BREAKTHROUGH (Love's Not Easy Series Book 2) (4 page)

“Where is this coming from?”

“I am not there to protect you.”

“Oh please, I can take care of myself.”

“I like to think, that if I was there, I could protect you someway.  Don’t take that away from me and do I hear crickets?”

“Yes, I love sitting on the front porch, listening to the sounds of summer; and, I won’t take your little dream away from you. I need to go up to my room and unpack.  Tomorrow is a going to be a busy day, so I will call you when I get back from the bank.”

The bank opened at nine am and Aimee walked through the doors at ten minutes after nine.  Mrs. Moon was the manager of the bank, and was not busy, so she and Aimee went to her office.  Aimee took out her account book and the copy of the receipts she had found.

“I just to need to know who is in control of this account and where my deposits are from.”

Mrs. Moon looked at her.  “Normally, I would require your dad to be here too, Aimee.  But, it appears he has been doing some transactions without your presence.  Edna always led me to believe that at the age of eighteen, you would take over this account and I assumed with her death, the Will would state who…”

“That is kind of my problem.  I have never seen her Will.  I was only twelve when she died and, when I turned eighteen, I was more focused on college than business. I honestly never believed I would take over anything until I was twenty one.”

Mrs. Moon tapped her pencil on her desk.  “Ok, let me get you something to write on, Aimee.  I am going to tell you a few things.”  Mrs. Moon left the office and returned in about five minutes with paper, pen, and a key.

“Here is the paper and pen; and, this key is to a security box your grandmother has at the bank.  Your box number is 120 A.  The Will specified, that after your eighteenth birthday, the contents in the security box is yours.  I never thought it would be a year before you came for it.”

“I never knew about the security box.  There are a lot of things I don’t know about.”

“I am beginning to see that.  Your Gran had lots of investments.  You need to go meet with some of her chief financial officers, Aimee.  She has specific directions on how the business and her investments be turned over to you.”

“Mrs. Moon, I am so confused.”

“You need that Will and a lawyer to help you decipher her wishes.  I think, if my memory is correct, things happen over the next few years.”

“That makes me feel better.  I would like to finish my business degree first.”

Mrs. Moon leaned on her desk. “That was phase one of her plan, dear, you are now the main shareholder of Lilliend Rose and REF, it is an international franchise of Lilliend Rose.  I would assume you have shares in it as well.”

“Ok, so is my father still on my account?”

“Until you take him off. He has never spent any of the money on anything other than the things that Edna required he should buy for you.  He barely touched the funds for the up keep of the Lilliend Rose’s Plantation home.”

“So, how are Opal and Charles maintaining the plantation?”

“Charles has an account that covers the landscaping, the farming, and the orchards.  This was a separate account for the house.”

“How much money is in the account?”

“Let me print out the papers for that account.  Once you sign the forms, you are the sole account holder on this account.  This was another part of Phase One, so you would learn how to invest your assets.”

“She really thought this out.”

“Yes, she did, dear.  Your Gran made sure you were well taken care of.”

Mrs. Moon gave Aimee the papers to sign the house account over to her.  When she calculated how much money the account had accumulated, she nearly fainted.  “Wow.”

“Ok, Aimee, when you go back to Lilliend Rose, you need to find Charles, so he can help you find an inspector to see what needs to be done to the house.  Your dad has not done any updates to the house.  He has only done the basic maintenance.  He did the very minimal at that.  He was very cautious with the money Edna left for you. He did not want to make any bad finical decisions.”

“Ok. As for my account, I will leave my dad on it, but can I know if any transactions come through?”

“Yes.  But you need to talk to your dad.”

“I will.  As soon as I see the Will. I want to make sure I know what is going on when I go to him.  Can you show me how to get to the security box?”

“Yes.  Follow me.”

Aimee waited until Mrs. Moon was gone before she opened the security box.  The Will was on top of the box and Aimee placed it in her bag before searching the box more.  She found two keys and a locket that looked similar to the one her mom gave her.  She put the locket in her bag, but left the keys in the box.  She decided, until she knew what the keys went to, this was the safest place for them.  She took any paper that looked legal with her.

