Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts) (18 page)

My heart breaks for the little boy that idolized the grandfather who never came through for him. It’s clear from the snippets of information I’ve heard and what he’s said today that Aiden had a rough childhood. It’s funny how people automatically assume that if you’re born into a rich family and are surrounded by wealth, you have an easy life. He’s so lucky, they would say, not knowing that wealth does not always bring happiness and stability, particularly to a child. Aiden’s pain is evident in the lines of the frown puckered on his face, in his fisted hands, and the way his breathing quickens when he speaks of his past. I can tell it’s not easy for him to talk about this, and it touches my heart that he’s sharing this with me. I want to encourage him to go on and share more of his past with me, so I nod my head, silently urging him to continue.

“When Grandpa married the bimbo, I was done with him. I realized that the guy I had looked up to all my life was really not who I thought he was. I didn’t want anything to do with him anymore... Of course, he wasn’t done with me. Grandpa always wanted things on his terms. He wanted to see his grandkids when he wanted, not when they needed him. He expected us to make ourselves available to him at his whim…well, I was done with that. I went through a phase when I didn’t want anything to do with him. I became really rebellious in my teenage years, not caring what anyone and in particular what Grandpa thought. But he always had the upper hand. He was paying for our lifestyle and liked to remind us of that whenever he could. He would set up these rules that we had to follow and he would threaten to cut down our trust money if we didn’t do, as he wanted. I soon learned that even if I didn’t give him the time of the day, I still had to follow his rules. That made me even more resentful. I went to the college he wanted me to go to and picked a major he suggested. But after college I was done. I decided that even if he cuts my trust fund off completely, I’m not going to let him rule my life anymore... So when he told me he wants me to go to graduate school, I told him to take a hike... As you can imagine,” he chuckles, “that particular conversation didn’t go too well. He called me lazy, ungrateful and incapable of doing anything on my own, so I decided to show him I could get into any school I wanted to on my own. I applied to all the top tier business schools, not intending to really attend any of them. When I got accepted to Harvard, I decided to go tour the school, just to see what it’s about. I was really intrigued by the tour. Afterwards, I decided it would be stupid to pass up such an opportunity just to spite my grandpa. I went to graduate school, but this one was because I wanted to, not because of him. After I finished, the rift between us gradually started to close. When he got sick, he changed so much during such a short period of time that I was stunned. All of a sudden, he was always the sweet kind Grandpa that used to sit on the floor and play with me. Patient. Loving. And caring. I started to feel the pull I had felt towards him all those years ago…but then…then he married you, and it was over for me after that. I felt like all the recent changes had been a façade just to get his kids to be around him when he needed them, and with you…I…I don’t even know how to explain how I felt… I wanted to throttle him with my hands when I heard about the marriage…and then to find out last night that he didn’t even tell you about the kind of life he lived before, I would have killed him myself, if he was still alive.”

“Aiden,” I feel the need to jump in, “you have to understand that there were legitimate reasons for the marriage.”

“I’m sure, there were,” he says, his voice laced with sarcasm. “You're still defending him, huh?” He sounds hurt.

“I’m not defending him... I’m just telling you the truth, so you have the full picture. I have a hard time reconciling the picture you paint of him with the man I came to know during those last months. I’m upset at him for not telling me about his past, but I know he had kindness in him too. Not all of what I saw could have been fake… It just couldn’t.”

“I guess we just have to agree to disagree on that,” he says after a long pause.

With the turn of the conversation, our mood has turned sour, and our plans for a pleasant afternoon tainted. I decide to turn to lighter subjects, so I ask him to tell me about Harvard. We talk about our respective college experiences and before we know it, we’re smiling and teasing each other again.

After some quiet time of reading, Aiden rises from his chair, giving me a full view of his sexy body. I have to turn my head to stop myself from ogling. He gives me a sexy smile before turning his back to me and diving into the pool in one swift move.

My eyes follow his every motion, eating him up. He swims in fast strokes making a lap to one end of the pool and back. Every time he raises his arms to paddle, his muscular biceps glisten in the sun and turn my stomach into knots. He comes up after a couple of full laps and lies on his back in the water, keeping his eyes closed.

“Liking what you see?” he says, with a smirk, while his eyes are still closed.

I’m shell-shocked. Does the man have eyes on the back of his head? Can he see through closed eyes? For the second time this afternoon, he’s caught me staring when I thought he wasn’t looking. Well, he may have caught me, but I’ll be damned if I’m about to admit it.

