One

*The Marriage Clause*

(Chapter One)

It was a very sunny day in Los Angeles but for Elizabeth Goodman it was one of the dreaded days of her life.She adjusted her Gucci glasses with her gloved hands,and nodded in acknowledgement of the people who payed their respects to her in grievance of her dead father.Henry Goodman,a billionaire and philanthropist with a heart of gold who died of a sudden heart attack.Now he was in heaven or hell watching the shadiest people in business grieve with his daughter over his death.

Beth,short for Elizabeth wanted to scream in annoyance and anger.They were all pathetic.It was all pathetic cause every family member in the church only wanted nothing more but a piece of the big cake which was her father's money.No one visited at the hospital when her mother died years ago,none of them congratulated her on graduating from Harvard as one of their best students in Business,no one came when it was shown in the news that he was rushed to the hospital.....heck they didn't even call and now they were all trooping into the church for his funeral.Bunch of pathetic peiple,she thought as she forced a smile on her face.

An hour later the sermon was over and Henry Goodman was transported to be cremated which was his last wish before he died.Beth quickly disappeared into her car,ordered the driver to take her somewhere else since she wasn't attending the after party—Her father was dead! she was an orphan! what in the world was there to celebrate with people who obviously didn't give two hoots about how she was really doing?!!

‘Do you want me to take you to Joan's ma'am??'.The driver asked and she shook her head.Joan's was the name of the club her father owned,it was named after her mother and the penthouse above it was her favorite hiding place.It was where she would always go whenever she was feeling down and right now,going to a place that would remind her of her dead parents wasn't needed.

‘Just take me home Mark,what I need right now is a load of sleep then a vacation to Mauritius......gosh I hate people'.She responded with her voice all cracked up from the crying and fatigue.Mark,the totally understanding driver who has been working with her family for years nodded and drove her straight to the apartment building on West Hampton Avenue which she owned.

It was late in the afternoon and she bade him goodbye after giving him a huge tip of a thousand dollars,he was a working dad with three kids so he needed it.The driver thanked her and drive away,ready to come back the next day and she—she went into the elevator that took her straight to the apartment on the 31st floor,took her shoes off, loosened the bun on her hair,took a quick shower, ate a leftover sandwich and jumped into bed to sleep—the remaining weeks were going to be stressful, her father's will reading was in two days and that was going to be a rollercoaster ride.

                        **********

Marcus frowned deeply as he read through the mail he got in this morning,slowly his frown changed into a gasp as he read the contents of the letter.He paced back and forth in the kitchen,rubbing his already sore eyes and drinking his coffee still trying to grasp the truth—Uncle Henry was dead,his father's best friend who helped his family in more than many ways was dead.

Obviously the letter was from his lawyer in Los Angeles,it was an invitation to some will reading which he found very absurd.It's been three years since he saw Henry Goodman after the death of Joan Goodman,now he was getting an invitation to his will reading?? What in the world was he going to do there when he wasn't even a family member?? He hasn't even met anyone from the Goodman family yet especially that daughter of his.

’You should go,who knows maybe we could get a new house and a Lamborghini of some sort'.Maurine,the ranch manager muttered as she walked into the house with hay all over her flannel shirt and sat down for a can of beer.She was like an aunt to Marcus and he told her everything.

‘Ohh come on Maurine.I haven't seen Uncle Henry in years and it's kind of disrespectful not showing up to his funeral but will reading instead...it....it makes me feel like a golddigger'.Marcus muttered,he was a man of integrity and going to Los Angeles wasn't something of integrity in his book.He might not be the richest man but he had his dignity to protect.

‘Leave integrity outta this son,that Uncle Henry of yours would'nt have included you in the will reading if he doesn't care about you.The man is dead,the least you can do is respect his wishes'.Maurine muttered,dubbed her hat and left as Marcus got thrown into a bin of confusion.It was tempting and at the same time it was guilt baiting,Uncle Henry was like a second father to him and it was a kind of disrespect if he didn't pay his respects to the Goodman family.

Who knows,he thought as he folded the invitation letter into his breast pocket,maybe there was some money or something left for him as Maurine suggested.The ranch was slowly failing even as he hated to admit it,there was a huge hailstorm that killed half of his horses and damaged many parts of the barn.Honestly,a couple of thousands could go a long way helping before the tax mongers arrive for their share of the money he didn't have.

‘Are you going somewhere daddy??'.Little Emily,a five year old with beautiful blue eyes and a charming smile asked as she came down the wooden stairs still sleepy eyed.Marcus's perturbed face slowly brightened up as he picked her up,and removed a white feather from her curly hair which was probably from one of her pillows—God even the house needed a good revamping,from the creaking floorboards to the slowly falling apart furniture—maybe going to Los Angeles for Uncle Henry's will reading wasn't a bad idea after all.