Page 4 of Hit the Ground
She herded me into her office, and I sank down on the lone stool, accepting my defeat, while she perched on the edge of her cluttered desk.
Joy wasn’t the kind of woman anyone messed with. She was capable of making a grown man cry with a single hard look. But she’d been nothing but kind to me from day one. Even in the early days when I screwed up more orders than I got right, she never lost her patience.
She was old enough to be my mother, but she wasn’t exactly maternal. Though I could say, without a doubt, she was much more than a boss. Joy had become the closest thing to a best friend I’d ever had. We’d never braid each other’s hair or gossip about boys, but if I ever needed to lean, she’d be there to prop me up.
I set the envelope in my lap and smoothed my fingers over the stark black ink. “It’s from a lawyer.”
That made her raise one brow. “A lawyer, huh?”
“Yes. My sister passed away,” I said quietly. “Three weeks ago.”
Joy’s face softened, which didn’t happen often. “Didn’t know you had a sister.”
“I guess I never told you about her. We weren’t close.” I hesitated, then added, “At all.”
She didn’t say anything, waiting for me to fill in the rest. That was her way with me. She didn’t push, and more often than not, Icame to her with my thoughts. This time, though? I didn’t know what to think or how to feel, so I gave her the facts.
“She left me everything,” I said finally. “The letter says I’m the sole beneficiary of her estate.”
Joy let out a slow whistle. “Everything? That a lot?”
I wasn’t exactly an open book. Not because I was especially private, I just assumed no one would be interested in the ins and outs of my family matters. But I’d spent a lot of time around Joy. Sometimes when the bar was slow, she’d ask questions, and I’d answer.
She knew my parents had died within two years of each other. My mother first, after a short battle with cancer, then my father followed twenty-two months later from a heart attack. I hadn’t seen them for years, and we’d never been particularly close, but I’d been sorry they’d passed too young.
Now…my sister. This one was trickier. I didn’t know what to feel.
I nodded. “Our parents left everything to Silla. I guess she didn’t have anyone else to put in her will, so she listed me.”
She looked me over like she was seeing me anew. “Were they rich?”
“Yes, they were well off.” I shuddered. “They were both in banking, and my mother had family money.”
That earned me a grunt. “Guess you’re rolling in it now too.”
I let out a weak laugh. “Technically? Yes, I guess so.”
“Good for you. I’d understand if you wanted to quit, though I’d miss the hell out of you now that you finally stopped breaking all my glasses.”
I gasped at her teasing dig. In my early days, I had broken quite a few glasses, but I was as steady as they came now. “I haven’t broken a glass in at least two years.”
She shrugged and shot me a grin before getting serious. “My point is, if I have to lose you working here, I’ll understand. Justdon’t go running off to Cancun or something stupid like that. You’re too pale for all that sunshine.”
“I haven’t even considered quitting…or what this money will be used for. It’ll probably sit in my account,” I admitted, as terribly embarrassing as it was. Ishould havebeen able to think of one thing I wanted.
She huffed. “That’s why I worry about you. You should have an idea of something you want to spend some of that money on to make your life easier. Or something fun, just for you.”
As soon as she said it, it came to me. “Books. If I spend it, it’ll be on books.”
She clucked her tongue. “You’re surrounded by free books day in, day out.”
“But those books live in the library. I want them to come home and live with me.”
I’d disappointed her, I could tell. I wondered what she would have bought if she had piles of money to spend. I would have given her mine to find out, but she would have given me a swift kick in the butt for even trying.
Elbows on her knees, she contemplated me. “You doin’ okay with this news?”
“We weren’t close,” I repeated, hoping she’d let me off the hook.
