It was Monday afternoon and Kevin, Lalie and Marcia had all returned from the first meeting that morning. They went back to the hotel and picked James up before heading to Plum's restaurant to go out for a nice lunch.
"We have to go pick up those papers at 3," Kevin told Lalie and Marcia as he looked at his watch while he took a sip of his lemon water.
"We won't forget," Marcia assured him.
"Does everyone like Georgia Caldwell?" Lalie asked with a frown. "She had one of those rich attitudes. Is it really necessary for her to oversee our branch back home, Kevin?"
"I liked her, Lalie," Marcia told her.
"Lalie, Georgia Caldwell is the daughter of the owner and I think it's great that she's been assigned to oversee our branch," Kevin said in a professional tone.
"But you're the president, why does she need to be there?" Lalie asked.
"It's just while the company is going through the process of expanding nationwide," Kevin explained.
"So, do you know what we're doing today?" James innocently asked.
"What do you want to do, James?" Marcia suggestively asked as she rubbed James' arm.
"Marcia, what are you doing?" Lalie asked her.
Marcia quickly took her hand off his arm and sat quiet for a second. She then answered, "I was just trying to be friendly."
"We're going to visit Irish Indeed before we go pick up those papers," Kevin answered as Lalie widened her eyes at Marcia.
After they finished eating, they went over to Irish Indeed and walked into the store
"Hi! How are you doing?" the employee behind the counter smiled.
"Pretty good," Lalie answered.
"Glad to hear it," the employee replied. "Do you need help finding anything?"
"No, just looking!" Lalie beamed. "Right?" she asked as she looked at the group.
"Okay, well, let me know if you have any questions," the employee told them.
"I am so glad Lynn told us to come here," Kevin mentioned. "I've never seen so many Irish items in one place like this."
"Neither have I," Marcia agreed as her eyes followed James around the store.
After they went to Irish Indeed, it was already 2:30. Instead of dropping James back off at the hotel, he decided to go along with them as they went to pick up those papers.
They walked inside and asked the receptionist if the papers had come in yet. She directed them to a room that was open on the side and Kevin, Lalie and Marcia filed in there as James stood out in the lobby and waited. He stepped up to the receptionists' desk to find a magazine to read as he waited for the others to come out of the office.
The door on the left, which was Georgia Caldwell's office, opened and Georgia Caldwell came out carrying a few folders with loose papers on top of them.
"Ms. Caldwell," the receptionist said to the woman. "A call came in for you."
"Who was it from?" Georgia asked.
"I'm not sure," the receptionist answered. "You know I don't pry into your business," she laughed.
"No problem, Harriet," Georgia laughed.
"I took down their number," the receptionist told her as she found the paper on her desk and reached up to hand it to Georgia.
As Georgia went to take the paper, her hand lost her grip on those papers she was carrying and they fell to the floor.
Georgia sighed and bent down to pick up the papers as James saw what happened and went over and helped her pick them up. They made eye contact as they rose up at the same time.
"Well, there are still some gentlemen around, I see," Georgia smiled as she held a tight grip on her papers. "Thank you for that."
"It wasn't a problem," James told her. "You're Georgia Caldwell?"
Georgia pointed to the nameplate on the door. "According to that nameplate, I am. And you are?"
"James Neelan," he replied as he extended his hand and then quickly pulled it back. "Sorry," he laughed. "I wouldn't want you to drop those papers again."
"No, that's okay," Georgia smiled. "Do you have any relation to-"
"Kevin Neelan?" James finished her sentence. "Yes, we're brothers." Georgia looked at him surprised as James asked, "That is what you were going to ask me, right?"
"Actually," Georgia started in a teasing tone. "I was going to ask you if you were related to Tom Cruise… but Kevin Neelan sounds much more reasonable," she added with a smile.
James looked embarrassed but laughed slightly.
"I'm transferring to Philadelphia to oversee the branch that your brother is the president of," Georgia informed him.
