Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Paige
I sigh, pushing the hair from my face and doing my best to keep the tears from forming in my eyes, the final board nailed back up over the window.
“Let’s go outside. I don’t think it’s safe to breathe in all this mold,” Carry, the woman who owns the yoga studio beside my building, whispers.
Defeated, I follow her out, locking the door behind us.
“I’m so sorry, Paige. I wish I could help, but it took every penny of my claim money to get me up and running, and I still had to pay out of pocket to get some of my equipment here faster so I didn’t lose clients to the big, fancy studios across town.”
“No, Carry, please. I appreciate the sentiment, but I wouldn’t accept it even if you could.” I blow out a breath. “At this rate, the city might step in and demand action. My time to figure all this out might be up before I actually make a decision.”
“What are your options, exactly?”
I frown, almost tell her, but decide if I’m going to talk to anyone, it should be my friends.
“I’m still figuring that out.” I smile tightly.
“I better go. I have a lunch I’m supposed to be at in thirty minutes and it’s across town.
“Thanks for letting me know about the boards being busted out. I might not make it back for a couple weeks. My weekends are pretty booked, and I’m still borrowing the elementary-school cafeteria near my school for the youth group lessons a couple days a week so… ”
“Don’t worry. I’ll let you know if there are any issues.”
I thank her again and hop in my car, letting the AC blow me in the face for a few minutes before I dig around for a charger, to no avail. “Awesome,” I mumble, dropping my dead phone into my purse and making the trip back in silence.
The time passes in a blur and before I know it, I’m back in town, driving in the general area where I was told the restaurant was.
Thankfully, when I pull up to the promenade, the girls are standing around outside, waiting for me. I honk my horn and Cameron whips around, relief on her face. She gives me a thumbs-up, and I turn into the parking lot in search of a space.
They meet me halfway, smiling and laughing.
“Okay, one, I know what I’m buying you for Christmas this year—a portable freaking charger.
” She laughs. “And two, thankfully you pulled up because we’ve been calling you to make sure we didn’t hear you wrong ’cause, girl, this place is fancy.
Like, lobster risotto fancy and we’re broke college kids living on ramen and sandwiches. ”
Ari laughs, looping her arm in mine, and we fall in step beside Payton. “Okay, Paige, spill. We can’t go in unprepared.”
My mood lifts just being in their presence, and a small smile finds my lips. “Okay, so, maybe we should pause for this.”
The girls stop walking, forming a little circle. “So this long-lost grandfather of mine, he’s, well…rich.”
They nod, waiting for more, but I just stare.
“Okay, are we talking like Gossip Girl rich?” Cameron takes a guess.
“More like Taylor Swift rich.”
Their mouths drop open, and I can’t help but wince.
“Dude.” Cam is the first to speak. “I got this dress at a garage sale!”
A loud laugh leaves me, and I slide my free arm through Payton’s, who snags Cameron, and we start for the restaurant doors again. “Trust me, you could be wearing Ari’s wedding dress and it wouldn’t matter.”
“I feel like I’m supposed to take offense to that, but oddly, I’m not offended.” Ari grins.
“Good, because you’re going to be the prettiest bride anyone’s ever seen, and my poor friend is going to weep the moment he sees you. But let’s not talk about weddings in front of my grandfather. He’s… Yeah. Just don’t.”
“You got it.”
“Why exactly did he want to meet us?” Payton asks, quickly adding, “Not that I’m against it. I think we’ve all been pretty curious about him ourselves.”
“He wants to get to know me better, and he said that includes getting to know my friends. Sometimes all I can see is a businessman, but every now and again, he’s softer than I think he even realizes. I think he’s genuine.”
“So you don’t think he’ll judge our outfits?”
“Not to our faces.”
The girls laugh and we slip through the door.
Here goes nothing.
I’m not sure what I expected, but I’m pleasantly surprised by how well lunch goes.
The girls keep him laughing, and he seems to do the same.
He even shares a few stories about my mother when she was young, though it looks a little painful for him to talk about.
Understandably so, being that they cut each other out of their lives based on the way she chose to live hers, not knowing they wouldn’t get a second chance should they decide they wanted one.
Part of me thinks she didn’t tell him about me and the small stint when she was sober because she was waiting until her life was fully on track, not expecting it to derail all over again.
