The Billionaire's Will (24 page)

“Indeed, we will,” Jim muttered. When he looked, Roxie was standing in the doorway of her cubical
watching him. He ignored her, and went from desk to desk, making certain everyone knew the meeting was for real.

*

At two minutes past three, two empty boxes sat on the long table and everyone was gathered in the large conference room. Everyone, that is, but Nicole. Jim strummed his fingers on the table and waited. “I’ll give her another two minutes, and if she isn’t…”

Just then, Nicole
came in, looked around, and went to stand next to Roxie. “Well, hotshot, what’s this all about?” she asked, with her arms tightly folded and a smirk on her face.

“Good afternoon
to you too,” Jim began. He immediately turned his attention to everyone else. “Yesterday at noon, Mr. Gallagher sold the company to your new boss, Georgia James. She is Nicholas Gladstone’s granddaughter and heir to his fortune.”

Every mouth in the room dropped
, especially Nicole’s. “What?”

Jim ignored her. “
Miss James has asked me to manage the company, and I have accepted. There will be a lot of changes in the next few months, starting today.” He motioned toward the doorway just as Georgia appeared. “Meet the new owner, everyone.”

“Maggie?” Nicole gasped.

“My real name is Georgia,” she said, walking to the table, “and one of these boxes is for you, Nicole.”

“
You can’t fire me,” she sputtered, looking first at the box and then at Georgia.

“
Ah, but I can,” said Georgia.

“On what grounds?”
Nicole demanded.

Georgia looked her in the eye.
“Mismanagement of funds.”

“Not me, I didn’t do that
,” Nicole argued. “I only did what I was told.”

“
So you say, but it is my word against yours and who’s going to believe you?”

Nicole instantly changed from demanding to pleading. “If you fire me for that, I won’t be able to get another job
.”

“
That’s what I said when you fired
me
for stealing. You said that was not your problem. What happens to you is not my problem either, is it?”

“I didn’t mean it. I wouldn’t have put that in
your records.”

Georgia looked at Jim, and then at the head of the Human Resources department. “She’s lying, Maggie,” said Sheryl.

“I thought so. Sheryl, would you kindly review the files of the other employees she’s fired and fix them.”

Sheryl grinned. “With great pleasure, Maggie.”

Standing in the doorway, Austin watched, and when Jim went to stand beside him, he nodded.

“I told you she could do it,” Jim whispered.

“Indeed you did,” said Austin.

Georgia picked up the empty box and held it out to Nicole. “
Go back to your beloved Germany, maybe you can get a job there.”

The color drained out of
Nicole’s face as she finally took the box. “What about my paycheck?”

“It’s on my desk,” said Jim.
“I had the pleasure of personally cutting it yesterday.”

“
I always hated you,” she muttered as she glared at Jim and walked out the door. Behind her, over a hundred employees cheered.

When it quieted, Roxie timidly asked, “Who’s the other box for?
”

“It’s for you,
” Georgia answered.

“Why? What have I done?”

“The people in this company are good workers and they don’t need micro-managing,” Georgia answered.

“Maggie, please don’t fire me. I’ll do whatever you want, I promise.”

“If I let you stay, it means a demotion. You’ll have to do my old job.”

Roxie
nodded, “I’ll take it.”

“Fine.”
She turned to face the rest of the group. “Jim is your boss now. What he says goes. There will be a lot of changes in the future, starting with a new coat of paint, and some fancying up the place. I am hoping we can bring this business back to life.”

“We can do it, Maggie. I have a lot of good ideas,” Lawrence said.
“Can we get new software? This ridiculous program is DOS based.”

“No more stupid tests,” Gloria muttered. “I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

When Georgia glanced at the others, all of them were smiling and it warmed her heart. “It seems to me all of you need a raise. “For the kind of work you do, other companies are paying at least five dollars an hour more.”

At that, everyone cheered again, even Roxie.

Georgia giggled when three of the guys pulled out their pocket calculators and started working the numbers.
“Well, that’s all for now. I expect you to give Jim your full support.” She hugged Jim, walked out, and went down the stairs just in time to watch Nicole go out the front door carrying her box of belongings.

“That felt
great,” she said to Austin.

In the car on the way home, Georgia still hadn’t wiped the smile off her face. “Thank you. You couldn’t have given Jim a better job.”

“I’ll
set up a new account for the company tomorrow.”

“What am I going to do tomorrow?”

“Anything you like.”

Her cellphone rang, and when she dug it out of her purse, the ID said Jim. “You gave him my number?”

“I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“Jim?” she asked, bringing the phone to her ear.

“What color?”

“What?”

“What color do we paint the walls?”

“Good question. I’ll drop by tomorrow and we’ll figure that out.”

“S
ee you then. I like my new desk by the way, but I have to scrub it down. Gallagher is a pig.”

