Chapter Three – Kian
Kian
I waited the entire day before I spoke with my parents. There were things I needed to do to clean up my cases and make notes about which partners or associates I thought would be best to take over.
When I exited the elevator and saw my mother’s assistant still sitting at her desk at nearly eight in the evening, I asked what she was doing there so late.
“Good evening, Mr. Carter. Mrs. Carter asked me to take care of some items on her to-do list.”
I slowly shook my head. “Annie, leave.”
Her smile slowly faded. “I’m sorry?”
“It’s nearly eight, go home, have a life, eat dinner. You’re not expected to be here until midnight doing her pissy ass work that she deems she doesn’t have time for.”
Her brows shot up.
“I’ll tell her I dismissed you.”
“Oh, she isn’t making me stay; I am so I can get caught up.”
I smiled. “Then I’ll suggest she hire another assistant so the one she has can leave at a normal time and eat with her family.”
A blush appeared on Annie’s face. “I’m single.”
I laughed. “And you’ll stay that way if you keep working like this. Go, enjoy your evening.”
Annie nodded, shut her laptop, then stood. “Have a good evening, Mr. Carter.”
“You as well.”
Turning, I knocked once and walked into my mother’s office. My father and she were at the large conference table looking at a file.
“You don’t see a problem with your assistant still working at almost eight at night?” I asked as I tossed my coat over the back of one of the chairs.
My father leaned back in his chair and grinned. Mom, on the other hand, folded her arms over her chest. “If the girl can’t get her work done on time, that is on her, not me.”
“Not if she is doing your work as well…Mother.”
A vein in her forehead jumped.
“Maybe you should think of hiring two assistants if you can’t seem to handle your own workload.”
“Where in the hell is this coming from?” my mother asked, standing and pointing to me. “I did not raise you to be disrespectful.”
Sitting down, I stared my mother down. “You’re right, Mom. You didn’t raise me, Sally did.”
“Kian,” my father warned.
I held up my hands. “I’m sorry, cheap shot.”
“If this is because of the settlement, you need to realize we are doing what is best for the families and more importantly, the firm.”
“You’re right, Mother. You always put the firm’s needs above all. ”
She frowned, but I lifted my briefcase and opened it, and before she could say another word, I declared, “I’m tired.”
“Go home and sleep, son,” my father stated. “Why don’t you also take a few hours off tomorrow morning.”
I glanced up at him and smiled. I pulled out my resignation letter and handed one copy to him and the other to my mother.
“I already sent this to HR.”
They both read it and looked up at me.
“Is this some kind of joke?” my father asked.
Standing, I shook my head. “No. I’m tired of not having a life. I’m tired of burning both ends of the candle, and it’s time to make some changes.”
My mother looked at the letter then back to me. “If you need some time off, Kian, we can certainly work with you on that. Why don’t you take that trip to Scotland like you always wanted to? I heard you can stay for several months. Maybe you need to backpack through the Highlands or something a man your age would want to do.”
I laughed. “I don’t think you are understanding what I’m telling you. I never wanted to be a lawyer; I did it because it was what you and Dad wanted, just like Macy did. The only smart one was Mark.”
“Did she talk you into this?” my mother asked. I swore I almost saw steam coming from her ears.
“No, she had nothing to do with it. It was actually something a stranger said to me on the subway this morning.”
Letting out a gruff laugh, my father asked, “A stranger?”
I nodded. “Yes. He was a lawyer once upon a time, and what he said hit home. ”
My father stood and made his way over to the bar cart. “Fine. You can go off and find yourself, son. We’ll need six months, and that should cover all your cases.”
It was my turn to stand. “Today is my last day…you have my letter of resignation.”
“What?” they both said in unison.
“Come on, all I do is look over cases, write briefs, and babysit.”
“That is not true at all. You have more billable hours than half the partners.”
Standing, I cleared my throat, picked up my briefcase, and said, “Jim Larson will be handling my caseload. He will assign what he can’t handle to a list of people I suggested for him.”
If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn my mother looked like she was about to pass out.
“Where are you going to work?” my father asked.
“That I haven’t figured out yet. I’m going to put my condo up for sale, and I think I’ll head home for a bit.”
“To Moose Village?” my mother asked. “We’ve been thinking of expanding the satellite office there. Your uncle seems to be pretty busy, and if it warrants it, maybe you could join him there.”
“Lacy,” my father warned. “Can we leave the boy alone for five minutes?”
Holding up her hands in defeat, she sighed. “Right, right. Will you think about it, though?”
Walking over to her, I kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, Mom.”
She patted my back as if she didn’t know how to hug me. “I love you too, Kian. ”
Turning to face my father, I held out my hand, but he pulled it in and hugged me. With a hard slap on the back, he said, “You are always welcome back after you take this silly sabbatical of yours.”
“I’ll talk toyou both soon.”
And with that, I turned and left. I had no intention of ever stepping foot in this building again.
The light streaming in from the windows caused me to quickly sit up. A brief panic set in before I realized I didn’t have to be at work today, tomorrow, or the next day. I was free to do what I wanted when I wanted.
“Thank fuck,” I whispered as I dropped back down onto the pillow and let out a long sigh.
