“Boss, I just saw Miss Grace park her car.” Tawny set down the coffee and donut in front of Belinda and made a quick backtrack to the entrance door.
Belinda slid the plate with the donut off to the side. The cup of coffee could remain. She might need something to keep her hands busy through her grandmother’s visit.
She desperately tried to smooth back the loose hair that hung wildly around her face. After her morning ride on her horse in the June humidity, Belinda knew her ponytail holder couldn’t maintain control over her hair. Normally, her disheveled appearance didn’t bother her. She wasn’t one to fuss over wardrobe and makeup. After all, this wasn’t an office job. But the next few minutes of her life with her stiff and starched grandmother would cause enough anxiety that she’d wished she dragged out a skirt suit from the deep recess of her closet, dug through the underwear drawer for a pair of panty hose and found a tube of lipstick to quickly sweep over her mouth.
Instead, she groaned after quickly surveying her clothing. It was her standard uniform of black T-shirt and black jeans, kind of a night and day contrast to whatever Grace usually wore. The old lady had to have been off her game at one time in her life. At almost eighty years old and still getting front-page coverage on how fabulous she looked, her grandmother was a fashion icon. Deservedly so, but still.
Belinda wiggled her toes. As a rule, when she came to the office, she stepped out of her boots and left them at the entrance door. The treks back and forth, from the office-barn to the stables, the torn-up dirt around the renovated areas near the riding ring, and general outdoor work pushed the necessity for the rule. Not only did it save the brand-new Berber carpet, it cut down on the strong odors of horse urine, manure, and tack that combined with the hay that would be tracked into the office. Usually, her old pair of sneakers was in the office for her to slip on. Of course, today would be the day that she couldn’t find them.
Meanwhile, Tawny, who didn’t have many dealings with the stable, could balance herself while walking around the office in her skinny, skyscraper-high heels and flaunting the latest fashion trends. She belonged in New York City, not in the small city of Midway in upstate New York, working in a barn with horses as their closest neighbors.
“Belinda, are you here? It’s Grace.” Her grandmother’s distinctive elocution shot her musings to pieces.
“Good morning, grandma...er...Grace.” Belinda rose and headed around the desk, but her grandmother had already marched across the room. That was a good thing. She could keep her shoeless feet a secret for a little while longer.
Her grandmother got everyone in the family to call her “Grace” whenever the subject matter concerned Meadows Media. In the case of Dana, she not only called their grandmother Grace, but also boss. Their special bond had blossomed over several years as Dana worked her way up the ladder, culminating in her leading the company. A strategic move that had been met with resistance by business experts, not to mention a few family members, because of Dana’s young age. Belinda’s take on the issue remained in full protective support for her cousin, as long as Grace had Dana’s full buy-in.
“How are you?” Belinda resumed her seat in the safe zone, behind the desk.
“Good as can be. Still busy even though I’m out in the pastures.”
The image of her grandmother whiling away time in a field couldn’t have been further from the truth. Grace was still making business deals and her social calendar hadn’t shrunk. Grandpa Henry had spilled the latest at the last family dinner.
Belinda probed, “Are you still heading to the office every day? You should enjoy retirement. Take a trip. See the world from beyond corporate offices.” She’d consider talking her grandmother into a worldwide trip a major coup. Every chance she got, she pushed the idea.
“Is that what your cousin complains to you about?”
“No.” Now Dana was going to kill her for putting Grace on alert. It had taken a while for the former CEO of the family business to step down. Dana had shared how much she looked forward to flexing her leadership muscle without Grace’s shadow. Even the staff was coming around to relying on Dana without the constant presence of Grace. The cousins had joked that the complete separation might require Grandpa Henry to kidnap his wife and keep her off the grid for several months.
Grace looked around the office. Then her gaze hovered and settled on the wall behind Belinda. She remained silent. But her gaze shifted over the entire visual presentation of the riding program’s trajectory. Though Grace’s expression remained stoic, Belinda sensed her grandmother’s keen interest.
“Renovations are underway. We still have major work to be done. I’m sure that we’ll be ready on opening day.” Grace’s quiet regard unnerved Belinda.
“Really? That’s good news. Who are you using?” Her grandmother slowly slid her glance away from the wall to Belinda. “I did take note that you didn’t ask for my help after I sent Santiago to you.”
“I used Ed. I felt good with your referral since you’ve used him on several projects. That was enough of a recommendation.”
“He’s dependable. Not terribly creative, though, when it came to designing the trellis frames in the garden.” She sighed with such regal pretension that Belinda wanted to snort. “But his work is solid and above par. I wouldn’t want anyone else.”
Belinda nodded. Now wasn’t the time to mention the switch from Ed to Jesse. She had her own misgivings. There was no need to hear her grandmother pile on with her criticisms. No matter what Grace would say, all Belinda would hear was that she wasn’t good enough. Out of the three cousins, she was the “rock,” per Grace’s compliment and with her mother’s implicit agreement. Belinda was the solid base to provide support, but lacked Dana’s nimble, razor-sharp leadership skills. She’d accepted the evaluation, partially relieved that she didn’t have what it took to lead anything, including Meadows Media. As a result, she had remained uninspired to prove her grandmother or mother wrong. Early discussions about starting this business hadn’t been met with enthusiastic cheers outside of her cousins, Dana and Fiona.
“Let’s go for a walk.” Her grandmother stood, smoothing her dress and waiting for her to move.
“Where are we going?” Belinda made a mental promise to kill Tawny if she conveniently had forgotten to tell her about this part of Grace’s plan.
“Show me the work that’s been done.” Grace’s attention shifted back to the wall in her office where the full layout and status of the project were mapped out. “I want to see what you’ve been up to.”
Tawny slid into view. Her attempt to nab Grace’s focus was as loud as her blue dress with white polka dots.
“Tawny, my dear, hope all is well with you. You’re looking quite...modern.”
Belinda considered Tawny’s mission accomplished. Her assistant looked beyond giddy over Grace’s remark. If she wasn’t mistaken, Belinda thought that she saw the young woman dip into a quick curtsy. As expected, Grace, her nose in the air, soaked in the adulation as she passed Tawny.
Bowing down to Grace had never been Belinda’s style. That was not to say that her grandmother didn’t intimidate the heck out of her. Grace and Grandpa Henry were her substitute parents when hers were too busy pursuing careers
