Chapter 6 - HE BROKE THE BLACK CARD
Janine Carter opened her eyes after surgery and saw her granddaughter clearly for the first time in almost three years.
Nancy stood beside the recovery chair holding her hand.
“Well?” Nancy whispered.
Janine blinked several times.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You have lines around your eyes.”
Nancy laughed.
“That’s the first thing you say?”
“I didn’t know you had them.”
“I’m thirty-one, Grandma.”
“You’re still twelve to me.”
Janine reached for Nancy’s face.
“You’re beautiful.”
Nancy lowered her head and cried.
Edward paid for this.
Every consultation.
Every scan.
Every surgeon’s fee.
And he had never intended to tell anyone.
Two days later, Nancy sat with Janine in the kitchen.
“He tested me because he didn’t trust me,” Nancy said.
“Yes.”
“But he paid for your surgery without wanting credit.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know how those can be the same person.”
Janine sipped her tea.
“People are rarely only one thing.”
“That’s annoyingly wise.”
“I’m seventy-six. Wisdom is one of the few free benefits.”
Nancy laughed.
Then Janine became serious.
“A man who secretly pays for a woman’s eyesight is not automatically a good man.”
Nancy nodded.
“And a man who makes a bad decision out of fear is not automatically a bad one.”
“I know.”
“The question isn’t what he did before you confronted him.”
Nancy looked at her.
“What is it?”
“What he does after.”
Three days later, Edward arrived at Janine’s house carrying a small container of soup.
Nancy opened the door.
“What are you doing here?”
His expression tightened.
“If this is a bad time—”
Janine called from inside.
“Edward, get in here before all the air-conditioning escapes.”
Edward looked at Nancy.
“She can see now, but apparently she’s still terrifying.”
Nancy stepped aside.
“She’s worse.”
Janine was sitting in her reading chair without the thick magnifying lens she had used for years.
Edward smiled when he saw her.
“How are your eyes?”
“Clear enough to see that you need a haircut.”
Nancy covered her face.
“Grandma.”
“What?”
Edward laughed.
“That’s good news.”
Janine pointed toward the couch.
“Sit.”
He obeyed.
“You paid for my surgery.”
The smile vanished.
Edward looked at Nancy.
“She knows.”
Nancy nodded.
“Valerie told us.”
Edward exhaled.
“I asked them not to.”
“Why?”
He looked at Janine.
“Because Nancy wouldn’t have accepted it.”
“She would not.”
Nancy raised an eyebrow.
“Nice that everyone knows me so well.”
Janine ignored her.
“Why did you do it?”
Edward thought carefully.
“Because you needed to see.”
Janine studied him.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
“You didn’t expect Nancy to owe you?”
“No.”
“Didn’t expect her to stay working for you?”
“No.”
“Didn’t expect her to fall madly in love with your gloomy billionaire face?”
“Grandma!”
Edward coughed so violently Nancy thought he might choke.
Janine smiled.
“Good. Just checking.”
Nancy turned red.
Edward looked out the window.
For ten seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Janine said quietly, “Thank you.”
Edward’s expression softened.
“You’re welcome.”
Nancy followed him outside when he left.
They stood beside his car.
“I haven’t made a decision about the job.”
“I know.”
“But I came to a decision about something else.”
Edward waited.
“I believe your apology.”
Relief crossed his face.
“That doesn’t mean everything goes back to normal.”
“I don’t want it to.”
She looked confused.
“I want it to be better.”
Edward reached inside his jacket and removed something.
The black card.
Nancy stared at it.
He snapped it in half.
Her eyes widened.
“That was unnecessarily dramatic.”
“I thought you liked dramatic gestures.”
“I work in housekeeping. My preferred gesture is putting things back where they belong.”
Edward smiled.
“There are no more integrity audits.”
“For anyone?”
“For anyone.”
“Even new hires?”
“Even new hires.”
Nancy nodded.
“That matters.”
“I know.”
“And the shelter?”
“Still funded.”
“Your foundation?”
“Still badly managed.”
That caught her attention.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I have accountants who can move millions of dollars and almost nobody who understands the people receiving it.”
Nancy looked at him.
Edward continued.
“You gave up college because your grandfather died and your grandmother needed you.”
“Edward—”
“You understand what it’s like when life changes overnight.”
“Where are you going with this?”
He leaned against the car.
“I don’t want you back as my housekeeper.”
Nancy folded her arms.
“Well, that’s convenient.”
“I want you to help run the foundation.”
She stared.
“That’s insane.”
“Probably.”
“I have no degree.”
“You had a full scholarship to study public policy.”
“Eleven years ago.”
“You managed my estate more efficiently in six weeks than three professional administrators did in six years.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“You identified food waste and created a weekly shelter program.”
“You told me to.”
“You gave me the idea.”
Nancy shook her head.
“I don’t want charity.”
“This isn’t charity.”
“How do I know?”
“Because if you’re terrible at the job, I’ll fire you.”
Nancy stared at him.
Then laughed.
“That might be the least romantic job offer in history.”
Edward blinked.
“Romantic?”
“You know what I meant.”
“I’m not sure I do.”
“Yes, you are.”
For the first time since learning about the audit, Nancy saw the Edward she had known in the kitchen.
Awkward.
Guarded.
Trying.
She looked at the house behind her.
“I have conditions.”
“Name them.”
“My salary gets determined by an outside compensation consultant.”
“Fine.”
“I report to the foundation board, not directly to you.”
“Fine.”
“I get authority over community programs.”
“Within budget.”
“Reasonable budget.”
He smiled.
“Fine.”
“And my name goes on the work.”
Edward’s smile disappeared.
Nancy held his gaze.
“No anonymous employee doing your emotional labor while you get to disappear behind checks.”
He considered that.
Then nodded.
“Your name next to mine.”
“Not under it.”
“Next to it.”
Nancy extended her hand.
“Then I’ll try it for six months.”
Edward looked at her hand.
May you like
He took it.
“Six months.”
