BREAKTHROUGH (Love's Not Easy Series Book 2) (8 page)

“Yeah.  The reviews are awesome.  Anyway, I want to make a date on Sunday.”

“Sunday I go to church, it will have to be after one.”

“That’s fine. My parents are coming to Ancaster and my mom is dying to meet you.”

“Your mom wants to meet me?”

“Yeah.  They are joining us for the theater, too but she wants to meet you first.”

“Ok.  That sounds great.  How does your dad feel about dinner with me?”

“Excited.  He can’t wait to talk to you.”

“Really?”  Aimee looked at him concerned.

“Don’t worry, both my mother and I have told him he has to be on his best behavior.”

“Ok.  Where are we eating?”

LJ grinned from ear to ear.  “LJE, but I promise you, no pickle beets and goat cheese.”

“I am going to hold you to that and I promise to do my best not to spit my food into my napkin or my glass of water.”

“Deal.”

“Do I need to wear dressy, formal, or casual?”

“Dressy casual.”’

“Thanks.”

The subject changed to school and then, he started asking about her vacation again.  She changed the subject to music.  She turned on her playlist and introduced him to Contemporary Christian music.

LJ had to stop to get gas, so Aimee called Lexi and Piper explaining that she needed for them to help her get LJ to leave when they got home.  She told them she would explain when she got there.  When LJ returned, he smiled at Aimee.

LJ carried the heavy bags to the flat, while Aimee followed with her garment bags and a few light bags. When they entered the flat, Piper was in the living area.  Placing some group photos over the fireplace.

“Aimee, thank goodness.  We forgot to tell you, we are having a Bible Study group here at the flat.”

Aimee grinned.  “Great.  LJ, do you want to join us?”

LJ took the bags to the kitchen.  “I have a few more errands to run and then a meeting with my sister.”  He gave Aimee a hug. “I will see you Sunday.”

Aimee smiled and nodded.  “See you Sunday at one thirty.”

Lexi came in the room with her Bible and a study guide she had purchased at John 316. (The owner’s name is John and, when he purchased the building, they found out the address was 316, so it made sense).  “So, why are we having a Bible Study early?”

“Because I need a break from LJ.  Who is coming to the study?”

“Us. I didn’t say who was in the group.”  Piper grinned as she sat down.

“What if he had said yes?”

“We all know him well enough to know he would leave fast.”  Lexi sat at the coffee table with her Bible.

They began their study on the book of 1Timothy.  The girls were on chapter 2 of 1
st
Timothy today, they made it to verses 5-6: 
5.  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6. Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

The girls discussed the verses and what it meant to them until it was time to watch Aimee’s dad’s press conference.  Jaxson had showed Lexi how to hook up her computer to the Telli screen, so she hooked it up, that way they could watch the press conference on a bigger screen.

Her dad’s campaign PR person came to the stand first.  He gave the instructions to the media and then introduced her dad. He looked very happy to her.  Like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.  Deandre was standing to his left.

He stood straight as he spoke.  He thanked the ladies and gentlemen for being there.  He thanked his supporters and all the workers on his campaign. Once he started his speech, the girls’ eyes were glued to the Telli.  “Today I come to clear up some misunderstandings that some of my campaign members have caused.  I want to start by reading you a verse from God’s word.  I am using the Kings James Version of the bible.  Proverbs 12:22
Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.

Now, I know that anybody can quote Bible verses.  Even the devil himself knows God’s Word.  But these verses are my new life slogan. My daughter, Aimee, has inspired me to take a good look at my life and my campaign platform.”  He paused and looked at the media.

“Aimee Roselyn Pittman is my daughter from my first marriage.  Her mother was Lillian Rose Pittman.  She was killed by a drunk driver when Aimee was ten years old. I married my current wife, Deandre, when Aimee was twelve.  My mother-in-law, Edna Townsend, helped me with raising Aimee until she was taken away in a horrible accident a few months after Deandre and I married.”

