Читать книгу Leesa's Story: Book Three of the Lane Trilogy - Vicki Inc. Andree - Страница 8

Leesa rolled out of bed before sunrise. She rubbed her back. “Oh, oh! I hurt everywhere.”

She checked the time. I’ve got to get moving. I can’t be late. It took all her resolve to get up and showered for the day. The warm water beating on her back gave some relief.

She dressed in light sweats with a jacket she could remove when it got hot. Still dark, she made her way out to the limo, which dropped her off half an hour early—before anyone else arrived—a block from the building. She stood outside the building to wait for the white van. Forty-five minutes later, Joe ordered the crew to get in the van.

He drove past the spot they worked the day before and stopped. “Today we’re going to get a few more miles done on I-10. Everybody out. Fill those bags. Remember, no talking. Let’s get this done. It’s going to be a hot one.”

They stepped out of the air-conditioned van into the hot, humid morning.

Kayla made her way to Leesa. “Hot out here, isn’t it?’

“Yes.” Leesa kept her head down and concentrated on picking up trash.

“You look like your back hurts.”

Leesa put down the pole to rub her back. “Oh, yes, I guess I overdid it yesterday.”

Kayla moved closer. “I got something for that.” Leesa stepped away, but Kayla followed. “I said I got something for your pain.”

Leesa moved further away. “It’s all right. I have something if I need it. Please, I don’t want Joe to see us talking.”

Kayla snickered. “Okay. Don’t forget—I got what you need.”

Leesa found another spot of trash and filled yet another bag. I hope she stays away. I don’t want any trouble. What an idiot. I hope Joe didn’t see us talking.

She wiped the dripping sweat from her eyes and dragged herself to the van for water.

Joe handed her an empty paper cup. “You need to drink lots. You don’t want to get dehydrated.”

Leesa looked down. Feeling like a kid, she went to the orange cooler and filled her cup. She drank the tepid water and then started filling trash bags again. By three o’clock, she felt hot, sore, and dizzy. Joe called the women to get in the truck. “Hurry up. We gotta get back to town and check out. Meet me tomorrow: same time, same place.”

When the van arrived at the courthouse, the women piled out of the van. Leesa waited for everyone to leave, then walked the block back to where the limo met her. She fell into the vehicle and told the driver to take her to the nearest Wendy’s drive-thru for a Diet Pepsi.

She took a long suck on the straw. “Ah… So good.” She leaned back in the seat. “Now I want to go home and to that Jacuzzi.”

It seemed like forever, but the driver finally pulled through the black iron security gates.

Leesa stumbled into the house. “Cook, I’m home! I’m taking a bath and going to bed.”

Cook poked her head around the corner. “Glad you’re home. Don’t you want something to eat?”

Too tired to answer, Leesa headed upstairs.

Half an hour and one bath later, Leesa returned, finding Cook in the family room off the kitchen. “I’m so tired and hungry. The bath helped; now I’m famished.”

Cook placed a plate with salad and a turkey with Swiss cheese sandwich on the kitchen bar.

Leesa grabbed the sandwich. After swallowing the first bite, she sighed. “This tastes so good.”

Cook shook her head. “You poor girl. How long are they going to have you on the trash crew?”

Leesa slowly chewed another bite before swallowing. “I don’t know. I should call Mr. Stern and see if he can help me get assigned somewhere else.”

Cook set a glass of ice water next to Leesa’s plate. “I hope he can. I see you got some sun. You’re sunburned. Did you see your face and the back of your neck?”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “No wonder I want to scratch it. I’d better get some cream on it. I’m going to bed. I have to leave early. I don’t even have time to call Mr. Stern. I’ll leave his card for you to call him in the morning.” She finished off the sandwich and pushed the plate away.

Cook picked up the plate and rinsed it off. “What about Lyza? Did you ever call her back?”

Like I have time to talk to her.

***

Lyza leaned over baby Levi and kissed him good morning over the kitchen table, then turned to kiss David. “This week seems like it’s going on forever.”

