Page 248 of Burn Bright

Idon’t understand.

I don’t understand.

I don’tfuckingunderstand. I’ve said it three times to Gordon, and he’s tried to explain it to me in three different ways. I could blame bad cell reception if we weren’t having this conversation in person.

I left campus and told Xander I’d fill him in later. Now I’m currently sitting in this lawyer dude’s stately office in Midtown, a pen, documents, and legal pad laid out on the desk before me.

“Let me just say it back to make sure I have this correct,” I tell him, my hands hovering over the cherry oak desk. “Ben Pirrip Cobalt, your client, mademe, Harriet Stevie Fisher, the sole beneficiary of an irrevocable trust that contains…this…amount of money.” I tap the legal pad with a number written down.

It’s not a microscopic number.

It’s not even a small number.

It ismassive.

A staggering amount. More than my eyes can truly grasp. Gordon had to write it down because I couldn’t believe it without seeing the numbers.

It’s millions.

“All yes,” Gordon confirms.

My eyes burn. I think I’ve blinked twice since I sat down. “Is this all of Ben’s money? He emptied his bank accounts and put everything in this trust?”For me?

Gordon sighs heavily. “Yes. I did tell him he needed to consult a financial advisor before making this move, but he was incredibly persistent.”

I clutch the sides of my head. Wishing I called his brothers or his parents to come with me, so they could process this too. Because everything about this doesn’t feel right.

I wince. “I don’t accept.” I push the legal pad, documents, and pen away from me.

Gordon exhales even deeper. “I’m afraid it doesn’t matter whether you accept or not. The money is still in this trust. It’s going to sit here if you don’t use it.”

My stomach churns thinking about all the ways Icoulduse the money. Rent for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t even need free housing from the Honors House. Medical school, paid for. If I go that route. My future, funded. But it feels so wrong. So terribly wrong.

All of this.

Gordon pushes a box of tissues toward me, then retracts. Am I in threat of crying? Or do I look like I might bite his head off? “Once you sign, you’ll be able to access the trust on January 1st. You will havefullaccess. No rules or stipulations. That’s how Ben set it up.”

Ben set it up.

What about all the months Ben was broke? Was his money tied up inthistrust the entire time? Waiting for me?

This…this isn’t making sense.

“I don’t understand,” I say, which makes Gordon huff out another deep sigh. “No, I understand how the trust works. I don’t understand the timing. Ben told me he was already broke at the beginning of the semester when I ran into him at a frat party. We’dbarelyspoken before that—so when did he set this up?”

Gordon swivels to his computer and scrolls until he stalls on a document. “His first meeting with me was…in the middle of May.”

I blow backward. “No.”

That means he made the decision to give me his money before the frat party. When we’d only run into each other a couple of times. Like at Penn. The science lab.

“Hold on,” Gordon lifts a finger for me to wait. “I did put a note in his file. I thought it was strange too and wanted to keep some sort of record in case of litigation.” He reads from his computer. “I asked Ben how well he knew Harriet Fisher, and he told me, I know she’s a good person. Also asked why he was giving her so much. He told me, I don’t need it where I’m going.”

My eyes well. “May?” I ask again. “You saidMay?”

“Yes, mid-May.”

Oh fuck. “Can I make a call?” I ask Gordon.