Part 5 - Chapter 1 - Fired

As soon as Lucy hung up the phone she went to look for her keys. She found them on an end table and hastily tried to explain what she had learned over the phone to Jordan as she headed out the door. When Jordan finally made sense of what she was trying to say, he took the car keys from her.

"You're much too upset to drive. I'll go with you."

It was after midnight when Lucy and Jordan arrived at the hospital. Even though they were at a different hospital in a different town, when they walked into the building, Lucy felt just like she did when she went to visit her father after his heart attack. She was overcome with fear. What if Craig was in critical condition? She couldn't take the thought of losing him too.

When Lucy paused in the doorway, Jordan touched her shoulder. "Why don't you wait here and I'll ask the receptionist about Mr. Sexton."

Lucy nodded and stood in the waiting area as Jordan approached the front desk. She waited for a few moments, but when Jordan didn't come back with an answer, she went over to see what was going on.

"I'm sorry, sir, but visiting hours are over and if you aren't immediate family I can't tell you anything about the patient." The woman behind the desk then turned to Lucy, who was still in her work clothes. "Can I help you, doctor?"

Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but Jordan nodded at her to go along. "What room is Craig Sexton in?"

The receptionist checked the records and replied, "412."

"Thanks," Lucy replied, smiled at Jordan, and went to find Craig.

When Lucy walked into Craig's room he was lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling. He looked towards the door when Lucy walked in and sat up in bed. "Lucy, you're here."

"I came as soon as I could. Are you alright, Craig? What happened?"

"I'm fine. Relax," he said, as he got up and walked towards her. "The stage collapsed when James and I were getting ready to go on. I broke my arm and we both got a few cuts and bruises, but other than that, everything is fine."

Lucy gave Craig a hug. "I was so worried."

"I'm sorry, babe," he said. "But I am glad to see you. And I should be able to get out of here soon."

"Good," she smiled. "You can come home with me."

"So I suppose you've heard the news," Andrew began as he dropped by Hector's desk to gloat.

Hector turned to Andrew with crossed arms. "Yeah, yeah."

"It looks my hard work paid off after all. Since I was chosen to handle the big account and you weren't." When Hector only shrugged, Andrew continued, "What? No smart remarks this time?"

Before Hector could respond, he noticed Jerry Keller walk into the office, say a few words to Lauren, and then head back to Arthur Townsend's office. Hector grinned. "No, you really beat me this time, Martin. Enjoy your glory while you can."

Hector turned back to his desk with an evil grin, leaving Andrew confused and somewhat disappointed by his reaction.

When Jerry walked into Arthur's office, Arthur rose solemnly from his seat to greet him. "Thanks for coming, Jerry."

"Of course," Jerry replied. He cleared his throat. "I have the information right here."

Arthur took the binder that Jerry handed to him and put on his reading glasses. He carefully read over the information before setting the binder down with a heavy sigh.

"You're absolutely sure that all of this information is correct."

"Yes, I checked it thoroughly. I wouldn't have given it to you if I wasn't sure."

"Of course. Thank you for the work you've done on this," Arthur said as he shook Jerry's hand and the accountant left the office. Arthur was glad that the mystery had been solved, but he wasn't looking forward to what he had to do next.

Arthur called Andrew into his office. When he saw how cheerful Andrew was, he only became more furious.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Townsend?" Andrew asked.

"How could you do it, Andrew? Haven't I done my best to treat you and my other employees as family?"

"Of course, but what are you talking about?"

"The company is missing thousands of dollars."

Andrew scratched his head. "That isn't my fault, is it?"

"Don't play innocent, Andrew. I've had the records examined carefully and all of the evidence points directly to you. How could you steal from the company?"

"I didn't," Andrew insisted. He couldn't believe this was happening. "I've never taken anything from the company."

"I really wish I could believe you, Andrew, and I'm sorry I have to say this, but you're fired. Clean out your desk and leave immediately."

"But-" Andrew started to protest. "There's been a mistake."

"Just go. Please," Arthur said, turning his back as Andrew left the office.

Next

Part 5 - Chapter 2 - Fired

At the end of the school day, Alma stood in the doorway, waving goodbye to her students as they headed home. She smiled as they called out choruses of goodbyes and ran to their buses or to the sidewalk.