She called Brad from the car and he met her for brunch.  She showed him the Will, it was the most current one.  He had found out Gran filed her Will in Savannah, he had a copy already as well.  The office did not have a copy of her mom’s Will.  She filed it in Virginia.  They agreed to meet tonight and go over the Will.  Aimee told him about the security box and he agreed to look over those papers too.

When she returned to Lilliend Rose, she called Aiden.  She told him about her visit with Mrs. Moon and he told her he was in the process of researching REF to see if he could find out more about them.  He wanted to help her so much and, with the Atlantic Ocean, between them this was all he could do.

Charles joined Aimee and Opal for lunch; and, she told them about the account to do any upkeep on the home.  Charles had an inspector friend who had time that afternoon to come by the house to see what repairs needed to be done.  A new roof was on the top of the list; so, that night, Aimee was going to meet with Charles and go over the list.  She was anxious to update the home, as long as they stayed away from Gran’s room and office.

Aimee went to her room and sat with the Will.  She started taking notes on what she understood from the Will.  She was quickly overwhelmed.  Her Gran was very specific in the Will as to what boarding schools Aimee would attend, if she chose to do boarding school.  She was also specific on so many other things as well.  She made sure Charles and Opal would be taken care of.  She paid for Brad’s college, that wasn’t news though, because Brad started school while she was still living.

Aimee already knew Gran had left her Lilliend Rose Plantation, but that was just the beginning.  Aimee now had possession of the Corporation as well.  Aimee had authority to be over her account.  That answered her questions as to who controls her finances.

Now, Aimee needed to learn more about how Lilliend Rose Corporation is operated.  On her nineteenth birthday, she inherited the company and was now the owner of a multimillion dollar company.

Right now, her stomach was growling, and it was time to cook dinner with Opal.  That night, they had a cookout and ate on the back patio.  They went over the inspector’s list and found out that the house wasn’t in need of a lot of repairs.  Monday contractors are coming to look at the roof, windows, and doors.  Aimee wanted to update the kitchen, restrooms, and heating and air.  They decided to start on the outdoor projects first and the inside would be done over winter.

When she and Brad looked over the Will, she found out she was correct about being the owner of Lilliend Rose Corporation. She would take over as CEO once she graduated in two years. Until then, the current CEO will maintain the position and train her. Her training can start anytime she wishes.

In one week, Aimee had gone from a nineteen year old with little worries to a nineteen year old with the worries of a major corporation.  She totally understood why her dad chose to keep this from her.

She called Aiden, when Brad and Megan left.  He was still researching REF.  He wasn’t having much luck yet.  They talked for a while about the Will and the security box.  She was so tired when she went to bed that night, this had been some week.

Chapter Four

Aimee could not believe how she was spending her Friday night.  Brad had talked to Mr. Montgomery and he wanted to discuss the portion of the Will where he would be training her. So tonight, she was hosting a business dinner at Lilliend Rose with Brad, Megan, Opal, and Charles.

Mr. Montgomery was ready to retire in two years.  He would have retired a few years ago, but he had given Edna his word that, if something happen to her, he would stay on until Aimee was ready to be CEO.  He had called a meeting with the vice presidents of the company on Monday morning; he wanted to introduce Aimee and let them know how she intended to transgress into the new CEO. She spent most of Saturday preparing herself for the meeting.

Saturday evening, her dad and Mattie would be arriving. She had prepared her speech for him.  Just before he arrived, she reserved her plane tickets to Neahovia for August sixth.  She wanted a few days to get over her jet lag before she went to the theater with LJ.

She called LJ and apologized that it took so long to get back with him.  She did not trust him enough to tell all the details, so she kept it as short as she could.  She told him there were some family issues at her dad’s and she was staying at her family plantation.

Next, she called Lexi to tell her arrival day and the date she had with LJ.  Then, she told her about her life for the past week and Lexi was so understanding. She told Aimee she would pray for her and her dad.

Aimee’s dad arrived at six pm.  Aimee, had dinner waiting on him and Mattie.  They let Mattie play in the pool, while they sat in the pool chairs and chatted.  Aimee prayed hard for God to guide her through this conversation.

“Dad, I need to tell you something and I want you to listen to everything I say before you speak.”

“Ok.”

