Page 117 of Charlie
“Don’t give up on her.” My grandfather coughed and I helped him drink through a straw.
“We won’t. I’m grateful that you never gave up on me. If you hadn’t hired Kit, and convinced Liv to go to Ireland, I might have been dead like the others.”
My grandfather looked tiny and frail in the bed and when he spoke it was so low that I had to sharpen my ears to hear him.
“When are you coming home?”
“I don’t know. We might split our time between the US and Ireland. It’s only been a few weeks since the incident, but the social services pushed for the kids to begin new routines and they’re starting to make friends. Nathan joined a soccer club, River is on a dance team, and Maximum wants to play rugby. Liv says it’s important for them to establish a new life with as much familiarity as possible so for now we’re staying in Ireland. I found a large house with a pool thirty minutes outside of Dublin.
“What about work?”
“I’ll get there, but for now, I’m using most of my time with the lawyers trying to secure the signatures from the children’s relatives to let us adopt. It helps if the child and their closest relatives all agree. Maximum and Atlas have two aunts up in Northern Ireland that were more than happy to sign the papers since they have a lot of children themselves and broke off contact with Ciara more than sixteen years ago. We also secured signatures from Nathan’s grandparents, who are in bad health and unable to care for a teenage boy.”
“When I die…” My grandfather coughed again and the beeps on the machine became faster. “There’s a folder in my office. I’ve made all the preparations for the funeral. Please be there.”
“Of course.” I squeezed his hand.
“And I should tell you that I’m not leaving everything to you. Some of it will go to a young lady.”
“What young lady?” I frowned and looked to the door. My grandfather wouldn’t be the first rich old man to be scammed by some young gold digger. “Is it the nurse?”
“It’s Liv.” He was too weak to smile, but the tiny lift at the edge of his lips told me that if I’d had this conversation with my grandfather when he was healthy, he’d would have had a satisfied smile on his face. “I said I’d pay her a million dollars to get you out and even though she has refused to take the money, I’m earmarking it for her in my will. A million with a tip.”
“You’re tipping her?” I smiled at the irony because my grandfather had never been a generous tipper.
“Yes. One million for getting you out and nine million for loving you as much as I do.”
This was the first time I’d ever heard those words from my grandfather and it made my eyes moist.
“I love you too, and I’m sorry for everything that happened and the things I said. Liv is going to be very surprised when she hears that she’s in your will.”
He sunk deeper into his pillow. “I’ve lived a long life and it gives me joy that I can leave something behind that might make a difference in someone else’s life.”
“You understand that Liv is going to use the money on others, right? It’s how she is.”
“I know. But you’re going to make sure that she lacks for nothing.”
“Of course. I can promise you that.”
He locked eyes with me. “I don’t need to tell you that material wealth will never be enough. Liv and the children will need more than expensive gifts from you. Be generous with your time and affection or there will come a time where they won’t want any of it.
“I will.”
He closed his eyes and it was clear that our conversation was exhausting to him.
“Maybe you should rest a little. I have a meeting with the board in a few hours but I’ll check in on you after. Okay?”
He gave a minuscule nod. “Charles.”
“Yes.”
“When you go into that board meeting, straighten your back, and don’t be intimidated. You might be young, but you’re my blood and none of them would have their job if not for our family. You’re a Robertson and we stand our ground.”
I nodded. “Count on it.”
“They have read articles about what happened. The whole world knows about it. Don’t let any of them judge you for what took place. When I was thirty-three, I almost lost the entire company because I was swindled. Rockefeller was scammed by convincing con men, and so were many other successful men before you. You have learned the hard way to be skeptical of people and it will serve you in business. People will underestimate you because of your tics. Let them. They will come to regret it later.”
I smiled. “Rest now. I’m not the same man who left for Ireland. Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
