Home Is Where The Heart Is: Part 4

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Here is the next part of Seanna's story. Seanna's life is beginning to change for the better. I hope you all enjoy the story.

**********

Seanna sat in the front passenger seat of her car, fuming at the thought that anyone would dare to take Leilani from her. What made this even odder was the fact that they had no need to involve Child Services, as they could provide for Leilani quite well thanks to the fact that the various divisions that were part of Ramsay Enterprises all brought in at least modest profits, even the rental housing unit division.

So Seanna was slightly surprised to hear her cell phone ring; she pulled it from her purse and saw that the incoming call was from another line in the Ramsay Enterprises main office. She shrugged, wondering what was going on, and answered the call.

"Hello, Seanna Ramsay speaking, who may I ask is calling?"

"Hello, Miss Ramsay, I'm Thaddeus Savmo, the VP of Finances for Ramsay Enterprises' toys division. I'm calling to let you know that the rest of the VPs of Finances for the various divisions within the corporation wish to meet with you on Monday morning at 10:30 AM. As far as I can see, the meeting will be to welcome you as the new CEO for Ramsay Enterprises and bring you up to date on the various divisions."

"Thank you, Thaddeus, I will definitely be there. Could you please hold for a moment?"

"Yes, I can, Miss Ramsay."

Seanna put the phone down on her lap with the back facing up, turned to her mother and informed her of the upcoming meeting with the people from the various divisions that were part of the corporation, then asked if it would be wise to bring a report on the corporation's current standing with them to the meeting with Jackie, or to have the info passed on to Jackie within the company offices immediately. Seanna's Momma thought it would be very useful for Jackie to have that info available for Tuesday's meeting.

At this point, Thaddeus' voice came through, and Seanna picked up the phone again. "What meeting on Tuesday morning, Miss Ramsay?"

"I'm sorry, Thaddeus, but some bastard at Child Services intends to take Leilani from me simply because I am a transsexual. I have no idea how he found that out, but I intend to use every option we have to put this bastard where he belongs, out on the street."

Thaddeus pondered for a moment, then asked, "Miss Ramsay, by any chance is the person doing this named Sanjit Singh?"

"Why, yes, it is, Thaddeus. You know of this creep, or have heard of him somehow?"

"I have, Miss Ramsay. He destroyed a relationship between two of our female workers last year, the one woman lost her little girl in the process, that girl has been in the system for the last seventeen months, five foster homes so far. The other woman committed suicide."

"So this Singh deliberately seeks out people who are LGBT, etc., and ruins their lives in any way possible, Thaddeus?"

"That is my understanding, Miss Ramsay."

"What happened to the mother of the little girl, Thaddeus?"

"She had a massive emotional breakdown after her girlfriend committed suicide, she's been in a home for about a year now."

"Thaddeus, is there any chance at all that we could help this mother and child to be reunited? I'm meeting Jackie in the office shortly."

"Miss Ramsay, I'll be more than happy to meet you at Jackie's office when you arrive there."

"Thaddeus, before you leave, please do me one last favour, I want up-to-date info on Ramsay Enterprises' full financial status immediately."

"I have the info for the Toys division here in my office, I can have the other VPs for Finances fax theirs to Jackie's office."

"Please do that, I want to see that info at some point while I am with Jackie."

"Yes, Miss Ramsay, I'll call the others now, and I'll meet you in Jackie's office once that's done. One of us needs to be present, so we know what is going on and so we can help if there is any way to do so in whatever happens after this meeting."

"You have my thanks, Thaddeus, I'll see you soon."

**********

Seanna had been righteously upset at what was happening, now she was ready to fight for what was hers, personal and business wise. The thought that the jerk Singh had no idea what he was stepping into made her giggle, and the giggles soon turned to full-blown laughter.

Her Momma spared her a quick glance while stopped at a red light, then turned her attention back to the road, asking "What happened?"

Seanna spent the next few minutes explaining what she had just been told by Mr. Savmo. Momma almost lost control of the car, she was so angry. "You mean to tell me this slime ball goes out of his way to deliberately destroy people's lives because they're different?"

