One Little Bit

by Tey Holden

  Karen spoke, “we were helping a friend. Phillip has helped us plenty in the past, and it was the right thing to do.”

  “So, now you are going back to Altee, to do what? You are the savviest businesswomen I’ve ever known and there you are tucked away in a tiny little town hiding from the world. Karen, you are widely known for your financial expertise. You guys could be at the top of your game.”

  Karen smiled and looked at Addy. “We are, Stephanie. We are living our dream life. We have all we need.”

  “Karen, but—.”

  Karen’s reply was immediate. “No buts, Stephanie. We’ve worked for a law firm before and know what it’s like. We left that life behind, and we don’t want it anymore. We made a lifestyle choice, and we are happy with it.”

  “Well, if there’s ever anything I can do for you, consider it done.”

  “Thanks.” The women said their goodbyes and left for home.

  ***

  It felt good to return to Altee. Although they liked the city, they missed the peace and quiet of their country home. On the trip back, Karen drove while Alex made all kinds of noises in the back. When there was silence, Addy turned back to check on her. “She’s out already. I can’t believe how fast she falls asleep in the car.”

  After several minutes of silence Karen began to question Addy, “are you okay? Why are you so quiet? I don’t like it when you are quiet because it usually means that you are overthinking. What’s on your mind? I’m sure it has to do with what Stephanie said, isn’t it? I know you too well, Adriana. Your mind has gone wild, I just know it.”

  Addy grinned and looked at Karen. “I guess you do know me. I can’t even have private thoughts anymore!”

  “Nope, no private thoughts. We are one, aren’t we?”

  Addy gave her a smug look. Karen looked at her. “What?”

  “Are you happy, Ker?”

  “Addy, what kind of a question is that? Of course, I’m happy.”

  “No, seriously, Ker. I know you are happy with Alex and me, but I’m not talking about the home front. I’m talking professionally. I mean, here’s what I’m thinking. When we left DC and came here, I was tired of what I was doing, but with you it was different. You picked up and left everything behind because you were thrilled about us starting a new life together. Still, at the beginning, we were both working from here, well in truth it was mostly you who was working, and that kept you busy. Then I totally quit, and later I asked you to quit because you were miserable and we didn’t need the money. But the truth is that you never really quit because you wanted. I’ve seen you these last few weeks working with Phil, and I’ve seen that spark in your eyes again. Now I’m wondering whether you should go back to work to satisfy that professional aspect of your life. That’s what’s on my mind now.”

  “Addy, I admit that I like financial work, but I don’t want to commute to the city, and most importantly, I don’t want Alex to grow up caged in a flat. So, I’m not going to sacrifice my family just because I enjoy playing with numbers”

  “But you could work from Altee, if that’s what you want. And now with Sparrow and Finch out of the picture, I’m sure there are plenty of people looking for a good securities and finance lawyer. This may be your opportunity.”

  “Forget it, Addy.”

  “I can’t. You spent a lot of time and money on a great financial legal education, and I hate to see your fabulous mind not being used to capacity.”

  “Addy, you think too highly of me.”

  “Why? Because I see the truth and I call it? You are amazing and I want you to use your brain. I want our daughter to grow up and see what a financial whiz her mom is. She needs a good example.”

  “I could say the same thing about you. What are you doing professionally now?”

  “It’s different with me. I didn’t like what I was doing. I had enough of the legal world. I didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore. I like hosting events at the distillery and at the stables and networking and meeting people. That’s my thing, that’s what I really do well and enjoy and, as a matter of fact, what I am actually doing now. You, instead, are acquiescing to all of my nonsense.”

  Karen remained silent for a while. “So, you propose that I start a financial firm from the cottage and work while Alex naps?”

  Addy chuckled. “No, I don’t think that will work. If something is to be done, it should be done well.”

  “So, what do you have in mind? What do you propose? I’m all ears, Addypooh.”

  “Nice, Ker. Thanks, for putting it on me!”

