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June stared at the papers, her friend happily chewing and droning on about how nice it would be to have that kind of money. She ran through the list of names in her head again.
The only other person she could maybe see having that kind of cash was Rhys.
Her heart pulled and her stomach turned, two emotions fighting the other.
She liked Rhys, but did she see them going to the Caribbean together? As a couple?
And, if this was Rhys, how could she let him know she needed more time without hurting him?
36
His palms were sweaty, and as Dragan looked up at his family home, he realized how much this building really meant to him. Sure, it had carried its fair share of demons. It had housed plenty of angry nights and tear-stained pillows and walls with holes punched through them.
But it had also held each of them as they’d been born, carried through the door with the same sense of hope and optimism every new parent wishes for their kid. It had held Christmases, birthday cakes, laughter as they slid down the stairs on a mattress when their dad wasn’t home. It had given his Polish family a place to stay, a place to feel like everyone was doing okay. That everything was in its right place.
Dragan took a shaky breath. The contract had been finalized, signatures inked on thick paper during one last trip to New York City, this time to the offices of Meta and accompanied not just by Archer, but with a team of lawyers.
That morning, the wire transfers had hit their accounts.
It had all happened way too fast for something so life-changing. Wasn’t there supposed to be red-tape, a waiting period for the banks, all that shit?
But no. Yesterday, Dragan had a few thousand to his name. A few thousand he had spent hours earning, in a hot car garage or late at night working on website designs for a side hustle.
Today, he was a multi-millionaire.
He and Archer had spoken to a financial planner and a financial advisor, who were in the process of splitting their money. They’d put aside a bunch for taxes, a bunch for investing in their business, but the rest…
The rest they could do with how they pleased.
Dragan took the front steps slowly, knowing if he could pull this goal of his off, he would never walk the steps the same way again.
He opened the door, calling out for his mom before noticing her in the living room, staring into space. The house was quiet, save for muffled metal music coming from upstairs. Probably Leon’s room, if he had to guess. He walked over to his mom and sat beside her.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Hello, my boy.” Her smile was sad, her eyes tired.
“Are you okay?”
She waved him off. “Vhat is this, you asking if your mother is okay? No, I ask if you are okay. Do you want food? I have more goulash.” She started to lift herself from the couch. “I go heat up for you.”
Dragan put a hand on her arm. “Wait! No, Ma. I’m fine. Please.”
“You look hungry.”
“I’m fine. I— I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Oh?” She sat down, suddenly alert. “Is it marriage? A baby? May—“
“Oh my god, Mom.” Dragan rubbed his forehead and sighed. “No, none of that. Would you just listen?”
She raised her hands. “Okay, okay.Tak, go on.”
He took a deep breath. “I need you to keep this between us, but that app I was working on? It sold. For a lot of money. And I want to buy the house from you and dad.”
She stared at him blankly. “You know for me to sell, your dad vould have to agree.”
“Yeah. So then I thought I could just pay it off. I would rather the house be in my name, or buy you a new house —“
