A Fresh Start
Chapter Eighty Four
After getting off the phone with Sarah, James decided he needed go by the Spaulding mansion and see Alan. Alex would be sure to tell him that she had seen him at the Beacon and as much as he didn't want to see Alan, if he didn't it could cause problems later on.
Pulling through the gates at the Spaulding mansion, he follows the driveway around circle and parks facing the gate. Opening the car door, he gets out and walks across the driveway. When he reaches the front door, he rings the bell and then turns to look out over the front grounds of the mansion. A few moments later, the door opens and James turns to see Lizzie standing in the door.
"Can I help you?" She asks.
"I'm here to see Alan Spaulding."
"He's in a meeting right now."
"Oh okay, could you tell him that James Marshall came by." James says, as Alan walks into the foyer and sees Lizzie at the door.
"Lizzie, who is it?" Alan asks, walking over to the door. Lizzie steps back so Alan can see who it is. "James." He says, in surprise.
"Alan." James says, nodding to him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm in town taking care of business and I ran into Alex this morning and she said I should stop by."
"She's not here. She's been busy with Spaulding for the last few weeks."
"Yes, you seem to be having some problems over there." James says.
"It's nothing I can't handle. The new mayor is looking to make a name for himself. I'll have the problem taken care of soon enough."
"Granddad, you know that Jeffrey didn't order that investigation. The governor did." Lizzie says.
"James, this is my granddaughter Lizzie."
"Little Lizzie, I haven't seen you since you were a little girl."
"I'm sorry, I don't…."
"Lizzie, don't you have business to take care of. I believe your mother was looking for you."
"How is your mother?"
"She's well, and Granddad is right. I do have business to take care of." Lizzie says, walking over to the door. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Marshall."
"And you too, give your mother my best."
"I will." Lizzie leaves and Alan walks into the study with James following him.
"So, would you like something to drink?" Alan asks, turning to James and watching him.
"You know I no longer drink Alan." James says, sitting down on the couch.
"Yes, I'm sorry I had forgotten."
"So, you've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble."
"As I said, it's nothing I can't handle."
"From the new reports, it seems fairly serious."
"Yes, well the press does tend to exaggerate things. As I said, we have a new mayor in Springfield and he's trying to make a name for himself, which is ironic, since he was accused of rape just last year. He's tried several times before to get me and he's always failed. I'm sure this time will be no different."
"You always were arrogant Alan." James says.
"I'm not arrogant, James. I'm confident and I know how to control people. I'm not in any serious trouble, nor is Spaulding."
"No, I doubt it is with Alex in charge now."
"What are you doing here?"
"As I said, I've got some business to take care of and I ran into Alex. She said I should stop by and say hello. So, I've done that. If you don't mind, I'll be leaving. Be sure to tell Alex I stopped by and tell your lovely ex-daughter-in-law I said hello."
"Beth is with me now."
"Yes, I've heard a rumor. But you know I'd have to say I thought she had better taste than that." James says, before he walks out of the room with Alan staring after him.
James was grinning as he pulled through the gates of the Spaulding mansion. He loved nettling Alan. Ever since he and Alex had split because of Alan's interference, he despised the man. He and Alex had been close to marrying when Alan had insisted that she leave and come back to Springfield. He wondered sometimes if she had stayed in Europe where they would be right now.
Their relationship had been one of mutual respect. Love may not have played a part in the relationship but they had certainly cared about each other until Alan had demanded that she come back to Springfield and that had ended the affair. By the time he had reached the Beacon again, he's focused back on Cassie and the meeting scheduled for later that week.
Walking into the lobby of the hotel, he walks over to the front desk. The clerk is dealing with one of the other guests so he waits until she's finished and turns to him. "Mr. Marshall, how can I assist you?"
"I was expecting a couple of faxes."
"Let me check to see if they came in."
"Thank you." James says, as the clerk turns to see if anything was waiting for him.
She pulls out a couple of pieces of paper and turns back to the front counter. "Here you go." She says, handing him the papers.
