Helen looked out the window and spied Caroline strutting across the parking lot like she hadn't a care in the world. It was so different from how she'd left on Friday for her meeting with Judith when she'd looked like the wrongfully condemned on her way to the gallows. She'd been so private about those two meetings with Judith that Helen knew better than to manufacture an excuse to call her before the end of the day. But she was aware her boss had cleared her Friday afternoons for the next couple of weeks so she'd wondered and worried all weekend about what was going on.
"Good morning," Caroline chirped to the staff as she entered the office suite. "Everyone have a good weekend? Well rested? Ready for the week ahead?"
Helen noticed Caroline didn't wait for any responses as she breezed by, leaving a trail of her perfume floating on the swish of air left in her wake. It was a side of Caroline she hadn't seen in a while and one Helen had missed. There had been a particular heaviness to her boss's spirit the last week that seemed to have evaporated. It was going to be a good Monday.
Prior to the author's appearance at the school, during the prep for her visit, Helen could never really tell if Caroline liked Judith. She'd waited all afternoon to see what her boss's mood would be when she returned, but then she hadn't even called, which was unusual. As an unapologetic fan of Caroline's, Helen somehow knew this rekindled energy had something to do with the seemingly flighty author and she wondered how Gillian factored into the mix.
Helen intently watched as Caroline, who hadn't stopped grinning, removed her coat with all the authority and yet more panache than Amanda Priestly, revealing what Helen had come to think of as Caroline's best power suit. "Hope you rested this weekend because we've a busy one today. I need you to clear my calendar this morning and set up a conference call with Board of Governors for as soon as possible."
"Coffee or tea first?" Helen asked in response as she followed her boss, stopping at the entrance to her inner sanctum. Leaning against the doorway, she tried to detect what had Caroline so enthused.
"On second thought, let's get them all to come in at 11. Tell them lunch will be provided and I shouldn't need more than an hour or two of their time. Then call Elevenses and order an assortment of box lunches for delivery, including one for yourself and the office staff. Put it on my credit card. If you've not been yet, it's a delightful little tea shop. Flora and Gillian loved it on Saturday."
"What should I say if they ask why the emergency meeting?" Helen, relieved to hear Gillian's likes were still important enough to her boss to mention, was growing more curious with each passing second. She figured it had to have something to do with the white envelope she watched Caroline pull from her Mulberry and conspicuously put in a place of pride on her desk before she even sat down.
"Tell them you simply don't know if they ask. Then have the Bursar come to see me as soon as possible," she said with a reassuring expression. "Plan to sit in on that meeting. I'll have some tea then but none for Mickey—she won't be here very long."
"We missed you Friday afternoon. I must say that you seem much lighter than when you left."
"I thought I'd be back. Sorry about that. I was unexpectedly held captive on a narrowboat by a mad writer. You'd better hop to it, we've a lot to do before 11."
To Caroline's surprise, the rarity of a suddenly called meeting had inspired the entire Board to attend, mostly out of sheer nosiness, and they were already seated when Caroline entered the room. With precious papers in hand, Caroline took her usual seat at the head of the table, her pearl necklace bouncing against her skin as she pulled her chair up to the table. She was a little rushed because she had been waiting for the Bursar to return from the bank with the confirmation of the deposit and it had taken longer than expected because of the size of the cheque.
"Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming in on such short notice." Ignoring the grumbling about the inconvenience by some of the more persnickety governors, she continued. "I am thrilled to report that I have secured the final funding needed to get our rebuild started." Holding up the deposit slip for all to see, she continued, "The Bursar has just returned from depositing a four hundred thousand pound donation. I'd like to get this moving so we're under roof before the winter weather arrives in full force, hence the short notice. I do apologise."
Instantly, even the most dour board members began happily murmuring at the unexpected development as Caroline revealed the source of the generous and unanticipated donation. Braced for pushback from a few of her more conservative board members who'd grumbled about some of the themes in Judith's books when Caroline had announced her planned participation in her lecture series, Caroline deftly plowed ahead and moved the Board on to voting on the proposed contracts that had been in her top desk drawer awaiting the funding. She ceremoniously signed them as soon as the vote was completed and had the Chairman witness her signature.