She waited until they were out of sight before returning to her empty classroom to straighten up for the evening. As she walked down the hallway on her way home for the night she felt a spring in her step that she hadn't felt for a long time. She hadn't realized how depressed she had become over the last few years, but all of that was washed away and she felt like a different person, and more like herself again.

On her way out, Alma stopped to talk to one of her fellow teachers.

"So how do you like working here?" Bernice asked.

"I love it," Alma replied. "I'm just so glad to be teaching again. Everyone here has been so nice."

"It is a great place to work and we're all glad to have you here."

"It's so nice to be around people again and to be able to get away from the house and Mother for awhile."

Bernice nodded. "Oh, I agree. I love my cats like they were my children, but it's nice to have other people to talk to once in awhile," Bernice laughed. "Which reminds me, I should get home. They'll be waiting for their dinner. I'll see you tomorrow, Alma."

When Alma arrived home she found Amanda in the kitchen, singing as she fixed dinner.

"Hi, Alma. How was your day?" Amanda asked.

"Great," Alma replied and went on to talk about her class and her students.

Amanda listened as she worked, amazed at how talkative and cheerful her sister had become. When Alma finished talking about her day Amanda said, "Well, it looks like everything is working out great. Dinner's almost ready. As soon as Andrew comes home we can eat." Amanda glanced at her watch. "I'm surprised he's not home yet. He must be working late."

When Andrew still hadn't called or returned home a few hours later, Amanda was worried. She told her mother and sister to go ahead and eat. She was going to wait for Andrew.

By the time Mona had gone to bed, Amanda was worried into a panic. It wasn't like Andrew to be late and not call. She was trying to decide if she should call someone at the office, or the police, or the hospital when the doorbell rang. Amanda jumped up and went to the door, prepared for the worst.

But she wasn't prepared for what she saw when she opened the door. It was Andrew leaning on that blonde actress she had seen him with before they got married. Immediately, Amanda's fear turned into anger. "What's going on here? Where have you been, Andrew?" she demanded.

"Don't be too mad at him, hon. He's had a rough day," the blonde, Vanessa, said.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" Amanda demanded. The volume and tone of her voice drew Alma into the room to see what was going on.

Andrew cringed, "Could you lower your voice, dear?"

"Oh, I see. You've been out all evening with other women and drinking while I was here worried sick about you." Andrew tried to move closer to comfort her, but she pushed him away. "Why did I ever marry you?"

"I don't know," Andrew said sadly. "You deserve better than me, Mandy. You deserve a husband that can support you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I got fired," he said in a high voice as he swayed to keep his balance. "Townsend told me to leave and not come back."

"Why?" Amanda asked with concern.

"He thinks I'm a thief, but I didn't do it. I swear, I didn't, Mandy," he slurred.

"I know you wouldn't."

"I'm going to go," Vanessa said quietly as she moved towards the door. "Your car is at Barrett's Boardwalk if you want to pick it up."

"I'm sorry, Amanda. I'm so sorry. I've been trying to figure out what we're going to do," Andrew explained.

"We'll be ok," Amanda said, trying to sound optimistic. "You'll find another job and I can go back to work. We'll get through this."

As Amanda and Andrew embraced, Alma turned silently and headed up to her bedroom. Once the door was shut securely behind her, she started to sob. She could see where this was going. Amanda would start working again and she would be stuck at home again with Mother all day, everyday. She couldn't stand the thought of going back to the life that she had just finally left behind. She wiped away her tears and promised to herself that she would not let that happen.

Next

Part 5 - Chapter 3 - Fired

The next morning at work, Arthur called Lawrence and Hector into the conference room to explain what had happened the day before. Since Andrew was no longer part of the company, they were short an employee and would have to make up the slack. Until they could hire someone new, Hector and Lawrence would be splitting Andrew's workload and since Lawrence would now be doing the work of an executive, he would be promoted to that position.

Arthur kept the meeting short and closed with some subdued words of encouragement, "I know you both can handle this," before concluding the meeting and retreating to his office.

Andrew's actions had felt like a betrayal to Arthur, but life and business had to go on.