"Thank you, I'm also expecting an overnight package to be coming from Europe."
"I'll be sure to let you know as soon as it arrives, Sir."
"Thank you." James turns to leave, heading upstairs.
Cassie lays there beside Richard, staring up at the ceiling. He was probably right about the meeting with James, but something told her that he was looking for something else from her. Rolling to her side, she looks out the window. The moon was shining in through the blinds.
Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the evening in Paris where they had spent the evening with several French officials and aristocracy. She vaguely remembers meeting a man that resembles James. She remembered feeling as though he looked through her when they had met that night, almost like he was looking at someone else through her. Sighing softly, she rolls to her other side and finds Richard watching her.
"You're still upset about the guy at the Beacon." He says, as she moves over to him.
"Maybe I shouldn't be, but I am." Cassie says, laying her head on his chest.
"If you don't feel comfortable with him, then ask Olivia to take the meeting."
She snuggles in closer to him, sighing softly. "I was thinking about that night in France, and the party we gave the French President. I remember him being there, and I remember meeting him. He seemed to look through me."
"What do you mean?"
"He seemed to be looking through me at someone else, like he didn't see me but this other person."
"I don't know Cassie." Richard says, playing with her hair. "When is your meeting?"
"I don't know. I didn't ask before I left this afternoon."
"Okay, then close your eyes and forget about it for tonight." Richard says, putting his arm around her.
She sighs softly as she tries to snuggle in closer to him. He begins to hum in her ear and she smiles, sighing as she closes her eyes. He continues to hum for a while, idly playing with her hair.
After Wanda told him about speaking with the law office that Lewis used in Tulsa, he decides that he needs to go out there and do some digging around. Reaching for the phone, he calls the foreman of Jeffrey's construction site. After a couple rings, he picks up "Hello."
"Yes, it's Billy."
"Yes, boss."
"I'm going to be out of town for a few days. I'm at the office now going over the bids for the plumbing and electrical and I'll inform the winning bids they have the job, so expect some more people here beginning tomorrow. I need you to get the parking lot finished, and start on demolition on the porch and the lower floors of the house. When I get back I want the house to be ready for the architect to come in and begin work on the interior design along with the interior designer."
"Yes Sir, we'll have everything ready." The foreman says.
"Okay, I think that's everything." Billy says. He's about to hang up when he glances at a picture of Josh on his desk. "Oh, and one more thing if my brother comes over and tries to stop the job or take any of the men from the crew for other jobs have him call me, and do not let any of the men leave."
"Yes Sir."
"Alright, I'll be back next week."
"Yes sir."
Billy hangs up and the foreman returns to work. Five or six minutes later, Billy reaches for the intercom and buzzes Wanda. "Yes Sir."
"Could you come in here please?"
"Yes Sir."
A few seconds later, she walks into Billy's office. "You wanted to see me Sir."
"I need you to call the pilot and have him get the jet ready."
"Yes sir."
"And when you're finished with that, I need you to get the personal address of HB's private attorney in Tulsa. You may not be able to get him personally but find someone that's related to him."
"Yes Sir."
"I'll be finishing these bids up."
"Yes Sir." Wanda leaves closing the door behind her.
Reaching for a folder, he picks up the first bid and looks it over. It was a fairly good bid but a little on the high side. He picks up the next and notices the bid was way low, causing him to wonder about the quality of work. For the next thirty minutes, he looked at all the bids for the plumbing. He finally picks one from a company that he's heard good things about, but Lewis hasn't worked with yet.
He's about to begin the same process with the electrical bids when Wanda knocks on his door. "Billy." She says, sticking her head in.
"Yeah, come on in." He says, laying the latest bid on the desk.
"I've been able to track down at least three of Mr. Lewis's attorney's relatives. They're all in the surrounding area of Tulsa." She says, laying a piece of paper down on the desk.
"Thank you." Billy says, picking up the paper.
"And the pilot will have the jet ready within the hour."
"Thank you. Let them know I'll be here as soon as I finish this and go home to get some clothes. While I'm gone, if Josh asks where I've gone, tell him I've gone to see a lady friend and you don't know when I'll be back."
