by Madyson Grey
“Ha! You think I can figure out how to do this? You think I can go meet perfect strangers and convince them that they want to rent a part of one of my buildings? I don’t think so!” Victoria said firmly. “This just became your job. You have the gift of a glib tongue. I don’t. I can go with you, but you’ll have to do the majority of the talking.”
“Yeah, I think I can do it all right, but I just need you to back me on it. After all, you are the major owner in this business,” Rafael said.
“I thought the paperwork said that once we were married, we would own it jointly,” Victoria said.
“That’s true,” he replied. “But be that as it may, it is your dad’s business, and I won’t do anything that you don’t approve of. I don’t want you or anyone else to ever be able to say that I married you just to get my hands on your dad’s business, and then I ran it into the ground, or whatever else someone may think.”
“You didn’t, did you?” Victoria said, looking at Rafael with suspicious eyes.
“Didn’t do what?” he asked.
“Marry me just for the business.”
“Victoria! Don’t you ever, ever think that for even one second,” Rafael exclaimed.
He reached for her hand and pulled her close to him.
“Listen to me,” he said. “I married you because I have been in love with you for over half my life. You could have been an orphan on the street and I would have still been smitten with you. I don’t care about your millions or billions of dollars. I love you for who you are, not for your money. Do you read me?”
“Yes, dear,” Victoria said contritely with just a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. “I was just checking.”
“Yeah, well, check this.”
Rafael pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely. When he felt his passion begin to rise, he abruptly let go and willed it to subside. She stood there for a brief moment, rather stunned at his aggression. She hadn’t seen this side of him before. It actually rather excited her, and she was sorry that they weren’t at home.
“If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will,” he said gruffly.
“If we were at home, I’d make you convince me again,” Victoria said in a come-on look in her eyes.
Rafael looked at her with lust in his eyes, but he could do nothing about it since they were in a rather public place. Even though the office door was closed, and the secretary out front never disturbed David, and now Rafael, when the door was shut, he still didn’t think they should take the risk of having sex right there in the office.
Then he thought of the bathroom. That should be safe enough. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the lounge/bathroom and closed and locked the door. He proceeded to take her right there against the bathroom wall. Just the daring of it all excited her to the point that they both reached their peak within just a couple of minutes.
“Don’t ever question my love for you again, Victoria,” he said in a voice that moved from command to pleading. “I love you now and forever, with all of my heart.”
“I love you, too, Rafael,” Victoria breathed. “Forever and ever, with all that I am. I will never doubt you, either. Ever.”
After straightening their clothes and hair, they returned to the office and tried to resume the discussion of business as if nothing had happened. But something had happened, and Victoria was more in love with Rafael than ever before. She could hardly keep her mind on the business at hand for thinking of her love for him and how exciting a man he was.
Truth be told, Rafael was having a hard time concentrating also. The nearness of his wife, the encounter they had just had, the love he felt for her, drove him nearly to distraction. Fortunately, it was approaching lunchtime, so he called it quits for now and suggested they go get something to eat. Maybe that would give them both time to cool their jets and be able to concentrate on business.
An hour-long lunch break, a brisk walk to and from the deli where they ate, the fresh air and sunshine, did wonders to restore them to business mode. So when they got back to the office, Rafael was able to go over all of David Thornton’s holdings with Victoria and explain them to her so she could get a grasp of the breadth of her father’s business. Well, now their business. She wondered how long it would take her to stop thinking of it as “Daddy’s business,” and start thinking of it as their business.
Not only did Thornton Enterprise have real estate holdings, but it also had an extensive stock portfolio. That was one area that Victoria just couldn’t wrap her head around. It all looked just like a paper game to her. Her father had tried to teach her about the stock market with she was a teenager, but it just didn’t click with her. So she told Rafael that that was his baby to take care of. She would trust him to do the best he knew how with it.
Victoria went to work with Rafael the rest of the week just so she could really familiarize herself with the business. She learned the locations of all the office buildings that they owned, not just in LA, but also all over the country. There were three in San Diego, three in San Francisco, two in Dallas, one in Houston, four in Portland, one in Denver, one in New Orleans, two in Memphis, three in Nashville, one in Des Moines, one in Albuquerque, and twelve in the Greater Los Angeles area.
They also dealt with Mr. Hall and the formal paperwork that transferred ownership of Thornton Enterprise and all its’ holdings into Rafael’s and Victoria’s names jointly. He also helped them with the deed to the house and David’s car. Victoria had decided to sell her mother’s car and she would put the money into her mother’s account to be used as needed. She would also sell her old car. Then they would just have Rafael’s Ferrari and the Chrysler 300 that had been David’s.
Victoria went to the DMV and Social Security and got her name changed on her driver’s license and Social Security card. They took care of all their bank accounts, both business and personal, to get both of their names put on all of the accounts. This took trips to three different banks, but eventually it was all taken care of.