"Congratulations," Hector said to Lawrence as they left the conference room.

Lawrence nodded grimly. "Well, I guess you finally did it."

"What makes you think I did anything?" Hector asked innocently. "Listen, Lawrence, if you're going to get anywhere in business, you've got to get used to benefitting from someone else's failure. It happens."
Lawrence said nothing and walked away.

On the way to his desk, Hector stopped by Andrew's empty cubicle and looked at it with a smile. Now that his competition was out of the way, it was time to move on to phase two of his master plan.

When Lauren walked back to her desk after filing some papers, she was surprised to see Amanda.

"Hi, Lauren. Is Mr. Townsend busy?"

"I don't think so, but I'll call back and ask," she said warily. As she lifted the receiver to call, she asked, "Are you here about your husband? I'm awful sorry to hear that he got canned."

Amanda ignored the remark and said, "Just tell Mr. Townsend I'd like to talk to him."

"Alright," Lauren shrugged and dialed the extension. "Mr. Townsend, Amanda Martin is here to see you," she said into the phone. A moment later she hung up and told Amanda, "You can go on back to his office."

"Thanks," Amanda replied.

Lauren watched suspiciously as she walked past. She had a feeling this visit meant bad news for her.

Arthur raised stiffly from his chair when Amanda entered his office. "Hello, Amanda," he said soberly.

Amanda got right to the point, "How could you think Andrew took that money?"

"I didn't want to believe it, but all of the evidence points to him."

"Listen, Mr. Townsend - Arthur. I have never been anything but honest with you and I know that Andrew didn't take that money. He would never do something like that. And even if he had, where would all that money have went? He doesn't have it."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could believe you, but I don't see any other possibility. I had no choice. Andrew couldn't stay on here."

"Fine," Amanda said stiffly. "Then there's something I came to ask you. If you can't give Andrew his job back, can you give me mine? Despite what you think, we need the money and you said there would be a place for me if I ever wanted to come back. I just didn't expect it to be so soon."
Arthur nodded. "I'll think it over and let you know."

Lauren, who had been listening at the door, hurried back to her desk before she could get caught eavesdropping. When Amanda walked out of the office she avoided eye contact. As soon as Amanda was gone, Lauren buried her hands in her face. If she didn't do something drastic, she would lose her job and her chance to impress Lawrence. But it wasn't too late yet.

Lauren spent the rest of the day, working hard and trying to impress Arthur. She thought, "If I really suck up to him maybe he'll see that I'm a way better secretary than Amanda ever was and not fire me." And just in case that didn't work, she came up with a back-up plan.

At the end of the day, Arthur called Lauren into his office. She nervously awaited her fate.

"I wanted to tell you that you've done a great job since you've started working here," Arthur began.

"Thanks," Lauren beamed.

"But, unfortunately, I'm going to have to let you go. I appreciate the work you've put in, but we really don't need you anymore. Of course, I'll give you an excellent letter of recommendation and if another position opens up we'll be sure to give you a call."

Lauren frowned, "Oh, alright. I guess I understand. Thanks for hiring me, anyway. If you change your mind, you know my number."

Instead of going home, Lauren sat next to the fountain out front and waited to put Plan B into action.

When Lawrence came out, she stood up, took a few steps and, with a yelp, fell to the ground.

Lawrence hurried over. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I-" Lauren started weakly as she started to stand. "Ouch!" she yelled out and sat back down again. "I think I twisted my ankle." She started to sob. "This is so awful. I just lost my job and now this. I can't even walk. How am I going to get home?" She looked up at Lawrence with a pathetic expression.

Lawrence frowned, caught in a moral struggle. He didn't want to make the offer, but what other choice was there? "I can give you a ride."

"Will you really? Gee, thanks," Lauren said cheerfully. "Can you help me up?"

As they were driving to Lauren's apartment, Lawrence asked, "Shouldn't I take you to the hospital to have your ankle examined?"

"Of no, it's not that bad. In fact, it's starting to feel better already," Lauren claimed, but once they were at her apartment she insisted that she needed Lawrence to help her inside.

Lawrence saw that she was seated comfortably on the couch and then started towards the door.

