Читать книгу Leesa's Story: Book Three of the Lane Trilogy - Vicki Inc. Andree - Страница 10

After three weeks of community service–mandated filing, Leesa strode into L. L. Lane Unlimited headquarters as if she’d never left. She passed reception without saying a word and went directly to her old office. She set her laptop on the desk and surveyed her familiar surroundings. I feel like I’m finally home. She rubbed her back.

Suddenly Lyza stood in the doorway. “Hello, Leesa. Good to have you back.”

I hope this wasn’t a mistake. Leesa looked at her for a long moment. “It’s been a rough run, Lyza. Do you think it will ever be the same?”

Lyza smiled. “Sometimes different can be good.”

Leesa sat in her familiar chair. “At least my community service time is over. That was horrible.”

Lyza nodded at a folder on Leesa’s desk. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. But you’re here now. I left the Kramer’s Island files for you. If you need anything, let me know.”

Leesa took a deep breath. “Now how does this work? You’re my boss, right?”

Lyza folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe. “It’s not going to be that much different from when we worked together before Father passed.”

Leesa looked away. “Except you’re doing the job I was doing the last few months, running the business.”

Lyza walked around to the front of Leesa’s desk. “Yes, Leesa, but it’s not for me. It’s for Levi.”

Leesa looked her in the eye. “Did you take Father’s office?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you would.” Something ugly rose up in Leesa, and she pushed it back down. I hate her. She thinks different is good. I hope so, because nothing will ever be the same. She pursed her lips. “I guess I’ll review the files on Kramer’s Island.”

Lyza disappeared down the hall.

All of this should have been mine. Everyone looked up to me. I was the boss. I didn’t ask anybody anything. I did as I pleased and answered to no one. Now, everyone in this building knows I’m out and Lyza’s in. Her back twinged with pain. She dug a red capsule out of her purse and washed it down with her bottled water. Why doesn’t she let Levi take Father’s office? Oh, that’s right—he’s just a little baby. This is ridiculous!

She opened the file folder. A picture of damaged roller coaster cars crashed onto the pavement jumped out at her. Why would Lyza put this picture here? She knows a little girl died in this accident. How cruel can she be? Leesa thumbed through the rest of the pictures of the accident scene where Karen Kaplan’s daughter died.

Leesa pushed the intercom button. “Bill, can you make reservations for a flight to Seattle?”

“Hello, Leesa, good to have you back. Sure. I’ll get the request in and get back to you. How soon do you want to leave?”

Bill’s pleasant voice irritated her. “Now. Alert the jet pool. I want to leave right away.”

Bill cleared his throat. “All Lane jets are grounded. I’ll check commercial and let you know when there’s a flight available.”

Really, Lyza? Grounding the Lane jets? We can’t be in that much trouble. Talk about overreacting. She leaned back in her chair. “Fine.”

Twenty minutes later, Bill reported, “There’s a flight out in the morning.”

She didn’t even ask what time. “I’ll take it. Send the tickets to my office.”

“You got it.”

Leesa wanted tickets to Seattle, but to visit her friend, Karen Kaplan. Karen’s little girl had died in the roller coast accident on Kramer’s Island, but she and her husband refused to sue L. L. Lane Unlimited. They refused any monetary remuneration for the loss of their daughter. She’d even gone to church with Todd and Karen Kaplan because they said it was the one thing their daughter would have wanted.

Leesa hated Lyza for turning Christian. She felt the same way her father did, that it dishonored their grandparents who died in the Holocaust. But she loved Todd and Karen Kaplan because they were people of integrity who had nothing to apologize for. They were honest, and they treated her like they cared about her.

She looked forward to seeing Karen, whom she hadn’t seen since before her father passed away. The Kaplans sent flowers for both Mother and Father.

Pain shot up her back as she got up to go to the restroom. She fished out another red capsule. I can’t travel like this. My last one. I’m going to have to see Kayla again. I hate seeing her, but nothing else works as well.

***

David rocked Levi on the front porch as Lyza pulled into their driveway. Holding Levi, he made his way to Lyza’s side of the car and opened her door for her.