Aimee watched her father’s face as he spoke.  When he spoke of her mother, he had a twinkle in his eyes. She had never noticed that before.  She wandered if it was the look Brad was telling her about earlier.  He was telling them why Aimee chose to go to boarding school.  That she was studying business abroad by her own choice of seeing the world before she settled down to her life as a business woman.

He had everyone’s attention.  “I want to be clear as I say the following to each of you.  Aimee was not adopted by Deandre.  I have four lovely children that I owe an apology to.  The reason, is that I have neglected to be the best father I can be to them.  That changes today.  Today, I am putting God first in my life.  My family closely behind Him. I love my Country, but my family needs me more and for that reason, I am withdrawing my name from the Senate race.  You see, it was started on a platform of lies and I can’t live my life like that.  Thank you for your time.”

Aimee stared at the Telli in shock, she turned to Lexi and Piper.  “Did he just say he was withdrawing his name?”

Piper laid her hand on Aimee’s shoulder.  “Yeah.”

The press was asking him questions, but Aimee couldn’t focus on them. Deandre was smiling.  That puzzled her.  Then, she watched her come to the mic.  She announced that she, along with the campaign team and sponsors, support Clint in his decision.  Then, she dropped her own surprise.

“While my husband will be dropping out of the upcoming Senate race, this morning, I put my name on the ballots for Congress.  I have gained the support from my husband, my family, the sponsors who sponsored my husband’s campaign, will now sponsor me and Team Clint is now Team Deandre.”

Aimee stopped listening.  She turned to her friends.  “Wow.”

Her phone rang before she had a chance to talk to Lexi and Piper.

“Aimee.”

“Aiden, Hi.”

“Are you ok? We just seen your dad’s conference; I am in shock.”

“That makes two of us.  Wait, how did you know about the conference?”

“America is one of our strongest Allies. We heard that there was a change in the upcoming senate race and the announcement would be made today.  I never thought it would be your dad.”

“He called and told me to watch the conference.  I never thought he was withdrawing from the campaign.”

Aimee’s cell was beeping.  “That is my dad. I will call you later.”

“Dad.  What happen?”

“God woke me up, Aimee.  Being a Senator is not what I am here for. If I can’t stand up to Deandre and Mr. Meeks, how can I stand up for the right thing in Senate?”

“I can see that.  So what about Deandre?”

“Politics is her dream.  I have no problem standing by her.  I just wanted to get everything about you and Lillian out in the open.  If I put it out there, the real way it happened, then the temptation for her campaign team to use it is gone.  That is why I did the press conference.”

“Thanks, dad.  I love you so much.”

“I love you too, baby girl.”

Aimee told Lexi and Piper what he told her on the phone.  It was going to take time for this to settle in.  God was still working on her family, but He was fixing them.

Chapter Eight

Aimee was up early on Friday.  She was ready to watch the sunrise from the back patio.  She took her coffee and went to watch the sunrise.  She sat and watched those wonderful colors reflect off the ocean water.  Their flat was close enough to the beach, she could smell the ocean air.  A group of seagulls were trying to catch their breakfast.  She got tickled watching them fight over the food.  She couldn’t help but think the only two things missing was Aiden and his special coffee.

She went to take her shower and get ready for her meeting at Roseednay Fruits.  She straightened her hair and pulled it back in a slick ponytail.  She applied her make-up very conservatively.  The dress she bought was laying on the bed. It was a beautiful water blue and white gingham shirt dress with a v neckline, which was trimmed in water blue as was the ribbon belt, sleeves and bottom hem. Time for professional mode.

She went down to the kitchen area.  She had a few minutes to drink another cup of coffee.  Lexi and Piper were eating a bowl of oatmeal when she walked through the door.  Lexi whistled and laughed.  Piper turned to Lexi.  “She looks the part of a business woman.”

Aimee laughed at them. “Do me a favor and never drop out of college.  You will never make it as comedians.”

Brock, Mr. Myers chauffeur, picked Aimee up right on time and drove her over to Roseednay Fruits’ executive building.  Aimee was paying attention to the streets to the office.  She would be stopping by from time to time.