Aimee took a deep breath. She confessed to her dad about searching through his computer and finding all the receipts and the bank information.  Then, she told him about going to see Mrs. Moon and all the information she learned from her.  The discovery of the Will and her position she now held with Lilliend Rose Corporation.

He sat and looked at her.  “Aimee, I hate that I made you feel you could not come to me with this.  I planned on us sitting down this summer and going over the changes in your life.  I know you probably don’t believe me.”

“I don’t know what to believe.  This has been a summer full of lies, dad.”

“Aimee, I am not going to make excuses for my actions and there is no excuses for the things Deandre and I have done.  I just want you to know, I love you.”

“I know you love me.  When I first read the Will, I knew why you didn’t want me to know that I was now considered the owner of Lilliend Rose Corporation.”

“I want you to enjoy college.  Speaking of college, have you given any more consideration to attending Richmond?”  He tried sliding that in.

“I am going to Neahovia, dad.  I have already booked my tickets and I am leaving August sixth.”

“That is in just three; and, close to a month before classes begin.”

“I know.  We can move into our flat on the eighth.  Lexi and I have a room for the seventh at the hotel you stayed in when you came to visit.  LJ has tickets for us to go to a theater on the twelfth, plus Wise Chapel is having several events I want to participate in.”

He looked over at Mattie then back to Aimee.  “I can’t stop you?”

“No, you can’t.  Dad, I am nineteen year old legal adult.  I make good sound decisions and you need to trust me.”

“Aimee, I just wish you would consider staying here.”

Aimee stood and got a towel for Mattie.  “This is not about you.  It is about me.  I have come to realize this summer, that I need to do things for me.  I am my own person and this is not about you or about mom.  It is about me and what I think is right for me.”

He went and lifted Mattie from the pool.  “Aimee, hearing you say that makes me happy. That is what I want you to understand.  Your life isn’t about me or your mom; and, you have made a true breakthrough in your life when you figured that one out.  Now, you can start putting together the pieces of the puzzle that is Aimee; and, stop worrying so much about the pieces that belong to me and your mom right now.”

“The pieces that are you and mom, are part of the puzzle of my life too; but, I am learning they are not as big of a piece as I originally thought.”

Aimee’s dad wrapped her and Mattie in his arms.  “I love you girls so much.  I don’t want you to leave here and go to another country when you are mad at me, Aimee.”

“I am not mad at you, dad.”

“Aimee, will you take some business advice from your father?”

“I would love to hear your advice.”

“Learn from your father’s mistakes.  Don’t let people talk you into things your heart is not into.  I guess that goes for business and personal life.”

“Thanks, dad.  It is good advice for both of us.”

Sunday morning, Aimee told her dad how Mr. Montgomery had set up a meeting Monday at ten a.m. with all the corporation’s VPs.  He gave her advice over lunch on how to present herself.  He told her what he knew about the VPs, which were hired and placed by her Gran. Aimee was impressed that the company had that little of a turnover.

At two in the afternoon, her dad was ready to go.  He and Aimee promised to work out a plan for Mattie to come and stay a weekend with her, before she went back to Neahovia.

Her dad gave her a long hug before he left.  “Dad, you know how you gave me advice yesterday, well I have some for you.  If running for Senate is what you want to do, then starting it out with a platform based on lies is not a good way to begin your campaign.  Remember what Gran always said about staying true to you.”

“Thanks, Aimee.  Our talks this weekend have given me lots to think about.”

She spent two hours video chatting with Lexi, until she found the perfect dress to wear to meet the VPs at Lilliend Rose Corporation.  She finally settled on a pencil skirt dress with a crew neckline, the bottom skirt was a beautiful mint green, while the top blouse part was a silky cream.  She picked out a pair of heel sandals and her outfit was perfect.

Aimee went down the stairs on Monday morning, proud of how she looked.  She fixed her hair in a side scallop braid. Charles gave a low whistle when she entered the kitchen, before he informed her his roofing friend would be at the plantation at two pm.

Aimee took her lap top out of her mom’s briefcase.  “I was wondering about metal roofing.  I did research and I really think the everglade moss would look great.”

“I love that, I will talk it over with him.”  Charles took his coffee and kissed Opal before he went to work in the Orchard.

