I woke up early the next morning, already too excited to spend another day with Mr. Warbucks and his staff.

I rang the bell on my bedside table and Drake brought me my breakfast which today was bacon and eggs on toast. I'd never eaten bacon before, but it was crispy and salty and delicious. I smiled all through eating it, but then when I was done I couldn't help the feeling of sadness that struck me when I realized that in a couple of weeks, I'd be back to eating nothing but mush day in, day out.

At that moment, I made a resolute decision that I was going to learn all I could from Mr. Warbucks and Miss Farrell while staying with them, so that I could grow up and be a career woman and build a successful life of my own, just as they had.

I got myself dressed in a lovely blue sailor suit which made me feel quite smart and important and ready to learn about the business world!

I made my way downstairs and went straight to Mr. Warbucks' study, greeting the members of his staff I met on my way.

"No, no, I think I'm just going to have to go down there in person today, blast it", I heard Mr. Warbucks saying to Miss Farrell as I walked up to the door.

"Oh, but Sir…"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry Grace, but this is such a crucial time and I need to be able to see that my investments are safe first hand."

"Yes. Sir", Miss Farrell sounded disappointed

I knocked three times on the study door, drawing both Mr. Warbucks' and Miss Farrell's attention. "Good morning", I said quietly.

Miss Farrell's face, which had previously looked very sad, brightened up when she saw me. "Good morning, dear."

"How did you sleep, Annie?" Mr. Warbucks asked me kindly.

"Very well, thank you. How about you?" I asked him, moving into the room and sitting down in the chair next to Miss Farrell.

"Oh, a little fitfully, but that's nothing unusual."

He and Miss Farrell looked at each other with troubled looking expressions on their faces.

"How come?" I asked Mr. Warbucks.

"It's just the way the world is at the moment, Annie. The financial world at least, which for me is what my world mostly consists of", he chuckled bitterly and glanced at Miss Farrell who bowed her head with a sad smile.

I nodded in understanding. "Times are tough, I know. But, it'll get better, Mr. Warbucks, don't you worry."

I watched as his expression changed. I didn't really know what he was feeling but as he looked at me, he appeared sort of heartbroken. "You're right…thank you, child", he whispered.

I turned and saw Miss Farrell staring at me with a similar expression to Mr. Warbucks, all emotional and sort of sad. She smiled at me but I could see she was still sad.

"What are we going to do today, Miss Farrell?" I asked her, trying to perk her up.

It seemed to work as her smile grew. "Well, I have some ideas which I'd like to run past you. Mr. Warbucks needs to go to the stock exchange today to attend to some business matters."

"What's the stock exchange?" I directed my question to both of them.

"It's a large building where stocks and bonds are bought and sold. Kind of like a big market but instead of products, you're trading shares", Mr. Warbucks answered me.

I shrugged. "I'm sorry, I don't know what any of that means."

Mr. Warbucks chuckled. "That's alright Annie, I'm sure Miss Farrell will be able to take some time today to explain it to you."

Miss Farrell nodded at me in confirmation.

"Well, what if I went there with you? Then I could learn first hand."

Both of them looked at me in surprise. MIss Farrell looked kind of thoughtful but Mr. Warbucks just shook his head. "Oh no, Annie. The stock exchange is not the kind of place for children. Besides which, there are very strict rules about who is allowed in there."

"But Sir, think of how much she could learn there with you, and as for the rules, well…Sir, you're among the most successful traders in the history of the NYSE. I think they'd be willing to bend the rules for you, don't you think?"

"Please, oh please Mr. Warbucks?" I begged.

He narrowed his eyes at Miss Farrell who was clearly giving him a look he couldn't say no to. "Fine. You may come with me."

I bounced up and down in my seat.

"However", Mr. Warbucks continued, cutting through some of my excitement. "You must listen to and follow each and every one of my instructions, do you hear?"

"Yes Sir, I promise."

