Chapter Eight

"Hardy!" yelled Owen as Frank walked into the office an hour later. "Where have you been again? I'm late for court no thanks to you! I know you lost that file on purpose so I'd be late. Now where is it?"

"Not this again," Frank muttered, rolling his eyes. He looked at Owen who waited impatiently. "I told you, Owen. You never asked me to find a file. And if you were so adamant about it, you would have looked for it yesterday instead of leaving early! If you needed it for court today, you should have taken care of it yourself!"

"Why you worthless has-been!" the lawyer screeched, getting in his face. "I have every right to have you fired right now, Hardy, and not even Carson Drew could stop it! I shouldn't have to be picking up the slack for you!"

"I'm surprised you haven't already tried, Owen," he retorted. Frank was having a hard time keeping his cool and wondered if Owen was trying to get a rise out of him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my desk to do some actual work, unlike yourself."

He tried to push past him but Owen grabbed his arm, giving him an evil eye. Frank looked down at the man's arm, wanting to break it but held himself back. It wasn't right for him to attack anyone without provocation even if the person was being a jerk. Still, Owen would have deserved it no matter what.

"You might want to rethink that, Owen," Frank said calmly, his eyes burning with rage.

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it, Hardy?" the lawyer sneered. When Frank said nothing but moved to walk away, Owen laughed. "That's what I thought. You're nothing but a wimp, a coward. Just like you were when your mother died and you walked away from your family."

Frank whirled around and was about to rush at the man when Carson Drew stepped in between them.

"That's enough, Owen!" boomed Carson. He could see that Frank was about to burst and gave him a stern look of support. Reluctantly, the young man stepped back away from Owen though his eyes narrowed as he glared at him. Carson turned to Owen, his face livid. "Where are you supposed to be right now?"

"In court, sir," he said through gritted teeth after a brief hesitation.

"That would explain why I just got off the phone with Judge Warner! He called to ask if the defendant's attorney would be in attendance! Now, why the hell are you still here?"

Owen opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He glared at Frank one more time. "I'm on my way, sir."

Carson sighed as Owen walked away slamming the door behind him, the sound echoing in the room. The moment the scene was officially over, the rest of the men and women around them continued on with their duties though the tension was still present. Carson shook his head then turned to Frank.

"I'm sorry about that. I thought he would be in court by the time you got back. I didn't think he would try to skip out on his case, especially since he wanted it so badly."

"Sir, how are you putting up with him?"

"Reluctantly, Frank," Carson answered sadly. "Did you get everything done as I asked?"

"Yes, sir," he nodded surprised at the sudden change in subject.

"Anything eventful?"

Frank gave him a funny look. He thought about what happened with Mrs. Hartley but wasn't sure if it was prudent to say anything. "Nothing major. Just a routine errand run. I did go back to the house to drop off the groceries and ate lunch with Hannah."

"Oh, okay," Carson replied, slightly disheartened. "That's good you went back home. Hannah wanted to get a head start on the meals since she's heading to her mother's early Saturday morning." He looked around at the others in the room before returning his attention to Frank. "I need to see you my office then."

The sudden change in Carson's demeanor made Frank a little nervous. He followed him to the elevator and went up one floor to where Carson's office was. A few minutes later, the two were seated across from each other in the sitting area of the office.

"It was really hard to keep, Mr. Drew," Frank admitted the moment the secretary left the room, "but I wasn't going to hurt him. At least, I don't think I was."

"I know. That's not why I needed to see you in private."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Frank," Carson smiled though it didn't mask the sadness in his eyes. "I want you to work from home tomorrow."

"Huh?"

He took a deep breath, then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I need you out of the office until further notice."

"I…I don't understand."

"I'll have work for you to do," Carson replied, ignoring the remark. "And anything else you might be working on."

"But why?"

"I received a phone call this morning, right after you left. I…uh…I have been ordered by the firm's 'financier' to let you go."

"Sir, I…"

"Let me finish," he held up his hand to stop him. "I'm ignoring the order which is why I need you at the house tomorrow. This is my firm and I have the final say on anything especially when it comes to firing people who I trust. My financier…"

"Is Owen Hartley, Sr, isn't it?"

Carson chuckled. "Nothing gets by you, does it, Frank? Yes, Owen Sr is the reason why my firm is still alive."

"How?"

