Same time next week, p.32
Same Time Next Week, page 32
She reached over Shelby and smiled wider if possible, sticking a hand out toward Jackson. "I'm Robin. It's a pleasure to meet you, finally."
"Same here," Jackson said with a nod and a firm handshake.
"Sorry it had to be under these circumstances, but I hope that after today, these circumstances can fade into the past."
Robin took a seat at the head of the table and unloaded a box of folders stuffed with papers, a notepad and a pen. She began sifting, handing copies to Jackson and Shelby. They thumbed through the stack of pages detailing the history of Melina's antics since the accident, since Lucas' death, since she'd lost out on a portion of a multimillion dollar settlement.
"Do you think she'll fight? I mean, do you think she'll make us take this to court?" Shelby flipped through page after page of familiar rants and false claims, shaking her head.
"Honestly? I don't know. I'd like to think she'll slink out with her tail between her legs but there's no tell–"
The door opened again and the receptionist ushered in a wall of men in dark suits, white shirts and briefcases. Behind them entered a woman bearing a strong resemblance to Lucas. Shelby's heartbeat thumped in erratic, staccato rhythm. It had been ages since she'd seen Melina in person. The old fear was rising within her. If she could, she’d have got up from her seat and bolted down the hall to the bathroom, but it was too late. Melina was in the room.
The passage of time had not been kind to Melina Samuels. Her once jet black, mid back length hair was stringy and graying. Crow’s feet etched deeply into puffy skin surrounding eyes that were now dull and listless. Melina sat directly across from Shelby and made her best attempt at staring Shelby down.
Shelby laughed. Loudly. Over and over, laughter bubbled up from inside her. She tried again and again to stop herself but it kept coming. With laughter came an easing of her nerves and dissipation of fear. Melina looked poor and desperate and crazy.
Let's get this show on the road. I have a life to get back to.
"If Ms. Torres is quite finished, I think we're ready to call this meeting to order." The lead attorney for the Samuels Trust spoke strongly and with confidence, but was obviously unamused. Shelby didn't blame him, so she stifled her laughter and folded her hands together in front of her on the table.
"I'm quite finished, thank you. My apologies. Nice to see you, Peter."
He nodded but didn't smile; rather, he turned his attention to Robin. "Let's get down to business. Your client won a large settlement as a result of the death of Mr. Samuels. His heir, Ms. Samuels–" He gestured toward Melina, who made a good show of sorrowfully casting her eyes down toward the table. "Feels that the Trust should have received a portion of said settlement. In fact, there was an expectation of such. This payment never came to fruition. Instead, your client fled the city and lived under a pseudonym for six months, where we can only assume she was hoping to evade attempts to collect."
"Can I assume that you have an agreement detailing the terms of the split of the settlement, signed by my client, myself, your clients and the Trust Attorneys?"
Peter faltered—they had to know Robin was going to ask for that. "Our understanding was that the agreement was verbal and that your client failed to sign–"
"Then can I assume that you have an audio or video tape of my client agreeing to the split, and a notarized, signed transcript... yadda yadda... you see where I'm going with this, right?"
"Certainly, Ms. Gold, we’re aware that no paper trail exists, however Ms. Torres was directly involved in the death of Lucas Samuels. She received an inheritance from his estate, then sued the tire manufacturer and because of his death, received a large sum in settlement. It's virtually a slap in the face to the Samuels family for her to not at least repay the portion of an inheritance that should have gone to his ex-wife, his children and his charities."
Peter's ocean blue eyes moved from Robin and focused on Shelby, staring her down the way lawyers stare down the opposing counsel's witness. "At the very least, Shelby you owe it to the Samuels family to return what you never should have inherited."
"I owe the Samuels family nothing," Shelby said, calmly. "I sued the tire manufacturer because I bought a faulty, shoddily manufactured set of tires. Those tires were installed on my car and hours later, were the cause of a fatal accident. Even if Lucas had..."