I was obviously better behaved and more mature than Mr. Warbucks had expected because he really didn't have too many instructions to give me at all, apart from staying by his side while we were in there so I didn't get lost.

When we arrived at the New York Stock Exchange, I could see why he had given me this instruction. The building was packed full of men, all bustling around yelling things and throwing bits of paper into the air.

It reminded me of a chicken coup - men squawking all around the room like chickens. Yelling and pointing - the noise was deafening. This was where most of the world's business was conducted?! I didn't know how that could be true when I could hardly even think in here!

Mr. Warbucks took my hand so I wouldn't get lost in the crowd and led me across the room to where some men seemed to be waiting for him.

"Gerald, Jim", he said, shaking their hands firmly.

"Oliver…what's the meaning of this?" The man he'd called Jim asked, looking down at me with a frown. "You know women aren't allowed inside the NYSE."

"She's eleven Jim, she won't be a woman for a long while yet."

"Well, it's not exactly an appropriate place for a kid either.", the man named Jim kept arguing, looking down at me with his eyes narrowed. "Whose kid is she anyway?"

"Her name is Annie and she's staying with me at my home over Christmas. It doesn't matter where she comes from, what matters is she's my guest and I've brought her here today because she has aspirations for business management someday, and I thought who better to learn from than the two of you?"

I could tell Mr. Warbucks was really just trying to butter these men up so they would overlook the fact that I was even there. It seemed to work because the other man, Gerald, looked at me and seemed to smile. "So, Annie, you're interested in business, eh?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess I'm interested in whatever Mr. Warbucks has done to become so rich."

Both of the men chuckled. "Aren't we all?" Jim said to me before he looked up and sighed deeply. "Damn. Abbott's just walked in the door. I'm sorry Annie, but duty calls." He shook Mr. Warbucks' hand. "Oliver, I hope your day is prosperous. Annie, good luck", he shook my hand as well before leaving.

"Bye Jim", Mr. Warbucks said, looking quite relieved that he'd gone.

"Right Oliver, we'd best get on. Six weeks is a very long time in such a precarious market", Gerald said to Mr. Warbucks.

"You're telling me, Gerald." He looked at me. "Annie, Mr. Wake here is my broker. He tells me where I should be investing my money."

"Sometimes he even believes me", Mr. Wake winked at me and I laughed.

"So where are we at?" Mr. Warbucks asked Mr. Wake.

"Well, IBM's still holding steady but Anaconda Copper's way down. It looks as if it may be about to be scrapped - no pun intended."

"No surprise there", Mr. Warbucks commented, looking huffed.

"On the upside, Coca-Cola's about to skyrocket. I keep telling you it's about time you hitched your cart to that horse."

"Bah! That stuff'll rot your teeth and your gut and as soon as the public reaches that consensus, that horrible poison will be out. Imagine what it's doing to folks' insides. Have you seen what it does to a nickel?"

Mr. Wake looked at Mr. Warbucks and replied smartly, "You've seen a nickel?"

Mr. Warbucks ignored the man and said, "I refuse to invest in it because that would mean I support it and I most certainly do not. That muck will kill people one day, mark my words."

Mr. Wake chortled. "Oliver, are you telling me you care more about people's health than about making a surefire profit?"

"Don't you?" I had to ask the man, feeling astounded and mad that somebody could ever feel that way.

Mr. Warbucks and Mr. Ward both looked at me with shocked expressions. I thought I was about to get into big trouble for speaking out of place but then Mr. Warbucks turned to Mr. Ward and raised his eyebrows at him expectantly.

The man must have felt embarrassed because he didn't seem to want to answer my question. "Well, being that you've had more success playing the game than anyone Oliver, I trust you to make only sound decisions. I presume you'd like me to withdraw your shares from Anaconda?"

"I held on as long as I could, but I think it's time", Mr. Warbucks said, looking regretful.