"That's what I heard," James acknowledged. "I guess we'll be seeing more of each other."
"I guess we will," Georgia said to him as she sighed.
"What's wrong?" James asked with concern.
"I have to return this call," Georgia replied as she looked down at the paper Harriet gave her. "It was nice meeting you and thanks again for helping me pick up those papers."
"I'm sure we'll run into each other soon," James told her in an optimistic tone.
"I hope so," Georgia said as she began to smile. "You seem like the kind of guy that I'd like to get to know," she coyly added before she walked back into her office.
After she went back in her office, the others came out from the other room they were in.
"Hope you didn't get bored out here," Kevin said, sounding apologetic. "Sorry it took so long."
"That's perfectly fine," James replied in an understanding tone as he glanced at Georgia's office door before heading out.
That night, Marcia and Lalie sat in their hotel room before they went to bed.
"Why did you widen your eyes at me like that?" Marcia asked Lalie.
"Like what?" Lalie asked, trying to figure out what Marcia was talking about.
"This afternoon at Plum's," Marcia began to tell her. "I asked James what he wanted to do today and you gave me a strange look."
"Marcia," Lalie took a deep breath as she began to explain her actions. "There was nothing wrong with you asking James what he wanted to do, but it was your tone and the way you started to touch his arm like that."
"If I'm interested in the guy, why can't I display how I feel?" Marcia asked, confused.
"You and James don't know the first thing about each other," Lalie told her in a serious tone. "If you really are interested in James, you have to give him room to breathe!"
Marcia didn't look happy as she looked down at the floor. "Fine, I'll just sit back and watch as the love of my life slips through my fingers."
Lalie laughed. "You're too much, Marcia." Lalie stood up and got into her bed. "Good night," Lalie told her as she turned off the light next to her bed and pulled the covers up.
"Night," Marcia quickly said before she went to bed, also.
The next morning, Lalie got up early and went over to see Kevin.
"That meeting doesn't start till 12," Lalie grinned after she shared a morning kiss with Kevin. "After Marcia and James get up, why don't we head out and see some sights before that meeting starts?"
"You can if you want," Kevin told her as she straightened his tie.
"What do you mean?" Lalie asked as she watched him put that tie on. "Where are you going to be?"
"I'm going to see Georgia to discuss a few things," Kevin explained.
"I'll go with you," Lalie said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"It's going to be boring," Kevin laughed. "All we're doing is discussing what she needs to know for when she comes to Philadelphia."
"Well, all right," Lalie agreed with a frown.
"I won't be long," Kevin told her.
Lalie smiled as Kevin left. Lalie went back to her room and waited for Marcia to wake up. A half-hour passed, and Marcia was still asleep. Lalie took out a piece of paper and wrote down a note for Marcia to read when she woke up and left the room.
Lalie was visting the places that Lynn mentioned. She stopped in a few stores along Grand Avenue to pass some time and then headed back into her rental car and drove along Summit Avenue.
There was something about one of the mansions that caught her eye. She parked by the curb and stood on the sidewalk and looked at the mansion. Though the landscape was overgrown and unkept, the shape was like nothing she'd ever seen before. She noticed the points on top of the structure and how far back the structure went as she began to walk up the walkway, as she didn't take her eyes off the mansion once. As she made her way closer to the back area, she heard a couple footsteps and turned around.
"Is anyone there?" she called out as she looked around, only to get no answer.
She proceeded to head towards the back of the mansion when the footsteps began to grow louder and closer with every step she took.
The street and her car were no longer in her sight as she reached the back area of the mansion. Starting to become more worried about those footsteps, she called out one more time, "Is someone there?"
She started to walk fast back to the car when there was a loud rustling in the bush. A person darted out and came up to Lalie from behind. He was holding a tissue and used it to put his hand over her mouth as she shrieked in terror. Lalie desperately tried to break free and threw her fists in the air but to no avail. Before long, she was being dragged away to some unknown place.
Chapter 7
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