The Reluctant Heiress (A Christian Romance Novel)

Chapter 3: New Beginnings

And just like that, Telly started a new chapter in her life back in the city where she grew up in: good 'ole Smyrna, almost 16 miles away from Atlanta.

There in her bedroom she was being her bratty self: she was complaining, she was whining, she was pouting, until she realized she didn't have an audience. So she turned her eye upward, and said the same things she monologued earlier, and when she heard nothing back, she cried and cried herself to sleep. 

Her parents were not originally from Georgia, and her daddy was the only family she had. Her best friends were in New York. So coming back to Georgia without her dad was challenging to say the least.

Being in their three bedroom house alone was extremely difficult. The only persons she would meet were the caretaker, Mrs. Williams and her son Aiden, who would come every week to take care of the cleaning of the house and the garden. They have been the entrusted caretakers of their house for the past 30 years. Aiden was five years her junior, and she remembered playing with him when they were younger whenever Mrs. Williams would come to clean their property. So in effect, they were kinda sort of 'family' to her. 

And soon after the funeral, she needed to go to Hotel de Lavi and deal with the new reality... That she was not in New York anymore...That she would not be the AVP of Marketing of a major hotel chain... That she would not be touring around the world anymore, or even just around the country for that matter... But worst of all, that she would not have her daddy no more.

Instead, that she was back in good 'ole Smyrna... That she would head, not a major chain, but a small boutique hotel...That she may be stuck in this state of Georgia for only-the-heaven's-know how long...That she would be by herself, for the most part.

She had watched a lot of movies like this in the past and most of it had been romanticized. You know the kind where the city girl goes to the suburbs or even the country, and ultimately was changed and loved the place.  All's well that ends well.

But for her, she knew she was doing this just for her parents sake. Just for the meantime. She would ultimately sell her share, and give this 'heritage' to someone else more deserving and someone who would really love this place, the way her dad did.

Not her.

Telly belonged to the bigger world. She knew she was at her prime, and endless opportunities awaited her. Telly knew that, the first time she stepped into Atlanta airport after college more than a decade ago and flew away from 'home' to find her new home.

********

On her first day at work, the management and staff prepared a lunch banquet for her. Telly came wearing an all-beige pantsuit ensemble. She kept her long wavy brunette tresses freely hanging on her back, with just a mild daytime make-up. She wore her black stilettos, which she always did for stage presentations. It was during the mid-week  so the hotel was not very busy, and so majority of the staff from the top management to the rank and file were able to see her and greet her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let us all welcome, Ms. Telly de Lavi, our new CEO and President!" said the general manager, Mr. Don Rogers as he gave the stage to her. Don had been with the company for the past seven years, very trusted by her dad. He was in his sixties, a very well mannered middle-aged man.

Telly was sitting beside Mr. Downey, Mr. de Lavi's executive assistant for the past ten years. He was in his early forties,  a go-getter kind of guy, tall and she was surprised to admit that he was actually a handsome fella. She really never took notice of him until that day.

Mr. Downey escorted her to the stage and gave her a very encouraging smile.

As she stood there, she saw the smiling faces of the crowd. She was not a newbie in terms of giving speeches. In fact, that's what she had done best, that was why she was being groomed to be the next AVP at the hotel she left in New York.

"Thank you very much for the warm welcome," Telly started as she cleared her throat. "The past couple of weeks had been quite a roller coaster ride for me, and I know for you too. We have all experienced a great loss, loss of the man who made Hotel de Lavi what it is today."

She paused and she tried to compose herself as she felt a frog in her throat. "But today, we are all gathered to celebrate him. My dad, Mr. Ricardo de Lavi, and my mom, Mrs. Louise de Lavi, for without them, I would not be standing in front of you, and this place would not have been a reality."

Applause flooded the hall. Some were even shedding tears.

"I know I have a very big shoes to fill. But I couldn't do it by myself. I need you all. You've been here much longer than I do, and so together, we will do it. The legacy continues. Thank you very much!"

Another round of applause echoed in the hall. 

I just said a big fat lie' she thought to herself. She grew up getting what she wanted, but now she could not believe she would give in to things she did not want to do. 'Give it some time Telly,' she prodded herself.

And as she walked down to her table, Mr. Downey came to her and reached out his hand to assist her. As she extended her hand to him, she looked at him and muttered a silent "Thank you." He smiled back and nodded at her.

The other members of the top management came to her table, congratulated her and chatted some with her. Finally, she was able to put a face on the names that her dad used to just tell her about.

There were some song numbers as the dinner went on, and then a toast for Telly was led by the marketing manager, Dianne Gibson, and then the GM, Mr. Don Rogers gave the closing remarks.

As everyone started heading out, and the staff cleaned up the tables and chairs, Telly took a deep breath as she took a last look around.

It's going to be alright, she thought to herself.

She left the banquet hall...and prepared to enter her office. Her new office.

Her new life.

&&&&&&Author's Notes&&&&&

Are you at a 'new beginning' portion of your life, your career? It could really be intimidating... but by God's grace, you'll be alright. "Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:5