Mr. Wake nodded. "I'll go and make the withdrawal. Excuse me Oliver...Annie." He tipped his hat in my direction and walked away from us.

Mr. Warbucks watched him go with a not very impressed look on his face. He then turned to look at me and slowly a smile formed. "Well done Annie. I'm very proud of you for what you just said."

I don't know how to explain the way Mr. Warbucks telling me he was proud of me made me feel. It was like I grew three feet taller, like my shoulders felt broader and my heart felt fuller.

"Thanks Mr. Warbucks", I smiled at him sincerely.

He looked at me with an intent expression and knelt down on the floor in front of me so that we were eye to eye. "Annie, I want you to remember how important it is to hold on to your convictions and to what you believe in. People will come into your life with ideas that may seem bright and beautiful but if you can see or know in your heart that it's immoral or the wrong thing to do, don't be swayed or pulled away from your ideals. You have to keep them in your heart, you have to fight for what you believe in, for what you know is right."

I nodded slowly at him, trying to absorb what he was saying. Truthfully, it was a lot to take in.

"Now, of course I've made a lot of deals and traded a lot of stocks, and I won't pretend that it hasn't all been to make a profit, but I would never take part in a deal if I knew it was going to be detrimental to a person's well being. A lot of people may say that I'm ruthless, and they're right, I am ruthless, but only in a business sense. I would never make a deal where I would knowingly cause harm to someone, and that Annie, I feel, has always been the key to my success. I've become very rich, it's true, but I can also sleep soundly at night, and that, my girl, is where my real fortune lies."

My heart skipped a beat at hearing him call me his girl. It was such a powerful statement he'd just made and I felt so lucky to be having this teachable moment with Mr. Warbucks. It was as if the past eleven years, having no one to look out for me or mentor me were suddenly being made up for. For the umpteenth time, I felt so incredibly grateful that Miss Farrell had picked me to come with her to spend these two weeks with Mr. Warbucks.

"Thank you, Sir", I told him with as much feeling as I possibly could. His words of wisdom were ones I knew I was going to carry with me all throughout my life. He and Miss Farrell had given me so many wonderful things already, but their time and their guidance were the biggest gifts I knew I would receive.

For the next few hours, I learned and experienced a lot. What had begun as an overwhelming and scary place, now felt quite exciting. Mr. Warbucks was passionate about business and he was obviously very good at it too.

It was at exactly twelve o'clock that I happened to look up and see a familiar face outside the front door of the stock exchange. "Mr. Warbucks, is that Miss Farrell?"

He looked up too and then glanced at his watch. "Is that the time already? So it is. Come on then, Annie."

I followed him unquestioningly and we walked to the front of the building where Miss Farrell was waiting. As we approached her, she acknowledged us with a nod of her head and a smile for me. "Hello Annie, how was your morning?"

"Well, I've sure learned a lot", I told her honestly. "What are you doing here, Miss Farrell? Have you come to meet Mr. Warbucks for lunch?"

She shook her head. "No dear, whenever Mr. Warbucks is at the stock exchange, I come and meet with him at noon to go over the morning's activity."

"It's important I keep Miss Farrell as informed as possible so that she can update my accounts swiftly. As you've learned this morning Annie, every moment is crucial."

"That's for sure", I agreed with him.

Miss Farrell took notes as Mr. Warbucks told her all about the deals and investments he'd made that morning. Miss Farrell was obviously very knowledgeable about business herself because she seemed to understand and keep up with everything Mr. Warbucks said.

"Very good, Sir", Miss Farrell nodded professionally as he finished updating her.

"Well, far from the most successful day I've ever had of course, but I won't go broke tomorrow."

"Well, personally I must say that makes me very pleased", Miss Farrell smiled coyly at him, touching him on his arm and he laughed, which made her own smile grow wider.

I looked at them with a large smile on my face as well.

