Missing Heiress (A Jackie Harlan Mystery Book 2)

by Marti Talbott

  “Fill them with children, I suppose. Nick would have loved that.”

  A grinning butler opened the door and held it for her. “Miss James, welcome home.”

  “Thank you.” She walked into an atrium that was three stories high with a curved staircase on each side and an inside balcony on each level. “Who has to clean all this?”

  The butler chuckled as he took his position at the head of a line of people waiting to greet her. “We have a cleaning service that does all the work.”

  “Georgia, this is Clint, your butler,” said Austin.

  “Clint,” she repeated.

  Austin moved down the row. “Silvia is the cook and bakes the best cookies in the world.” Silvia’s blush made him smile. “Martin is your gardener.”

  “Welcome home, Miss James,” said Martin.

  “Thank you.”

  “Where’s Kellie?” Austin asked.

  “Off chasing Muffin again,” Martin answered. A side door opened and a small dog scurried in.

  “Muffin, no!” a horrified Kellie shouted. The dog ignored her, headed straight for Georgia, tried to stop and skidded across the highly polished floor. “Muffin,” Kellie tried again.

  Georgia raised her hand. “Tis quite alright, I love dogs.” She leaned down and scooped the small, floppy eared dog up in her arms. “Hello, Muffin.” She laid her head against the soft fur on the dog’s head and then giggled when the dog licked her neck.

  Martin leaned closer to Silvia. “Muffin likes her.”

  “So do I,” Silvia said.

  “Where should I put these?” the driver asked as he brought her suitcases inside.

  Clint cleared his throat. “We thought to put you in Nick’s room, Miss James, but…”

  “Please call me Georgia.” She smiled when he nodded. “Perhaps I shall look around and then decide.”

  She set the dog down and was about to start up the stairs when another side door opened and a man appeared.

  “It’s about time you got here,” he said.

  “Jim?” Georgia flew into the arms of her old friend.

  He cleared his throat and stood her back. “I’m married, don’t forget.”

  She giggled and hugged him again anyway. “I cannot help myself. I am so happy to see you.”

  “Do you know you actually have a theater in this joint? I’m bringing the wife and kids, and about thirty movies.”

  “Good, then I’ll bring the popcorn. Wait, aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

  “I am at work. I work for you now.”

  “You do? That’s excellent.” She abruptly wrinkled her brow. “Doing what?”

  Jim looked to Austin.

  “I have to get back to the office,” said Austin. “You explain it to her and I’ll be back to pick her up at two this afternoon.”

  “Pick me up for what?”

  “We have a meeting at three. Jim will explain it.” He nodded, walked out the door and got back in the limo.

  She watched him through the window, turned back to Jim and puffed her cheeks. “He is not too happy with me right now. I’ll tell you about it later.” She turned back to the butler. “Clint, is it?”

  “Yes, Miss Georgia.”

  “Show me which room was my grandfather’s.”

  “Certainly.” With Georgia and Jim following, he led the way up to the second floor, turned down a hallway, and then opened the first door he came to. “We put all his personal things in storage…clothes, and such.”

  She hesitated at the door and looked around. It held a large bed at one end, and an entire living room set at the other. At length, she timidly walked in. “It is bigger than most houses.”

  “It is,” Clint admitted. “He built this house while your grandmother was still alive, and this was her favorite room.”

  “Then I shall love it too…but just not now. It is far too big for me to feel safe just yet. Have you a smaller room?” She followed him to a guest bedroom next door that was decorated in warm colors. Georgia walked across the room to the balcony door, opened it and went outside. “This is perfect.”

  “I shall bring your luggage up then, Miss.” Clint slightly bowed and left the room.

  “Can you believe this place?” Jim asked. “I’ve scoped it all out and a guy could get lost in here.”

  She giggled and grabbed his arm. “I best put a note on the door so I can find this room again. Oh, Jim, I am so confused.”

  “About your grandfather?”

  “About everything. Austin hates me and I truly thought I was falling in love with him. I have handled it all so badly.”

  “Maggie…I mean, Georgia, you don’t have time to worry about all that right now. We have work to do.”

  “What sort of work?”

  “The best kind of work in the world.”

  “Okay, but first, let’s go get something to eat. I was so nervous this morning, I skipped breakfast.”

  *

  If the help had been concerned about what kind of employer Georgia would be, she dispelled all their fears when she found the kitchen, went to Silvia and put her hands together as if to beg, “My kingdom for a bite of lunch.”

  Silvia giggled. “Chicken salad?”

  “Yum, my favorite.”

  Jim winked at Silvia, and then joined Georgia at the small kitchen table. “Good luck keeping her filled up. She likes everything.”

  Georgia playfully wrinkled her brow. “So precisely what are you and Austin up to?”

  “How would you like to fire Nicole?”

  Georgia’s mouth dropped. “Are you serious?”

  “Austin bought the company from the old man yesterday.”

  “I own GSTS? Truly?”

  “Every inch of it, and I can’t wait to watch you fire Nicole. I had to take one of the techs into my confidence, and when I told him Nicole would be gone, he gladly changed all the accounting passwords. Even I couldn’t get in, Gallaher won’t answer her calls or his door at home, and Nicole is about to lose her mind.”

  Maggie grinned. “I’d like to send her back to Germany.”

  “Can we fire Roxie the Robot too?” Jim asked.

  Georgia touched her forehead with her first finger and thought about that. “I don’t know, that would mean two empty boxes and I didn’t bring any with me.”

  Jim grinned. “I know right where Nicole keeps them.”

  She thanked her profusely when Silvia set a sandwich, chips, and a soft drink in front of her. “We have just become best friends.” She hungrily took a bite, but when Jim started to say something, she shushed him. At length, she said, “Do you know which numbers they use for the porn business?”

  “I could find out.”

  “Let’s shut those down.”

  “Done,” said Jim. “What else?”

  “You know more about the business than anyone. I want you to run it for me. Are you willing?”

  “Really? You want me to run it? Can I have the big desk upstairs and everything?”

  Georgia rolled her eyes. “According to Austin, you can even have a new desk. The thing is, we’ll have to refund all those fees and…”

  *

  Nicole was still on a major rampage by the time Jim walked back to his desk a few minutes before three in the afternoon.

  “Where have you been?” she demanded.

  “Out.”

  “I know that, but you didn’t ask permission.”

  “I am not six years old, Nicole. I don’t need your permission.”

  “You’re fired.”

  “Good luck with that.” Jim picked up the telephone and pressed the intercom button. “Attention everyone! There will be a meeting in the conference room in ten minutes. If you value your job, you’ll be there. This includes the night shift.”

  “Give me that,” Nicole said, grabbing the phone out of his hand and hanging it up. “I call the meetings, not you.”

  “I just did. Who you going to complain to? Gallaher? Where is he by the way?�
��

  “I don’t know.”

  “There is a lot you don’t know, Nicole.”

  In a huff, she turned around and marched back to her desk. “We’ll see about that.”

  “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. Gallaher 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.

  CHAPTER 15

  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.”

  “See you then. I like my new desk by the way, but I have to scrub it down. Gallaher 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 at 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 hous
e, 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 your 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.”