Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron) (2 page)

Her money remained in trust until her 21
^st
birthday.  It was then that she took control over her wealth and the board of Abernathy and Associates.  All was going well with the firm until about a year ago.  She began to notice that the cases that the firm began representing became more controversial.  The firm’s name was starting to make headlines for questionable tactics in the cases they accepted.  She did not approve of the direction the firm was headed so she used her majority vote in the company’s board meeting and restructured its management by putting her cousin Michael in charge. 

Her cousin, Michael Jameson, was a successful lawyer by his own right.  It was just in his DNA.  He was surprised when Gracie approached him with the offer of running the firm.  In her opinion, he was doing an excellent job as CEO.  Since he was appointed, he was responsible for tripling the cases that they represented as well as increasing the profit margin by 25%.  He did this by diversifying the types of law practiced by the firm as well as making other adjustments to services the firm provided to their clients.

She knew Michael better than anyone, even his wife in some ways.  From the time she was born, they grew up spending most holidays and summers together sharing the same governess like siblings would.  While she attended college, she introduced him to his wife Emily.  Emily was her best friend and roommate throughout her time at boarding school.  In her opinion, there was no one better for Michael than Em.  Come to find out, he thought that too.  Three months later they were engaged and one year later they were married.  Now, they had three children and were very happy.

Returning to New York had the added bonus of seeing her nieces 6 year old Gianna, 3 year old Chelsey, and her 18 month old nephew Jacob.  Gianna adored Grace and was stuck to her like glue whenever she visited.  When she was born Michael and Emily initially planned to name the baby girl after Grace but she refused to let them. They just managed to find another way to honor her. In a way, she was named after Grace.  Gianna means God's Grace in Hebrew. 

Getting out the cab, she walked into the airport and straight to the Delta Airline counter to check-in.  She always flew first class so she was looking forward to stretching out and sleeping during the three hour flight to JFK.  A quick power nap would be just the thing, she thought.   After boarding the plane she fell fast asleep and was awoken by the stewardess after landing.  She collected her travel bag and computer from the overhead bin and left the plane.  Making her way to baggage claim, she hoped William would be there waiting to drive her home.  She would have to be up early to make her way to the firm.   It is a good thing she scheduled all her driving arrangements earlier this afternoon.  All she wanted to do at this moment was find her bed and pillow and crash.

Her alarm started blaring loud music from her favorite radio station.  She rolled over, groaned and tapped the snooze button.  Feeling immediately guilty for her attempt at laziness, she rolled out of bed and took a shower.  The water from the five shower heads as well as the aroma of the peppermint and rosemary in her shampoo did much to invigorate her.  She started to feel better already.  Carefully selecting her business attire from her well stocked closet and a pair of knee high boots she made her way to the well lit vanity and put on her make-up.  When she approved of the image reflected in the mirror, she made her way to the kitchen.  When she opened her refrigerator tshe saw that her maid, Josephincloned done an excellent job of stocking up on supplies for her return.  She pulled out a yogurt prepared a bowl of cereal while she selected and brewed coffee in her single serving coffee maker. 

While eating her breakfast, she fondly remembered how she met Jo and her husband Miguel.  The couple had just immigrated to the United States from Cuba to be closer to his siblings.   Grace was 17 and just moved into the New York penthouse to attend college.  She called the staffing agency her Aunt Marion recommended to hire someone who could cook, clean, and shop for her.  They sent Jo over the next afternoon to be interviewed.   Jo knew that cooking was a part of the job and took Grace a sample of one of her best dishes.  Grace thoroughly enjoyed the meal Jo had prepared for her and offered her the job on the spot.    It was an offer that Jo readily accepted and Grace felt Jo was glad she did.  Jo just happened to be Grace’s first employee and luck would have it that she was completely trustworthy and honorable.  She had worked for Grace ever since and was probably one of the highest paid housekeepers that she knew of.  Jo deserved every penny of it.  She was like a mother figure to Grace after losing her own tragically, and Jo treated her like a treasured daughter, fussing and worrying about her incessantly.

She finished her breakfast and placed her dishes in the sink, rinsing them off. Now that she had eaten and had her morning coffee she was ready to get to work.  At 7:30 the car would be waiting for her at the front door of the building and she had 5 minutes to make it down to the lobby.  Grabbing her purse and keys from the table near the door, she left and locked the door behind her, making her way to the elevator that was located just outside her door.  Her apartment was the only one on this floor, and you needed a special card to access it.  She pressed the button to call the elevator and waited listening to the dinging sound of the elevator as it passed each floor.  The door opened and Jo walked out. 

She was short and stocky, about 5'3'' with a dark complexion and dark black eyes wearing a grey dress and white starched linen apron.  Gracie compared the woman that she fondly remembered this morning to this woman before her now and could see that the hairs on her head were starting to become greyer than black and her skin had a few more wrinkles.  Jo looked up after fetching her keys from her purse and smiled excitedly.  Speaking with a heavy Cuban with just a smidge of a New York intonation, she said, "Oh, Hello Miss Grace.  How was your trip?"

"Oh Jo, It is so great to see you.  The trip went well enough, but could have been better.  I have to get to the office for an all day board meeting.  If I make it home early enough tonight I will fill you in then.  If not, I will see you tomorrow morning.”  She gave Jo a big hug and entered the elevator. “Hopefully, I will see you later. I will call and let you know as soon as I know when I will be home." 