She and Brock talked about church along the way to the office.  When he pulled into his reserved parking spot, he helped Aimee out of the car.  “So, what do you do all day, while Mr. Myers is here?”

“Most days I drop him off, then I go get the kids and Mrs. Myers, and take them where they need to go.  They are at her mother’s this week, so today I am waiting on you.”’

Aimee searched through her purse and gave him some money.  “Go shopping and buy your lunch.  I will call your cell when I am done here.”

“Aimee, I can’t take this.”

“Brock, I want you to.  Actually, I have wanted to give it to before I went to United States for the summer.  It is my thank you gift.  You do wonders for the youth at Wise Chapel and I know it is not cheap to buy all the stuff you do.”

“I will spend it on the youth.”

“It’s yours, do whatever God tells you to.”

Mr. Myers met Aimee in the lobby and then led her to his office.  The staff had no idea who she was, so she suggested that she walk around the offices see how they react.  They would meet at lunch and she will share her observations and then they could call the meeting at two.

Mr. Myers gave her a name badge that only had her name on it.  She first wanted to observe how the reception area did with meeting visitors.  She hung out in their area for a half hour.  They did an excellent job.  The next two areas was finance and customer service. Both were very professional.

The only department she ran into trouble was the IT department.  That bothered her so bad, because it was the department that Lexi’s boyfriend worked in.  The manager was extremely rude to the staff.  He yelled at them four times in the first ten minutes Aimee was there.

She actually spent most of the morning in that department.  A lot needed to change in this particular part of the business. She was even able to use her phone and record two separate outburst from him.

Mr. Myers text her that he had lunch in his office. His secretary was gone, so Aimee headed up, she did not want her cover blown.  She gave him the good news first.  He was shocked when she told him about the IT department. He was upset when she showed him the recording.

Mr. Myers did some research of his own before the meeting and then met Aimee in the board room where she was waiting on him.  He spoke with all the IT guys to see if they had observed any management acting out of line or not following the code of conduct for the office.  He said he could see several who wanted to, but none spoke up.

Aimee tapped her nails on the table.  “I hate this for them.  Listen, I need to say something before we go any further with this.  One of the men from IT is dating one of my roommates, but I have never met him and he has no clue who I am.”

“Jaxson.  Which roommate?”

“Lexi.  How did you know who?”

“Brock told me that he was attending Wise.  He is a real nice boy.”

Aimee took the liberty of scrambling the face and changing the voice on the recording before sending the video to Mr. Myer’s phone. Then, she took her pre-planned hiding spot.  She knew her cue when to step into the room.  She could hear Mr. Myers going over the company’s code of conduct to the department heads.  He even told them how it was a shame to have to discuss this with people sitting in this conference room.

Aimee listened as he talked about the office having a visitor this morning.  Our visitor went to every department this morning to see how our staff interacts with one another.

One of the gentlemen asked why someone was walking around spying on the staff.  He even went as far to ask if there had been any complaints that caused this code of conduct to be brought up in a regular Friday meeting.

Mr. Myers cleared his throat before he continued.  That was Aimee’s cue to get ready. “I am glad you ask that question, Richard.  We honestly didn’t believe we had an issue until the young lady from our main corporate office decided to walk around and get the feel of the atmosphere of Roseednay Fruits.”

That was her cue.  When Aimee walked through the door, everyone looked at her in amazement.  They recognized her from earlier today.  Aimee went to speak, but the gentleman, Richard, stood and hit the desk. “This is ludicrous, Myers.  You are telling me that this young lady is from corporate?”

“Excuse me, Richard, that is your name, right?” Aimee watched him folded his arms over his chest.  “What is wrong with the fact that I am a young lady?”

“I don’t have to answer that.”  His face was reddening.

“I am afraid you do.  I am here representing the corporate office, remember?”

He went to walk away.  “Sit down, Richard.”  Mr. Myers stood up.  “Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Miss Aimee Pittman.  Miss Pittman is in training to take over the corporation that we are a subsidiary to.  So yes, Richard, you do have to listen to her.”

“Why?”  He sat down but kept his arms crossed.

