Chapter 5 - What Money Couldn’t Fix
David’s plane departed from Teterboro forty-seven minutes later.
Lauren sat beside the window with her phone clenched in both hands.
She had spoken to Ellen twice.
Thomas was conscious.
Doctors believed his collapse might involve a medication complication, but they were still running tests.
That should have reassured Lauren.
It didn’t.
David sat across from her.
He had cancelled an investor dinner without explanation.
Lauren knew because she heard his assistant rearranging it.
The guilt arrived immediately.
“You didn’t have to cancel everything.”
“I did if I wanted to come.”
“You could send me alone.”
“I could.”
“But?”
“I wanted to come.”
There it was again.
Want.
Not debt.
Not sacrifice presented for future collection.
David handed her tea.
“My mother used to make this when people were panicking.”
“Did it help?”
“Never.”
Lauren looked up.
“Then why are you giving it to me?”
“It gives your hands something to do.”
She laughed weakly.
Two hours later, they reached the Dayton hospital.
Lauren rushed into Thomas’s room.
Her father looked small beneath the hospital blanket.
Too small.
“Hey, kiddo.”
Lauren immediately started crying.
Thomas frowned.
“Why do you look worse than I do?”
“You collapsed.”
“Temporarily.”
“That isn’t reassuring.”
Ellen hugged her.
Then both parents noticed David.
Thomas squinted.
“Who’s the tall guy?”
Lauren wiped her face.
“David.”
Thomas looked at her.
“The David?”
“Mom talks too much.”
Ellen said, “You tell me nothing.”
David approached.
“Mr. Carter.”
Thomas shook his hand.
“What do you do?”
Lauren stared at David.
He looked almost amused.
“I run a company.”
“What kind?”
“Several.”
Lauren groaned.
“He’s enjoying this.”
Ellen narrowed her eyes.
“What company?”
“Bingham Holdings.”
Silence.
Thomas blinked.
“The Bingham Holdings?”
“Yes.”
Thomas looked at Lauren.
“You couldn’t find a plumber?”
Lauren laughed so suddenly she snorted.
David laughed too.
For the next twelve hours, David did something Lauren did not expect.
Nothing extraordinary.
He did not demand specialists.
Did not announce who he was.
Did not request a private suite.
Did not move Thomas to another hospital.
He bought coffee.
Found Ellen a blanket.
Charged Lauren’s phone.
Sat in a plastic chair.
At three in the morning, Lauren discovered him asleep in the waiting room with his expensive jacket folded beneath his head.
She touched his shoulder.
David woke immediately.
“Your dad?”
“Sleeping.”
He sat upright.
“Results?”
“They think one medication interacted badly with another.”
“That’s good?”
“Compared with what I imagined, yes.”
David nodded.
Lauren sat beside him.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then she said, “How much did tonight cost?”
David looked at her.
“The flight.”
He hesitated.
“Lauren.”
“How much?”
“Enough that answering won’t help you.”
She almost smiled.
“See? That sounds like billionaire language.”
“Fine. A lot.”
She looked down.
David understood what was happening.
“You’re calculating.”
“I can’t help it.”
“You’re trying to figure out how to repay me.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t.”
Lauren’s eyes filled.
“It isn’t that easy.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
David became quiet.
Lauren pressed her palms together.
“Nolan started with exactly this.”
“Your father being hospitalized?”
“Me being desperate.”
She looked at David.
“He was wonderful the first time.”
David did not flinch.
“I’m not asking you to believe I’m different because I say so.”
“Then what?”
“Nothing.”
Lauren frowned.
“Nothing?”
“Judge me over time.”
His voice was calm.
“I don’t want to spend our relationship proving I’m better than Nolan.”
Lauren stared.
“Why?”
“Because then Nolan still determines the standard.”
That silenced her.
David leaned forward.
“I’m not him.”
“I know.”
“And I’m not asking for credit for not being him.”
Lauren felt a tear slide down her cheek.
“You make things very difficult.”
“I’ve been told.”
“You could just say, ‘Don’t worry about it.’”
“You would worry.”
“Yes.”
“So worry.”
She laughed through tears.
David continued.
“But there’s no invoice coming.”
“No spreadsheet?”
“No.”
“No six-month reminder?”
“No.”
“No argument where suddenly you mention tonight?”
David’s expression became serious.
“Never.”
Lauren believed him.
Not completely.
Trust did not arrive like lightning.
It came like sunrise.
Slow enough that sometimes you only noticed because the room was no longer dark.
Thomas was discharged two days later.
Before David returned to New York, Thomas cornered him on the Carter porch.
Lauren watched through the kitchen window.
Thomas spoke first.
“You love her?”
David did not hesitate.
“Yes.”
Thomas nodded.
“She know?”
“I think so.”
“You billionaires always this vague?”
“Only emotionally.”
Thomas grunted.
“My daughter doesn’t need rescuing.”
“I know.”
“She’s been taking care of everybody since she was nineteen.”
“I know.”
“If you make her feel small because you have money—”
“I won’t.”
Thomas stared at him.
Then held out his hand.
David shook it.
Thomas added, “I own three large wrenches.”
David nodded solemnly.
“I’ve been warned.”
When Lauren returned to Manhattan, her life resumed.
Classes.
Work.
Coffee.
David.
Their relationship progressed slowly.
Lauren insisted they remain careful professionally.
David agreed.
She completed the leadership program.
Her final project led to three policy changes in facilities operations.
She received an offer for an assistant-management role.
Before accepting, Lauren demanded proof David had not interfered.
David had anticipated the request.
He handed her the scoring records.
“You’re irritating.”
“I learned from an expert.”
A year after they met, Lauren graduated.
Thomas and Ellen flew to New York.
Piper screamed when Lauren crossed the stage.
David sat beside Thomas.
Afterward, he handed Lauren a small box.
She narrowed her eyes.
“How expensive?”
“Open it.”
Inside was the battered old stovetop coffee brewer from the fifth-floor pantry.
Lauren stared.
“You stole this?”
“I replaced it.”
“That’s stealing with extra steps.”
“There’s a note.”
She unfolded it.
For wherever you make coffee next.
Lauren looked up.
“Where am I making coffee next?”
David smiled.
“You’ll find out Monday.”
She pointed at him.
“If you arranged something—”
“I didn’t.”
Monday morning, Lauren received the assistant-management offer she had earned.
For the first time, her instinct was not suspicion.
It was pride.
She called David.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You stayed out of it?”
“Yes.”
“Dinner tonight?”
There was a pause.
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“Don’t ruin this.”
“I’m available.”
Life became almost normal.
That was when Lauren began thinking the worst was behind them.
Then, one Friday evening, David received a message from Margaret Shaw.
He read it twice.
Lauren noticed.
“What happened?”
David locked the phone.
“Nothing.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“David.”
He exhaled.
“Nolan.”
Lauren became still.
“What now?”
“He’s filed a civil claim.”
“For the contract?”
“No.”
David hated the next sentence.
“He’s claiming Bingham Holdings interfered with his company because of my relationship with you.”
Lauren stared.
David continued.
“And his attorneys intend to subpoena every communication between us.”
Her stomach dropped.
Every text.
Every email.
Every moment could become evidence.
May you like
And Nolan had found a new way to turn David’s money into a weapon against her.
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