As she stepped out into the executive reception area, a young woman came forward wearing a smile of welcome. “Miss Colson, it’s so nice to see you again. Mrs. Standish asked me to keep an eye out for you. I’ll walk you back since I’m going in that direction.”
Jen smiled to herself. David’s confidential secretary had envisioned her wandering around trying to find the right office and had sent her assistant to lead the way. They walked through a labyrinth of halls to the opposite corner of the floor.
“Paula, Miss Colson has arrived.”
“Thank you, Sara.” She ushered Jen into her office and waved at a seat as she closed the door. “Jennette, I’m so glad you’ve recovered.”
“And thank you, Paula, for sending me a guide.”
She sat in the chair beside Jen. “No one else knows, so you’ll have to be careful. Has your memory returned at all?”
Jen hedged. “Some things completely, but quite a bit is still rather hazy. Nevertheless, Dr. Wisenbach is pleased with my progress and says I should get it all sorted out soon.”
“No permanent loss?”
“Apparently not.”
“I’m glad. We’ve missed having you drop in from time to time. How’s Anna? I was so sorry that the kids and I had to miss her birthday party.” They chatted until almost time for the meeting to start. “David asked me to be sure and return your necklace to you,” she reached across her desk, “and the package was messengered over about an hour ago.”
Jen tucked the jewelry box into her handbag as she stood. “Thank you for having it repaired. I didn’t want a new one.”
“All part of the personal service, but I draw the line at making coffee.”
“David makes his own?”
“You’ve got to be kidding. He brewed one noxiously potent pot and Sara begged me to let her make it from then on.”
“A typical male stratagem. I can’t believe she fell for it.”
“She’s young,” Paula laughed, “but she’ll learn.”
The meeting started with every chair around the long conference table occupied. Jen served herself a cup of coffee, complimented a pleased Sara on its excellence, then found a vacant seat as far away from David as possible and on the same side as Rick. She wouldn’t have to spend the meeting avoiding his glance, and with six people between them, she was isolated enough so that David wouldn’t view them as a team ranged against him.
Rob and Danni were sitting together in the middle of the side opposite. David, of course, was sitting at one end between Brad and Paula and, surprisingly, Adelia was not only present but seated at the other end.
As each phase of the meeting ended, small groups of executives who weren’t involved in any subsequent phase left quietly. Foreign operations opened the agenda, with Rick translating whenever needed for the executives from Mexico and Central America and Rob doing the same for the representative from the small Brazilian plant. Plans were discussed, decisions made, and responsibilities assigned to various vice-presidents and managers with timetables attached. Then the focus was shifted to the domestic subsidiaries and the process began again.
David’s grasp of the intricate details was acute and his firm handling of individuals at odds over various issues was impressive. She was seeing him in his own environment: controlled, competent and very much in charge. When the executives from all of the subsidiaries had left, they moved on to finances, and the Chief Financial Officer presented the consolidated statements. Adelia asked a number of questions, as did Danni and Rob, but glancing past the only occupied chair to her left, she could see that Rick was entertaining himself by drawing amusing caricatures of the CFO and all the remaining executives across from him. She thought he was completely absorbed in his sketches until an issue was raised and he asked a question very much on point to the discussion.
They finally finished and as the door closed behind the last of the employees, David called the meeting of the stockholders to order. He gave them a brief recap of earnings and anticipated dividends, Paula carried various loan documents around the table that required each of their signatures, and the question of expanding into several of the Caribbean islands was discussed.
Jen had been ticking off the items on the agenda, one by one, until all that remained was the vote on the Grass Valley project. She quickly rose to fill her cup with coffee. With her back to the room, she crossed her fingers, then returned to her chair.
“Regarding the land in northern California,” David began. “You have all read the proposal and are familiar with the client’s need for an adequate building site. Our land suits the project but we cannot go forward without the stockholders’ agreement to sell. Mrs. Standish, will you conduct the vote?”
Paula pulled a single sheet of paper toward her and lifted her pen. “If you are in favor of selling the land to the client for this project, please signify by saying aye. Mr. Kenting?”
“Aye.”
“Mr. Stevens, as co-trustee of Jennifer Anna Kenting’s trust?”
“Aye.”
“Mrs. Ackerman?”
“Aye.”
Mr. Robert Jameson?”
“Nay.”
“Mrs. Kenting?”
“Aye.”
“Mr. Richard Jameson?”
“Nay.”
“Miss Colson?”
They were all staring at her. If this didn’t work, David would strangle her. “Nay. And on behalf of Anna’s trust, also nay.”
His face was thunderous.
Although Rick and Rob were both relieved and pleased, they hid their elation under the formality of the proceedings.
David’s voice grated. “The formal vote having been taken and there being no new business –”
“Wait.” The eyes that had turned away from Jen swung back in surprise. “Mr. Chairman, if I may have the floor?” He stared at her, then nodded impatiently. Jen leaned to look past Rick. “Mrs. Standish?”
