Chapter 6
"How was the funeral?" It's a misplaced question and I can tell from the expression on Nathan's face that it's not one that he wants to be asking.
I plop myself down in a chair in front of his expansive desk. "Horrible. There weren't even ten people there. His mother was distraught. I couldn’t wait for it to be over."
He brushes his lips across my forehead and squeezes my shoulder through the plain black dress before he sits next to me. "We need to talk."
"Jax said you came by the night before Mark died." I realize that was more than a week ago and I should have put some effort into getting in touch with Nathan before now.
"I came by to tell you he was dead." The words are direct and without emotion. Even though he's now my attorney, and an old friend, Nathan hasn't ever asked anything about Mark. He's never been overly curious about why I ended my engagement to him. His interest in that relationship has always been limited to my financial interest in Mark's company.
"You didn't tell Jax, did you?" I cringe when the question leaves my lips. I want to believe that Jax didn't find out about Mark's death until the moment he told me, but I've had lingering doubts all week. After we'd made love that night, he'd gotten out of bed and had spent hours on the phone.
He chuckles softly before he answers." He told me to go to hell in no uncertain terms, Ivy. I couldn't get two words in."
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "He has issues with you."
"I've wondered about that. What's that about?"
I close my eyes as he leans closer and his breath caresses my cheek. "Nothing. It's nothing." I can't confess to him that I told my boyfriend that I used to masturbate to thoughts of Nathan's naked body intertwined with mine.
"You're blushing." His finger grazes my cheek and I instinctively pull back. I have to focus.
"I'm not." I smile sheepishly. "Why did you want me to come by?"
He studies my face with his piercing blue eyes before he stands to walk behind his desk. "I can't believe I'm going to say this but it may be best if Jax was here for this."
"Jax?" I can't temper the surprise in my tone. "Why would he need to be here?"
"It may just be easier for him to hear it coming from me than from you."
"What?" I feel my stomach drop with the question. This has to do with Mark. It must. I haven't consulted with Nathan in any official legal sense since Mark was arrested. The deal for Jax to buy my shares of the company had been put on hold while the board wrestled with what to do when wind of the scandal hit the papers. The fact that both Jax and I still retained shares in the company was a subject neither of us ever brought up. We both viewed it as a mute until Mark had sorted through his next step.
"Do you want to call him and ask him to come down?" It's a genuine question but it's laced with a challenging undercurrent. Nathan doesn't believe I can handle whatever he's going to share with me. That's because he still views me as the young girl who chased him when we were children.
"Just tell me already, Nate." I grip the arms of the wooden chair trying desperately to temper both my rising anxiety and my anger. I don't have to involve Jax in everything I do. I can handle whatever this is alone.
"Mark left everything to you." He says each word slowly, carefully and loudly.
"Mark what?" I heard him just fine. I desperately want him to repeat it back so I'm certain that there's been no misunderstanding.
"His attorney called me. They read the will. He left everything to you."
"That can't be right." I stand and immediately feel my knees buckle. I reach for the edge of his desk just as I feel his hands grab my waist. "No. Mark wouldn't do that, Nate. He wouldn't do that."