Lawrence sat down heavily on the desk chair. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes a moment. It seemed the worst of the crisis was finally over. All he could do now was wait and try to get some much needed rest.
When someone knocked on the office door, he called out, "Come in."
"Hi, Lawrence," Chad said as he walked into the office. "I was about to head home for the evening. I just wanted to check in and see if there was anything you needed me to do before I go."
"No. Thank you, Chad. Just go home, get some rest and enjoy your evening."
"I just wanted to thank you again for this chance. It really means a lot to me."
"You've been a lot of help to us and we need all the help we can get right now," Lawrence replied.
"Thanks. I'm glad. It's just - I've done some really stupid things in the past that I want to make up for. I can't say whether or not this would be happening to this company if I hadn't taken that money from R.J., but I do know that Audrey wouldn't have been a part of it and for me, that's reason enough to keep R.J. from taking this company under."
Lawrence rose slowly from his chair. "About Audrey. How is she involved in this?"
"I'm not sure exactly," Chad answered. "She said R.J. was threatening her to get her to spy on the company. I don't know the details, but I heard she tried to get a job here or something."
"That's right. She applied for Amanda's job, but Mr. Townsend gave it to someone else instead," Lawrence replied, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. As he spoke, he was more concerned about what else Audrey might have done to collect information for R.J.
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'm going to take off. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Goodbye," Lawrence called after Chad, before sinking thoughtfully into his chair.
A few minutes later, Lawrence emerged from his office, ready to go home himself. On his way out, he ran into Amanda in the hallway.
"Lawrence. There's a phone message for you. It didn't seem pressing, so I didn't bother you with it earlier."
Lawrence thanked Amanda as she handed him the note. After reading the message, he picked up the telephone and dialed the number that was written down.
After a brief conversation, he had arranged to meet Vanessa at the restaurant in her hotel later that evening to discuss his uncle.
After stopping by his apartment to shower and change clothes, Lawrence walked into the hotel where he was to meet Vanessa. As he looked around the restaurant, he noticed Eileen standing near the bar with a young man who was obviously her date.
He stood frozen in place, too surprised at first to react. Once he got over his initial shock enough to think, he realized he had no right to be jealous. What else could he expect after he told her he was dating someone else? He had blurted that out almost without thinking and it had been the most honest reply he could have given, but he wished he had said anything else. Even if he didn't have reason to doubt his relationship with Audrey, he would have regretted his choice of words.
Lost in his own thoughts, Lawrence flinched when Vanessa came in behind him and called out his name.
"Lawrence, it's so good to see you again," Vanessa greeted Lawrence cheerfully. "and under better circumstances."
"I should hope so."
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here. I haven't even asked for a table yet."
"Good. Let's get a seat. There's something important I want to discuss with you."
At the sound of Lawrence's name, Eileen turned around. She watched as Vanessa greeted Lawrence and they sat down together at a table.
Lawrence had been the last person she had expected or wanted to see here and the fact that he was dining with another woman only made matters worse. If it had been Audrey, she would have understood, but who was this other woman?
"Hey," Randy called out. "Something wrong?"
"No," she lied. "Are you ready to go?"
"Sure. Should we hit the clubs? Go dancing or something?"
"Yeah," Eileen agreed, but she didn't care where they went. She just wanted to get away from there.
"So, Lawrence," Vanessa began after they were seated and the waiter had brought their salads. "What have you been up to since I saw you last?"
"Working mostly. I haven't had time to think of much else."
"You must be busy. I saw your name in the paper not long ago in an article about a new building that's going up downtown. I take it you're into real estate as well?"
"I'm just getting started. I thought it would be a good investment."
"Oh, it can be," Vanessa nodded. "Your uncle and I did pretty well with the Boardwalk. Of course, we had our own business too, but we made a decent profit by renting the space below the bar. Since I came back to town, I've been trying to figure out what to do with the property and the business and the houses. I've had a lot of things to sort out."
"Speaking of my uncle," Lawrence began. "Why did you want to talk with me about him?"
"Like I was just saying, I've had a lot of things to sort out lately. Most of them having to do with Sebastian - or Silas," she sighed. "I was married to him for years, or thought I was, and I'm not even sure what I should call him . . . in front of other people that is. I can think of plenty of things to call him, but none of those names would do in polite conversation."
Lawrence nodded, "I understand."
"I know you do and that's why I wanted to talk to you. While I was talking with my lawyer, about my inheritance and whether that man and I were legally married, I found out my lawyer had handled business with Silas Rochester years ago. I'm sure you know what I mean. It was regarding his will and your inheritance." She paused for Lawrence's response, but he didn't know what to say. "I hope I wasn't out of line, hon, but I needed to know what I was dealing with. I'm glad that I know, because I want to see that you are paid back for your loss."
"But how? Silas is gone and I'm sure the money was gone long ago."
"Maybe, but I have an idea. I know you're interested in investing in real estate and I'm interested in getting rid of my property. The business and the property are worth plenty, but I can't keep them now. Not after everything that's happened. I just want to get rid of it all and make a fresh start. That's why I want to offer the Boardwalk to you."
Lawrence was stunned. "You want to sell it to me?"
"Actually, I want to give it to you," she said seriously. Lawrence replied only with a incredulous stare. "I want you to have it. It's not much, but at least it's something to make up for what you've lost."
"He's the one who stole from me not you."
"I know that, hon. But all these years, your uncle and I lived like we were married. We shared everything. Even though we were never legally married, because he used a false name on our marriage licence, and the property was under my name, I considered half of everything his. Now that he's gone and everything is mine, I want to give you his half."
"I don't know what to say," Lawrence finally muttered.
"Think it over and let me know when you've decided. I have all of the legal papers and information that you can look over. Just say you'll think about it."
"I will, but are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'm sure, hon. Very sure."
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