Opal kept starring at Aimee.  “You look so much like your mother today.”

Aimee gave her a hug.  “Thanks.  I am so nervous.”

“You do not need to be nervous.  The people you are meeting with today, are the same people who watched you grow up in that office building.  They watched you pretending to be boss, when Edna would take you to work with her.”

“When mom died, Gran gave me this briefcase and I remember taking it to work with her.  I took notes of everything Charles told me when I would follow him around in the orchards and go over them in her office.”

Opal grinned at her as she wiped the counter.  “You always had the same philosophy as your Gran.  To ensure Lilliend Rose succeeds, the boss, CEO, owner or however you choose to look at it, needs to know and understand every aspect of the business from planting the crop to running the office.”

Brad came through the door and hugged his mom.  “You look great, Aimee.  Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.  Thanks for carpooling with me.  If I go by myself, I would just drive myself crazy thinking of what I could do wrong.”

Brad opened the front door.  “It is just like Miss Edna always said.  Stay true to you.”

“Thanks.”

~  ~   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

The office building was just as Aimee remembered from her childhood.  The huge fountain of a farmer watering his crop was in the front of the building; and, when they entered the two story brown brick office building, Aimee felt like she had stepped back into time.  They had updated the floor, furniture, and painted the walls.  However, the pictures of the plantation on the walls of the lobby were the same.  A few updated ones had been added, keeping up with Gran’s tradition of showing how Lilliend Rose grows.

The receptionist looked up, dropping her mouth wide opened.  “Oh my goodness.”  The lady who was now in her late forties came over to Aimee. “You look so much like your mother and grandmother.”

“Thanks, Millie.”  Aimee smiled at her.

“Millie, don’t tell everyone she is here.  We are going to hide her in one of the offices until the ten a.m. meeting in the conference room.”  Brad gave her a sly grin.

“No problem.  Other than us, who else knows she is here?”

“Just Mr. Montgomery and we’d like to keep it that way.”

“No problem, as long as I get to hear about the meeting from one of you.”

They both promised as Brad and Aimee went down the hall and up the stairwell. The stairs lead to a door that opened right in front of her Gran’s office.  Aimee stood and stared at the door.  She hadn’t been here in seven years and she suddenly she felt her nerves settling in her stomach.

“Here is the office I was instructed to bring you too.”

“You realize, this office was my Gran’s?”

“Yes, actually, it still is.”

“What do you mean? I would have thought Mr. Montgomery would have moved into her office.”

“I couldn’t do that.  This office belongs to the family member who takes over the company.  This will be your office, Aimee.  When your schooling is complete, and you come back to run Lilliend Rose.”  Mr. Montgomery opened the door and held it open for Aimee.

“I will give you a few minutes to yourself. When I return, I will try to bring you up to date on as much as I can.”

“Thank you.”  Brad went to leave and Aimee grabbed him.  “Don’t you dare leave me here alone, Brad.”

Aimee walked around the office.  She had not been in one of her Gran’s private rooms since her plane crash. Opal would go in her room and office at the plantation to clean.  Other than that, the room was never entered into.

“I am told everything in here is the same as it was the day she left for her trip. No one comes in here but housekeeping and Mr. Montgomery.  In fact, I don’t think he has been in here for years.”

Aimee looked at the photos on her Gran’s desk. Her eyes watered up, as she took her hand and ran it along the length of the desk.  Then, she walked over to her bookshelves and the round cherry table that she would use as her desk on the days she came to work with Gran.

Mr. Montgomery came back in the office with his laptop.  “Aimee, I thought we would go over who the Vice Presidents are, and get you reacquainted with them before we go to the conference room.”

Aimee sat at what she always called her conference table as a child. “Can we do it from here?”

“Of course.”

Brad came over and hugged Aimee.  “I need to do some work in my office.”

“Ok, but you are coming back to go with me, right?”

“I’m not a VP, Aimee.”

“I know that.   But, I know you and I want someone that I know, other than Mr. Montgomery, in the room with me.  Is that ok, Mr. Montgomery?”

“Of course, dear. Brad, come back to this office around ten till.”  Brad nodded and walked out of the room as Mr. Montgomery opened his laptop and turned to Aimee.