Chapter 167 Situation ship contract

Chapter 167 Situation ship contract
Veronica's POV:

I was on my second cup of coffee and had achieved something close to equilibrium when Theo came back from the bedroom with papers in his hand.

Printed papers.

Multiple pages, aligned at the edges with the precision of someone who had used the hotel business center with intention, which meant he had been awake before either of us and had spent that time doing what Theo did with things that required processing... converting them into documents.

"What is that," Max said, from across the table.

"A contract," Theo said, setting the pages on the table between us with the composure of a man presenting something entirely reasonable.

I stared at him.

Max stared at him.

"A contract," Max repeated.

"A contract agreement," Theo confirmed, sitting down and straightening the pages with one hand.

"For our situationship. I have outlined the terms, the boundaries, the expectations of all three parties, and the conditions under which the arrangement can be reviewed or dissolved." He produced a pen from his shirt pocket. "I would like both of you to read it and sign at the bottom of page three."

I opened my mouth.

Closed it. Opened it again.

Then I put my face in my hands and laughed in the way that had become my primary response to Theo doing things that were completely, specifically, irreducibly Theo.

"He made a contract," I said, to my hands.

"I can see that," Max said.

"For our situationship."

"With a signature line."

"Page three."

"Theo," Max said, looking at his brother with the expression of someone genuinely uncertain whether to be impressed or concerned, "we have already done everything. We had a threesome last night. We had breakfast this morning. We are currently sitting in a hotel room that contains evidence of decisions that no contract could have anticipated." He gestured at the papers. "What exactly are you protecting with this document?"

"Structure," Theo said, without missing a beat. "Structure protects everyone. If we are going to navigate something this unprecedented, we should at minimum agree on the parameters..."

"Theo."

"Page one covers communication expectations..."

"Theo."

"Page two addresses exclusivity and..."

"I am not signing a situationship contract," Max said.

"It is legally non-binding," Theo said, "it is more of a..."

"Then what is the point..."

"Moral framework, Max. A moral framework requires..."

"I'll sign it," I said.

Both of them looked at me.

I reached across the table, took the pen from Theo's hand, turned to page three, and signed my name on the line provided with the complete decisiveness of someone who had decided that signing Theo's situationship contract was the most reasonable available response to the morning.

Theo looked at my signature.

Something in his face did the thing it did when he was genuinely pleased and was attempting not to show the full extent of it.

Max picked up the pen. Looked at the signature line. Looked at his brother.

"This is the strangest thing I have ever signed," he said.

"You signed the Meridian agreement," Theo said. "That was stranger."

"The Meridian agreement was a legitimate..."

"Sign the paper, Max," I said.

Max signed the paper.

Theo collected it with the satisfaction of a man whose systems had been validated and tucked it into the inside pocket of his jacket, which meant he had brought his jacket to the hotel business center specifically to have somewhere to put the signed contract, which was so entirely Theo that I had to look at my coffee cup to manage my expression.

My phone rang.

The contact name on the screen produced an immediate and specific warmth... the warmth of someone connected to a version of yourself that predates most of your complications.

Penny.

"Oh," I said, and felt my face do something genuine and unmanaged. "One second." I stood from the table and moved toward the window, answering. "Penny."

"Veronica." Her voice was exactly as it always was... warm and fast and carrying the particular energy of someone who had been storing up things to say and had located the first available opportunity. "It has been too long. Tell me you know it has been too long."

"It has been too long," I confirmed. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Better than okay," she said, and there was something in her voice underneath the warmth that was new... a brightness that had a specific source. "That is actually why I'm calling. I have news."

"Tell me."

"I'm getting engaged."

I turned to look at the window and the city below it. "Penny. That is... who? When did this happen? I didn't even know you were seeing someone seriously."

"It has been... it has been a situation," she said, with the tone of someone selecting the word carefully. "You know the Reyes case? The fashion designer, the one who was jailed on the fraud allegations last year?"

I went very still.

"Penny."

"The case was fabricated," she said, quickly, with the practiced speed of someone who had explained this multiple times and had refined the delivery. "Completely fabricated. Our firm took it on because my father believed in the case and we got him released and in the process of working the case we..." She paused. "We got to know each other."

"You are getting engaged to your client," I said.

"Former client," she corrected.

"Penny, that is..." I searched for the word.

"Scandalous?" she offered.

"I was going to say scandalous, yes."

"Veronica." Her voice shifted into the tone she used when she was about to say something that had been waiting the entire conversation to be said. "You are the last person who can call anything scandalous. You are still seeing both of the Ashford brothers at the same time, aren't you?"

I looked at Max and Theo at the breakfast table.

Theo was reading the contract again, apparently checking the signatures.

Max was watching me with the easy curiosity of someone who could tell from my expression that the call was interesting.

"A lot of things have happened," I said carefully.

"I knew it," Penny said. "I knew from the moment I heard about the engagement that there was more to the story. There is always more to the story with you, Veronica, it is one of the things I love most about you."

She laughed. "I need to see you. I need to see you in person and hear all of it properly."

"When is the engagement party?" I asked.

"That is the other thing," she said, and I could hear the smile in it. "I'm doing it in Belize. The island property my parents have. Two weeks from now... long weekend, small group, people I actually love."

She paused. "I want you there. And before you say anything... yes, bring them. Both of them. I have a large property and an open mind and I have been waiting two years for a proper Veronica story and this one sounds like it has everything."

I turned back to the window.

Belize.

An island. Two weeks. Penny's engagement.

And Chase, somewhere in the city behind me, running whatever plan he was currently on.

"Send me the details," I said.

"Already sent," she said. "I knew you'd say yes."

I ended the call and stood at the window for a moment looking at the city.

Then I turned back to the table.

"How do you two feel about Belize?" I said.

Max looked up immediately with the expression of someone whose interest had been captured completely.

Theo looked up from the contract.

"Belize," Max said.

"My friend Penny is getting engaged. Island property. Two weeks from now." I sat back down. "She wants us there."

"All three of us," Theo said.

"All three of us," I confirmed.

Max looked at Theo.

Theo looked at Max.

Then Theo reached into his jacket pocket, produced the signed contract, and placed it on the table.

"I'm going to need to add a Belize addendum," he said.

Max took the pen and threw it at him.