Chapter 5: Gerald
He was already in the hotel bar when Emma arrived.
She had not agreed to come.
She had said she would think about it.
But Adrian had looked at her when she ended the call and said, quietly, "Go.
I'll be in the lobby." And something in the way he said it made her understand that whatever Gerald was about to offer her, she needed to hear it so she would know exactly what she was refusing.
Gerald Marston was sixty-eight years old and looked like a man who had never once been surprised by anything.
He was seated at the far end of the bar with a glass of water and no phone visible, which was itself a kind of power move — the suggestion that he had nothing more pressing than this conversation.
He stood when he saw her.
"Ellen." He caught himself.
"Emma.
Forgive me."
She sat down across from him without taking off Adrian's coat.
"I'll be brief," Gerald said.
"Cole told me what happened.
I'm sorry it ended this way."
"He told you I got cold feet."
Gerald's expression didn't change.
"He told me the two of you had a disagreement that became something larger."
"He was in a hotel room with my sister."
A pause.
Precise and controlled.
"I'm aware the situation is more complicated than Cole initially—"
"How long have you known?"
Gerald picked up his water glass and set it back down without drinking.
"I became aware of a concern approximately six weeks ago."
Six weeks.
Emma kept her face still.
"You knew for six weeks," she said, "and you let me keep planning the wedding."
"I was hopeful that Cole would resolve the situation himself."
"Resolve it." She said the words back to him the way you might return something that didn't belong to you.
"You mean end it with my sister and marry me anyway."
"I mean make the right decision."
"And if his right decision was Tessa?"
Gerald's eyes were steady.
"Then I would have expected him to tell you that himself.
In a private setting.
Not—" he gestured slightly, "—like this."
Emma almost believed he meant it.
He was very good.
"What do you want, Gerald?"
He reached into his jacket and placed a folded document on the bar.
"The wedding expenses are substantial.
The hotel, the catering, the flowers, the invitations.
The Marston family is prepared to cover all vendor cancellation fees and return your family's contribution in full, plus a goodwill payment of fifty thousand dollars."
Emma looked at the document.
She did not touch it.
"In exchange for what?"
"A brief statement.
That the decision to cancel the wedding was mutual.
That both parties wish each other well." He paused.
"And a standard confidentiality agreement."
There it was.
"So I take the money," Emma said, "sign the paper, and the story becomes that we both walked away."
"It protects everyone involved."
"It protects Cole."
Gerald said nothing.
"It protects Tessa."
Still nothing.
"And it buries the Harborview contract."
Something moved behind Gerald's eyes.
Fast.
Gone.
"I'm not certain what you mean by that."
"I think you are." Emma stood.
"I'm going to need a few days to consider your offer."
Gerald nodded.
Smooth.
Unsurprised.
"Of course."
She picked up her bag.
"One question," she said.
"Did you know about Harborview when it happened?
Or did you find out after?"
Gerald looked at her for a long moment.
"I found out after," he said.
Emma nodded slowly.
"And what did you do when you found out?"
He didn't answer.
She walked out of the bar and found Adrian exactly where he said he would be.
"He offered me fifty thousand dollars and a confidentiality agreement," she said.
Adrian's expression didn't change.
"What did you say?"
"I said I needed a few days."
He looked at her.
"Do you?"
Emma thought about the letter in her bag.
The date at the top.
Two weeks ago.
Cole had written it two weeks ago and handed it to his brother and said, *give this to her after the rehearsal dinner.*
Not before.
After.
After the vows.
May you like
"No," she said.
"I don't."