  “Well, you are always the one with the bright, crazy ideas that work, and this sounds right up your alley.”

  Addy smirked. Karen could see hurricane Addy approaching at full force. She had just fueled this force of nature and knew that nothing would stop her now.

  “The law firm will be at the Manor house.”

  “What? Now you’ve really flipped!”

  “Sssh! You asked for a bright idea, so hear me out. The Manor is a huge house. Part of it can be converted into legal offices. I’ll call Sandy and make the arrangements.”

  “Addy, Altee is an hour away from Edinburgh. Who will go all the way there to do business, and where would they stay?”

  “Aha! You’d know if you’d let me finish!”

  “Okay, go.”

  “You know that movie that said something like ‘build it and they will come?’”

  “Oh God!”

  “They will come to Altee looking for the brightest and best legal financial brain in the country, that, my dear, is you.”

  Karen laughed. “Ha!”

  “We will build the offices on one side. We can talk to Sarah and cover the expense of fixing up her inn. If anyone ever needs to stay overnight, we’ll board them there.”

  “What about JP and James? They are living at the Manor. Are you going to evict them, or are they going to remain in the other half of the house and be neighbors to the law firm? Oh, dear God! No, that is not acceptable. For as much as I love JP, I would hate to have him dropping in for coffee three times a day. So, no to that!”

  Addy laughed. “No, JP and James can rehabilitate Isabella’s house which is much closer to the distillery and move there. I’ll talk to them about it. Isabella’s house is fabulous and JP has always loved that interior garden with the fountain. He will go for it. Anyway, he’s always complaining about the Manor being too big and a waste of space, so this will be a reshuffling to put assets to better use. Then, you can ask Phillip to come and work with you, he’s here in Scotland already, and as the business grows you can hire younger attorneys to do the heavy lifting.”

  By the time they arrived home, Addy had built an entire law firm for Karen. They got out of the car and Karen came around to Addy’s side to take Alex out of the car seat, but before she did, she turned and stood in front of Addy. “In all my life, I have never met anyone like you, Adriana. I’m always amazed at how you can build a mountain from a grain of sand.” She turned and removed Alex from the car seat.

  Addy laughed. “Everything starts with an idea, Ker. Some are successful, others aren’t. Someone has to try them to see if they work.”

  “Here take Alex, I’ll get the door.” Alex was still asleep.

  Once inside the cottage, Karen continued to talk, while Addy went up the stairs with Alex in her arms.

  “Before you talk to Sandy and start tearing down walls at the Manor—.”

  Addy grunted, hearing Karen’s comments.

  “Let me first talk to Phillip about this idea. We cannot start anything without clients. And the ideal thing would be to have only a few clients with hefty accounts, and I don’t want to litigate. I like the financial aspects only.”

  “Well then, instead of a law firm, why not open a consulting firm for law firms? You’d be working as an independent contractor as a financial expert and they can do the litigating.”

  Karen just looked at her. “Do you think of all these things in advance, or i
s it on a spur of the moment?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Karen shook her head and rolled her eyes. “You have all these brilliant ideas in the fraction of a second, and you are asking me what I mean?”

  “Well, here’s another idea. Since Stephanie came out triumphant as a crusader for the rightful in the financial world, and she offered to help us, why don’t you contact her? Maybe she already knows of law firms looking for financial experts. She already thinks very highly of you, so she won’t have any reservations recommending you.”

  Karen continued to stare at her shaking her head. “Adriana, you scare me when you get on a roll with your ideas. The last time that happened I ended up pregnant and there is the proof.” She pointed to Alex, who was still in Addy’s arms.

  Addy laid Alex on her bed and then turned to face Karen. “Yes, and I couldn’t possibly think of anything more perfect and wonderful than her.” She smiled looking directly into Karen’s eyes.

  Karen immediately understood the enormity of her words and smiled. She pressed her forehead to Addy’s and kissed her. “Addypooh.” She closed her eyes and held her as tight as she could.

