Page 118 of All Tied Up

“Hang on, don’t look at those.” Neil gathered them up, that nervous look back in his eyes again.

“What?” Jamie asked. “It says Meadowlark Lodge right there. I want to see your ideas.”

“Right now?” Neil’s voice went high.

Sebastian realized that he barely thought about bankruptcy and losing his dreams since he woke up, though it had been the only thing on his mind for the past four days. The last year, really.

But this morning, all of his thoughts had been filled with Neil and everything else had floated to the background. No, that wasn’t quite it. He’d relaxed because he assumed that if Neil said he had ideas, one of them would work. Without even needing to see the folders, he had faith.

But he was really curious.

“Yep,” Jamie nodded. “I’m kind of imagining you as, like, a financial Superman, flying to our rescue in the darkest night. And this damsel in distress is sooooo ready to be rescued. Show us your superpowers.”

That got a good laugh from all of them, even Ty who had turned his back like he was trying to give them some privacy. Though honestly, anything impacting the lodge impacted Ty, too. He’d hear it all anyway.

Sebastian gave Neil a nod. “Show us what you’ve got.” He took the remaining stool next to Jamie.

“Well, um…” Neil stared at the folders for a long time.

Sebastian already wished he’d moved the stool around so he could be closer to the boy if this was difficult for him. He was just about to do that when Neil did that thing where he sucked in a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and let his professional mask slip over his face.

Sebastian hated the idea that Neil felt like he needed to hide himself to get through this conversation, but it all came back to building trust. They all had some work to do.

Neil flipped through the folders and put a green-tagged one on top. He looked both of them in the eyes, Jamie and then Sebastian. “I have to be honest with you and say that on your own, you couldn’t get a loan for the type of money that you need right now. You need someone helping you, whether directly or indirectly. So one option is that I could co-sign on a loan.”

Neil handed over the folder and Sebastian whipped it open. The text was easy to skim, the key information in bold.

“That’s for the tree damage, replacing the cabin if you choose to, roof repairs, and the insulation project because I really think you should prioritize that, plus fifty-K extra for short-term use.”

Sebastian nodded. The lodge lost a ton of money with heating and cooling because the insulation hadn’t been done properly the first time. But it was nothing on this amount.

“Are you good for this?” he spluttered.

Neil nodded evenly.

Shit. Neil was far wealthier than Sebastian had imagined. The very idea of it brought by bad memories of Henri and his extravagant tastes.

Jamie looked over the contract, too. “Fuck. That’s a lot. I didn’t know you were rich.”

Sebastian repressed a smile. Trust Jamie to say everything he’d been thinking but was too polite to ask.

Neil shrugged. “I work in one of the top law firms in the country and I make almost three hundred thousand a year. I live in a small apartment and this was the first vacation I’d taken in years. I don’t have kids or even extended family who need my financial support. I donate to a lot of charities, but it really is an obscene amount. It might as well be good for something.”

Sebastian breathed in deeply. Just because Neil had money, didn’t mean that he wanted to throw it around. In fact, the most he’d done was buy them some Thai food and insist on paying for his room for the two extra days, even though he wasn’t using it.

He’d taken Sebastian’s concerns with the lodge completely seriously, even though they must look like peanuts to him. He’d also been completely transparent about his assets, while Henri had always been cagey. Henri had wanted to buy pretty things while Neil wanted to invest in insulation.

There was probably a metaphor in there. But the two of them really weren’t alike at all.

“Damn, Neil.” Jamie playfully pushed his shoulder. “You could retire today and not have to work for the rest of your life. Why are you even working there anymore?”

Neil gave Jamie an inscrutable look, but that formal mask was starting to slip. “Maybe because I didn’t have anything in my life that was important enough to do instead. So, um, I guess that brings me to the next proposal.” He handed over a second folder.

Sebastian didn’t open it right away. This sounded like something he was better off hearing from Neil.

“I was thinking that… I could make a grant to a fledgling business that I believe in. Like an angel donor. No strings attached.”

Sebastian looked inside the second folder, eyes immediately drawn to the bolded dollar amount in the second paragraph. It was about two-thirds of the amount in the first folder, but still a ridiculous sum.