Air: Elementalist Book 1 by Rebecca Wolf (christmas read aloud .TXT) 📗

“No thank you,” I replied. There was an uncomfortable silence for several minutes, as though Aiden was waiting for me to say more.

Given the awkwardness of the whole situation, there was nothing more that I really wanted to say. Honestly, I just wanted to get this whole thing over with. Finally, Aiden turned to the lawyer and nodded for him to begin.

The lawyer placed a folder in front of each of us. “Before you is the classic elemental marriage contract with a few slight moderations customized to your specific circumstances.”

I looked down at the contract, resigning myself to pay attention. Just then the door banged open and a fierce elderly woman marched in, followed by two hulking brutes. “Not another word!” the woman barked as she sat at the table and fixed Aiden with a piercing stare. “As a member of the Anemos family household, Zephyr is under our protection, and will not be signing or even negotiating terms without our express approval." I stared at her, in blank minded shock for a second before my brain thankfully kicked back online. “Umm, excuse me, but is this the same Anemos family that tried to off my mother as an infant when they found out she was a cripple? The same Anemos family that has never ONCE reached out to me until now? I am a grown woman over legal age. You cannot strong arm me into a seat at this table just because suddenly you realize I could become an asset.”

“We are trying to help you, you ingrate," the woman said condescendingly. “The Ember family will devour you without the legal help and backing of your family. You should sit down and let the adults talk.”

Aiden leaned towards me with an intense expression on his face. “I may be ruthless, but I am not underhanded. I would never make you sign something without you knowing the full ramifications.”

“Do NOT make an enemy of us, girl.” The woman warned coldly.

I didn't even hesitate. “I don’t want to make an enemy of you, that would entail me having an emotional investment in our relationship. I would much rather continue having nothing to do with you.” I responded; my voice equally chilled.

“Ahha,” Aiden said smugly, “now I see the family resemblance.” Both of us turned to glare at him.

“Stevens, does the Anemos family have a legal claim to any part of this contract?” Aiden asked in a bored tone.

“Not unless Zephyr acquiesces to their involvement,” Stevens replied.

“Well then, Sherry, while it is always lovely to see you, and experience your sunny personality, we must ask you to leave,” Aiden said, his eyes gaining an unnatural glow in warning.

The woman stood, and then turning to me said partingly, “you are making a fatal mistake doing this without representation of your own. Do not come begging to us when you find that the terms you signed are not in your favor.” She swept out of the room, her goons trailing after her.

I waited until I was sure they had really left. “Not underhanded, hmm? You must have a different definition of the word. I wonder what you would call the way you manipulated events before now.”

“Those were unusual circumstances,” Aiden answered stoically.

“And what about the way you coerced me into this meeting?” I countered.

“Blackmail isn’t manipulation, it’s a recognized business tactic,” he stated in an incredulous tone. "You should be grateful that I met with you at all.” I shut up.

After a brief pause Stevens continued. “As I was saying about this contract, both of you please take the time now to peruse it and highlight any key points that you would like to discuss.”

I began to read.

“Where is your legal counsel?” Aiden asked, ignoring Steven’s pointed glare.

“You didn’t give me enough time to GET legal counsel, what with your demanding twenty-four-hour timeline! Everyone who I could afford was already booked.”

There was a pause as Aiden took this in. Finally, he offered, “Stevens can give you legal counsel as well, right Stevens?”

“It is ill advised to have both parties represented by the same legal team,” Stevens intoned.

“I’ll pay you double,” Aiden cajoled.

“Fine. But let it be noted, this is against legal advice. I don’t want your mother coming after me later if things don’t work out.”

Aiden sat back in satisfaction. “You see,” he said pointedly to me, “it’s better to work with me.” The papers started to flutter about, but Aiden was ready for me and his fire ate up all the wind. “Done throwing tantrums?” he asked calmly “We all have our little parts to play Zephyr, the only thing we can do is play our parts well.”

The problem was that I didn’t want to play the game at all, I was just trying to survive it. I glared at Aiden in frustrated confusion. Why the hell was he offering me his legal counsel? I thought the whole point of getting me to come within twenty-four hours was so he would have the upper hand.

He met my glare and then rolled his eyes. Letting out an impatient huff, he continued, “Zephyr, quit stalling. If you don’t go through with the contract, the enforcers will find out where the little bird lives that keeps stealing their medical supply.” I hissed in frustration. This was stupid. As they say, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Turning to Stevens, I asked, “As my legal counsel, can you lie to me about this contract?”

“No,” he said, “That would go against client-lawyer privileges,”

“Good. Is there anything in this contract that puts me at a disadvantage?”

Stevens hesitated before giving Aiden a pointed look. “The only thing I can think of is the clause regarding children. Without having Aiden’s children, you will be left destitute upon his death. Also, it is important to note that elementalists are physically unable