The Players (TP4)

50 - What's yield?

Lana

The only things that got Lana through the week were her conversations with Ryan and knowing she would see him on Friday night. He was flying in late and she planned to pick him up after her shift.

She had teased him. "You can help me all day Saturday with my homework."

He laughed. "I think my mother wants to have a long visit with me on Saturday."

She knew he would help but was wondering if it mattered. She didn't like her class. Meanwhile, she was dealing with Haylee who kept asking about Erik. It turned out Erik bought her a drink but went home alone that night.

Lana had called him. "Haylee likes you."

"She's a nice girl, but she's not you."

"I keep telling you I'm not interested. Besides none of the others were me. Certainly not..."

"Don't say it! Will you be reminding me of the biggest mistake of my life when we're eighty?"

"I hope I'll have forgotten who you are by the time I'm eighty."

"Lana, we both know that you'll never forget me. You'll never love anyone like you loved me."

"See Erik that's where you're wrong."

Lana's biggest fear was not that his words were true, but that she already loved someone more than him, but she could never tell him. She couldn't ruin a friendship by confessing love to a man who didn't want a wife. Even if Ryan loved her, too, which was a big stretch, she couldn't just be with him without a promise of a future.

Lana was trying to figure out the material for her class so she wouldn't need to ruin Ryan's weekend. He should be able to visit with his mother, if he wanted to. She knew if she called his cell phone he wouldn't answer. She could text him, but it was unlikely he'd see it. Instead, she dialed his work number and asked to speak to him.

"I'm sorry Ryan's on the line. Can I take a message?"

She thought for a minute. "What's yield?"

"What's yield? Well, it's the percent of return on investment."

"No, I wasn't asking you. Besides, that's what the book says. That's my message."

She heard a chuckle as his assistant repeated. "Your message is 'what is yield' nothing else?"

"He'll understand."

"If you say so. Okay I'm writing it down and will be sure he gets it. Oh, hold on."

Lana heard nothing and then Ryan was on the phone. "Lana?"

"Who else would it be? How many students do you have?"

He laughed. "Yield is easy."

"For a genius like you maybe."

"Don't put yourself down. Okay, yield well if you have a widget."

"No widgets!"

"I'm kidding it doesn't involve good and services. Yield is about stocks and bonds. You know what interest is, right?"

"Yeah, I don't have any money to earn interest."

"Well, if you did, that would be the yield."

"The money, I don't have?"

"No, the amount you earn in interest. Got it?"

"Maybe, tell me again." She understood she enjoyed sparring with him.

She heard him call out. "Terri is Cam on the phone. If not, tell him to come in here."

"What are you doing?"