“I wasn’t looking at you. I’m watching the reflection of the sun on the pool. The sun’s reflecting off the surface of the water, making the water ripple in interesting hues when you swim through it.” I impress myself with the lie.

He bursts into a laugh. “Wow. That was creative.”

I laugh, knowing full well that there is no point in denying his statement. After a few minutes, he swims to the edge of the pool closest to my chair, and leans against the wall, his arms resting on the top edge.

“I forgot to bring a towel. Would you mind grabbing one for me from the storage closet?” he asks, pointing to a closet on the other side of the pool.

I rise from my chair, “Of course not. I’ll be right back.”

A couple of minutes later, I walk up to him with a towel in hand. As soon as my feet come close enough to his hands, he grab
s both of my ankles, pulling me in one swift move. I’m propelled into the pool so fast; I’m under water before I realize what is happening. I manage to come up for air as fast I can, bursting with fury.

“Aiden,” I scream out his name, as soon as I catch my breath. “I can’t believe you did that. I’m going to kill you.”

“Yea?” He laughs. “You have to catch me first,” he says as he swims to the other side. I follow him, swimming as fast I can. When I reach him, he ducks under water and I follow suit, hitting any body part I can find. We both come up for air at the same time. Realizing I’m no match for him physically, I start splashing water at his face.

“No, you didn’t.” He says with a laugh, as he sends waves after waves of water to my face. I try to duck, but he’s relentless. I’m no match for his speed and the volume of water his masculine hands can move. But I hold my ground, splashing as much water his way as I can. Before we know it, we’re both laughing uncontrollably like little kids. I hold both my hands up, “Okay, okay, you win, stop, I can’t keep up.” I say, as I’m doubling over with laughter. As soon as I’m able to catch my breath, I realize I haven’t laughed so much in a very long time.

I make the mistake of turning my gaze into his sparkling emerald eyes then and the intensity I see in them takes me by surprise. We lock eyes and time stops. His eyes tell me what his lips can’t. He’s feeling the same electricity, the same connection that my body feels, and he’s as conflicted about it as I am.

His eyes move slowly to my lips, lingering there for a few seconds, before traveling further down my body. I look down at my chest to see my wet tank top clinging tightly to my breasts. The cool breeze coming off the ocean has hardened my nipples and they are peeking through my thin bra into my top. I look further down and notice my white pants clearly showing my pink panties. I turn my head back up to his eyes and the look in his has chills running up and down my spine. He moves his eyes back to my lips. And butterflies soar in my stomach, goose bumps forming all over my skin.

He sucks in a deep breath, bringing his eyes back to mine. “Run, Aleah. Run. If you stay here for one more second, I’m not sure I’ll be able to control myself.”

My heart wants to scream I don’t want you to control yourself, but my brain, the place where fears and insecurities rule the day, wins this battle. I spin around and swim as fast I can to the other side of the pool, getting out of the water and far away from him before I can give into something I know I will regret.

T
he last few days have been surprisingly calm
and
pleasant. I’ve spent the majority of my waking moments with Aiden, and time spent in his company is nothing short of spectacular. We exercise together in the mornings and spend the rest of the day reading books, watching TV and checking out the local bakeries and coffee shops. To my delight, I’ve learned that just like me, Aiden has a sweet tooth. Since then he has introduced me to some of the best cupcake places in the L.A. area.

He hasn’t brought any women home, but he did stay out late a couple of times, once coming home almost at the crack of down. Each night he has gone out, no matter how much I told myself that I shouldn’t care, I still couldn’t make myself go to sleep until I heard the click of his bedroom door. And each night my head was swimming in jealously and my heart in pain as I thought about how he refuses to make any advances on me, but is out with other women late into the night.

Not only is Aiden refusing to give in to the undeniable chemistry between us, after our close encounter in the pool, he is also taking great pains to avoid any similar situation. We never talked what happened at the pool, but it seems we’ve come to a silent agreement to avoid placing ourselves in a similar encounter. Aiden tries not to sit too close to me and is always careful not to touch me. Still a few times, when we accidently touched, I felt every nerve in my body come to life. Aiden always tries to ease the tension by cracking a joke and using his wacky sense of humor.

But tonight, as we sit across from each other at the dinner table, it appears he’s not even inclined to use his speaking ability, let alone his sense of humor. His head is bent down low, his eyes stuck at his dinner plate, but he has barely touched his food. I know he’s nervous about the meeting with the attorneys tomorrow, and I want to comfort him, but I don’t know how.