"Well, I went through a hard time about four years ago and he offered to help," he sighed then went on to explain. "He took over the accounting of the firm and saved us all from unemployment. I would have lost everything including this building and my own home if it hadn't been for the Hartleys. I never told Nancy about it either. Didn't want her to know about my problems when she had some of her own and that was before Ned died. Owen Jr came in not long after the financial takeover, looking for a job but I turned him down because of the rumors that were going around about him. But he was hired behind my back by one of the other partners. It was the only time that I didn't have a say in who was working for me. Owen Sr. threatened to pull out his help so I had no choice but to let Owen stay."

"Is that why you won't do anything about Nancy marrying Owen?"

"No, there's more to it than that," Carson answered. "More than I can actually explain at the moment. I had hoped that Nancy continued to turn him down especially after Ned died. She did for a time but Owen persisted and she finally gave in about three months after the funeral. I literally have my hands tied with Owen Sr. holding our finances but I think it is time for me to think about my family before my own firm. Losing Nancy to someone like Owen Hartley is not something that I can allow."

"Hannah said that Owen didn't send out invites to Bess, George, and Joe," Frank stated. "Did you know anything about that?"

The man took a deep breath and bowed his head. "No," he answered sadly. "Not until last night. Nancy kept it to herself because she thought that I approved of Owen since I didn't interfere."

"So, Nancy really did call you."

"Yes, she did. She's been working hard all week." Carson let out a laugh. "When she was here a few days ago, she complained about the new column she has to write: a gossip column for the social climbers or something like that. Ironically, it's the only thing that has been keeping her going this week." His smile suddenly melted from his face as he stared at the floor. "Then Nancy told me about Owen being there last night. I was furious about it for he told me he wasn't feeling well and had to go home early."

"This isn't like Nancy to allow herself to be alienated from her friends and family," Frank pointed out. He was confused as to why it continued to happen even though Carson was obviously upset about it. "Did you even know anything like this was happening?"

"Somewhat," he admitted. "I didn't know the full extent of what was going on though. Maybe he threatened her or she was just too stubborn to admit that her judgment was off. You know how she is. I don't even know why she said yes. Owen is the kind of man whom she would purposely cross the street to get away from."

"Is it normal for her to not come home during the week?"

"Well, yeah," Carson shrugged. "After Ned passed away, Nancy sold their house here in River Heights. She said it was too much for her to handle plus the memories were too painful. She moved in with us again and when she got the job at the Tribune, Nancy wanted to live here and commute to Chicago. After a while though, it proved to be too much for her so she found an apartment in the city, not far from the Tribune building. Nancy would come home every weekend but after a while, she stopped staying here like she always did. Owen wanted her to stay with his parents. That started soon after their engagement last year. Ever since, Nancy became more and more distant with us though she still came around to talk or complain or to just get away from Owen. She still calls too but she's not the same as she was when she was younger." The man stopped and looked down at his hands. Frank could tell that there was something bothering him but waited patiently for Carson to say something. "Last night though, when Nancy called…she was in tears, Frank. I wanted to go get her but she insisted that she would be okay. I'm not so sure anymore."

"What happened?"

"Like I said, Owen was in Chicago last night," he began and shook his head. "He made a surprise visit. Bought her flowers, took her out to dinner, even apologized for things that he said. They went back to her apartment afterward. He became agitated when they got back because he saw a photo in the living room that apparently wasn't there before. It was a photo of her…along with you and Joe after one of the cases the three of you worked on together. I know what photo it was since I was the one who took it. None of you couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen at the time it was taken. Owen got angry, wanting to know why she had it out, that it was inappropriate for her to have since she was going to be a married woman soon. Nothing she said could calm him down and he continued to yell at her. When she asked him to leave, he refused. That was when she threatened to call the police. Owen left but warned her to stay away from you, saying that you were going to get what you deserved."

Frank took a deep breath, his mind reeling from hearing what happened. He was angry at Owen even more than he was before. The man should never have brought up the subject of his family earlier and now, Frank was learning that he was threatening Nancy because of him. "Is that why his father wants me to be fired?"

"Yes," Carson nodded. "I have a feeling it has something to do with it. I don't know what else it could be. I think Owen feels threatened by you especially since Nancy has finally stood up to him. Just be careful though. Owen Hartley Sr. has ties to...Look, I don't want to have to call your father if something were to happen. I don't think that conversation would go over so well."

