*
Nicole was beside herself with worry. The owner of the company hadn't come to work that morning and hadn't answered Nicole's phone calls since Monday noon. Furthermore, she couldn't get into the accounting system - no one could. Nicole angrily stomped through the entire building in her high-heel hooker shoes, demanding to know what was happening. When no one knew, she accused half of them of lying. She checked several times, but Gallaher's office was empty and his lawyer daughter hadn't come to work either.
Jim McMorrow was there when she first arrived, but now he was missing too. That was fine with her; she intended to fire him anyway.
Still, without direction from Gallaher, she didn't know what to do. The accounting system was password protected, and her password was denied. She tried several different passwords - ones she thought Gallaher might use, and none of them worked either. The new accounts people could still do their jobs, cancelled accounts were still being cancelled, and the tech department said everything was working fine. Even the website wasn't having problems.
She just couldn't get into the accounting system. Without that, she had no way of knowing if Roxie truly made the bank deposit Monday, or if the light bill had been paid, finally. In fact, there was nothing for her to do and it was driving her mad.
For a full hour, she stood outside and chain-smoked.
*
Austin didn't come to pick Georgia up and take her to court. Instead, her security guards loaded two suitcases full of new clothes and her laptop in a van and drove her away. They pulled up beside the courthouse, escorted her through a side door, and then up two flights of stairs. After they opened the door and let her into the courtroom, both of them sat in the last row of spectator seats.
She waited at the small gate until Austin noticed her, and he did slightly smile, but not as warmly as he might have otherwise. He opened the gate for her, and then held her chair while she sat.
Laura and her attorney were already there, and Georgia briefly glanced at her mother. Not knowing what was expected of her; she folded her hands in her lap and looked straight ahead. At last, the judge entered and when everyone else stood up, so did she.
"Be seated. Mr. Steel, have your found your missing heiress?"
Austin stood back up. "I have, Your Honor. This is Georgia Marie James. We need more time to make certain her DNA matches that of her mother, but if the Connellys…"
"Your Honor," Bradley Hyde interrupted. "Mrs. Connelly would like to withdraw her petition to contest the will."