"Yes, Momma, one woman committed suicide, another is in severe emotional trauma because of him, and now he's coming after me."

"This guy really needs to be taught a lesson about respecting everyone. Oh, we'll be at the company offices in a few minutes."

**********

Seanna tried to keep calm, knowing that she had people on her side, but she was still worried, this jerk destroyed people's lives on a regular basis. She watched as her mother turned into the entryway leading to the underground parking for the company offices.

Seanna looked through the windshield, catching a brief glimpse of the fifteen story company headquarters building as the car entered the dimness of the first level of the parking area, then spotted a sign on a wall near the elevators which said "Ramsay Enterprises CEO".

She tapped her mother on the shoulder and pointed to the sign, Momma had to back up a bit to turn into the space. Seanna grinned and looked at her Momma, saying, "Well, at least I won't need to go three or four levels underground to get to my parking space."

Her Momma laughed, opened her door and stepped out of the car, Seanna stepped out on her side a moment later. After closing her door, Seanna opened the back one, released Leilani from her seat, picked Leilani up and turned away from the car, kicking the door closed.

Momma giggled as she used the remote to lock the car doors, then they walked over to the elevators, Momma pressing the up button.

The elevator pinged a couple of minutes later as it reached the first parking level. "What floor, Momma?"

"I believe Jackie's offices are on the seventh floor, Seanna," her Momma replied as she tapped the button for the seventh floor.

**********

They stood quietly in the elevator as it ascended, it didn't take very long before they reached the seventh floor and the door opened.

The two women stepped out into the hallway, Seanna carrying Leilani. Momma spotted the reception desk and walked over to it.

"Hello, I'm Roselyn Ramsay, this is my daughter Seanna, we're here to see Jackie Stormhouse, please?"

The receptionist looked up, smiling, "Ahhhh, yes, Jackie's emergency appointment, will you please follow me?" She stepped out from behind the desk, then walked along the hallway past several office doors before stopping at one and knocking.

A few seconds later, a woman's voice called out, "Please come in, I'll be with you in a moment!" Seanna recognized Jackie's voice.

The receptionist smiled again, said that she would leave them here, and turned to head back to her desk.

Seanna, Leilani and Seanna's Momma entered the office, taking seats on a fake leather sofa in the waiting area.

**********

Jackie walked out into the waiting area about ten minutes later. Jackie was a short, slightly plump woman, about thirty years of age, wearing a nice looking medium grey women's business suit with a cream blouse showing through the vest, off-black hose and low heeled shoes.

She nodded to Momma, addressing her as Mrs. Ramsay, then turned to Seanna, who was still holding Leilani tight on her lap. Leilani was beginning to squirm, she wasn't used to being held like that, even though it did feel nice.

Jackie smiled at Seanna, "You must be Seanna, and this sweet little one must be Leilani, Suzanne Kealoha's daughter?"

"You are correct on both counts. You must be Jackie, then."

"I am, would you please come into the office? Bring Leilani, there are some toys in the office, as my niece comes here now and then."

Seanna stood, leaned down to help Leilani slide down off the sofa, then held her hand as the followed Jackie into the office.

**********

Once they were in the office, Leilani spotted the toys in one corner, next to a small doll house. She squealed and ran to the toys, dropping to the floor beside the doll house; she spent a few minutes looking at the doll house, then picked up a doll and began to play.

Jackie sat behind her desk, Seanna and Roselyn in comfortable chairs in front of the desk.

Just as they were about to start talking, the office line buzzed, Jackie hit a button, said hello, then asked what was happening.

"Miss Stormhouse, the financial info from the various divisions of the corporation are here, should I bring them in to you?"

"Please do, Patti, by the way, is Thaddeus Savmo from Toys there with you?"

"Yes, he is, Miss Stormhouse."

"Then please have him bring the info in, that way, you can stay at the desk in case someone comes in, Patti."

"Yes, Miss, I'll tell him now," she could be heard speaking to someone just before she hung up the phone.

About two minutes later, there was a knock on the outer office door, Jackie got up and went to let Thaddeus into the office.

