Boss Meets Her Match. Janet Lee Nye
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stop pouting when you all stop treating me like a child.”
“Stop acting like one.”
“I am not acting childish. I’m acting attacked and embarrassed and humiliated.”
The two women stared at each other for a long minute. A heavy step on the porch stairs drew their attention.
“Papa,” Lena said with a respectful nod.
Her father approached and put his hands on Ana’s shoulders. “Ana, go on back inside. Let me talk to Magdalena.”
Great. Here comes the final word from the man. The head of the household. Lena held her tongue and schooled her expression into some semblance of neutrality.
After Ana shut the door behind her, he turned and took Lena’s hands. “Carida. Don’t be angry with your mother.”
“I’m not. I’m angry at Estrella.”
He made a face. “I’m not her biggest fan either, but she’s your mother’s sister so we’re stuck with her.”
They walked back to the porch and sat on the bottom step. Lena leaned against her father as he put an arm around her shoulders. “I know I’m a huge disappointment to—”
“No.” The word cut curtly across her words. “You are nothing but a blessing to this family. No one is disappointed in you.”
“It’s just that ever since Sadie...”
He shifted away to put a hand to her chin and turn her face to his. “Look at me. We are all happy for Sadie. After not having a family all her life, she’s getting one. But you are not Sadie. You are my daughter. Yes, the women are all stirred up about this. It’s normal. You start talking weddings and everyone wants to be a grandmother.”
Lena nodded. Looping her arms around his middle, she snuggled her cheek against his shoulder. “Thank you, Papa. Will you tell them to stop it now?”
His rich laughter rumbled through his chest to her ear. “I value my peace and quiet. I don’t tell the women in this family what to do.”
MONDAY FOUND HER back in her element. Her office on Broad Street was only a few blocks walk from her condominium. Tucked away in the back of a historic building, it was a small office, but she didn’t need a lot of room. She loved the space with its two-hundred-year-old pinewood flooring and walls of exposed brick. Sleek, minimalist furniture decorated the reception room. Less was more, she’d learned.
“Good morning,” Chloe, her receptionist, greeted her. “How was your weekend?”
“Annoying. How was yours?”
“So much fun! Some of my sorority sisters and I went up to the mountains and the leaves are all turning for fall. Met some cute guys.”
Lena smiled. Chloe was virtually a cliché of a sorority girl. Pretty. Thin. Blonde. Obsessed with fashion. She’d almost dismissed her application out of hand, but during the interview, she’d found Chloe to be smart and disciplined. The fact that she’d grown up in the homes of the rich people who Lena hoped to make richer was a bonus. Chloe knew how to tease and charm the clients but more importantly, she was an amazing manager.
The door opened and Lena’s second employee came in. If Chloe soothed the nerves of the upper crust about having an unknown Hispanic woman handle their money, Mose certainly challenged their faith. Mose, named Moseley Braun after the first female African American senator, was almost six feet tall with a strong, athletic build and dark skin that made her hazel eyes stand out. She wore her hair shorn close to her head and usually about two pounds of jewelry. She was also poised to be the first partner in Reyes Financial Management.
“Did you hear about Hong Kong?” Mose asked the second she crossed the threshold.
“Good or bad?”
“Good. I’ll have a report on your desk in an hour.”
Lena and Chloe watched as Mose continued through the reception to her tiny office in the back. “Well, okay,” Chloe said. “Welcome to Monday.”
“Any messages over the weekend?”
“Just one. A...” Chloe cleared her throat and continued in a dramatic tone. “Charles Beaumont Matthews the Fifth said he had been referred by Eliot Rutledge and would like to set up an appointment.”
“The fifth? What is wrong with these people?”
Chloe shrugged. “Not a clue. Usually whoever is the third breaks with tradition and names their child something new. But some of these old-money dudes are awful attached to the name.” She made air quotes around the last two words.
Lena waved a hand. “Set it up. Earliest this week.”
She stopped at the coffeemaker before heading to her office. Mondays were generally appointment free. The stock market didn’t stop for the weekend, and while she kept an eye on the happenings over the weekend, unless something monumental happened, she waited until Monday. It was a day of review and planning. Taking what action was necessary to either protect or improve her clients’ portfolios. She kicked her shoes off the moment she sat at her desk. Charles Beaumont Matthews the Fifth. She’d pegged him 100 percent. Spoiled trust-fund baby. Playing with daddy’s money. She couldn’t wait to tell him no, no matter what Eliot thought of him. She flicked her eyes in the direction of Mose’s office. Unless he really had a lot of money. Maybe she’d kick him over to Mose as her first client.
She plugged her phone in and opened her Pandora app to her classical music station and began sorting through the weekend’s financial changes. Knowing what changes would affect which clients and adjusting accordingly was the thing she loved most about her job. It was a constant dance. She had to keep the perfect balance between daring and caution. Most of all, she loved when that little tingle of intuition that she couldn’t explain proved to be successful.
A flickering light caught her eye and she frowned at the phone. She’d been deep in the zone. Lowering the volume, she picked up the phone. “Yes, Chloe?”
“Sorry to bother you, but William Durant is on the phone. He says he needs to speak to you about his accounts.”
“Put him through.” She pulled up Bill’s account. Not her biggest. Not her smallest. Nor her most challenging. A cautious investor, Bill Durant was. “Good morning, Bill. How can I help you?”
“Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Good news—I’ve taken a position with a medical ministry in Scotland.”
“Wow. Okay. That sounds amazing. Tell me about it.”
“Essentially, I will be coordinating medical missions for the School of Medicine in Glasgow. A dream job for me. And, of course, we’ll be moving there. The kids are very excited.”
“Well, where’s the bad news, then?” She smiled as she said it, but she knew what was coming. He was taking his money with him.
“The thing is, my wife and I have talked about it and we don’t think we’re going to come back.”
“So you’re going to need to transfer your accounts to Scotland. That’s reasonable.”
“Yes. It won’t be right away. I’m leaving in a month. Sandra and the kids will follow if the house hasn’t sold by then. And I’ll have to find someone as good as you in Scotland. Will you be able to do the transfers once I’m over there?”
“Yes. It won’t be a problem. I’m sorry to lose you, but I’m excited for you. Sounds like an amazing opportunity for the whole family.”
She carried on the chitchat for a while. “Well, shit,” she said out loud after she ended the call. She kept her list small and exclusive so that she could give each client all the