Fake Ring for the Real Thing

Chapter 1

Kiera

“Sixty dollars,” I sigh as I roll up my tips for the night and place them in my purse. My feet and back ache, my ears are ringing, I put on a dainty smile in the face of so much misogyny, and all I got for it was sixty dollars.

“Rough crowd tonight, huh?” Mac, one of the cooks, asks while removing his apron. “Could hear the screaming over the flat top. Must’ve been one hell of a game.”

I shrug my shoulders. “Yep, and they got so drunk they forgot their manners, too.”

Mac shakes his head, fishing a cigarette out of his pocket. He’s itching to get to the loading dock and have a smoke before finishing closing the kitchen, I can tell. 

“You’re too good for this place,” he says forlornly. “I mean, everyone here is, but you especially. Smart girl like you should be in management, at least.”

I smile at Mac’s forced attempt at a compliment and sling my purse over my shoulder. “Have a good night,” I tell him. Mac nods and shuffles towards the loading dock, not even waiting until the door’s open to light up.

I turn the bar lights off and leave, making my way to my beat up little sedan. It’s seen better days –better decades even– but it gets me where I need and that’s good enough,

Good enough is all I can hope for these days. Unfortunately, sixty dollars isn’t good enough. Not for the work I put in, and certainly not for all the bills hanging over my head.

As I pull up to my apartment, I try not to break out in tears as my car’s Check Engine light flashes on. It might be another gremlin that means nothing, or it might be yet another shovelful of dirt in the hole I’ve found myself in. 

“That’s tomorrow Kiera’s problem,” I say quietly as I get out and march to my apartment door. It’s too late to be outside messing with a car engine, and regardless I’m too exhausted to keep my eyes open much longer.

As I walk into my apartment, I pass the bane of my current existence hanging proudly on the wall. A framed diploma reads: Kiera Foster. Bachelor’s of Science. UCSF. 

It was supposed to be step one of my bright and shiny future. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a doctor. And the photo resting next to my diploma is the whole reason.

My mother, young and gorgeous, who wouldn’t live to grow wrinkles by her eyes or gray in her hair. She died when I was young of an autoimmune disorder, and I swore I’d become a doctor in immunology. I had big dreams of treating people just like her, finding cures and changing lives. I even passed the MCAT.

And then, two weeks after passing and getting my applications in order, my father died. He and I never quite got along, but he was my father, and his death hurt me deeply. I took time away to get his affairs in order and grieve. 

But once I was ready to come back to school and move on with my life, it was too late. My scholarship was suspended, and I was already drowning in student debt from my undergrad degree. The thought of taking on even more debt was terrifying.

I collapse on my bed, thinking again of that horrible day at my father’s will reading. That should have been the end of it. His money would have been enough to pay off the debt and get me through my doctorate degree. It would’ve worked out fine!

But that bastard of a man, he couldn’t just let a girl inherit his life’s savings. Oh no. He had to add a stipulation.

“Miss Kiera Foster must marry a man within five years of my passing, and remain married to him for one full year, before she may collect on the money,” the lawyer had read so dryly, like he wasn’t signing my life away. “Otherwise the money will be forfeited to the remainder of the Foster family.”

I remember my heart dropping to my stomach, my eye makeup smudging as I tried to blink away tears of sorrow and frustration. My grandparents –his parents Sheila and Rodney– scowled at me. They, and his sister Bethany, wanted that money for themselves. And now they had to wait an entire five years for me to flounder and fail at dating to get it.

And they knew right then they’d get it. They just despised having to wait for it, instead of me just throwing in the towel and relinquishing my right to it.

Even now, I can’t help but think about how much that money would change my life. And I tried, I really did! But dating is so hard when you work two jobs and are struggling just to get by.

“How did you think this was going to help me?” I ask the invisible specter of Dr. James Foster. “Just because I’m a woman, you thought I couldn’t manage my own finances? Well, look where I am now, Pops! All thanks to you!”

The venting feels good for a moment, but that euphoria washes away as quickly as it came. My entire life, he made me believe the best thing I could do for myself was marry a man, and in that final proclamation post-mortem, he sealed that deal.

