Page 37 of Sins & Secrets

“It has,” I say lightheartedly, pulling down my light gray pencil skirt and readjusting in my seat as he takes his on the other side of the desk.

My chair is small and uncomfortable, while his is large and practically molds to his body.

I shake off the anxiety running through me as I straighten my back and ask, “What is it that you needed me to sign?”

A rough laugh fills the room as he shakes his head then says, “Not just yet. I need decisions, Miss Summers.”

My body tenses at hearing my name but I bite my tongue. “Of course. What kind of decisions?”

“As acting advisor to your estate and investments, I need you to look these over,” he says as he pulls out several folders and sets them in front of me. My brow furrows as I open the first and then the second. I don’t know a thing about any of these. I’ve never been involved with investments and stocks.

“I—” I start to say and then let out an uneasy breath as I continue, “Is there a way that I could take your advisement, Mr. Walker?”

He turns his head to the side and raises his brow as if to say I should have done that a long time ago. “I advised your husband when he made these transactions. Unfortunately, the choices now are to stay and keep your money in a losing bet or to withdraw and lose a substantial amount.”

My body goes cold as I take in his words. “I don’t understand.”

“Mr. Anderson was adamant about buying these properties and he assured me that it would be worth the risk, but I’ve waited over nine months now and there’s still no growth since the drop.”

“The drop?” I ask him, feeling the blood drain from my face. Jace never mentioned buying any properties. “This was with our personal assets? Not the business?”

He nods at my question, taking in a deep inhale. “They were on the decline when he purchased them. He was a bit surprised that they continued to drop, yes.” Mr. Walker leans back, waiting for my reaction.

“How much of a decline?”

“Fourteen million.”

I close my eyes, gripping the edge of the seat for a moment. Fourteen million. That’s … I can barely think straight. When we married, I know my assets were around twenty million. How could he take such a large chunk and not disclose any of this to me?

“There’s still nearly six million invested so you can withdraw if you’d like. I like to say you’ve never lost money until you sell, but the fact is that I still believe you’re not going to see the return your deceased husband was banking on.”

My entire body is tense and on edge. Fourteen fucking million dollars. Fourteen million! I want to scream and curse, I want to throw up. It takes me a moment to gather myself to be able to respond.

“Why am I just learning about this now?” I ask him in a voice that’s more filled with anger than full of shock and grief. I flip through a few pages with shaking hands, reading through them, but not actually reading a word.

Fourteen million and now I can only sell for six? I’m going to be sick.

“Well, it was stable but it’s recently gone up just a touch, and I’m of the opinion that you should take advantage of the current climate.”

My mouth hangs open just a bit as I look back at Mr. Walker, eyeing his blue suit and thin red tie. I blink a few times, then fall back into my chair and shut the folder.

“Is this all of the investments?” I ask, realizing how little I knew of Jace’s dealings. For the first time in my life, I’m worried. I’ve never had to concern myself with income. I’ve been blessed and grateful, but I wasn’t careless. This right here, this feels like careless to a maximum degree and I’m embarrassed. I’m sick to my stomach and mortified.

I swallow thickly and cross my legs, not able to stop my foot from rocking back and forth in the air. It’s only as I sit here, my mouth feeling dry and my body like ice, that I realize I know nothing about my current financial situation. I trusted Jace to handle all this.

“Allen,” I say as I pick at the clutch in my lap and look up at the man I grew up with. He’s an old friend of my father and I do trust him, but right now I feel unsettled.

“Yes, Julia?” he asks.

“Financially speaking,” I say then pause, taking in a steadying breath before I continue, “is everything all right?”

He takes a moment to answer me and the time ticks by slowly while I wait for his reply.

He opens his mouth, looking down at the desk but doesn’t say a word and dread hits me. “You’re going to be fine, MissSummers. You will be.” He puts strength behind his words and looks straight into my eyes as he speaks.

I should be relieved, but he didn’t exactly answer my question.

“It’s going to be difficult getting this money back, especially considering the amount of debt you went into when remodeling your home.”

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