"Thaddeus Savmo, this is Mrs. Roselyn Ramsay, the original bosses' daughter from his second wife, and her daughter Seanna."

Thaddeus nodded hello to the two women, then pulled up a chair, sitting a bit off to one side, as he would mostly be listening here.

**********

Jackie walked around the desk and took her seat again. "Thaddeus, I believe you have some info that was requested by Seanna?"

"Yes, Jackie, I do," Thaddeus reached into his briefcase, pulled out a bunch of papers and passed them over to Jackie.

Jackie took a minute or two to skim over the information in each document, her smile growing broader moment by moment. "Well, I'm pleased to tell you, Seanna, that financially, each division is doing well, even the rental units one after that fiasco last June."

Seanna smiled, "That's good to know, I guess, but how will that help us in the courtroom on Tuesday morning?"

"Well, Seanna, from what I can see here," Jackie added numbers in her head, "Ramsay Enterprises shows a net profit of $11.3 million US for the last 2.5 months, that's a bit over two million better than this time last year. The businesses are doing well, which will be in your favour, as it will show that there is unlikely to be any financial difficulty that would prevent you from being able to raise Leilani and provide for her."

"Okay, that's good, but what about the fact that this slime is going to try to use my being transsexual to take Leilani away?"

"That won't be so easy for him this time, as you don't have the financial issues that many people do, Singh targets people he feels he can intimidate somehow. If he brings up your being transsexual, we'll have that excluded on grounds of discrimination."

Seanna looked across the desk at Jackie, her confusion being very evident.

"Seanna, the state changed the laws a few years back to prevent discrimination against people who are transgendered or transsexual."

"Ahhhh, so if he tries to use that as the sole basis for denying my right to raise Leilani, he'll be smacked down by the court."

"That's essentially correct. If he makes a big enough fuss about it, he could face contempt of court or even arrest."

"So basically, we go in, prove that there is nothing preventing me from caring for Leilani, and let him cause his own ruin?" Seanna asked.

"Correct. From what I've heard of him, he always wins, and he positively gloats about it after each case. If he loses..."

"Hoo, boy! That would be a serious loss of ego, he might just go over the edge at that point." Seanna grinned at the thought.

Jackie chuckled. "It's possible, so let's play this by the rules, and if he digs his own grave, so to speak, we'll let him do it."

Seanna laughed. "Thank you for your help, Jackie, I'm going to look forward to you straightening him out in court."

**********

As everyone got up to leave, Seanna thanked Thaddeus as well, then went over to check on Leilani, still playing by the doll house. Seanna smiled down at the girl playing with the dolls, wishing she had had a doll house at that age. "Leilani, we're done, it's time to go, honey."

Leilani heard Seanna speak, looked up at Seanna briefly, then said something to the doll, placed it in the house and stood up.

Seanna held out her hand, Leilani smiled and grabbed it, then the two walked back around Jackie's desk and joined Seanna's Momma. The three of them left the office, walked over to the elevators, and Momma hit the down button.

Just as the elevator arrived, Seanna's Momma remembered something she had been thinking about for a while and turned to Seanna. "Love, now that you'll have a good job and a decent income, there's a nice house several blocks away from mine that you could get."

"That's nice, Momma, but a house is a big thing to get right now, besides, I don't have the personal finances to pay for a house."

"I seriously doubt that would be a problem, Seanna, if you wanted it bad enough, I'd bet the company would buy it in your name."

"Momma, again, that's lovely, but what would I do with a house?"

"Why, you could turn it into a beautiful home to raise Leilani in. Besides, it's in the gated community I live in, there's good security."

Seanna thought about that for a moment. "So, Momma, if I did that, it could prevent the possibility of what happened to Sue?"

"Yes, dear, I raised the issue with Sue while she was pregnant, but she was adamant she would raise her daughter on her own. I thought for a while that her second husband would stick around, but he jumped ship so to speak three months after Leilani was born."

"So what happened to him, momma? Why hasn't he been there for her?"

"About six months after he left Sue, he got involved in a big bar fight down in Louisiana and was killed in the fight, stabbed to death."

