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“Miss Sokol,” she drawled out when she reached my station. “What atrocity have you created today?” She lifted her glasses at one of my recent designs inspired by lunch with Paul at The Grill. She studied each one quietly, and I held my breath when she finished.
“I was afraid I’d have to pry patchwork out of your cold, dead hands. But these,”—she pointed at the gold rings couture gown I created and the black and cream pantsuit with the circular knitted bodice—“got my attention. Keep it up, but don’t let it go to your head.”
I gave her a toothy grin. “Thank you, Professor Elan.”
She huffed. “Too late.”
Paul had helped me again without even knowing it. Once she was out of eyesight, I risked checking the text.
Paul: I agree, but not tonight. I’ll pick you up from Dr. Foster’s office.
After my classes, I went to Midtown to grab a coffee at a bodega. My phone rang, and when I checked it, my heart leaped.
“Daddy,” I sang out. He laughed with me, then coughed.My hands ached as I gripped the phone tighter. “Are you okay?”
He let out a wheezing laugh. “Now, don’t you start on me. I’m fine, princess. How are you? You sound a little hoarse.”
“I’m okay,” I said as I walked down to Bryant Park and sat on a bench. “I’m feeling much better. I miss you. Are you out of the hospital?”
“Yes. Apparently, I’ve somehow got a specialist who’s dug inside my body and uncovered things nobody else found.”
I tensed. “What do you mean?”
He sighed down the line. “Now, I told your mom to stop worrying you, and then I put my foot in it.”
“Please tell me,” I pleaded. “I won’t rest if I don’t know.”
“Okay, but it’s no big deal. The new doctors found a tumor near my kidneys, and they want to remove it and investigate. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’m doing well, or I must be doing something because suddenly I find myself unbelievably lucky.” His voice held a bit of sarcasm.
“Yeah, well, there are good people in the world.” I touched my stomach.Another surgery with a specialist. That would cost a lot of money.
“Not that good or that much out of the blue. We don’t play the lottery, and I lost count of how many times the bank threatened us with lawsuits for overdrafts. Yet, they suddenly discoveredthey owed us ten thousand dollars? We never deposited that much money. Our house is mortgaged, and we have loans. There is no way in the world this is real.”
“It could be,” I said, my voice upbeat.
“It wasn’t. I called Ted from across the street. He’s soon to retire from the police force but got his nephew, who’s a private investigator, to check around. He couldn’t find exactly who it was, but the foundation had a New York City address. The only person we know in New York City besides Xander is you.”
Besides my dad’s obsession with detective shows, he was brilliant.
“I’ve met the wealthy benefactor, and their foundation sent the money without my knowledge. He only wanted to help—”
“Who, Nadia? I know who it is, but I want to hear you tell me the truth.”
“Paul Crane, but I didn’t ask him to get involved. I…I told him about some of our financial problems, and he decided to help us on his own.”
“Paul Crane takes a meeting with college freshmen? Inconceivable. He’s not a designer—”
“His family sits on the board at New York School of Design.”That’s the truth. Paul told me himself.
“Board members don’t go around talking to students, Nadia.”
“I-I met him at a place near campus,” I stuttered and squeezed my eyes shut.
“Come on, Nadia. I’m old, but I’m no fool. A billionaire doesn’t court students or spend money to help their families. Are you in some kind of trouble?” The worry in his voice hurt my heart, and I rubbed my damp palms against my churning stomach. What could I tell my dad because he certainly wasn’t going to drop it. I could only come as close to the truth as I knew without hurting him.
“Well, he took me to lunch, and we talked. He heard about what was going on with your need for a kidney, and he wanted to help out.”I don’t want to lie to him.
Dad sighed down the line. “That can’t be all there is to it. Men like Crane don’t help unless they have something to gain. Now, whatever he’s offering, tell him no. I don’t want you to see him again—”
