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“Sure.”
“Four years ago, I started a travel agency, Atlas Dreams.”
“Cas. Are you kidding me? My family and I use them all the time. How didn’t I know that was you?”
“Most people don’t, including my family. From there, I was able to purchase The Pinnacle and Edgewater. Not long ago, I added The Apex Hotel to my portfolio.”
“And no one knows any of this?”
“No.”
“How?”
“They’re all under an umbrella company, C.A.P. I used my initials to create it.”
“No offense, but I know that your family lived a comfortable lifestyle, but if I’m not mistaken, before you married Bethany, you were a hedge fund manager. I know they make money, but not that type of money. I’m still amazed at how fast you rose in both careers.”
Sighing, I admitted, “I’m not proud of it, but my father has opened many doors for me. Not that he had to do anything, but his name alone opened doors. That’s why I started my company. I wanted to do something of my own that had nothing to do with the privilege of him being my father or the privilege of being married into the Huffington and Bradwell families.
“I started as a junior analyst at Smith, Jones & Prather Investment Bank after I graduated college. It’s where I had done my internship, and I remained there throughout my career as a hedge fund manager. The bank’s owner and my father had regular golf outings every week. That’s how I leapfrogged from junior analyst into the position of a hedge fund manager, though I was good as hell at what I did.”
“Did you resent that?”
“No. I won’t lie. I didn’t lean on it, but I did welcome the possibilities. When I married Bethany, her father and maternal grandfather instantly dubbed me for the role of COO because her grandfather and his entire executive staff were preparing to retire. His son did not want the position, and they wantedsomeone in the role who they could manipulate. I didn’t know that at the time.”
“I’m sure that insulted you when you learned it.”
“I already suspected it, but yeah, it stung a bit when I realized that they were calling all the shots. After year two of that, I shut that shit down and began to make my moves and prove my worth.”
“You earned your position.”
“I earned the right to maintain it. I was placed in it because of nepotism. There’s no other way around it. It was what it was, and it pissed a lot of folks off. Anyway, I knew that I wanted to do something that would be free of all of their influence. That’s how I started my business.”
“Where did you get that type of money?”
“My maternal grandparents left me with a nice nest egg that they had been stockpiling since they married. They started it for my mother, but she never touched it because my father took care of her, and they had no need for it. When my parents learned she was pregnant with me, they set it aside for me and continued to grow it. That nest egg, paired with my investments, paved the way for the travel agency. The hotels came from the proceeds of that, my continued investments, and some network relationships I built along the way.”
“Wow. I’m impressed.”
“I didn’t say all that to impress you but to assure you that I can take good care of you. I purchased this penthouse with the money I earned. The salary that I earned from Glenco sits in an account, accruing interest. I haven’t touched a single dime from the first paycheck. I did not need to. Most importantly, when people learn who I am, I don’t want them to associate that with the Huffingtons, and I don’t want the Huffingtons to think they bought shit for me.”
She leaned up on her elbow and hovered over me. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered.
I pulled her face down and kissed her passionately.
“Thank you, baby. I just need you to keep loving me, and I’ll be okay.”
“I can do that as long as you’re honest and tell me everything from the rip,” she assured me.
Long after Giselle’s eyes closed, I lay awake late into the night, plotting my next step.
Giselle
“All right, Kelly. I think we made a lot of progress today. Good work,” I stated, closing my iPad and standing.
The young lady smiled at me and stood. She stretched and yawned before she replied, “Dr. Champagne, I feel better today than I’ve felt in a long time.”
I walked with her to my office door. “That’s because you finally confronted your truth. As I told you, it would be hard, but be proud of yourself because you did the work.”