Page 4

THREE

what future do you see with mikhail?

REAGAN

M y knee bounces as I wait for Talia in her office. I’ve never had enough money to ever need my own investment manager. I mean, I didn’t grow up with money and the crappy jobs I’ve had at restaurants and casinos certainly weren’t going to make me rich. My bank account was pretty low most of the time, especially during and after college.

Now, though? I’m making good money and Mikhail pays for most things. He insists that I take my paychecks and invest them for the future. So here I am.

Talia’s assistant told me she was late coming back from a lunch appointment. I stand up, just needing to do something other than feel awkward. She’s got a ton of toys and pictures and trinkets lining the bookshelves in her office. There are bobbleheads and Funko pops for just about every comic book character ever written. A whole shelf is dedicated to Harry Potter fan gear. I’m not surprised by any of this, of course. Mikhail and I have been to Comic Con with Talia and Boris several times now and they both far outweigh even Mikhail’s nerdiness when it comes to their love of superheroes.

Talia comes in and instantly pulls me into a hug. Something about Talia always makes me feel calm. It’s not that she’s this super-Zen person or anything. She’s not. In fact, she’s a little frantic, a little disheveled, and scary-smart in a way that can be really intimidating. But she’s also really authentic. She’s totally real and she doesn’t apologize for who she is. Today she’s in six-inch black stilettos and a black pencil skirt, all professional on the bottom half. On the top half, though? A Ravenclaw cardigan and a time-turner necklace. Her black-framed glasses make her look like a professor at Hogwarts.

“I heard you wanted to talk about investing some money,” she says, heading behind her desk.

I laugh and it sounds oddly shrill and nervous to my own ears. “Yeah, uh, Mikhail suggested it.”

“Tell me,” she says, putting her purse into a drawer in her desk, “what are you goals for the future? Like, your life goals, not your money goals.”

I’m a little surprised. I expected to talk about money right off the bat. “Oh, um, I’m not sure?”

She narrows her eyes, focusing on a worksheet I had to fill out prior to the appointment. “You work as an event planner. Is that your long game? Or do you think you might want to venture out on your own? Start your own business someday?”

“I’m, uh, not sure? I’ve never really considered working just for myself.”

“It takes hustle and it’s not for the faint-of-heart. And you’re young, so you may not decide to take that path for a long time. Do you think you’ll ever go back for an advanced degree?”

“I have thought about that,” I say. “But I struggled to get through my undergraduate and I never want to take that on if it means scraping financially.”

Talia nods. “I get that.” She writes some notes. “How do you view money?”

“I’m not sure I understand the question.”

She looks up and pushes her lips to one side. “Do you have a good relationship with money and budgeting? Are you frugal? Or are you more liberal in your spending? And there’s no right answer. Just trying to understand you and your goals.”

“I’m pretty frugal, I guess,” I answer. “I never had a lot of money and I’ve always had to work really hard for everything. I’m not likely to spend just to spend.”

“And, as such, I would assume you’re a little risk averse?”

“I would agree with that, yes.”

She nods. “What kind of future do you see with Mikhail? Does he view money similarly to you? Once you’re married, will you share finances? Will you want children? Do you think you’ll want to buy a house?”

“He’s not a big spender,” I answer. “I mean, he grew up hockey royalty so of course his view of money is different from mine in a lot of ways.”

“Like how?”

“Like, he’s never had to worry if his phone broke. He’d just ask his parents to buy him a new one. They made sure he had training and equipment. He always had food on the table and fresh shoes on his feet, you know? He has never had to want for anything. And he never will, truly, because he had someone to teach him how to invest his earnings. He makes millions of dollars a year. So, for him, blowing a couple hundred bucks on a fancy dinner is no big deal. For me? It feels like an indulgence that should be dedicated to paying a bill or buying a necessity.”

“I understand.” Talia pushes her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose and sits back in her chair, assessing me. “Do you feel like he understands where you’re coming from when it comes to money?”

“I do. We’ve talked about it a lot. We live together—and yes, I’m sure we’ll want to buy a house someday, just to answer your question–and he won’t let me pay rent or bills. He always pays when we go out to eat or if we travel. He told me I should bank my paychecks and let him take care of me.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

I slump in my seat a little. “A little diminished, I guess?” I let out a laugh. “I didn’t realize this would double as a psychotherapy session.”

She smiles. “Money has a funny hold on our emotions. Our views of money play into our lives in really deep ways sometimes.”

“I survived through some really crazy stuff, you know?” I ask, my voice breaking as I try to hold back an onslaught of unexpected tears. “And he was there for me as it all came to a head. He knows where I’m coming from and I think he thinks he’s doing this nice thing for me, taking care of me. But I feel like I worked really hard and I should have some, I don’t know…”

“Agency over your personal finances?”

“Yeah. Like, let me help pay for the home we share, right? Does that seem silly?”

“It doesn’t. You should talk with him about that. Financial issues are the top issues in relationships that fail. And here’s what I think. You’re young and you have time to ride out the market, so we’ll do like seventy-five percent in slow growth investments. Things that aren’t likely to have massive ups and downs, so you’ll see steady growth over a long period of time. Twenty-five percent, we’ll put into a little more risk. Like I said, you have time, and you can ride out any bumps in the market. And there will be bumps, so don’t panic when they happen. But I don’t think you need to put every penny into this. I think you should invest whatever you want up front, and then maybe put fifty percent in from each pay period after that. That leaves you half of your paycheck to negotiate with Mikhail.”

“That sounds okay to me,” I say. “But what if I need money for something? Like, can I pull from my investments?”

“There are ways to make that money liquid, sure, but there can be penalties, so we’d need to investigate options based on the situation.”

“Okay, I mean, I guess this all sounds good.”

“You don’t sound totally convinced.”

“I’ve just never lived in this world. It’s hard to part with so much of the money I’ve earned.”

“You’re not parting with it, Reagan. You’re making your money work for you, for the future. Making investments like this allows you to breathe more easily as you get older. You can start to divert some of it to retirement accounts. You can use it to make other investments in things like real estate. And I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’m really good at this. I won’t steer you in the wrong direction. I promise.”

Something about all of this makes me feel much better. She’s right. This will allow me to take control of my financial future. “Okay,” I say. “I’m in then. What else do you need from me?”

“I’ll draw up an investment contract and we can meet to go over it. I want you to do something for me first, though.”

“Oh?”

“You have to talk to Mikhail about your desire to meaningfully contribute to your household finances. Work it out. You know what half of your paycheck looks like. How much can you contribute? Do you pay the electric and the groceries each month? Make him a proposal and don’t take no for an answer. I think, when you do that, you’ll feel things are slightly more equal between you and this investment will just build on your ability to be part of your collective future.”

I grin. “Okay. And Talia?”

“Yes?”

“I’m kind of crushing on your massive brain right now. And I kind of wish I’d recorded you so I could say those things in those words to Mikhail later.”

She stands. “You will say it exactly how it needs to be said. I have faith in you. Now, I don’t have any other appointments today and I could use a beer. Fancy a drink with a friend?”

We head out into the blazing, mid-afternoon sun and walk toward the arena, Talia steering me toward the arena pub. As we walk in, we see a table full of familiar women. Lila Marchmont-Terry holds court with Holly, Pam, Scarlett, and Devon.

“Wow, what a powerhouse of a table,” I say. “They might be plotting to take over the world.”

“I hope so,” Talia quips, just as Lila waves us both over. “Guess we’re about to find out.”