With her primary goal accomplished, the boxed lunches were served. While the Board was eating, they discussed what to do with the excess funds. Caroline enjoyed the moment of triumph as they greedily babbled with delight, loudly talking over each other. Needing a momentary escape from the cacophony, she let her mind drift back to the quietude of the night before with Gillian.
"Just think of what we could do with that kind of cheque," Gillian began as they settled in on the couch after Flora was in bed. Ruth was curled up in her favourite spot near the fire place. The fire had burnt down enough to not require tending so Caroline nestled into Gillian. The only sound in the room came from the flames dancing across the remnants of the carefully stacked logs that crackled and hissed.
Caroline was being lulled to sleep by the warmth of her partner; her eyelids growing heavier with each passing second until Gillian's voice floated through the comforting tranquility. "We could runaway somewhere; it's not too late. Grab the laptop and let's book a trip to Bora Bora or somewhere. We could disappear into the sunrise before anyone's the wiser."
"They'd find us. Besides, what about Flora?" Caroline snuggled in tighter against Gillian. A smile crested her face at the thought of Gillian, with tanned limbs and a skimpy bikini, dancing like a pixie in and out of the waves along a meandering shoreline solely for her enjoyment. "Hmmm."
"You're thinking about it though, aren't you?" Gillian chuckled. She leisurely dragged her fingernails up and down Caroline's back as though she were strumming a well-travelled guitar, sensuously felt through the thick flannel of Caroline's new plaid shirt.
Caroline started playfully rubbing her toes against Gillian's, a sign she knew Gillian would understand. "It's lovely to dream but it's going straight into the school's account first thing tomorrow." Caroline had her head nestled just below Gillian's shoulder in the valley before the swell of her firm breast; it was a position she loved because she could feel Gillian's ever steady heart beat if she concentrated enough; the sensation of their hearts beating in tandem providing an unspoken comfort. She moved her head enough to tenderly rub her chin against the top of her lover's breast.
"If you don't like Bora Bora, you could choose another paradise. Maybe we could search for places with no extradition back to the mother ship," Gillian posited, deepening the fantasy tease.
"And how long would we last in paradise on four hundred thousand pounds? Knowing you, you'd blow through it on rum drinks delivered to you by handsome cabana boys on the beach."
"Mmmm. There's no rum in a sex on the beach, but If we had our own private cabana, we could work up quite a thirst," Gillian retorted with a mischievous lilt in her voice. "Maybe we could take Zara to be our cabana person to bring us those drinks."
Caroline chuckled, acknowledging the temptation with, "Get thee behind me devil woman!" before adding wistfully, "I suspect I'd be too sunburned too quickly for that much contact."
Gillian's stopped stroking Caroline's back and splayed her fingers so her hand came to a rest between her shoulder blades. After a few beats, she began to move her hand like she did when she'd sensuously spread lotion on Caroline's smooth back at the beach in Barcelona, not stopping until she grazed the side of a breast. "Knowing you, you'd be so slathered up in sunblock I'd not be able to get a proper grip." A fire ravaged log shifted under the weight of the ones on top of it, sending sparks and crackles into the momentary silence. "Mind you, I'd have fun applying it."
"My dermatologist told me to never be in the sun without it."
"And you always to what you're told, don't you? Just like putting large cheques into the school account." Gillian shifted to so she could look her lover in the eyes.
"Yup," she said, a knowing grin fixed to her face. "I find it's easier to do what I'm told; I like the results."
Gillian laughed with glee before shifting Caroline off her and standing up. She placed the fire screen tightly against the fireplace, and turned to Caroline with a lascivious glint in her eye. "If you always do what you're told, I can work with that." She held out an expectant hand. "Follow me to the bedroom, Caz. I have some scarves with your name on them."
The growing din in the Board Room drew Caroline reluctantly back into the present. She momentarily touched the pearls around her neck while a satisfied smile ghosted across her face. Caroline refocused her attention on the frivolous conversation around the table, thinking to herself that no matter what anyone proposed they do with the excess funds, none of their ideas would be as tempting as Gillian's.
"People. People. I think the term you all are looking for is Endowment Fund," she said, masterfully taking control of the debate and ending it once and for all.