"Shit, so he not only left her, but he never made any effort to provide for Leilani at all? She was his child, for crying out loud!"

"All he cared about at that point, love, was the booze and the speed, people meant nothing to him."

"So she's never really had a father, and she's lost her mother at four years old. Damn, money or not, she's had it rough."

"Just think about the house in my area, Seanna, it would be far better to have you both nearby and safe, that's all I ask."

"All right, momma, I'll think about it, just don't expect a decision any time soon, there's too much happening right now."

The sound of soft sobbing brought both women to attention; they looked down, Leilani was holding Seanna's leg, crying her little heart out.

Seanna reached down, picked Leilani up and held her close; she noticed a sofa nearby, walked over and sat down, Leilani in her lap. Leilani continued to cry for some time, burying her face in Seanna's upper abdomen, Seanna whispering to her to help her calm down.

Eventually, Leilani's tears came to a stop, she looked up at Seanna, still sniffling. "You won't leave me, please? Don't leave me!"

Her words tore at Seanna's heart, now it was her turn to cry, and it seemed Leilani was crying with her. "No, love, I won't leave you."

The two sat there for several more minutes, the tears eventually ending; Seanna found some kleenex in her purse and spent the next minute or two wiping away any signs of tears around Leilani's eyes, then her own, using her make-up compact to see her own face.

"Leilani, love, you may have to go to day care or school while I work, but I will ALWAYS come home to you, I promise."

Leilani grabbed Seanna in a fierce hug, then they stood up and walked over to Seanna's Momma still standing by the elevators. Momma looked down at Leilani, slowly lowered herself to look Leilani in the eye and apologized for having upset her.

Leilani gave Seanna's Momma a hug, too, then the three turned and Momma pressed the down button for the elevators again.

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Comments

There is nothing that hurts more......

D. Eden's picture

Than having to say goodbye to your children - especially when you know there is a chance it may be the last time you see them. Every time I had to say goodbye to my wife and children to report back after leave it broke my heart, but especially those times when I knew I was deploying overseas.

Yes, after leaving active duty I still traveled for work - but I knew I would be returning in a few days, and no one was shooting at me.

How one explains why they have to leave home to a young child though........that's something I'll never truly learn.

D. Eden

Dum Vivimus, Vivamus

Re: There is nothing that hurts more......

Sadly, although I suspect I may have fathered one or more children when I was young, I have no proof at all that I've done so. Thus, I've never had the opportunity to raise a child or children, and with my physical issues, primarily the Fibromyalgia, but also the migraines and asthma, making it difficult for me to work a steady job, I've never had the income needed to raise a child or children. I also have had no work-related training of any sort, so physical labour has been the only option I've had, and I haven't been able to do that for many years.

Even still, it isn't all that hard to imagine how a mother feels when she drops her child(ren) at a day care centre before going to work, that she is most likely going to be missing the child(ren) constantly throughout the day, and wanting more than anything to be with her child(ren) when her work day ends so she can show them just how much she loves them and has missed them.

I've never had to explain that to a child myself (especially the "this may be the last time" bit), I'm not sure I could handle it.

Thank you for your comments on this story, they are appreciated.

One of the big problems in

One of the big problems in the working world is the LACK of competent child care in the work places. Each and every work place should be able to provide both a very safe location for children AND competent child care personnel. It does solve four things for the employment crisis AND the employer and the employee. a) The employer will definitely have good employees working for him/her because they know their child/children are being properly taken care during work hours. b) allows the employee(s) to come and check on their children during their breaks or lunch time. c) can be a definite TAX WRITE OFF for the employer
d) The need for good, competent, qualified people to work in the company "day care" or possibly even pre-school; DOES make for jobs to be available for those needing them and meet the requirements of the job.
This is called "Employers thinking outside the box." when it comes to job satisfaction, benefits, or similar.

Re: One of the big problems

Your mention of day care in the workplace gave me an idea of one of the changes Seanna will be implementing when she meets with the financial officers from the various divisions of Ramsay Enterprises on Monday morning. I'm writing that part now. Thanks.