“Before we begin reading the next letter David wrote to you,” Steve starts. “There are a few questions you need to answer on the books you were supposed to read during the time you just spent at David’s house in reading and contemplation.” Steve says with a smirk, insinuating that Aiden spent the time doing anything but, and for some reason his tone irritates me.
“I’m getting a pop quiz on the books?” Aiden asks in surprise.
“Yes, but that’s not all. Some of these questions are on the books David wanted you to read and others cover general topics. David wanted your thoughts, your point of view on a few topics. You will answer the same questions at the end of the experiment. We will compare the answers then and see how if any this experiment has changed your perspective on things. The responses will have an effect on your overall score, but they will also be for you to see what you learn from this. You have one hour to answer the questions. Let the receptionist know when you’re done, and we’ll come back,” Steve says, as he rises from his chair, handing a few sheets of paper to Aiden and walking to the door. I linger for a second, but Lou points his head to the door, indicating that they want me to leave the room too.
About thirty minutes later, Aiden walks out of the room with an easy smile. “That was quick,” I note, his smile erasing some of my worry.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he says, his smile showing that some of his confidence is back.
The receptionist calls the attorneys back to the conference room and once everyone is seated again, Steve starts.
“David has written you a letter that I’ll read first and then I can go over some details with you and answer any questions you might have.”
Aiden nods his head, signaling for Steve to start.
Aiden–If you’re reading this, you have agreed to take part in the experiment and you have just spent the last few weeks reading and contemplating some of life’s biggest questions. I asked you to think about those things, because those questions matter. The answer to them forms the foundations upon which you will build your life. This experiment is intended to help you consciously identify which foundations you want to choose for your life. To do that you need to gain a new perspective, to open your eyes to things you’ve been deprived of.
One of the drawbacks of being surrounded by money and good fortune is that you never know if the people around you are there for you as a person or for what their closeness to you gets them. A lot of these people pretend that they are willing to do anything for you, while in the process they suck the life out of your veins. It is almost impossible to recognize true friends from fake ones when you are this rich.
Another side effect of being from a powerful wealthy family is that people are always trying to make you happy. This may seem positive at first glance, but it has a lot of disadvantages, one being that you never know if a recognition you gain for something is your own doing or it’s because of your family name. You rarely experience the joy of knowing you have achieved something entirely on your own.
One other drawback of easy money is that you never experience the joy of earning a fair living for a day of work. You never experience life like a normal person. You don’t know what it means to worry about money, to not know whether you can pay your bills the next month, and therefore you never really understand the value of money. You end up taking everything for granted, instead of feeling gratitude for your good fortune.
I should have helped you navigate some of this through your young years. I failed miserably at that, but now I want to make sure, you get to experience every single one of these things. That is why for the remainder of this experiment, I am taking away your access to your trust fund and the contents of your bank accounts.
For the next three months, you will work like a normal person from a regular family and will receive a fair salary in compensation for your work. Lou has arranged to get you an entry level job in your field as an investment banker in a reputable company other than Pierson Investments. The only favor you receive in this process is that we already got you the job. The rest is on you. You will be treated and paid like a normal employee, and you will have to learn to live on that salary for the remainder of the experiment. In order for you to truly experience a normal life, I am also taking away your condo and your cars. You need to find yourself a place you can pay for with your own money and find a ride you can afford, and you will have to do all of this on your own. You are not allowed to receive any financial help from anyone and cannot stay with any family members.
My hope is that through this process you will also learn who your true friends are, losing the fake ones, and instead, finding yourself.
Good luck, son! I believe in you.
Steve stops reading, but Aiden remains eerily quiet. His silence makes me nervous. I have no doubt that Aiden will pull through this, but I know that the change will not be easy. I place my hand on his thigh again to gauge his reaction. He turns his head around and gives me a small smile that makes my insides all mushy. His timid smile tells me he’s nervous but also determined and my heart soars for him.
Steve interrupts our silent exchange with a cough. “Here’s your packet for your employment. Be at the address on the first page at eight am on Monday. As David’s letter stated, your access to all your money has been blocked. I also need to take away all of your credit cards. We have pulled your credit report and will be monitoring it closely. You are not allowed to open a new credit card or buy anything on credit. David wanted you to learn to live on your salary. You will be paid a normal entry level salary for your job, but we’re giving you two thousand dollars to live on until your first paycheck. Because your employment is for only three months, we have arranged with them to give you monthly reviews which could lead to raises. You should try hard to achieve a good review because whatever your final salary for this job ends up being will determine how much money you will receive for the full remainder of the experiment. Do you have any questions so far?”
“I have a million, but tell me everything and I will ask my questions at the end,” Aiden replies.
“Okay. I understand that you drove here. We’ll let you drive back, but we’ll send someone to come take your car away this evening. You can’t stay with family and that includes staying with Aleah, either at the mansion or at her condo. Everything you do will be monitored closely. So don’t even think about cheating. If you have questions on whether or not something is acceptable, call me at any time… Questions?”