“Penny for your thoughts,” I finally say, trying to get him to talk.

He raises his head slowly, taking a shaky breath. “Just a lot of stuff on my mind,” he says, his fingers pushing his dinner plate away.

“You know it’s going to be okay tomorrow, right?” I say, pausing to make sure, I have his full attention before continuing, “David loved you more than anything. He wouldn’t make you do anything too crazy. Whatever it is, I know you’ll be able to get through it.”

“I’m not worried about being able to do it. No matter what it is, I know I’ll do it. I’m stubborn like that. What I’m worried about is the price I will have to pay to get through it,” he says, worry lines covering his forehead. “Grandpa wouldn’t do anything without a reason. You heard the will. He wants to change my perspective. To me that means he wants to change me, and I’m just worried about what he wants to change me to and whether or not I want to get there.”

“You’re not having doubts about taking part in the experience, are you?”

“Yes…no… I don’t know… I know I won’t quit. It’s not in my blood to quit. I’m a fighter, not a quitter. But, I’m just nervous about what I’m putting on the line for this.”

“It’s normal to be nervous. You don’t know what your life is going to be like for the next… God knows how long, and you’re right, it’s scary not knowing what the ultimate goal of the whole ordeal is. But I know David cared a lot about you and he was a wise man, at least in his old age…” I quickly correct myself, “Whatever it is he wanted you to learn, I have no doubt it will be good for you at the end.”

He stays quiet for a long time, staring into the distance in deep thought, when all of a sudden, he whirls his head around towards me, turning his emerald eyes to meet mine.

“Can you go with me tomorrow?” he asks in a timid voice.

I am taken back by the tone of his voice, and the vulnerability portrayed in his eyes. My heart rate quickens. I can’t believe this incredible man wants me to be a part of such an important event in his life, and he cares about my answer so much that his usual confident attitude has turned into this timid behavior.

“You want me to go to the reading with you tomorrow?” I can’t help asking, my heart needing confirmation that my ears heard him correctly.

“Yes,” he says with a shy smile, “would you want to go?”

I can’t help the huge smile crossing my face. “Of course, I’d love to.”

His eyes twinkle. The lines of worry on his face being replaced by a wide grin, even if it is temporary.

We leave the house an hour before the meeting the next
morning. I
try to tell him that there is no point in going there so early, but Aiden is so on edge that I decide arguing with him at the moment is pointless.

When we get to the law firm, the receptionist leads us to a small conference room. Lou and Steve walk into the room at the same time and both look shocked when they see me. Steve recovers first.

“Good morning, Aiden. Good morning, Aleah. It’s great to see you both here, but Aleah…hmm, you didn’t need to come to today’s reading.”

“I know… I’m…” I stall.

“I asked her to come with me,” Aiden cuts in.

I catch a glimpse of Lou’s face in the corner of my eyes and notice his lips turning up into a smile.

“I’m not sure if that’s okay,” Steve says apologetically.

“Did David say anything about this having to be confidential? That Aiden can’t talk about it with his friends or he can’t bring anyone with him?” Lou asks Steve.

“No, he never said anything about that either way, but…”

“Well then, it’s fine. I knew David very well, and believe me when I say he would have been okay with Aleah being here,” Lou says firmly.

“Excuse us for a second,” Steve says, walking out the door and pointing to Lou to follow him.

After a few minutes, both men come back to the room, each taking a seat at the table. “Okay, let’s get started,” Steve says in a serious tone.

Aiden and I exchange a glance. I guess this means I can stay. Aiden takes a seat across the table from Lou and I sit next to him. While we’re waiting for Steve to open a sealed envelope and get his papers in order, I notice Aiden’s leg bouncing up and down uncontrollably under the table, clearly a nervous habit. I instinctively put my hand on his thigh under the table to comfort him. He instantly whirls his head around, his eyes burning into mine. I give a small nod of my head, silently giving him words of comfort. He nods his head in return, a small smile turning up at the corner of his lips.

“Ahem…” We hear Steve clearing his throat. Aiden turns his head towards Steve, but not before placing his hand on top of mine on his thigh and lacing his fingers through mine. He gives my hand a small squeeze and I wrap my fingers around his. The small gesture makes warmth spread to corners of my heart I didn’t even know existed.

“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?”