“Fine!”
“I also don’t do sulking.”
“Do you do kicks to thecojones?”
That stops him, and for a moment, I wonder if he’s actually going to respond, but he just picks up the folder.
“Make your choice, Luna. Do you want me to be your trustee or not?”
It’s a serious question.
He’s taking it seriously, and I should too.
Although, I suspect he takes everything seriously.
“Your assets will be safe with me, Luna. And they’ll grow. A lot. You’re going to have more money in three months than you do now.”
“It’s already more money than I know what to do with.”
“That’s why your father wanted you to have three months with me. You’ll know at the end. I promise you.”
It’s my turn to get up and walk around. “It sounds like you’re trying to convince me. I thought you didn’t want to do this?”
“Iwasshocked. It was a lot of information to be given all at once. And I didn’t know… if it would be the right thing to do or not.”
“Because of… our history?”
He sucks on his lower lip, and it’s a moment of such rare vulnerability, I hold my breath, watching him until it’s over. Which it is, too quickly.
“Yes. Because of that. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to let go of that, if you must know the truth.”
We share one look.
A single look, indulging in an intense foray into whatever passed between us that night and the possibility of what-if.
The shift in the air is subtle but unforgettable.
And then he breaks eye contact, and it’s gone.
“But then I remembered that your father trusted me. There’s a reason he picked me. He was smart and measured and knew everything about everyone around him. If he thought this was the best thing for you and your trust, then I’m going to believe him. He left you half of everything he worked for his whole life, Luna. He wanted you to have it. That much I know. So I want to keep it safe for you. And I want to do this one last thing for my dear friend, despite whatever other feelings I might have.”
He says it with so much earnestness, a stone lodges itself in my throat and I can’t speak. And I know in that moment that I have to trust the man sitting in front of me, as well as the man I called father but maybe never really knew.
So, I say the words I think he needs to hear.
“Okay, Kingsley. Please. I choose you. Will you help me manage my trust?”
Thirteen
Kingsley
“No.”
She looks at me, confused. “Sorry?”
“No.Fucking.Way.”
“Kingsley, language! And what do you meanno?”
