“But you already pay me, and I receive money every month from the trust; how many trusts…?”
“This is something entirely different. I’m sure your advisor will reach out soon. You’ll probably have to do everything over the phone with things being the way they are; I just thought I’d get the ball rolling. Simon’s shit ain’t cheap.”
“I’m pretty sure I have enough to cover it, whatever it is.”
I didn’t know what else to say to him. His generosity never ceases to amaze me. In the beginning, I knew it stemmed from his gratitude for what I had done for Ash, but with time I’d come to accept that it could be more. But this was something else entirely. I knew, of course, about the college fund and about the trust that paid dividends every month. It wasn’t huge, but it was enough for me to live off of for the rest of my life. Plus, he pays me very well as he does all the men who work for him.
But what I just got a glance of in the preliminary statement the bank had sent is too much. I didn’t dare say that to him, though, because it would set him off, and he’d probably set Ash on my ass to set me straight. “I know you two are going to look for your own place once we get back, but please keep your sister in mind when you’re looking.”
He gave me a look which I read very well. Neither of us wants to deal with a fuming Ash, him least of all. “It never crossed my mind to move away.” That’s because I never planned on getting married. He seemed overly pleased with that statement and left his chair again.
“Well, there’s more than enough space on the estate; you can even build something there if your wing is too small.”
The shit’s big enough for a family of five. I didn’t say anything to him because no matter how close we are now, we come from two different worlds, and Gideon Thorpe, as down to earth as he is, would not know the first thing about cramped spaces and worrying about your next meal. It always boggles my mind that this is my life. That he’d dragged me into his the way, he has and was even now, still looking out for me, as grown as I am.
“If you have any questions, I’m here.”
“Questions about what?” He just snorted and clapped me on the shoulder as he passed me to exit the room, “you’ll see.” I’m not sure about that grin. What the heck was he thinking to put that look on his face and that light in his eye?
Lyon
All damn morning I’ve been thinking about this shit. From the time I woke up, it’s been on my mind. I left the guys a while ago and am now hanging out on one of the upstairs balconies in this monstrosity, watching the sun play on the water in the distance. I saw the senator and his daughter walk in that direction a little while ago and could hear the drone of voices below. The nosy ass women are up to some shit.
Kat’s three youngest are crawling around on the floor out here with me getting into shit because apparently, any time I sit still for more than five seconds, it’s an invitation to babysit. Her asshole delinquent sons had hightailed it somewhere, leaving me to deal with this shit like I didn’t have enough on my mind.
I heard movement behind me and turned my head around to see Caleb followed closely behind by his shadow. The kid is a little beauty, what’s her name again? Tyler only calls her baby Zak which is cute as hell. She had a hold on my kids’ hand, or he had one on hers; I’m not sure which. Funny, he can’t be around his little sister for more than two minutes without wanting to kill her, but he seems cool enough with this kid.
“What’s up, son?”
“Zakira wanted to see the babies.” My three had a new audience, so proceeded to show their ass but good while I was trying to figure out who the hell had given my son babysitting duty of the four-year-old. Two of the hundred nannies Mancini have running around the place showed up not long after, saying that my wife wanted to take the trips to the beach, and after checking in with Kat to make sure that shit was legit, I let them go.
Now I was left alone with my thoughts once again. No sense in sitting here dwelling on this shit; I hadn’t seen her in a while since breakfast. She’s probably hiding from me with her murdering ass. I got up and headed downstairs to her kill zone and found her and Flanagan’s kid with their heads together plotting some shit.