Page 42 of I Heard It All Before

Chapter 15

“Do you have any questions? I’ll be happy to answer them for you,” the older gentleman said as he peered at Cam and Nora over the rim of his glasses.

Cam sat there in stunned in silence once the man finished talking. He’d heard everything that he said, but he was just trying to process it all. Now, he knew why his grandparents had been trying to call him for the past few weeks. Cam regretted not answering, but everything happened for a reason.

“This house that you said his father left him, is it something that he’ll have to fix up?” Nora asked.

“Have you ever been in English Turn?” the man questioned.

“No, I can’t say that I have,” Nora replied.

“Okay, well, there are no fixer uppers around that way. It’s a private, gated community that has some of the best homes that New Orleans has to offer,” he replied.

“Camden was married when he passed away. I don’t want my son to have any problems with his wife. I don’t want him moving into this house and then she takes it from him,” Nora said, voicing her concerns.

“That will never happen. The house belongs to your son and the deeds reflect that. Mr. Blaire purchased the house and the warehouse under his father’s name for his son, and Carrington signed everything over to Camden,” he replied.

“What about the money? Can she try to fight him in court for that?” Nora questioned.

“She already tried. That’s what took us so long to reach out to your son. Mr. Blaire was a great attorney and he had an iron clad will. Camden is his only living heir and he’s entitled to everything that his father left him.”

“Do you have any questions for him, Cam?” Nora asked.

She was doing all the talking, while Cam just sat there with a blank expression on his face. Nora knew that her son was having a rough time financially, but he didn’t seem too pleased about what was being said to him. Cam’s father wasn’t there very much when he was alive, but he was proving to be a great provider now that he had passed on. It turned out that the person who had been trying to contact him was his father’s financial advisor. Camden had left a will, giving his son a nice portion of his fortune. Not only did he leave Camden a five-bedroom home, he also left him a fully equipped warehouse, with hopes of him starting his own car restoration business. The place had top of the line equipment per the adviser, and Cam could get to work whenever he was ready. Cam was overwhelmed with that bit of info, but he was speechless when he learned of the five million dollars that he had to go along with it all. He was dumfounded but grateful at the same time. His father was still there for him financially, even from the grave.

“I’ll be happy to answer any questions that you might have now or later,” his father’s advisor spoke up.

“I…um…I… damn,” Cam stuttered.

“I understand, it’s a lot to take in,” the man chuckled.

“So, now what? Can I just move into the house whenever I want to?” Cam asked.

“You sure can. The envelope that I gave you contains the deeds and the keys to both properties. I’ll just need your banking information and I can have the money wired into your account in a few days,” he replied.

Cam felt like crying as he gave his father’s advisor his banking information and wrapped up their meeting. He didn’t know how to feel when he and his mother left the office. He was in too much shock to even react to what was going on. Cam had never see that amount of money before in his life. He was sure that Asha was going to be ecstatic when she found out. Their relationship was going downhill, but he was sure that his newfound riches would get it back on track.

After dropping his mother off, Cam headed home to tell Asha what had just taken place. He hated to feel the way he did, but he would have much rather share his good fortune with Demi instead. He’d only known her for a few months, but she was the most giving person that he’d ever met. Asha would have died if she ever had to foot the bill for a meal. She never even offered and Cam never bothered to ask. Cam pulled up to the gate of their apartments and did a double take when he saw one of Asha’s brother’s truck leaving out. He gave Cam a stupid grin and nodded his head when they locked eyes. They rarely visited their sister at her home and Cam didn’t like it when they did. He and Asha’s brothers were cordial with each other, but they didn’t hang out too much. Asha’s brothers were shady and Cam didn’t want no parts of their drama.

“Asha!” Cam yelled when he walked through the front door.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw her Louis Vuitton duffel bag and suitcase sitting in the middle of the living room floor. Cam made his way down the hall to their bedroom and saw Asha standing in the closet. Her entire side of the closet was empty and so was the dresser where she kept all her perfume. She had a few shoe boxes stacked up against the wall, but everything else was gone. Cam now knew why her brother was there. He must have been helping his sister move her stuff out of the house. That also explained the stupid look that was on his face as they passed by each other.

“You got something that you need to tell me,” Cam inquired as he stood in the doorway of their bedroom.

“You’re not blind Camden. I’m sure you already know what’s up. I’m done. I’m leaving,” Asha replied.

“No shit,” Cam said sarcastically. “You’re always threatening to leave, but why now?”

“I can’t take it no more Cam. I understand you wanting to change and all, but I can’t take living like this. I’m fucking you every night, but I have to beg my brothers to get my hair and my nails done. That shit ain’t even me. Another bitch might be happy being broke with you, but I’m not her,” Asha rambled.

“Oh okay, so this is about money,” Cam said as more of a statement than a question.

“You already know what this is about Cam. My brothers make sure that me and my mama are straight in every way. When we got together, you promised to do the same.”

“And I did that, but you got life and bullshit mixed up Asha. You like the finer things in life, but you always want a nigga to hand it to you. It’s like your only goal in life is to be a kept bitch,” Cam spat angrily.

“You had no problem keeping me before,” Asha replied.

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