I couldn't quite figure the two of them out yet. There seemed to be more to their relationship than just business, but she wasn't his wife or his girlfriend because they weren't exactly smoochy or anything, but there was definitely some kind of special feeling between them, some kind of closeness, more than what you'd usually find between a boss and a member of his staff. Of course, I didn't exactly have a lot to base my theory off, but that's what I imagined.

"Are we going to eat lunch today?" I asked Mr. Warbucks who laughed. "Yes. Why? Are you hungry Annie?"

"No not exactly, but why don't we eat now so that Miss Farrell can join us?"

"Oh, that's very sweet of you to invite me Annie, but I'll have something at home, I still have a lot of work to do there."

"Well hold on, Grace. You could join us if you wish." Mr. Warbucks suggested and I beamed up at her knowing that both of us were hoping she would say yes.

"Oh Sir, I don't want to impose. There's plenty to eat at home, I don't want you to spend unnecessarily."

Mr. Warbucks guffawed. "I think I can afford it."

"Please Miss Farrell?" I asked her sweetly.

Mr. Warbucks touched her elbow. "Even the angels need a break now and then, Grace. Take an hour and join us." He leaned his head close to hers and muttered, "I promise I won't tell your boss."

Miss Farrell blushed and laughed girlishly. "Well, alright. Thank you, I would love to join you."

I clapped my hands together happily. The three of us walked a couple of blocks until we reached a big restaurant with wide stone pillars out the front. The sign above the door read "Oscar's restaurant" and then below "Delmonicos."

Mr. Warbucks opened the door for Miss Farrell and I and we both stepped through. The restaurant was very crowded but it was a lot quieter than the stock exchange. There were many people there to eat lunch, mostly business men, but a few couples as well. There were no other children that I could see.

"Mr. Warbucks, good afternoon, Sir", one of the waiters came and spoke to Mr. Warbucks in an upper-class accent. "Your usual table?"

"Ah no, Waltham. I have two guests with me today so a table for three, please."

"Of course, please follow me."

The waiter, Waltham, led us to a large round dining table. We three sat down and were each given a menu.

Waltham told us the specials before Mr. Warbucks ordered lunch for us all. When they brought the food out, I couldn't believe my eyes! There was fish and vegetables, meats both hot and cold, pasta, cheeses, and peach cobbler to end with as well.

"I've never been so full in my whole life", I commented, sitting back in my chair, feeling stuffed once we'd finished our meal.

"It was very filling indeed. Thank you, Sir", Miss Farrell smiled at Mr. Warbucks who nodded in response. "I'm pleased you could both join me. I'll admit it made a nice change after eating here mostly alone for the past fifteen years."

My mouth opened in surprise. Poor Mr. Warbucks, having no one to share his lunch with all that time. I felt a pang in my heart knowing he'd spent so much of his life on his own. Obviously he had people around him all the time, but it didn't seem he was really all that close to any of them, except for maybe Miss Farrell.

"Now, I really must be getting back to the exchange. Annie, why don't you go home with Miss Farrell? I think you've absorbed enough information for one day, don't you?"

"Yes, I think you're right. Will you be very long?"

"Another couple of hours maybe. Then Miss Farrell and I will need to go over the afternoon's dealings. We'll have dinner together tonight though, how does that sound?"

"Dinner? I don't know if I'll have the room to fit any dinner", I answered him truthfully.

He chuckled. "Well, I'll see you tonight before bedtime in any case."

Miss Farrell followed him with her eyes as he stood from the table. "Go well, Sir. I'll see you this evening."

"Thank you, Grace." Mr. Warbucks tilted his head with a smile at both of us before he went to pay and then leave the restaurant.

When Miss Farrell and I arrived back at the mansion, she suggested I might like to go for a swim in the pool while she updated Mr. Warbucks' portfolio.

I agreed and eagerly raced upstairs to change into my bathing suit. I enjoyed the next hour and half in the pool, swimming and relaxing. It had been a very busy morning and it was nice to wind down from all the hustle and bustle.