"Yes sir, when will you be back?"
"Before Labor day, we've got a barbeque planned at Cross Creek for Labor Day. I've got to be there, since it was my idea. Here's the bid for the plumbing on the First street project. I'm still looking over the bids for the electrical."
"Yes sir." Wanda says, taking the bid.
"Be sure to tell them that they need to start immediately."
"I will."
"If Mr. O'Neill calls, tell him that I'm out of town but that the foreman has his instructions and he will make sure that job stays on schedule. If he needs to speak to me, have him call my cell phone."
"Yes sir."
"Thanks." Billy says reaching for the piece of paper she had handed him.
"Okay." She turns and walks out as Billy sits back and looks down at the paper.
After a few seconds, he lays the paper to the side and picks up the bids. Twenty minutes later after going through the same process as he did with the plumbing bids, he has selected the winning bid for the electrical on Sam's house.
Gathering up the other bids, he takes them to the shredder and feeds them through before, he returns to his desk. Picking up the paper that Wanda had given him, he folds it up and then walks out of his office. "Here is the bid for the electrical. I'll be back next week." He says, to Wanda, handing her the bid.
"Yes Sir." She replies, and Billy leaves the office
Slowly Jeffrey relaxes his hold on Sam, allowing her to lay down beside him. "What do you think will happen with Ava?"
"I'm sure she'll be fine. And if she needs to stay here she can. That is okay…."
"Of course, she can stay here." Sam says, as the phone rings.
"Who could be calling at this hour?"
"I have no idea." Sam says, as she releases him and Jeffrey pushes the covers back. He gets up and walks out of the room as she watches him. She hears a muffled conversation before Jeffrey appears in the doorway with the phone. "Who is it?"
"It's for you." He says, walking back over to the bed.
"Hello." Sam says, taking the phone.
"Rebeca." Jeremiah says.
"Jeremiah." Sam says, looking over at Jeffrey. "How did you get this number?"
"I spoke with Megan and she gave it to me."
"Megan, I spoke with her today and she didn't tell me about talking to you."
"Yes, well she was always flighty."
"What do you want Jeremiah?" Sam asks, feeling tension begin to build.
"She told me you were getting married."
"Yes, I am."
"And you didn't feel that you should tell your family."
"My family, since when have you been my family. You've ignored me for several years now. I haven't heard anything from you. In fact, I'm surprised you told me when Gran died."
"Who is this man?"
"He's someone I've known for a long time. We used to work together and we lost touch."
"And he simply appears out of nowhere?"
"He came to the agency to visit a friend and we…. Why am I explaining this to you? You don't care. You haven't cared about what happens in my life for years. He's someone I've known for a long time. That's all you need to know."
"Would father approve?"
"Daddy's dead, it doesn't matter if he approves. It doesn't matter if you approve. This is my life Jeremiah, but if you must know, he's mayor, is that good enough for Daddy." Sam says spitefully.
"Are you going to invite me to the wedding?"
"Why should I? You don't care one way or the other."
"Reb…."
"Don't pretend like you care, you don't and we both know it. Thanks for calling, I'm fine and I will be married in about a week so you will no longer feel like it's your obligation to look out for me… oh wait, you haven't." Sam says, hanging up the phone.
She puts the phone on the nightstand before she turns to Jeffrey and he asks. "Are you okay?"
"I'm… I don't know what I am, shocked, surprised, annoyed."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing really, he found out about the wedding from Megan which surprised me because she didn't say anything earlier. And then he wanted to know about me getting married, where I had met you and would Daddy approve and if I was going to invite him to the wedding. You heard my side of the conversation."
"Do you believe him when he said he spoke to Megan?"
"I don't know. I'm going to call her." Sam reaches for the phone, she about to call her when she glances at the clock and hangs the phone back up. "I can't call her, it's too late. That's just weird that he would call out of the blue like that. If he didn't speak to Megan, how would he know that we're getting married?"
