Page 65 of Lorna's Savior
“The airport, where else would I be?”
“No clue, you were due back three weeks ago, but you only sent a quick text that you’d be home later than you anticipated. If you would have communicated with people along the way, someone would have been there to pick you up. I know you’re at the airport, but where exactly?”
“Standing inside the doors at baggage claim. How soon before you can get here?”
“Mother, I’m not coming. Go out the doors, and look for a yellow or white car that has a taxi sign on the roof. Flag them down and have them take you home.”
“You ungrateful bitch! How dare you treat me like a commoner. I demand that you come pick me up this instant! If you don’t, there will be hell to pay when you get home, young lady.”
“Get a taxi, Mother,” Lorna said, and hung up on the sputtering the woman was trying to say. She shook her head and looked over at Silver. “If that woman calls again, hang up on her. Do not tell her I’m in a meeting, or that you’ll take a message. Just hang up on her like I just did.”
The phone rang and Lorna picked it up. “Listen here you fat little bit…” Lorna hung up on her. “Just like that.” Then she pushed some buttons and sighed. “I’ll probably regret this, but I just put my calls to voicemail.”
“Do what you have to,” Finn said. “I won’t tolerate people abusing my employees, no matter who they are. I take it she’s been gone for a while?”
“Yeah, she left on a three-month cruise at the end of May. She should have been home three weeks ago, but only sent a text that she’d be late.” Lorna shook her head, then began to giggle. “What I don’t think either of you know is that the day she left, was the day I moved into my own apartment. I even told her staff to look for different jobs and quit. As far as I know, they did that.”
“Holy shit, so your mother is walking into an empty house after almost four months of being gone?”
“Yes.” Lorna grinned, then giggled some more. “I’m going to regale in this for a few hours. I have a feeling my life will be hell in the future.”
“Well, if things get to be too much, and you need to get away...” Finn laughed. “You can always come out to the farm and stay with Veronica and me.”
“Thanks, Finn, but I don’t think it’ll come down to that. She doesn’t have my new address, and I’ve sworn Murphy, Annie, and Lori to secrecy. I don’t think they’d rat me out. The only thing that would bother me was if she showed up downstairs.”
“Do you really think she’d go to the effort, especially if she needed to drive herself?”
“There is that.” Lorna laughed and looked at Silver. “My mother is a spoiled, selfish, bitch. She believes everything was put on this Earth to cater to her. No one else. She’s had so much work done to her body that—in my personal opinion—makes her ugly. She looks like the Joker from the Batman movies. I kid you not.”
“She does,” Finn said. “When I first returned from Afghanistan, I had the misfortune of meeting Kristen Hepplewaite. After meeting her for only two minutes, she not only tried to get into my pants, but when I wouldn’t bite, she tried to push Lorna on me.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, she does it for money. She thinks she’s the best thing since sliced bread. She finds men with money, marries them, bleeds them dry, then kicks them to the curb. She’s been married seven times, and I bet you dollars to donuts that she has husband number eight in tow.”
“No, really?”
“Really.” Lorna sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Yeah. Now, enough about my mother, Finn and I have a meeting to get to in a little bit, and I want to tell him what we discussed for the hospital fundraiser.” Lorna and Silver spent the next two hours telling Finn everything they wanted to do. Finn only had to reel them back on two issues, but put his stamp of approval on the theme. Giving Silver a list of things to do, Lorna and Finn left for the meeting.
“Go ahead to the small conference room two floors up, and I’ll go escort our guests.”
“Sounds fine, do you want me to set up coffee?”
“I called up and had Sarah do it already.”
“Thanks, Finn.” Lorna went to the ladies’ room, then made her way to the designated room. She had just settled in with a bottle of water, when the door opened and three gentlemen walked in.
Lorna had a huge grin on her face as the first man entered. She stayed seated, and let Mr. Marvin come to her. He didn’t disappoint. With a grin on his own face, he kissed her cheek. Instead of sitting across from her, he took the chair beside her, then at the last minute, he jumped up and went around the table.
Laughing, Lorna looked at him, and asked, “Do I smell that bad? I showered this morning.”
“No, no, you’re fine. It’s me, I’m nervous as hell.” He sat down, then jumped to his feet to pace. Lorna was grateful when Finn sat next to her. “Okay, let’s get this meeting started.”
“Before you start, I have to say something.” Lorna held up her hand to get Marvin’s attention. “I’m not leaving Larson’s for any amount of money.”
Marvin stared at her in confusion, then his eyes cleared and he laughed. That seemed to break the tension in him. “I understand, but I want to reserve the right to ask you again after we have had this conversation.”
“Nothing you have to say will change my mind.” Lorna crossed her arms on the table and nodded her head once.
