Free Bring Him Home by Karina Bliss Page A

drawn up, Lewis had been a baby, Claire hadn’t been working and money was tight. “To be honest, we probably wouldn’t have included that clause anyway. We trusted Nate.”
    “And now you don’t?”
    “He shouldn’t have the power to throw his weight around when he’s spent over a year resisting every attempt I made to get him to do his damn job!”
    “Having had every single legal letter ignored through that period, I completely agree.” Jules laid the document on her neat desk. “But if Nate refuses to step down, the only way to get rid of him is to take him to court.”
    Claire stared at her friend in dismay.
    “And scheduling a hearing depends on the backlog.… We could be talking months.”
    “Argh!” Claire started pacing the office. “I haven’t got that kind of time.”
    “Calm down.” Jules gently pushed her into a leather armchair, then poured a glass of water from the jug on her desk. “Here...let’s talk this through. It’s possible I can pull strings for an early hearing.”
    Accepting the glass, Claire noticed Jules’s bare left hand. “Where’s your engagement ring?”
    Jules hid her hand behind her back. “At the jeweler’s.… The…ah…stone was loose.”
    Claire said carefully, “Okay.”
    Jules sighed. “I’m lying,” she admitted. “I’ve stopped wearing it at work. It only draws questions from clients who don’t know about Lee. ‘Oh, what a lovely engagement ring. When’s the big day?’ That kind of thing.” Unlocking her desk drawer, she pulled out a large diamond solitaire, and slid the platinum band onto her finger. Even on an overcast morning, it seized all the room’s ambient light and dazzled, exactly like the man who’d bought it for her.
    “It’s not a ring that goes unnoticed,” agreed Claire.
    Jules was looking at the diamond. “Do you think it’s awful of me?” she said in a low voice.
    “Of course not.” Momentarily, Claire forgot her own troubles. “Look, there’s no standard operating procedures for getting on with your life. We each muddle through as best we can.” Jules and Lee had only a six-week whirlwind romance before he deployed. Some might think that should have made it easier for her to get over him. Having grown closer through their mutual bereavement, Claire knew different.
    “You caught me by surprise, coming early.” Jules adjusted the ring on her finger. “I would have been wearing it to see Nate.”
    “No one doubts your love for Lee,” Claire said.
    Clearing her throat, Jules retreated behind her desk, saying briskly, “Let’s return to business, shall we?”
    Claire took the hint. “If legal action’s the only way to keep Nate out—” she steeled herself “—then let’s start that ball rolling.”
    “Grounds usually include one of the following. The trustee has acted outside their powers…”
    “Strike one.” Her anger began to rise again.
    “Or has acted capriciously…”
    “Strike two.”
    “Or has taken into account irrelevant or improper factors—”
    Claire stood up and began pacing again. “He thinks this is a knee-jerk reaction to Steve’s death, which it bloody isn’t.”
    Jules continued calmly. “Or has made a decision that no reasonable trustee could make.”
    “Strike three and he’s out. How can we not win?”
    “Because he’ll claim he’s acting in your best interests and however angry you are, Nate thinks he is, doesn’t he?”
    Claire scowled.
    “You’re a beneficiary as well as a trustee,” Jules added, “which means your motives for firing him would be questioned.”
    “My motives are that he’s been useless.… We have good records for that.”
    “He could argue that having witnessed Steve’s death, he’s been incapable of fulfilling his duties until this point. Certainly, prior to the ambush he was exemplary in fulfilling his role as trustee.”
    Claire snorted. “All he did was sign an annual account document and a trust tax return. All token stuff to meet