Shelby swallowed, almost stumbling over her words, but regained her footing easily. "Even if Lucas hadn't have died, you and I know well that he would have done the same. I took what Lucas left for me, like every other member of the family—"
Melina stood, pointing across the table at Shelby, screeching at the top of her lungs “You were never family, you slut! You were my father's money hungry, gold digging black whore!”
Shelby reared back. Peter stood, gripping Melina’s forearm tightly and leaned over her. He whispered something coarse and gruff. Whatever he said made her sit, yank her arm from his grip and huff a breath, arms folded across her chest. Peter sat again, nodding at Shelby.
“Like I was saying, I didn’t take anything from anyone. I accepted what Lucas wanted me to have, because he thought enough of me to want me taken care of. I won’t apologize that my fiancé loved me. You want to talk about undeserved, though? Some light reading."
Shelby slid the stack of pages across the table toward him. He stopped the slide with the palm of his hand and flipped through a page or two.
"A working history of every lie, every deceitful word Melina has spread about me and my family since Lucas died, since I was named in the will, since the settlement came in. Copies of the intrusive note that she sent to Mr. Sweeney.” Shelby nodded toward Jackson. Melina’s eyes grew to the size of saucers once she realized the man sitting next to Shelby wasn’t another attorney, but the celebrity she’d tried to use to bring Shelby down.
“If the Samuels family felt they deserved part of that settlement, there should have been less assumption and more motion filing, more contract writing. The time for begging for what must amount to a penny in the pockets of the Samuels Enterprise was back then. If you think you can force my hand now, think again. Not now, not ever.”
Shelby sat back, aware of the stares in the room, all eyes on her. Robin toyed with her pen, a slight smile on her face. "So what we're saying here today is... it's not happening. There will be no disbursement of funds from the Torres vs Perfect Tire settlement. Furthermore…"
Robin opened a folder and slid another stack of pages across the table, distributing copies down the line to Melina and every lawyer.
"This is a Cease and Desist order, signed and sworn before the Honorable Judge Henry Farmer, barring Melina from mentioning the settlement, the inheritance, or my client. No interviews, no internet postings, no public rants. No TV shows, no radio shows, no blog posts. Ms. Samuels will simply fade from Ms. Torres' life. Effective immediately.”
“Not on your life!” Melina spat. “I’ll take you to court and sue you blind. Your great grandchildren will owe me money!”
Robin smiled. “I anticipated that to be your next move. I’d rethink it. We’ll countersue for harassment. You provided all of the evidence by being stupid enough to identify yourself, even when you sent the package to Mr. Sweeney. And the pièce de résistance… "
She reached into the folder once more, pulling out yet another stack of pages. She handed a set to Shelby and Jackson, a set to Melina and a set to Peter. Shelby glanced at the top page and nearly jumped out of her seat when she read it.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA
PLAINTIFF
VS.
MELINA SAMUELS
DEFENDANT
COMPLAINT FOR THE CRIME OF THEFT
The date on the document showed that it had been filed with Florida Courts nearly a decade ago. Behind the top page was a long, detailed description of every item that Melina had been accused of stealing from an upscale department store. And behind that, several more stamped official court documents:
COMPLAINT FOR THE CRIME OF CHECK KITING, THEFT
COMPLAINT FOR THE CRIME OF FORGERY
COMPLAINT FOR THE CRIME OF FRAUD
Smug, Robin said, “Feel free to skip to the end of the story. I love happy endings.” A flurry of pages rose as everyone flipped to the last set of documents, stapled together. It was the most recent, filed almost a month prior to the arrival of the FedEx package on Shelby’s doorstep and into Jackson’s hands.
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CHAPTER 7 ORDER RE: DISCHARGE AND ORDER DISCHARGING TRUSTEE AND CLOSING CH.7 ESTATE
Shelby’s jaw nearly dropped to the table. Her head jerked up toward Jackson, who was still reading, but his brows drew closer together and the lines across his forehead sank deeper. He tossed the pages down, the stack hitting the table with a satisfying thunk. So much proof that Shelby was doing the right thing.
Melina swallowed but didn’t speak She didn’t need to. Each of the five suits at the table stared down at the glossy surface of the table.