Mrs. Greer came and met me and told me she'd prepared a bath for me upstairs so I could wash the chlorine off, as well as all the grime from the city. I didn't really know what she was talking about, but I went with her anyway and took a bath.

I giggled as she poured a jug of warm water over my head. It felt nice - the feeling of the water, and also being taken care of by Mrs. Greer.

"OK, lie back baby", she guided me down into the water to wash my hair properly.

As I lay there in the water, floating and feeling at peace, my thoughts turned back to Mr. Warbucks. "Mrs. Greer…"

"Yes?"

"How long have you been working for Mr. Warbucks?"

"Oh, let's see now, uh it'll be nine years in April."

"Nine years? That's a long time", I blinked up at her.

She laughed softly. "It is when you're your age."

"What I mean is, you must know Mr. Warbucks pretty well if you've been working for him for that long. Right?"

Mrs. Greer sighed. "Well, I work for him, yes. I tend to his house and to his guests, but I don't think I could say I know the man well."

"Does he have guests often?"

"Oh, hardly ever. I mean, he has meetings with associates and things like that but I can't even remember when someone who wasn't a member of his staff stayed here."

I frowned. "You mean he doesn't have any friends?"

"None I've ever met. Once, a very long time ago, he had a friend, a woman, who visited a few times socially, but then she just stopped coming. That was before Miss Farrell arrived, of course."

I raised my eyebrows at her as she helped me sit up in the bath. "Miss Farrell? What does her coming here have to do with Mr. Warbucks having friends?"

Mrs. Greer pursed her lips. "Well, this particular lady friend of his was a widower whose late husband had been quite wealthy. There was some speculation among the staff that she was interested in Mr. Warbucks becoming her new husband."

"Really?" My eyes bulged.

Mrs. Greer nodded her head. "But when she finally realized he wasn't interested in that kind of business deal with her, she vanished."

I felt sad for Mr. Warbucks. It seemed the only thing people were ever interested in him for was his money. I suppose there were downsides to being rich after all.

"Then Miss Farrell came along and well…there haven't been any other "friends" of Mr. Warbucks coming around here since."

I raised my eyebrow at her. "Why not?"

Miss Greer smirked as she helped me stand up in the bath and wrapped a large towel around me. "Well, truth be told we all think Mr. Warbucks is a little sweet on Miss Farrell, and I wouldn't be surprised if she feels a similar way about him."

I gasped. "You think they like each other?"

"Of course they like each other, Annie. I think they may love each other."

"Love?! You really think so?"

"Annie."

Mrs Greer and I both jumped when we heard Miss Farrell's voice. She was standing at the bathroom door looking at us expectantly.

"Miss Farrell…", Mrs Greer gaped at her, knowing she'd been caught out. But Miss Farrell didn't pull her up on it, instead she just looked at me and gave me a gentle smile. "Annie dear, I just came to let you know that Mr. Warbucks is home and he'd like to speak to you."

"Thank you Miss Farrell. I'll be right down", I said, frozen to the spot but trying to act casually.

She nodded once and then turned to leave.

Mrs. Greer and I looked at each other and pursed our lips.

Mrs. Greer helped me get dried off and dressed quickly and I then made my way back downstairs to find Mr. Warbucks.

He and Miss Farrell were sitting across from each other in the living room. The fire was going. It was very cozy and welcoming.

"Hello Annie", Mr. Warbucks stood up as he greeted me.

"Hi, Mr. Warbucks", I replied, glancing over to Miss Farrell to try and figure out how much of mine and Mrs. Greer's conversation she had heard. I did feel bad about gossiping.

"I hope you've had an enjoyable afternoon?" Mr. Warbucks asked me.

"Yes thank you, sir."

"Good", his eyes flicked to Miss Farrell and then back to me. "Annie, I have a question for you."

I swallowed, nervous that he was going to question me over gossiping about him and Miss Farrell.

I couldn't have dreamed what he said next. "How would you like it if we spent the whole day together tomorrow?"