  ***

  Soon after, Karen talked to Phillip and Stephanie about Addy’s idea and in two weeks’ time, Karen was already visiting prospective law firms. Since she was not going back to work for the money, she was selective and only interviewed with a few law firms. She and Addy had talked about the amount of work that she would take, since Addy suspected that once other law firms learned that Karen was again working, they’d try to get her to work for them. Karen agreed to keep it simple and was resolved never to let work interfere with their family life. Addy spoke to James and JP who were thrilled with the idea of refurbishing Isabella’s house with their personal décor.

  Phillip accepted the job offer, and while Karen interviewed firms, Addy called Sandy to begin the plan of remodeling of the Manor into law offices. The plan was to only remodel the left side of the Manor, which was the furthest from the pool area. The rest of the Manor was to remain the same. The patio was modified, to fence out the pool area and not make it visible from the offices. They opened a side entrance and parking area on the side so that the offices were isolated from the rest of the house. Suspecting that work would increase and more people would need to be hired, the initial plan was to have seven offices, two conference rooms, one reception area and, two bathrooms and a pantry area. From Karen’s office, there was a door that opened to the rest of the house. Sandy made that suggestion in the event that there was a need to access the house from the office area. That door, however, was to remain closed and only Addy and Karen had access keys.

  “You should take one of the offices, Addypooh. You can run the stables and distillery events from there.”

  Until now, she and JP taking had been taking care of all the social events at the distillery, and she had also been managing the stables. Now, with Karen working, she needed more time for Alex. She was hoping to leave JP in charge of the social events and was in the process of looking for someone to manage the stables. Once that happened, she would only be checking in with JP and the stable manager. Alex would be with her all the time, and Karen would be her backup with Alex when something required her full attention. Karen’s schedule would be flexible most of the time.

  “Thanks, baby, but I would rather operate from home. You need to keep a professional appearance here. Having milk bottles and snacks in the refrigerator, and a playpen and toys all over does not convey a professional appearance.” Karen had to admit that Addy was right. “Maybe when Alex starts school, I will, but not now. Who knows! We may need to add extra offices!”

  “Yeah, right!”

  “Think big, honey, think big.”

  Karen grinned thinking that thinking big was probably the reason Addy was always successful. She always thought beyond the imminent, the obvious, or the plain and simple. She’d build a castle while others built a house.

  Addy picked up Alex from her playpen to feed her but continued talking. “I’m interviewing someone today to manage the stables. Maybe he will work out.”

  “When are you meeting this person?”

  “At two, why?”

  “Because someone just pulled up our driveway.”

  Addy turned to look out the window. “Who could it be? I’m not expecting anyone just yet.”

  When the driver got out of the car, they realized it was Carol. Addy ran outside to greet her. “Carol! It’s so good to see you!” Addy instinctively hugged her. Karen pursed her lips. She never liked when Addy hugged other people. They had talked about that more than once and Addy had explained that she was a warm person and that hugging people she appreciated was natural to her. She had also mentioned that she didn’t hug everyone the way she hugged her and that she shouldn’t be jealous. Karen understood Addy’s warm nature but was never happy with the hugging.

  “Oh, my God! This must be the little one!” She took Alex from Addy’s arms. “Karen, you cannot deny her! For God’s sake, she’s your spitting image!”

  Karen smiled. She always had mixed feelings about that remark. On the one hand she was delighted, but on the other hand, she felt a degree of sadness because Alex didn’t look anything like Addy.

  “Yep, I have two of them now. How about that?” Addy replied.

  “Oh, God bless her! She is a darling.”

  “So, Carol, what brings you to Altee?” Karen asked.

  “Well Karen, if what you are wondering is if I came looking for Mary, the answer is no, so help me God!” She laughed. “My sister and I are going to start a bakery café in town. I’ve saved money, and I’m planning to buy Mildred’s cottage at the end of town and open up the place there. My sister just retired and is going to help me for a while.”

