Glow (Glimmer and Glow 2) - Page 123

He went on to make a statement in regard to how Alan Durand had provided for his daughter, should she ever return. He threw firm support behind Alan Durand’s heir, and provided believable reassurances for Durand Enterprises continued growth, global leadership, and fiscal success.

The energy level in the room had mounted noticeably as Dylan spoke. By the time Dylan said he’d take a few questions, almost every camera was turned on Alice. She wished she could disappear. The hazy sense of unreality she’d been experiencing only amplified.

“You mentioned that the majority of shares are held in a trust that was to be returned to Adelaide Durand if ever she should return,” one male reporter began. “What does that mean for the management of Durand and the many charitable projects it supports?”

“I can respond in regard to the management of Durand, because the trust and Durand Enterprises’ functioning assets are two separate entities. As for what will happen with the trust, that’s not up to me. It’s up to Alice—Addie. She can decide today, or she can take her time. She can alter her plans at any future date. It’s entirely up to her. Whatever she decides,” Dylan paused and glanced over at Alice briefly. Alice’s racing heart gave a little leap. “The public should know that Durand Enterprises will continue to function and flourish as it has in the past decade. The trust was earmarked by Alan Durand for his daughter, and whether or not employees and the public realize it, daily operations at Durand have been carried out since his death with that legacy kept intact. Absolutely no impoverishment or strain will be incurred on the company itself.”

A roar had started up in her ears. She understood that everything Dylan was saying was true, but there was a difference between logical understanding and emotional getting that she was the sole mistress to a vast fortune.

Just give it time. And Dylan assured her he wasn’t going to abandon her.

Dylan waved aside further questions. “I realize that I’m not the one you really want to hear about,” he said into the microphone with a small, dry smile. “So I’m going to turn things over to Guy Morales, who is our acting vice president of human resources.

He’s going to tell you a little more about Alice Reed.” Alice shifted uncomfortably in her chair as the cameras started to click rapidly again. What did Guy Morales have to say about her? She’d only been briefly introduced to him by Dylan. She glanced at Dylan with a question in her eyes when he came and sat down next to her.

“I’m honored to be able to stand here before you all today and relate a truly amazing story about a young woman who, despite a relative lack of available resources and funds, managed to graduate with her business degree with honors from the University of Illinois, Chicago and her master of business administration, summa cum laude, from Arlington College. From an early age, she demonstrated remarkable skill in mathematics, winning a coveted scholarship to the University of Illinois. During her academic career, Ms. Reed contributed to one of the most talked-about research studies ever conducted about the correlation between corporate philanthropy and profit. Unbeknownst to her,” Morales paused for effect and gave Alice a brief smile, “she was vindicating the principles long held by Durand Enterprises . . . and by her parents, Alan and Lynn Durand.”

The cameras began popping like mad again. Alice felt a little queasy as Guy went on to describe her time at Camp Durand and how the managers had chosen her team—without knowing her identity as the Durand heir—as the championship team. She saw Dylan glance cautiously at her sideways, and wondered if he realized how uncomfortable she was, having her praises sung this way in front of a roomful of cameras and strangers.

As Guy continued, describing how Alice had been hired—again, without the managers’ knowledge of her true identity—as a Durand junior executive, Alice’s attention was drawn to the back of the room and a flicker of movement. She recognized a face that towered above the crowd. She sat up straighter, disbelieving. A shiver tore through her.

Dylan leaned over and whispered directly in her ear. “I knew how terrible you felt, missing their final night. Judith and Noble D volunteered to drive a carful each of them down,” Dylan whispered near her ear. “It looks like the majority of them made it.”

“I don’t believe it,” she whispered.

She noticed Noble D next, whose head was nearly as tall as Terrance’s. Terrance waved at her cheekily. Another hand flew up and pressed Terrance’s hand to his side. A smile flickered across Alice’s mouth when she saw that it was Judith who contained Terrance. A grinning Noble D stood behind Judith, his hands on her shoulders. Between Terrance and D, she spotted Angela Knox and over to the side, Justin Arun. An eager face peered up over the crowd. It was Jill Sanchez, who appeared to have sprouted several inches even since Alice had last seen her. Matt Dinorio suddenly jumped up over the heads of the audience, hand in the air. Judith hissed something at him, bringing him to order, too. Alice repressed an urge to laugh.

