father was absolutely pissed, threatened to disown him, if you can believe that.”
I can believe it. The night of Paige’s birthday party Alex revealed some of he and his father’s stormy past. I remember thinking I’d been lucky. My mother died but she’d loved me. My suspicion was that Alex had never known that kind of love.
Paige continues. “Anyway, around the time he enrolled in law school, Alex’s mom calls and tells Alex he’s got to come home. His Dad was close to losing practically everything they owned: land, the business, even their house. He’d been mismanaging company funds, slowly sinking the family into massive debt. They were all stunned. As far as Alex and anyone else knew, things were just fine. One of the reasons Juan wasn’t in favor of Alex going to law school was the expensive tuition.”
I reclaim my chair, captivated by Paige’s story. Alex has revealed very little of his history with his father and I’ve been afraid to pry, knowing their relationship was somehow shaky.
But I still don’t understand why any of this should affect my being with Alex. So he’s poor? I wore Aunt Jolene’s old bras because we couldn’t afford luxuries like new undergarments. If anything, being broke puts us on more even footing. “Let me get this straight. You wanted to keep up apart because his family’s trading in the country club for the trailer park?”
Paige shakes her head. “They’re not broke.”
“Paige, you’re losing me here. I don’t understand.”
“Alex discovered his father had essentially gambled away every scrap of land they owned, literally and figuratively. They were on the brink of bankruptcy and foreclosure. His mother was threatening to leave, his grandfather, who was dying at the time, couldn’t even bear to look at Juan. I guess it was pretty awful.
“Then, right before Alex was ready to drop out of law school and move back home to try and dig them out of poverty, his dad shows up and says everything’s fine. Their debts are going to be paid or canceled and they’ll be back in the black.”
Her impressive storytelling skills aside, I still don’t understand how this affects Alex and me. I open my mouth to tell her to get to the point when she finally does.
“He’d found a partner for the business. Someone willing to pay off all the corporation’s debts and loan the family enough to get them back on their feet…in exchange for ninety-nine percent of the company.”
“Ninety-nine percent?” I’m shocked by the number.
“Yep. He wanted full control of the company. Leaving Juan with a paltry one-percent was just salt in the wound. But Juan agreed to everything because it meant saving face.”
A light dawns over my head. That terrible, gnashing feeling fills me. “Oh my God, do you mean… The Spellings?”
Paige nods. “Cadence’s father. You’ve never met him, but he makes Juan Ramirez look like Ghandi. He’s what they all refer to as ‘new money,’ meaning his family was dirt poor until he made his millions. At Enron of all places,” she adds with a grimace.
“So Cadence’s family bailed Alex’s out, and she’s staked her claim.”
My sister reaches across the table and takes my hand. The move unsettles me deeply. “When Alex’s father made the deal to bail himself out of financial ruin, Alex had to agree to an…odd stipulation.”
My brain is fighting to fill in the blanks faster than I can blot them out.
“To Gordon, image is everything, but as rich as he is, he’ll never move into certain circles unless he’s connected to old ‘Southern Royalty’.” Paige uses air quotes. “As a condition of the deal, Alex agreed to marry Cadence.”
The clock above the pantry door ticks loudly. It’s not often that the Davies sisters have got nothing to say but I’m well and truly speechless.
Paige squeezes my hand. “Say something.”
I open and close my mouth several times before finding any words. “That…is…the most
I can believe it. The night of Paige’s birthday party Alex revealed some of he and his father’s stormy past. I remember thinking I’d been lucky. My mother died but she’d loved me. My suspicion was that Alex had never known that kind of love.
Paige continues. “Anyway, around the time he enrolled in law school, Alex’s mom calls and tells Alex he’s got to come home. His Dad was close to losing practically everything they owned: land, the business, even their house. He’d been mismanaging company funds, slowly sinking the family into massive debt. They were all stunned. As far as Alex and anyone else knew, things were just fine. One of the reasons Juan wasn’t in favor of Alex going to law school was the expensive tuition.”
I reclaim my chair, captivated by Paige’s story. Alex has revealed very little of his history with his father and I’ve been afraid to pry, knowing their relationship was somehow shaky.
But I still don’t understand why any of this should affect my being with Alex. So he’s poor? I wore Aunt Jolene’s old bras because we couldn’t afford luxuries like new undergarments. If anything, being broke puts us on more even footing. “Let me get this straight. You wanted to keep up apart because his family’s trading in the country club for the trailer park?”
Paige shakes her head. “They’re not broke.”
“Paige, you’re losing me here. I don’t understand.”
“Alex discovered his father had essentially gambled away every scrap of land they owned, literally and figuratively. They were on the brink of bankruptcy and foreclosure. His mother was threatening to leave, his grandfather, who was dying at the time, couldn’t even bear to look at Juan. I guess it was pretty awful.
“Then, right before Alex was ready to drop out of law school and move back home to try and dig them out of poverty, his dad shows up and says everything’s fine. Their debts are going to be paid or canceled and they’ll be back in the black.”
Her impressive storytelling skills aside, I still don’t understand how this affects Alex and me. I open my mouth to tell her to get to the point when she finally does.
“He’d found a partner for the business. Someone willing to pay off all the corporation’s debts and loan the family enough to get them back on their feet…in exchange for ninety-nine percent of the company.”
“Ninety-nine percent?” I’m shocked by the number.
“Yep. He wanted full control of the company. Leaving Juan with a paltry one-percent was just salt in the wound. But Juan agreed to everything because it meant saving face.”
A light dawns over my head. That terrible, gnashing feeling fills me. “Oh my God, do you mean… The Spellings?”
Paige nods. “Cadence’s father. You’ve never met him, but he makes Juan Ramirez look like Ghandi. He’s what they all refer to as ‘new money,’ meaning his family was dirt poor until he made his millions. At Enron of all places,” she adds with a grimace.
“So Cadence’s family bailed Alex’s out, and she’s staked her claim.”
My sister reaches across the table and takes my hand. The move unsettles me deeply. “When Alex’s father made the deal to bail himself out of financial ruin, Alex had to agree to an…odd stipulation.”
My brain is fighting to fill in the blanks faster than I can blot them out.
“To Gordon, image is everything, but as rich as he is, he’ll never move into certain circles unless he’s connected to old ‘Southern Royalty’.” Paige uses air quotes. “As a condition of the deal, Alex agreed to marry Cadence.”
The clock above the pantry door ticks loudly. It’s not often that the Davies sisters have got nothing to say but I’m well and truly speechless.
Paige squeezes my hand. “Say something.”
I open and close my mouth several times before finding any words. “That…is…the most
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