"I don't know. Maybe she did talk to him and she forgot to tell you. You only spoke to her for a few moments this afternoon."
"If she talked to Jeremiah that would have been the first thing she told me when she called."
"So, you think he was lying?"
"I don't know, but how could he know if he didn't talk to her."
"What about LaKeisha?"
"She doesn't know I have a brother. I never told anyone at the agency about Jeremiah or my family." Sam says, laying down beside him.
They lay there for a few moments until Sam sighs and then turns over. "Come here." He says, reaching for her. She moves over to him, snuggling in closer to him. "Don't worry about you're brother. He's not going to change anything." Jeffrey says, kissing her forehead.
Olivia is standing on the balcony, looking out at the light house. In less than a week, Jeffrey would be over there. Standing beside her, exchanging vows, she clinches the banister as she watches the light sweep across the water. She's still standing there when her cell phone rings. Walking back inside, she pulls it from her purse. She glances at the screen and then walks out to the balcony again as she answers the call "Hello."
"It's…."
"I know who it is. Did you find anything out?'
"Yes, I was able to find out her history. She's a federal agent, and was his partner until she disappeared twelve years ago. She was later presumed dead. She spent the next six months traveling across Europe until she came back to the US, arriving home just days before her mother passed away from cancer. She stayed in her hometown for about a month more and then she moved to Nashville. Where she changed her name, and enrolled in college and then Med school. She was top in her class at Vanderbilt and was on her way to joining the staff there until two years into her residence."
"What happened then?"
"She was treating a patient. That patient proved to be an agent for the former agency she used to work for. That agent informed Washington and she was recruited back into the agency after her she finished her residence and internships. She's been living in Washington DC since then. Working for the agency's private hospital for the last five years she's had one patient exclusively."
"Who?"
"Richard. I…."
"Richard, you're sure?"
"Yes, my contacts don't lie. She was his doctor."
"That's how he found her again. Does she have any relatives?"
"A couple, a brother, Jeremiah Whitmere and a cousin named Megan. Samantha Whitley isn't her name. It's Rebeca Ann Whitmere."
"That's why he refers to Beca sometimes. Did you contact her brother?'
"Yes, he seemed quite surprised to learn that his sister had left Washington and that she was planning to marry."
"So, she didn't tell her only living relative?"
"It would appear that way."
"Thank you, this gives me a clear picture of what I'm dealing with. I'll deposit the money in your account."
"Tell my brother I said hello." Edmund says. Olivia doesn't reply as she hangs up.
Jeffrey is the first to wake up the next morning. Getting up, he gets dressed and goes for a run through the neighborhood. An hour later, Sam wakes up as he opens the door downstairs and he hears her call. "Jeffrey."
"I'm downstairs." He calls, closing the door behind him.
She pushes the covers back and then grabs his t-shirt, pulling it over her head as she walks downstairs. She finds him in the kitchen, all sweaty, getting a drink. "Where did you go?"
"I went for a run." Jeffrey says, sitting the glass on the counter and walking over to her.
"Yuck you're sweaty." She says, taking a step back.
"Of course I am, I've been running." He says, stepping closer to her.
"Stay away from me." She says, backing up.
"I can't get a kiss."
"You can have a kiss after you've taken a shower." Sam replies, pointing to the bathroom as he chuckles and walks past her. When he's beside her, he grabs her hand pulls her to him, kissing her soundly as she pushes against him.
"Jeffrey." She squeals, as he releases her, laughing as he walks into the bathroom.
"You can join me again, if you want." He says, as he closes the door.
"This time, no." She calls as he continues to chuckle.
She opens the window as she reaches for the coffee pot. She's found that if she opens the window while the coffee's brewing, it doesn't affect her as much. She goes into the bathroom to use it while Jeffrey's showering. She smiles when she hears him singing in the shower. "Goin up to the spirit in the sky, that's where I'm gonna go when I die, When I die and they lay me to rest, I'm going to the place that's the best."
