Page 73 of Zen's Crash

“There’s more. I already told you my father had an insurance policy on himself and that I was the beneficiary. I didn’t know I had any other inheritance coming, so my lawyer and I set that up in a trust to pay out a livable sum each month starting from now. That means I have enough money coming in for life so that neither of us ever needs to worry about money again. It will more than cover your sister’s tuition.”

“That’s real sweet of you, Lexi, but I’ve been working pretty hardcore for the last ten years. I own a business that’s doing really well. I’ve done pretty good for myself. My personal net worth, including my business, is upwards of a million dollars, and I expect my earnings to only go up moving forward.”

She chuffs out a laugh. “Well, if I was hoping to impress you with my new-found wealth, it was an epic fail.”

I relax a little. “I think it’s great that we both have money set aside. If my own childhood taught me anything, it’s that we shouldn’t take our wealth for granted.”

“I absolutely agree. You never know when disaster might strike. That cushion might save our family from feeling the pinch.”

Our dinner is brought, and we chat as we eat. When they clear our plates and bring dessert, I reach across the table with a closed fist. “I lied about having three gifts for you today. I actually have four.”

Lexi holds out her hand, and I drop the key that Wade copied from mine. She holds it up. “What’s this?”

I clear my throat. “It’s a copy of my apartment key. I know you don’t really feel comfortable in your house because of what happened to your father. That’s one reason you were hiding out in the safe room, in addition to feeling safer there.”

Lexi closes her hand around the key, tearing up a bit. “Yeah, I never really felt like that house was a home—mostly because we moved so much when I was growing up that no one house felt like home. But now it’s got too many bad memories. I’ve been thinking about selling it and using the money to buy Cindy and Kayla a modest house, and safe vehicles to drive. If I’m being honest, I don’t want anything to do with the house or the money associated with selling it. I can’t think of better cause that giving my best friend and her sister a leg up in life. I don’t want them always feeling poor church mice every time we gettogether. We need to stay on an equal footing, and I just want to do this for them.”

I totally understood where she was coming from on this one. That house represented all the bad things in her life, and she wanted to purge the negative feelings by getting rid of it and using the money for a good cause. I tell her without reservation, “I’ll support whatever decision you make. Do you want to live with me?”

She rubs the key between both hands, her new engagement ring glittering on her finger. “I think I’d love living with you, Zen. For me, it’s not about houses so much as it’s about people. I just want to be with you. I want to go to sleep at your side every night and wake up to your smiling face every morning.”

I start to get emotional too, because this woman is saying all the things I need to hear to chain her heart to mine forever. “Then it’s agreed. We’ll live together at my place for now. Maybe at some point we’ll outgrow it, and I’ll buy us a bigger house somewhere.”

She shakes her head. “We’ll both buy a new house. I know you want to be the provider, and I can appreciate that sentiment. But there’s no reason why I can’t help pay for big-ticket items like houses and cars. The burden shouldn’t always fall on you.”

I give in, because it’s becoming increasingly clear I’ll probably go along with whatever she wants moving forward. If she needs to feel like she’s helping support our family, I’ll swallow my pride for her.

“I’ll make you a deal. We can share expenses along the way, but if it ever gets to the point that you can’t or don’t want to, I’ll pick up the slack for both of us.”

“I’ll agree to those terms,” she tells me, all smiles.

I watch as she takes out her keychain and puts my door key on her ring. Just as we’re finishing up dessert, my phone buzzes. I have a look at it, and excitement strums through my chest. “My encryption program broke the password on Terrance’s laptop. Want to have a peek with me or is it getting too late for you?”

Lexi perks up. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I’ll bet that if we apply ourselves, we can figure out how he established that two-way link to my laptop as well.”

I hope and pray there’s nothing too horrific on there. He’s the ‘beauty in death’ guy, after all.

Chapter 28

Lexi

When we get back to the clubhouse, we find that all hell has broken loose between Kayla and one of the new club girls named Silver. I’m not sure if that’s her stripper name, a nickname, or her mother just had a sense of humor. I’m not surprised that Silver is decked out in silver metallic pants, a silver sequin halter top, and silver spiked heels.

She’s got a chunk of what looks like Kayla’s hair in her fist, a bloody nose, and is screaming the walls down. Meanwhile, Evan is consoling Kayla, who has a bloody ear. Cindy is pissed and facing off against Rigs.

I tell Zen to get started without me and go over to try and talk Cindy down.

Rigs has to raise his voice to be heard. “From what I was told, Kayla started it by hitting Silver in the face.”

Cindy’s indignant voice responds, “My sister would never attack someone unprovoked. She’s not like that.”

“The hell she isn’t!” Silver shouts. “I just commented on her earrings, and she attacked me.”

Rigs asks Evan, “Son, did you see what happened here?”

“We were shooting pool in the third alcove when Silver stumbled over, drunk, and made a grab for Kayla’s earring. Kayla moved back thinking she was gonna hit her, and sheripped the damn thing out.” Gesturing at Silver, he says, “As you can see, Kayla defended herself.”

Cindy points to Silver, who’s drinking leftover warm beers from nearby tables. “That glittering piece of shit maimed my sister. Aren’t you going to do something?”

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