Seeing their faces made the entire experience shift for her. She listened to the end of Guy Morales’s introduction with a dawning sense of wonder. The new human resources VP was right. This was an incredible story. A couple that loved one another and who were seemingly blessed with everything, longed for a child more than anything else. After strife and struggling, they were given that child, only to have her ripped away from them by a man’s single-minded greed and jealousy. Because a lonely, scarred boy’s life had been touched indelibly by a man’s kindness and a child’s innocent love, he’d never given up on finding that girl.

A young woman, ignorant of her roots and the love she’d once breathed like the air surrounding her, had followed the tendencies and talents inherent to her blood, studying business and mathematics, even undertaking a research project that would have swelled her parents with pride, had they ever known of it. The young woman had come to a place where she could make a difference, and had touched the lives of unique children, and been touched by them, in turn, just like Dylan Fall had been altered forever by Alan Durand.

She looked over at Dylan as Guy Morales came to the conclusion of his introduction. Tears burned in her eyes, but her smile reflected genuine happiness.

And the woman and the man met, and everything came full circle . . .

Dylan stood to pull back her chair when Guy Morales introduced her. He grabbed her hand briefly as she rose, squeezing it for reassurance. This time, when Terrance put both hands up and waved and Matt jumped up, Alice grinned and gave them a wave back.

SHE approached the podium. The sound of her clearing her throat in the microphone sounded abnormally loud in the absolute silence that followed. She gripped the podium to steady herself.

“First off, let me just say that while you all may have a lot of questions, the chances are I can’t answer them. Most of you probably wonder if you should refer to me as Alice Reed or Addie Durand. The fact of the matter is, I don’t have an answer to even that question at the moment. A name . . . one of the most basic things a person knows about themselves, and yet I’d have to claim temporary ignorance. That’s how new, incredible, and earthshaking this all is to me.

“I’d like to personally thank Dylan Fall, and the Durand board, for being so supportive and patient in guiding me through what’s ended up being a really confusing time. I’ll let Special Agent Lee and Ms. Sparrow answer any questions associated with the kidnapping or the FBI’s investigation. But I just wanted to make one thing very clear. I’m here today because of one man. If it weren’t for Dylan Fall never giving up on finding Addie Durand, I would have died believing I’d been born Alice Reed. Thank you for not giving up on me, no matter how tiny the odds of Adelaide Durand ever being found,” she said thickly, looking at Dylan. She paused, emotion tightening her throat. She took strength from Dylan’s steady, lambent stare. Cameras snapped like crazy in the tense silence.

“Because of the involvement of Durand Enterprises and the trust and the money, I know there’s going to be a tendency for this story to become about all that,” she continued shakily. “But for me, this is an extremely personal story, and it’s got nothing to do with money.” Her gaze ran over the teenagers standing at the back of the room. Judith appeared both anxious and rapt, watching her. “For me, the past several weeks have been about making connections with some incredible people, about learning to trust . . . about finding the faith to hope . . .”

Awkwardness suddenly crowded her conscious at the realization of how emotional and raw she sounded. It wasn’t really like her, to be so transparent in a public venue like that. Rick Preston caught her eye and she nodded once.

“A few questions,” Preston said. The room exploded with shouts, scuffling chairs, and waving hands. Preston pointed and called a name.

“Danny Zarnoff, the Detroit News,” an older, heavyset man called out. “Given the fact that you’re the owner of Durand Enterprises, how likely is it that you’ll be happy working as a junior executive in marketing?”

Alice blinked at the brash question.

“Very likely,” she replied. She glanced at Rick Preston expectantly. Danny Zarnoff looked nonplussed by her simple answer and started to call out a follow-up, but he was eclipsed by the cacophony of shouting reporters. Alice glanced aside nervously. Dylan arched his eyebrows slightly. Even though his face was otherwise impassive, she would have guessed he was amused.

Preston called out a name and one woman was left standing.

“Katie Jordan, Crain’s Chicago Business. You’re now the largest shareholder of Durand Enterprises, and it sounds as if you’ve got a brain for business and a knack for leadership. Any plans to take Dylan Fall’s place as CEO of the company one day?”

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