She stepped out of the car. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

He gave her a little peck on the cheek. “My pleasure. How was your day at the office?”

Lyza handed him her attaché case and took the baby. “Leesa came in today. She’s back in her old office. I think it’s going to work out.”

David shut the car door. “I imagine it’s hard for her, after running the business and all.”

They headed to the house.

“There’s still some tension, but I’m staying out of her way. Bill told me she scheduled a flight to Seattle in the morning. I suppose she’s going to Kramer’s Island. That’ll be good for her.”

David opened the screen door. “I know she loves it there. Sometime we’ll have to take Levi.”

Lyza rubbed noses with Levi as she carried him into the house. “I think I know a grown man using a baby as an excuse to go to an amusement park. Really, David. All you have to do is ask.”

He laughed. “You got me. I admit I’m curious about Kramer’s Island. All the reviews have been very good.”

Lyza teased. “Do you want to go with Leesa tomorrow?”

David stammered. “Uh—no, thanks, that’s not what I had in mind. I was thinking just the family—just us—would go one day.”

Lyza sat on the sofa and cradled Levi. “All right. When do you want to go?”

David put the attaché case on the coffee table. “Oh, I don’t care. We have bigger fish to fry right now.”

She looked up from the baby. “Like what?”

He sat next to her. “Like, are we going to move to that big old mansion on your father’s estate?”

Lyza frowned. “Suzanne said she wasn’t going to talk about it.”

David took Levi’s fingers and kissed them. “Oh, it’s gone way beyond Suzanne. Jim asked me about it this morning. He told me the rest of the church elders are pretty upset. They think I’m holding out on them.”

She turned Levi around to sit on her lap. “What do you think about moving? I mean, there’s no professional security here. We’re pretty relaxed.”

David played with Levi’s tiny fingers. “Not with Levi. He’s always with one of us or both of us. We never leave him. I don’t see the point. And if it’s security you’re worried about, you know better. Our only security is God, and if we can’t trust Him, we can’t trust anybody. You should know that by now.”

Lyza took the baby’s other hand. “I do know that, I do. It’s just that… Maybe it sounds like I don’t have enough faith, but I get concerned.”

David moved closer to Lyza. “Let’s not move. What can I do to convince you?”

She grimaced. “If it means that much, we’ll put any decisions about moving on hold. We can tell the church we aren’t moving. And we’re not moving right now.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you, honey. I know you’d like living in the grand home you grew up in, but Levi’s home is here.”

She laughed. “It’s not about moving back home. It’s about having security twenty-four, seven.”

“You don’t think God is on call twenty-four, seven?”

***

Leesa received a long hug after Karen Kaplan answered the door. “You look wonderful. I’ve missed you. How are you doing? Come in, come in.”

Leesa stepped into the entryway. “I’ve missed you, too. You don’t know how many times I almost called. It’s been crazy. I guess you heard that I had to do community service.”

Karen closed the door behind them. “Community service? You know we don’t watch the news much. What happened?”

Leesa walked into the living room. “Oh, then you don’t know what happened with L. L. Lane Unlimited.”

Karen shook her head. “I just know you’re here, and it’s so good to see you. Come in. Sit. I’ll make tea.”

Leesa pulled her jacket off and sat. “Oh, don’t go to the trouble. I just drank a bottle of water.

“It’s all her fault. Father left his entire estate to Lyza’s little boy, Levi. I knew nothing about it until the reading of the will. Talk about being shocked.”

Karen sat in the floral print wingback chair across from Leesa. “Lyza had a baby? Wow. I guess I’ve really been living in a cave. Last I heard, Lyza was disowned and married a pastor in Africa.”

Leesa rubbed her temples. “Father made amends with them before he died. They brought Levi to the house. Father died that very day, while they were in the room. I wasn’t even there when he died. I’m told it happened right after I left the room, but I don’t really know what happened. Sometimes I get suspicious about how he died. Anyway, I guess he found out about Levi before that. Father liked using private detectives. ”

Karen patted Leesa hand. “Leesa, I am so sorry. You must be devastated. I know you worked hard for the business. I think last time we talked, you were making a lot of changes. Did your father know about that?”

