Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“I shouldn’t have put that kind of pressure on you to succeed. It makes me sad that you didn’t feel you could come to me.”
I’d been hanging my head, but I glanced at him and swallowed my pride. “I know I have no right to ask this, but could you please loan me some money? I owe Embry for his part in all of this, and I really want to be able to keep the house. It would break my heart if I had to sell it.”
My grandfather looked surprised. He picked up a large manilla envelope that was on the table between us and handed it to me as he said, “I’m not withholding your inheritance, son. Just the opposite. I’ve made you wait long enough, so I went ahead and initiated a transfer to your account yesterday. It posted this morning. I asked you to meet with me so I could give you the paperwork.”
I set aside my glass and pulled a packet of financial documents from the envelope. When I saw the huge dollar amount at the top of the page, I whispered, “Oh my god.”
“Obviously, you and your brother are going to inherit my entire estate when I pass. But I decided to give you both an extra sum now, while I’m around to see you enjoy it. That’s why it’s double the amount we’d discussed.”
My voice sounded rough when I whispered, “But I didn’t really meet the conditions of my inheritance.”
“All I wanted was for you to get out there and try to meet someone. And for the record, I planned to give you the money regardless of whether or not you succeeded.”
“That’s not what you said at the time.”
He shrugged and told me, “You needed to be properly motivated,” before taking a sip from his wine glass. Then he added, “By the way, I sent the entire sum as cash for two reasons—so you can easily access it as you build your new restaurant, and because I think it’s important for you to make your own investment decisions with the rest of the money. I’d love to offer you some guidance on putting together a diversified portfolio if you’ll let me. Maybe you can come to my office one day next week, and we can get to work on that.”
I was glad he didn’t want to talk about that now, because I was already completely overwhelmed. “Of course. I’m definitely going to need your help.” He liked hearing that. I returned the sheets to the envelope, and when we both got to our feet, I grabbed him in a hug. “Thank you, Granddad. This is incredibly generous and amazing, and I appreciate it so much.”
“You’re welcome, son.”
Tears stung my eyes as we let go of each other and stepped back. “I need to tell Embry the news,” I said. “He felt terrible about lying to you, by the way. We both did.”
“He’s a dear boy, and I’m glad you found him.”
“Me, too.” As he walked me to the door, I asked, “Have you told Fallon he’s getting another portion of his inheritance?”
“Not yet. I’m planning to pull him aside after dinner.”
He held the door for me, and after I stepped into the hall, I turned back to him. “That night last week, when you dropped by unannounced with two bottles of wine—was that a test to see if Embry and I really are a couple?”
He grinned at me. “I suppose you could call it that. I wanted to see what the two of you were like when you weren’t expecting to see me. It showed me you two aren’t just dating, you’re in a very solid relationship.”
“Yeah. We are.”
“You looked adorable, too. I wasn’t expecting the footie pajamas.”
“Oh, god.”
He chuckled, and then he gave my shoulder an affectionate squeeze as he said, “See you at dinner.” I nodded and wandered down the hall in a daze.
When I got outside, I paused and took a deep breath. Then I tucked the envelope under my arm, pulled the phone from my pocket, and accessed my banking app. The giant available balance in my account made me woozy. I closed the app and sank onto a nearby bench.
I felt utterly overwhelmed. Where should I start? I thought I’d have a year to plan the new restaurant… and, okay, I should still take all the time I needed. But it made sense to purchase a building as soon as possible, because real estate prices in the city were only going up.
Why did I feel nauseous?
A door swung open nearby, and a moment later a familiar, irritated voice said, “Damn it, Bryson.” I turned my head and watched my brother approaching. When he reached me, he pulled his phone from the pocket of his tailored suit and waved it around. “I totally had you, and then you had to go and fall in love.”