David put his arms around her. “It seems like it’s been a month.”

Lyza kissed him again. “God works in mysterious ways. It wasn’t that long ago that all I wanted was fame and fortune. I looked forward to taking over L. L. Lane Unlimited and making my mark on the world. I worked all the time to outshine other agents on the real estate side. I tried to win Father over by negotiating huge deals. Anyone who got in my way got run over. Really, I was merciless. I have so much to unlearn.”

David opened a loaf of bread. “I cannot imagine you being that tough nut. You want some toast?”

Lyza poured herself coffee. “No, thanks.”

David finished his toast and poured another cup of coffee. “I think I’m still in shock that your father left everything to Levi. He only saw him once, and that was the day he died.”

“He had his investigators.” Lyza added cream to her coffee. “I think he softened when he saw that I was pregnant. When we went to see him after he first got so ill, he seemed surprised—and, I think, happy—that I was pregnant.”

David drank his coffee. “Then you tripped and fell, and he couldn’t get out of bed to help. He went into shock. I’ll never forget the look on his face when the EMTs rolled you out of there. His doctor put the oxygen mask on him, and his eyes looked huge. But just before you fell, I thought I noticed a change in his attitude toward me. I think he’d been angry at me for taking the Lane name.”

Lyza shook her head. “How could he know I begged you to let me keep my name and asked you to give up your name? We didn’t communicate, so I never got to tell him. I really wish I could have explained that to him.”

David took his dish to the sink. “Have you forgiven him for the way he treated you at your mother’s funeral?”

Lyza took a sip of coffee and paused. “Of course I have. Father had no idea about the changes taking place in my life. I’m glad he contacted us. I mean, he could have let me find out through the media that she got bitten by a viper in Ecuador. They shipped her remains back under extreme secrecy. I still blame myself for her being there. When Father disowned me, she couldn’t face it.” Lyza shrugged. “She went off on a hunt for rare orchids to get her mind off what was happening between Father and me. The part I didn’t like—but, mind you, I understood—was the fact that both she and Leesa stood firm with Father.”

David started cleaning the rest of the dishes off the table. “It would be difficult to go against your father. I gave him plenty of distance when I was around him, which wasn’t much.” Then David’s tone changed. “But Lyza, what a gift we got. The Lord allowed us to see the moment of Lawrence’s conversion. What a blessing. It was amazing.”

Tears rushed to Lyza’s eyes. “God is so good. Father looked like he was reaching out to touch Jesus. That moment is emblazoned on my heart forever. Remember what he said?”

David paused. “You mean when he said the room was filled with beautiful angels? Or do you mean when he asked Jesus to forgive him for his unbelief and be his Lord and Savior?”

She wiped the tears and sniffed. “Both.”

David turned and put his arms around her. “We have been so blessed, beyond what we could think or imagine.”

She mustered a smile. “I remember the first time I met you. We were at the memorial for the victims of Swiss Air Flight 688. I think it’s the first time I ever checked to see if a man was wearing a wedding ring.” She started laughing. “Then I found you were a pastor.”

He took her face in his hands. “A mean old pastor.” He pulled her lips to his.

She kissed him. “Well, of course. Now I’m the mean old pastor’s wife.”

Lyza looked at the clock. “I just wanted to be a pastor’s wife. That’s all I wanted, and God blessed me with that honor for a few short months. Now I’m back in the corporate world. I have to leave my little family and head downtown because you…” She brushed Levi’s little nose. “Because you, my little man, are one of the richest men in the world.”

David took Levi in his arms. “Lawrence left all his worldly possessions to you, and Mommy has to take care of it until you get big enough to take over.”

Lyza pulled on her sweater and picked up her attaché case. “Not just me, David. You’re his father.”

David grimaced. “Oh, but you’re the business woman.”

Lyza started for the door, and then stopped. “Speaking of that, David, I think we’re going to have to move. Security isn’t what it needs to be here.”

David’s brow furrowed slightly. “What do you mean? Levi’s with me all the time. He’s either with me or you, and most of the time, we’re all three together.”

