Short Story #1 - Boss of My Heart

Outside the lightning was striking, the thunder roaring and the storm raging on, but inside Gwen sat all snuggled in comfort in her bed as she sipped hot tea and went over the Harrison case papers she had brought from the office.

Gwen was 26 years old. A tall brunette with olive skin and dark brown eyes (she inherited her Spanish eyes from her mother's side of the family). She grew up with all the luxuries of a good home, nice clothes, and a close family. She had been the only child of Marie and James Williams. Money had never been a problem for her as her father was an executive at one of the largest oil companies in Houston.

Gwen had graduated from Harvard with honors and had passed her bar exam with flying colors.

At present, Gwen was working with an old established and highly regarded law firm in Houston. The head of the law firm was getting on in years and was soon to retire. There was a lot of talk around the office that his youngest son, Brad, would be taking over the firm. Brad had been in New York heading up a corporate law office until recently but it was rumored that he would be appearing on the scene at the Hampton law firm shortly.

Gwen had been working on an especially hard case that she knew would set a precedent for all cases of its kind. It had required hours and hours of research and Gwen had burned the midnight all for over three weeks preparing to present her case.

Today at work, she had finally come to the point where she was beginning to feel confident of their winning the case. She closed her briefcase at 5:45 p.m. and caught the contra-flow bus to her apartment off Gessner.

Houston was experiencing one of their pre-spring storms and it was getting pretty nasty outside. Already Gwen had heard tornado warnings on the television earlier.

Oh well, another cup of tea would do the trick, she thought. She had gotten drenched by all the rain from her walk from the bus to her apartment. Whoever heard of it raining sideways anyway! She immediately pulled off her wet clothes, showered, and slipped into an old familiar bathrobe and put on her "rabbit" slippers (a birthday gift from the office crew) and then she settled in for the night.

The phone rang about that time and Gwen not wanting to break the peaceful feeling of quiet almost let it ring on. Finally, reluctantly, she picked up the receiver and answered the call. It was Joe Finley from the office. From all appearances it must have been a heart attack. Joe told Gwen that Mr. Hampton was in critical condition and was not expected to live.

Gwen had been friends with Mr. Hampton since the first day she joined the firm. She didn't know why he had taken such a liking to her that first day but he had. Joe had said it was because she was the kind of daughter he would have wanted but with being the father of three sons, there had been no daughters for Mr. Hampton to spoil. Even the two sons that were married both had boys.

Mr. Hampton had often teased her of having enough spunk to be a man but not quite the build. He was such a sweet old man and she knew he was proud of his three sons and three grandsons because he had spoken with her quite often about them.

Mr. Hampton was especially pleased with Brad and his accomplishments with the New York law firm Lockner, Smith and Bruner. Gwen quizzed him one day to see if it had hurt him that Brad had chosen to first go with another company before coming to Hampton law firm. He said it had at first, but he admired Brad's determination to make a name for himself and not to rely on his father's name to open doors.

Gwen said a little prayer for Mr. Hampton that night before going to bed and she earnestly hoped he would be okay.

The alarm went off, and Gwen was sleeping such a deep sleep that she hit the 10-minute snooze button for just a few more minutes sleep. Oh well, she thought, it's now or never. A steaming cup of hot coffee and a quick look at the morning paper had helped Gwen wake up enough to shower and dress for work.

Geen was on the bus riding to work, when she overheard someone in the back mention Mr. Hampton's name. Oh no, it couldn't be true! Mr. Hampton had passed away early this morning around 4 a.m. so she guessed Joe would be waiting to tell her the news at the office.

When Gwen got to the office, everyone was talking about Mr. Hampton's death and what would happen to the law firm.

Of course, the office would be closed through Friday (it was Wednesday) as Mr. Hampton would be buried Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. Everyone had really liked him. He had become both a friend, as well as an employer to his people and was a respected leader in the city of Houston.

Talk had it that Brad Hinton would be in the office by Monday. Bob Hampton, Mr. Hampton's oldest son, had told him that Brad was to have officially taken over the office in a month but he shortened his vacation in Europe to come home for his father's funeral and to take over the business. Bob was one of Houston's finest heart surgeons and Mr. Hampton's middle son, Roger had become a noted psychiatrist and was known for his many works regarding mental illness. Roger and his family would be flying in from Dallas this afternoon.

Gwen decided to shop for something in light blue for the funeral as Mr. Hampton had told her it was definitely her color. She found what she wanted in a beautiful two-piece suit with a soft pastel blouse to match. By the time she had finished her shopping at Foley's, she grabbed a bite to eat and caught the noon bus home.

Poor Mr. Hampton, she thought. I'm really going to miss his smiling face as she dozed off to sleep that night at an early 9 p.m.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Gwen arrived at Mr. Hampton's funeral just in time to get a chance to talk to and meet many of his family and friends, more friends than any one man should be allowed to have but that was Mr. Hampton, he never met a stranger and if they were, it wouldn't be long before they would become friends.

His laughter filled a room, he was infamous for all his crazy jokes And he could sing with the best of them in his church choir.

His favorite song was Amazing Grace and when they started playing it at the funeral, tears roll down the eyes of many of his friends and family that knew this was his favorite song.

Mr. Hampton's funeral was not a sad one because he made sure that there was laughter in his own written words that he left for everyone should he go home to be with his Saviour.

Still, even with all of the laughter, once it had died, sadness took its place.

After the funeral there was a reception at Mr. Hampton home. It was such a beautiful home and had been filled with so much happiness. Gwen herself had visited many times and considered herself a close friend of Mr. Hampton's family also. His wife had died some years before so it was just Mr. Hampton until now.

Rumor was that his son, Brad would live in the home until he found his own place then the family estate would be sold and the monies split per Mr. Hampton's Will with a large percentage going to a pre-designated charity.

After saying her goodbyes and giving out hugs to his family and friends that she knew, she drove home feeling very sad, tired and wondering what the company would be like now under new family management.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The next morning, at 9 AM promptly, Gwen entered Brad Hampton's office (Mr. Hampton's old office) and genuine tears began to run down her cheeks as she told him how much she loved his father and would miss him.

Drying up her tears with the tissues that Brad handed her, and a gentle hug from Brad, Gwen tried to smile as she said, "Now let's get you acquainted.