by Suzy Shearer
Jessica could barely contain her sobs.
The next morning, she had gone into the office, immediately booked the next flight to the capital where her father had said his main office was and where he was living. She arranged for overnight accommodation in a nearby hotel. She told Carl and Jeannie she would be away overnight on urgent personal business.
When Jessica arrived at the capital, she caught a cab to her father’s building and walked over to the reception area.
Nervously she spoke to the woman behind the desk.
“I wonder if I could see Gray Stuart?”
“I’m sorry he isn’t in the office at the moment and you would have to make an appointment to see him.” She looked down at an open diary in front of her. “I could give you an appointment the day after tomorrow at ten.”
“I won’t be here. It’s important that I contact him. Could you give me some paper and an envelope so I can leave him a message?”
The woman opened a drawer and pulled out a pad. She gave it to Jessica along with a pen and envelope.
Stepping away from the desk Jessica merely wrote, “Daddy, I’m so very sorry, please find it in your heart to forgive me. Jessie James”—his nickname for her. She sealed the note in the envelope along with her business card and gave it to the receptionist, telling her it was of the utmost importance that he receive it as soon as possible.
She told her the name of the hotel she was staying and regretfully left, saying she would be flying out tomorrow, early in the afternoon.
She spent a restless night hoping he would ring, but her phone stayed silent.
Then next day she woke early and waited. By lunchtime, she knew she would have to leave to make her return flight. There had been no word from her father. Jessica decided that he must have felt that as long as he knew she was alive, that was all he needed. Depressed she caught a cab back to the airport and caught her flight home.
Chapter Four
Jessica arrived back in the office the following day. She had cried most of the night. For some crazy reason she thought that her father would have contacted her. Jeannie gave her a look when she walked through to her office and followed her in. She asked if she was okay and listlessly Jessica said she’d had a lousy night but would be okay after a few headache pills.
Unbeknownst to Jessica, her father had received her note and had gone to the hotel. Unfortunately, he had been delayed at a meeting, not gone into the office until the following day and not received her letter until lunchtime. When he arrived at her hotel, it was to learn that she had checked out and returned home.
Her father had immediately cancelled his appointments and ordered his jet to take him to the airport in her city. From there, he had arranged a car to take him to her office, arriving around twelve o’clock.
Jessica had been working when Bess had buzzed her.
“There’s a man here to see you, says its urgent.”
“Can’t someone else see him Bess?”
“No he asked for you specifically, said he got your note too late,” she whispered into the phone. “He’s famous, like really famous!”
Jessica’s heart had skipped a beat as she stood and raced from the office. She ran into the front reception and there was her father standing waiting for her.
“Daddy?”
His arms spread wide, Jessica threw herself into them and they enveloped her in an enormous hug. She burst into tears as he father cuddled and rocked her.
Bess was looking interested in the goings-on. She made no attempt to hide her curiosity. When Jessica had calmed down enough, she thanked Bess.
Bess grinned at her and said “Hello, Jessica’s father.”
Her father grinned back and shook her hand. She was dressed in torn jeans and her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy mass of orange, green and purple curls. Gray was probably wondering where Jessica had found her. Jessica giggled to herself, remembering she’d actually found her on the street.
She led him through the main office, Gray was looking around. Every desk had at least three computers on it. There were banks of drives in one corner. She pointed to her office and as they walked toward it, Carl was just coming out.
“Jess, I put those figures on your desk, and now we can close off the Montgomery account.”
He looked past Jessica and saw her father. To most of the population, he was easily recognisable. Carl looked puzzled, Jessica thought he was probably wondering if Gray Stuart was going to be a client.
“Carl, I’d like you to meet my father, Gray Stuart.”
Carl looked dumbfounded then recovered quickly to shake Gray’s hand. As he was, Carl’s wife walked in. Jessica thought Carl had probably come as a bit of a shock. He was 5’10 and had long dreadlocked blonde hair almost to his waist. He had earlobe gauging with 3/4” holes in both ears. De rigueur for the office fashion, he was dressed in T-shirt and jeans. But Jessica had a feeling that her father was wondering just what he’d stumbled into with Jeannie.
Jeannie stood about 5’6” and had long, bright blue hair held in bunches either side of her head. Heavy black eyeliner and lipstick completed her striking face. She wore a sleeveless T-shirt and camouflage pants with heavy Doc Martin boots. She was covered in tattoos and piercings. She looked at Carl, then at Gray and gave a start.
Jessica made more introductions.
“And this is Carl’s wife, Jeannie. Carl’s my second-in-command. He and Jeannie have been my friends since before I started Hard Bytes.”
Her father showed just how much in control he was. He greeted them both without batting an eye and asked after their areas of expertise.
“Oh heavens, Dad, please don’t get them started!”
The four laughed and once more she tried to shepherd her father into her office but without success.
Wilson came around the corner.
