Two million in one stock? “How about GM?” I said. I didn’t know enough about stocks to be having this conversation.
“He doesn’t have any investments in GM.”
Crap. “Right, I forgot. How about Google then?”
“Okay. That’s another 10 million.”
“Great. What are some of the highest yielding stocks?”
“He’s made a ton of money in oil.”
Oil? James was very environmentally conscious. Why did he have oil stocks? “Sell all of those.” Maybe he’d thank me later for that one.
“I only need to sell a few of them to get you the money you need. Do you have a preference?”
“No, just do it.” I looked down at my phone. I only had 3 minutes left. Ed was already packing up his briefcase for the day. Shit!
“Okay, it’ll take a few minutes for the funds to appear in your account.”
I wasn’t sure if that would cut it, but there was nothing else I could do. “Thank you for all your help, Bill. I’ll make sure to let James know how accommodating you were.”
“Very well. And congratulation on your upcoming nuptials.”
“Thanks.” I hung up the phone before I said anything else stupid. “Ed, can we set up the transfer now?”
He looked down at his watch. “The bank closes in a few minutes and it usually takes some time for the funds to appear…”
“Bill said it would just be a few minutes. I have the account number I need the money in right here.” I pulled out my phone.
Ed looked even more uncomfortable than he had a minute ago as he sat down. “That’s not the account number for Uber.”
I laughed nervously. “No, it’s not. I just needed Bill to sell the stocks for me. He was more likely to do it if he thought we were investing in something else profitable.”
“I see.” Ed tapped a few keys on his computer. “So, whose account is this?” He wasn’t making eye contact with me.
“A last minute wedding venue expense.”
“For 20 million dollars?”
“You know James. He’s extravagant. Has the money transferred yet?”
“It’ll be another minute. Just let me fill in the information for the transfer.”
I looked down at my phone again. One minute.
“Here we are,” Ed said. “Would you like me to print out a copy of your transaction or send an email copy to you?”
“A print out please.” I didn’t want him to accidentally send a copy to James. I needed to tell him about this without him finding out first. I knew how bad it looked.
A printer hummed to life in the corner. Ed stood up and grabbed the small slip that had printed out. “20 million to the account number you had listed.” He handed me the slip of paper.
Hopefully we had gotten it done just in time. “Thank you so much, Ed.” I stood up and grabbed the sheet of paper. My mother and Melissa were probably wondering where I was. But something made me stop before I walked out of the office. James added me to all his accounts and to his will a few years ago. But he had never told me. Why hadn’t he told me? I turned around. “Who else is in the will?”
“Excuse me?” Ed had shut off his computer and snapped his briefcase closed.
“In James’ will. Who else is a beneficiary?”
“Just you, Miss Taylor.”
Just me? I swallowed hard. He couldn’t leave me with all his money. “But if something happened to both of us…”
“There is a contingency where all the money goes to a dozen or so charities in the case of an untimely death to both parties. And the businesses would be left to his brother and sister.”
I didn’t know what to say. James had left all his money to me even before we got married. He was even leaving me responsible for running his businesses. He trusted me. More than anyone else in the world. What had I just done?
Thursday
I stared at my reflection in the mirror as the woman clipped another veil into my hair.
“Penny…” my mom said. “Sweetie, you look so beautiful.”
I immediately burst into tears. Oh God. I had made a mistake. I needed to call James. My dress felt tight and uncomfortable. I didn’t want any of this. I never wanted a fancy wedding. James had told me he didn’t either. He said he had already done all that. He wanted to get married in Vegas. But I had said no. I had told him I wanted my family and friends to be there. Why were we doing this? Why was I making him do something he didn’t want to do? I didn’t need any of this.
Melissa grabbed a tissue and handed it to me. “Penny, that one’s perfect. The diamonds match the straps on the dress. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”
I nodded. They thought I was crying because I liked the veil. I blotted my eyes. “Let’s get this one,” I said and pulled it out of my hair.
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I pushed the veil into the sales associate’s hands so that no one would notice. Isabella still hadn’t contacted me. I didn’t know whether or not she had gotten the money in time. The pictures could be all over the internet already.
“Can you help me get out of this?” I asked the woman who was helping me.
She nodded and we went back into the changing room. As soon as I was back in my normal clothes, I grabbed my cell phone. Still nothing.
“Do you girls want to go get some dinner?” my mom asked. “My treat.”
“I can’t, Mom. I told James I’d have dinner with just him tonight.”
“Of course.” My mom gave me a smile. “Melissa, do you and Tyler want to join Peter and me for dinner?”
“We’d love to, Mrs. Taylor.”
The sales associate handed me my dress in a bag. “You’re all set.”
“Thank you,” I said and took the dress from her.
“Penny, your hands are shaking.” My mom stood up and took the dress from me. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m just nervous.”