25. Carter
Chapter twenty-five
Carter
Carter knocked on Bill’s office door, and Bill waved him inside. He motioned to the leather chair across from his desk, and Carter took the seat as he had done so many times before.
“What can I do for you today?” Bill asked with a joy in his voice Carter hadn’t heard in years.
“I wanted to let you know that Tiny did it, sir.”
Bill slapped his desk, a huge smile on his aging face. “I knew she could.”
“She did have a little help.”
Bill’s eyebrow arched.
“Turns out, this entire time, Ashley had the recipe in her wallet.”
A loud bark of a laugh burst from Bill as he shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. “Of course you gave it to our girl,” he mumbled. His attention returned to Carter. “Now that’s out of the way. What are your intentions with my granddaughter?”
“I’m sorry?”
“It’s no secret you two have been sneaking around the last few days, nor was it a secret eight years ago. You love her; I can see it in the way your face lights up every time she enters a room. You look at her like I looked at my Lily. So what are your intentions?”
“That’s the thing, sir. I don’t want to lose her. I love her. I always have.”
“But? Come on. There’s always a but.”
“She lives in New York. I live at Winterridge. I love my job. She loves hers. You pay me a good salary, and I am most appreciative of that, but it’s nowhere near the lifestyle she is used to.”
“Do you think Ashley would care about that?” Bill leaned toward him, an intense seriousness filling his irises.
“Listen to me carefully, son. You were never beneath my granddaughter. I trusted you with this estate because I trusted you with my family. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve been one of us for years. ”
Warmth spread through Carter, and he couldn’t hold back the smile.
“Your worth has nothing to do with your salary. But while we’re on the subject of money… You’re just as rich as she is.”
A laugh burst from Carter. He quickly snapped his mouth shut and straightened his collar. “Sorry, sir. But it is no secret I came from nothing.”
“I paid your father a good salary,” Bill said.
“I’m aware, sir, but even still. When he passed, there was just enough to cover funeral expenses.”
“That’s because your father gave me his life savings.”
Carter’s attention snapped to the old man who had more money than he’d ever be able to spend. “Come again?”
Bill picked up a bottle of his favorite scotch and poured it into two glasses before handing Carter a glass. Carter took the glass and stared at the amber liquid before looking back at Bill.
Bill nodded at the glass. “Sip slowly. It’s a hundred dollars a sip, so you want to savor it.”
Carter’s eyes widened before he took the tiniest of sips, savoring the smooth burn as it coated his tongue and warmed his chest.
Bill reclined in his leather chair, the firelight casting deep grooves across his face, each line carved by decades of power and precision. “That’s what money tastes like, son. Good, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir, but I still don’t understand.”
“I’m getting to that.” Bill took another sip, pulled the glass from his lips, and admired the liquid as he tilted the glass back and forth.
“Your father was a good man. He was a smart man. He understood the power of asking for help. When his diagnosis was grim, and he knew he was dying, he wrote me a check, emptying his bank account and leaving just enough for you to pay for the arrangements and anything else he needed settled.”
“But why?”
Bill held up a finger. “Patience.” He took another swig from his glass, taking his time as if he wasn’t withholding vital information.
He placed the glass on the desk and met Carter’s gaze.
“Your father was good at saving, but he wasn’t good at risk.
So he gave me his money and told me to invest it.
That money has been sitting in a portfolio of my most aggressive accounts for the last four years.
Tech. Real estate. A little bourbon, even.
” A smile curved his lips as he settled into his chair.
“Your father might not have left you with anything in hand, but he left you with something far more valuable. Time. And trust in me.”
Carter blinked, his fingers tightening around his glass. “Are you saying…?”
“I’m saying, the man you thought left you penniless actually secured your future. With interest.”
Carter’s mouth moved, but no words came out. He had no idea how to process this information. “How much?”
“Enough to make you just as rich as my granddaughter. But even without the money, you have more class than half this family.”
Carter’s throat worked as he forced down another sip, the burn doing little to squelch the storm inside him. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Bill replied, his tone softer now, almost grandfatherly. “Just understand that the life you’ve built, the man you’ve become… that’s worth more than zeroes in an account. The money is yours whenever you’re ready for it. Just don’t let it change you.”
Carter shook his head slowly. “Ready? I’m not sure I ever could be.”
Bill smirked, raising his glass in a toast. “Consider this your first lesson in wealth. It isn’t about being ready. It’s about being willing.”
He nodded, unable to find words. Bill just gave him the greatest Christmas gift, and it had nothing to do with the money. He showed he respected him, believed in him, and not as an employee, but as a man, and someone worthy enough for his granddaughter.
Carter stood and extended a hand to Bill. “Sir. Thank you.”
Bill stood and accepted his hand. “Just don’t tell me you’re going to quit now.”
Carter laughed. “Truth is, sir. I really do love my job.”
He just had no idea how he would be able to keep his job and Ashley too.