By Friday, they were both glad for the weekend. It had been a busy week. Victoria had also gone by the police station and picked up her mother’s clothing that she had taken in for testing. That was another thing she was going to have to deal with before much longer—her parents’ clothing. Especially her father’s. She could barely think about having to go through his clothes and pack them up to give to charity.
Rafael was a good four inches taller than David Thornton had been, so he wouldn’t be able to wear any of David’s pants. But they wore the same shirt size. Victoria told him that he could have any of David’s shirts that he wanted, if he wanted any of them. He chose a couple of dress shirts that looked like they hadn’t ever been worn. All the rest they finally boxed up to give to a homeless shelter. Victoria knew that her dad would approve of that.
Her mother’s clothes were a different story. Marian was alive, but would she ever recover enough to wear anything except hospital or prison garb? Victoria was quite certain that her mother would never again see the light of day as a free woman. Underthings she would need. But outer garments? Dresses? Skirts? Blouses? Coats? Dress shoes? She doubted that Marian would ever wear these things again. Not even for court. And on the outside chance that she was ever released, these things would probably be out of style by then. And Marian Thornton would never be seen in last year’s fashions.
Nevertheless, Victoria wouldn’t get rid of them just yet. She went through her mother’s closet and drawers and packed everything in boxes. There were a few things she pulled out to keep for herself—several pairs of brand new hose, a couple of pairs of new socks, a pair of sandals she particularly liked, and a sweater that she had sent her mother for Christmas last year.
She stacked all the boxes of clothes in the master suite. Each box was marked with either an “M” or a “D,” both of which could either stand for Mother or Marian, Daddy or David. When she was ready, she could easily dispose of the boxes. She would wait a little longer.
Lena
made them waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for their Saturday morning breakfast. After breakfast they told Lena that they would be gone all day. They were going to go out house hunting. Or maybe more properly, neighborhood hunting. There were several areas they had pinpointed that they wanted to check out to see if they would even want to live there, if a suitable house could be found.
They both assured Lena that when they found something that they were interested in that they would take her along to see the house and get her approval on it also. They wanted her to be happy with her living quarters, just as they wanted to be satisfied with theirs. She appreciated their thoughtfulness.
They spent the whole day driving through various neighborhoods in a variety of satellite cities surrounding Los Angeles. All the towns that were once separate from Los Angeles long ago had so grown as to merge pretty much into one huge metropolitan area. Yet they each maintain their own individual personality to a point. Rafael and Victoria drove through several areas: Glendale, Pasadena, Eagle Rock, Altadena, up into Flintridge. They saw a lot of nice places, some not so acceptable, some that were all right, but nothing seemed to jump out and grab their attention.
They eventually began to leave the miles and miles of one subdivision after another and climb into the foothills. There, they spotted a tract of bare land that was dotted with trees.
“Well, what do you think of this?” Rafael asked Victoria as he slowed the car and pulled off the road. “We could build our own house here. There’s plenty of room. No close neighbors.”
“It has possibilities,” Victoria said. “Let’s put it on the ‘Possibles’ list. I don’t want to just grab the first thing we see that is a maybe. Tomorrow we might find something we like even better. But I do like this. Let’s get out and walk around a bit.”
They walked over the tract of land, looking everything over. They talked about where a house could be built, how much land they would want as a buffer against close neighbors, and so on. The more they thought about it, the better they liked the idea. When Rafael mapped the location and checked the distance to their building downtown, he found that it was only a little over fifteen miles. That wasn’t too bad. And if he set things up as he hoped to, he would only have to check in at the office maybe two or three times a month. The rest of the time he could work from home. He might even build a completely separate building beside or behind the house that would serve as his home office.
After a thorough examination of the property, and after Rafael took pictures of it from several angles with his tablet camera, they moved on, and continued searching for that special place. They looked at several more communities that day, and Victoria wrote down a couple more addresses on the “Possibles” list. They agreed that on Sunday they would go towards the coast and see if they liked anything over that way. They both loved the ocean, but weren’t certain they wanted to live right on it, because of potential storms, tidal waves, and mudslides.
Just before dark they went home with absolutely nothing settled in their minds. But, it wasn’t like they were in a hurry. They had all the time in the world that they needed. And it was a nice diversion that got them out of the house and their minds partially off of the issues at hand.
Sunday was more of the same, only in a westerly directions, rather that easterly. This time they went armed with a computer printout of some homes that looked nice in their photos on the Internet. The homes were all between them and the ocean, and Rafael arranged them so that they would come to them relatively in order. One house in particular caught their attention, so Victoria added it to the list also. It sat on probably half an acre with a sprawling single-story house. The ad said that there was a guest cottage in the rear that might work for Lena.
By the time they found their way back home that evening, they had a list of half a dozen possibilities. They would go out again as time permitted until they found one that really suited their tastes and needs.
