Trust Fund

That morning, I receive a call from my mother. We have a no news is good news type relationship, so when I see the voice mail on my phone I'm immediately on edge. My parents are the type of people who shouldn't have had kids. They had kids because that's what you do, but they basically stopped raising us the moment their careers took off. 

They're both professors and think themselves highly important. I'm pretty sure they would die of embarrassment before they told their colleagues what I do for a living. They have no idea that working as an EA for a billionaire CEO means I'm at the top of my profession. I'm not wasting my degree as they would say.

My mother's message is short. "Call me," is all she says. I've explained so many times not to fill my voicemail with such a useless message, that a text would suffice, but they continue anyway. 

During my lunch break I find a quiet room so I can call her in private. She picks up on the second ring which has me on edge even more. Normally, we play telephone tag for a coupe of days before we make contact.

"You've called. Good. We need to talk," she says, no nonsense.

"How can I help you mother?" 

"We need the funds from your trust fund," she says without explanation, like it's no big deal. There isn't a crazy amount of money in it, but it was left to me by my grandparents and it's my only safety net. I have about 200k in there for a rainy day.

"Your brother's research funding fell through. He's at a really important stage, he's on the verge of a breakthrough and you don't need it," she says like it's already decided.

"Mother, that's my money. It's meant so I can buy a house one day or something. Why can't James find a new grant?" I ask.

"You know that's never been his strong suit. He's a scientist, you can't expect him to parade around like a monkey to make donors happy," she points out as if it's obvious.

"I did all the parading around last time and I did all the paperwork. I literally held his hand through the process and showed him how to do it. I learned how to get a grant even though I would never need one. He should be able to do it by himself. If he's smart enough to be a scientist then it should be easy. Plus, why can't he use his own trust fund?" I ask, annoyed.

"He already put his into this project, if it falls through he has nothing," she says. I can hear a little desperation starting to tinge her annoyance.

"How could this have happened? You and father have always taught us not to mix our personal finances with work. That was completely irresponsible. Why would I step in with my money knowing he made such a bad decision?" I ask. I'm getting frustrated with this conversation. They shouldn't be asking me for this but since they are, they should at least be begging, not demanding and my brother should be on this call as well. He never takes responsibility for his actions and my parents always let it slide because 'he's a scientist'.

My mother sighs and says, "Alexa, please be reasonable. He's your brother and he needs help, he would do the same for you."

"Supposedly not, because he has no money and no real job," I say annoyed.

"Alexa, I'm trying to be nice but you are being unreasonable. Your brother does important research that will change peoples' lives. Plus, I thought you sold out to work in the corporate world so that you could make good money."

"I work as an EA because I enjoy it and yes I like the pay. You should be happy that I can support myself instead of still living with you like James. And his research will only saves lives if it's successful. Five years in and that hasn't happened yet. If he's as far along in his breakthrough as he says then the investors wouldn't have pulled out," I say, trying to reason with my mother one last time.

She dramatically sighs and says, "You don't understand what it's like for James. Academia is not easy and research takes time."

I can hear the disappointment in her voice as well as the condescending tone. I understand, perfectly well, what academia is like. I grew up in a house full of academics. I understand that they can be selfish and single minded in their pursuits. I probably had such a talent for being an assistant because I spent my life assisting my parents and brother.

I want the conversation to be over, so I say, "I will give James the money from my trust if we have a written contract saying my name will be on the patent and that I'm a 50% owner of any business created based on the product. Also he needs to call me to discuss this arrangement. We will use a lawyer of my choosing to draw up the contract once we agree on the terms."

"Alexa, do you really think it's fair of you to take credit for his work? Seems a little selfish," she says disapprovingly.

"I think it was very generous to do all that free work for him in the first place. I also think anyone with a business degree would agree that whomever holds the purse strings holds the power. He's lucky I'm not asking for more. I also may be throwing all my money away on something that won't work since he's always telling us he's close to a breakthrough. Have you actually seen his work?"

"That's not kind," she admonishes.

"Yeah, and asking your daughter to give away all her money isn't kind either," I snap, having lost all patience. "I have to get back to work now, mother. Tell James about my terms and if he's interested he has to call. I won't discuss this with you anymore, he has to at least do this little bit by himself."

"Fine," she says in a clipped tone and hangs up the call.

I look at my phone for a moment as if I could send my anger through it to my mother. I take a deep breath  to relax and think to myself. James won't call. He's too lazy. Mother will find somewhere else to get the money. I wonder if she's given him any of hers yet. It would be ironic for her to spend her whole life not using her money for her own research just to lose it all to James's. It would also be so like her to ask for me to give all mine to him without considering using her own.