Page 16 of Against the Current

Sandy nodded. “I wanted to ask you about what happened after that. The investments you made. What led you there?”

Jackie grimaced and glanced at Josh. “My business adviser at that time gave me some bad advice. He’s since been fired. But we were already behind, and that put us further back. That’s why I came to you.”

“Maybe you should tell me your adviser’s name,” Sandy said, furrowing her brow.

“I don’t want to ruin his career.”

“But I’d like to warn people away from him if I can,” Sandy said. “I don’t want what he did to you to happen to anyone else.”

There was compassion in Sandy’s eyes. There was also fire and anger. It was clear Sandy would never lead Jackie astray like Vinny Randall had.

Jackie said, “His name is Vinny Randall. I think he left the island.”

“Vinny Randall. It doesn’t ring a bell.” Sandy wrote the name on a pad of paper and set it to the side. “But let’s not dwell on him.” She focused her gaze on Jackie’s with such intensity that Jackie had to fight not to look away. “I’ve discovered a path forward for you. A way for you to retire in three or four years.”

“Anything,” Jackie said, her heart ballooning.Sandy’s the best!

“You need to focus your efforts on selling the Sutton Estate,” Sandy said.

Immediately, Jackie’s smile faded. “That’s impossible.”

“Hear me out,” Sandy continued, raising a finger. “I understand that the Sutton Estate has been in your family for generations. I also understand that it’s been empty since your mother died. Correct?”

“She died rather recently,” Jackie offered, although now it occurred to her that it had been five years. “We’re still figuring out what to do with everything inside the estate. My brother just came back to Nantucket after many years away, and well, it’s all confusing. Families. You know how it is.”

“Of course.” Sandy was looking at Jackie as though she were a difficult but solvable puzzle. “It’s true that at the end of your mother’s life, you learned how little money your family really had. Correct?”

Jackie felt it like a smack. She reminded herself that Sandy was just here to provide and collect information. Nothing about the conversation was personal.

“My mother always kept her and my father’s finances a secret from the rest of us,” Jackie agreed. “And her lifestyle never changed over the years, not even when my father died.”

“Meaning?” Sandy asked.

“She still had several maids, gardeners, and helpers,” Josh interjected, speaking for the first time in a while. “She still wore the very best clothes. She still took trips to Paris.”

Sandy nodded. “She was secretive.”

“She was proud,” Jackie corrected, although it amounted to the same thing.

Sandy leaned back and tapped her pen on her notepad. “What are your reasons for keeping the Sutton Estate?”

Jackie puffed out her cheeks. Reasons? She could list a thousand. She’d been raised there. Her father and mother hadboth died there. Her great-great-grandfather had built it. It was located on a stretch of gorgeous property on a beach she personally viewed to be the very best in the world. Once, as a girl, she’d seen a family of dolphins swimming nearby, and she’d believed, foolishly and girlishly, that the dolphins were related to the Suttons and coming to say hello.

“It’s been in my family for generations,” Jackie said, betraying how upset she felt.

“But does anyone really want to live there anymore?” Sandy asked. “Is it just going to remain there, unused? If so, you need to ask yourself what it’s worth to you. I see this as an easy path toward retirement. I see it as the only way to get yourself out of these rather dramatic debts. Otherwise, unless a huge windfall comes in soon, you’ll be working fifty- to sixty-hour weeks until you’re seventy years old.”

Jackie closed her eyes, imagining the next thousand-plus viewings she’d have to do and the fake conversations she’d have to have with potential buyers. She couldn’t do it for another seven years. It might kill her.

“Why don’t you think it over?” Sandy suggested. “We can meet again next week to discuss other options.”

“Why can’t we discuss other options right now?” Jackie asked.

Josh looked at her, suddenly panicked, as though she were acting like a child.

Before Sandy could answer, Jackie shook her head and laughed. “I apologize. I’m just nervous. I’ll think about it.” She stuck out her hand to shake Sandy’s, wondering where this woman got the gall to suggest such a heinous thing. “See you next week.”

On the walk back to Josh’s car, Jackie racked up all the reasons Sandy was a horrible financial planner, squeezing Josh’s hand so hard that Josh finally winced and shook hers off.

---