Page 94 of Cruel Offer
"How are things going between the two of you?" she prods.
I’m about to sidestep the question, but then I realize I don't have any reason to hide the truth from her anymore.
"Nana, the truth is, there was never any relationship between that nice young man and me. We were…entered into a business arrangement. That's all. It’s over now.”
She focuses on her crochet, but I noticed how her hands pause for a brief second. "What kind of business arrangement?"
Nana can be like a dog with a bone, which is why I’m normally careful about how much information I reveal. One sniff of juicy gossip, and she's all over it. At the same time, she’s not the type to judge. Especially when it comes to her favorite granddaughter. So I lay it all out.
"I'll be blunt with you, Nana. After Dad lost everything, I was really scared about what would happen to you. That’s why I dropped out of school and made a deal with Nate Windemere to arrange a marriage for me, to a wealthy man who would be able to help me take care of you. I didn’t want to see you have to move from here.”
“Oh, Piper.”
“It’s okay. The arrangement didn't work out, but I promise, I'm going to find a way to pay your rent. There’s still time. I’ve already saved up a few thousand from my job at the studio, and I can apply for a bank loan…"
I realize how pathetic that all must sound, compared to her living costs here, but her eyes are filled with tears when she looks at me and slowly sets her crocheting in a basket beside her chair. Her small, fragile hand is cool when she places it over mine.
"Piper-Lily, you quit school because of me?"
"I couldn't justify spending money on my tuition and not your rent. I’ve already spoken with the account manager in the office, and she knows that I’m?—"
"Piper, no, no. Sweetheart. I'm a little offended that you never considered I would be able to look out for myself."
That stops me short. "What—what do you mean?"
She stands and goes into her bedroom, then reappears with a small leather portfolio which she plops into my lap before resuming her seat.
"Open it, flip through the pages. Be prepared to be stunned."
I do, and I am. The portfolio contains multiple pages of investment statements. All are recently dated, and the balances are astronomical, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This all must add up to at least a few million.
"Nana! How did… What did you do?"
"A woman can never be reliant on a man for her financial future, I’ve told you that. And if you’ve learned anything from what happened to your parents, I hope it's that. I've been investing in stocks since I was a teenager, Pip. And when my late husband began to make good money, I took the allowance he gave me every month and invested most of that, too. After he died, all of his shares went to me as well. I put that money where I knew it would grow."
I look to the ceiling as my eyes began to burn. I blink back tears, but it's impossible to keep them from falling.
Her hand grips my knee lovingly. "It's all settled, Piper. You’re re-enrolling in school as soon as the next term starts. You go and earn any degree that you want. I don't care howlong it takes; I don't care how many degrees you go after. I'm paying for it, do you understand? All you had to do was talk to me, and I would've told you this months ago."
“Oh, Nana. I wish I had.”
But I hadn’t. Instead, I kept secrets.
I was so consumed by what my dad did, so confused about the sudden and abrupt changes to my life, that all I could think of was my Nana being on the street. She's right. All I had to do was ask.
Nana hands me a tissue and we both dab at our eyes. Overcome with relief, I lean over and hug her and hold on as tightly as I dare. I've never known such relief as I do right now. She's going to be okay. She's going to be able to spend the rest of her days in this place that she loves, surrounded by her friends. And maybe, with Mr. Brown.
"I'm sorry, Nana," I whisper.
"Why on earth are you sorry? I should have been more forthcoming with you. Now, do you need any money? I can’t have you running around broke."
"No. I’m fine. I only wanted to earn an income to keep you comfortable."
I don't tell her that my paycheck from the dance studio is so meager. I have no idea how I'm going to afford my own apartment or all of the necessities of life, but I'll figure it out. I'll be damned if I'm taking a cent of her well invested money.
"He came to see me, you know," she says.
I take my seat again and am about to take a sip of tea when she says this. The cup wobbles in my hand. "Who?"
