Page 67 of Forever Endeavor

CHAPTER 21

Billie

“This baby packs a lot of punch, don’t she?” Cal smoothed his hand across the dashboard then leaned back in the passenger seat.

“Maybe that’s why we’re kindred spirits, people tend to underestimate her.” Billie kept her foot on the gas and her eyes on the road instead of counting her handprints plastered all over the hood of the car. Jeepers. She’d spotted the imprints hundreds of miles back and they’d only become more glaringly obvious in the coating of fine dust. Surprising that Cal hadn’t made mention. Either he was too distracted or simply too much of a gentleman to ask about them. “Another half hour and we’ll be in Madison. How are you feeling?”

He pulled down the visor to peer into the mirror, poking at the tabbed collar of the cobalt dress shirt Billie picked out because it brought out his eyes. Besides, the blue flattered his bronze complexion and enhanced his clean-shaven look. “Petrified. Anxious. Excited. I can’t wait to see her, but at the same time, can’t help but worry I’m making the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Oh no, don’t say that Cal. Everything will be fine.”

“I wish I had a fraction of your confidence. You’re certain that she’s on board with this?”

“Liona’s son agreed that a private meeting would be best before the media circus comes to town.” Billie reached behind her seat, feeling for the tray of homemade goodies that Bernice sent them off with that morning. “You want another sticky bun? Carbs help me relax.”

He shook his head. “Once we get to town, would it be all right if we stopped to pick up some flowers?”

“That’s a lovely idea, I’m sure she’ll love them.” She tore off a corner of a sugar-glazed bun and popped it in her mouth.

Lucky for them, all the residents in Madison with the last name Li were connected branches on the same family tree. Once Billie located Liona’s son, Roydon, it wasn’t difficult to follow the breadcrumbs to find she was a member of the gardening club, donated generously to several charities including the local hospital, and was a voting shareholder of the company her late husband founded, and that her son now headed. A philanthropic widow with a green thumb? Sounded perfect for Cal.

On the phone, Roydon had been cordial but not overly forthcoming, other than to say they would prefer to meet in a hotel suite rather than her personal residence. It was a reasonable request. Cal was a stranger to Liona, just as she was a misty, water-colored memory to him. It was prudent that they safeguard their privacy as much as protect their hearts.

An hour later, Billie and Cal arrived at the posh Madison Pearl. A pair of uniformed porters with synchronized smiles greeted them at the carpeted entrance, opening the ornate brass doors with perfectly-timed flourish. Cal clutched the bouquet of ivory roses and periwinkle forget-me-nots he’d picked out for Liona, his eyes darting nervously. Billie reassured him with a gentle arm squeeze. “Deep breath. It’s going to be fine.”

A handsomely-attired man in his forties stood beneath an opulent chandelier in the center of the rotunda. He turned and smiled in recognition as Billie and Cal walked in and immediately crossed the pristine floor to offer a handshake. “Billie? Roydon Li.”

She smiled back. “Nice to meet you, Roydon, and this is Calvin Hayes.”

“Of course, Mr. Hayes.” Roydon reached for Cal’s right hand. “I appreciate you coming all this way.”

Cal exhaled. “It’s not every day you’re invited to a meeting forty years in the making.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.” Roydon gestured toward a luxuriously dark chocolate sofa and a pair of matching velvet wingback chairs nearby. “Could we sit for a moment?”

Billie chose the sofa while Cal took one of the armchairs. Their host graciously waited for them to be seated before claiming the remaining chair and raised his hand to signal the hotel concierge. “Can I offer you a beverage of any kind?” Roydon asked as casually as if they were in his living room. Billie wondered why they were being offered a drink in the lobby while they kept Liona waiting, but chalked it up to doting hospitality. She politely declined, as did Cal, although a beer surely would have been his preference. Roydon instructed the concierge to deliver three bottles of water, which he did before promptly disappearing again.

“When my mother read the newspaper article, she insisted that she was the woman from Chicago you had been searching for all these years. Naturally, I was skeptical. It wasn’t a story I’d ever heard from her before. In fact, my younger brother and I know very little about her life before she met our father. It isn’t a period of her life that she has ever been comfortable talking about. So, without necessary context, I found it preposterous that she could possibly be the woman in question. But alas, my mother is as headstrong as she is led by her heart. Against my better judgement, she reached out to the reporter who wrote the story.”

Billie nodded. “Bart Fielder. And he was able to help change your mind?”

“When Mr. Fielder told us that Mr. Hayes verified the photo my mother sent, it alleviated some of my initial worry that she was mistaken. The last thing I want is for her to be made to look foolish. Frankly, I still have grave concerns about her getting involved in this situation given the attention it has already drawn. I simply cannot trust that total strangers will protect my mother’s best interests the same way I can.”

“Cross my heart, my intentions are honorable,” Cal said, drawing an X on his chest. “I don’t want or expect a thing from her.”

“Cal wasn’t even the one that started searching for Liona, I was,” Billie explained. “Unbeknownst to him, I began looking for her in the hope of holding this reunion. He had no idea where to begin looking. He didn’t even know her name.”

“But now you do, and you undoubtedly realize my mother has done very well for herself.” Roydon held up his hands in their lavish surroundings. “The Pearl is only one of the many properties in our family’s considerable real estate investment portfolio.”

Billie’s nose turned up. The dirt he was laying was some kind of bullshit. “We only learned of your mother’s identity hours before we spoke on the phone. We haven’t researched the extent of your family business or your net worth, but rest assured, neither of those things would have been factors in coming here today.”

“Then allow me to provide greater insight,” he said. “You see, my mother was my father’s closest confidante, both in life and in commerce. Despite never attending college or earning a business degree, she intrinsically understood the family enterprise and was involved behind the scenes in many strategic decisions. When my father died at a tragically young age, my mother succeeded him as president and chairman of the board to ensure continuity of the family name. She guided the company he built while raising two young boys into men.”

“That’s remarkable,” Cal said.

“As you can imagine, being a woman in charge long before anyone had heard of the glass ceiling was not easy by any means. My mother took on many detractors, not all of them being from outside of the company. But she prevailed as a leader until the time came for control of the family business to transition to me.”

Billie was awestruck. “And yet, the only thing that comes up about her online is her gardening club.”

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