“When will I lose access to my money?” Aiden asks.
“Everything’s already blocked.”
Aiden takes a sharp breath. “When do I have to move out of Grandpa’s house?”
“You have till Sunday.”
That’s only two days away. I hear Aiden suck in a breath, pushing up from his chair and saying goodbye to the two men quickly. We walk to the car in silence, as I let him work through all the stuff on his mind before I start talking.
Once in the car, I turn towards him. “So? What do you think?”
He releases a deep breath. “Honestly, it’s better than I expected. I thought he was going to have me spend a month in a remote jungle or something. In a way, it’s too easy, but I know there is a catch. I know Grandpa wouldn’t make this that easy for me, so I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m also pissed they didn’t give me any time to prepare myself. To find out after the fact that you’ve already lost access to all your money and your belongings is a bit disheartening.”
“I know, but it’s temporary, and it’s going to be okay, right? You’ll get paid a reasonably good salary… I mean I know it’s nothing compared to what you got before, but you should still be able to live comfortably once you start getting paid, and they’re giving you some money to last you till you get your first paycheck.”
“Yea, I’m not worried about that. I don’t think that would be an issue. I have a ton of friends I can stay with. I’ll probably just stay with one of them for the whole period. If not, I wou
ld at least stay with one long enough to get my first paycheck and rent a nice place. In fact, let me call my friend Jake right now.”
He presses his finger on a call button on the steering wheel and issues a voice command. A few seconds later the sound of the phone ringing fills the car through the speakers.
“What’s up, Aiden?”
“Hey, man. I’m here in the car with my friend, so watch your language.”
“Your friend? Oh, that’s mysterious,” Jack says with a chuckle. “Since when do you care if I curse in front of your lady friends?”
“Since right now,” Aiden responds in an annoyed tone. “Listen, I have a favor to ask you. You remember how I told you my grandpa is making me jump through a bunch of hoops to get my inheritance?”
“Yea?”
“Well, this new thing is that he wants me to work and live on a normal salary for a few of months. So they’re taking away my condo and my car temporarily, and…I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while until I find a place?”
“Um…uh… You know I would love to help you out man if you could, but the thing is…it’s just that I just asked Steph to move in with me. She’s moving in tomorrow and I really want this to work out with her. It’s just going to be weird having you here when she first moves in, you know?”
Aiden laughs. “You asked Steph to move in with you? What kind of joke is that? Since when do you ask girls to move in with you? Plus, it was just last week that you were telling me you’re getting tired of her and are ready to end it.”
“I know, but things changed since then, okay? Don’t judge, man. I really like her.”
“Sure. Whatever,” is Aiden’s only response.
After he hangs up, I hear him mutter a curse under his breath. “The bastard is lying. There’s no way he’s asked Steph to move in with him. She’s annoying as hell, and he was only with her because of her smoking body. I can’t believe he lied to me. You don’t know how much I’ve done for this guy throughout the years.”
“Guess your grandpa was right about one thing. You’re about to find out who your real friends are.”
When we get home Aiden swiftly heads to his room, muttering something about needing to get his stuff in order.
I find him a few hours later outside by the pool. He looks lost in his thoughts, his shoulders slumped forward, his hands covering his face. By the looks of the bottles on the table in front him, he is well on his way to getting drunk. It takes him a few minutes to notice me approaching, but when he does, a frown creases his forehead.
“You should stay away from me today−Aleah. I’m not in a good mood,” he warns in a hard tone.
His warning falls on deaf ears. Seeing the pained expression on his face and hearing the sadness in his tone makes me pick up my speed towards him instead. The need to comfort him is too strong to restrain. I take a seat close to him and study his face.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” I ask, unable to hide the concern from my voice.
“What happened? What do you think happened? Weren’t you there with me this morning when my dead grandpa turned my life upside down to teach me a fucking lesson?”
The hardness of his tone startles me. I understand that he’s upset, but why is he taking this out on me?
“I was there, Aiden, but you weren’t this upset after you learned about the will. So what’s happened since then that put you in such a mood?”
“Exactly what my grandpa thought would happen. He knew exactly what he was doing... The lessons have already started,” he says, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“What do you mean?”
He takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his black hair before finally meeting my gaze. “I called a bunch of my friends... Guess what? Every single one of them has an excuse. After the first four, the others didn’t even pick up. I think they started letting each other know to avoid my calls. I’m only asking to stay with them for a couple of weeks and the bastards are not even answering my calls. What the fuck sort of friends are these? And I only called my so called close friends,” he says in exasperation.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Two weeks is not even that long. Plus you could break that up into a few days at each friend’s house. Why would they not even answer their phone?” I ask, thinking out loud.
He sucks in a breath, turning his head to avoid meeting my eyes. “Yea, that’s what I kept asking myself too. But after I called the guys, I tried one of the girls. This is one of the ones who’ve been relentlessly after me for as long as I can remember. I was curious to see her reaction. You know what she said?”