"Wait," Lauren called out. "Don't you want a drink?"

"No, I should really get home."

"Well, would you get me one before you go?" she asked.

Lawrence reluctantly agreed and Lauren pointed him towards the kitchen.

As Lawrence fixed Lauren's drink, he happened to notice a newspaper lying on top of the trash. A large square was cut out of it, but the part that remained looked familiar to Lawrence. On the side of the page was an article about his first promotion at the Stuart-Townsend Corporation and the part that had been cut out had been his picture.

Lawrence set the glass down on the counter and hurried out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

When he walked through the living room, Lauren was posed seductively on the couch and romantic music was playing on the stereo. "You're back," she said in a sultry voice. When she noticed that Lawrence hadn't brought her drink and he was making a beeline for the door, she sat up and spoke in her usual high-pitched, cheerful tone, "Hey, I thought you were getting me a drink."

"It's in the kitchen," Lawrence replied as he opened the front door.

"Lawrence? Where are you going?" she asked, but he didn't stop to answer. He wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible.

As she heard Lawrence's car start up and drive away Lauren sighed. She jumped up from the couch, turned off the record, and went to her bedroom. On her way to the closet she stopped to admire a picture on her wall, the photograph of Lawrence from the newspaper that she had enlarged and framed.

"Oh, well. I guess tonight just wasn't our night, but I won't give up on us I promise." She blew the picture a kiss and then went to change out of her work clothes.

Next

Part 5 - Chapter 4 - Fired

"Is everything thing alright?" Jordan asked the maid. Every morning she started her duties by making up the beds, but when she left Lucy's bedroom this morning, she had a mischievous smile on her face.

The maid snickered. "More than alright for some people I'd say," she winked at Jordan, but he looked even more confused. She tapped him on the shoulder with her feather duster as she walked past him towards the stairs. "Looks like I won't have to bother with the guest room this morning."

Jordan stood in the hallway until the maid disappeared down the stairs and then peeked into Lucy's room. He expected to find it empty since Lucy had already left, but someone was still sleeping in her bed. Jordan quickly shut the door and stepped back. The discovery left him uncomfortable. He knew better than to snoop into his employer's personal life. He didn't know what he had been thinking.

Craig slept in late that morning. He was still used to his musician's schedule, staying up all night, sleeping most of the day. He wandered around the house looking for something to do. He paused at the piano and regretted his broken arm. It would be awhile before he could play again. Without his music to keep him occupied and without Lucy around to keep him company, he was quickly growing bored.

When he saw Jordan pass by, he followed after him and tried to start up a conversation with the butler. Jordan was as polite and professional as he had been taught to be on the job, but Craig found him cold. Craig felt like he was just getting in the way and bothering Jordan while he was trying to do his job, so he soon gave up trying to talk to Jordan and decided to see what was on TV.

After Andrew lost his job, the household had to be arranged again. It was decided that until Andrew found a new job, Amanda would go back to work at the office, Andrew would stay home and look after Mona, and Alma would keep her teaching job. The new arrangement was only supposed to be temporary, but when Amanda left for work that first day and Andrew had to stay home, he became very depressed and spent most of his time sitting on the couch watching television instead of trying to find another job.

"Do you need something, Mona?" Andrew asked when he noticed his mother-in-law standing over him, dressed to go out.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you could get up out of that sofa long enough to take the poor old woman, who gives you roof to sleep under, to the doctor? But if that show is just too important to tear yourself away from, maybe I should just lay down and die."

Andrew mumbled something under his breath as he got up to turn off the TV and get his car keys.

"How have you been feeling, Mrs. May?"Dr. Wilton greeted Mona as he entered the examining room.

"How do you think?" she retorted. "Same as always."

"That's good to hear," he replied, ignoring her sarcastic tone. "Why don't you take a seat and we'll start the examination?"

As he gave Mona her check-up Edward asked, "So how are your lovely daughters?"

Mona sighed, "They would be fine if it wasn't for my no good son-in-law. Can you believe my girls have to go out and work their fingers to the bone, while he sits around the house all day and just stares at the television? The no good bum. I knew I never should have let Amanda marry him, but you know how kids are. They think they're in love and nothing else matters."

