Chapter Thirty-Six
Stella
I woke up the next morning and headed straight for the nursing home. I didn’t have the stomach to go anywhere after the courthouse appearance, but I knew Daisy would want to know what happened. She had called me three separate times while I was sleeping on and off all day, and I knew if I didn’t talk with her soon she’d probably send the police to my house just to make sure I was alright.
I got up and showered for the first time in days before I threw on some clothes and headed out the door. I grabbed a cup of coffee from a place up the road before I headed to the nursing home. I probably should’ve brought Daisy a cup, but I knew she would just turn it down.
Especially if she had to switch out bedpans during her shift. Caffeine made her hands tremble, and the last thing she wanted was to spill contents of bedpans all down her scrubs.
I walked into the nursing home just as Daisy was walking out to take her break. She squealed and threw her arms around me, and all I could do was hold her close.
“I was about to call the police,” she said.
“I know. That’s why I decided to just come see you. It’s nice to get out anyway,” I said.
“How did things go yesterday?” she asked.
“About as good as they could,” I said, sighing. “Christian came with a really convincing argument that swayed the judge before I even spoke. But, I was glad I got to because that meant he had to sit and listen to what I had to say.”
Daisy led me to a bench before we started sharing the coffee.
“No bedpans today?” I asked.
“All desk work for me today. It’ll be a nice change. A trembling pen is better than a trembling bedpan. Now, spill. What happened in court?” she asked.
“Did I tell you how this all spiraled out of control like it did?” I asked.
“Not really. Something about stocks and reallocation before you were sobbing uncontrollably,” she said.
“There was about 10 percent worth of stocks in my father’s company that were still in his name. But, he didn’t designate who they needed to go to. There wasn’t anything in his will nor was there any paperwork on it, so it hung up his entire estate in court. By the time I figured that out, it was out of my hands legally.”
“Holy hell, seriously? What were the stocks for?” she asked.
“That’s what Christian found out. Apparently, that’s how my father partially financed all his donations. I’m still not completely sure how it all works, but the stocks weren’t for his personal use. They were bought in his name, but used for company purposes,” I said.
“So, your dad technically did allocate it to someone,” she said.
“Yep. The catch in court was that we thought they were personally allocated. And they weren’t. He bought them in order to use it for a company purpose. It’s mind-boggling, and I have no idea why the hell my father would do something like that, but we got it figured out. So, the judge executed my father’s will and gave the company back to Christian,” I said, smiling.
“You seem happy about it,” she said.
“I am. Christian’s incredibly intelligent. He grew that company in just two weeks in ways I hadn’t seen my father do in years. And I realized I started this entire process because I thought, somehow, by keeping his company with me I could keep a part of him alive. Like, if I ran his company I wouldn’t have to cope with his death.”
“Oh, Stella,” she said.
“Preserving my father’s legacy isn’t what that company needs, and my father knew me well enough to know that’s what I’d try to do. Even when he was alive, he was always encouraging me
to make my own way. Find my own path. Daisy, I don’t think my father ever planned on giving me that company. I think he always planned to give it to Christian.”
“How do you feel about that? Does this mean you’re not going back to the company?” she asked.
“I honestly don’t know. I… I’m still a little boggled. All I know is that Christian is perfect for that company, and I just didn’t see it until our weekend in New York City.”
“Wait, you spent a weekend in the city with Christian?” she asked.
“It was a work thing, but the meeting got pushed out. We didn’t know until we got there, so we had an entire weekend together,” I said.
“And how did that go?” she asked.