ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

As Jeff put the phone in his pocket, he said, "I think that went well, don't you?" He glanced at Michael.

"Drew'll calm down by the time he gets home. His anger rarely lasts long." Michael headed for the kitchen. "I need a drink."

Zachery put his hand on Oscar's shoulder. "Buddy, I'd go on vacation. How much vacation time do you have? I'm sure Jeff will grant you at least a week."

"It's your choice. Do you want to face Drew or take a few days leave?" Jeff shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I think I'm better off facing Drew. With him, it's easier if you admit mistakes rather than hiding them."

"You're right." Jeff glanced at his ringing phone. "It's Drew."

"I need to talk with Shana," snapped Anderson.

After Jeff handed her the phone, she said, "Yes?"

"First I need to get your number, and second are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Really, I am. Patricia didn't hurt me. Honestly, she didn't."

"All right. I'll be home soon. By the way, I'm never leaving you again." Anderson hung up.


TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 28 part 5

I need to hold her. Anderson rushed in the front door, he tossed his briefcase onto the couch. "Where's Shana?" His eyes met Zachery.

"Helping Mom in the garden. We figured it'd be best to keep her busy." Zachery followed his brother. "There's been five guards watching her at all times. She's fine, really."

Shana turned her head as Anderson walked in. "Hi!" Romeo ran up to her, and she hugged him. "I've missed you so much." She laughed as the excited dog almost knocked her over.

"Romeo, no!" Anderson snapped his fingers and Romeo obediently responded by sitting at his master's side, next to Thor.

Shana's eyes met Anderson's. "Have you heard anything about Patricia? Is she going to be all right?"

"Agent Ryan's handling that part. I'm sure he'll notify us of any changes."

She studied Anderson. "I guess we need to talk."

"We do." Anderson faced his mom. "Can you spare Shana for a few minutes?"

After she nodded, Anderson place his hand in the small of Shana's back and led her to her bedroom. "Is this okay?"

After nodding, Shana added, "It seems to be our favorite talking-room."

"Our new place has a huge den." Anderson pointed to the bed. "Have a seat." He lifted part of the bed frame that remained on the floor. "I'll get to this after dinner." After he sat, he asked, "Exactly what happened?" Before she could begin, his phone rang. He listened, hung up, and then said, "It was Philip. He verified a large sum of money was placed into Patricia's bank account. He's still trying to trace it."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause this much trouble. When Emily finds out I injured her mom, she's going to hate me." Tears welled in Shana's eyes.

Anderson guided her head to his chest and waited a few moments before he said, "Please tell me exactly what happened."

Shana dried her tears and relayed the events from answering the door, to swatting the gun from Patricia's hand. "Please don't be angry with Oscar. He asked a couple of times if he should stay. He even remained at the door and watched through the window. Patricia went out and yelled at him. All of this is my fault."

"He's being paid to ensure your safety. He failed. I'll deal with him later. Right now you're my priority."

"Maybe I'm not very good at allowing people to protect me." Shana petted Romeo's head as he leaned into her lap.

"I'm not sure there's a right or wrong way to allow people to protect you." Anderson grinned and shook his head. "None of this makes sense. I understand how it happened, but I'm struggling with the why?" After a long pause, he sighed. "I'm sorry about all of this."

"It's not your fault. I'm sorry I caused Patricia to hit her head."

"I'm happy that's all that happened. The alternative is she may have shot you."

"I don't think she would have actually gone through with it."

"I think it may have depended into how much in debt she was to those people. Philip's trying to find out."

"How angry are you with me?"

"Sweetheart, not at all. I'm angry with myself for leaving you and with the security for allowing Patricia access to you." Anderson released a deep breath. "I guess there's nothing we can do about it now." He removed his phone and asked, "I need your phone number. I can't believe I don't have it."

After Shana gave him her number, she took out her phone. "And I need yours."

When the transfer of phone numbers was complete, Anderson glanced at his watch and then at the bed parts. "I think we have some time before dinner. Let me change, then we'll put this together."

Moments later, Anderson knocked on Shana's door. When he entered he saw her sitting on the bed. "What are you reading?"

Shana held up the paper. "The instructions. I don't think putting this together is going to be as easy as you think." After Anderson came closer, she pointed. "Look. I don't understand this part."

He read and then laughed. "It'll be easy." He sat on the floor and began lifting parts and fitting them together.

"Hand me that." Anderson pointed to a bolt. "It goes here."

'The instructions state..."

"Just give it here." Anderson held out his hand.

"Oh, you're one of those guys?" Shana's eyebrows rose.

"One of what guys?" He attempted to fit the bolt.

"One who refuses to follow instructions."

Anderson laughed. "They're often inaccurate."

"Of course. The company spends time and money writing instructions that are of no use. That makes sense." Shana smiled and then became quiet.

"What's wrong?" Anderson stopped and moved closer. "Come on, talk to me."

"I was going to ask when you returned from New York City if I could go shopping. There are a few personal items I'm running short of. Now, this happened. I doubt I'll be able to..."

"There's no way you're leaving this place," interrupted Anderson. He paused and thought a moment. "Speak with Mom. She should be of some help." He looked at his phone. "It's Philip. I'll be right back." He left the room.

Soon after Anderson returned, Susan walked in. "How's the bed coming?"

Shana shook her head. "Lousy. Drew refuses to follow the instructions."

Anderson stood and put his hand out to help Shana to her feet. "She doesn't understand that common sense works better than directions. Mom, Shana needs some help with something. Can you help her?"

"Sure. What's the problem? We can talk about it on the way to dinner."



Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her family's painting back
Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells
Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits
Jeff Burk -- takes care of Anderson's cars and important security details.
Helen -- Anderson's cook
Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper
Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend
Kyle -- Anderson's dog walker
Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd
Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd
Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd
Aaron Kohlberg -- Shana's older brother
Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidently chose a real person, so I have changed it present day owner of the painting.
Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife
Emily -- Anderson's five year old daughter
Isaiah Glassberg -- Anderson divorce/custody attorney.
Jeremy -- Jane's second-cousin twice removed, NYC undercover cop.
Hannah Jacobs -- Shana's cousin, the same age and best friend. Married within the past year and just had a baby, Sarah. Her husband, Paul. Sarah was just diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease.
Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator
Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father
Eliana Kohlberg - - Shana's mother
Maxwell Gaines -- Lawyer hired to retrieve the painting
Erich Berger -- Manager of the Dorotheum art auction house in Austria
Mary Pritchard -- The lady Anderson hired to help Hannah while she's in Boston with Sarah.
Zachery Sharp -- Anderson's younger brother
Michael Sharp -- Anderson's father
Susan Sharp --Anderson's mother
Leon Sharp - - Anderson's grandfather
Grandma Sharp - - Anderson's grandmother
Oscar - - Team Leader of the security detail
Detective Rollins - - Austin police detective