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  “This is for your own good, think about what you’re doing Ian Leland, think about your parents, what would they say to you if they saw you like this? Your father would roll over in his grave!” She hauled off and nailed him square in the nose with her fist as a tear escaped her eye. Blood poured from his nostril. He put his hand up and his head back to stop the bleeding. Luckily she didn’t break it. Little shit! “At least talk to someone Miss Wiley, counseling never hurt anyone. You’re killing yourself like this.” He turned towards her bedroom door. “I’ll be gone in an hour.”

  She took a deep breath. What the hell just happened? “No…don’t…” She drew in another breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Stay Giles, there’s no reason for you to go.”

  “You fired me Miss Wiley.” He turned back towards her, he knew she was crying. That’s a start. The young woman had been in a state of shock when he found her in that apartment on the Colorado State University campus. She was curled up in a ball, still in her tee shirt and shorts, her short hair looked like a rats nest and her eyes were black. She looked like she belonged in a mental institution, he knew he had better get her back to the Estate and let the Board handle the press, if anyone saw her like this they’d surely lock her up to keep her from hurting herself. He took care of her around the clock for the first few weeks, until she finally spoke. She never cried after that first night when she had just found out, instead she pushed it all away and completely forgot who she was. Now, Giles was doing his best to fight the demons that she was hiding from. She needs a Psychiatrist, she needs to talk to someone, anyone. Poor young Wiley, I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through, the thoughts running through your mind are driving you mentally crazy.

  “I….didn’t mean it….can you please give me some space Giles?” She looked down at her half naked attire. He caught on and excused himself. An hour later she appeared at the table.

  “You look like you’re feeling better Miss Wiley.”

  “Don’t push it, I’m still pissed at you.” She didn’t look at him.

  “May I get you anything?” He waited.

  “Mimosa and a piece of cinnamon toast.” He shook his head. Progress is slow, patience is a virtue Giles. He returned to the table with a large glass of chocolate milk and a plate of waffles. Usually, he knew he didn’t see her for the rest of the day, therefore he always made sure she ate heartily at breakfast. That was the one meal he knew she was eating. As soon as she finished her plate he cleared the table.

  “How am I suppose to do it?”

  “Excuse me Miss Wiley, what was that?” He walked back over to the table.

  “I don’t know what to do Giles.”

  “What do you mean?” He was almost in shock, she was not only conversing with him, but asking him questions. This was good, very good.

  “Sit, I hate it when you stand over me, I’m not ten anymore.” He obliged and sat in the dining room chair on her right. “How could he leave me with this? I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  “He wouldn’t have left it if you weren’t ready young Wiley, you know that.”

  “I’ve barely had anything to do with Wiley Steel, I was too busy with school.”

  “Yes and now you have those fancy degrees. Put them to use, you’re very smart Miss Wiley, your father knew that.” He reached out and covered her hand with his. Okay, so this is working.

  “I’m scared Giles.” Her blue eyes couldn’t hold the tears anymore, they slid down her cheek faster than she could wipe them. “I miss them so much, how could they just leave me?”

  “Aww young Wiley, they didn’t leave you on purpose, these things happen. That’s part of life.” She leaned over and put her sobbing head on his shoulder. Her tears soaked into his tuxedo jacket.

  “It’s just not fair….it sho…” She sniffled. “It should’ve been me.”

  “No. Your wrong, you needed to be here to run this legacy, you’re the heir, the only heir.”

  “Giles, I…” She cried harder. “I was suppose to be with them…I stayed back to go to a party with Shannon.”

  “That’s the way these things work, it’s destiny my dear.” She continued to cry for another hour. The older man did everything he could to console her.

  ~ ~ ~

  As the next two weeks slowly went by, Ian spent more time talking to Giles and trying to work through her problems. She figured it was time to contact the board and become a Wiley.

  “Hi, can I speak to Frasier Higginbotham please.” Ian’s hand shook nervously as she held the receiver. Fraser was her fathers assistant, deep down he wished he was a Wiley so that he could run her father out of office. She knew he despised her for being the sole heir. The young woman on the other end of the line was turning into a nuisance.

  “Ma’am may I ask who’s calling and take a message for him?”

  “This is Ian Wiley, I suggest you let me talk to him.”

  “Oh my, please hold one minute Miss Wiley.”

  “Frasier Higginbotham.”

  “Frasier, it’s Ian Wiley.”

  He cleared his throat nervously. “Miss Wiley, let me start by saying how sorry I am about your parents.”

  “Thank you.” I’m sure you are ‘rat bastard’. He had always given her a bad taste, she never relayed it her father, to keep from insulting him since this guy was his assistant.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Well, I want to personally thank you for keeping things in line for the past four months, I had many things that I needed to take care of, and now I’ll be returning to the Corporate Office to take over for my father Monday morning.”

  “So soon? Are you sure you don’t need more time?”

  No you’re not going to sell or buy out my family’s company you dickhead, your goose is in the oven and I just turned the temperature up! “No, things are fine. I’ll see you Monday. Oh and Frasier? Make sure my fathers, rather my, office is clean.” She hung up the phone and slapped her hands together. Giles sat right next to her in the study. She looked over at the framed picture of her and her father in front of the Wiley Steel plant when she was about nine.