"Um hmm," Edward replied as he looked over Mona's chart.

"At least Alma's not married yet. I've still got a chance at a decent son-in-law," she said, with an eye on Dr. Wilton.

"Well, it looks like everything is fine," Edward said as he concluded the check-up. "Just keep following your usual orders and take your prescriptions and let me know if you have any problems."

"I will," Mona replied. "I was just thinking, Dr. Wilton. I've been talking a lot about my family, but I don't know anything about yours."

"There's not much to know. I have some distant relatives who live out of state, but no close family to speak of."

"You aren't married? A nice doctor like you? I don't believe it."

"It's true."

"You must get lonely. You ought to join us for dinner sometime."

"Thank you for the offer," Edward started, but Mona wasn't listening.

"I'm going to have Alma take me shopping on Saturday. If you're not busy you could have lunch with us."

Edward smiled. Mona was trying to be subtle and was failing, but he didn't mind. "I think I might be able to make some room in my schedule to meet for lunch. What time?"

Hector walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. As he waited for someone to answer it, he examined his reflection in the glass windows of the door and took a moment to compose himself. This was a very important visit. In his mind he compared it to a business exchange, and that comforted him, but this wasn't just business. This was even more important.

"Oh, Hector. Hello," Arthur said as he opened the door. "What brings you by?"

"Is Eileen around?"

"She's upstairs. I'll tell her you're here."

"No, don't," Hector protested. "I was actually hoping to talk with you alone. It's about Eileen . . ."

Next

Part 5 - Chapter 5 - Fired

"Get your purse," Mona ordered Alma. "You're taking me shopping."

"But I was just going to grade some papers. Can't Amanda take you?"

"Your sister is busy enough with all the housework and taking care of that husband of hers. Those papers will be waiting for you when you get back. Now get a move on."

Alma gave in with a sigh. There was no changing her mother's mind when she got an idea into her head.

As usual, Mona was in control, telling Alma which way to turn and where to park, but she was being even more vague than usual about where they were going and what they were looking for. Alma noticed that her mother didn't seem very interested in the things she was shopping for. She seemed more interested in what time it was. Alma suspected that Mother was having one of her "bad days."

At precisely 12:30 Mona insisted that they go to The Tavern Restaurant to have lunch. When the waiter asked if they wanted to be seated, Mona ignored him and scanned the restaurant. "Oh, look, there's Dr. Wilton. Let's go sit with him."

"Mother, we can't just go sit with him without being invited. Maybe he doesn't want to be bothered," Alma tried to protest, but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Pssh, he won't mind. Let's just go over and say hello. Don't be rude," Mona said sharply as she continued to make her way to the doctor's table and Alma could only follow helplessly behind.

Alma was completely embarrassed as her mother started up a conversation with Dr. Wilton. Fortunately, he was gracious and invited them to join him for lunch.

Alma was quiet during the meal. Edward tried to draw her into the conversation with questions, but Mona was quick to answer for her daughter. Alma was surprised that her mother was actually saying nice things about her, but then she started to catch on. Her mother had known exactly what she was doing from the start and had been planning this set up between her daughter and the doctor all along.

Not only was Alma embarrassed now, but she was furious that her mother would trick her into this. Part of her wanted to storm off, but she forced herself to sit through the rest of the meal which, thankfully, was almost over.

As they were leaving, Mona had to go back to the table for her handbag and Edward took the opportunity to talk with Alma alone.

"This was nice," Edward said. "Maybe we could do this again sometime when your mother isn't around."

Alma was flattered, but nervous and wasn't sure what to say. Since her mother was on her way back to the door, they just said goodbye and went their separate ways.

"Hector's here," Arthur called up the stairs.

Eileen called back from her room, "I'll be there in a minute," and put the finishing touches on her makeup before starting for the door. She had been pleasantly surprised when her father gave her permission to go out with Hector. For the past weeks she hadn't been allowed to go anywhere fun. She started calling her psychic's class a "study group" just so she could go and she had to sneak out at night to go to her part time job. She didn't want to risk trying any more than that.

She hoped this date meant that her father had a change of heart and things would start going back to normal soon.

