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“What happened?” Hensley asked, confused.

Neko explained, and Hensley laughed.

“It’s about time. You hated being a mediator, although you were successful. But if I know you, and I do, you never have to work another day in your life with the money you have.”

I shrugged when everyone’s wide eyes turned toward me.

“Explain,” Ri said.

“Now!” Yu demanded.

“When you mediate multimillion and billion dollar deals between corporations, they pay a lot for someone like me to save them money. I’ve brokered deals for tech and biomedical companies, which pay well, but the stipend for understanding and negotiating international law is higher. Also, I’ve never allowed a start-up business with a bankable idea suffer layoffs or downsizing, so I have a reputation of getting them a lot of money or securing employment, sometimes both, depending on their request.”

“So, how rich are we talking, G?” Ri asked.

“Um, well…”

“You were the anonymous one hundred and fifty-thousand dollar donor during Neko’s stream, weren’t you?” Echo asked.

Neko blinked at me before his hand rose to cover his mouth.

“What?” The sound diffused, but still clear.

Instead of passing it off with another shrug, I nodded. “Your chat stepped up and raised a lot of money, but I noticed your endurance to the prolonged stream was waning. Since you passed your goal and it was a worthy cause, I wanted to contribute and maybe get you to end early.”

Without a word, Neko stood, and my heart faltered in my chest. Was this where he demanded that I get out? Was he angry I hadn’t told him about my wealth or the donation?

I wanted to reach out and grasp his wrist, keeping him close no matter his reaction. But I knew him, my man, and if he didn’t blurt out his initial feelings, he needed time to process what he’d learned. I locked down my body and held my breath when he blinked at me. Ready for whatever his reaction, I gave him a modest smile, hoping to let him know I was fine with his decision. But there was no way I was giving him up without a fight.

A relieved breath escaped me when he parked himself on my lap, draped his arms over my shoulders, and kissed me. His tongue swept inside, tasting me and allowing me to swallow his drawn-out moan. I held on for dear life.

“You’re not mad?” I asked when he leaned back, breaking our contact, blinking at me without focusing.

He shook his head before he answered, “No, I… should I be?”

“I don’t know how to answer that question. Either I say yes, because I donated to a charity you’re supporting before I explained my financial situation, or no, because my financial situation doesn’t matter to you.”

“Um, well, I’ve never been one to care that much about money.”

“Wow, understatement. You hitthatmark on the head,” Reo said.

“Okay, okay, less judgement in your tone, mother.”

Reo let out an exasperated tone and said, “I hate it when you call me that.”

“Almost as much as I hate it when you call me by my entire name while thumping me on the forehead like I was eight and stole the candy bar.”

Incapable of holding back my chuckle, I asked, “What happened?” Because it was my spectacular boyfriend, the story would be hilarious.

“After I started down the block, staring at the repugnant thing in my hand, thoughts bombarded me. I realized I wasn’t only stealing from the man who worked the cash register in the shop, but the shop’s owners and their children, too. And then my mind wandered to the fact it might have happened so often from little shits like me they’d go broke and have to close their store and starve because it all started with me stealing a candy bar. I walked back, practically throwing the thing at the man, and started crying as I explained I stole it. Although, the guy was more freaked out because I had a complete breakdown in front of him, wailing, pounding my hands on the floor, and begging him to call the cops on me than the actual stolen candy. Instead of being hauled away to the clink for life, he called mom, who thumped me on the forehead, slid a twenty across the counter for all his trouble, and dragged me out of the shop. I haven’t been back since.”

I glanced at Reo, holding my chuckles inside. “Why did you thump him? His guilt was punishment enough.”

She shrugged. “I needed to stop him from crying and it was the one thing I could think of.”

The room erupted in laughter, Echo and Hensley leaning against each other as they tried to catch their breaths, the twins rolling their eyes before snagging more cake, and George smiled at his wife.

I kissed Neko on his forehead, which I hoped would erase the pain from that long ago thump.