Precautions 2/2

The next morning dawned bright and clear but Mia felt that it had come too early. She was uncommonly tired this morning. She dressed slowly feeling zapped of energy. Pulling on a pair of leggings and a long sweater she went to the bathroom and brushed her hair before braiding it loosely on the side. Mia put on a pair of lightweight sneakers and went into the kitchen to get some coffee.

Tim was in the kitchen already and had ordered room service breakfast for the family which should arrive at any moment. Mia had just finished fixing her cup when there was a knock at the door. Timothy went to greet the server and ended up letting Angela in at the same time. Angela headed into the twin's rooms to wake them and get them dressed and the server brought his trays to the dining room.

Mia sat down at the table with her coffee in front of her and leaned her head on her hands. Timothy was checking under the lids of plates of food. There were scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, muffins, and even some yogurt and fresh assorted berries. Timothy sat down at the table as the server left quietly. Mia flopped her head down on her folded arms and groaned.

"Mia, are you all right?" Caleb asked as he walked into the room.

"I am just very tired this morning. I could have slept another three hours at least." Mia replied.

"I am sorry sweetheart, perhaps you can nap after we take care of our morning business." Timothy told his wife. Mia nodded at him absently.

"Eat," Tim encouraged her, "the food will give you energy."

Mia took a small bowl from a stack on the table and spooned some yogurt into it before topping it with a handful of berries. She grabbed a muffin as well watching as the men loaded up their plates. Mia took two small plates and put together plates for the twins, finishing just as they came running into the room. She directed them to chairs near her and put the plates and utensils in front of them. Mia picked at her breakfast choosing instead to drink her coffee.

"Ginger, Sage there is going to be a new student at the school, and I want you to keep your distance from him." Mia said, feeling slightly guilty because the boy was after all still just a child. "His name is Asher."

"Do you mean that boy that hit me before, momma?" Ginger asked.

"Yes, that is who she means, bug." Tim answered Mia.

"Why would a boy hit Ginger? Everyone likes her." Sage asked, looking at Tim.

"He lacks proper manners, Sage." Timothy replied succinctly.

"You will have the bodyguards but still be sure to look out for each other." Mia told her children.

"Why do we have bodyguards, daddy?" Ginger asked her father.

"It is just a precaution, sweetheart. We just want to keep you safe. Try not to worry about it." Timothy consoled his daughter.

Timothy had already spoken to the guard and the new orders were in place that each child would always have two guards. They were to keep Ginger and Sage together when possible and Asher Maynard was not to be allowed near the two children.

Mia ate a few bites of her yogurt and half her muffin before giving up and returning to the kitchen for another cup of coffee. She returned to the table where Tim and Caleb were discussing their business plans for the day.

"Timothy, do you still want the collaboration with Aide Castle?" Mia asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Of course, but we don't need to worry about that now." Tim replied.

"I was thinking that it might be a good way to cement Caleb's new position. It's a major collaboration. No one would dare dispute his power if he presides over a deal this large immediately after being named VP." Mia remarked to the men. "Have Caleb send it to me, and I will review it."

"I told you I liked her." Caleb smirked looking at Timothy.

"Well see to it then." Tim told his friend seriously. Caleb nodded at them both.

"Mia, aren't you going to eat more than that?" Tim asked her.

"I think not. I am too tired. I'll grab something else later. Right now, I need an IV drip of coffee." Mia complained. Timothy frowned at his wife worried that stress was taking a toll on her health.

Angela came and collected the children a few minutes later. The adults said their goodbyes telling the twins to have a good day at school. Caleb headed into the office to start his remote workday and Tim went to another room to speak to Heath which left Mia to call her children's school administrator.

Mia dialed the school number and waited for the superintendent's reception to pick up. After the call was connected, she waited again for the superintendent to come on the line.

"Ms. Lane, what a lovely surprise. What can I help you with this morning?" Richard Barlow asked. He was a no-nonsense man in his late fifties that prided himself in turning out the next generation of leaders and influential citizens.

"I am afraid that I have several serious matters to discuss with you Mr. Barlow." Mia replied.

"I see, would you prefer to discuss in person. I can make time this morning if necessary." Mr. Barlow inquired.

"Unfortunately, there is no time for that, and you need to be aware of some things within the next few minutes." Mia said quickly.

"Then I am all ears, Ms. Lane." Mr. Barlow replied curiously.

"My children will be arriving today heavily guarded. Four bodyguards will escort them at all times, no exceptions. They are in the middle of an heir claim and unfortunately, they are not without enemies." Mia said sighing.

"Goodness Ms. Lane, that is serious indeed," Mr. Barlow said shocked.

"It gets worse. The children are to have no contact with Asher Maynard, his mother Luna Maynard, the mayor's daughter is one of those enemies." Mia stated bluntly.

"I see." Mr. Barlow said, feeling guilty. He had accepted a bribe to admit the boy hoping he might do some good. As the mayor's grandson the boy would naturally be influential. Barlow hoped he might shape the boy to be more intelligent than his test scores indicated. Timothy walked into the room listening in.

"Finally, and this is very important. The only people to have access to the children in any way are their nanny Angela Plumb, Myself, a Mr. Caleb Winters, and their father Mr. Timothy Barrett." Mia said with finality.

There was a pause on the line. "The twins are Mr. Barrett's heirs? As in Barrett Group in Bern City?" Mr. Barlow asked quietly.

"Yes, that is correct." Mia answered mildly.