The following week Rafael worked hard to get the business set up to where he could take time off to go on their extended honeymoon trip. Victoria stayed home and let him concentrate on business without her there to ask so many questions. She made a few excursions here and there, doing things she wanted to do. She had either worked or gone to college full time for the past seven years, so she was rather enjoying her free time. She visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art one day, and took Lena along with her. They had a good time together and enjoyed a nice lunch out as well.
Evenings Victoria and Rafael spent planning the details of their upcoming trip. Toward the end of the week they were able to set a definite date to leave. After extended discussion they ultimately decided to go the month of September, leaving the sixth, the day after Labor Day. They reasoned that kids would be back in school, the summer season would be over with a reduction in tourists, and that would also leave them home and available to be at any court hearings that should be forthcoming at any time.
It would also give time to shop for just the right motorhome without being pressed for time. The weather would be great, the heat of summer would be past, yet it would still be warm and pleasant. It did seem like the perfect time for a nice long trip. Since they now had a date set, everything they did revolved around preparing for it. Victoria spent time going through her wardrobe thinking about the clothes she would take, and whether or not she needed anything new. She decided against buying new clothes before they left, leaving herself opportunity to make purchases along the way if something called her name.
They obviously would not take Lena with them on their wedding trip, but they did plan to give her the month off with pay to do as she pleased—go on a vacation of her own, or whatever she wished. That pleased her immensely.
“I don’t think I have ever had that much time all to myself in my whole life,” she said, when they told her their plans. “It will take me all the time between now and then to decide what I do want to do with my vacation. Thank you both so much. You two are the best!”
The day came when Victoria got a subpoena from the district attorney’s office requesting her presence at a hearing for her mother. She would have to testify as to what she had seen and observed. The hearing was set for Wednesday, August 10 at nine o’clock in the morning. She would be there. Rafael planned to take the time off to accompany her. Rafael and Lena also received summonses to appear and give their testimony.
The three went together to the courthouse, found the courtroom where the hearing was to be held, and waited outside the door until it was time to go inside. This was the first time that Victoria had seen her mother since the first of July.
She was shocked at her appearance. In fact, she didn’t even recognize her at first, until she realized that it had to be Marian. Her hair was limp and lifeless, with gray roots showing about an inch long. Her face was pallid and her expression listless. She had no makeup or jewelry on, something that she would have never left home without. She was wearing the plain gray sweat pants and t-shirt of the facility where she was being held.
Victoria wondered if she should approach her mother and try to speak with her, but she feared an outburst. Mr. Bradbury, an assistant district attorney, spoke with the three of them briefly about how he would question them, and what the defense attorney was likely do. He reminded them that this was just a hearing, not a trial. The purpose of the hearing would be to determine whether or not she could stand trial.
The bailiff called the court to order as the judge entered the courtroom. One by one the testimonies were presented that addressed the day Marian Thornton assaulted her housekeeper, and then went to her husband’s former place of business and held Rafael and his secretary at gunpoint until she was subdued. Rafael and Karen, the secretary, Victoria and Lena all testified as to what they had seen that day. Dr. Stevens and another physician from the hospital where Marian had initially been taken, along with other hospital staff were called to provide their expert testimony as to Marian’s state of mind.
When it was
all said and done, Marian was deemed unfit to stand trial for her actions on that day or any other. The judge saw that she was obviously guilty of the crimes of which she was accused. So he ruled that she should be incarcerated in a psychiatric facility until such time as she was proven to have recovered enough to stand trial.
The accusation of David Thornton’s murder was brought up, but as Marian was declared unfit at this point, it was declared a moot point. The DA argued that at the time of David’s murder she was not known to be insane, but because Marian was unfit to stand trial for one set of crimes, she couldn’t stand trial for the other. It was rather frustrating to Victoria. Not that she wished to see her mother convicted of murder and the other crimes, but because she just wanted this to all be over with so she could move past it.
After the hearing, Victoria asked the DA if she could speak to her mother for just a moment. He consulted with Mr. Kyte, Marian’s attorney, who agreed that she could have just a couple of minutes. Rafael and Lena went out into the hallway, leaving Victoria to face her mother alone.
“Hello, Mother,” Victoria said softly as she approached this woman who now seemed like a stranger to her.
Marian slowly turned her head in the direction of Victoria’s voice and finally made eye contact with her.
“Victoria,” she said, her voice weak and unsteady. “I want to … go … home.”
It took effort to speak the whole sentence.
“I know, Mother, but you can’t right now. You aren’t well, so you need to stay in the hospital for a while.”
“Did you find … what we need?”
“What do we need?” Victoria asked, assuming she knew what her mother wanted to know, but stalling until she could formulate an answer.
“Evidence against … Rafael … Rivera,” Marian said slowly.
“To take back the business, you mean?” Victoria asked, knowing good and well what she meant.
“Yes.”