of the will is that everything he has is left to you, Mrs. Wallberg, in trust for your two teen-aged children, your daughter who should be fourteen now and your son who should be about seventeen.”
“That’s right.”
“At the time the will was drawn up the only asset of real value was your home and the good news is that when the mortgage was obtained, life insurance was part of the package so that means your home will now be debt free.”
Mrs. Wallberg clapped her hands together as a smile replaced the dour expression on her face. “Oh,” she exclaimed. That is good news.”
“There’s more Mrs. Wallberg.”
“What more?” she said in anticipation.
“The company will continue to pay you the salary your husband earned for another three months. That will provide you with one hundred and twenty thousand dollars minus withholding, social security and so on”
Her eyebrows lifted. “I didn’t expect they would do that. That’s generous.”
“Another bit of good news is that your husband had fifty thousand dollars worth of company life insurance.”
“That will help.”
“The bad news is that the stock options set aside for your husband automatically expired upon his unfortunate demise.”
“What stock options?”
Orleans was surprised and his face showed it. A moment of hesitation and then, “Your husband did not inform you of the stock options awarded to him when he assumed his role as CEO?”
Her voice rising in anger Marilyn said, “I never heard anything about any stock options.”
Momentarily taken aback Orleans said, “I see. Well, the matter is moot now. Those options could not be exercised for two more years anyhow, but as I said, the options expired with your husband’s passing so there is no discussion required.”
Richard Spehn who had been silent until this point leaned forward, placed his hands on the desk, and interjected, “Exactly how much were those options worth, Mr. Orleans?”
“I believe their value would have been around nine million dollars.”
In an insistent voice Spehn said, “Mr. Orleans, would it be possible for you to appeal to the Board of Directors of TCI to restore the options immediately?”
“I will tell them that you have made that request, but frankly I’m not optimistic.”
“Well, please do that. My sister is grateful for the generosity of the company, but after the three months of salary stops, it’s doubtful she will be able to stay in her own home even though the mortgage has been paid. She has two children heading for college and she could return to work but her income would obviously be nowhere near what her husband provided for the family. I envision real financial difficulties for her should she not have immediate access to the stock options.”
Marilyn Wallberg shook her head in frustration. “I can’t believe this. He never said one word to me about stock options.”
“I’ll see what I can do about the options,” Orleans said. “Is there anything I can do to help you with the funeral?”
“No thank you,” Marilyn Wallberg replied. “My husband is to be cremated.”
Orleans, with a questioning look reached for the will and thumbed through it. “I think you should read this clause,” he said handing her the will and indicating a paragraph. “I guess you wouldn’t have known, but the will expressly forbids cremation and requests that he is to be buried next to his parents in Forest Glen cemetery in Maywood. I remember him telling me about their tragic deaths in an automobile accident four years ago.”
With eyes closed and her forehead wrinkled tightly, Marilyn said, “Oh no. That’s not what he told me. He always spoke of cremation. That’s what he wanted…cremation.”
Orleans calmly said, “But, Mrs. Wallberg, unless you have a written, signed and witnessed amendment to this will, his burial wishes will have to be carried out.”
“The only amendment I have is what he said.”
“As I said, it must be in writing and made a part of the will.”
Marilyn Wallberg rose from her chair in agitation. “Damn it! He never told me anything about anything. He had to die before I could find out what was in his mind.”
Orleans chose to view this outburst as the reaction of a bereaved wife excusable during periods of stress. “I’m sorry Mrs. Wallberg, there’s nothing I can do.”
“I know. I know. I just…I’m sorry. I just don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Her brother reached over to pat her shoulder. In a resigned voice, Marilyn said to Orleans, “Thank you. I do appreciate your kindness.”
Marilyn and her brother left the attorney’s office and drove to the funeral parlor to make arrangements to have Victor Wallberg buried in accordance with the instructions in his will. Richard consoled his sister with the knowledge that her financial situation was not as dire as she had supposed and with three months of salary to be paid, she had at least that much time to consider her options.
CHAPTER 4
Dr. Andrew Lassiter, chairman of the surgical committee, reviewed Victor Wallberg’s chart, presented the details to the committee to familiarize them with the case and to provide an opportunity to ask questions. Five days after the death of Victor Wallberg, Harris was called before the committee. Lassiter opened the discussion. He was a seventy-year-old general surgeon who still worked part time. At his age, and by medical staff rule, he was no longer allowed to take emergency room call. He was a soft-spoken, plain-looking man with a subtle sense of humor, well respected by hospital personnel. He had been chairperson of the surgical case review committee for twelve years, a position he held at the insistence of the surgeons who recognized him as totally impartial, knowledgeable, and honest.
“I thoroughly reviewed your case Cliff,” Lassiter said, “I’ve had a few congenital bands in my day, but I can’t remember one this patient’s age.”
“Yes, it’s unusual. I was surprised.”
“As I evaluate your work in the chart I do want to say that your documentation was superb, and as best as I could tell you corrected all the problems that your patient presented so acutely.”
“Thank you.”
Lassiter continued, “We have no problem with your initial operative procedure. You promptly made a correct diagnosis, and the case, although a difficult one, did go smoothly. So take it from there please. Tell us what happened after the first procedure.”
Gathering himself Harris said, “Well as you know, the patient initially left the operating room in good condition. There was no bleeding, and his vital signs, except for his temperature were all normal. After he was made comfortable in the ICU, I issued the usual written orders for the nurses and went down to the surgical locker room. While I was
