It was during breakfast that Marcie reminded me of something she said during our morning festivities.
"You did hear me when I told you Aubrey wanted you to give her away, right?"
I looked at her from my plate. I heard her but was distracted by Marcie. It was then she looked at me and smiled.
"She asked me about it, and I told her I'd talk to you. I figured I'd persuade you my way," she said with a wink.
I smiled.
"I love the way you persuaded me, Sweetheart."
As we finished breakfast, there was a knock at the door. I walked over to answer when Aubrey walked in. She looked at me with panic on her face. Then when she saw Marcie and immediately walked over to her before she started speaking.
"I'm getting nervous," she said.
Marcie hugged Aubrey and gave me that look to leave them alone. I chose that moment to walk over to the recliner to start checking my emails. I was distracted for a while, occasionally hearing both laughter and sobs as I did. It was when I felt a presence before me that I looked up. There stood my assistant with her hands on her hips.
"Did Marcie talk to you?" she asked.
I nodded my head.
"Did you give her your answer?"
I looked at Aubrey before I spoke.
"I wanted to hear it from you."
She looked at me in surprise.
"Why?"
"Because as much as Marcie is my new life partner, I always thought it was easier for us to converse about things. After all, you're like the sister I never had and have been in my life longer. So, why do you want me to play that role?"
Aubrey looked at me before she turned to Marcie.
"Didn't you butter him up?"
Marcie winked.
"More than I am going to tell you."
They both shared a little giggle before she looked at me again.
"Because my parents are gone. Because I need you there for the ceremony. Because I trust you."
I looked at her for a moment before I answered.
"I will, of course. After all, I am trusting Wes to be a good partner for you. Regardless of what that means to you."
Aubrey paused more a moment before I saw her cute smile cross her face. She then bent down and kissed me on the forehead. Marcie then followed up by kissing me on the forehead as well. It was then both ladies giggled again. I looked at them perplexed before Aubrey pulled a compact out her purse to show me the lipstick stains on my forehead. I started laughing with them before Marcie grabbed a towel to clean it off.
It was three days before the ceremony which meant two days before I was to give Matt my decision. I was still thinking about it when I saw an email from Janet. I started to read it and noticed it shared some of the details of the sale. As Matt told me, we would be getting a share of the profits. He didn't mention that it would only be for ten years from the date of sale. This was a minor detail. I have a good personal accountant who had been diligent with putting a portion of my wages in different investments. I had not been paying attention for a while since Missy died. I sent him an email asking him questions. When he started to share the results, I was a bit surprised. It was then I looked at Marcie as she was finishing up her discussion with Aubrey.