When she walked into the living room, Hector greeted her with a hug. When Eileen noticed her father and Veronica standing behind Hector, smiling at the couple, she looked back at them curiously. They were both acting strange and she had the feeling that something funny was going on.

Eileen was relieved that Hector didn't seem interested in staying at the house long. Hector was concerned about making their reservation on time, but Eileen was just eager to leave the house.

"Oh, it's so nice to be out," Eileen remarked as she and Hector sat down at their table and the waiter handed them their menus. "How did you talk my dad into it?"

Hector grinned. "It was easy. I just mentioned there was something important I wanted to talk to you about and here we are."

Eileen looked up from her menu curiously. "What's this important thing you have to tell me?"

"Let's talk about it after we eat . . .So I take it life at home hasn't been much fun for you lately?" Hector casually remarked.

Eileen sighed and started to rant about how her father's new strict policies were starting to drive her crazy. By the time she realized that she was monopolizing the conversation and that she wasn't letting herself enjoy her night out, they were finished with the first course. She apologized.

"Don't be sorry. I don't mind at all," Hector replied.

"Anyway, enough about me. Tell me how you've been."

"I've been keeping busy," he replied cryptically and waited as the waiter served the next course before continuing. "I've been making a lot of plans for the future."

"Oh really? Like what?"

Hector went on to talk about work and his professional goals. Eileen listened and nodded at what he said, but he could tell that she was bored with all the business talk. "But I suppose if you wanted to hear about business you could have gone to dinner with your father."

Eileen flashed a teasing grin and said nothing.

Hector leaned closer, looked at Eileen admiringly, and asked, "Do you know what I'm thinking?"

"What?" Eileen asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"I was just wondering when you're going to marry me."

Eileen laughed. Taking the remark as a joke, she played along, "Whenever you want."

"I'm ready anytime. How soon can you put the wedding together?" When Eileen looked confused, he added, "Your dad's already given me his blessing."

Eileen jumped back, "What? Are you serious?"

"Of course," Hector replied. "I know we would be good for each other, Eileen. I think we should get married."

"I don't believe this. How could you talk to my father before you said anything about this to me? I don't even want to get married yet. I'm sorry, Hector."

"Don't get upset. Just think it over," Hector said calmly. "I really think getting married could be the best move for both of us. Think about it, if you were married to me, there would be no more sneaking out of the house and no more "borrowing" money from your dad. You would be a free woman. If things keep going the way they are, someone is bound to catch you sooner or later. So far, I'm the only one who's found about your psychic's class and about the petty cash, right?" he said in a lowered voice. "And if we get married, I promise, no one else will ever find out."

Eileen just stared at Hector speechlessly.

"Just think it over," he said with a wink. "Let me know when you've decided."

Next

Part 5 - Chapter 6 - Fired

On Monday morning, Craig woke up late, as usual. He got up, dressed, and then wandered through the house in search of Lucy. He found her downstairs talking with the butler. When he walked into the room and gave her a kiss, Lucy smiled at him and continued her conversation with Jordan.

Craig stood by and listened for awhile, intending to join in, but he quickly discovered that he didn't have anything to add. To him the conversation seemed to be mostly gossip, talk about some people Jordan used to work for and some obscure actors he had met. Craig had never heard of these people before and he wasn't interested in hearing about them now, but Lucy seemed fascinated. He thought about heading to the kitchen to get some breakfast, but suddenly he didn't like the idea of leaving Lucy and Jordan, so he stayed.

The conversation was only interrupted when the phone rang and Jordan went to answer it.

"Mr. Townsend is on the telephone for you, Miss Stuart."

Lucy was a bit wary about talking to Arthur, the last time she had seen him he hadn't been happy with her decision to drop the lawsuit and she was concerned about what he had to say to her now.

"Listen, Lucy," Arthur began, his tone subdued. "I just wanted to let you know that I've decided to hire someone to clean out your father's office. I thought you might want to drop by and pick up any personal items that you want to keep before they come. I haven't been in there since. . ."

Arthur trailed off, but Lucy was touched by sentiment in his voice. "Don't bother hiring someone. I'll do it," Lucy offered. When Arthur asked if she was sure, she insisted that she wanted to.