“How well I know. Talk to you tomorrow.” She hung up and put her phone away.

“I guess you’re going to work after all,” said Austin.

“I guess I am. I’m not really good a
t being leisurely anyway.”

“I hope you don’t mind dropping me off at the office.”

“Not at all.”

“I won’t
be using the limo anymore, it’s yours.”

“I see.”

“I’ll bring the papers over for you to sign.”

“What papers are those?”

“Well, I still have to probate the will and put all the money in your bank account.”

“My own private bank account?”

“If you like. I’ll set one up.”

“Austin,
I have my birth certificate now and I am capable of opening my own bank account.”

His remark was cold when he said,
“Whatever you want. I have the money Nick hid away for you in my bank account.” He pulled out his checkbook, wrote her a check for ten million dollars and handed it to her. “This should hold you until I get the rest of it settled.”

Georgia stared at the amount and puffed her cheeks. “Thank you
.”

He turned away and was quiet for a long time. “Do you want me to keep the company bank accounts as they are, or do you want those as well?”

Appalled, she turned her glare on him. “What a silly question. Of course I want them to remain as they are, and I want you to…you do not think…you can’t possibly think I intend to liquidate everything my grandfather worked so hard for.”

“I have no idea what you intend to do.”

“Well, you’re wrong.”

“
Am I? I know one thing – you are capable of using people to get what you want.”

She stared at him
, and then shook her head and looked away. “If I have made you feel I no longer need you, then you are wrong about that too.”

“Oh, I know you need me. Who else can tell you what
Nick wanted.”

Georgia took a deep frustrated
breath. “I shall say this but once, and then it shall never cross my lips again. I intend to live the rest of my life in my grandfather’s house, running his companies just the way he wanted them to be run. I mean to spend the next few months learning all I can about them. You may choose to help me, or you may choose not to. That is up to you, but if you choose in my favor, I shall ask nothing more of you than is absolutely necessary.”

“Georgia, I didn’t mean…”

“Is this not where you wanted to be let off?”

Austin glanced at the Gladstone Building, nodded
, and opened the door. “I promised Nick I would help you, and I do not go back on my promises.” With that, he closed the door and walked into the building.

She didn’t look back as the driver took her away. Instead
, she cast her eyes downward, trying desperately not to cry again. When she looked up, the driver was watching her in his rearview mirror. “Forgive me, but I do not know you name.”

“I am Bill, Miss James.”

“Why do you look at me, Bill?”

“You sounded like your grandfather
back there.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad?”

“Very good. I loved your grandfather…we all did, and it is nice to have part of him back. Where would you like me to take you?”

“Home, I suppose. It has been a long day
and it is not yet four o’clock.”

“I’ll call the house and tell them to expect you.”

“Thank you.”

When Bill finished his call, he looked at her in the mirror again. “Miss
James, may I say something?”

“Please.”

“Mr. Steel is a good man.”

“I know. He is the very best of men.”

Bill smiled. “You will do well, Miss.”

“Thank you.”

*

She was truly exhausted when Clint opened the door for her
. She walked to the center of the atrium, looked up and slowly turned all the way around. “What am I to do with all this?” she mumbled.

Clint
closed the door and waited until she remembered he was there. “Kellie took the liberty of unpacking your things, and Silvia wants to know what you would like for dinner.”

“What are
the rest of you having,” Georgia asked.

“I believe she is making spaghetti for us.”

“Great, I’ll have the same.”

“I’ll tell her. Would you like a tour of the place?”

“In a moment. I would like to change first.”

“Very well, Miss Georgia. Just call when you are ready.”

Georgia nodded, remembered which staircase led to her room and went up. She paused outside Nick’s room for a moment, passed it by, and opened the door to the next room. She set her purse on a table, admired the fresh flowers someone had placed there after she left, and then went to the indecently large walk-in closet.

Georgia laughed. The new clothes Jackie helped her buy took up less than a tenth of the available space. She changed into jeans and a
t-shirt, and then walked out on the balcony again. At the end of the driveway, Bill was polishing the side of the…her limo, Martin was in the garden pruning rose bushes and the dog was rolling in the grass trying to scratch his back. It made her smile. In the middle of it all was the gigantic fountain – her fountain.

“Miss Georgia?” Kellie asked. “I knocked, but…”

Georgia turned to look back. “I didn’t hear you. The fountain makes more noise than I realized. What is it, Kellie?”

“Well, we don’t know what to do. I mean, we want to please you, but we don’t know what you like and what you don’t like.”

“I see. Well, I like most everything except I am allergic to wool. I don’t get really sick or anything, but I do get a rash.” Georgia walked back to the bedroom door.

“You won’t find anything made of wool here,
Nick was the same way.”

Georgia smiled. “Come, Clint has promised to take me on a tour and you might as well go along.”

