Free Cross Check (Marriage Contract #1) by Colleen Masters

contract.
     
    Godspeed,
    L.K.
     
    A deep, unmoving silence falls over the room as Jamison and
I finish reading Loudon’s letter. My very blood feels like it’s come to a
standstill in my veins.
    “Well?” Cordelia demands, crossing her skinny arms, “What
does it say?”
    Wordlessly, Jay slides the letter across the table to his
sister. I watch as her eyes go wider and wider with every line she reads.
    “Greg,” Jamison manages to croak, as Cordelia reads the
letter a second time, “This has to be some kind of joke. Right?”
    “I’m afraid not,” Mr. Price says, looking tentatively at my
blank face.
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” I reply, my voice oddly calm, “A
letter like that isn’t legally binding. Just because Loudon jotted this down on
a whim—”
    “But it wasn’t a whim, Leah,” Price cuts me off, “Loudon
adjusted the wording of his actual will to reflect these wishes. I implemented
the changes myself.”
    “Why the fuck would you let him do this?!” Jamison demands
heatedly, “This is absolutely batshit!”
    “Is it, though?” Price asks evenly, “It seemed like a pretty
decent interim solution at the time. Quite frankly, it still does.”
    “How in the hell do you figure that?” I shoot back, cold
panic starting to seep in through the disbelief.
    “Loudon wanted to leave each of you with your fair share of
the company and estate. Becoming partners in that inheritance makes perfect
sense.”
    “You’re forgetting the part where we’re supposed to be life
partners as well,” I point out, my voice rising by an octave. “You know. Man
and wife?”
    “Oh, only legally,” Price says, waving a dismissive hand,
“No one’s asking you to fall in love or anything. Like Loudon says in his
letter, this is just a business matter.”
    “Like hell it is,” Jamison roars, rising to his feet.
    “This is completely unacceptable,” I agree, standing as well,
“There has to be some kind of way to appeal this.”
    “What’re you gonna do, break out the Ouija board?” Price
says testily, “What’s done is done! Look, if you really can’t stomach the idea
of a getting married, then you just have to decide between yourselves who gets
to take over the business. It’s that simple.”
    “Well, that’s easy,” Jamison says, whipping around to face
me, “I’ll come on as the new president, and Leah can keep her job as a creative
executive. Problem solved.”
    “Excuse me?” I reply, “There is no way in hell I’m letting
you waltz in and take over the company I’ve poured my life into all these
years. Not when your father’s legacy is at stake.”
    “This company is my birthright,” Jay says fiercely, towering
over me, “I’m the only person who’s fit to run it.”
    “Could you be more of an entitled prick?” I snap back, my
hands balled into fists at my sides, “You would run King Enterprises straight
into the ground. I should be the one to take over. No question about it.”
    “You?!” Jay crows disdainfully, “How are you gonna negotiate
with the biggest players in entertainment all on your own? They’ll take one
look at you and see a little girl they can take advantage of.”
    “How dare you,” I growl, getting right up in his face—height
difference be damned. “I know you’re used to getting your way, Jamison King.
But I’m not handing this company over to you just like that. We’ll just have
our lawyers scour the will again and find a loophole.”
    “Leah, I’ve always served as both your lawyer,” Price points
out, “And I’m telling you, this thing is airtight. The only way forward is for
you two to get married, or decide between yourselves who will take over. If you
refuse to compromise, well…”
    “Then it all goes…to me?” Cordelia breathes.
    I glance over at Loudon’s daughter, watching as dollar signs
dance in her big blue eyes. A wave of nausea courses through me. The only
person less suited to run King Enterprises than Jamison is