Meetings

Jay, Tes and Roxi were invited to attend separate meetings with Mr. Reid to speak about their inheritances from their husbands. They all had breakfast at a diner downtown, Capital City, until it was time for them to attend their individually scheduled meetings. The trio talked and laughed at almost anything and everything they saw and anyone that passed by. It was the first time they had gotten together on official business, since their court case. They were in cheerful moods, something that escaped them for a very long time. Then the time came for Jay's appointment.

Jay hugged Roxi and Tes, locking cheeks together instead of actually kissing to prevent their lipstick from smudging. She then headed straight to their Attorney's office, which is located in one of the old English designed buildings uptown. The traffic was heavier than usual in the Capital City, so a brisk walk was the only way of ensuring she reaches on time. The Law Firm shared the building with other law firms, making the entire building into a 'Legal College', so-to-speak. Jay was dressed in an all black, couture, skirt-suit, made of a combination of leatherette-type fabric and black denim. The long-sleeve jacket fits closely to her arms and the skirt snugly fits her legs and butt with a high zipper slit on the left leg, exposing sheer black stockings. She wore black 4" stilettos and matching black handbag resting on the middle of her left arm that hung just below the elbow. Still mourning the death of her husband, perhaps, she walks with bold strides, her head up in the air and black Serengeti shades covering her eyes. Into the legal college-type building she walked with quick steps, the 'clack-clack' noise from the heels on the highly polished porcelain floor could be heard with each step. Jay heads straight to the security officer, who escorts her to the brush-silver coloured elevator and engages in small talk until she disappeared behind the closed doors, allowing the lift to take her to the third floor where the Law Firm is located. The office assistant who sat at the reception desk welcomes her and in minutes, she was guided to where Mr. Reid, the head attorney, would have the meeting with her.

"It's so nice to see you again, Jay. Welcome, can I get you some coffee, or tea?" Mr. Reid extends his hands and escorts her to where she would be sitting for the meeting.

"Thank you so much. I'm fine thanks. Some water will be fine."

"So how have you been?" Mr. Reid went over to a small table with refreshments, bottled water, tea-mug and a jug of freshly squeezed juice that were all closely bunched together.

"I'm hanging in there, one day at a time. You know, got some stuff on my mind but ... God is good."

"Good, good, so how are your friends ... Roxi and Tes, I believe are their names? How are they really?" Mr. Reid asked after picking up one of the 'Dasani' water bottles, removing the cap, and pouring the contents into one of the tall crystal-like glasses that were turned down on a small wooden table at the back of the conference room.

"I believe we have been doing great, considering things could have turned out worse than they have been already." Jay crossed her legs after unzipping the slit in her skirt even higher than she had it, exposing her black stockings. She rests her bag on the table and got comfortable in the high back chair.

"True, I agree with you. So today we're going to discuss your inheritance as part owner of the business, among other things that we have to get clarified."

"Yes, we are. I'm assuming that the girls are also co-owners and heirs to the company's investments?" Jay asked, just for clarification.

"Yes they are but I need to speak with each of you individually, for obvious reasons. That is why we asked that we see you all separately. It's the ethical thing to do."

"I understand that."

"It's how we do things around here. If you all wish, after I have spoken with each of you, you can discuss the details together."

"Oh certainly, they told me that they have appointments later on today as well, so we all planned to meet before and after you have completed the meetings with all three of us. We had breakfast together actually. I just left them."

"Very nice, you all seem to be quite close to each other."

"Yes we are; we have been friends since attending University. We have been friends since then and we married three friends, who were also great friends, buddies as they all studied business management together."

"Wow! That's remarkable and they have all been together ever since and this dreadful thing came and happened. I don't mean to bring it up but it has rocked the country indeed; your community more so than any other place I would imagine." Mr. Reid walks over with a tall glass of water wrapped in a white napkin and gives it to Jay and another napkin to place beneath the glass to avoid leaving water marks on the mahogany table top.

"It is what it is and what's sad about all of this is that folks who we didn't think would be carrying news and ill-speaking us, are the ones who actually believed that we had something to do with all of this drama. Can you imagine? How sick is that?" Jay exclaimed, tossing her head from right to left as she took the glass from Mr. Reid.

"People will always talk, you can't get away form that. It's the world we live in. They even post stuff on social media sites, expressing themselves in ways that are so ... hmm, unimaginable." Mr. Reid articulated.

"Let's don't talk about that. Facebook was fraught with negativity, comments from people who don't even know me or any one of us and our situations."

"That's the downside to social media. But don't let it get to you Jay. You're actually going to be very pleased after this discussion."

"Oh really, why is that?"

"Your husband made some really good investments together with his buddies and had the business sense to include our firm as executors of their wills and the legislative arm of the business. He even hired one of our colleagues, Vonrick Daniel, a Financial Investments Advisor to be a part of the business."

"Oh I heard about him. The chairman mentioned to me that they normally have board meetings. I guess I should ask...