go.”
They got in the car and Kate realized she’d switched purses. She turned to Simon.
“Hold on. I need to go get my EpiPen in case we decide to grab a bite to eat afterward.” Her peanut allergy necessitated that she always have it with her. Once they were on the road, Annabelle’s chatter from the back seat was nonstop. When they pulled into the underground parking lot, Annabelle oohed and giggled at the sudden darkness, and Kate turned and smiled at her innocent joy.
Kate had gotten pregnant by accident in her first year of practice. She and Simon had been on the fence about having children. With two demanding careers, they didn’t think it was fair. When they found out she was pregnant, though, they were both elated. She remembered lying on the exam table for the ultrasound, Simon in a chair at her side, while her doctor smeared the gel onto her belly and moved the probe across her abdomen. “Here’s the heartbeat,” the doctor said, and they’d looked at each other in wonderment. And once Annabelle was born, they couldn’t image their lives without her.
Now Kate looked over at Simon’s profile as he parked, and despite everything that had happened between them, felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch him. She loved Simon, or at least she had until the last few months. She’d met him in a philosophy class senior fall, when she was still in the grips of grief. She’d gone through that first semester after Jake’s death in a fog, and Simon had been a good friend, helping her through her heartbreak. Then one day, he’d become more.
Simon was so different from Jake. He was a dark-haired heartthrob whose movie-star looks assured that he could get just about any girl he wanted, while Jake had possessed a combination of quiet confidence and fine intelligence. He’d never been one to draw attention to himself, whereas you couldn’t help but notice Simon. Kate had initially dismissed Simon as a pretty boy. But she eventually saw there was more to him than his looks. Simon had made the class fun. His wit infused the discussions with just the right note of irreverence to keep the talk lively, and when he invited her to join his study group, she found herself looking forward to seeing him, her feelings shifting subtly as the term progressed.
She had surprised herself when she said yes to his proposal after graduation, the word coming out before she realized it had. But then, she’d thought, it would be good. He made her forget what she couldn’t have. Together they’d forge a good life, their differences complementing one another. And wasn’t that better than being with someone too much like you? Surely that would get boring. Her parents had thought the engagement was too fast at first, as she’d been dating him for less than a year and, they pointed out, still had four years of medical school at Johns Hopkins. But in the end, they’d supported her, probably because they were just glad to see her happy again.
There had been a few times before Annabelle was born that Kate wondered if she’d made the right decision. On the day of her wedding, Blaire’s angry words had echoed in her mind, and she wondered if she was just marrying Simon on the rebound. But Jake was gone. She allowed herself a fleeting moment to wish it was him waiting for her on the altar, and then pushed him out of her mind. After all, she did love Simon.
A loud horn made her look up as the five of them walked across Pratt Street to the offices of Barton and Rothman, a downtown Baltimore landmark of steel and glass that resembled a pyramid made from Lego blocks. Barton and Rothman went back to the days when Kate’s great-great-grandfather Evans founded his real estate firm, which had grown into an empire, and Gordon’s great-great-grandfather had invested and managed the money. From that day to this, their families had been intertwined, and her family’s money had been in his family’s capable hands. Gordon, who was a partner now, was an astute and shrewd investor, but unfortunately he had failed to inherit the charm or appeal of his forebears.
She shivered as the wind kicked up, pulling Annabelle closer to her as she adjusted her daughter’s wool hat. The sidewalks were crowded with people—office workers, the men in suits and heavy overcoats, the women in stylish hooded parkas. There were sightseers in bulky down jackets strolling around the Inner Harbor, where Christmas decorations blazed from every store window. Kate found herself searching faces again, looking for anyone who seemed suspicious, someone who might be watching her. The muscles in her face were tight, her whole body on full alert.
As soon as they entered the building, Annabelle skipped to the elevator bank. “Can I push the button?” she asked, hopping up and down.
“Of course,” Kate said.
On the twenty-fourth floor, the elevator doors opened to the reception area of Barton and Rothman, the financial planning and advising firm. Sylvia, who’d been with the firm for as long as Kate could remember, rose from her chair behind the reception desk to greet them.
“Dr. Michaels, Kate, Simon,” she said. “Gordon is waiting for you.”
“Thank you,” Harrison said.
Kate hung back a moment. “Sylvia, do you have an empty conference room or office where my daughter and our nanny might sit while we meet?”
“Certainly. I’ll settle them in. You know the way to Gordon’s office,” she said and led Hilda and Annabelle down the hall in the other direction.
Gordon stood at his office door. “Good morning. Come in,” he said, shaking Harrison’s hand, giving Simon a curt nod, and then reaching out to Kate. His hand felt puffy and moist as it wrapped over hers, but as she attempted to pull it away, his fingers closed more tightly around hers, and he leaned forward to try and give her a hug. She took a breath, pulling away from him, and seated herself in one of the three leather chairs in front of his desk.
“Would you like coffee or tea?” Gordon asked, not taking his eyes off Kate.
Harrison cleared his throat. “No, thank you. Let’s get this over with quickly.”
Gordon walked back to his desk, bowed slightly, and pulled at the bottom of his vest before sitting down. Simon had always said that Gordon was pompous, but Kate knew he also grudgingly respected his brilliance at financial management.
“It is a very sad task we have before us today,” Gordon began, and Kate sighed, waiting for him to get on with it. He always managed to sound like he’d fallen straight off the pages of Bleak House.
“As I’m sure you know, Harrison, your wife’s will states very clearly that half of her estate goes to your daughter, and a portion of that in trust for your granddaughter.”
Harrison nodded. “Yes, of course. I was here with Lily when she made that provision.”
Kate looked at her father. “I don’t think it’s right,” she objected. “It should just be the trust for Annabelle. The rest should go to you.” Kate didn’t think she and Simon needed the money. They had plenty of income between their salaries and Kate’s trust, and her parents had given them a very generous check that allowed them to buy the land and build their own home.
“No, Kate. This is what your mother wanted. Her parents’ estate was handled the same way. I don’t care about the money. I just wish she were still here …” His voice broke.
“Still—” she began, but Simon interrupted her.
“I agree with your father. If that’s what she wanted, we need to respect that.”
A look crossed Harrison’s face, and Kate thought she read annoyance in his eyes. Simon’s interjection irritated her too. It wasn’t his place to say anything, really.
“I