"I can handle Owen, Mr. Drew," he assured him firmly. "And anything else thrown at me."

The lawyer chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "I'm sure you can, Frank." He sighed then shook his head. "Still, I should have gone with my gut instincts and went to Chicago last night. Then I'd know if she was okay."

"Is she?"

"I think so since Owen's here. I…I can't lose my daughter. Not to Owen Hartley or his crazy father."

"And you won't," Frank stated. "I'll make sure of it."

Friday afternoon, Nancy walked back into the Tribune building after having lunch outside. She worked all morning before wanting to get out into the sunshine for lunch. By the end of lunch, Nancy was proud of herself for she had finished writing most of her columns for Saturday and for the following week. After her encounter with Owen on Wednesday night, she was determined to get her mind off of him so she dived into the throws of the gossip mill of Chicago. Although she originally did not like the gossip column, it allowed her to actually do some investigating, something Nancy hadn't been able to do with her advice column. It was tedious work but it got her mind off of the things she didn't want to think about though she did decide one thing while going through her columns. In fact, Nancy was going to take her own advice that she once said to another lost lover: she was going to leave Owen for good.

After Wednesday night's fight, she was through. He had threatened not only her but Frank and her father as well. It was the final straw. Nancy cared too much for both of them to allow Owen to dictate her life the way he did in threatening them. When she left for River Heights that night, she was going to stay with her father and planned on calling off the wedding that weekend.

As she approached her desk, Nancy stopped, noticing the box sitting next to her typewriter. It was filled with all of her things from her desk including the small plant she had sitting in the corner. Nancy was confused, looking around for the nearest person but everyone seemed to be occupied or purposely avoiding her look.

"Robert!" she called the moment she saw the man walking toward her. Nancy pointed to her desk. "What's going on?"

"Nancy," the man started, glancing at the other workers. He continued, lowering his voice. "The board has decided to get rid of the advice and gossip columns of the paper. With that, they're…they're letting you go."

"What?" Nancy cried, causing some of the others to stop and watch what was going on. "You…you just gave me that gossip column! And I thought that the advice column was a hit!"

"I know," he said regretfully, "but it's not my call anymore. The board felt that the newspaper shouldn't stoop low to do a gossip column. I'll take whatever you have for the columns and make sure they're printed. I took the liberty of packing your things in the box so that you wouldn't have to."

"I…I…" she began though she was at a loss for words. She had never been so humiliated in her life but then again, Nancy felt a slight sense of relief. Maybe this was a sign for her to start anew especially since she would soon be single again.

Looking around the room, she noticed that the other workers had gone back to work as if nothing happened. Nancy shook her head then grabbed the box before heading toward the door she just came through. Stopping, she glanced back at Robert who looked saddened and embarrassed at the same time. "Thank you, Robert," Nancy kindly said then left the room.

She kept her composure as she trekked back to her apartment only five blocks away, avoiding the stares of others as she went along. The moment the door closed to her apartment and she was safely inside, Nancy broke down in tears. Her knees gave way as she slumped to the floor, the box still in her arms.

An hour later, Nancy finally calmed down. After what happened at the Tribune, she was going to have to decide on what to do next. But first, Nancy needed to be with the ones who cared most for her so she packed her bags with the intention of leaving for River Heights soon after. It was nearly three in the afternoon before she tried calling her father. She called his direct office line but wasn't able to get a hold of him. His secretary stated that he was in an important meeting for the rest of the day but that she would make sure he knew Nancy called.

Nancy was about to call home when a knock came at the door and she put down the phone to answer it. Although she informed the building super to not allow Owen in, she still cautiously opened the door, keeping the chain in place. Just as she cracked the door, it burst out, breaking the safety chain. Owen stepped in followed by two large men.

"Nancy," Owen simpered, slowly walking toward her, "why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"Owen!" she cried. Nancy searched for a way out as she backed away from the advancing men. "What…what are you doing here? I told you you weren't welcome anymore!"

"I know that," he smiled. "But I couldn't stay away. You're too important. I heard that you were so unceremoniously let go from the Tribune that I had to come see you to make sure you were okay."

"You…you know about that?" Nancy bumped into the wall, not seeing anywhere else she could go.