Or maybe not, considering my dad was led to believe she had no family at all.
Grant pauses right before the exit, allowing all of us girls to step out first. We walk a few feet out into the waiting area of the restaurant and turn to one another.
“Well, ladies, I had a fabulous time, and I hope to have you for dinner in my home sometime soon.”
The girls sneak a quick look my way, and I smile.
“Whenever Paige is up for it, we would love to,” Ari responds, reaching out to accept his handshake as he makes his way down the line of my friends. When he reaches me, he leans in, giving me a small hug.
“Thank you for lunch, Grandfather.”
“Anytime. I’d do this with you every day if you gave me the time,” he says.
I go to respond, but he merely smiles.
“Sweetheart, I know you’re busy. I didn’t mean that in a sense of pressure. Before I go, I have a parting gift for you.” He holds an envelope out.
Instantly, my palms grow clammy. An envelope usually contains cash, and while the world knows I could use it, I don’t want to take that, especially in front of my friends.
It would feel a little like I owed him something for it, like it was a push, so to speak, in the direction he’s asking me to go.
Maybe that’s unfair, but it is what it is. “You don’t have to give me anything.”
His eyes seem to soften, almost as if he knows what I’m thinking. “Oh, you should open it before you refuse it.”
“Now?” I squeak, taking the envelope with shaky fingers.
“I’d like it if you did, yes. Just in case you don’t want it. It’s not something I want to go to waste.”
Intrigued, I open the flap, pulling out a golden ticket.
I gasp at the words scrolled across the top: Phantom of the Opera, Live on Broadway.
My head snaps up. “Holy crap.”
“I’ve secured you the center section on the second upper deck, front row. I’m told that is the best view in the house. Full stage view. The entire row is on reserve for you, so just let me know the number in your party by Monday if you can; the show is Tuesday at nine.”
“This is insane.” I can’t help but laugh. “Thank you so much! I’m going to force them all to come.”
Grant’s smile couldn’t be any wider. “Perfect. The ticket is more for keepsake purposes; my assistant had it printed, saying it would be more fun than just telling you about the show. You just have to give the box office your name, and they’ll take great care of you.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. The jet will be fueled and waiting. My driver will meet you outside your dorm at six p.m.”
My face falls. “Wait, what?” I look to the girls, who are all some form of bug-eyed. My attention falls to the golden ticket. “Where exactly is this performance?”
“San Jose. Don’t forget to give me your numbers.” He looks to my friends. “Ladies.” He dips his chin and walks away.
Slowly, I look back to my friends, and after a moment of silence, they start laughing.
“Holy shit. He is like rich rich.”
“Yeah…” I wince. “Is this weird? Too much?”
“Uh, no!” Cameron wraps her arm around my shoulder. “Ari is basically rich too, and soon, once Noah brings home a Super Bowl ring or ten, she’ll be Payton Manning rich.”
“Cam!” Ari shouts, but she’s laughing at her best friend.
“What? I’m just saying. We should get used to this. All our men are NFL bound, so this is our future.” She laughs at herself when Payton shoves her. “Kidding. Brady already spilled his secrets to you guys over Christmas. He wants that simple life back home.”
“That’s the fear of failure talking.” Ari shakes her head. “He wants to go pro. It’s all they’ve talked about since we were little.”
Cam shrugs. “And if he doesn’t, we’ll still be happy with solid careers to fall back on. But back to the current moment…” She looks my way with a wink. “We are getting on the fucking jet on Tuesday, my dear, and we’re going to look banging when we do it.”
A low laugh leaves me, and we head for the parking lot. They took an Uber since I said I was driving in, so we load up in my car and head back to campus.
“Can I ask you something?” Payton turns to me at a red light.
I peek her way. “Sure.”
“Last year, you were pretty pissed at how your grandfather demanded time from you, but you seem to be in a good place with him now. Are you… Do you feel forced to allow him in your life?”
My heart aches at her question because I know where it’s coming from.
Payton’s relationship before Mason was a rough one.
He was a good guy, but his family was vicious and demanding.
Deaton, the boy she was in love with, the one who blessed her with her son that Mason is raising as his own, died in a car crash before their little boy was born.