Chapter 3 – His Discretion

Klyde’s assumption was wrong. The young woman showed up the next day.

Melissa is fuming in anger. He didn’t send her money! She waited the whole time yesterday and nothing came in. She thought she made that clear to him. She needed the money yesterday. Immediately!

“The lawyer will be in later this morning. You came earlier than I thought.” Klyde explained after listening to her irritating rant. He has half a mind to call security and throw her out the building.

“If you don’t behave yourself, I swear I’ll have you dragged out of my office. I didn’t think you would be scandalous.”

“Me? Scandalous? We’re in private. It’s only scandalous when uninvolved people see.” Melissa rolled her eyes at him.

“Why don’t you wait outside? You’re bothering me. Ask my secretary when the lawyer will be in, if you want to speak with her yourself.”

“Is it really difficult to just send me money? You’re a billionaire, aren’t you? I’m sure you can spare a few grand.”

“Aren’t you twenty-three? Who already earned a bachelor’s degree? I’m sure you can find a job and earn some money.” His retort is annoying and made her want to scream.

She huffed before turning around and exiting his office.

Klyde took a deep breath. Her presence alone drains his energy. He felt tired from just listening to her. He massaged his temples for a moment before getting back to work.

As for Melissa, she sat down on the couch outside his office and closed her eyes. She tried controlling her breathing. To be honest, she’s starting to panic. This is the first time she’s late in paying her bills. She’s not exactly sure what to expect. There’s one thing, though. This morning, she received a notice for her apartment. It’s a bit high-end and though she has two months’ worth of advance payment, they’re saying most of it has gone to repairs and maintenance. She couldn’t deny that she made damages to the property a few months back. What she hated, though, is that they didn’t ask for it back then. She could’ve paid it off during that time. Now, they’re telling her that if she couldn’t pay at the end of this month, she would have to leave. She has roughly twenty days from today. She’s starting to feel helpless on her own. Yes, she’s realizing now how much she’d relied on his father’s financial support. Right now, she couldn’t support herself. She’s barely able to budget her remaining money. And that’s for food and gas.

In her dread, she was actually considering selling some of her possessions. She didn’t think the day would come that she’ll think this way. The thing is… her circle of friends wouldn’t believe it of her. They would mock her. It’s going to be very embarrassing. So, she didn’t want to do that.

But if she doesn’t get any money soon, she might really be forced to. She has a lot of branded bags, shoes and clothes. Jewelries, too. Could she sell them in a way that her circle of friends won’t know? In her desperation, she started looking into selling products online. She wanted to get an idea on how to do it if it really comes down to it.

Her mind is a mess. She tried to come up with solutions. But mainly, she’s concerned on how to get her inheritance from Klyde Henderson.

She waited for a couple of hours but the lawyer wasn’t very helpful. The conditions made on the will are valid, she says.

When she brought up the issue of her monthly allowance, she couldn’t give an immediate response.

The lawyer looked at Henderson before saying, “I suppose you can provide her with a monthly support. As I said, you’ll essentially act like a trustee of her inheritance. You’re not the actual beneficiary of it, but you can earn from it.”

“How does he earn from it?” Melissa asked. She’s not knowledgeable on how trust funds work, but she’s curious to know how much Henderson is benefiting from her inheritance. Is that why he doesn’t want to give her money? Does he want to keep them for himself until she’s thirty and entitled to the full amount? She glared at the man sitting opposite her.

“Well, like a normal trust fund manager.” The lawyer’s answer wasn’t helpful.

“How exactly?” Melissa needed a proper explanation.

The older woman sighed, “He manages the fund and that takes his time and effort. It’s only fair that he’s compensated for that, especially when the fund earns money. Without his management of it, it’s not going to earn as much. Without a trust, you can probably put everything into bonds or other safe investments. But that would only give you a small amount of earnings. Low risk, low return. With his expertise, he can use the funds into more profitable ventures and earn more. He gets a certain percentage of the earnings and the rest gets added to the fund, of which you are the beneficiary.”

Melissa finally understood. Biting her lip, she does recognize that the funds would be better managed by him than her.

Klyde glanced at her before talking to the lawyer. “I think you should also let her know that her inheritance isn’t exactly all in cash. Majority of it is the valuation of her dad’s company. Equal portions in long-term and short-term investments and a small amount of cash.”

“Ah, yes. There is that. I believe there’s also a condition in the will that the company cannot be sold.”

Melissa couldn’t be bothered by the conditions.

“Can we please decide now about my monthly allowance?”

“Since Mr. Henderson is currently the manager of it, the discretion is his. If he would and how much.” The lawyer concluded. It’s out of her hands now.

“You heard her, right?” Klyde smirked at her and Melissa knew he won’t give her any money. He wants her to work her ass off, doesn’t he?

What to do now?