“Let’s see if I can fill in the blanks.” Robin stood and clasped her hands behind her back. She began a slow pace across the front of the room as she laid out the story.
“You'll see from the multiple court filings that magically fell through some huge crack in the justice system, as well as a forensic analysis of Lucas Samuels’ finances that Lucas was the only thing standing between Melina and prison time, for everything from theft of merchandise to forgery to trying to cash checks from her father’s account. In fact, a review of the Last Will and testament of Lucas Samuels shows that not only did he recently add Shelby to his will, but he removed you. Didn’t he, Melina?”
The stricken expression across Melina’s face said everything. Robin had stumbled upon a gigantic Lucas family controversy. “And he wouldn’t add you back until you proved you were trustworthy, by taking the money he gave you to make restitution payments on the items you stole. Only… when Lucas died, your source of income dried up. And when it was time for the disbursement of his estate, which you must have been eagerly anticipating, you learned that you got nothing. It must have burned you up to know that your dad’s fiancée got something, but Lucas left you nothing.
“Then came the settlement with Perfect Tire, which I bet you were excited about, because while you were removed from the will, you weren’t removed from the family. Whatever came to the Samuels family would be split evenly and you’d get your portion. When that didn’t come and Shelby came up missing, you must have lost your mind.”
“It wasn’t fair!” Melina slapped a hand loudly against the table, her puffy face beet red. “That whore spent a couple of years of being his exotic fancy and took what was mine. She convinced him to drop me from the will, then got rich off of his death and didn’t even have the decency to share with the family she took him from!”
“I did no such thing, you crazy bitch!”
Peter leaned over to his client and mumbled a few words to her. She cut her eyes at him and then rolled them, tossing her head away. Robin was behind Melina, hulking around her. Melina had shifted in her seat several times, finally swatting at Robin to get her to back up. The wall of attorneys looked on in awe and surprise. Shelby wasn’t surprised in the least. This was how Lucas Samuels worked, several irons in the fire and none of them knew about each other.
“Get real, sister,” Robin said, her words raining down around Melina. “If anyone thought Shelby killed Lucas, she’d be in jail right now. With no money coming in, you were forced to file bankruptcy. You thought Shelby was in the wind, but then got word that she was in Orlando. Your greed reared its ugly head and you scraped together enough money for a private investigator, who found her living under an assumed name. You located the man she was dating, Mr. Sweeney, and saw that he too was worth millions. You figured you’d expose Shelby to him and shame her into giving you what you wanted. Then you could live on that money, since your creditors couldn’t come after you for it. Considering Mr. Sweeney is sitting on Ms. Torres’s side of the table and you still have no money, that didn’t work out for you, did it?”
Shelby gulped, almost audibly and glanced at Jackson. His head turned slightly, a glint in his eye. I told you, he seemed to be saying. She would have won. Shelby unclasped her hands and slid one under Jackson’s arm. He covered her hand with his, adding a few soothing pats.
Melina fidgeted, breathing heavy. Her eyes darted from Peter, at whom she shot daggers, to Shelby and Jackson across the table. She couldn’t hold her gaze, though and her eyes dropped again.
“What this amounts to is another Melina Samuels scam. We’re not falling for it.” Robin made her way back to her seat and settled into it. “Melina agrees to drop this fruitless effort and we won’t go public with this entire story. How many people would do business with Samuels Enterprises if they knew his daughter was a white collar felon with a rap sheet as long as my arm?”
Peter rolled his chair from the table, turning his back to Robin. Three other attorneys huddled around him and a blushing, fuming Melina. Peter whispered, Melina hissed back, Peter seemed to threaten her, pointing and then throwing up his hands, shaking his head at her.
Shelby glanced at Jackson and he shrugged, quietly watching the exchange. She didn’t know what those signs meant, but hoped they signaled something good. After a few minutes of hushed conversation, he wheeled back to the table.
“Considering all of the facts…or lack thereof, we think your proposal is reasonable. But the gag order goes both ways. This meeting and our agreement cannot be discussed, so Ms. Torres is not to speak on the proceedings, the topics of conversation or the outcome at any time.”
