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.They’ll be ready for you to review in a few hours.”“Thanks, Michelle.As always, I appreciate your hard work.”Moments later Carla took her coffee cup firmly in hand, stood, and walked over to the huge window in her office that gave her a majestic view of downtown Orlando.As she sipped her coffee, her mind went back to cover the past two and a half years; specifically, the day the board of directors had voted her in as president to take over the day-to-day management of the business her father had started forty-five years ago.She had made a quick decision not to liquidate the company or sell out, but to roll up her sleeves and do whatever was necessary to assure the success of her father’s legacy.Like she’d told Brandy and Amber at dinner the other night, there had never been any closeness between her, her mother, and her brother, Clark.With her father it had been a totally different story.It may have been Clark who her mother always doted on, but everyone knew that Carla had been the apple of her father’s eye, and even five years after his death she still missed him greatly.He’d been everything a father should be, and she had loved him dearly.Her body shivered in anger when she remembered Clark’s refusal to include her in the family business after their father’s death.He had inherited the company and said she was better suited as a teacher in a classroom.Not surprisingly, her mother had agreed.But Clark’s death had changed everything.Her mother had been angered beyond belief to discover Carla had used her stock shares to vote against Dalton Gregory, the man Clark had pegged as his successor.But nothing had upset Madeline Osborne more than to discover her daughter pregnant without the benefit of a husband.But what had angered Madeline to the point that Carla thought she would have a stroke was Carla’s decision not to reveal the identity of the man who had fathered her child, as well as refusing to contact the man and let him know she had gotten pregnant.For some reason Madeline felt the man had a right to know and that Carla was doing an injustice not telling him.Carla had appreciated her mother’s opinion, but for the life of her she couldn’t understand why Madeline had been so hell-bent on such a thing.The only reason Carla could come up with regarding this particular obsession of her mother’s was that she had wanted to control Carla’s every thought and decision the same way she had Clark’s.Since Craig’s birth, her mother had cut ties with her.But that didn’t keep Carla from hearing about her mother’s activities.Last year Madeline had gotten remarried to a much younger man, one ten years younger.Carla sighed.The way her mother lived her life was not her concern, but she couldn’t accept Madeline not wanting to have a relationship with her grandson, no matter how she felt about her daughter.Turning her back on Craig was inexcusable.Carla religiously sent her mother pictures of Craig in hopes that one day Madeline would accept and embrace her grandson for the precious jewel that he was.Carla’s smile widened when she thought of her son, her pride and joy.It had been a challenge to raise Craig while working her tail off trying to get Osborne Computer Network back on its feet while retaining a position in the computer industry.But it had been well worth it.Craig was a well adjusted, much loved two-year-old and her company had shown tremendous profits over the past year.The Disney contract they’d been awarded had been a big financial boost.As a result, they had needed larger, more modern facilities.As a business move for future growth, Osborne Computer Network sold their old building and invested in a new facility right smack in the middle of Orlando’s mega business district.Thirty additional employees had been added to the staff of hardworking individuals.Everyone who worked for the company continued to be dedicated and loyal, and as their president she continued to put their welfare and best interest first, assuring that their future with Osborne remained intact.Taking another sip of her coffee, her smile widened as she again thought of the one thing that had some of her employees concerned— her love life.She had to constantly remember that Osborne Computer Network was an old, established firm with a number of old and established employees, some of whom saw themselves as more than merely her employees.They saw themselves as honorary aunts and uncles, but always gave her the respect she deserved as their boss.However, there was some concern among them that there had not been a serious man in her life in over two years.Her mother had been the only one who’d acted like the very idea of her being single and pregnant was the ultimate sin.Her father’s former employees, rooted and firmly embedded in tradition and convention, hadn’t blinked an eye at the announcement of her pregnancy, and had been there to give her support when her own mother hadn’t.After all, little Craig Osborne was their former boss’s grandson, and in most of their eyes her father had nearly walked on water.He had been just that loved and admired.Carla’s face softened when she again thought of Craig.Her son meant the world to her and one day she would turn the running of Osborne Computer Network over to him.She loved her role as his mother and was determined to be to him the kind of mother she’d always wanted as a child and never had.She frowned when another person entered her thoughts, Craig’s father, Jesse Devereau [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]