The rest of the day passed smoothly for Daniel and the other staff at the Oyster Creek General Store. The disposal truck had taken away most of the junk that filled the store, but the display cases and remaining stock still needed to be dealt with. He had helped dismantle some of what was left before the truck returned for its second visit later in the day, then made his excuses to leave.
He had an appointment he could not miss. Earlier that day he had contacted a local law firm about the situation with the store and had arranged to meet a Ms Rosemary Bernholdt for the afternoon.
Wiping his hands down the front of his jeans, he called Jenny over. She smiled as she approached.
"Yes?"
"I have to head out for a bit," he said quietly. "Can you look after things here?"
She grinned. "Well, given that's what I was doing before you arrived in America, I think I can handle it."
"Thanks."
She looked at him a moment, and cocked her head. "Where are you going, if you don't mind me asking?"
Shit!
He could hardly tell her what he was doing, not until he found out for sure. This revelation about the store could cause such a shitstorm he needed to guarantee it was true before he allowed that to happen.
He desperately wracked his mind for an excuse. "I'm going to... er... have a massage."
What the fuck, Dan. That's literally the worst excuse you've ever come up with.
"A massage?" she said, her eyebrow rising. "During work hours?"
"Um, yeh. It was the only slot they had."
She put on a bemused expression. "Well, enjoy yourself. Will you be back later today?"
"I don't know. Maybe. It depends how long it takes." He shrugged.
"How long your massage takes?"
"Yeh."
"Alright. Well, Claire and I are going to go and shop for new furniture for the store after this. I was going to ask you to come with us but I guess now you're... busy?"
Daniel grimaced. "Sorry, Jenny. I just really need this... massage."
"Have fun then, I guess."
With a puzzled shake of her head Jenny turned away, returning to continue clearing the store. Dan cursed his stupidity under his breath then left the store, waving down a cab as he did so. One of the benefits of the store being on the main street was there was always a taxi about when needed.
Still annoyed at his pathetic attempt for an excuse, he told the driver the name of the law firm and sat sourly in the back of the cab as the car moved off.
******************
Daniel pushed open the heavy door to '
Wills & Bernholdt Attorneys
' and stepped into the lobby. The warmth was the first thing he noticed; despite the brightness of the morning sun outside it was colder than it looked. Almost immediately his nose threatened to start running with the transition, and he hurriedly sniffed in a lungful of air before approaching reception.
"Can I help you?" said the young man behind the desk, his suit pristine. His neatly-parted brown hair made Daniel feel scruffy all of a sudden, but he pushed the thought from his mind with a small smile.
"I'm here to see Rosemary Bernholdt," Daniel replied.
"Is she expecting you, sir?"
"She is."
"Then take a seat, please."
Daniel did as he was asked, fingering the brown folder - which contained copies of the Birch family tree and his great-grandfather's will - as he glanced around the pleasant reception. Pale red carpet complimented the peach-coloured walls, and certificates and diplomas hung all around like an academically impressive gallery. He heard the faint buzz of an intercom and a gentle murmur as the receptionist talked with a woman who Daniel presumed was Ms Bernholdt.
After a few minutes of silence, the buzz sounded again, and the receptionist looked over to Daniel. "You may go in," he said with a pleasant smile.
Daniel stood, thanking the man as he stepped through into the hallway beyond the lobby, immediately seeing the door labelled '
R. Bernholdt
' and knocking.
"Come in!" said a friendly voice from the other side of the door.
He pushed it open, shutting it behind him as he strode into the expansive office. Light streamed in through the large windows, and wooden bookshelves and chairs almost managed to make such a generous space seem cluttered. The ornate wooden desk behind which Ms Bernholdt worked did not help matters.
She was a pretty woman, Daniel thought. Likely in her early-forties, with a kindly demeanour which belied her obviously-impressive intelligence.
No one gets their own law practice without being fucking clever
, he thought to himself as he took a seat at her suggestion. Black hair was curled stylishly about her face, and her brown eyes regarded him with friendliness.
He had to suppress a grin as she ran the fingers of her left hand through her hair and the large gold band that sat in her ring finger glinted in the sunlight.
Well I suppose that's that then!
Which was not a bad thing, Daniel knew. There was a time and a place for two people to try and work out whether the other wanted to get into their pants and, if both did, getting down to it. This was not that time nor that place.
"Now that we're comfortable, how can I help you Mr Porter-Michaels?"
Daniel leaned forwards, handing her the small brown folder. She opened it, leafing through the documents, then looked up at him.
"A property or inheritance debate, I presume?" she said in her softly soothing American accent.
Daniel chuckled. "In a manner of speaking. My family's company owns that store, or at least they think they do. They sent me over here to run it for them, and then I found those documents."
"Where did you find them?"
"I found the will in an old office. The family tree I found in the local archives."
Rosemary Bernholdt raised an eyebrow. "Well, according to these it does look like store is actually owned by the Birch family. Does your family's company know?"
"They do not. But when I tell them, they're going to be annoyed."
"I would imagine so."
She leaned forwards then. "So, I presume your presence here is to fight this Birch family and maintain your family's ownership of the store? I do not like to make predictions when I have so little to work with, but I have to admit Mr Porter-Michaels that your chances are slim. These documents are pretty water-tight."
"You misunderstand me," Daniel smiled. "I want to know if those documents do give ownership to the Birch family. If they do, I want to enforce them."