Leesa shook her head. “I didn’t tell him anything because he wasn’t supposed to talk business. But I think Bill told him.”

“Who’s Bill?”

Leesa leaned back into the chair. “Father’s reverse figurehead. He poses as the office manager, but he’s got his nose in everything. He worked with Father since he first started the business. Father said Bill refused to accept a powerful title, but he’s always been Father’s right-hand man. I know Bill couldn’t wait to report everything I did. I caught him making a special trip to the house.”

Leesa swallowed. “He couldn’t wait to tell Father I was making big changes in L. L. Lane Unlimited. I confronted him, but he denied it. He said he was making a social call.”

“You didn’t believe him?”

Leesa studied Karen’s innocent face. How could she understand what I’ve been dealing with? “Karen, you have no idea what a bunch of liars work there. Now Lyza’s running the show. She had the nerve to ask me to come back and work on Kramer’s Island.”

Karen clapped her hands together. “But isn’t that good?”

Leesa’s eye felt wet. She dug in her purse for a tissue. “Good for her. That project was my baby. It was a fish cannery, for crying out loud. I took it from a broken down fish cannery to an island amusement park that rivals Disneyland. Now I’m the caretaker for the next three years until she turns it over to me.”

Karen leaned forward. “She’s turning it over to you? That’s wonderful!”

Leesa dabbed her eye. “In three years. She says it will take that long for it to make money again. Until then, she feels it should belong to L. L. Lane Unlimited. Well, L. L. Lane Unlimited is Lyza Lane Unlimited. All her talk about doing this for her son makes me sick.”

Karen stood. “Did the will require her to give you the park?”

Leesa looked up at Karen’s questioning expression. “No, but I’m sure she’s got something up her sleeve.”

Karen smiled. “I think she’s being generous. You should be thankful. I’m going to get us some iced tea. You sit here; I’ll be right back.”

Leesa watched Karen go into the kitchen. I should be thankful? She doesn’t understand the situation.

She’s like the rest of them. She’s probably going to call them when I leave.

Leesa tried to shake off the paranoia. No, she wouldn’t do that.

…Would she?

Karen brought two glasses of iced tea and set them on coasters on the coffee table.

Leesa picked up her iced tea. “Can I take you and Todd to dinner tonight, out at Kramer’s Island? Oh, maybe you don’t want to go back there. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think.” Leesa glanced at the picture of the little girl on the fireplace mantel, her heart pricked by the reminder that the child had died on Kramer’s Island.

Karen ignored the apology. “Todd’s out of town on business. I’d love to cook you dinner. How about a homemade pizza?”

Happy to change the subject, Leesa agreed. “You know I love pizza. Excuse me; I need to use your restroom.”

Leesa hobbled to the restroom, pain shooting up her back. She rubbed her back and pulled a red capsule out of her bag. She held it up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. I’ll feel better soon.

Leesa took the pill and entered the kitchen to find Karen sprinkling the top of the pizza with cheese. “What do you like on your pizza? So far, I have cheese and mushrooms. What else do you like for toppings?

Leesa counted on her fingers. “Cheese, mushrooms, onion, green peppers, and black olives, if you have all that.”

“I do, because those are my favorite toppings, too.” She added the remaining ingredients and slid the raw pizza into the oven. “Twenty minutes to wait. How about more iced tea, or would you like a Diet Pepsi?”

Leesa brightened. “Sounds good. You know how to make me feel better. Pizza and Diet Pepsi.”

Karen rinsed her hands and dried them on a paper towel. “I like that combo, too.” She filled two glasses with crushed ice from the refrigerator and retrieved two cans of Diet Pepsi from the pantry.

Leesa sat at the kitchen table and poured Diet Pepsi over the ice in her glass, watching carefully so it didn’t foam over. “You know what I like about you, Karen? You’re my true friend. You always tell me the truth, whether I want to hear it or not. You don’t know how few people are like that.”

Karen placed two plates and napkins on the table. “Don’t put me on a pedestal.”