As usual he had his head down and had started talking to her long before he got to her. He was also dressed in scruffy jeans and an old worn out T-shirt. He looked like he was around sixteen when in actually fact he was twenty-six. The heavy black framed glasses he wore gave him a scholarly appearance.
“…and so I ran the simulation and discovered that their own system is at fault. So what do you want to do about it now?”
He finally looked up when he had notice her feet in his line of sight. He cocked his head waiting for an answer. It was fortunate for all concerned that they were able to follow Wilson’s strange conversations.
“Bill him for it, Wilson. If he doesn’t agree, then hack into his systems and shut them down. I’m so sick of him.”
“Okay.”
He wandered off, talking to himself. Jessica sighed and finally managed to get her father into the office and shut the door. They sat down together on one of the two couches she had in there.
“I guess you feel a little like Alice down the rabbit hole.”
She grinned at him and he smiled back at her with such love.
“Well, I must admit I wasn’t expecting your staff.”
“They are misfits, hackers and geniuses in their field. Once you ignore the outer covering, you discover some very talented and wise people.”
“They must be. When I got your note, I looked up the company. So many glowing reports. I ran a few searches, you’ve done amazing things in the field. “
“It’s all thanks to them.”
Jessica felt nervous around him, she hadn’t spoken to him for twenty years. He leant over and took her hand.
“I’ve missed you so much. I followed your progress at University and when you went to Tech Solutions. Then I lost you. I discovered you’d left but couldn’t find you. I could have hired a private detective, but I respected your privacy and didn’t go any further.”
“And I’ve missed you. Dad, I was so wrong. I should never have blamed you.”
She felt tears running down her cheeks.
“Hush, it’s water under the bridge. This is what matters.” He pointed from himself
to her and back again. “You and me together at last.”
“I’m so sorry, I should never have blamed you. I should have asked for the truth instead of ranting and leaving you. I never gave you a chance to tell me.” She looked at her father. “Mum would keep telling me that you were trying to kill her. Then when you sent me away and she was killed. I just… well, I just believed what she’d said.”
“I understand, Jessie. You were only a child. I knew she was filling your head with her own fears and paranoia, but there was nothing I could do. I tried to make sure she kept up her medications, but unfortunately schizophrenics tend to think they don’t need their medication when they feel good. They don’t realise it was the meds that made them feel that way.”
He drew a sigh.
“She pretended she was taking her pills then the paranoia would start again. I would have to have her committed, then we’d start all over again. Those last few months, she became convinced you were sent to kill her, and I was so afraid she would harm you.” His voice broke and Jessica squeezed his hand. “That’s why I sent you to school. Then I had her committed again.”
They both shed a tear.
“In hindsight, I should have told you when you were so angry the day you left. But honestly, in my mind I believed I killed her. Even though it was five years after her death, it was still raw, still painful. I kind of shut myself off from everything while I mourned her including you. I just couldn’t get past it and when I did, it was too late, you’d been gone for many years.”
“We both have a lot of catching up to do.”
“I’m so glad you contacted me Jessie. I love you so much and I’ve missed you every single day. Look at you! You’ve grown into a very beautiful and talented woman.”
Gray put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. She drew a deep breath and sighed.
“I’ve missed you too. So many times I’ve wanted, needed to talk to you.”
“Well, we’re together now. Tell me all about yourself.”
She gave a little laugh.
“Hell what’s to know? Where to start?”
She told him about her university days, then working with Walter Brownley at Tech Solutions and how much she learnt. She stopped talking, realising she had to decide whether to tell him her reasons for changing her name and disappearing or whether to just gloss past that.
Her father looked at her.
“Jessie if there are things in your life you’d rather I didn’t know, I understand.”
“It’s just I made a complete and utter mess of something. I’m not proud of it. I was an idiot.”
Gray laughed.
“I can’t begin to count the amount of times I’ve made a mess of things.”
“Not like I did, Dad.” She shook her head. “Still I guess it taught me a hard lesson.”
They were silent for a while, Gray didn’t press her and she realised she wanted him to know. Wanted him to tell her she was brave to get out when she did. But she was worried he would judge her harshly. In the end she pushed her head back, took a breath and looked out through the window.
“I was young, naïve, and a fool. I met a man. I was twenty-three. In the beginning it was great. I moved in with him but… well, a dark side emerged. At first it was just little things, things to demoralise me, things to dominate me, and take away my control. There was verbal abuse and physical. By then I was in so deep, I couldn’t get out.”
She could hear her voice. It sounded so flat, so lost. “It went on for six years. Six years of humiliation, abuse, and control. I’m not proud of it.”
Her father took her hand.
“Look at me, Jessie.”
She turned her head to look into his face.
“When we’re young, sometimes things happen and we regret them. But they are what makes us. You got out. You got yourself out of a bad situation. Look at you now! You’re strong, brave, and I’m so proud of you.”
Jessie couldn’t help it, she burst out crying, her face buried in her father’s chest. She mumbled and he lifted her head with his hand.