*

The grand tour consisted of
an enormous backyard complete with a trampoline, swimming pool, tennis court, a swing set for visiting children, and a doghouse big enough for a whole family of dogs. As the tour progressed, Martin joined them, then Bill, then Silvia and of course, Muffin. Each time Georgia commented on liking this or not liking that, Kellie made a note of it. Most of all, she wanted the gardener to plant more lilac bushes so she could wake up to their sweet aroma. Martin was delighted.

Next, she toured
every room in the house, from the bedrooms upstairs, to the sunroom, to the theater, the poolroom, the library, and the dining room. She had never seen so many bathrooms in her life, and was again relieved she wouldn’t have to clean them.

It was not until they entered
Nick’s study that Georgia had reason to pause. Three life-size paintings hung on the far wall. “Is that my mother?” she asked, staring up at the woman in a royal blue gown.

“Yes,” Clint answered. “You grandfather is in the middle and your grandmo
ther is on the other side.

“I l
ook very much like my mother when she was young.”

“Very much,”
Clint answered.

She tore her eyes away finally and surveyed the rest of the room. “Austin is
bringing some papers for me to sign. I think I should like signing them in this room where they can watch.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as he
arrives,” Clint said. “Will there be anything else?”

“
No, not that I can think of. Oh wait, Bill, tomorrow morning I need you to take me to the bank, but must we go in the limo?”

“I haven’t taken the Rolls out for a while,” said Bill.

“Better, much better.”

Once they had all gone b
ack to their jobs, she went to the solitude of her room. She found her laptop in the closet, cleared a place to set it up and opened the chat room.

Austin wasn’t there.

She closed the lid, stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “What do I do now?”

*

The next day, Austin put a required notice in the newspaper concerning Nicholas Gladstone’s will.

S
omeone leaked it, and news that a long lost granddaughter stood to inherit Nick’s estate, hit all the papers. Georgia suspected Nicole told them, but it didn’t matter, they would have found out anyway. Reporters began to gather at the gate, but she refused to give interviews and so far, none of them had a picture of her. She was glad to have all the security in place.

Each day, Austin sent papers for her to sign, and company portfolios for her to read, but he didn’t bring them himself or call. When she checked, Bronco had not signed into the chat room either. After a few days, she stopped checking.
No one else laid claim to Nick’s fortune, and in an envelope he sent with some other papers, Austin’s handwritten note said the will had been probated.

Georgia crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash.

When she wasn’t busy signing papers and trying to learn about the various companies, she entertained Jim and his family, played with the dog, and stood on the balcony watching colored lights illuminate the fountain as another day turned into night.

Her heart was broken. The memory of being in his arms
, however briefly, played over and over in her mind and she wished she hadn’t memorized it. Nevertheless, she had lost him and she had to come to terms with it somehow.

*

On a rainy Florida afternoon, and with two thousand dollars in his pocket, Mathew Connelly walked down a Tampa, Florida pier. He had a bag of groceries in one hand and a suitcase full of clothes in the other, when he turned down the walkway between two yachts. He set his suitcase down and dug in his pocket for the key to a yacht he didn’t think anyone knew he owned.

He noticed the coastguard cutter coming toward him, but that was normal and he thought nothing of it. That is, until it stopped directly behind his yacht. He tried to wave them off, but they wouldn’t move and the noise of the engine was too loud for them to hear his shouts.

Too late, he figured out what was happening, and when he turned to look back down the walkway, two uniformed police officers had their guns drawn and pointed right at him.

“Mathew Connelly,” one of the officers yelled, “You are under arrest for the murder of Amanda Black?”

“Who?”

“Drop the bag, put your hands up and turn around.”

“You got it all wrong,” Mathew tried.

“Drop the bag, put your hands up and turn around,” the officer demanded again. “Do it
now
or I’ll shoot!” 

For a moment, it looked like Mathew would choose death by
police; but at length, he chose life and did as he was told.

The officer
s quickly moved in, forced him to the ground, searched his pockets and then cuffed him. “I haven’t killed anyone,” Mathew claimed.

The officer
sneered. “You’ll have your day in court.”

“You can’t prove a thing.”

Both officers ignored him, pulled him to his feet, walked him to a police cruiser, and put him in the backseat.

Watching from several yards
down the pier, Carl smiled. “Gotcha!”

*

At last, Georgia’s cellphone rang and it was Austin.

“Hello.”

“I thought you might like to know Laura checked into a rehab last week.”

“I know, she called and left a message.”

“Good. Georgia, I think you should have a professional picture taken for the press. Maybe they’ll stop trying to get one if we provide it. If you agree, I’ll send a photographer over.”

“I agree. I feel very isolated and
I would like to go out more.”

“G
reat, I’ll arrange it…unless you want to do
that
yourself.”