  “That sounded like it went well.”

  “He’s pis …I mean he’s shaking in his boots.” She smiled.

  Chapter 7

  “Shall we go Wiley Style this morning Giles?” He knew exactly what the woman was referring to. The snow was thick on the ground, but Giles had already prepared for Ian Wiley’s return to Wiley Steel as the head of the company. He had the street crew plow and salt the driveway and the Bentley was gassed up and ready to go.

  “What, no Mimosa and toast this morning Miss Wiley?”

  “Of course Giles, you know I want a Mimosa and a dry piece of toast everyday. What makes today special?” She smiled. He brought her breakfast of chocolate milk and French toast to her. She quickly ate and went back upstairs to change. Twenty minutes later Ian Wiley was standing at the foot of the staircase ready to take on the world. She was dressed in a black pants suit with a canary yellow blouse under the jacket. Her hair seemed to glow next to it and her eyes shined. Giles thought he felt a tear roll down his cheek.

  Oh Ian Leland, your father would be so proud of you right now. Leland, you and Lorraine raised her to be one hell of a woman. “Shall we?” He nodded towards the door. The Bentley was jet black with black leather interior and limo tinted windows. Giles held the door as Ian bent her head and slid into the back seat. The older man straightened his tux and walked around to the driver's side.

  “Hey Giles, I know I don’t have to ask, but can you…uh keep your cell phone handy today?”

  “As always, Miss Wiley.” He smiled in the rearview mirror when she looked up at him.

  ~ ~ ~

  Everyone was excited to see the new President of Wiley Steel as she strode into the building. She had forgotten how elegant the building was. Railroad pictures and other various project pictures covered the gold walls, the floor was marbled white and gray tile. S
he’d seen pictures of her grandfather and great grandfather in black and white in the hallway leading to her office. The door had a small sign that said President, I.L. Wiley. As she walked through the hall, anyone near her stepped back to give way to her, as if in her father’s honor they seemed proud to have her there. That is, everyone except Frasier Higginbotham, who seemed to dig a thorn into her side anytime he was around. The desk was deep mahogany wood with a large black leather chair behind it. Matching mahogany book shelves and file drawers covered two of the walls and framed pictures covered the others. She felt a sense of pride as she sat behind that desk. She took a long, deep breath to relax and let it all come into reality. She was the one and only Wiley.

  “I want to see the books, give me all of the codes and passwords to the computer program, then call a meeting with the rest of the board. Make it…” She looked down at the silver Rolex on her arm. “Two p.m.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Frasier nervously chewed his thick brown mustache.

  Ian sat at her fathers, now her, desk and read spreadsheet after spreadsheet. “No wonder the boards been calling me. We can’t seem to close a deal, we’ve missed, one, two, three, four attempts in three different localities. What the hell?” She continued on. The intercom buzzed on the phone, she leaned forward and pressed the button.

  “Yes?”

  “Miss Wiley, the board is waiting for you in the conference room.”

  “Oh yes, I’ll be right there. Thank you.”

  When she walked into the conference room everyone immediately stood up. The blond smiled from ear to ear assertively.

  “Please, everyone have a seat. You’ll have to refresh my memory, I don’t remember if I have met all of you, I was only in and out of here a short time with my…father.” Frasier rolled his eyes. She swore she’d punch him in the nose before the day was over. How did my dad put up with your ass you scumbag, piece of…

  “Miss Wiley, I’m William Goody, Director of Railway Transit.” He smiled kindly and she returned the gesture. His black hair shined brightly under the florescent lights.

  “I’m Carey Stewart, Director of Metro Transit.” Ian nodded at the blond haired man. The last person in the room looked familiar, she figured she’d probably seem him with her father a time or two.

  “I seem to be last.” The corner of his mouth tried to form a smile. “I’m Benjamin Bradford, Director of Locomotive Services.”

  Ahh, I see now I know you because Dad was about to fire your lazy ass. He said your department was losing money left and right. She thought back to the reports that she’d read. That was the department that the company was losing deals in. Hmm… “Okay so we’re all here, as you know I’ve taken a look at the reports and spreadsheets. It appears to me that we’ve lost some major deals in the past eight months. Anyone care to elaborate?” No one spoke up. “Alright, let me start by saying first of all we lost a good deal to overhaul three of Amtrak’s locomotives, second we lost a major deal to produce two new locomotives to CSX, plus they also needed six new box cars. So that would be deal number three, shall I continue Mr. Bradford?” The man fumbled, looking questioningly at Frasier Higginbotham. “Uh Mr. Bradford, I’m over here.” She craned her head around to see his eyes.

  “It was…production...it’s there fault, production is so slow, they can’t…” he was shaking. “They can’t get anything completed on time. They blame logistics for not getting the parts to the right places and on time. They…production… they caused us to lose these deals, not my department.” Ian could tell there was definitely more to the story, something was seriously amiss with the entire situation.

