“ Today, between three and five.So I’m waiting around my house, getting nothing done but waiting on the van to pull up.I wonder if it will take a couple of van loads.I did go a bit overboard.”She pointed out that he had to be the best uncle.“ You got that right.Did I tell you that two of my sisters-in-law are going to have babies?I hope they’re all little girls.We have enough men in this family as it is.”
“ I have to get back to work.I’m sorry that I can’t see you tonight.You’ve become like a bad habit, and I’m going to miss you.”He told her that it was sweet, and she felt her cheeks heat up.“ I’ll talk to you later.Try not to trip over your own ego.It might send you to the hospital.”
He was still laughing when she hung up on him.She had to admit that she did have a better outlook on things once she was off the phone with him.He seemed to bring out the meanness in her, too, but he seemed to enjoy it so that was all right, she supposed.
After lunch, she didn’t have a single man who wanted to see robes or kitchenware.She enjoyed helping them find the perfect gift for their wives, and she also enjoyed the way that they would look at her for advice.That’s what she was there for, and she wanted to help.She was on her last customer of the day when she realized that she’d not be seeing Zander tonight.It sort of depressed her that he wasn’t going to be around.But she was spending the evening with her aunt, and that would be fun as well.Aunt Mae was someone she could talk to, too, about anything.
After getting home, she checked her voicemail and found that her mother had finally gotten around to messaging her.It was about the bank notifying her that she wasn’t to get into her account, and she loved that.Not that she had a great deal in her account, she kept it all in a safety deposit box, but the thought of what would happen if she were to drain her checking account would eat her up in bounced check charges.
Since neither of her parents knew where she lived, she was happy about them not finding her.The threat from her mom was bad enough, but her dad said he was going to kill her for the insurance money if she didn’t help them out.
She did wonder if that was true, that they’d taken a policy out on her so they could collect on it when she was dead.But they’d had to have kept up with the payments, and she doubted that it would go all that far.She thought about telling them that just because you have a policy on her, doesn’t mean you can collect on it if they didn’t make any payments.
Driving to the hotel where her aunt was staying, she enjoyed the crisp weather of the evening and was sure that tomorrow they’d have snow.It would put people in a better mood when shopping, she’d learned, and might well be in a better mood herself.She loved the snowy weather but didn’t much care for driving in it.
Her aunt took her to the hotel dining room, and they had a nice dinner.She’d not expected her to want to eat in the place; it was sort of run-down and not without much in the way of atmosphere.But the food was really good, and they enjoyed themselves by having nearly the entire dining room to themselves.
“ I have some things I’d like to talk over with you.Now, don’t tell me no.It’s a done deal, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather leave my money to than you.”She asked her how much there was.“ Right to the point of the matter as usual.I’m worth over three million dollars.More if you count the houses that I own.I have three of those that I rent out.Plus, the one that I’m living in back home.You’ll get it all.”
“ I suppose if I told you not to leave it to me but some charity, you’d tell me no.”She said that was right.“ I love you, Aunt Mae, but I’d rather have you around than your money.I know I can’t stopyou aging, but I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.”
“ I’m not gone yet, so don’t say that.I’ll miss you too, but as I said, there is no one that I’d rather leave it to than you.Especially not your father and mother.”She told her that she would think there was something wrong with her if she did that.“ Quite right.I have all my marbles just where I like them, and the will is made out.I know that we don’t get to see one another as much as we did when you were younger, but with your parents around, I have to be careful as well.”
“ I know.They’ll hurt you in a heartbeat if they knew that you had that much money.More than likely kill you.”She told her about the insurance policy that her dad mentioned.“ I’m not worried about that so much as I am them killing me for it.I believe they will before they figure out they can’t cash in a policy without making payments on it.”
“ Oh, darling, how did you get stuck with such parents?I just don’t understand how they can be like they are.They have no reason to treat you like they have been all these years.”She said she didn’t know either.“ I’m so sorry.I should have knocked around your father more when he was a kid.He was just like he is now.Forever thinking that whatever other people had should have been his.My mother was like that as well.Father wasn’t.He just rolled his eyes and walked away when she got into one of her fits.I’m blaming your father’s actions on her.Caroline is no better.The two of them are suited for one another, I believe.”
“ You have no idea.”They finished their dinner and sat talking at the table.There were no people around them, so they enjoyed talking about whatever they wanted.Then her aunt brought up Zander and asked her what she was going to do about falling in love with the man.“ We’re just having fun together.That’s all.He got me to help him with his shopping after Thanksgiving, and we sort of hit it off.I know better than to fall in love with him.He’s not the kind of man who dates personal shoppers and marries them.”
