Page 28 of Ashes of Us
On Wednesday, Danica was up early to get ready for work, figuring there was no point in staying home or spending time at the hospital with Jasper's body and needing something to distract her from her issues.
She had spent the rest of the previous evening looking into what she had to do to start shutting down Jasper's accounts.
While some of them, like the streaming services he paid for and his social media, she just needed his login information, others, like his bills and the mortgage, she required his death certificate.
Since he was technically still alive, she didn't have a death certificate, so they had to wait.
She checked his bank account to make sure there was money to pay his bills that were automatically withdrawn and was surprised to find a decent amount of money in his account.
Going back through his statements from the previous two months, she saw far fewer cash withdrawals and transfers, as well as fewer transactions for takeout and shopping charges than he had before starting therapy.
She did see two payments to MassAve Wealth Management and a quick google search told her they were a financial management firm who offered financial classes to help people who were neurodivergent, specifically people with different learning disabilities like dyscalculia, dyslexia, and dysgraphia, but also people on the autism spectrum, had ADHD or had mental health conditions like bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression.
The realization that Jasper had actually followed through on his promise to seek help for his money management issues had a surprising effect on Danica.
While she was proud of him and happy that he had taken that step and was clearly putting in the effort to change and become the person he thought she deserved, she was also angry and suspicious.
Her problems with Jasper's spending were nothing new and she had asked him several times over the course of their relationship to please get his money in order, something that had culminated in a massive argument three years prior and Danica finally telling him they had to separate their finances completely or she would grow to hate him.
She was angry that it had taken seven years and the threat of divorce to finally get him to start making the changes she had begged for, and suspicious that he only did it so he could use it to prove he was doing his best to change when the truth about Lucy inevitably came out.
She wanted to believe he did it because he wanted to be the best husband he could be, she really did, but she couldn't help but think it was more about damage control than anything else.
She left his money in his bank account after changing his password to access the app out of an overabundance of caution.
While Danica could see there were no other names on his account, meaning no one could go in, empty and close his account without Jasper or a signed and notarized Power of Attorney, she didn't know if his parents had access the way she did, with the banking app and his login information.
She wanted to put a freeze on his credit as well, but since her husband was technically still alive, being his next of kin didn't allow her to make those changes, so she looked up what she had to do to get legal authority to do so, just in case this dragged on longer than the three week timeline the judge had given, then sent an email to her lawyer to see if it was worth it or if she should just wait it out, considering they may be able to turn off the machines sooner than previously thought if the judge agreed to their suggestion of having his sperm extracted and frozen.
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After a stop at the donut shop and then at Robin's garage to drop off the coffee and donuts she'd bought for them, Danica reached the hotel and firmly put her personal issues to the back of mind for the day, determined to spend time thinking about something - anything - else besides the current state of her life and emotional state.
Did she go straight to the admin floor without stopping to talk to the day shift because she couldn't handle any more condolences or pitying looks?
Yes. However, she felt justified in doing so.
As she approached her office, she saw Alex's door was open and could hear Marcy's overly chipper voice going on about someone who apparently shouldn't work at the hotel anymore because of their incompetence and Alex's low, irritated rumble in response.
Reaching the door, she tapped on the frame, making them both look up.
Marcy's face fell then she immediately looked pissed off when she saw her, but Alex actually lit up with what she could only describe as a look of joy and deep relief.
Danica returned his smile, momentarily considering an intrusive thought to tell him she was quitting to mess with him a little, before pushing it aside and walking forward as Alex stood up and came around his desk like he was about to hug her.
He seemed to realize what it would look like if he did because he simply gestured to the other chair in front of his desk for her to sit.
“Thank you for filling in for Mrs. Preston, Miss Fairchild. That will be all.” He didn't even look at Marcy as he dismissed her abruptly, and Danica had to suppress a smile at the look of betrayal that crossed Marcy's face before she pushed out her bottom lip in a pout.
“But -” She started, her voice dropping into an unpleasant whine. Whatever she was about to say in protest died in her throat when Alex gave her a sharp look.
“That will be all.” He repeated firmly. Danica took the seat Alex offered her and watched with barely disguised amusement as Marcy began to collect her things, looking like a petulant child.
“And since Nigel is here for the day shift already, you can go home until your next shift.” Marcy nodded stiffly and left the room, shutting the door harder than Danica thought necessary behind her.
Alex shook his head as he walked back to his chair and dropped into it, rubbing his hand over his face tiredly.
“Thank God,” he muttered. Danica let out a small chuckle, which she changed to a cough when he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Sorry,” she offered insincerely. In her mind, Alex had brought the irritation and annoyance that was Marcy Fairchild on himself.
While she didn't know the details of whatever deal he offered Marcy to spy on her and Alexander, or what he had said or done to secure her loyalty, she was spitefully happy to see it bite him in the ass.
“I don't think you are.” He responded dryly with a small snort. “How are you? Are you sure you're ready to come back to work?”
“How I'm doing varies minute to minute,” Danica admitted after a moment, deciding to be honest with him in case she couldn't hide her mood swings.
“I can be completely fine one second, and the next I'll be incredibly sad or angry about everything.” Alex nodded, his grey eyes fixed firmly on her.
She tried to figure out the emotion in them but gave up and continued.
“It's not so much about being ready to come back to work, I need to.
I don't want to spend any more time going through his things or sitting at the hospital with his body because I feel guilty that he's there alone.
I need to focus on other things or I'm going to go crazy.”
“Fair enough,” Alex murmured, leaning back in his chair and steepling his fingers in front of him as he watched her.
“Then let's get you up to speed on what's going on here.” He reached out and turned his computer screen toward her.
“I've signed a deal with Q Architecture to bring the hotels into the 21st century. They will begin work in the penthouse suites in two weeks, with the goal of replacing all the windows by October. I need a schedule for them based on the room bookings done.”
Relieved he wasn't making a big deal out of anything, Danica pulled out her tablet and began making notes as he went over everything she had missed in the last week. When he mentioned continuing the audits on the hotels, she winced, making him pause. “Is there a problem?”
“Sort of?” She ran her hands through her hair.
“The judge gave us three weeks to prove Jasper didn't want the baby, and we're going to make a motion this week to collect his sperm and freeze it so we can take him off life support, which means I'll have to get in touch with the funeral home to organize his burial. Plus, I’ll need to be in court on August fifth to see if the judge will let Lucy have Jasper's baby.
“Okay.” Alex nodded, his face going dark when she mentioned Lucy having Jasper's baby.
He opened the schedule for the audits she sent him and began making adjustments.
“We'll cancel the California audits and restart in Seattle on the tenth. Outside companies are handling the Vegas audit, so we can remove that one.” Danica watched as Alex went through the list and changed the dates, trying her best not to giggle as he mumbled to himself while he worked. “Alright, reach out to the hotel managers with their new dates,” he said when he finished. “It moves the finish date to December sixth instead of November first, but the good news is we’ll have a week in Honolulu in December.”
Danica made the note on her to-do list for the day and then shifted, uncrossing her legs and switching to the other one as she recrossed them. “Where are things standing with the Vegas hotel?” Alex huffed out a sigh, a momentary look of profound disgust and anger crossing his face.
“I've decided to close the casino permanently.” Danica's eyes widened, and she stared at him in surprise, not sure what to say in response.