I shrug my shoulders in response, even though I’m dying of curiosity to know what the girl said.
“Before I had a chance to say anything, she said you’re calling me because you need a place to stay, and proceeded to tell me off for calling her now that I was broke and desperate. She said something about my grandpa leaving me penniless. When I tried to ask her what she meant, she said she knows that I was left off of the will and my Grandpa took away everything he had given me before.”
“Why would she say that?”
“Clearly there is a rumor going around that Grandpa left me high and dry,” he says through gritted teeth. “And they all think I’m desperate for a place to stay and probably money, so they’re avoiding me like the plague.”
“They think you’re in such a desperate position, and instead of wanting to help you, they’re turning their backs on you? These are some friends you have, Aiden.”
“You’re telling me!”
“So what are you going to do?”
He snaps his head towards me, his eyes burning with anger. “What’s with all the questions?” he asks in a raised voice. “You don’t have anything better to do this afternoon than asking me rhetorical questions?”
“I’m just trying to have a conversation with you,” I answer honestly, confused by his sudden anger.
“Well, I’m not interested in this conversation. You can show yourself back inside the house now.”
My jaw drops, anger at his words slowly crawling up my spine. “Excuse me? Why are you talking to me like that? I’m not one of the ones who shut the door in your face. I’m trying to help,” I say in exasperation, unable to help raising my voice.
He snaps his head towards me in a flash, and the fury in his eyes catches me by surprise. “If you want to help, then leave,” he yells, while trying to wave his hand at the direction of the house. The sudden jerking of his hand in my direction along with the angry tone of his voice startles me, making me instinctively raise my hands to protect my face.
His eyes widen by my reaction. “Did you just flinch? You think I’m going to hit you?” he asks in a raised voice, “I’m not your stupid psycho brother. My family may be fucked up, but unlike yours, we were at least taught not to hit women.”
His sudden swipe at my family catches me off guard. I know my family is messed up, but hearing it from him in this way makes my heart ache, bringing tears to my eyes.
“You know nothing about my family” I manage to say, my voice catching on the last words.
I turn around quickly so he doesn’t see the tears welling up in my eyes or the sudden trembling of my hands, and decide to leave before he can see how his words affected me. I hold myself together until I make it my room and lock the door behind me. It is after collapsing on the bed that I let the tears fall.
A couple of hours later, a knock on the door grabs my attention. I hesitate to answer, knowing full well who is standing behind it. He’s probably here to apologize and I don’t know if I can deal with that right now. His sudden show of temper has frightened me, making all sorts of warning bells go off in my head. I need time to process all the emotions this man evokes in me.
He knocks again, and I remain silent. After a third knock, I hear the rough sound of something being placed against the door, followed by retreating footsteps down the hallway.
After I’m sure he’s back
in his room, I walk to the door, opening it with reluctance. I see a medium size white box placed on the floor with a single red rose placed carefully on the top. I pick up the box and the flower and notice a piece of paper taped to the top. I remove the paper and open it to see a handwritten note with the words:
Sorry! I was way out of line. I hope you can forgive me.
Feeling touched by his note, I go on to open the box and a smile crosses my lips as soon as I see the contents. Inside, there are a dozen different cupcakes from one of the best bakeries in L.A. He took me to that bakery a couple of days ago, introducing me to their cupcakes and I told him they had the best cupcakes I’ve ever had. The bakery is at least forty-five minutes away from the house. The fact that he drove for an hour and a half in his current sour mood to get me something meaningful to apologize with warms my heart, bringing unexpected tear to my eyes. The man can invoke such strong conflicting emotions in my heart; my head is spinning from the force of it all.
As I take in the contents of the box, the door to his room opens revealing his magnificent frame as he pivots outside. His back is to me as he walks down the hallway, giving me a chance to study his body language. His head is bent down low; his shoulders slumped forward revealing the tension in his shoulders. He takes a couple of steps before sensing my presence. He slowly turns his body around and our eyes meet. “I’m sorry,” is the only thing crossing his lips.
I feel extremely confused and conflicted and don’t know what to say to him, so I just stare at him instead. After a few seconds, he mistakes my silence for anger. He releases a deep breath, “I get it. I understand if you don’t want to talk to me right now,” he says in a hoarse voice, before turning around and walking away.
“Wait,” I suddenly hear myself say. “Where are you going?”
“Out. I’m not in a good frame of mind right now. I need to get hammered tonight. I need something to make me forget. I usually find it in a bottle and in women... So the bottle will be my friend tonight,” he says running his fingers through his hair. “Please stay away from me for the next couple of days. I really don’t want to do or say something to hurt you again…but you invoke such strong reactions in me, I’m not sure I’ll be able to control myself. For your own sake, just stay away. Give me some time to work through the stuff in my head.”
Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts) Page 18