Precious Gifts by Danielle Steel Read Free Book Online Page B

But since Joy’s in town, why don’t we get together tomorrow in my office and go over it? That way we can discuss it, and I can answer any questions you might have.” It seemed like a sensible idea, and he didn’t make it sound ominous. None of them expected their father to have left a fortune, and the only property they were aware of was the château in France, unless he’d mortgaged it to the hilt, which no one knew. He had never been very responsible about money.
    “Sounds like a good idea to me,” Bertie said, interested, and the girls nodded and seemed surprised. None of them had even thought about the will.
    “Do you all have time?” Arnold asked, as Véronique joined them.
    “For what?” she asked.
    “I thought we could all go over the will together tomorrow and get it out of the way,” Arnold said calmly. “I think it would be nice if you came, too,” he said to Véronique. She looked surprised. She didn’t expect Paul to leave her anything, since everything he had he had gotten from her, and she assumed he would leave it to the girls, and something to Bertie, but surely nothing to her.
    “How do you feel about my being there?” she asked the girls, and they all said they would prefer it, and Bertie said he didn’t care. It was easy to see that all he was interested in was what had been left to him.
    “Does nine o’clock tomorrow morning work for all of you?” Arnold asked the assembled group of heirs and their mother, and everyone nodded and agreed.
    “See you then.” He smiled and left shortly afterward. Bertie exited right after Arnold, and Timmie told him not to bring Debbie to the meeting the next day.
    “Obviously,” he said, with a look of disdain. Timmie always managed to enrage him. She did it on purpose. She couldn’t stand him, and it was entirely mutual. Debbie said nothing to Véronique or the girls when they walked away, she only spoke to Bertie.
    The rest of the guests were gone two hours later, after finishing off the buffet and an astonishing amount of champagne. Timmie made a comment that they had shown up for the free food and champagne more than for their father, and Véronique gave her a look of disapproval. And by the time the girls departed, everyone was exhausted.
    When the apartment was cleared of people, Véronique felt as though she had been run over by a bus. She was sorry she had agreed to go to the meeting in Arnold’s office the next day. She had no reason to be there, and it seemed unnecessary to her. She was so emotionally drained that all she wanted to do was sleep in the morning, but she had agreed to go, and she didn’t want to cancel and upset the girls. She took off her clothes, lay down on her bed, and fell asleep without even turning off the light. She was relieved to know she had done her job well, and that Paul had been laid to rest just as he would have wished, with all the pomp and circumstance he would have felt he deserved.

Chapter 3
    V éronique went to Arnold’s office the next morning, for the last chapter of the ordeal. Yesterday’s funeral had been hard enough. Once they heard the details of his will, they would be able to go on with their lives. Timmie and Joy were ready to do so. Juliette was planning on closing her sandwich shop for August, until Labor Day. And on her way to his office, Véronique was thinking about when she should go back to France. She had until the end of the month in the rental house in St. Tropez, but she wasn’t in the mood to go back now. Paris was dead in the summer, so she didn’t want to be there, and New York was too hot. She hadn’t made up her mind. She hadn’t bothered to make plans for August, and wasn’t sure what to do next. She got to Arnold’s office before she came to any conclusions and discovered she was the first to arrive. Traffic had been lighter than she thought.
    “You did a beautiful job yesterday, no surprise,” Arnold said warmly after he kissed her on both cheeks French style,