An Invincible Summer (Wyndham Beach #1)(43)

“She’ll take you up on that, I’m sure,” Maggie said. He nodded and left, the bell over the door ringing softly.

“Phew.” Nicole slid back into her chair, fanning herself with the envelope.

“Take a drink of water and calm yourself,” Emma told her. “You’re not going to be sticking a needle in my skin with those shaky hands.”

“Sorry. I’m fine. He’s just . . . so . . .” Nicole was still a little wide eyed.

“I know.” Emma patted her on the arm. “He’s a good boy.”

It was such a mom thing to say, Maggie’d laughed at the time, and she laughed at the memory as she got off the train at her Center City stop and walked the three blocks to Flynn Law.

Once at the office, she greeted the receptionist and several staff members who passed in the hall. She chatted with Lois as she unlocked the door Art’s assistant had guarded like a pit bull since the day Art went out sick. Maggie sat at her late husband’s desk in the office she’d taken over as her own those times when she’d ventured into Flynn Law to take care of the responsibilities Art had unexpectedly left to her. When he was dying, he’d told her he’d changed the structure of the firm so that while Alvin Cummins was in charge of the finances, and George Young was effectively the senior partner and managing attorney, she, Maggie, would be the final word on any matter of substance.

“Trust them to do their jobs,” Art had told her. “You won’t need to get involved in most issues. The accountants will give you a year-end report, and if you have any questions, they or Alvin can answer them. George will oversee the work product, hiring and firing, but I’m leaving the firm in your hands. If you ever decide to sell it, get an appraisal of what it’s worth, then give George first right of refusal and give him a ten percent discount off the appraised price. You could also decide to simply dissolve it—though that might not be as easy as it sounds. There are steps that would have to be taken. I’m hoping you keep it going as it is, but as we’ve learned over the past few months, you never know what’s around the next corner. Eventually, I’d like to see Gracie become the face of Flynn Law, but she’s not ready to take over. And if you ever, for any reason, feel the need to pull the plug, do it and don’t worry that somehow you’ve let me down. You’re the one who has to live with this from now on. Don’t be afraid to move on, Maggie. You’ll know when—and if—something needs to be done, and you’ll do the right thing.”

She’d done the right thing by effectively doing very little. She looked over the reports Alvin and George sent her quarterly, asked the occasional question, and went into the office on the first Monday of every month mostly to remind the firm’s employees that there was still a Flynn at the helm.

It drove her crazy that Zach was still there after he’d left her daughter so suddenly. He always managed to be out of the office on the days Maggie would be in, or he’d make himself very scarce so at least she didn’t have to look at him. She still had no clue as to why he’d dumped Grace the way he had, how he could have fallen out of love with her, as he claimed, so soon after Art’s death. Had he been banking on Art leaving the firm outright to Grace—and therefore through marriage to him? Had he been so disappointed in Art’s decision to leave the firm to Maggie that he’d taken it out on Grace? She might not ever know.

Maggie accomplished what she’d set out to do that morning, meeting with Alvin and George to arrange for the firm to underwrite several scholarships for students who excelled in their work at the local community college.

“I’d like the money from the stipend the firm pays me as CEO to be used for tuition and books for the two-year college, and if the recipients maintained an A average, tuition, books, and room and board for the final two years at a four-year college,” she told them.

“That’s very generous of you,” Alvin said. “I know Art mentioned several times he wanted to do something along these lines, but are you sure . . . ?”

“Positive. Art left me more than enough to live comfortably,” she told them. “I believe he would have wanted me to do this.”

The two men looked at each other and nodded.

“Consider it done,” George said.

Pleased, Maggie returned to Art’s old office, where she watered the large snake plant in the corner and the fern on the table next to the sofa. She’d stopped in to see Grace but found she was in court, so with one last glance around the office, Maggie gathered her coat and her bag and locked the door behind her. After she and Lois shared their customary lunch at one of Art’s favorite restaurants, Maggie headed for the afternoon train.

The minute she situated herself in her seat, she called Natalie.

“Mission accomplished,” Maggie said after Natalie answered the phone.

“Mom, that’s incredibly generous. I can’t even begin to tell you what this will mean for Ava.” Natalie had all but wept when Maggie told her what had been agreed to.

“Well, keep in mind we’re awarding two scholarships each year, so if you don’t have another worthy student in mind, you might want to confer with your colleagues.”

“Oh, no, I could recommend any one of a dozen students,” Natalie had said, “but I do have another kid in mind. Thanks a million, Mom.”