  “That is wonderful. Won’t you come in and have some tea with us?” Addy replied.

  “Oh, well I don’t want to impose, I just wanted to say hello and—.”

  “Come on, Carol, you are very welcome, plus we need to catch up. Tell us all about what you’ve been doing in Glasgow.” As they walked inside the house, Karen rolled her eyes and was already trying to figure out how to make her escape. She smiled. Little Bit needed a nap. Sometimes having a kid was useful.

  After Carol left, they sat down to have lunch in the kitchen before it was time for Addy to meet a prospective manager for the stables. “So, what do you think about Carol’s return? Do you think she really meant what she said about not trying to hook up with Mary again?” Addy asked.

  “To be frank, the idea of an ex in town is concerning. I hope it does not mean trouble. An ex is always an ex!”

  ***

  At two that afternoon, Addy was at the stable waiting for Mr. Marshall Kennedy to arrive. When an old truck pulled up, a woman with a cowboy hat and a commanding demeanor stepped out.

  “Looking for Ms. Adriana Marcos.”

  “That would be me, and you are?”

  “Marshall Kennedy. You can call me Marshall.”

  Addy was surprised. To begin with, she had not been expecting a woman. And then, this woman looked as if she had stepped out of a movie about frontier women. She appeared to be in her fifties, with tanned skin and wrinkles around her eyes probably due to overexposure to sun and weather. She was about five feet ten and full bodied.

  Addy liked her direct approach. She did not appear pretentious and seemed very down to earth. She came well recommended and knew about horse breeding and boarding, exactly what they needed. She had run ranches in Kentucky and Texas and retired to Scotland to move in with her sister. Marshall later explained that living with a sister was not her best idea, and set out to find her own place and a job.

  “Pleased to meet you Ms. Marshall. Please, come inside, and let’s talk about horses.”

  They talked for a while and toured the stables. “I’d like you to know that I’ve interviewed with a few other folks, and that I’d like to wait on their offers.”

  “Yes, I
understand, Marshall. I forgot to mention that our offer includes a flat, which would be your residence. If you’d like, of course.”

  “Flat? Didn’t know you provided living quarters.”

  “Oh, yes. It’s a very nice two bedroom flat with all the modern conveniences. We would also like to purchase a new four-wheel drive vehicle for your personal use. We didn’t want to purchase it until we knew your preference.”

  The latter had not been in the plan, but Addy threw that in because she thought Marshall was perfect for the job, and Addy wanted to hire her at whatever cost. Addy saw the old truck Marshall was driving, and thought to lure her with a brand new vehicle. After all, a person who was in the business of ‘bright ideas’ as Karen called it, had to know how to throw them out there to achieve her goals.

  In this particular case, it worked. “Are you serious? My preference of a four-wheel drive? Ma’am, I’d like to take the job.”

  “What about your other possible offers? Aren’t you going to wait for them?”

  “Ma’am, one thing I do well is recognize value. I know a good thing when I see it. A salary, a place to live, and new wheels look like a great deal to me. Plus, I think you and I will get along well. You are not the nickel and dime type. If you give me the job, I’ll take it.”

  “When can you start?”

  “I can be here tomorrow morning. There’s one thing I have to tell you, though. Some people don’t like it, but it’s who I am and I’m not the type to be hiding from anyone, too old for that. I’m a lesbian.”

  Addy smiled. “Well, Marshall, you will feel right at home here. My partner and I are also lesbians. So, I’ll be here at ten tomorrow to introduce you to everyone. You can move in whenever you like. Here is the key to the flat.”

  Marshall looked very pleased. “I should go on and play the lottery, how much luckier can a person get in one day?”

  Addy laughed as she walked away. Ms. Marshall got much luckier later that day when she came across Carol while scouting the town. As it turned out, Cupid did his trick and that is how Ms. Marshall got into the habit of going to town for cookies in the evenings.