Lyza put her hand on the doorknob. “I know, but think about it. We may need to move onto the Lane estate.”

He followed her to the door. “What about our parishioners?”

She kissed him on the cheek. “I have to go. We can talk about it later.”

***

Morris Banks stood and reread a thick file while he waited in Lyza’s office. She’s not going to like these numbers, but she has to know. How this conglomerate will ever recover from Leesa’s mismanagement is beyond me. Lyza’s got a family; she’s got distractions. Her heart seems to be in the right place, but it takes more than that to run an international business.

Lyza rushed in. “Good morning, Morris. Sorry I’m late.”

Morris stepped out of her way. “No problem. I brought the numbers you asked for yesterday.”

She sat behind her desk. “What’s the bad news?”

He smiled. “I guess you already know. The past few months, we’ve lost a lot of money. We’re still solvent, but we have to plug some gaping holes, where dollars are pouring out at an alarming rate.”

She motioned for him to hand her his file folder. “Show me the problem areas.”

He handed it over. “One problem is the number of people leaving the ship. We announced the five percent raise and offer to those who have recently left. In a few days, we should know the response. Everything I’ve heard from my ranks is positive, so I think that may have stopped the loss of experienced personnel.”

Lyza looked up. “That’s good news.”

Morris rubbed his chin. “A few projects cost way too much to keep. Before I tell you the bad news about your project in Switzerland, let me just tell you that the oil production in Australia has exceeded all expectations.”

Lyza looked him in the eye. “Now tell me the bad news.”

Morris pointed at a line on the sheet Lyza had taken out of the folder. “This was your project, and your father wanted it to be a great success, but it’s costing way more than it’s making. The ski resort at Zermatt has to go.”

Lyza didn’t bat an eye. “All right. It’s gone. What else?”

Morris pointed at another line on the page. “Well, another loser right now is Kramer’s Island. I know that’s Leesa’s answer to Disneyland, but since the roller coaster accident, it’s losing money.”

Lyza slumped in her chair. “That amusement park was Leesa’s dream. She loved working on it, developing it. You know she did everything from the ground up.”

Morris shrugged. “Well, it’s more money down the drain.”

Lyza handed the folder back to Morris. “I’ll think about it. What else?”

Morris leafed through the folder. “There are twenty projects we can abandon, sell, or stop production.”

Lyza leaned forward. “Let’s get the directors together. We’ll make decisions by the end of today—that is, all except for Kramer’s Island. That one stays.”

Morris stepped back. “Really? Of course, it’s your call.”

Lyza stood. “I know, Morris. I want to take advice, but I feel I must keep Kramer’s Island. Leesa will be back, and she would never forgive me if that one went. In fact, in the interest of Levi Lane, I feel it would be best to sign Kramer’s Island over to her personally.”

Morris started for the door. “That would make her personally liable for any expenses.”

Lyza folded her arms. “Then we can make it effective in five years. She should have it off the ground way before then. If she wants to take over sooner, so be it. After all, it made money before the accident. It’s just a matter of time before it’s up to speed.”

Morris opened the door to leave. “Okay, I’ll get directors together with advisors and report back to you.”

Lyza stopped him. “Morris, as of today, corporate jets are grounded until further notice. That’s one expense we can cut right now.”

Morris blinked. “All of them are booked solid this week.” Grounding corporate jets for just the rest of us, I’m sure.

“We can fly commercial. One other thing—be sure Bill is in on everything that’s going on. He was Father’s right-hand man, and he’s been here from the beginning. Don’t underestimate him. Stop by and talk with him on your way out.”

Morris took that as his cue to leave and stepped into the hall. “Thanks for your time. I believe you’re on the right track. I must confess I was worried when I heard you were coming back.” She said ‘we’ can fly commercial. I’ve always trusted Bill. It’s a relief that she’s relying on him, too.

She laughed. “I don’t blame you.”

He stopped. “You’ve changed, Lyza. And it’s more than maturity.”

She smiled. “Oh, yes. It’s much more.”

Marriage must agree with her.