The Love Of Money - S01 E234

Story 4 days ago

The Love Of Money - S01 E234

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 234

"No," I said. "Danielle."

"Oh wow! I remember her."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" Richie said. "She's way out of your league."

"Don't I know It," I muttered.

"You gonna do it?" He asked.

"I don't know. We still have some things to talk about, but maybe."

"Well, as a wise man once told me, there are plenty of other girls as interesting as Danielle, and if my time here has taught me anything, there are plenty of really good ones interested in you. Know your worth, king."

I chuckled. "Thanks, bro."

Eventually, seven o'clock came around. Emily came home with Natashya and Megan. Natashya made herself scarce, and Megan decided to hang out with her to give us some family time. As soon as Mom and Dad arrived, we sat down to a veritable feast

If I had any lingering doubts about Camille, they were put to rest. Dinner was fantastic-I'd never been much of a cold soup guy, but the gazpacho was amazing. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The family small talk didn't last long, however. It took all of five minutes for my mom to start grilling me about my love life. She asked about Erin and gushed over how much she liked my 'little assistant. She asked about Jessica's presence last night, and I admitted that she had come back to town to patch things back up but that wasn't interested in repairing our relationship. I did everything in my power to keep details to a minimum, and judging by the look on Emily's face, Emily knew I was leaving a lot of information off the table. Considering what I knew about her and Natashya, she was probably fine with it.

Finally, I brought things around to a safer topic.

"So, I've been trying to think of ways to do this without you guys knowing, but honestly, I think I'm just going to tell you some of my plans, and you'll just have to accept them."

That got a raised eyebrow from my mother, but I went on despite the natural inclination to shrivel like a slug exposed to salt when given that look. "I'm paying off your house."

My mom and dad immediately broke out in a chorus of protests, but I cut them off. "On top of that, I'm setting you guys both up with some extra money. Work as long as you'd like, but you don't have to worry about retirement. The money you'll have will allow you to live comfortably and do all the things you couldn't do when you had all four of us at home."

"Marcus!" Mom said, looking from me to Dad, then back to me. "You know we can't accept this!"

"You don't get a choice. I want to do it, and it's not putting me out at all. I don't want this to come off the wrong way, but the money it takes to pay off your house and set up your retirement isn't much. It's literally the least I can do, and I want you to let me do it."

Mom opened her mouth to say something, but Dad laid a hand over hers and said, "Shawna." That was all he had to say. His tone was soft, but it had an underlying current of firmness. Henry Upton wasn't a man who often put his foot down, so it was all the more meaningful when he chose to. My mom gave him a long, meaningful look, then looked at me, started to say something, then simply closed her mouth and nodded.

I thought I was going to have to fight much harder for that. "Thanks," I said.

"I'm also setting up a trust for Ryan. I'm gonna load it up, and I want you two to be trustees along with Haley."

"Not Jacob?" Dad asked.

I shook my head. "No. He's too irresponsible to manage it. Haley's way better, but while she's with Jacob, I don't think she's in the best place to make good decisions managing Ryan's trust. Anything she decides to do has to be signed off by you two."

"If Jacob finds out," Emily said. "He's going to blow up. I don't think he'd recover from the embarrassment."

"Then he better not find out," I said. "I'm also gonna tell her that if she decides to leave Jacob, she doesn't have to worry about where to go. I know you guys would take her in, but I don't want things to become more difficult between you and Jacob. I'll happily give her a place to stay until she can figure something out. I'll also help with any legal troubles she has."

"If it comes to that," Mom said, "Jacob would never forgive you."