Chapter 90

No one said a word for what felt like forever. Pearl finally spoke, "I don't want it. Any of it. Give it to David, he should have... "

"Pearl, I advise you to refrain from saying anything right now." Her attorney interrupted.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I have to honor my client's wishes. I'm not opposed to considering other ideas but I'm not giving David the company right now", the executor said.

"We will talk it over and I will be in touch. Please keep me in the loop so that I can be present for any court proceedings and paperwork that needs to be finalized." He gave the executor his card.

"David I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I don't want anything to do with this. Please figure something out so I can give it to you." Pearl said, as her attorney led her out of the room.

"I'll be in touch.", David said.

"What am I going to do? What happens now? I just signed a three album record deal. I don't have the ability to run a Fortune 500 company. I don't know the first fucking thing about it! What am supposed to do?" Pearl was furious, and everyone in the car was hearing about it. That piece of shit Thomas Powers got his way. And now, she had this to deal with. It looked like she was screwing the old man and the son. Between this and Rhys' money confession, there was no way to avoid everyone on the planet thinking she was a gold digging power whore. She needed a drink. "Stop here." She said to Jim, who was driving the three of them.

He stopped the car and she got out, walking across the street into a tavern, all of them following her.

"Tall vodka and cranberry. Make that two.", she ordered as she sat at the bar. She slammed the first one.

"Ok. I am calmer now. Talk to me about a plan." She said to the attorney.

"I need to know how things are going to play out in probate court. It's a tedious process. David can contest it. The will is technically the law but the executor has privileges to change it, if he is persuaded to do so." He glanced through the will again. "And there is one other option."

"What's that?" Dylan asked.

"It says you can't sell for five years. It doesn't say anything about giving it away. Or a portion of it. You can sometimes transfer it to a family member, as a gift. There are ways to get around this. We just have to find out where we stand." The attorney ordered a shot.

"This Powers dude really screwed with his son. First he did everything he possibly could to make you doubt his affection for you before he died and then after he died, he made David have to deal with you through all this after losing you. Damn." Dylan said.

"I wish I would have met this guy before he got dead. I would have accelerated the process, gladly." Jim mumbled. They all looked at him, terrified.

"What?" Jim asked.

"Nothing big guy. Glad you're my cuddle buddy is all." Dylan said, patting his back. They all laughed. What a day.

Pearl tried to call Rhys when they got back to the house. No answer. She sent him a text and asked the attorney to contact him also. He said he would and she thanked him for everything. "Try to relax. I will be in touch." He said and left her, Dylan and Jim.

"I cannot believe this is my life." Pearl said.

"He was right. Try to relax and get some rest. We have everyone coming into town Thursday. We need to focus on this album. The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can tweak it and make it great and get it released. I'll stop by Wednesday and help with whatever you need here. John will be busy arranging everything on his end. I think Jax is coming Saturday and Sunday. I'll see you then. Are you going to be ok?" He put his arm around her, giving her a side hug.

"Thank you for coming today. And for just being you. I'll see you Wednesday." Pearl said, walking him to the door.

"What are we doing for dinner, Jimbo?" Pearl asked, looking in the fridge.

"Digging a hole out back to put you in if you ever call me that again." Jim said, sipping his tea.

"You really need to tone down the death threats today, I'm starting to think you need to get laid." Pearl joked, taking a bite of an apple.

"Filthy. Mouth." Jim said under his breath.

By nine that night, she still hadn't heard from Rhys. She was getting worried. She called him again and left a voice message. Then several texts. Maybe he was somewhere in the woods and not by his phone? It wasn't like him to not want to know how the day went.

She laid on the couch and turned on the television. She typed in "Knights of Eden" on a steaming network watched the first season of the show. "Wow!" She said out loud, to herself. She was blown away by Rhys. He was an amazing actor. And the show was amazing.

She watched all three seasons and fell fast asleep on the couch right afterwards, dreaming of her Eden Knight.