Shayne Topp

I eventually became friends with this coworker outside of work and introduced her to my mom, who's the same age as she is, and they also became very close.

Fast forward to this year and my friend was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer, inoperable.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What?

What?

I only know this because I was around while the will was being discussed.

Whether she tells anyone is her decision, but I'm airing it out anonymously here.

I feel all kinds of emotions.

Obviously sadness because I just lost a close friend to a horrible disease.

Joy because my life is being changed for the better in an instant.

And also, the point of this post, guilt."

I know that most of my other coworkers were unaware of our friendship outside the workplace, and I feel like it may be seen as highly inappropriate.

Rumors will swirl by others if a 27-year-old man in a position of power at work inherits a hefty sum from a female coworker who is much older and worked as my immediate subordinate.

I know that the obvious choice is not to tell anyone, but I don't know how to keep it a secret when I show up in a new vehicle that was previously hers and when I inevitably have my other co-worker friends over to my new home.

They know that I've always lived paycheck to paycheck and suddenly buying a home will certainly spark conversation.

My best friend is also a co-worker in a different department and while I love the guy, I know if I tell him about the money, he's going to let it slip to the rest of the workplace eventually.

I guess my question is, should I keep the inheritance a secret, lying to my friends to hide the situation, or should I just stay quiet and tell people the truth if they end up asking me about it?

My mother has already told me to keep it a complete secret, even to other family, but I don't know if it's necessarily healthy to live like that, hiding things from friends and family simply because it's an unusual circumstance.

What would you guys do in my situation?