As the elevator doors were closing, Jo smiled and said "You have a good day too, Miss Grace.  Hasta Luego!"

Grace prepared to exit the front door of the building as a large man in a red short coat with gold embellishments and hat to match came up to open the door for her. "Good morning, Tom.  I hope your family is well."  Grace said as she walked past him.

"The wife is great and the baby couldn't be better. I just wish he would sleep better at night. She wanted me to thank you for the beautiful gift.”  He rushed out the door behind her to the black Lincoln Town Car parked on the curb, “Let me get the car door for you Miss Abernathy."

"I am so glad that she liked the gift."  She smiled warmly and after she was seated inside the car she added, "Thank you, Tom. Please, give the baby a kiss for me will you.  Have a good day."

"I certainly will try.  Have a good day, Miss Abernathy." Tom said in his heavy New York accent as he closed the door and rapped on the top of the car to let the driver know that his passenger was on board and ready to leave.

William looked in the rear view mirror of the car and asked, "Where to Ms. Abernathy, the firm?"

"Yes William, the firm.  I have a meeting there this morning." Appreciating the nice unseasonably mild weather she said, "It is a lovely day isn't it?"

"That it is.  Hopefully, the traffic won't be so bad either." He replied as he carefully pulled the car out onto the street.

The car was not a stretch limo but a luxury car with a nice sizable back seat and a lot of leg room.  There was a divider available between her and the driver if she wanted privacy, but typically she never used it.  She hated driving in the city and had employed a driver on call at all times.  It was the one thing she most appreciated
about having money.  The biggest perk about not having to drive was never having to park in the city.  She looked out of the window as they passed the busy streets filled with people making their way to work.  Many of the men wore expensive suits and the women were wearing stylish clothing with tennis shoes until they made it the office to put on their high heels.   

They pulled up to a very nice and particularly tall skyscraper.  This was the building that the firm’s board selected to move in to after the terrorist attacks.  It was a nice office building but not nearly as nice as the office suite they had in the twin towers.  As William opened her door he asked, "When should I plan to return Miss Abernathy?"

"I honestly have no idea when I will be done. So, why don't you take the afternoon off and I will have Michael drop me off at home.  I have a feeling that today will be an all day affair. Besides, you probably did not get much sleep last night having to pick me up at the airport so late."

"Thank you, Miss Abernathy.  I am fine and do have my cell phone, so if you do end up needing me to drive you, just call me and I will be by to pick you up shortly thereafter."

"Thanks again.  It really is good to be home.  I will see you tomorrow."

She entered the building and went up to the 37th floor.  Abernathy and Associates was a rather large firm, occupying 7 floors.  Under its umbrella, it had employed 53 lawyers and over 75 individuals as support staff permanently, hiring temporary workers as needed.  They practiced many different disciplines of law from foreign to domestic cases, and business to family law, delving in criminal law as little as possible.  Michael sure did have his hands full and he counted on many individuals to make the business work as well as it did.  She had no complaints.  The firm was more profitable than it ever was and she knew that she picked the best man for the job.

She was not looking forward to the meetings and issues that needed to be discussed today, but tried to focus her mind for the brutal day ahead of her.  After saying hello to Michael’s secretary, she entered his office, ready for business.  The meetings ended up going on for hours and after the all the issues were thoroughly dealt with and filed away for good, Michael and Grace finally were able to sit down and catch up on their own news. 

Michael looked at Gracie with an exhausted look, running the palm of his hand over his face.  She could tell that he needed a vacation.  "We are going to get out of town this weekend.  I know that it is a bit early to go to the Hampton's house, but I need to get away.  Would you be interested in coming along with us?  I am sure the kids would love it and Emily has not seen you in a couple of months.  She made me promise to make you come with us."

"I would love to spend the weekend with Emily and the kids, and you of course.  When are you planning to leave?"

"I wanted to be on the road tonight, but Em wouldn't have it.  Jacob is cutting a couple of teeth and she is at her wits end.  She said she wants to get some sleep before leaving so we are going to head out about 6am tomorrow morning.  Can I please text Em with the wonderful news that you will be accompanying us?  Please?"

"Sure, you can.  It sounds like Emily was twisting your arm.  I would love to come with you guys.  I feel like I haven’t seen the kids in ages and as a matter of fact, I am taking some time off myself.  I am really tired and overworked too.  The last story I worked on has left me completely burnt out,” she shook her head to rid herself of the feeling of failure.  Try as she might, she could not understand why she wasn’t able to uncover the truth in this story.  Rarely, did she find herself in this situation because she was really good at what she did.  “Who would have thought that finding a very old heiress was going to be such a tough task.  Something is not right about this story, but I just can't seem to grasp it.  Hopefully, after a little time off, I will finally be able to figure it out.  Besides, I was planning to go to Florence for the month to check on my mother's vineyard in Tuscany.  It is a wonderful time to be in wine country.  I was planning to leave on Monday morning, but I think that if I plan it right, I can leave the Hampton's House and go directly to the airport and make the evening flight instead.  It would give me a few more hours to catch up with the kids.” She pulled out her smart phone and looked at the flight schedules.  She briefly looked up at Michael and asked, “Can you swing by and pick me up or should I plan to have William drive me?"