Page 305 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

"My great-grandfather bought a single apartment building after the war. Nothing fancy. Just one building that he maintained himself."

I glance toward the city outside the windows. "He lived upstairs and fixed broken pipes himself. Collected rent himself. Swept the sidewalks himself."

Annette smiles. "I think I'd have liked him."

"I think we both would have."

"My grandfather inherited that building. Then he bought another. And another."

I shrug.

"He wasn't interested in being rich. He just believed if you took care of people, they'd take care of your business."

"Sounds familiar."

I smile. "It runs in the family."

"My dad expanded everything after that. Office buildings. Housing developments. Medical facilities. Hotels. Investments."

I pause, choosing my next words carefully.

"By the time I was born...the company had become much bigger than any of us ever expected."

Annette studies my face.

"How much bigger?"

I let out a slow breath. "Enough that it now owns property in seventeen states."

Her eyebrows rise slightly, but she doesn't interrupt.

"My parents still run the charitable side of things. They always will."

"And you?"

"I own most of it now."

The words hang between us. "I became majority owner after my grandfather passed away."

Silence settles over the room. Annette blinks once. Then twice.

"I'm sorry..."

She tilts her head.

"When you say 'most of it'..."

"I mean controlling interest."

"And when you say 'company'..."

"I mean all of it."

Another long pause.

"So..." She folds one leg beneath her.

"Exactly how wealthy are we talking?"