My eyes widened in surprise. I looked at Miss Farrell who was staring at me a little warily but happily as well.

"Oh Mr. Warbucks, that'd be swell!"

He gave me a toothy grin and nodded. "Good. I'm sorry I had to spend so much time attending to business today."

"Oh, it's OK, Sir. I enjoyed learning about the stock market", I told him enthusiastically.

"Well, I'm glad about that, but tomorrow I promise we're just going to have fun. No work."

"Oh boy, really?!" I couldn't contain my joy.

Mr. Warbucks nodded. "I have something special planned, but we'll have to leave early in the morning so you'll need to go to bed early tonight as well."

"OK. Oh, I'm so excited!" I jumped on the spot.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Miss Farrell's smile growing. I really did hope she wasn't mad at me, I hated the thought of disappointing or upsetting her. Even if there did seem to be something more than professionalism between her and Mr. Warbucks, it really wasn't any of my business, or my place to be talking about it.

She stood up and came to stand next to Mr. Warbucks. "I've asked Mrs. Pugh to fix some soup. If you're not too full from lunch you're welcome to eat with us and then it'll be time for bed."

I smiled shyly at her. "Actually some soup would be really nice."

She smiled knowingly at me and nodded her head. "Come along then", she reached her arm out and wrapped it around my shoulders to lead me to the dining room.

The three of us ate our soup together in silence. I was surprised at how hungry I'd become again after the ginormous lunch I'd eaten.

After dinner, Mr. Warbucks and Miss Farrell both took me by the hand and we walked upstairs together.

Mr. Warbucks stood off to the side while Miss Farrell tucked me in. "Sleep well, Annie", he said.

"I'm so excited for tomorrow, I doubt I'll sleep at all, Mr. Warbucks."

He let out a short laugh. "Try dear. It's going to be a big day."

"OK, I'll try", I promised him.

Miss Farrell sat down on the edge of my bed and gazed up at him. "Would you give us a moment, please Sir?"

He bowed his head at her, "Certainly. Goodnight Annie."

"Goodnight", I murmured in response, feeling nervous about why Miss Farrell wanted to stay behind and speak with me on her own.

She waited until Mr. Warbucks had left the room before she turned her head to look at me.

"Annie, I overheard part of the conversation between you Mrs. Greer."

I looked at her, feeling ashamed of myself.

"I'm not mad at you Annie, or at Mrs. Greer in fact. She's always been a good friend of mine and well, she's clearly rather…observant."

I think she wanted to say Mrs. Greer was nosy but she was trying to be polite.

"Listen Annie, I care for Mr. Warbucks very much, it's true. But I don't want you conjuring up any fanciful ideas based on what you and Mrs. Greer were discussing earlier. You must understand Annie, that kind of thing, it's just not possible."

"Why isn't it possible?" I asked in genuine confusion.

Miss Farrell sighed deeply. "There are a lot of things you don't yet understand dear, but when you do, you'll see the reasons why and know that there are a great many of them."

I looked at her with my brow furrowed. I didn't know why loving someone could ever be complicated. If you loved them, surely that was all there was to it.

"Now", Miss Farrell pulled my duvet up around my shoulders. "I don't want you to think about this any more. Think about the fun we're going to have tomorrow instead."

I smiled wryly. "Don't worry, I can't stop thinking about that either. Where are we going? Please tell me, I'm dying to know."

"You'll find out in the morning", she told me with a shake of her head.

I sighed but nuzzled down into my pillow anyway. Miss Farrell kissed me on my forehead and I looked up into her kind face. "Miss Farrell?"

"Yes dear?"

"You and Mr. Warbucks are such nice people. I just think it'd be really great if you were both happy."

"We are happy. In our way", she told me and I would have believed her if it weren't for the sadness in her eyes. "Goodnight Annie", she smiled at me, her sad eyes still in place as she turned out my light and left me with so many thoughts in my mind.