  “Okay, if you say that’s what it was, then I believe you. But, Mr. Bradford, what did you do to try and overcome these obstacles and save the deal?” He didn’t speak. “My father, grandfather, and great grandfather pride themselves on being able to not only make a deal, but close a sale, and stand behind their word and finish the project under schedule to please the customer. I don’t see where you even tried to close the deal, it looks to me like you let, what is it…” She looked down at the report. “Four, you let four deals slip away without any effort to save them.”

  “I worked on them, I….” he looked over at Frasier again. This was beginning to really piss her off. “Production couldn’t do it, they couldn’t get things straight with logistics and by the time we had a date for them they had already filed contract with someone else. What was I suppose to do? I did everything. The plant…caused it.” Ian shook her head. Does he think that I wont go and investigate this? How stupid do these two think I am? I know Frasier is in on this, he has to be. My father would be on his way to the plant right now if he were here. You think I won't go out there don’t you? Ugh men!

  “This meeting is adjourned until I return, I will be leaving this afternoon for Grand Junction, I will personally find out what happened with these deals Mr. Bradford. Until then, you are not to do any deals without speaking directly to me, is that understood?”

  “Yes ma’am. Miss Wiley, I didn’t cause this, you have to understand…”

  “I’ll find out who did cause this, and probably others as well. Good day gentlemen.” She reached into her pocket and pulled her cell phone out. She’d already transferred copies of the department reports for the entire year onto her laptop, this included production and logistics as well.

  “Giles, I’m ready whenever you can be here.”

  “I’m out front ma’am.”

  “Good man, I’m on the way out.” The double door opened and Ian walked out into the snow covered ground.

  “G’day Miss Wiley.”

  “You have no idea….no idea.” She slid into the car and unbuttoned her suit jacket. Her eyes slammed shut. Oh dad, I wish you were here. This is big, real big, I don’t know if I can take these idiots out of here without you.

  “That bad young Wiley?”

  “Well…how do you feel about a road trip?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I need to be in grand Junction in the morning right after the plant opens.”

  “That bad huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I can drive you Miss Wiley, your father use to tak…..”

  She cut him off and he stopped in mid sentence too. “I already called a private airline, my flight leaves at eight a.m.”

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “I don’t know, I booked a pretty nice room at the Hilton. They have a twenty four hour concierge and a car service. I should be fine, I’d say I’ll be back by Friday, but who knows at this point.”

  “I’ll get your luggage ready.” He said as he pulled the car up to the front door and got out to open the door for his passenger. Ian went into the house and Giles parked the car in the garage.

  Chapter 8

  Ian straightened her charcoal gray suit jacket as she walked into the Wiley Steel Corporation production plant in Grand Junction, Colorado. From the outside it looked like a giant warehouse, equally as large as four or five football fields. The gray, steel constructed building stood out from the trees in the forest line. A massive bronze statue of Ian’s great grandfather was in the foyer leading to the reception desk. The front of the building was made of various offices and conference rooms, leaving the rest of the enormous superstructure for design, fabrication, and production. She assumed the gated parking lot behind the building was probably a football field size of its own, although she really didn’t have clue how many people the company employed.

  “Excuse me, may I help you?” The receptionist had long rust color brown hair that was twisted into a bun, and skin that never saw the rays of the sun, making her appear in her late thirties, but Ian figured she was probably middle-aged.

  Ian set her briefcase down and stuck her hand over the tall counter top. “I’m Ian Wiley.” The woman’s golden brown colored eyes went as round as saucers as she smiled and returned the gesture.

  “Mr. Masters didn’t tell me he was expecting you. It’s very nice
to see you again Miss Wiley.” She tried to remember the last time that she’d seen the young heir, she was probably a teenager then.

  Ian smiled and looked at the name plate on the counter. “Thank you, Mrs. Cragen, can you please point me towards Richard Masters office?” The woman stood and walked around the counter. The blond was surprised to see receptionist stood eye level with her. Ian wasn’t extremely tall, but above average height for a woman.

  “Go down this hallway here, take a right and continue to the end, you’ll run into his secretary.”

  “Thank you.” Ian picked up her briefcase and strode down the hall. Her black silk shirt felt cool against her skin under her heavy jacket.

  ~ ~ ~

  “It’s good to see you again Miss Wiley.” The taller man appeared every bit of forty, trim and happy, but his solid gray hair gave his age away. Still, he was handsome for an older man.

  “I’m sure you know I’m here on business.” She smiled. “It’s been a few years since I was last here, how about a tour of the plant first?” She set her briefcase down and he locked the door to his office on the way out.

  They started down the main hallway, she recognized most of the framed photos covering the walls. They were similar to the ones in the corporate office hallways. All of them, photos of her great grandfather, her grandfather, and a few of her father over the years, as well as many projects they had accomplished. Rich stopped outside of the office door closest to his. The plate on the door read, Cassidy Harland, Director of Logistics. He knocked and opened, but the room was empty. Just then a shorter woman with sandy blond hair came by with coffee. She stopped at the secretary desk across from the offices. “Kathleen, where’s Miss Harland?” She took a sip of her coffee trying to remember where she knew the blond from. She definitely looked important, Mr. Masters was giving her the ‘answer me now’ look.