"Of course, I do," Owen replied in a phony, sympathetic tone. "I couldn't allow you to be alone at such a terrible time. I thought you might want a shoulder to cry on. Besides, it's time to go back to River Heights. We have a lot of planning to do for the wedding."

"How did you get in here?"

"Oh, your super just so happened to stop us on the way up but unfortunately, he took tumble down the stairs. I think he may be seriously hurt but that's what he gets when he tried to stop us from coming up."

"You, bastard," Nancy hissed, tears forming in her eyes. She picked up a book, wielding it like a weapon. "I'm not marrying you, Owen!"

"Yes, you are, Nancy. You don't really have a choice."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I can, Nancy," Owen subtly replied. "Plus, the fact that it keeps your father in his place…for now. He won't do anything against us as long as you're with me. Besides, he can't anyway with what my father has on him. Carson Drew and his law firm are just mere pawns in the ever-lasting war raging in River Heights that he knows nothing about. And when he does find out, it will be too late to do anything."

"Dad will fight you," Nancy seethed, breathing heavily. "And so will…"

"Frank?" the man chuckled. "By the end of this weekend, he'll be long gone. Father made some phone calls to a few acquaintances this morning. They happened to be looking for Frank, something about him having a stolen item of theirs. Father is going to make sure Frank leaves town really quickly although it wouldn't hurt if he was roughed up a bit before he left. My two friends here will be taking care of him the moment we reach River Heights. Then, no one will be able to stop us, not even your father."

Owen snapped his fingers and the two men moved in on Nancy. She looked around the room for something other than the book to use as a weapon. Her blue eyes landed on her pocket book that rested near the door, knowing that her car keys were in the bag. But Nancy had to get past the three men in order to make it to her car down the street.

One of the men reached for her and Nancy swung the book, catching the man off guard. The other man tried to grab her from behind though she was able to duck out of it at the last minute. She gripped a lamp nearby and flung it toward them, knocking the two men back into the wall with a loud crash. They became entangled with each other allowing Nancy a chance to get away though Owen stepped in front of her. He slapped her hard across the face, breaking open her lip then painfully seized her right arm.

"I told you, Nancy," he sneered, his eyes blazing with anger as he brought her to his face. "You can't get away." Owen glanced at the two men. "Quit embarrassing yourselves and get up! I have her!"

As Owen was distracted, Nancy stomped down on his foot with her heel. The man cried out in pain though he didn't let go of her. She then reeled her free arm, sending a left hook to his face, throwing the man off balance. Owen went down, releasing her arm and Nancy took off for the door. She grabbed her pocketbook and scrambled down the stairs, the three men stumbling to follow her.

When she approached the final landing of the stairs, Nancy gasped at seeing the building super lying at the bottom of the steps, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. She was momentarily stunned, slowing her descent to the foyer. But Owen's spewing of orders and the following thunderous herd of footfalls on the steps finally spurred Nancy to move past the scene and out the front door.

When she reached the street, she could hear the sound of sirens moving toward her but she didn't stop. Nancy quickly reached her car and pulled away from the curb just as Owen and his goons came up, stopping just short of her exhaust. The last thing she saw in her rearview mirror was the look of pure hatred on Owen's face. Nancy knew she had to warn Frank and pressed her foot on the gas pedal to get out of the city.

Author's Note:

I hope that everyone had a great Fourth of July holiday. It was wonderful celebrating our nation's birthday with family and friends on the third. My husband and I also took the time on the Fourth to go see a movie. If you haven't seen it yet or even heard of it, check out Sound of Freedom. It is an incredible film that is making waves through theaters now, doing better than the mainstream movies out currently. Anyway, thank you to everyone who read the previous chapter and to those who left reviews. To max2013, you are on the right track but we'll get to that later. To MargaretA66, again, on the right track there. To candylou, I hope this chapter explains the situation a little bit but there will be more later when Nancy explains it. I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Prayers to you and your family. To Elizabeth, yes, the mystery of Owen deepens, especially in this chapter. I hope that you are having a great summer as well! To ErinJordan, thank you for reading! To Drumboy, you are close about how women reacted to their abusers of the 50s. I believe it was more like a taboo that people avoided if they realized it was happening but there were a few people who stood up to it. Shady Maple is so good but yes, still stuffed! Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and if you will, please leave a review to let me know what you think of it! Have a great weekend and God bless!