"Then I can see the need for added security. Barrett isn't well liked. Trust in me, Ms. Lane. The children will be safe in my care." Barlow replied with an air of authority.

Mia released a heavy breath. "Thank you, Mr. Barlow. I was certain I could count on you."

"Ms. Lane, what about your family?" The superintendent questioned suddenly.

"No one but the individuals I named today are to have any access to the twins." Mia said stressing the word 'any.'

"Understood Ms. Lane." Barlow said after a moments pause.

"Actually, it's Mrs. Barrett, though this is only known by a few people, and I would appreciate your discretion in this matter. I am only telling you because I can't know what people might say to try to convince you so they can gain access to my children." Mia said carefully.

The phone call ended a few minutes later and Timothy walked over to Mia and touched her cheek. He looked concerned but didn't say anything. Mia slumped in her chair. She was glad that the phone call was finished.

"I am going to lay back down, Tim." Mia said tiredly then she turned headed back into the bedroom without another word.

Mia kicked her shoes off beside the bed and crawled back in it fully clothed. She pulled the blanket back over herself and allowed her eyes to close. Mia hated to nap so early in the day and lose the jump on her work, but she was just too tired to care. A few minutes later she was asleep.

Tim came through the bedroom a few minutes later. He was certain that the stress Mia was under was affecting her health plus she hadn't been eating all that much. He sighed, hopefully the nap would restore her and ward off the damages of stress. Timothy continued into the office where Caleb was reviewing notes from three meetings that had gone on the day before in Bern City.

Caleb would review the notes, go over the proposals one last time, and then either affirm or reject those proposals. Tim would review his findings for now but at some point, in the future, Caleb would be capable of making these decisions himself. This would allow Timothy freedom to not always be burdened with every daily operation of Barrett Group.

Tim sat down in the desk chair and opened his laptop before beginning to go through emails and different notifications for Barrett Group. Tim let the mundane work draw him in and before he knew it two hours had passed. Tim looked around spotting Caleb across the room on a sofa typing on his laptop. Where was Mia? Tim stood stretching his stiff muscles and left the room.

Tim checked the hotel sure that Mia must be up and about somewhere. He walked into the master bedroom and Mia was still in bed. Concerned, Timothy walked over to the bed and felt Mia's head, but she didn't feel warm. Timothy frowned and he walked back to the office, but he didn't feel like continuing work right now. It still wasn't time to go to the school, so he pulled out his phone and went through his personal notifications.

Tim had been ignoring the notifications on his phone for a while. There were notifications from people he really didn't want to talk to like his mother, Shelly, and even Luna. He became exasperated quickly with his mother and her non-stop complaining about the many ways she was being tortured. How could he, her son, treat her in such an undignified fashion? Tim texted back that it was easy since she acted without dignity.

Shelly had sent several scathing texts about Mia early on but then had gone silent. Until Saturday when she sent one line that told him she had found who she wanted to marry and asked him to agree to talk to her fiancé. Timothy was honestly surprised that she had even looked but then Shelly had always been materialistic and not having money was likely more than she could bear. Even marriage would seem like a better option to her.

Luna's texts started off asking nicely if he was coming to the party and by the time the party had been in full swing were barely passing civil. The texts that came after the party were meant to make him feel guilty about abandoning his blood and quickly became thinly veiled threats against everything he held dear.

There were a few random texts from others such as Raymond checking in on him after the engagement of Mia and the doctor. Another from Heath expressing his displeasure at not being kept in the loop about Caleb's promotion. Timothy knew that one stemmed from jealousy. All said he wasn't any more thrilled with his personal notifications than his work ones.

The last message he had was a link to the diagrams for the new house which he sent to Mia. Finished with his phone he put it away and walked to the kitchen for a drink of water only to find Mia in there eating a banana.

"Sweetheart, are you feeling better?" Tim asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I feel fine Tim. I was just really tired this morning." Mia dismissed his worry. Timothy walked up to her as she threw the banana peel away and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned in and pecked her on the lips then kissed her jaw by her ear.

"Are you sure?" Timothy ran his nose along the line of her neck enjoying her scent. Mia nodded against him, leaning her head on his shoulder, her hands resting on his arms.

"I got those diagrams. Are you going to check on the twins?" Mia leaned back to look at Tim. He nodded. "Then I am going to work on the design project for a while, see if I can't make some headway."

Timothy pulled her in for a proper kiss before reluctantly letting go. Mia was sitting at the desk at her computer when Tim stopped in to say he was leaving. Mia said to call her if anything was out of the ordinary at the school and he told her he would.

Timothy went through the hoops to get his recognized car and then went straight to the school and parking in the same spot. When the children came out, they were recognizable right away mainly because of the four burly bodyguards in black suits surrounding them. The bodyguards were trying to allow the children to play but they were intimidating. Timothy felt bad especially for his social daughter.

Asher came sprinting toward Ginger suddenly, a look of determination on his face and then a bodyguard stepped in between them at the last second. The way the boy flung backwards it quickly became obvious that Asher had intended to mow Ginger down. Asher was quite a bit bigger than she was so she would have been hurt. Tim cursed angrily; would Luna really have a young child do her dirty work?

Recess ended and Timothy was about to leave when a long sedan he recognized as belonging to the Lane's pulled into the school parking lot. Dominic Lane stepped out of the car followed by his wife Eva. Three school security guards as well as Mr. Barlow stepped out to meet them, effectively blocking their path into the school. This might get interesting...