Paula went to the door, took the package that Sara had waiting and carried it back to the table. Unfolding the loose wrapping, she walked around the table to place a bound folder in front of each person. When she got to Jen, she unobtrusively squeezed her shoulder, then quietly left the room.
David eyed it suspiciously. “What is this, Jennette?”
She waved a hand around the table at them all. “Read it. Please.”
They looked at her, then picked up the folders, and for almost three minutes, there was no sound in the room but the rustling of pages being flipped, unfolded, turned to view tables, graphs and photos. Jen sat very still, mentally holding her breath.
David was the first to break the silence. “What foundation is this, Jennette?”
“Who is Dr. Goldstein?” asked Adelia.
But Rob was grinning. “A land swap! Ours for theirs, practically straight across the board!”
There was a knock at the door. “Dr. Goldstein has just arrived, Jennette.”
“Ask him to have a seat for a few minutes, would you, Paula?” The door closed again, and Jen looked down the table at David. “He agreed to come this afternoon in person to discuss the details if Kenting Industries is interested in his proposal. We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
Rob and Rick had jumped up to sit in the chairs on either side of David and Brad. They were turning pages to point out details and David was listening intently.
“Danielle, help me up.” Adelia had reached for her cane and was struggling to push the chair against the thick carpet. As she walked with Danni beyond the line of chairs, she looked at Jen across the table. “Come along, Jennette. This is your new business addition to the meeting, and it needs some explaining.”
Rick stood up to give Adelia his chair, perching on the edge of the table, and Jen went to stand with Danni. They listened as the men discussed the proposal and quickly focused on its salient features.
“What do you think, David?” Rob asked.
Jen saw that David’s face was serious as he looked up at her, and she co
uld tell that he wasn’t about to commit himself to anything without more information. “David, it would be much better if Dr. Goldstein were to explain it himself.”
Hesitating for a moment, he nodded. “Ask him to come in.”
When the introductions had been performed and Saul was seated, Jen looked at him. “If you would, tell them a little of the background.”
He gave her a smile, then turned to the others. “The foundation wishes to make a grant to a non-profit organization for the purpose of creating a recreational site, a camp for inner-city kids in danger of being caught up in the legal system, a place for confidence training, ropes courses, outdoor activities and counseling. We have owned a large tract of land for the past ten years, but it is not at all suited to the purpose, and we were planning to make a significant cash donation for the purchase of a more appropriate site. But after talking with Miss Colson and looking over the information she provided, we would like to discuss what you see here.” He pointed to the folders. “Your land, from what I have seen, would be ideal for us. If our land is acceptable to your client, we can open negotiations with these figures as a starting point.”
“In other words,” said Rick happily, “a land swap.”
“Your tract is somewhat smaller than ours,” David began.
“But located in an area of higher real estate value,” Saul countered.
“The client’s plans would have to be altered to fit the different shape.”
“And the additional cost of altering the plans would be offset by the savings in clearing and earth removal since our land is both open and flat.”
“Ours has a recent appraisal. If you received your tract ten years ago, it will need to be appraised.”
“We will, of course, have that done.”
“Kenting has certified appraisers on staff.”
“An appraisal firm of the Foundation’s choosing would perhaps be better?”
David looked at him sharply and Jen, for the first time, felt the need to intervene.
“May I suggest that the Foundation choose the appraiser, but that Kenting Industries pay half of the bill?”
They looked up at her and she could see that each had quickly grasped that in this way, the appraiser would be accountable to both parties.
“Admirable,” Saul smiled.
David nodded, and the group was deep into the discussion of financial details as Jen and Danni slipped out.
Closing the door quietly behind them, Danni looked at her. “Jennette, that was the proverbial rabbit out of a hat.”
“How did it go?” Paula had been hovering outside the conference room.
“I think it’s going to work. Thank you so much for your help.”
“My pleasure. Just part of the –”
“– personal service,” Jen finished with a smile. “You did receive your invitation to the wedding?”
“Yes, indeed, and we’ll be there with bells on. I’m looking forward to seeing Tony again.”
“Wonderful. And if you will now show us the way, I could do with a large cup of Sara’s delicious coffee.”
Danni laughed. “I second the motion.”
* * *
Dinner that evening was a happy family affair with Danni explaining to Roger their surprise and delight at Jen’s unexpected new business and Rob questioning David about details of the re-design issue. Rick teased Adelia who allowed him to call her Auntie without objection and they all discussed what remained to be done to finalize the land swap and the client’s construction project. Second only to Anna’s birthday party, it was the most enjoyable evening that Jen had had since her return from the hospital.
When the coffee service was carried into the living room, she took her place with ease, skillfully pouring and handing out cups, thinking with a little smile of how often she’d performed the ritual since that first nervous time so many weeks before.
After Danni and Roger left, promising to be back early the next day to help with the wedding’s final touches, and the others had gone upstairs, Jen went out onto the back terrace. Drawn by the moonlight to the rose garden, she stood among the sweet-scented blossoms, lifting her face to the warm breeze. It was a lovely evening and she hoped that the rain predicted for the weekend wouldn’t come until Sunday.