"Thank you, Lucy. I appreciate it," Arthur said, before saying goodbye.

"What was that about?" Craig asked as Lucy hung up the phone.

"I offered to clean out my dad's office at work," she explained, all the confidence and certainty that had been in her voice when she was on the phone, drained away and now she only seemed sad.

Craig touched her on the arm comfortingly and asked, "Do you want me to come with you, give you a hand?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, that's alright. There really wouldn't be much for you to do there. I don't want you overdoing it with your arm."

Craig grinned seductively, "Yes, Doctor."

Lucy smiled back at him and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll have Jordan come with me to help carry boxes and I'll be back before you know it."

"Ok," he agreed. As Lucy gave him a hug, Craig eyed Jordan over her shoulder. He wasn't happy about Jordan going with Lucy to help instead of him, but decided it would be better not to start anything, so he kept his mouth shut.

Craig was tired of hanging around the house, so he called James and made plans to meet for lunch while Lucy was at the office.

"So how have you been?"James asked as he and Craig sat down at the restaurant.

"I'd be great if I didn't have this thing on my arm," he replied, motioning towards his cast. "I don't mind taking a little time off, but not being able to play at all is about driving me crazy."

James shook his head. "Tough luck, huh? How long will it be until it's healed?"

"Another month at least. Then who knows how long it will take to get completely back to normal."

James nodded silently and turned his attention to his menu.

Craig sensed something was odd, so he asked, "Is there something on your mind, man?"

"Actually, yeah there is," James replied, setting the menu aside. "I'm glad you called me today because there's something I've got to tell you." James paused and Craig waited for him to continue. "I'm not going to cancel the tour."

"What?" Craig exclaimed. "You're going ahead without me?"

"I didn't want to replace you, man, but what do you want me to do? Give up this opportunity and do nothing, just because you can't play right now? Come on."

"I can't believe you!" Craig said angrily as he rose from his seat. "Since when are you the star of the show? These gigs are mine just as much as they are yours."

James shrugged. "I'm sorry, but don't take it out on me. I'm not the reason you aren't playing. Maybe in a few months we can work out something new."

"Forget it," Craig said and stormed out of the restaurant.

Lucy opened the door to her late father's office and paused a moment in the doorway. She took a deep breath and said to Jordan, "Let's get to work."

As Lucy sorted through her father's belongings and packed them into boxes, she became reminiscent. Once in awhile she would come across a familiar item and pause to tell Jordan about it. He listened attentively to her stories about her father and about her family. Lucy couldn't tell if he was really interested or if he was just being polite, but she appreciated having someone to listen to her either way.

After cleaning out one drawer of the desk, Lucy moved on to the next one. Inside was a stack of papers. Assuming that they were just boring business papers, she flipped through them quickly, but something in the back caught her attention.

"Jordan, why don't you take those boxes out to the car?" she suggested as she slowly sat down on the desk chair and examined the papers. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was sure that she was mistaken. She looked it over again until she heard Jordan return, then she quickly stuffed the papers into a box and moved on to the next drawer as if nothing had happened.

Arthur was working at his desk, back from his weekend trip, when his office door flew open and Eileen stormed inside. He rose from his chair to greet his daughter, but she was not in a pleasant mood.

"How could you do this to me?"

"Do what?" he asked with concern.

"How could you tell Hector that he could marry me?" Eileen asked, too angry to pause to let Arthur get a word in. "Saturday night he just throws all of these plans at me and I'm wondering how long I've been in the dark while the two of you have been planning this behind my back. You had no right to do that! When I decide to get married it's going to be to someone that I chose, not someone that you or anyone else chooses for me."

"Eileen, calm down," Arthur finally managed to interject, but his words only got an angry look from his daughter. "Nothing's been decided without you. Hector only asked for my approval. But, of course, whether you marry him or not is up to you, sweetheart, not me."

"Oh," Eileen said sheepishly, suddenly feeling very embarrassed about how she had reacted.

"If you don't want to marry Hector just tell him so."

Eileen frowned. She had come to her father hoping for a better solution than that. Just telling Hector no didn't seem to be an option that she could afford to choose. But she nodded anyway and said, "Ok, I will."

