Chapter 8 - Renee Offered $2,200 With One Condition
Renee finally offered to pay for the repair.
She came to my office carrying a cashier’s check.
$2,200.
I looked at it.
“What’s the condition?”
Her face tightened.
“No condition.”
“Then give it to Jude.”
She placed it on my desk.
Then:
“Call Graham.”
I laughed.
She flushed.
“I paid.”
“You paid for damage you caused.”
“Then tell him the family issue is resolved.”
“The scholarship issue is not the family issue.”
“It started because of the bike.”
“No. I discovered it because of the bike.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
She leaned across my desk.
“You can pretend you’re being ethical, but we both know what this is.”
“What?”
“Finally getting back at me.”
That surprised me.
“For what?”
Her eyes filled.
“All of it.”
Dad choosing her.
Mom praising her.
Track meets.
Birthdays.
Comparison.
She had apparently spent our whole childhood believing I resented her.
Maybe sometimes I had.
But resentment was not why her daughter’s file was frozen.
“You think I built a business for twelve years so I could wait for the chance to sabotage your teenager?”
“You always have to be the competent one.”
I stared at her.
“Renee.”
“You make everybody else look careless.”
“I didn’t wreck the bike.”
“That isn’t what I mean.”
She started crying.
For one second I saw my sister beneath the entitlement.
Then she said:
“Just sign a clean recertification after Sasha heals.”
“And pretend the other documents weren’t altered?”
“We can correct them.”
“Who is we?”
Silence.
“You submitted them.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“And you almost taught her that lying is an acceptable training strategy.”
Renee stood.
“Keep the check.”
“No.”
I slid it back.
“Give it to Jude personally.”
“I’m not begging a thirteen-year-old.”
“There it is.”
She stared.
“The money was never the hard part.”
“What do you want?”
“For you to tell him you took his property without permission, used it for content, caused $2,200 in damage, minimized three years of his work, and are paying because you owe him.”
Her face hardened.
“You want humiliation.”
“No.”
May you like
I looked toward the training floor.
“I want the person who was humiliated to hear somebody finally name what happened.”
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