What!?

14

Once more Iliana sees the shock as he realizes that he's ignored her as much as his brothers. Well, not as much, he did after all talk to her two weeks previous to that encounter. "I'm sorry, I will do my best to send you a text if I'm unable to get home. You are welcome to call me if you ever need me. I've left instructions with my secretary that you are to be put through if you ever call."

"Right." Iliana is still a bit bitter about that bitch.

Blake looks at her with narrowed eyes. "What's with the tone, Ili?"

Ili sighs, "I tried more than once to call you. I was informed by your secretary that since I didn't have an appointment that I would need to make one and that you were all booked up for six months out."

"Just to talk to me? Did you tell her your name?" Now Blake was furious. He had given specific instructions to his secretary that Iliana was always to be sent to his phone if she called.

"I never got the chance. As soon as I asked for you she asked about the appointment and then told me the rest. She never once asked for my name or allowed me to give it to her. When I told her that I didn't want an appointment, that I just needed to speak to you she became rude and then told me that there was nothing she could do and she hung up on me."

Iliana could feel the anger radiating off of him at her words. "I'll be looking for a new secretary when we get back it seems."

"When we get back? Are you going somewhere, Blake? I didn't think you had any meetings scheduled you needed to leave for."

Blake gives her a rather sad smile. "Part of the reason I and the others had been working so hard was so that we could take a week off. We're leaving tomorrow morning early, for a week long birthday trip for you. After your concerns you've told me about, if you are interested in leaving still once we get back, I'll look into helping you get emancipated. If you would like I'll call my lawyer and find out what we need to do?"

Iliana nods and Blake immediately calls his lawyer, he pulls Iliana to his side and puts his phone on speaker so she can hear what he has to say. "I don't have a job, so I guess I won't be able to after all," Iliana says softly.

"Would me allowing a generous allowance from her trust fund be sufficient to allow her to meet the requirements?"

"Yes, if it's large enough to maintain a basic lifestyle. The fact that Iliana is a straight A student and in her senior year will help her case. If you can assure the judge that you will, as her trust fund executor, release sufficient for her to live off of, it should be enough."

"Very good, how long will the process take?"

"Depends on the judge and the parties involved. If you don't fight her on it and will make sure that she is taken care of the judge will likely push it through faster, but it's unlikely it will take less than a year at the least."

Blake looks at Iliana and sees her resolution, "Very well. Get the paperwork ready by the time we get back. Also set up a generous allowance from her trust for her to use immediately. If she starts to have a paper trail of using it wisely it couldn't hurt."

"When should the paperwork be ready to be signed? I know you are leaving, but not for the length of time."

"No less than three days, but hopefully a week." Iliana couldn't help but make a rude sound at his optimistic words. She's willing to bet on the three days.

In the end they were both wrong, but that's for the future and not this memory.

The lawyer assured them both that the papers will be waiting and ready for her to do her part by the time they get back, whether that was in three days or a week.

"Why do you think it won't be the full week, Ili?" Blake asks her once he hangs up the phone.

"We leave tomorrow. It has been two months since any of your brothers other than Preston have talked to me. It's been ten days since he has. I'm willing to bet a thousand dollars that they will ignore me tomorrow as well. I bet not one person will wish me a happy birthday or even say hi to me. I'm willing to bet that they will scatter paired up with their twin or triplet and not ask me to join them or ask me what I would like to do.

"Hell, I don't even believe you will. You are married to your phone and I don't think you will leave it off."

"I promise you, I won't call work or talk to work while we are on vacation. I made arrangements so that you and the triplets will need to do about an hours worth of homework a day, but other than that, we will do what ever you want. Part of the work I've been doing was training someone to take a large part of the work load off me, basically your father's old job. They aren't to call me unless some major disaster happens."

Ili just rolled her eyes at his words, but was quietly hopeful of spending time with at least one of the brothers. The one that she least expected to make time for her.

"Just where are we going any way? I need to pack for it?"

Blake smiles in pleasure, "Think tropics, sand and sea. We are going to a tropical island getaway so pack beach wear, and please, no skinny dipping. I know you enjoy it, but those beaches aren't completely private and I don't want you swimming in the ocean at night alone. "

Iliana smirks at him, "Of course I won't. Night swimming should only be done in safer waters. Knowing you, you found a place that has a private pool attached to it. Then it's all bets off."

Blake shakes his head smiling. "Private house, yes, enough rooms that we won't be cramped, but there is no private pool. Although, I believe there might be a hot tub. I wasn't paying much attention to that though." Blake could see by her smirk that she fully intended to go skinny dipping in the hot tub. He sighs, "Just make sure you aren't seen by any one.

"Also, make sure you pack at least one nice dress. There's likely to be hiking so be prepared for that as well." Blake knows that she likes to hike. He knows that she is in excellent shape due to her working out in their in home gym and private trainer she has.

Iliana smiles even now. She never doubted that Blake loved her and she loves him, always has.