“It damaged me, Daddy. I can’t get close to anyone. I’m frightened it will happen again.”
“Oh, Jessie, it won’t. Look at you. You’re so confident. You know now the danger signs in a relationship. For goodness sake, don’t shut yourself off from the chance of love because of something that happened years ago.”
“I’m scared.”
“Who wouldn’t be? But don’t let it stop you from living, from loving.”
Jess shook her head.
“I can’t help it Daddy, I’m not game enough anymore. I rarely date and when I do, it’s with nice, safe, boring men who’ll take me dinner and never ask for anything else.”
Her father roared with laughter.
“Safe, boring men? Oh, Jessie James, you have to start living again.”
Wisely, he changed the subject.
“Now, tell me how you came to start this business?”
Jessica sat up, grabbed a tissue off the small table near the couches and blew her nose. She told Gray all about the offer from Walter and how she had grown from then. She told him how she had found her staff and he laughed when she told him about Bess. By then, it was close to two o’clock and her father suggested they get something to eat.
Jessica agreed, but told him they could go back to her home and she would make something. He agreed and they left the office after Jessica told Bess where she would be and that she would see everyone tomorrow.
When they got downstairs, she asked her father if he minded a walk, but he told her he had a car waiting. He signalled the driver and they went the few blocks to her address. The driver stopped out the front, letting them both out. Gray told him he could relax as long as he was back by six to pick him up. Jessica directed the driver where to park in the underground area if he needed to, then she and her father went inside.
Lincoln’s eyes were wide as Gray walked in. Jessica introduced him and was pleased that her father acknowledged him and treated him as if he had the most important job in the world. She knew that there were some people in the apartment complex that viewed him as a “nobody.” As far as she was concerned, that was their loss. She’d learnt a lot about him through the years and found him interesting and talented. They shared similar tastes in books and movies and often swapped DVDs and books, then spent an hour or so discussing them in her apartment of an evening. They often played chess together.
Jess and her father took the lift up to the twenty-fifth floor, Jessica held her breath as she opened the door and ushered her father in. He walked in, then stood in the large family room. She unlocked the deck area and told him to investigate the whole house while she made something for them both. He took her advice and wandered throughout the place while she made a grilled salmon salad for them both.
When she called him to eat, he wandered in from the outside deck.
“This is lovely, Jessie. It’s so airy.”
“I know. I love living here, and it’s thanks to you.”
While they ate she explained about the “hidden” money she had kept from Dennis and how she had used some of it to buy the penthouse and to buy the business.
“I’m so glad Jessie. I wanted to keep adding to it, but I was worried how you would take it.” He gave a grin. “So I opened another term deposit in the hopes that I would find you eventually. I’ll give you the details.”
“Heavens, Dad, I don’t need more money! I still have some of the original left, plus it has been added to a little over the years.”
“I don’t care. Jessie, you must know I have a lot of money, I mean I have a lot! I want you to share in it. I’m so proud of what you’ve achieved already. Maybe you could expand your business, open offices in other cities, or even states. At least if money isn’t an object, you can consider it.”
Jessica was about to protest again when she stopped. He was right, she had often wondered what it would be like to expan
d but the money had held her back. She still had a couple of million, but she was wary about using it all. She always wanted to keep a few million in reserve, just in case.
Gray looked over his fork at her and pointed with it.
“See, you’re thinking. Good girl.”
She grinned at him.
“Okay, you’re right.”
The remainder of their time was spent talking about little things. Her father was considering opening another new office. The building he owned, the one she had come to, was too small for his needs. He had opened it as a branch but tended to spend a lot of his time in it. Now he wanted to buy a bigger complex. He asked her if she would object if he bought one in this city.
Jessica was ecstatic.
It would mean they would see each other regularly. He told her he’d sold their old family home a few years after she left. He had a large apartment near the office. Then he told her about a house he owned about three hundred kilometres out of Vancouver, near the Canadian Rockies, a villa in Italy, and an apartment in England.
“Oh my goodness! An apartment, a villa, and a holiday house! Wow.”
“You’d like the apartment in England. It’s in Mayfair, you can walk to the art galleries and museums. The zoo, the Tower. Lots of markets. We must go.”
Jess grinned at her father and thought of the fun they could have together.
“I remember as a child you loved being outdoors in the mountains, you loved trees. Do you still?”
“Yes, but I rarely get the chance to get among them. I’m lucky if I take a drive up through the Glass Mountains, and they’re only forty minutes away!”
‘We’ll have to plan a few trips to there as well.”
She asked him if there was a special woman in his life. He blushed, then he admitted to have the odd girlfriend over the years. She got the feeling he was holding something back but didn’t press him. She looked at him critically. He was a handsome man still, 6’2 with the same black hair and blue eyes as Jessica. She realised he was now sixty-eight, yet he looked a vibrant, alive man in his fifties.