Turning my head, I glanced out the window and smiled at the sight before me. My family home was in the Adirondack Mountains, and the view from my parents’ house was breathtaking. I had forgotten how beautiful it was up here. Moose Lake was calm and reflected the sky in its calm waters. It was named Moose Lake because someone once said it looked like a moose antler.
After lying in bed for a few more minutes, I sat up, swung my legs over the edge, and stood. I needed a quick shower before heading into town to get some food. Once I cleaned up, I grabbed my wallet and keys. It was strange to drive my car. In New York City, I kept it parked in the garage of my building more than it ever saw the light of day. Driving up last night was the longest I had ever sat in the damn thing.
When I opened the door, I nearly let out a scream. Sally stood there, a frown on her face, and her arms immediately folded across her chest.
“Sally, you scared the hell out of me.” I laughed.
“What are you doing in the guest house?”
I looked past her to the large house on top of the hill. It had an even better view of the lake, even though the guest house was practically on the lake. The boat house was next to it and held my father’s precious boat, which he never took out…because all he ever did was work.
“I thought I would stay in the guest house.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re staying in here and not up at the main house?”
With a laugh, I said, “Sally, that house is huge. I’m more comfortable here.”
She looked past me. “It hasn’t been cleaned in about a month.”
“How dirty could it be with no one ever here?”
Her eyes darted back to mine. “Don’t sass. I’ll have someone come and clean it and put fresh sheets on the beds.”
The guest house had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, but the living, dining, and kitchen areas were all one giant space.
“That’s not…”
I stopped talking when one of her brows arched. I knew that look and decided I needed to let this fight go.
“Fine, have someone come in and clean.”
“Have you unpacked?”
Glancing back into the living room, I saw the suitcase I had quickly packed. “I only have one suitcase, but I’ll have to return to the city to pack up my place.”
“Pack it up? ”
“I’m selling it.”
Her mouth fell open. “Where will you live?”
Looking around, I said, “Well, I’m living off the folks for now.”
She smiled. “Where are you off to now?”
“Breakfast. I’m starving.”
The corners of her mouth twitched, and I could tell she was trying not to laugh. “Kian, it’s nearly one.”
I lifted my arm to look at my Fitbit but realized I hadn’t put it on. “Shit, is it really?”
“It is. Why don’t you come up to the house and I’ll make you something.”
I stepped out of the house and kissed Sally on the cheek. “Thanks, Sally, but I want to head into town. It’s been a few years since I’ve been home, and I’d like to pop over and say hi to Aunt Opal.”
“You better get to hopping then. They close at three. She might even be able to make you something to eat.”
“At the bakery?”
She shrugged. “It’s Opal. She can whip up anything.”
“Do you want me to bring you anything back?”
Rubbing her hands together, she bounced on her toes in excitement. “If they have any of Cadie’s banana nut bread, will you get some?”
“Cadie?”
A wicked twinkle appeared in her eyes. “That’s right, you wouldn’t know about Cadie Waterford!”
Ignoring the noises from my stomach, I asked, “Who is she?”
She looked around as if making sure no one would hear her, even though we were the only two people around for literally miles. Lord, she was about to gossip .
“Well,” she started in a lowered voice.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
“Cadie Waterford showed up about three weeks ago…give or take a few days. She simply appeared in town one day and saw that Opal was hiring and she applied. Said she worked at a few bakeries on the West Coast and in Chicago, but anytime anyone asks her where, she is very vague.”
“Vague?”
“Yes!” she said, nodding her head so hard and fast I was worried she was going to hurt herself. “She won’t tell anyone where she is from and simply says she’s lived here and there. The two bakeries, though, that she worked for were in Portland and Chicago. She got a wonderful recommendation from both bakeries, and Opal said she is a whiz when it comes to baking.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“That she is so secretive?”
I laughed. “No, that she can bake!”
“Oh, yes. I haven’t spoken to Opal, but Macy met Cadie yesterday and gave her the third degree.”
Groaning, I said, “Macy was here?”
“Yes, she wanted to let me know to expect you, and she wanted to see Opal. She said Cadie seems nice, but she doesn’t like talking about herself.”
“I don’t see what is so strange about that. Not everyone is obligated to tell their life story.”
Sally crossed her arms once again. “Won’t say where she is from, hasn’t mentioned any family, drove into town one day and stayed, pays cash for everything, and if you ask me, I think she dyes her hair.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Sally. How many women dye their hair? Millions! Leave the poor girl alone. Maybe she’s just wanting a fresh start.”
“We think so as well, but Betty Lou thinks she might have killed someone. Like maybe her husband got too handsy, and she popped him off.”
It was my turn to raise my brows. “Popped him off?”
She nodded. “Killed him.”
“I know what you mean. That is crazy. I think Betty Lou should stop watching those mystery movies, and why are you listening to the town gossip?”
“It’s how I keep up with everything.”
I started to move past Sally and toward my car.
“Let me know what you think about her!” Sally called out.
Lifting my hand and giving her a wave, I replied, “I’ll bring you back some banana bread.”
“Thank you!”
Once I was in my car, I let out a soft laugh and started my car. “Popped him off. Some things will never change in this town.”