Finn, Colin and Robert entered the cozy cafe and immediately noticed that Rory was not ok. She looked on the verge of tears and Logan was trying desperately to explain something to her.
"Pitching a wobbly, are we love?" Finn asked as he sat next to Rory. He raised a hand to the waitress to ask her to come over. He leaned in and bumped shoulders affectionately with Rory.
"Watch it, Finn." Logan replied.
"I am not pitching a wobbly. I am just so confused as to why you all seem to think that Odette coming tonight is a good thing!" Rory retorted.
Finn shrugged and turned to order three gin and tonics.
Colin came over to Rory and pulled her up and into a huge hug. "Trust us. Odette is one of us!"
"I doubt that makes her feel any better, Colin." Robert replied. He leaned over and kissed Rory on the cheek. "Good to see you, Reporter Girl. Odette is in league with Finn. She is good people. You really just have to meet her to understand."
Rory began to feel embarrassed. "I'm sorry guys. I'm not myself. Since the little parasite took up residence, my brain doesn't quite work the same way."
"Hey, that's no way to talk about our little kumquat!" Finn chided her.
"Kumquat?" Logan asked Rory.
"As in the size of a..." Rory explained.
"Um, how big is a kumquat anyway?" Colin mused.
"Slightly smaller than a fig." Finn responded.
"Well, thanks for clearing that up." Colin bounced back.
"Guys. Odette will be here in a few hours. Perhaps we should try to explain to Rory why this is not a bad thing." Robert tried to refocus the group, but just then the waitress arrived with the drinks for the table. She set an orange juice and a water in front of Rory, an iced tea in front of Logan and three gin and tonics in front of the three men joining them. Finn quickly rearranged things until all three cocktails were lined up in front of himself. Colin sighed and ordered an iced tea and Robert requested a coffee and iced water. The waitress watched the activity at the table with a bemused expression before leaving additional menus and going to fill the new drink orders.
"So - you say you've known Odette since you were in grade school?" Rory tried to move the conversation forward.
"Sort of. Ok. So, do you remember my friend Ayres? He was in the LDB." Logan started.
"Vaguely. He was a few years ahead of me." Rory tried to remember. "He was obsessed with his trust fund, right?"
"Yes. That's definitely Ayres. He ended up going to law school. To break his trust." Logan supplied.
"I remember this, sort of. He wanted to know how my trust was set up. He couldn't believe that I had no idea how or if I had a trust fund, what was in it, when or how I would get access." Rory went on. "But he was generally pretty drunk the few times I saw him. Made Finn look like a lightweight."
"That was Ayres. He had his trust fund tangled up in some crazy rules. No money until he produced a legitimate heir." Finn added.
"Worse than that, his trust was set up in a historical way. Not only did he have to produce a child, it had to be a male heir. And he was betrothed as a child to marry some daughter of a German colleague of his grandfather." Robert supplied.
"Granddaughter. She was almost 10 years younger than him. She was barely in high school when he was finishing Yale Law." Colin continued the story.
Rory looked confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Odette is his younger sister." Logan explained.
Rory's eyebrows jumped in shock. "Ok. So Odette ... has a crazy trust fund?"
"Yes and no. Ayres sued his grandfather's estate. And busted the trust. Apparent there is some rule that you can't leave money based on the existence of a child not yet conceived?" Logan looked at Robert for help.
"It's a bit more complex than that. It's called the Rule against Perpetuities. French law allows it, but New York law doesn't. The trust was originated in France, but Ayres and his siblings were born in New York, and the trust funds were managed by Chase in New York. Ayres was able to have New York law applied, and the whole thing fell apart." Robert explained.
Rory nodded but remained confused. Colin took over the explanation. "So, Ayres busts the trust. Which was great for him, he inherited his trust. But his sisters were both still minors. So their inheritances went into new trusts, managed by their father. Louis is shrewd, so he moved with both girls back to France, and put the money back in French banks."
"Genevieve and Odette were subjected to similar conditions to inherit. Genevieve was betrothed to a fellow named Henri. She had no interest in marriage, to Henri or anyone. So she was able to access funds to go to college and then she went to medical school and now is financially self sufficient. Her inheritance is sitting in trust, gathering interest and she couldn't care less. She and Henri were able to break their betrothal agreement, I don't remember how." Logan supplied.
"She agreed not to inherit until Louis passes away." Finn jumped in. "I sent her an email last night. Vive is running around the world working with Doctors Without Borders, and she lives fairly simply. She doesn't really have much use for the money, and if it was given to her today, she would probably just leave it collecting interest."
The three men nodded. The didn't seem surprised by this news.
"Ok, so Ayres forced his inheritance and Genevieve ignores hers. Where does Odette fit in?" Rory asked.
Just then a statuesque brunette approached the table and began to speak in accented but flawless English. "I need to inherit, for my business to meet its current debts. And after Vive and Henri found the loophole, Papa closed it. And several others. If I do not fulfill the terms of my betrothal contract by my 30th birthday, my share will be forfeited." She explained.
Rory sat stunned. Odette was several hours early and standing before her.
"And in order to fulfill the contract, you have to marry Logan." Rory whispered, mostly to herself.