Washing her hands, she leaves the bathroom, going into the kitchen. She takes down a bowl and a box of cereal. Pouring herself a bowl, she pours Jeffrey a cup of coffee as the water turns off in the bathroom. Taking the cup of coffee, she picks up her bowl of cereal and walks out of the kitchen as Jeffrey opens the door to the bathroom. She walks up to the doorway. "Here." She says, handing him the cup of coffee.
"Thank you." He says, taking a sip "You're eating this early?"
"Yeah, I'm hungry." Sam says, taking a bit of cereal. "When do you have to go in?" She asks after swallowing the cereal.
"I can go in about ten." Jeffrey says, reaching for his razor.
"Okay."
"Why?"
"I was just wondering."
"What are you going to do today?"
"Nothing really important, I might go look for new place for my office. And I'll need to see if Cassie and Reva have found a dress yet. We might go shopping if they haven't. I need to make sure everything is clear with Buzz and florists." She says between bites of cereal.
"Are you going to call Megan?"
"I might later."
"Okay, Jeffrey says, reaching for his wash clothe and wiping his face off. Taking his coffee cup, as Sam steps back to let him leave the bathroom. She follows him upstairs after putting her bowl in the kitchen sink and filling it with water.
Jeffrey is in the closet she walking back into their bedroom. Laying down on the bed, she waits for him to come out. He's in black dress pants and light blue shirt when he comes out of the closet. He's got his tie around his neck with his shoes and socks in his hands. He walks over to the bed. Sitting down, he looks over. He can tell she's still tired. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"I've got a lot to do." Sam says, yawning.
"It can keep until later, go back to sleep. It's still early. And if I go in now I can leave earlier this afternoon."
"Okay." She says reaching for the covers, as he gets up. She lays there watching him as he finishes getting dressed.
When he's finished, he walks back over to the bed and sits down beside her he says. "Go back to sleep. I'll be home early."
"Okay." She says. He starts to get up and she says. "Jeffrey."
"Yes." He says, turning back to her as she sits up and reaching for him, as she kisses him. "Sam." He sighs, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her to him.
After a couple minutes, she breaks the kiss and leans back. "Have a good day." She says as she releases him.
He struggled to catches his breathe for a few seconds. "I will and I'll see you later." He says leaning over and kissing her softly before he stands up and she lays back down, snuggling back down into the covers on his side of the bed.
Stacy is in the copy room when Jeffrey walks into his office. He walks through to his office, sitting his cup of coffee on the desk he reaches for the messages that were laying there for him. Picking them up, he flips through them until he reaches a message from Noah. Reaching for the phone, he dials Noah's direct line. After a couple rings, he picks up. "Hello, Noah Chase."
"Noah, its Jeffrey."
"Hi."
"Hi, what's going on? I got the message that you called. Do you have anything about Sam's apartment?"
"No, I'm sorry. I was calling about something else. You know you called me a few weeks back about a video tape."
"Yes, the one with me, Olivia and Edmund."
"Yes. I spoke with the director yesterday and he's willing to let you have it. He's ordered to have the tape mailed directly to you."
"Oh." Jeffrey says slightly surprised."
"You still want it?"
"Yes, yes of course. I wasn't expecting him to release it."
"He wasn't inclined to at first, but I convinced him that we owed you at least an explanation about what happened that night, especially considering how things turned out. It should be arriving in a few days."
"I'll be looking for it."
"Are you getting nervous?"
"No, I'm ready to marry her now." Jeffrey says, glancing at Sam's picture and remembering the kiss before he left. "Are you coming?"
"I'm not sure. If not, I'll be at Richard's."
"I understand, but you know that she'll be at Richard's as well."
"Yes, but I can't face her with Josh yet." Noah says, sighing softly.
"Alright. You know they're getting married at the farm. In the barn, Richard said the other day."
"It seems a little weird them getting married there."
"Especially since that's where she married Edmund, I think that's part of the reason why they are getting married there."
"I've got go check on some patients. I wanted to tell you about the video so you will be expecting it."
"Thank you." Jeffrey says, as Stacy walks into his office.
"Good luck." Noah says.
"Thank you." Jeffrey hangs up.