Erica thought hard about the meeting with my lawyer and despite what she said at the meeting she didn't have anyone even though she had said she did but more importantly she after hearing my lawyer she had to find someone as good if not better than my lawyer to counsel and support her.
After our meeting she sent a message to her friend to get her a very good lawyer and lucky for her, her phone chimes with a message that read; "Sent Justina's savior to your contacts. Tell her to see Julian Vane. He's a ghost in the legal world, only those who have lost to him know his name, he only appears when the stakes are high enough to justify his fee. He doesn't judge; he just wins."
She stared at the name. Julian Vane. Even if she knew little of the Legal world she had heard the name from her mother when she wanted to be discreet, even when her father was alive her mother spoke the name, he is supposed to be the name behind the last 3 business mother acquired that nobody heard of till the deals were done, he handled her mother's friend's divorce worth hundreds of millions without a word on social media. He has to be the Man and remember he must not breathe a word of this to her mother.
Do you know Erica was so secretive she left the Mansion drove to nearby bridge and called from under the bridge for fear of anyone listening, and with her heart thudding against her ribs she dialed the number.
"Vane," the voice answered on the first ring, a calm confident voice which knew business alone.
"It's Erica Huffington. Anna said you could help. Justina." According to her there was a brief silence on the other end, the sound of a man who already knew exactly who was calling and why. "The Huffington name carries a certain weight, Erica. Even though it has been years since I spoke to your father there is nothing you can say I don't already know. My curiosity is why it is you and not your mother that is calling me. Nonetheless I will see you in The Iron Normandy at Riverside, ask the reception for my office, be there in 20 minutes."
Julian Vane's office building was the total opposite of the Edison Block. The Iron Normandy is a pre-war building with no signage, as she walked through the lobby, she could see the rich and famous, the refurbished cage elevator was a first for Erica and had her thinking what sort of man should I expect in such a building.
As she walked into his office, the interior was filled with dark, heavy oak, the smell of old leather, and the dim glow of shaded lamps. Julian Vane sat on the leather couch with a glass table separating the chairs. His desk behind him looked like it had been carved from a single piece of ancient timber. He was a silver-haired man with eyes that looked like they had seen the beginning and the end of every human greed and then his shoes, which she could see through the glass which from the design of them looked like they were older than her. Everything in the office looked historic but none looked they were worn out, broken or needed repairs, everything well taken care and polished.
Julian Vane came from a long line of legal practitioners, at least 3 generations, his father and grandfather took care of agreements with some of the oldest companies, from tobacco to agriculture spanning more than a century and despite all these the family's achievements they all operated in the shadows passing the representation of such companies from generation to generation. Such kind of people don't go out doing marketing for clients the ones inherited is enough, Erica's mother and father were actually referred to Vane more than thirty years ago when they started making it a fact that he had been practicing law before my dear Erica was born.
With every detail making Julian Vane looking Old school and knowledgeable my dear Erica felt it was best to be honest with him. "Sit, Erica," he said, pointing to the seat opposite from him across the glass table. He didn't offer her water or coffee. He went straight to business. "Tell me everything; leave no detail out of it."
Erica told him the whole story and what she wanted, why she wanted it discreet and why her mother cannot hear of it. What she was trying to achieve, how she met my lawyer and she wants to break free of her mother.
Vane heard all and went direct to the point without wasting time on pleasantries. "You're here because you want to build a cage. You want a Prenuptial Agreement that acts as both a shield and a sword. But before you sign anything, you need to understand the anatomy of the beast." He leaned forward, the light catching the sharp edges of his spectacles and then continues.
"First, understand this: There is no such thing as a 'standard' agreement. Any lawyer who tells you otherwise is a clerk, not a counselor. This contract must be a bespoke suit; it must be tailored to the specific shape of your fears, it must carry all of you desires and needs. I know the trust your mother has on you has its requirements and thus the Agreement must be aligned to each letter in it. You cannot use a template to craft this masterpiece as that will leave gaps, and gaps will cost you in the long run, believe me."
Erica nodded, leaning in. As it suddenly hit her to learn from Julian Vane despite what she thought of him and his office. As she has needed to know what she was getting into real quick.
"Second," Vane continued, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "We must discuss the Inheritance Incentive. Apart from what you should inherit, you are worth billions in the event of your mother's passing. If you marry this 'Noah,' you are creating a financial motive for your own demise. You must assume that at some point, he will believe that your death frees him from the contract while granting him a widower's share of not only yours but your mother's estate. We will draft a 'Death Clause' so restrictive that even if he is merely associated with a shadow of a doubt regarding your safety, he is stripped of every cent and prosecuted by a private legal team funded by a separate trust. He must understand that you are worth infinitely more to him alive than dead."
Erica felt a shiver run down her spine. She hadn't even considered that me, quiet, brilliant me, could be a physical threat. Even though now when you look back I never was a threat but Julian Vane was forcing her to look at the darkest corners of the human heart.
"And third," Vane said, tapping a bony finger on the arm rest of the couch. "Leverage. You are giving him the one thing he lacks: a name and a narrative. In exchange, you don't just want a promise of safety. You want blood in the game. You must demand shares in his company, this 'Optic-Core' project. We will state that as a condition of the marriage, ten percent of the founder's shares must be transferred to you."
"Why" Erica asks.
" You won't be allowed to sell them to outsiders, as it will be seen as you want to destroy the company as we'll keep his IP 'pure', but it guarantees one thing: if he wants his company back, or if he wants to sell it one day, he has to pay you all that you invested to get those shares back. It is your collateral. It ensures he can never afford to betray you."
Erica processed this. It was brilliant. It turned the marriage from a passive agreement into an active investment but she had already said something to my lawyer and asked, "Sir, I already promised I only want what is mine, He won't like it," Erica murmured. "He will want to be protective of his work, plus he told me that is shouldn't worry about the business."
"He doesn't have to like it," Vane countered. "He has to need it and this will let him know that he must take you seriously. Plus did you sign any agreement at his lawyer's office, No, you didn't so the rules can change now that you have met me. First of all," Vane stood up, walked towards his desk, the shadows of the room clinging to his suit. "I want to see this 'Noah.' Invite him and his lawyer here. I want to gauge the character of this Man; we have to know his very nature and whether he is one to keep to his words. I want to see how he reacts when I put a price tag on his invention, his work, his soul. If he flinches, we know he's weak. If he fights, we know he's dangerous. Either way, we'll have the truth." Julian Vane laughs lightly and ends with a smile.
Erica stood, all of a sudden she felt a strange new sense of power. To her she believed that Julian Vane had showed her the way to protect and get what she wants, instantly she knew he should represent her and didn't want anybody else because what Vane had said opened her eyes and she was no more blind to the whole idea, she felt like she had learnt something and was more confident going forward. "No way anybody is playing me for a fool" she thought.
"I'll call him, right away" she said.
It was obvious at this point we had very little trust in each other and thus the need for legal representatives but what they had discussed and agreed to was not in any way close to what I was expecting.