A Wild Ride (Jessica Brodie Diaries #3)(77)

William stopped dead, Lump and I going a few more paces before we knew what was going on.

“You didn’t hear him?” William asked, incredulous.

“We heard him,” Lump said defensibly. “We just weren’t listening very closely. Did Gladis leave me that shaker I was always admiring? She said she would will it to me, but I always thought she was kidding. Until now, obviously.”

William was walking again, shaking his head. Lump and I had to jog to keep up, Lady shadowing his movements lost in thought. William wouldn’t answer our questions until we were out of the building and in the coffee shop next door. He apparently didn’t care that it was way too hot for coffee.

“Girls, sit down,” he ordered. Lady already was.

“But, what about an iced coffee?” I asked. Why were we in a coffee shop if not for a little coffee? William had lost the plot.

“I’ll get it.” Lady stood and moved away as if her limbs had weights hanging from them.

We gave our orders, and then Lump and I turned to each other.

“Did you see that one man get a purple face? He was livid!” I laughed.

“And fat! He was jiggling all over the place. He was shaking and jiggling. I thought I was going to fall over from the laughter!” Lump responded.

“And what about—“

“Jess,” William cut me off irately. “You girls should know what Gladis left you in her will.”

“Oh yeah,” I said with glee. It was like a lottery. I bet Gladis would give me summer rights to a month at the pool house or something awesome. Although, the step-kids would definitely sell the house, so I wouldn’t get to cash in, but the thought was good.

William looked at me with hooded eyes then sighed, “Lump—I don’t know the legal jargon, but this is the gist—you received five million dollars to build your company. That should be enough to get you moved in the direction of a national chain. An additional sum was geared towards business advisors because Gladis knew you wouldn’t have a clue what you were doing. My dad and I are two of the eight business advisors. The others are spread out in the U.S.”

The bottom of my stomach fell down to my shoes, then sorta gushed out all over the floor. Lady was back with coffee and sat down quickly.

Lump was staring at William with a white face and open mouth. Then, her face fell into a frown and she said, “That old bitch.”

William’s face clouded in confusion immediately.

Lump went on with, “She wasn’t supposed to take that stupid plan seriously! I always talk big—Jess, you know—I talk big, but I never actually do it! What was she doing wasting her money on such a foolish...” Lump shook her head.

It was quiet for a moment before Lump yelled, “She is insane! Seriously you guys. No way. I can’t—doesn’t she know that means I have to, like, do it? Now I actually have to work at it. Like…how the f**k am I supposed to… what the f**k, right? Right Jess? She called me on my bluff! What a bitch! Do you know the amount of work that will be? Five million?! I am going to have to succeed now. I can’t give up like I always do. I always give up when it gets to be too much work—Jess, you know—that’s my M.O. Now, though, if I don’t do it I will have let her down. What a f**king bitch! I wish she were here right now, I would give her a piece of my mind.

“That’s it, isn’t it? She is up there laughing down at me this instant. She put me into slavery. I am a slave to her will, now. Damn her. This was about that comment about dying her hair, right? I knew she would get the last laugh. She always does, that mean bitch.”

Lump got up and walked out of the coffee shop. Two seconds later she was back in, grabbed her coffee, said, “I’m walking home,” and left.

I could tell she was about two seconds away from crying.

“What was that about?” William asked, shaken.

“No one has ever believed in her before,” I muttered. “I mean, her friends have, but no one with clout ever has. No one has ever helped her. I don’t think she has ever really believed in herself because of it. Now… now, she’ll cry, and then she’ll try harder to succeed at this then she has ever tried to do anything in her whole life. She will make an empire, you mark my words. She won’t sleep or die until Gladis is paid back in full for her trust.”

William looked at me like I was a complete stranger. He got out his phone, dialed, and said, “Adam—“

“NO!” I grabbed the phone and disconnected the call. “No, William! Lump needs to think on this for a while. Tell Adam just to be home.”

The phone started ringing.

“She’ll probably head there. Tell him to just, I don’t know, comfort her or box her or however they deal with emotional crap.”

William answered the phone and told Adam what happened, and what I said. Adam, knowing Lump, agreed without asking where she was, and hung up.

“I didn’t expect that reaction, I must say,” William said, leaning back.

“I don’t know why not.”

“Okay, now you,” William's eyes were intent again.

I got nervous. Based on Lump’s deal, I was worried Gladis would give me something I couldn’t live up to. I didn’t know if I was ready to hear the obligation I was about to be handed. I just nodded and steeled myself.