Spencer would become an executive adviser, compensated at a salary greater than the amount I paid myself.

There were conditions about access to bank accounts and authority to approve contracts.

No board had approved these terms.

I had never discussed them with a lawyer.

I turned the pages slowly.

A clause described the proposed transfer as a voluntary contribution made to support our shared family interests.

The phrase made my throat tighten.

Spencer and Gertrude had been using that language for months.