Meanwhile, outside the office door, Lawrence had been about to knock when he inadvertently heard Eileen's outburst and paused. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but once he heard what they were saying, he didn't walk away. This news changed everything.

Next

Part 5 - Chapter 7 - Fired

Jordan noticed that Lucy was unusually withdrawn during the rest of the packing and on the drive home. He knew cleaning out her late father's office must have been a difficult task for her. After they finished carrying the packed boxes inside he offered to make Lucy some hot tea, which she gratefully accepted.

Lucy was just about to sit at the dining room table, when she heard the front door slam. She turned and heard Craig stomping through the entrance room, muttering and swearing to himself. She stood up from the table and went into the next room to see what the matter was.

"Craig?" she said as she walked into the living room. "What's going on?

"I just got back from having lunch with James," Craig said angrily, and Lucy waited for the catch. "That jerk is going to do our tour without me . . ."Craig raved on, cursing his partnership with James and cursing the cast on his arm that was keeping him from his music.

Lucy nodded sympathetically, but her mind was on her own problems, and at the moment they seemed bigger than what Craig was carrying on about. She decided that she really wasn't in the mood to hear his complaints at the moment, so she slipped outside. Craig was so wrapped up in his foul mood that he barely noticed that she had left.

Lucy sat outside on the back porch staring across the bay, trying to relax from her stressful afternoon. Her mind was still spinning from the papers she had found in her father's office. Records of her father's bad investments. Records of the money he had taken from his own company. How much of her life had been paid for with stolen money? How many other secrets had her father kept from her? At the moment she felt like her world had been tipped on its side.

When she heard the patio door open behind her, Lucy jumped.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Miss Stuart," Jordan said. "But I was wondering if there was anything else you require of me tonight."

"Oh no," she replied. "Go home, Jordan, and enjoy your evening. And thank you so much for your help this afternoon. I really appreciate it," she thanked him warmly.

"I'm sorry, but what did you expect me to do?"

When Jordan walked into his apartment, he caught his sister in the middle of a phone conversation. He just hoped it wasn't long distance.

"That girl was psycho! And I'm not about to risk my safety for some job." She nodded a silent hello to her brother as he walked in, while she listened to the person on the other line speak. "Uh huh. Listen, I've got to go. We'll talk later, ok? Bye bye."

"Hi, Justin," Audrey greeted her brother once she hung up the phone. "How was your day?" When Jordan sighed, Audrey guessed, "Tough day?

"I'm just a little worried about Miss Stuart. I helped her clean out her father's office today. It was very upsetting for her. I hope she will be alright."

"I'm sure she will be," Audrey replied. "Is her boyfriend still staying at the house?"

"Yes," Justin replied with a frown. "Just before I left he came in complaining about his afternoon."

Audrey smiled slightly, "You're getting too involved. I know you're tired of me telling you this, but you really need to get a life of your own outside of work. I bet it's been years since you've been on a date. Hasn't it?"

"Don't be silly, Audrey."

"Who's being silly?" she asked. After glancing at the clock she added, "I wish I could stay and keep you company, but I have a date for the movies. I'll see you later." She gave him a kiss on the cheek goodbye before heading out and leaving Justin alone in the empty apartment for the rest of the evening.

Lucy had decided to turn in early, but found herself unable to sleep, instead she crossed the room and started looking through her father's papers again. Why would he keep a record of money that he had taken, unless he was planning to pay it back? Lucy tried to comfort herself with that thought.

When she heard a soft rap on the door, she quickly hid the papers away and said, "Come in."

"Hi," Craig said softly. "I was hoping you were still up."

"I couldn't sleep," Lucy replied.

"I didn't even try," Craig said as he walked into the room.

"I didn't want to go to sleep without talking to you first. I'm sorry for how I acted when I came in this evening. I'm mad at James, but I didn't mean to put it all on you."

"It's alright, Craig. I've had other things on my mind tonight."

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm alright," she smiled weakly. "How about you?"

"Good," he said wrapping his arms around her in a romantic embrace. "I was just realizing there is a positive side to having some time off from work."

"Oh yeah?" Lucy teased.

"Yeah," Craig replied as he pulled Lucy closer and kissed her.

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