Blackmailing the Billionaire(3)
Entering the offices of his legal team, she was aware that all talk ended, Joy holding her head high to not let them see the way her insides cringed. While the older lawyer might have been surprised at the contents of the document he handed to her, he said nothing, merely pointing to an area she could examine it, then waiting as she took a seat to carefully read over the words.
The contract was a perfect reflection of her previous conversation and as she closed over the final sheet, the lawyer stood, moving over to join her. Handing her a pen, he questioned if all was in order, Joy nodding, giving the man a ghost of a smile before adding her signature to the strong sure one already there. With the signing done, the lawyer shook her hand, Joy holding back the smile at his professionalism, before finally able to make her way home.
Driving up the long narrow road leading to her father’s old farm, she felt loss fill her. Parking outside the familiar farmhouse, she stood leaning against her old beat-up car, her eyes scanning the area, memories of the past filling her. Here she had been taught by her father how to ride a bike, drive a car. A tear rose to her eyes at the thought of losing the place. It was the last link she had to the man who had died only seven months earlier, the loss suddenly overwhelming as tears slid down her face. Dashing them away, she stood rigidly. She could do this... Her father would want her to do this. Her father would have done what needed to be done to save Ricco and so would she.
The sound of the other car moving up the dirt track mobilised her, she opening the old creaky door of the farmhouse, moving to the warm homely kitchen. Filling the kettle, she pulled out two cups. “JJ!”, the woman’s voice drifted to her, Joy smiling softly, “In here, Aunt Jan”, the sound of heels clip-clopping over the wooden floorboards soon heralding the arrival of the other woman.
Jan Walker rushed through the doorway, her features wary and strained. “How did it go JJ? What did he say? Did he agree?” Joy chuckled, only her aunt now calling her by the pet name given to her by her cousin when they were both children. At that time Lily had been unable to say Joy, instead managing JJ, the name sticking with Lily and Jan. Smiling reassuringly, she pointed to the table. “Sit and catch a breath... Tea is nearly ready. I will tell you everything in a moment” The older woman dropped thankfully into one of the chairs pushed under the beaten pine table, a pained moan leaving her, “It’s bad isn’t it?... Oh My God JJ... What will we do?”
Making a soothing clucking sound, Joy rushed over to hug the other woman, her arms wrapping around her thin shoulders. “It is not bad news Jan... It worked... Now catch your breath and wait for the tea” The strangled, relieved sob escaping the woman pulled a soft groan from Joy as she moved back to the cups, giving her aunt a chance to pull herself together.
By the time she placed the tea before the other woman, who was once more in control of her emotions, her expectant look fixed on Joy, she told her everything that had happened. When she finished, her aunt reached out, her hand covering hers. “I don’t know what to say”, her voice breaking slightly, “I am just sorry that you are losing your home” Joy squeezed her hand back, her lips turning down sadly, “I think that I would have lost it anyway”, her eyes rising, a softness deep within, “At least this way it will be for a reason Aunt Jan. This is what my father would have wanted. I can feel him telling me that this is the right thing to do”, a wavering smile coming to her lips, “Besides... I will get enough to buy a place in town... Be closer to my job... When I get one”, her aunt nodding slightly. “My brother was an amazing man JJ”, tears sparkling in her eyes, “And so is his daughter”
The small gurgle at her side drew Joy’s eyes to the car seat which the older woman had brought with her, the sleeping boy stirring as the two women looked adoringly down at him. In a voice full of love, Joy whispered gently, “Hi Ricco”
Chapter Two
Joy woke earlier than normal the next day, nursing her coffee on the porch as the first rays of sunlight lit up the morning. She loved this time of day. Silence reigned, then suddenly as if orchestrated, the dawn chorus of birds erupted, their shrill whistles heralding another day.
With a happy smile, she pushed to her feet, moving to the old barn. While the farm was small, now only about 30 acres – her father having over the years sold off the bigger fields – there was still much to do. When he died, Joy had kept some of the smaller livestock, having them there somehow keeping his spirit alive.