Chapter 4 - Surprise Company

The top floor was silent except for the gentle tapping emanating from Cadence's keyboard as she responded to various emails. The rest of the assistants waisted no time taking advantage of the long lunch and had been gone for twenty minutes already. The repairs had been completed during the shareholders meeting, but it would take a while for the temperature in the room to go back down. Amanda had told her it reached 86 degrees at one point. With nothing pressing left to take care of and James not back yet, Cadence grabbed her large purse which contained her lunch and headed out for some fresh air. She rode the elevator down slowly, as it had to make several stops for many others. As soon as she reached the ground floor, she walked swiftly out and to her car. Part of her worried that someone would see her and ask her to help with a work issue. It had certainly happened before. She exhaled in relief when she made it to her car and happily swapped her black pumps for the blue Sketchers she always kept in her trunk. Leaving the pumps behind and grabbing her sunglasses, she disappeared into the Greenbelt in search of her favorite spot.

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James had only one desire - to get as far away from people as quickly as possible. He initially headed to his car before realizing his keys were still in his desk on the top floor. Going back into the building was not an option; not until he could be sure his grandfather had left. So instead, he headed into the large expanse of greenery he often took for granted, the Greenbelt. He'd gone hiking there a couple times, but never during the work day. James avoided the more rugged paths he'd taken in the past and tried to anticipate the smoothest route. Still, his feet began to hurt quickly in his stylish black loafers. He had likely ruined them, but couldn't be bothered to care. The pain in his feet made him stop long enough to realize he was still wearing his suit jacket. He was drenched in sweat and wasn't sure how long he had been walking or quite where he was in relation to his office. The sun was directly over head and thus of little help in orienting himself. Taking off his jacket, James looked around for a likely place to sit and settled himself on a large flat rock. He was grateful for the shade of the branches above him and the light breeze he hadn't noticed before. He leaned forward, clasping his hands and resting his forearms on his thighs as he focused on the view of the creek in front of him. The water was quite low and barely trickled by. He knew this bed would be dry by the end of the week. Still, it had a calming effect.

Time passed as James made himself observe each and every thing within his eyesight: a small bird building it's nest, the pattern of the sunlight through the leaves of the tree overhead, and even something as mundane as an ant crawling across the dirt. He just needed a mental break before facing his predicament. James successfully became so engrossed in his surroundings that he missed the sounds of gently labored breathing and light footsteps. It wasn't until he heard a smooth female voice utter "Oh!" that he became aware of the company approaching behind him. He turned around and was surprised to find Cadence standing in the path, looking bewildered. "Mr. Oliver! It's you…I was wondering who took my rock. I didn't realize you liked to come out here" Cadence said brightly. It took a moment for James to process her words before he responded with "Your rock?" Cadence tried to suppress an amused expression at this challenge and simply said "Yes, my rock. I don't have the bill of sale with me at the moment, but if you look around the side, you'll see my initials carved there." James raised his eyebrows in surprise at her response. He knew her to be playful from time to time with the other assistants, but this behavior wasn't often directed at himself. Perhaps he really was encroaching on her territory if she felt so comfortable. With curiosity, he glanced over the side of the rock and indeed saw the letters "CG" engraved shallowly in the surface. "I see. My apologies…what did you even use to do this?" he asked, knowing a nail file was unlikely to yield these results. Cadence lifted her chin and said "This is Texas, sir. I always have a good pocket knife on me. Mind scooting over a bit?" James shifted to the left as Cadence laid out her cardigan and sat to his right.

