she’d hit home. “I think it would be more exciting to see Tess have a fling. Invite me along and I’ll show you the way, Tess.”
“Well, Katie gave me similar advice, Christina, and also offered to come, despite being so busy with wedding plans,” Tess responded with a smile.
As she spoke, Tess realized that , when she went to New Orleans, she really did not want any of her friends to accompany her. It would be more comfortable to have companionship, but she wanted this adventure on her own terms. “So at last you want to be the heroine instead of the sidekick.” Tess blinked and determinedly focused her attention on her friends’ conversation.
“I bet Katie told you to go investigate the mysteries of the past and find the love of your life, or some other romance-novel crap,” Christina was objecting. “I’m saying, ‘Forget the past. Use the money to enjoy the present.’ If you wander around New Orleans as the lost heiress looking for her hero, you’re going to end up right back here with more disappointments. Please, please don’t waste a second on any Southern gothic rubbish. Your fate IS in your hand, and I don’t mean palmistry. You need to take hold of things and make your own future. Why bother with your grandfather’s doings?”
“Don’t you think the present is defined, at least in part, by the past?” asked Tess, knitting her brows in concentration. “I thought I knew my family. I thought my mother was a tough corporate climber who could stare down a charging CEO and hit a budget target blindfolded. Now I wonder if she was afraid of something in her past, something she lied about her whole life. Maybe it even explains her death. I thought my grandmother was an unworldly, sweet lady who liked to bake me cookies. Now I know she witnessed my grandfather’s murder. I think the past definitely formed their characters, and they were the two most important influences in my life. So an unknown past has already affected me.”
“I understand,” said Jen with a sympathetic smile. “I’m not a ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ kind of person either. They’re a tripping hazard asleep and a possible bite in the butt if they wake up. But you need to be careful in interpreting what you find out,” she warned. “ It’s going to be hard to get documented facts beyond what you already know, and it will be even harder to find witnesses or even second-hand gossip. Most of your grandfather’s adult contemporaries are dead or elderly. You may not learn what actually happened but only what people believe happened or want to believe happened. People usually redefine the past to suit their own ends.”
“Everybody lies. So what? My point is that it doesn’t matter,” asserted Christina. “You are who you are, Tess. You don’t change just because you learn about events that happened long before you were born.”
“My mother might agree,” nodded Tess with a wry shake of her head. “Like you, present actions were all that counted. But I have to believe character matters. Motive matters. My mother and grandmother are dead, and their actions can’t change. But
“If there was a great value to this property, wouldn’t her mother have cashed in on it? She was no dumb bunny,” Christina pointed out.
“She probably would have. She had received an offer from the same law firm, but she died before there was any deal,” remarked Tess.
“Well, maybe she didn’t accept it,” Jen suggested. “You have only this old lawyer’s word that she was interested. She never told you about it, did she?”
“My mom didn’t tell me a lot of things. She was always secretive about money. Now I find out she was covering up a lot more,” Tess answered, frowning.
“Jen, you just think it would be more exciting to help Tess go to war with the big bad refinery,” laughed Christina, and the slight flush on Jen’s cheeks showed she’d hit home. “I think it would be more exciting to see Tess have a fling. Invite me along and I’ll show you the way, Tess.”
“Well, Katie gave me similar advice, Christina, and also offered to come, despite being so busy with wedding plans,” Tess responded with a smile.
As she spoke, Tess realized that , when she went to New Orleans, she really did not want any of her friends to accompany her. It would be more comfortable to have companionship, but she wanted this adventure on her own terms. “So at last you want to be the heroine instead of the sidekick.” Tess blinked and determinedly focused her attention on her friends’ conversation.
“I bet Katie told you to go investigate the mysteries of the past and find the love of your life, or some other romance-novel crap,” Christina was objecting. “I’m saying, ‘Forget the past. Use the money to enjoy the present.’ If you wander around New Orleans as the lost heiress looking for her hero, you’re going to end up right back here with more disappointments. Please, please don’t waste a second on any Southern gothic rubbish. Your fate IS in your hand, and I don’t mean palmistry. You need to take hold of things and make your own future. Why bother with your grandfather’s doings?”
“Don’t you think the present is defined, at least in part, by the past?” asked Tess, knitting her brows in concentration. “I thought I knew my family. I thought my mother was a tough corporate climber who could stare down a charging CEO and hit a budget target blindfolded. Now I wonder if she was afraid of something in her past, something she lied about her whole life. Maybe it even explains her death. I thought my grandmother was an unworldly, sweet lady who liked to bake me cookies. Now I know she witnessed my grandfather’s murder. I think the past definitely formed their characters, and they were the two most important influences in my life. So an unknown past has already affected me.”
“I understand,” said Jen with a sympathetic smile. “I’m not a ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ kind of person either. They’re a tripping hazard asleep and a possible bite in the butt if they wake up. But you need to be careful in interpreting what you find out,” she warned. “ It’s going to be hard to get documented facts beyond what you already know, and it will be even harder to find witnesses or even second-hand gossip. Most of your grandfather’s adult contemporaries are dead or elderly. You may not learn what actually happened but only what people believe happened or want to believe happened. People usually redefine the past to suit their own ends.”
“Everybody lies. So what? My point is that it doesn’t matter,” asserted Christina. “You are who you are, Tess. You don’t change just because you learn about events that happened long before you were born.”
“My mother might agree,” nodded Tess with a wry shake of her head. “Like you, present actions were all that counted. But I have to believe character matters. Motive matters. My mother and grandmother are dead, and their actions can’t change. But
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