Robin glanced over at me. I glared at Melina. “I have no problem never mentioning Melina or the Samuels family ever again. But if Melina talks, a whole stack of unmentionables will hit the press. I’ll definitely make sure nothing is swept under the rug."
Peter stood, picking up his briefcase. Robin stood as well, shook hands with him and walked him to the door. They mumbled details to each other about faxes and agreements and signatures, then Peter led the trail of attorneys with dark suits and briefcases back out of the office. Melina followed like a defeated black sheep—head down, shoulders sagging, slow plodding steps out of the room and down the hall out of sight.
“Wow.” Jackson leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, rubbing his eyes with his thumbs. “That was intense.”
Shelby exhaled a long, loud breath, wilting from the stress and strain of the past week. “Wow is right. I’m in shock. You were right; she was penniless.”
“Did you know all of this?” Jackson pointed toward the now dog-eared pages. There were several documents Shelby had marked to read.
“Bits and pieces. Lucas was very protective over private family business. We almost never discussed it. I see why now.” Shelby glanced through the stacks again, her eyes roving page after page. “You did a great job, Robin.”
Robin shrugged with a small but proud smile. “All in a day’s work. I had to figure out what made Melina tick. I always knew it was money, but she sank her teeth in a little too deeply. She was too passionate, too crazy. Once I reviewed Lucas’ accounts, I pieced things together. I think the Trust attorneys knew there was no case. They hoped we were too dumb and too scared to figure it out. And I’ll bet Melina promised them a nice payday once she got her money.”
“Popped a hole in that balloon,” Jackson said. Shelby and Robin laughed, staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing, Jackson.” Shelby wrapped both hands around his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. “Is it over? Really over?”
“Seems like it,” Jackson said softly, leaning down to brush his lips across her forehead. He looked up to find Robin watching them. “Is it? Can we go home?”
She nodded, gathering papers and folders together and stood, heading toward the door. “There will be an agreement coming over the fax to seal the deal. I’ll need Shelby to sign it, but I can send it by messenger anywhere. If I were the two of you, I’d get the hell out of Miami. Go live your life, Shelby. You’re free.”
Jackson
No one could have been more relieved than Jackson. Shelby had dodged a bullet. It would have been nasty, had Robin not dug deeper and found everything she’d found out about Melina and what Lucas had tried to hide from not only his fiancée, but the world.
Suddenly and almost unbelievably, it was over. Or it seemed to be. Time would tell if Melina would fade or if she was crazy enough to keep going. Jackson was betting she was off her rocker, but not that crazy. That was a big bet that he hoped paid off.
After leaving Robin’s office, they headed back to the quaint Spanish style stucco home to pack up Shelby’s luggage and say goodbye to her parents.
“But we hardly saw you,” Evelyn whined, watching Shelby pile clothes into her suitcase. “And we didn’t get to spend any time with Jackson”
“I need to get back to class if I’m graduating in June. And it’s not like we’re never coming back.” Shelby surveyed her suitcase and then the room, making sure she didn’t forget anything. “We’ll be back in a few weeks.”
“And you’ll stay here, not some hotel?” Jackson glanced at Shelby. Shelby glanced at Jackson. They grinned at each other. Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Whatever, you two. Here is better than the backseat of the car, isn’t it?”
“We’ll see, mom.” Shelby closed her suitcase and whipped the zipper around. Jackson moved in to grab it, slid it off of the bed and headed toward the door.
“I’ll let you two have your moment.” He made his way down the narrow staircase with Shelby’s suitcase. At the landing, Roberto was waiting on him. Jackson set the suitcase down and extended a hand. Roberto shook it, his grip strong.
“Pleasure meeting you, son.”
“You too, sir.”
“Got a lot of respect for you. Shelby…” His eyes rolled upward, as if he could see her through the ceiling above them, in her room. “She can be difficult. We made her that way, I suppose. I appreciate you seeing through the things that she’s done to the woman she is. She’s an incredible person. I want you to know that. I want you to know her.”