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Cadence new something was wrong. She could tell from his appearance that James had been schlepping through the Greenbelt for a while before ending up in this spot. His hair and shirt were visibly soaked in sweat. She needed to get him talking to find out what was going on, but decided to take care of his basic needs first. Luckily, she always packed way too much for lunch in case she had to work late. She pulled out her insulated lunch bag, which took up most of the room in her purse, and began to divvy it up. "Here Mr. Oliver, you must be thirsty" she said handing James a bottle of water. He looked hesitant at first, but took note of her determined expression and accepted it readily. He immediately drank half of it and already looked a bit better. Next, she passed him half of a large turkey pesto sandwich with tomato, provolone cheese, and bacon on thick sourdough bread all wrapped neatly in a napkin. He seemed to take it from her without thinking but didn't take a bite right away. "Eat. Seriously, you look like you're about to pass out and I'm not strong enough to drag you back to the office. Besides, it's from that deli you like." Her blunt words seemed to expel any notions he had about refusing her offer and he took a generous bite. "Mmmm" was all he said and he soon devoured his portion. Cadence handed him a small apple and a bag of chips and they sat together for a while only focusing on filling their bellies.

When they were done, Cadence gathered their trash and placed it in her lunch bag to throw away later. Straightening up, she turned to face her boss and said "So, what happened?" He paused before saying "It's complicated". "Half the things I take care of in a day are complicated. I promise to keep up" she retorted. "Fine, then. It's personal" James said. Cadence raised an eyebrow in her particular way that forced her boss to own up to his bullshit. They both new it didn't matter if it was personal. She may not need to know all the details, but if it was going to affect his work in any way, it was best for her to have some basic information. Judging by the fact that he looked like the principal character in a Castaway sequel in the middle of a workday, he was definitely going to need to say more than "It's personal". James sighed deeply before recounting the conversation he had with his grandfather. "As you know, grandfather was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year. He underwent proton therapy, which helped shrink it down but now he needs surgery to remove it completely. It's high risk and will take place in one month. Naturally, he decided to get his affairs in order. Part of that included updating his will and he made some…creative amendments." James took the copy of the will from his back pocket and unrolled it. It was already flipped to the offending page. "Take a look at that middle section there" he said, handing the document to Cadence.

Cadence scanned the page quickly. She understood the contents but it sounded ridiculous. She read a few pages more to make sure she wouldn't miss anything. "He's added a marriage clause to your inheritance?" James nodded and roughly ran a hand through his thick hair. Cadence braced her arms behind her on the rock and considered his situation. "Then, for today, you only have one question to answer. Do you want to ensure your full inheritance by getting married?" James gave her a stunned look and was not forthcoming with an answer. Cadence continued, "If we look at this logically, you aren't having to sacrifice much. On this next page, it states that the marriage only needs to be valid for a year, for the terms to be met. Yes, you will need to get married and likely have her live in your home and make appearances together, but she doesn't need to be the love of your life. She just needs to be someone you get along with and trust. You can sign a prenup so that she can't take advantage of you later. You also don't have to get married at all. 25% is still a substantial amount and you're already successful on your own. So, like I said. Today, you only need to focus on one question. If you are fine with a small inheritance, then that's it. Nothing else needs to be done. If, however, you want all of it, then I promise I will do whatever I can to help you and we can figure out what that means together. So, what will it be?" Cadence watched James consider things for a while. She waited patiently, despite the growing heat and intermittent buzzing coming from both their cell phones. This was important and she wanted to give him her full attention. He met her eyes and said "I want it all". She nodded once, stood up and said "Then let's head back and get you cleaned up".

While they were eating earlier, she had sent a message to Mrs. Garcia that fresh clothing needed to be sent to the office and asked her to coordinate the drop off with Amanda. Before they set off down the path, Cadence smoothed her bosses disheveled hair. She also had him wipe his face with a napkin she dampened with some of her water. He was still quite sweaty and his shoes were scuffed, but anyone who valued their job was unlikely to comment on it. None of this had any impact on how attractive he was of course. If anything, his flushed face made James even more eye catching. Even the scent of his cologne mixed with his sweat was making Cadence's insides flip. They made a quick stop at her car so she could change her shoes and headed up to the office. She knew that she was only digging herself deeper into James's world and possibly losing herself more in the process, but she felt compelled to help him through this dilemma. She already had a plan forming by the time they reached the elevator.