Chapter 80 Nora Manages Money
"No!" It wasn't that Nora was unwilling to give the money to Tanner. Actually, given her nephew's situation, she could give it, but she needed to get it back first to buy inventory!
Nora steadied herself and said to Wayne, "Didn't the insurance for the kid come through?"
"Just got a little bit back, not much," Wayne said in a muffled voice.
Nora said, "Here's the thing - my store just got a big order, but I don't have money to buy inventory. I was hoping to get that money back first..."
Before Nora could finish, Wayne hung up on her.
Nora was completely stunned.
Over a hundred thousand dollars, her family's true colors were showing. This just goes to show that when it comes to money, most people become unrecognizable.
"What's wrong?" Steven was driving and could tell she'd run into a problem.
Nora looked out the window and let out a deep sigh. "It's nothing."
She looked really down.
Completely different from how happy she'd been that afternoon.
Steven said, "Is it about the money you lent last time? They won't pay you back?"
Just as Nora was about to speak, her phone rang. It was a message from Tanner: [Nora, about the kid's situation - the insurance came through, just a little bit, but things aren't too stable right now. Can I pay you back twenty thousand dollars first? I'll pay you the rest when I have money later.]
Tanner transferred her twenty thousand dollars.
Seeing this twenty thousand, she believed Tanner didn't really want to keep her money - he was just unable to pay it all back right now.
Nora looked at the twenty thousand dollars, not sure whether to accept it or not.
If she took it, Jasmine would definitely blow up at Tanner.
And twenty thousand dollars was useless to her now anyway. She needed five hundred thousand dollars - twenty thousand was just a drop in the bucket.
Olivia probably couldn't help either. The other day she'd said she only had three thousand dollars left, and she'd already given Jasmine a two-thousand-dollar gift card.
"You need money, don't you?" Steven asked after thinking for a moment.
Nora sighed, worry written all over her face. "I just got this big order, but Willie's company won't let me sign for monthly billing anymore. They want me to figure out how to pay cash myself."
At this point, she felt nothing but anxiety.
Why was everything so awful?
Just when life was finally looking up, it all got washed away.
When she got this big order that afternoon, she'd been thinking that once she closed this deal, she'd give her mom ten thousand dollars, give Tanner ten thousand dollars, and give Olivia ten thousand dollars. She wanted everyone in the family to do well.
"How much do you need?" Steven turned to look at her.
"Too much." Nora sighed, not really in the mood to talk right now.
Steven frowned. "How much exactly?"
He was asking for a number, and all she did was sigh.
And she still wouldn't say.
Steven pulled the car over to the side of the road, worried he might cause an accident if he got angry.
"Exactly how much do you need?" Steven stared at her face, his eyes cold.
Nora froze for a moment, pressed her lips together. "About five hundred thousand dollars."
Too much - there was just no way to solve this problem!
Steven had been wondering how much it was. He picked up his wallet from the center console, casually pulled out a black card, then worried it might scare her, put it back and pulled out a regular card instead, tossing it to her. "Use as much as you need."
A card landed in her hand.
Nora was stunned. "What?"
"There's money in the card. Use however much you need." Steven's tone was casual.
"What? There's five hundred thousand dollars in here?" She looked uncertain.
Steven's lips curved up. "More than that."
He didn't know exactly how much - probably over a million dollars, he guessed. He had so many cards, he couldn't keep track.
"You're actually that rich?" Nora was shocked.
Steven's face stiffened a bit, and he said defensively, "I saved it up over the years by being careful with money."
Being careful with money?
Nora looked like she didn't believe him at all.
Usually, when she saw him, he spent money freely, without any sign of being frugal.
"What? Don't you believe there's five hundred thousand dollars in this card? Do you need me to take you to the bank to verify it?" Steven saw her disbelieving look, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"No!" Nora waved her hands. "I just didn't expect you to be so rich."
She held the card, and the worry in her heart suddenly lifted. After the clouds, the moon appears - thank goodness Steven had savings!
Nora's lips slowly curved up, and she said with a smile, "Thank you. I can pay you back in half a month."
"No need." Just a few hundred thousand dollars - Steven didn't care about it.
But seeing Nora's shocked expression, he changed his tune. "Keep this card. Use it whenever you need it in the future."
Nora understood this to mean he was letting her manage the money.
Her heart felt sweet. "So much money, and you're just letting me manage it? Aren't you afraid I'll spend freely and use up all your money?"
"Really? You think you can spend all my money?" Steven really didn't believe it.
Nora said with a smile, "Of course not. Whatever I do, I'll always think of our little family first. Don't worry, I definitely won't give your money to my family. I'll take good care of it."
Since Steven trusted her, she would take good care of this household, too.
She'd definitely put the five hundred thousand dollars back - it would just take half a month at most.
With the problem solved, Nora was all smiles, feeling relaxed.
Steven glanced at her. "Feeling better now?"
Nora looked at him gratefully. "Much better now!"
"Then let's go eat?"
"Okay."
Steven started the car again, and soon they arrived at the restaurant he'd reserved.
Just looking at the entrance, with its charming bridge-over-water design, you could tell it was elegant and impressive.
Nora didn't even need to go inside to know the prices would be steep.
She grabbed Steven's arm at the entrance. "I can't do this place!"
Even though she was supposed to treat him, this spendthrift Steven was too much - he'd actually picked such a fancy restaurant!
Was he trying to bankrupt her overnight?
"What's wrong?" Steven looked down at her hand holding his arm. He didn't mind it.
"This place looks expensive!" Nora held onto him tight, refusing to go in. "A meal here must cost several hundred dollars, right? No way, it's too expensive!"
"You're treating me to a meal, and you're this reluctant?" Steven looked at her sideways, a bit unhappy. "Am I that cheap?"
"What does this have to do with being cheap? Living life means being careful with money. For one meal, is it really necessary to pick such an expensive restaurant?" Nora refused to go in and spend money there - she wouldn't enjoy it anyway.
She could accept spending a hundred dollars on a meal at most. Any more and she absolutely wouldn't agree. She pleaded, "How about I treat you to a beef burger instead? Or pizza? Please don't pick something so expensive, okay? I'm begging you, honey..."
That "honey" was nice to hear.
Steven's expression softened a bit. He pulled two coupons from his pocket. "But if we don't eat here, these two coupons will go to waste."
The coupons were ones Steven had Clarence print that afternoon, just so she could eat this meal without worry.
"Coupons?" She took them to look.
They showed a seafood feast for 99 dollars.
Nora's eyelid twitched. "Real or fake? King crab for only 99 dollars?"