“No. I think that was abolished over a hundred years ago,” Lydia commented while stirring something that smelled delicious on the stove.
“Mmm.” I nodded and stared at the paper in my hand.
“Why? You owe money?”
So much money.
“Just a little.”
“Well, you got that new job, so I’m sure you’ll be paying your debt down in no time.”
I chewed on the other side of my lip. “What if I just paid the minimum balance? It’s there on the paper. I think that should help, right?”
As wealthy as I was growing up, no one taught me about finances or making money. I was the most clueless out of everyone in Castle Ridge when it came to savings or investing or all the financial lingo people threw around.
“You’ve got to pay more than the minimum, or you’ll never pay off the debt.” Lydia put down the spoon and came to the small round kitchen table where I sat with all my bills. Her eyes widened. “Wait... are all these credit card bills?”
“This one is my rent payment; I always pay that first.” I smiled, proud of myself.
“Oh, honey, no.” Lydia plucked the paper I was holding. “As a business owner, I had to learn about financing, or my little landscaping business would have collapsed years ago.”
Shit. I felt like an idiot.
“What do I do?”
Her head shot back. “First, put a little away in investments. But I shouldn’t have to tell you since you’re wealthy. Just go to the bank and get your money, then pay all these off and shut most of them down.”
She was right. The only reason I hadn’t done that before was because I was hiding from my brother. But now that he knew I lived in Castle Ridge—and he knew about Jenni—I didn’t need to worry.
I threw my head back and laughed. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I have been just surviving for so long, I forgot I don’t need to live like this anymore.”
I collected all the papers, and Lydia went back to cooking.
“Do you mind watching Jenni for a little bit while I go meet with Jenner about paying off the bills? He’s not the family finance guy, but he’ll know who to contact.”
“Of course. Invite him over for some spaghetti with meat sauce—it’s my grandma’s old recipe.”
My mouth was already watering.
It had been a few days since our double date that went horribly wrong. I had met Jenner for lunch a few times, but that was it. He was quite busy.
I found out why the chef wanted to kill my brother. Apparently, back when Eric wasn’t sober, he promised the guy lots of money to open a restaurant. Then, when it came time to invest in his new place, my brother lied and told the chef he never promised to invest, that he was just telling an entertaining tale and didn’t think the guy would take him seriously.
Eric found out the other night just how serious the guy was...
I texted Jenner to see if I could come over, and he told me to meet him at the Hudson Estate. After giving Jenni a soft kiss on her cheek as she napped, I said bye to Lydia and left.
Once I made it to the estate, it surprised me to find some work trucks there. Was my brother going through with the wedding thing? Neither Jenner nor I had agreed to it.
Grabbing the paperwork, I passed a man carrying a large arrangement of white lilies.Ugh. This has wedding written all over it.
I quickly made my way up the front steps and into the home. Workers were frantically moving about; some had ladders, while others carried folding chairs.
“Jenner?” I called out.
A few eyes shifted my way, but the workers kept moving. When you get paid by a billionaire to do a job, no one stops what they are doing to help.
I ran down the hallway, passing oil paintings I hadn’t seen since I was a teenager. When did those go back up?