Aimee and Mr. Myers shared a look and he nodded for her to go ahead.  He sat in his chair.  “First, I would like to say hi to everyone.  I look forward to getting to know each one of you over the next few years."

She looked around the conference table.  The number of department heads here was smaller than Lilliend Rose.  “I would like to tell you a few things about myself.  As Mr. Montgomery said, I am Aimee Pittman.  In case my accent has not totally given me away, I am from Untied States.”  The others chuckled.

“I am a Second Year Business Management and Marketing student at Ancaster University.”

“A student?”  Richard yelled out.

Aimee shook her head.  “I, sir, have chosen to remain a student for the next two years.  I lost my mother when I was ten and my Gran when I was twelve.  I am the sole heir to their estates.”

Richard stood.  “I don’t have time for this.  I have a department to run.”

Aimee had it with him.  “Richard, please have a seat.  I guess a need to paint a picture for you.  I am the sole owner of the corporation that owns Roseednay Fruits.”

Mr. Myers stood.  “Aimee will be here at the office as much as possible over the next two years.  Even though it is not a requirement for her to do so, she has chosen to continue her studies and obtain her Business Degree.”

She smiled at him.  “I want to take that time to not only learn more about business, but I am very interested in learning all aspects of the companies I will be running.  I will be making suggestions to both Mr. Myers and Mr. Montgomery on changes I would like to make.  There will be very few.  I want to run the company just as my Gran did.”

Richard rolled his eyes.  “I am sorry our meeting bores you, Richard.  Perhaps we can show you a recording to grab your attention.”  Mr. Myers had loaded the video on to a memory card and played it on the main screen.

Aimee waited for him to push stop.  “Mr. Myers and I spotted many flaws in this recording on how not to treat your employees.  Richard, would you like to point them out to us.”

“You had no right showing that to everyone.”

Mr. Myers stood.  Aimee took his seat and crossed her legs, letting him know he was now in control.  “Richard, the face is scrambled, the voice changed.  No one knew who it was.”

Aimee listened to him go over a few other things, then she joined Mr. Myers and Richard in Mr. Myer’s office.  Aimee stood beside Mr. Myers as he motioned for Richard to sit down.  “Richard, you have worked here for ten years.  You were one of our first IT techs.  You started here doing the same job as the ladies and gentlemen who work under you right now.  We have policies for what to do in these situations.”

Mr. Myers took the policy manual out and went over the policies for management.  It was policy that, if the management had been observed mistreating his department, it was an automatic decision making day.  He told Richard to be in his office first thing Monday morning.

Richard offered no explanation.  He simply stood and exit the room.

“Is he going be trouble?”  Aimee asked.

“No.  I know how to handle him. If you don’t mind though, Monday wait till I call you to come in.”

“OK. So now, do we need to go talk to the IT department?”

“Yeah.  This is one of the bad parts of our job.”

“I’ll let you take the lead.”  Aimee held the door for him.  He laughed as they headed out of the office and to the elevator.

Aimee listened to Mr. Myers explaining that, at no point should an employee be treated the way Mr. Higgins was treating them.  He told them that the decision on what is going to happen with Mr. Higgins had not been made yet, but for today, he would not be back in the office.

Aimee then introduced herself to the employees.  She shared a small part of her role at the company to them and let them know that she would be around till five in case they would need her.  She promised to do what she could do to help them.  They decided that a gentleman named Todd Day, who has worked in the IT department for six years and has the most seniority, would take over any IT concerns; while, Aimee would handle any management problems.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Lady Y seen Aimee go into Roseednay Fruits Corporate office today, so she stuck around.  She noticed that afternoon, not too long after the department head meeting, that low life Richard Higgins left the building.  She sent a text to Mr. X to pay him a visit. It seems Aimee caught him on video breaking the code of conduct. He had a decision making day.

Lady Y had Mr. X to go to Mr. Higgins’ house and ensure he leaves town peacefully.  Aimee was growing into such a lovely young lady.  She was going to continue her education.  Smart girl.  Now, if she could only keep her from researching her mom’s past, she would be set.