Page 37 of The Heiress

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Ispent several hours ensconced in Jasmine Painter’s office. We shared coffee, biscotti, deli sandwiches, and delicious garden salads. I spent more time with her than I did with anyone else.

And yet...I did feel like I understood Georgia much better. Despite her silver spoon upbringing, as a girl, she was an afterthought. A commodity to be bartered with for better positioning. That’s how she wound up married to Bernard. It was essentially an arranged marriage between her father and Bernard. It brought the Stroman businesses a much-needed injection of cash and diversification. It also came with savvy marketing and splashy headlines.

Eventually Georgia realized that Bernard was making everything that had been her family legacy his own. And she began to fight back. After her father’s unexpected death, she wrangled the pharmaceutical and software companies away from her husband.

But after Bernard’s death she kept his last name instead of reverting to her maiden name. She also never rebranded the company. I suspected that had to do with the amount of control the Feyereisen brothers had. Or maybe names meant nothing to her.

* * *

I thoughtthe kitchen would be safe territory. I was wrong. My quick trip to grab a snack turned into social hour. Apparently everyone hung out in the kitchen. I couldn’t blame them. It was big, bright, and had food.

Then Charles Ming strolled in, grabbed a sparkling water from the drink cooler, and snagged a bag of barbecue potato chips.

He didn’t look like a barbecue potato chip kind of guy.

Then he approached me. “Have you toured the garden yet? Seen the pool?”

“No, actually.” I’d barely been outside.

He cocked his head toward the back door. “Then let me show you.”

The yard wasn’t large at all, but it was fenced and had a lot of tropical foliage that made it feel homey. “It’s nice to feel the sun on my skin.”

“We’ve kept you cooped up inside.”

I stretched my neck and shoulders. “Eh. Yeah. I’m kind of getting the fortress vibes.”

Charles laughed. “You should get out. No one knows who you are, so as long as you have your friend with you, you should be safe.”

“When would I have time? I hop from appointments to meals. When I get a few minutes I go to my room and just sit in the silence.”

That made him smile. “You’re more like Georgia than I realized. This way, I want to show you something.”

Finally. Someone willing to talk about Georgia, even if it was just a little offhand comment. “Does she like quiet, too?”

“She does. She loves the company and relishes her role as CEO, but at her heart she’s an introvert and would probably prefer to spend her days alone.” We skirted around the pool and into a garden surrounded by water fountains. “This is Georgia’s safe spot. The only camera that captures this area is all the way over there, and that’s just for basic security. There’s no surveillance and the fountains help drown out any noise.”

“What about the drones?” I pointed at the sky.

“Ah, you noticed those?”

“Kind of hard to miss.”

He sat in a wrought iron chair and opened his bag of chips. “They’re up and down a few times of day while Georgia is here. It’s fast.”

I took a seat near him. “How long have you known Georgia?” I was beginning to suspect Charles was more than a friend to her.

“About ten years, technically.”

“Technically?”

“Bernard hired me. We met but didn’t really work together until after...until she took over. Due to all the legal fallout from his death we spent a lot of time together.”

“And you became friends?”

“Yes.”

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