“That’s okay… I just wanted to mention it in case you weren’t already aware. I’m afraid it’s also the reason why I wasn’t mentioned in the will, which brings us back full circle, Mr. Hawthorne. I’m not sure what you could possibly want to talk to me about.”
This wasn’t going like I had planned. Granted, I hadn’t given how I wanted to do this much thought, but it was still not going smoothly enough.
“I read the will,” I admitted after taking in the stiff way she was holding herself: sitting on the very edge of her seat, impatient and ready to bolt. Maybe she’d appreciate a more straightforward approach, which was something I excelled at.
“Okay,” she prompted, raising an eyebrow.
“I’d like to talk to you about the property on Madison Avenue that was owned by your uncle.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “What about it?”
“I’d like to know what your plan is going forward regarding the property. I believe you and Gary had signed a contract a little while before his death indicating that you would have use of the property for a short time period, something like two years, and would only pay him a small amount of rent instead of the actual worth of the place. At the end of the two years, you would relocate. Correct?”
She frowned at me but nodded.
Satisfied that she was following me, I continued, “The contract was entered into the will, but Gary chose to add a stipulation I believe you only recently learned about. In the case of something happening to him during those two years, he wanted ownership of the property to transfer to your husband—”
“If I were married,” Rose finished, her chin held high.
“Yes.” I pointedly looked at her left hand and she followed my gaze. “If you were married, that is.”
Her eyes lifted back to mine in the next second and I watched a frown form between her brows.
“I already know about all of this,” she explained slowly. “Gary was excited about me marrying Joshua, my fiancé. They got along well, and he liked him—we both had a business degree, but evidently it looked like he trusted Joshua more—”
“Your ex-fiancé, you mean,” I reminded her.
She paused at my words, but her fingers finally let go of the death grip she had on her handbag as she tried to follow my meaning. “Yes. Right. Of course, ex-fiancé. It’s still a habit. We only broke up a few weeks ago. I’m sorry, but how do you know he’s my ex-fiancé?”
I paused, trying to be careful with my words. “I do my due diligence, Miss Coleson. Please continue.”
She studied me for a long moment as I waited patiently. “I wasn’t even aware that he would enter our contract into his will. I was also never supposed to have ownership of the property, that wasn’t in the contract. He was letting me have use of the property for two years only, after the time limit, I was to leave. Then my uncle and his wife, Angela, died in the car crash and I learned that in the will he was planning on leaving the property to my husband.”
“Maybe that was his way of giving you something. A surprise maybe. A wedding gift of some kind.”
“Yes. Maybe. Maybe that was his way of leaving us the place, but I’m not married to Joshua at the moment, am I? So I get nothing.” She shrugged. “I only knew that Gary thought Joshua’s presence would be necessary if I was serious about opening my own coffee shop. I disagreed with him. It didn’t matter that we’d started discussing the possibility of me using the space a year prior to Joshua even coming into my life. He didn’t think I could handle the work on my own, and Joshua was in between jobs so he thought it made sense. I didn’t. I believe he trusted Joshua more than he trusted me because he went to a better school. Also, can’t forget about the fact that I’m a woman and Joshua is a man. He was old-fashioned and didn’t believe women could handle themselves in the business world. However, when we talked about it again and I told him about my plans for the place, he agreed to let me use his property. Joshua wasn’t a part of the conversation then—or the contract, for that matter. He never made stipulations other than the fact that I’d only be able to use the space for two years and then I’d have to find myself a different location. That was all the help he was willing to give me. Nothing more, nothing less. I was thankful either way. I have no idea why he felt it was necessary to add Joshua in his will regarding something concerning me. And why am I telling you all this?”
I leaned back in my seat, getting comfortable. Now we were getting somewhere. “He still isn’t part of the conversation.”
“I… Excuse me?”
“Gary never used your ex-fiancé’s name. He never specified who would be the owner of the property in case he passed away. There is only the mention of a ‘husband.’”
“I don’t see how that matters. I was supposed to get married to Joshua sometime this year and he knew that, but in the end, I didn’t. Joshua broke up with me two days after their death. So, because I’m not married, Mr. Hawthorne, and I’m not planning on marrying anyone any time soon, I don’t get to use the space let alone own it. I talked to my cousins, Bryan and Jodi, but they aren’t interested in honoring the contract I’d signed with their dad, which means I’m not going to be able to open my coffee shop. At this point, I’m just trying to accept the fact that I threw away fifty thousand dollars—fifty thousand dollars that I managed to save by working for I don’t even know how many years at this point—on a space that was never going to be mine anyway. All that aside, I lost two people who were important to me in the same car crash that day. Even though I was Gary’s niece, they never saw me as their own flesh and blood, but they were all I had after my dad passed away when I was nine. Whatever the case may be, instead of letting me get lost in the system Gary agreed to take me in and that’s all that matters. So, to answer your previous question, I have no plans regarding the property because I’m not allowed to use it anymore.”
A little out of breath and, from what I could tell, a lot pissed off, she stood up and hooked her bag over her shoulder.
“Okay, I really don’t want to be rude, but I believe this was a waste of both our time. I was a little curious when I was following you here, I’ll admit that much, but I don’t have time to go over things I already know for no reason at all. I have a job interview I need to get to, and I can’t afford to be late. I think we’re done here, right? It was nice meeting you, Mr. Hawthorne.”
Thinking our conversation was done, she extended her hand over my desk, and I stared at it for a second. Before she could decide to walk away, I let out a breath, rose from my seat, and looked into her eyes as I took her hand.
This was it. This was the part where I should’ve said It was nice meeting you and gone on with my day. I didn’t.
In a calm and collected voice, I said what I’d been waiting to say. “You’re not being rude, Miss Coleson, but before you go, I’d like you to marry me.” Breaking our connection, I pushed my hands into my pockets, watching for her reaction.
After a short moment of hesitation, she replied, “Sure, how about we do that after my job interview, but before dinner. Because, you know, I already made plans with Tom Hardy and I don’t think I can postpone—”