David had told them over coffee that he’d emailed the pertinent information regarding the new piece of land to his client before dinner. A phone call just as dinner was over confirmed that the site was acceptable to the client and that negotiations could go forward. Taking the cup Jen had offered him, David had smiled at her but there’d been no time for him to say anything with Rob’s anxious questions claiming his attention. Contentedly sipping his coffee, David had told them what the client had said and that he’d called Saul to give him the news. To Jen, he looked years younger, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and she was relieved that she’d been able to give him what he wanted without destroying the land in the process. Rob and Rick would have been disappointed if she’d simply favored the sale, but if she’d voted against David without offering an alternative, it would have caused a breach between them that might never have healed.
“Jennette.” He had come silently through the garden and was standing close behind her. “I haven’t had the chance until now to thank you for bringing peace again to the family.”
She moved so that she could see his face in the moonlight. “I had to do something. You’d all placed me in an impossible position. Meeting Saul was a stroke of luck.”
“Recognizing the opportunity his foundation presented was a brilliant move worthy of the excellent businesswoman that you are.”
“If the swap hadn’t worked out?”
“But it did,” he smiled, “And I have to admit that I’m glad Great-Grandfather’s land will remain much the same as he saw it years ago. I think he’d be pleased.” He hesitated, then lifted his hand to gently caress her chin as he kissed her softly. “Thank you.”
She accepted his kiss but stepped back with a sigh. There was still a barrier between them. “David … I found the letters.”
The tenderness was gone from his eyes, and she saw him stiffen. “You read them?”
“I found them accidentally, but yes, I read them. Since you’ve said that you won’t listen to any dramatic protestations of my innocence, I will simply say that none of it is true. If you choose to believe an anonymous poison-pen rather than your wife and you want a divorce, I can’t stop you. But it would be your decision, not mine.” She waited but when he made no reply, she turned to leave. “Burn them, David. If I found them so easily, someone else might also.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Saturday dawned with a promise of good weather that was not fulfilled. The clear blue skies of early morning slowly gave way to high grey clouds that gradually thickened as the day went on until by late afternoon, the hopes of all concerned had dwindled to simple faith that the air would remain warm and the ground dry enough to enjoy the gardens.
The tech crew from the studio had come and gone after carefully wrapping the non-waterproof equipment needed outside in black plastic, and Miguel and Luke had camouflaged it all with greenery hastily ordered from a nearby nursery. The set crew had finished decorating indoors and out, leaving with optimistic assurances that everything outside would be fine tempered by the casually pessimistic warning that if the wind really started to blow, then all bets were off, and they’d done the best they could.
The dining room table was draped and set with everything but the food; a lovely flower arrangement had been placed in its center; a smaller matching one was on the sideboard. The table by the window, also draped, held the wedding cakes. Mrs. Brown and her helpers had created a traditional three-tiered cake for Colleen, each layer iced in feathery-white curlicues and each standing up from the layer beneath on a little white platform. Rick had sculpted the two figures on top. Made from light wood and painted cunningly, the slim bride had Colleen’s short brown-winged ha
ir, and the stocky groom looked just like Tony from the slightly rumpled pants up to the tiny grey eyebrows. The groom’s cake had been Tony’s special request, a sheet cake with yellow butter-cream frosting and a two-seater bicycle iced in brown and grey across its length. And it was a chocolate cake. He’d said that everyone else could have white cake if they wanted, but he and the kids would have the good stuff.
At five, Jen and Aaron walked through the house, checking to make sure that everything was ready. Colleen had wanted brown and grey, but under Aaron’s gentle prodding had compromised on burnished gold and silver. Where he had found large chrysanthemums in June Jen didn’t know and wasn’t going to ask. There were two centered in each flower arrangement throughout the house, one silvery grey tied with short gold streamers, the other deep gold tied with white and silver
The color theme had been continued in narrow strips of cloth spiraled around the banister and across the bridge above the entry. Long white ribbons hung from the banister the length of each post, and at the outside base of each, bows of alternating gold and silver followed the curve of the steps up and across the bridge. All of the other flowers and decorations were white with light touches of silver and gold.
“It’s lovely, Aaron.”
“Have you seen outside?”
“Not since they finished.”
“We should take one last look.” He held the door for her.
A wide curved trellis had been put up in the garden directly across the parking area from the front steps. It had been covered in flowers, hung with streamers, and the small platform beneath it had been painted white.
Jen smiled. “I know you wanted to have the ceremony in the back garden but I’m glad we decided to use the front. The guests can stand here without sinking into wet ground.”
“And the guys wired a few lights on the underside of the trellis so that people will be able to see.” He looked up at the sky. “The rain only has to hold off until about ten-thirty. The tables are out on the back terrace and those for the entryway are ready to be moved in after the ceremony. The tech crew has set up the sound system and they’ve already checked with the band to make sure their equipment can use it.” He waved at the strings of tiny lights that had been wound through bushes and up in the branches of the few trees in the front garden. “As it gets darker, the lights will look better. Everything’s ready to go.”
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