The Merger

Chapter 13

"Thanks again for meeting with me, Tal," Kiara says as she sits down on one of the white couches in my office. She glances around with wide eyes. "Wow, this is a really nice space you got here. If the other girls knew about it, they'd want to start coming here for our monthly dance dinners."

I laugh and shake my head. "I wouldn't be able to relax if we did that." I settle myself across from Kiara and continue, "Sorry we had to meet here instead of someplace more casual. My next meeting is at ten so that leaves us with an hour to go over all your questions."

Kiara nods but doesn't say anything. I wait for her to turn her wheels before speaking, "Do you have specific questions you'd like to go over?"

After moving her lips to the side, Kiara nods again. "Um, I don't know where to start. I guess I'll just say why I'm here." After a deep breath, the words begin tumbling out of her, "So, I've just felt like I've been drowning in debt and barely even able to make a living paycheck-to-paycheck. I thought that was just the hand I'd been given in life until I watched this YouTube video about building wealth. It kind of opened my eyes to some things that have been a part of my family for generations. No one has ever been good with money and no one has ever taught us how to be good with money."

I've never heard Kiara speak with so much seriousness, urgency, and conviction in her voice before. The young girl is a force of strength based on her dance skills and playful jabs at the other girls, but this vulnerable side to her prods at my heartstrings.

"And I kept learning all these statistics that just blew my mind. Did you know that for every dollar a White American has, a Black American has twelve cents? Isn't that crazy? I was praying about it, and I really feel like I'm being called to break this constant cycle of poverty that's in my family. I just have no idea where to start and every time I think about it, I'm a bawling mess." A glassy look emerges over Kiara's eyes and my eyebrows knit together. I lean forward and lightly squeeze the young girl's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Ki." I don't know what else to say. While I know about the wealth gap in theory, it's not a part of my job to know all the details. That bothers me the more I think about it. Why don't I know more?

While Kiara continues to speak, an unsettled feeling churns in the pit of my stomach. The type of financial advice I need to give her is going to be different from what I'm used to giving my clients. Kiara doesn't need to maximize her investments to secure things like a second home in the Bahamas. No, Kiara needs to find a way to live without the anxiety of money hanging over her head on the daily.

"Do you think you'll be able to help me or am I a lost cause?"

I take in a sharp breath. "Of course I want to help! I'll try my best so I can't guarantee things will be perfect, but we can start with the basics."

"Thank you so much." Kiara sniffs and smiles with gratitude.

"Alright, let's start. What investments do you currently have?"