“ Oh, pee shaw.He is the perfect man for you.And I’d like to know why he wouldn’t think so too if that were the case.But I think he’s about in love with you anyway.And why not?You’re wonderful.And the perfect person for him.”She said they were just friends.“ Friends first is the way it works the best.You two will, if he has any sense, have a wonderful life together.Mark my words.By Christmas, you’ll be so in love with him that you won’t remember a time when he wasn’t a part of your life.See that I’m right.That’s the way it was with your Uncle Thomas.I knew the first time that we saw each other, he was the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.Then his life was cut short, and I’ve been lonely ever since.But for you, my dear.”
When Aunt Mae cried a little, it hurt her heart too.Her uncle had been gone since before she’d been born, and she didn’t know him but for the stories that she’d hear about him from her aunt.She knew that she would have loved him, and she wished that she could have gotten to know him.He must have been special because of the way that Aunt Mae still missed him after all this time.
When the time got away from them, Aunt Mae said that she needed her rest.She was normally in bed by nine-thirty, and here it was going on eleven.Walking her to her room, she hugged and kissed her aunt and asked if they were going to get together again before she left.Of course, she tried to talk her into going on the cruise with her, and she had to turn her down once again.She needed to work, and that was the way it goes at times.
Driving home, she was happy to know that her apartment would be nice and warm.It had turned cold out, and there was the threat of more snow.As soon as she pulled into her parking space, she thought something had happened.
The neighbor next door to her had had a heart attack and was headed to the hospital.They were good friends, the three of them, his wife included, and she hoped that he’d be all right.They were a nice couple, and she thought that they would die without the other one around to bicker at.They were cute in that they would argue about everything, but nothing could come between them.Just as she was getting into her place, she saw the man she’d noticed at the hotel and wondered if he was following her.Not scared at all, if he was, she confronted him on the front steps to her home.
“ Mr.Erickson had us make sure you get back and forth all right.”She said that she was capableof getting back and forth anywhere she went.“ Yes, ma’am.I know that, but your parents know about the hotel you were at tonight, and we caught them there.They said they were only looking for you, but we had a feeling that they were up to no good.”
“ They were at the hotel?”He said that they were going to follow her home to find out where she lived.“ Thank goodness you were there.That might have been something from a horrific novel if you’d not been.”
She wanted to be mad at Zander, but she couldn’t be when the men were helpful.Olivia was suddenly afraid of her parents if they were looking this hard for her place.If she didn’t know that they were looking for her, she shuddered to think what they might have done to her had they caught her.Suddenly afraid, she locked her door and put a chair under the handle.It might not do much, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.
Olivia knew that she wasn’t going to sleep at all that night and blamed it on her parents.What other links would they go to in order to get to her money?She didn’t want to think about that and went to bed.She’d call Zander in the morning and thank him for having her followed.
~*~
Zander was preoccupied with what had happened last night.He’d had bodyguards on her for a reason; he just didn’t expect there to be an actual reason for them to be used.He was going to have to take this more seriously than before and have her move in with him.They might know where she lived at the moment, but they were working hard to find out.Something that he should have expected.
Having to go to court in the morning wasn’t something that he wanted to do.But David needed to be put in jail, and the only way to do that was to bring forth the evidence that he had and put it out there.There had been some new developments since his first time before the judge.Seven more women had come forth and were saying that he’d done the same to them.He wanted the man in prison, not hanging out at the county jail, where he would be pampered.
“ I have a question for you.”He looked up from his work and decided that he needed to take a break once in a while.His head was killing him, and he could barely make out the person in front of him.“ Are you all right?You look like you’ve not slept in a month or so.”
“ No, I’m fine.I have a headache, that’s all.What can I do for you, Dusty?I’m all ears for you.”Dusty sat down, but he didn’t say anything for a few minutes.He finally shook his head and told him what he wanted.“ I can do that for you.But since when do you need an application to buy someone’s shares?That’s never happened before, has it?”
“ They’re looking for big hitters.And with you going over the contract for me, I want you to see if that means they’re looking to raise the prices of the shares on their own.I think I’ve already decided not to invest.This all seems sort of shady to me, but like you said, it’s nothing that I’ve ever seen before.”He took the contract and looked over the first page while his brother went on to explain why he wasn’t going to invest.“ I usually can take into account when some new place is selling shares, but this was a little out there.They contacted me and then sent over the contract for me to sign.They want it back by nine tomorrow morning, too.Which to me is another red flag.”
