Did I Mention I Won The Lottery? by Julie Butterfield Read Free Book Online

it away if your
circumstances change. But always remember the money is yours and
until you make a will no-one is automatically entitled to any of
it.’
    ‘Mine.’ Rebecca
twiddled her fingers as they rested in her lap. ‘Surely it belongs
to my husband as well?’
    ‘Oh no,’
interrupted the blonde who had said very little up until now and
whose name Rebecca couldn’t remember. ‘It’s your money Rebecca,
it’s not a matrimonial asset so it’s actually entirely up to you to
decide what you want to do with the money.’
    ‘Oh.’ Rebecca
bit her lip. ‘Not that I wouldn’t … well you know I’m not asking
because…’
    ‘Like I said,’
the blonde added firmly, ‘it’s your money, entirely yours and
entirely up to you what you do with it Rebecca. You and no-one
else.’
    They left
shortly after and for a while Rebecca remained on the settee in the
corner.
    When the waiter
arrived to ask if she wanted anything else she started to wave him
away and then jumped to her feet with guilt.
    ‘Oh I’m sorry,
how much…’
    ‘It will be
added to your account Madam. No problem.’
    Of course there
wasn’t a problem, giggled Rebecca, she had just won over 15 million
pounds, what could be a problem?
    After going
back up to her room to splash cold water on her face and slip on
her trench coat, Rebecca set off into Leeds once more. The bank was
only a few streets away and she had a couple of hours to while
away. She wandered along, her mind whirling as she went over and
over the meeting she had just had. There was absolutely no doubt
any more. No mistake, no possibility that she had gotten anything
wrong. Rebecca Miles would soon have millions of pounds in her bank
account.
    She stopped in
front of a window and stared. Five minutes later she was still
staring. Could she? Could she really?
    She opened the
door and looked around to see if anyone was free.
    ‘Can I
help?’
    An older lady,
smartly dressed in a trouser suit with her hair neatly set, smiled
in Rebecca’s direction.
    ‘Yes you can.’
Rebecca walked over and sat at the chair in front of - she leaned
forward to read her name badge - in front of Annie’s desk.
    ‘I am thinking
of buying a house in this area and I would like you to show me what
you have.’
    Having answered
a few basic questions for Annie, how many bedrooms, reception rooms
etc. they had arrived at the matter of the budget.
    ‘And how much
do you have to spend?’ asked Annie.
    Rebecca
shrugged. How much did she have to spend? 15.7 million pounds
actually. Not that she would spend all of that on a house.
    ‘I’m not sure,’
she confided, ‘I suppose it depends on the house.’
    Annie nodded.
‘Yes I understand but if you can give me a starting figure, just so
I know what we’re looking at?’
    Rebecca chewed
on her lip. How much? She had 15.7 million pounds. How much did
someone spend on a house when they had 15.7 million pounds?
    ‘Well, I
suppose a million?’ she offered nervously.
    Annie stared at
her for a fraction of a second and Rebecca pushed her hair behind
her ears. ‘Maybe a couple of million?’
    Annie’s
eyebrows shot upwards and although her manner had been
exceptionally pleasant ever since Rebecca arrived, Rebecca wondered
if she detected a tiny little change in her demeanour.
    ‘Right. A
couple of million - do you mean 2 million?’
    Rebecca nodded
uncertainly. ‘Well - yes.’
    She wondered if
that was enough. Obviously 2 million was enough to buy a house. It
was more than enough. But was it enough to spend when you had won
15.7 million? Did people with that kind of money only spend 2
million on a house? Or did they spend less? Suddenly Rebecca wished
she had waited a little longer before making this visit. She almost
wished Daniel was here, at least he would be able to make a
decision.
    Before they
left Leeds they had lived in a beautiful stone terrace north of the
city. Their money had bought a lot more in Darlington and they had
moved into a 4 bed executive