And there was no changing it.

“...unless,” I whisper. It’s an idea that’s come up now and again, but I’ve never had the time or energy to really pursue it. But I’m beat down, out of time, and desperate to chase my dreams again. 

I look again at the photo of my mother, glowing like the angel I know she is. I made a promise to her, and I intend to keep it, no matter what my father wants.

As soon as I have a day off, I’m going to find a lawyer, and end this game for good.

It’s a week later, and my car makes it to the nearest lawyer’s office without issue. I get out and take in the sign: Williams Law Farm. The font is very serious looking, with a little gavel icon on the side.

“Well, Williams, hopefully you can be my hero today.” I walk in and am met by a cheery looking young woman with bright, bushy red hair. The placard on her desk reads ‘Haley.’

“Hi, I have an appointment,” I say, smiling back.

Haley types into her computer for a moment then looks back at me. “Ms. Foster?”

I nod.

“Excellent. I’ll let Mr. Williams know you’re here.” She gestures towards the cozy looking waiting area as she picks up her desk phone. 

Mr. Williams himself, huh? I think. Aren’t I a lucky girl. I imagine an old, white haired man who’s worked his way up the corporate ladder since law school. Probably graduated when tuition cost the same as a trip to Disneyland. 

“Ms. Foster?”

I look up and find someone much, much younger than I was prepared for. Maybe it’s Mr. Williams’ paralegal. Or intern.

And holy hell is he hot. 

“Yes,” I say, standing up and extending my arm. He takes it and gives me a firm shake.

“Hayden Williams, pleasure to meet you. You can step right into my office here.” He guides me in and shows me to a plush leather chair. 

This close up I can see the barest whisper of gray hair around his temples and the slightest hint of wrinkles at the corner of his lips. So not an intern, but not exactly gearing up for retirement either. I peg him as around thirty to forty, and feel slightly impressed that a man his age owns his own law office.

“What can I help you with today, issues with a family will?” he asks as he sits down on the other side of the desk. It's noticeably absent of any photos of a smiling wife or kids.

“Yes, my father passed away a few years ago and left his money all to me with…a very unusual stipulation,” I explain. I pass over a folder with all documentation I have on the matter, including the legal will itself. Hayden starts flipping through the file as I continue.

“I’m only allowed to collect the money if I get married within five years of his passing, and then I have to stay married for one entire year as well.”

“And let me guess, you’re creeping up on the due date with no beau in sight?” he asks. The question is to the point, no judgment to be found. And I shouldn’t, but a small part of me starts to think that he is in my sight. 

Man, it’s been a while if I’m getting so turned on just looking at this fine older man. 

“Correct. Otherwise, it gets dispersed to the rest of his surviving family who are more than happy to take it from me.”

“Unsympathetic relatives, no bargaining room available. Understood.” Hayden closes the folder and looks up at me. “Well, Ms. Foster, you were right. This is an unusual situation. I’ve dealt with many will disputes before, some with strange stipulations attached, and the good news is sometimes you can find a loophole or legal precedent for dismissing it.”

I sigh in relief, that’s all I want to hear.

“Now, I can’t guarantee that will be the case with your situation, but I can certainly look into it and try.”

The anxiety creeps back in. I was hoping for something more solid, but what else can I do?

“Understood. So…how much will this set me back?” I ask, that anxiety begins to bloom into full blown panic. My eyes are glued to the floor.“I don’t have much, but if you can set up a payment plan or some kind of-”

Hayden puts up a hand to stop me. “Technically I’m not working for you yet, so I’m not charging anything today. I’ll look into your case and see if I can help, and then we can discuss payment.”

I try looking him in the eye to thank him, but I find myself looking back down at his polished wooden desk. He’s so damned attractive, I feel like I’m going to slip up and say something stupid.

“Thank you, I appreciate the kindness,” I manage to say. After a few more words, he shakes my hand and shows me out, promising a call in about a week. As I slide back into my car, reality comes crashing back down. What possible loophole could he find in that will?

I’m losing all hope all over again.