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Leander blanched, his hand balling into a fist in his lap.
I, on the other hand, busted out laughing. “Oh,thisought to be good. Lay it on me, Oscar.”
“After your miraculous return” — Oswald directed his droopy gaze to Leander — “we sent a private investigator to retrace your movements. He discovered this.” He opened another folder and slid a couple documents across the table. Our marriage certificate, along with all of the other records Puerto Rico required.
Leander was barely breathing. He turned toward me, allowing his mask to slip for the briefest moment. His eyes were wide with a small crease between his brows.
I made a show of taking my feet down from the table, one by one. Leaning forward so I could squeeze Leander’s hand under the table, I propped myself up on the other elbow, arching a brow at the relic across from us. “Please, tell me, how our marriage — which is, frankly, none of your fucking business — violates any part of this ridiculous trust.”
“It’s not valid.” The lines on either side of Oswald’s mouth twitched up in what I think was a smile. It was hard to tell with all of the wrinkles.
I blinked languidly, returning his smug smile with one of serenity. “Hate to break it to you, Waddlesworth, but the Supreme Court says otherwise.”
“It’s not valid as far as the trust is concerned. Marriage is a sacred union between a man and awoman.” His chin lifted until he was quite literally looking down his hawkish nose.
“Too bad the trust doesn’tspecifythat.”
“It is a universal definition.”
“Uh-huh. The Bible means jack shit in a court of law.Obergefell v. Hodgesrenders every bit of your argument null and void. And in case you’re not familiar with any law passed since 1960, that ruling was upheld a second time by the Supreme Court inPavan v. Smith. But, please, explain your reasoning so I can see how ignorant you actually are.”
Oswald straightened in his chair and drew a deep breath, like he was preparing for a filibuster. “At the time the trust was written, gay marriage was illegal. Thus, your marriage, while technically legal under current law, as you so proudly claim, is still deemed invalid by the trust.”
Leander’s fingers squeezed mine so hard his knuckles turned white.
I rubbed my thumb over his, hoping he’d at least let up a little on the death grip before he bruised my bones against my rings. “The proper term is same-sex marriage and the Fourteenth Amendment says differently. You cannot presume to know theintentionsof a legal document, or what the guarantor wanted, unless it is stated as such.”
“That will be up to a judge to decide, at the end of a long, costly legal battle, of which you will most assuredly lose.”
“Are you sure you want to do that, Otto?” I made sure to ask with polite smile. It was only fair to give him an out before I fucking destroyed him.
Oswald feigned sympathy, even going so far as to lay a liver-spotted hand over his cholesterol-ridden heart. “I only have the trust’s best interests at heart.”
“Bullshit,” Leander growled.
I continued quickly, before tempers flared too much. “You know if the terms are violated, the trust defaults to the charities Irene set up. One of them, in particular, has quite the history. Cornerstone Consulting, I believe it is?” I cocked my head, watching the man’s jowls start to wobble. “Ah, yes. It should sound familiar. You’re the chairman of the board.”
Leander leaned into me slightly. He may have been speaking to me, but he watched Oswald like a hawk. “Is that the one without any tangible proof of its existence? Or the one with the suspicious off-shore banking records?” The purr was back in his voice and he finally loosened his grip on my hand.
“One in the same, my love.” I edged forward, draping one arm over Leander’s shoulder and resting my chin on the one closest to me. “The one with a phantom board that has been siphoning money off of your family trust for years, completely unchecked.”
“Fortunately for me, there is one section of the trust that was wordedveryspecifically.” Leander smirked, reaching up to the hand dangling off his shoulder, lacing his fingers through mine. Our left hands, as it were, with the black bands in full view. “Damned if I can’t remember which one. Do you recall, mon coeur?”
“Oh, it’s the part where it states the trustee simply has to be a lawyer from Farnsworth & Geller.”
Oswald’s lips pressed into a hard line. If he saw where we were going, it hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
“It seems you forgot one very important aspect of business, Mr. Farnsworth,” Leander said, while I tsked him.
The old man’s bushy brows lifted. “What is that?”
“Don’t fuck over your partner,” Leander replied flatly.
I turned to Leander, blinking rapidly and feigning confusion. “Oh, dearie me. Are you saying he’s been stealing from your accountandhiding it from his partners all this time?”
Leander shrugged, a coy smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
I pulled my pocket watch out and smiled.
