Worth Billions (Worth It 1)

Grayson

“He what?” I asked.

“I’ve been looking into it because there’s a lot here that Mr. Volk wants donated in various ways. But one of the things he did for people in the community, was that he bought various properties around town and then didn’t charge the tenants that lived there rent.”

“How many properties are we talking about?” I asked.

“Twenty-two. He owned twenty-two of them. And they’re dotted throughout the entire county. Ten are right here in Stillsville, but the rest are scattered.”

“What does he want me to do with them? I mean, what does he want to do with them? Does it say?” I asked.

“Here, take a look for yourself.”

He slid one of the pages of Anton’s will over to me and I read it. Over and over again, until it fully digested. Anton wanted me to talk to the twenty two families and tell them that he was turning the property over to them. Free of charge. I couldn’t believe it. Anton had been footing the bills and property taxes for over twenty parcels of land within the county limits at no charge to the tenants. And now, he wanted me to inform them that he was giving them the land for nothing. Free. Simply because they needed it.

“I’ve got all the paperwork on the properties,” the estate lawyer said. “I talked to the real estate agent that helped Anton with all of these purchases. Each house has its own folder of information. The addresses are on the front of them. The tenants will need them for legality purposes.”

I looked at the box the lawyer heaved up onto his desk and I was stunned. This was Anton’s last gift to these people. His dying act. I was floored. I had no idea what to say. Did he want me to inform them in person? It was probably better that way. Which meant my rental car would put on a lot of miles before I returned it back to the company.

“The one thing Anton doesn’t outline is what to do with his other various properties,” the lawyer said.

“The only thing I can think to do is sell them off,” I said. “That’ll give his charities even more money to split between all of them.”

“Is that what you want to do?” he asked.

“It’s the only thing I can think to do. He’s outlined twelve charities he wants a specific

amount donated to that practically drains his funds. Why not sell off his property, split it twelve ways, and give the charities more? If they mean that much to my godfather, then why not give them as much as he had to give himself?”

“I think it’s a good idea. A sound one. But what about Anton’s house here? In Stillsville?”

“I guess sell that off, too,” I said.

“If I may be so bold, you don’t sound too convinced.”

“There’s no reason for it to stay in his name and I don’t want it. I guess I could find someone to take care of it or live in it, since he’s doing that with other properties. But other than that, selling it off seems like the only other option.”

“Why don’t you think on that specific property for a few days? At least until you leave. I can get the ball rolling on all the other ones, but why don’t you make sure that’s what you want for Anton’s home?”

“Fine,” I said, as I stood. “I don’t think my mind will change, but that’s fine. I need to go figure out what to do about these other properties anyway. Something tells me Anton would’ve wanted me to do this face to face.”

“That sounds like him,” the lawyer said with a grin.

I needed some time to breathe and think. I needed a game plan on how best to inform the inheritors of Anton’s very generous gift to them. I also needed to figure out what the fuck to do with Anton’s home here in Stillsville. I stood up and took the box in my hands, thanked the lawyer for his time, then hauled the box out to the trunk of my car.

I started back to Anton’s with my mind astray on various topics. It had been a whirlwind the past couple of days, and every time I turned around I was getting smacked in the face with something else I didn’t know about my godfather. I guess we had both kept secrets from one another. We had parts of our lives locked up from the rest of the world. Kept to ourselves and didn’t let anyone in on the things we actually did with our money.

It made me respect the man more.

And made me wish I would’ve come back to see him more.

It made his letter to me hurt a little more.

My eyes squinted as I saw a familiar form walking down the sidewalk. Was that Michelle? I pulled up beside her as that deep red hair glistened in the sun, and when she turned to look at me she smiled.

“Well hello there, stranger,” I said with a grin.

“Fancy seeing you out here,” Michelle said.