Chapter 12 - NANCY’S QUESTION
Nancy’s direct confrontation with Ryan happened in a conference room nine months after the assault.
She requested it.
Kelsey initially objected.
Nancy replied:
“He already took enough decisions from me.”
So Kelsey supported her.
Attorneys were present.
No private room.
No family kitchen.
Nancy wore new glasses.
Ryan noticed.
His eyes moved away first.
Nancy placed the six-hundred-thousand-dollar buyout offer on the table.
“Did you think I was stupid?”
Ryan answered carefully.
“No.”
“Then why this number?”
“Because the property had risk.”
“You had a twelve-point-eight-million-dollar offer.”
“It wasn’t guaranteed.”
“You had an appraisal.”
“Preliminary.”
“You had Northstar’s advance.”
“That was my management agreement.”
Nancy leaned forward.
“Did you think I was stupid?”
Ryan’s attorney shifted.
Ryan finally answered.
“I thought you wanted certainty.”
Nancy smiled faintly.
“That’s the language you use when you don’t want to say old.”
“I never said that.”
“You said I shouldn’t have to worry about roofs, tenants, environmental reports, taxes.”
“I was trying to simplify things.”
“For me?”
Ryan hesitated.
“For everyone.”
There it was.
Nancy nodded.
“What were you protecting when you hit me?”
Ryan looked down.
“My life.”
Kelsey felt the words in her chest.
Nancy did not move.
“Your money?”
“Everything.”
“The investors?”
“Yes.”
“The fund?”
“Yes.”
“Your marriage?”
Ryan looked toward Kelsey.
Then back at Nancy.
“I didn’t think Kelsey would ever understand what I had done.”
Kelsey said nothing.
Nancy continued.
“So I was the easier problem.”
Ryan’s eyes filled unexpectedly.
“You weren’t supposed to see that folder.”
Nancy laughed softly.
It was almost gentle.
“That might be the most honest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Ryan wiped his face.
“I panicked.”
“You raised a bat.”
“I know.”
“No. Panic is missing an exit. Panic is calling the wrong person. You raised a bat.”
Ryan went silent.
Nancy placed her hands flat on the table.
“What I want from you is very simple.”
He looked at her.
“Stop telling people I destroyed your future.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“You did.”
Kelsey almost interrupted.
Nancy beat her to it.
“No.”
She pointed toward the documents.
“You built a future that required my ignorance.”
Ryan looked away.
“When I learned the truth, the future stopped working.”
She sat back.
“That is not the same thing as me destroying it.”
May you like
For the first time since the kitchen, Kelsey saw Ryan with nothing available to hit, move, explain away, or sign on behalf of someone else.
He had to sit with the difference.
