It's Only Love(56)
This group, led by Elmer, was older, many of them with white or gray hair and big smiles filled with pride for their long careers with the Stillman-Abbott family business.
“And now, a round of applause for our last remaining first-generation employee, Mildred Olsen, who at the age of ninety-one continues to work as an accounts payable clerk.”
As the whole room burst into applause, Hunter helped Mrs. Olsen to her feet and stood with his arm around the woman who reported to him as the company’s chief financial officer. According to Hunter, Mildred was still sharp as a tack and had no plans to retire.
She waved to the other employees as they stood as one to cheer for her.
Ella approached Mildred with a bouquet of the older woman’s favorite pink tea roses and bent to kiss her lined cheek.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Mildred said.
Ella reached for the microphone her father handed to her and walked it over to Mildred.
“I just want to say thank you to the Abbott family, and Hunter in particular, for continuing to allow me to do the job I love,” Mildred said softly into the microphone. “I started working for Elmer’s parents when I was eight, old enough to sweep the floors and take out the trash for a dollar a week. That dollar made a huge difference for my family during some difficult years, and I’ve been here ever since. Thank you again for making me a part of your family. I love you all.”
Ella blinked back tears at the sweet old lady’s heartfelt words. She hugged Mildred and returned the microphone to her dad while Hunter guided Mildred back to her seat.
Lincoln cleared his throat. “Thank you, Mildred, for your service and dedication. It’s employees like you—all of you—who have allowed us to serve the community of Butler for all these years, and we look forward to many more years to come. As your chief executive officer, I embrace my role in preserving the legacy instilled by Elmer, his parents and faithful employees like Mildred and all of you. I believe any business that stands still runs the risk of being left behind. With that in mind, I’m always seeking new ideas and products that will keep customers returning to us time and again to see what’s new and exciting in our store. I’m very pleased to announce tonight that we will soon add a new line of intimate accessories to our health and beauty department. These items are designed to keep the spark alive for customers of all ages. As we get closer to the launch of this new product line, we’ll bring in special consultants to train our sales team to assist customers and answer questions. We hope we can count on your support of this new endeavor as well as others that will be coming as we grow and expand. It is my goal, always, to keep one foot in the past where our company traditions are celebrated and honored while also keeping an eye on the future and adapting to the times.
“I’m going to leave you with a short video that debuts the store’s wonderful new website designed by my daughter-in-law, Cameron Abbott. The website is set to go live on January first, and we expect a new influx of customers coming to Butler to check out our store. I want to thank Cameron and my future daughter-in-law Lucy Mulvaney for putting together the video. We hope you enjoy it. Thank you again for being here tonight, for your hard work throughout the year and for your contributions to the success of the store.”
The lights went dim and the big screen at the front of the room lit up with the video Cameron and Lucy had been working on for weeks to show off the new website to the employees. They’d done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit and essence of the Stillman-Abbott family businesses, from the store to the sugaring facility to the Christmas tree farm Landon ran to Lucas’s woodworking barn to Hannah’s jewelry studio. Interwoven were screenshots from the new website that so perfectly captured the store and life in Vermont.
Though Ella had seen the video several times already, she was sucked in once again, which was how she missed Gavin’s approach until his arm slid around her waist and he brought her in close to him. The scent of Gucci Black filled her senses with the essence of her man, her love.
CHAPTER 17
Only people who are capable of loving
strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but
this same necessity of loving serves to
counteract their grief and heals them.
—Leo Tolstoy
“You looked so hot up there,” Gavin whispered, his lips brushing against her ear and setting off a reaction she felt in all her most important places. “I loved seeing you in your professional mode.”
It was all Ella could do to remain standing, to remember she had a room full of employees to consider, that it would be hours yet before she could be alone with him. She covered the hand he had flattened over her abdomen and realized he was still wearing the sweater she’d given him.
Any second now the video would end, the lights would come back on and their employees would see her standing in Gavin’s arms as if she belonged there. Did she belong there? She sure hoped so. Did she care if people saw them? Not really. As the video came to an end and the audience burst into applause for Cameron and Lucy, Ella took a deep breath and tried to relax before the lights came back on.
Just as they did, Gavin’s arm dropped from around her, and he took a step back, making the decision for her. She appreciated his respect of her professional space, but part of her wanted him to make a big public declaration. She wanted there to be no doubt in anyone’s mind that they were together, that he was hers and she was his.