Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
JACK
I rubbed at my temples, staring at the paperwork before me. This was the third time my uncle was suing me.
“Just pay him ten million. I don’t want to go to court,” I told Chloe.
“ Ten million!” She actually growled like an animal. “No way, Jack!” She began to pace my office. “Money makes people ugly. Your uncle is a lying, no-good, bast?—”
“He’s right though.” I tapped the piece of paper.
Chloe slammed her fist onto the stack of papers, and I met her gaze. I’d never seen her this angry.
“Jack Marrow, you listen to me. This man will not get one more dollar from you so long as I am working here. Do you understand me?” She tipped her chin as if daring me to test her.
I scoffed. “You’re going to quit if I give my uncle money?”
“No. If you want to help your uncle and buy him a house and send him to gambling-addiction therapy, I will respect that. But if you throw ten million at this man and give power to the ugly words in this”—she tapped the papers—“I will leave. Because what happened was an accident and I will not accept anyone making you feel any different.”
I loved her at that moment. Like a sister, I genuinely loved her. I decided right then and there to leave every dollar of my money to her in my will. She was a good apple, and I didn’t come across those often.
“Don’t leave me.” I placed my hand over hers. “But please, just pay him.”
She yanked her hand out from under mine. “ No . You’re going to have to cut that check, Jack.”
Well, at least she wasn’t quitting.
“Okay. Thank you,” I said.
She began to walk out of my office.
“Hey,” I called after her. When she turned to look at me, she was wearing the pity look Cedric gave me every time I saw him. “Thanks for always sticking up for me.”
It meant more than she knew. I didn’t have many people in my corner, and sometimes it felt like that was the only thing keeping me going.
“Always,” she said with a sad smile and left.
Great. Now, even Chloe wouldn’t look at me the same.
Staring at the court paperwork for my uncle’s case, I shook my head. Chloe had a point. Just giving him the money wouldn’t help him. After picking up my phone, I dialed Uncle Rod.
“This is Rodney.” He already sounded drunk. It was only noon.
“Hey, Uncle Rod. It’s Jack, your nephew.”
“You got my papers?” he asked.
“I did. You know I’d like to settle this out of court like we did last time.” Last time, I’d given him a million bucks. That was a year ago. How had he blown through it so quickly?
“That would be prefur…prefreeb—I would like that.” He couldn’t even say the word preferable .
“Here’s the deal. I’ll send you to treatment for gambling and alcohol addiction, and if you stay sober for a year, I’ll give you ten million dollars, payable in installments of half a million a year for twenty years.” I laid my offer on the table.
“I don’t need no treatment!” he snapped.
“Okay, then. I’ll see you in court, Uncle Rod. Bye.” I hung up and waited.
Not ten seconds later did my phone ring again.
“Hello, this is Jack.”
“You hung up on me!” he shouted. “If Sonia was alive to see how you treat your uncle, she’d be ashamed.”
Just hearing my mother’s name like that caused the knife in my heart to twist. I wished he wouldn’t speak so harshly to me. I was fragile where my mother was concerned. But I knew that it was the alcohol talking and my mother would not want her brother to remain in this condition.
“Do you want the deal or not?” I could feel the clouds of depression closing in. This money felt like a curse at times, and I was tempted at that moment to give it all away.
“Fine,” he growled. “But I want a nice rehab center. One the celebrities go to.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course, Uncle Rod. Nothing but the best for you.”
We hung up, and I shot a text to Chloe.
Jack: Will you book Uncle Rod at a nice gambling and alcohol addiction center? Somewhere like Malibu, California, or something posh.
Chloe: You actually took my advice?
Jack: I did.
Chloe: He agreed to go?
Jack: He did.
Chloe: I’ll book it! I’m proud of you, Jack!
Little did she know, Rod would get his money a year from now. If he could remain sober.
I was about to put my phone down when another text came through.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw Hannah’s name.
Hannah with two N’s: Guess what?
I stared at the text for ten minutes, trying to decide if I should respond or not. Ignoring Hannah was killing me, but there was nothing good I had to offer her. She was clean, and sunny, and brand new, and I didn’t want to taint that with my baggage.
Hannah with two N’s: My mom is cancer-free, and it’s in large part because of you. Thank you, Jack. Thank you for everything. We are having a party tonight at the restaurant. Can you hop on your fancy private jet and make it? I know it would mean the world to my mom.
My eyes filled with tears. Cancer-free. I hadn’t heard. It was incredible news. Going to the restaurant, meeting her mom, seeing Hannah—it all sounded good in theory. But the reality was she was probably with that guy Luke now and I was a convicted felon who needed permission to cross state lines. It was like trying to make a fish and a bird live together. It wouldn’t work. We wouldn’t work.
Instead of responding, I shot Chloe a text and told her to send both Hannah and her mother flowers with a personalized message from me.
This was good. Hannah had her restaurant, her mother was cancer-free, and she had Luke. It was time to just let her be happy and step out of the way.