Page 121 of Courage, Dear Heart

My father sees me. His already red face grows even more flushed. He points at me. “Do you have anything to do with this?”

Mrs. Bradshaw takes a step to the side, placing herself between me and my father. She’s in her early sixties and tall, and although not as tall as my father, she manages to look down at him. “Mr. Foster, please take a seat. Everything will be explained in time.”

I hold back a smile. My father hates being told what to do. Especially by a woman. He has nothing but contempt for the attorney putting him in his place.

Sweat beads on his forehead. “You don’t tell me what to do in my own firm.”

“Sit down, Jonathan.”

Everyone goes quiet. The entire room freezes for a moment as Grandma walks into the conference room.

“Mother? What’s the meaning of this?” My father speaks to her in the same angry tone he’s been using with her attorneys. I take a step closer to him and so do Grandma’s other two attorneys. Two men I don’t recognize, but ready to step in if my father does anything stupid.

Grandma raises one eyebrow. “I said, sit down, Jonathan.” She looks around the room. “Everyone, take a seat, please.” The tone a lot gentler as she addresses the rest of the room.

My father starts walking toward the head of the table, his cheeks still red and a bewildered expression on his face.

Grandma puts a hand up and stops him. “As the majority holder of this firm, I believe that’s my seat.”

My father’s mouth opens and closes like a fish, and he stands there. Grandma gestures to her attorneys to take the seats directly next to her. The two men go to her left and Mrs. Bradshaw to her right. I pull a chair and sit next to Mrs. Bradshaw.

“Showtime,” I whisper.

Grandma makes eye contact with me, and I wink at her. I remember when she worked at this firm alongside my grandfather, before my father and his brothers took over.

She steeples her hands on the table. “I called this meeting today because I’ve recently been made aware of some very disturbing information. I know I have not been physically present in the firm in the last few years, and believe me, it was my intention to continue to act as a silent management partner and leave the day-to-day operations to the senior partners, stepping in only when required as I’ve done since my unofficial retirement. But when I learned everything I built with my husband was at risk of being destroyed, I had to step in and take the reins again.”

My father frowns but doesn’t say anything. Uncle Michael tugs at his collar, and Uncle Patrick looks more confused than before.

Grandma raises a hand, and someone I hadn’t noticed until now comes and stands next to her.

“The notebooks, please.”

The woman places several notebooks on the table in front of my grandmother. I recognize them at once. The notebooks my father hid in his office. And a few more I haven’t seen before.

My father’s face blanches.

Grandma’s unflinching, cold gaze falls on him. “You are relieved of your duties as an attorney in this firm.”

My cousins and uncles all start talking at the same time. Astonished expressions on them all. One glance from Grandma shuts them all up.

My father looks at her with a mixture of fear and anger. “Mother, you can’t do this.”

“As a sixty-percent shareholder, I assure you that I can. It’s already done. You should be ashamed of yourself and how easily you tarnished your name. This firm’s name and your father’s name.” She taps the table and Mrs. Bradshaw retrieves a pile of papers from her briefcase and sets them in front of my father.

Grandma continues. “You’ll find that I’ve been more than generous with the separation package I prepared for you. There’s also an NDA that I’ll sign as long as you comply. If you decide to fight me on this or retaliate in any form, against me or anyone else, be that person or persons part of this firm or not”—she taps the pile of books in front of her—“I’ll make sure that these get delivered to someone who would be very interested in making the information they contain public. I’m sure all the people you so carefully named in these notebooks won’t be pleased should I be forced to release the information they contain.”

No one moves. No one even dares to breathe.

Grandma looks at Uncle Michael and Joshua. “As for the two of you, I haven’t decided yet. There will be a thorough investigation in all of your dealings. Unless you decide to resign, in which case, no investigation will be necessary. Inthat case, I have also prepared a generous separation package for the two of you as well.”

Two large envelopes are presented to them. “All three of you have two days to decide and report back to my attorneys. I’ll be in town until then.” She turns her attention to the end of the table. Her face softens. “Patrick, Mandy, Nikki. I’m sorry you had to witness this ugly affair. There will be changes coming soon, and you’ll be informed of your new roles in the firm in the coming days. Thank you for your continued and honest work in this firm. You may leave now. I’ll talk to you in private later. It seems I’m coming out of my retirement. At least for a while.”

The three of them leave, eyes wide. When the door opens, I catch a glimpse of some employees casually walking by, trying to figure out what’s happening. I can only imagine the gossip that’s going around the office.

Dead silence follows, the tension in the room so heavy it’s suffocating, and I’m not even the target of it. A part of me feels bad for them—my father, Josh, and Uncle Michael—and I feel even worse for my grandmother having to take this stance against her own sons and grandson. How hard it must have been for her to make this choice, how hurtful for her to find out, and me being the person who made her aware.

Grandma’s back is stiff, but her hands tremble when she pulls them into her lap and out of view. “All of you, please leave.” Her gaze is fixed on my father. “I want to talk to my son alone.”

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