Free Where the Sun Sets by Ann Marie Page A

the article in
hand. Finding her friend, she stood stunned in the doorway. Sister
Ursula appeared and told Josephine to run and get Sister Margaret,
quickly. Josephine dropped the article and letter as she turned to
leave. Sister Ursula bent and retrieved them both. Placing them in
her pocket, she went to Antonia.
     

Chapter 7
     
    The alarm clock sounded. The television went
on automatically, preprogrammed to the news channel. In the
bathroom another alarm sounded. Josephine cursed the sun as she
forced herself from her bed. She must have sat up too fast because
her head hurt. She put her hand to her head in an attempt to hold
back the pain and was quickly reminded of the previous night’s
events when her hand came into contact with a tender area.
Josephine got herself up and grabbed the bottle of pain pills the
nurse had given her the night before. Shutting off the alarm clock,
she walked to the bathroom, where she shut off the second alarm and
grabbed a glass of water. Tossing a pill into her mouth, she
chugged the glass of water. She looked at her reflection in the
mirror and noting the lump on her forehead, she told the
reflection, “She should have lumped you up years ago.”
    After a quick shower she returned to her room
to hear all about the previous night’s events. The news station had
her house live, as a reporter gave the story from her front lawn.
“Jesus.” She muttered to herself. Josephine went in search of
Billy, only to find him dozing in a chair outside her bedroom
door.
    “Hey, wake up dammit.” She batted him on the
shoulder. “Got reporters all over the grounds, hell they probably
showed me in the shower. What’s with you?” Billy jumped up and
wiped his face with his hands. He ran down the stairs to the foyer
where he picked up his phone and started barking out orders.
    Josephine made her way to the kitchen where
her preprogrammed coffee maker had obediently done its job. She
poured herself a cup and proceeded to the back hall to retrieve her
morning paper. Chloe always placed it neatly on the back table for
her, so she didn’t have to venture outside to get it. She peeked
out the window and didn’t see anyone with a camera. She smiled to
herself, Billy must’ve been working extra hard at the moment. She
made her way back to the table and read the paper while having her
coffee.
    Josephine picked up one of the many cordless
phones she had lying around her estate. One of Chloe’s many jobs
was to keep the phones fully charged. She dialed up her secretary.
The phone rang four times before he picked up.
    “Jim Deloryan, how may I help you?”
    “Morning Jim, what’s on the agenda for
today?”
    “Josephine, how are you feeling this morning?
You sound well.”
    “Perhaps you did not hear me, I believe I
said, Morning Jim, what’s on the agenda for today?”
    “Meeting in Ohio at two this afternoon,
followed by dinner with Leon Tune’s leading lady.”
    “Reschedule both for next week at the
earliest. Cancel all appointments for the next two days and get
your ass out to the Paper Mill and grab a copy of everything
printed in the last twenty-four. Take them and your little self
over to my attorney’s office and read everything.”
    “Joseph...” She clicked the phone off before
waiting for his response.
    Jim got under her skin. He felt powerful in
his position. He felt some sort of invisible bond with Josephine
and she wanted him replaced badly. Anthony was supposed to take
care of it for her.
    She sat thoughtfully at the table with her
coffee in both hands. Anthony took care of a lot of things for her.
When had it become Anthony’s job to do anything for Josephine. It
was just easier for her to ask Anthony. That way it was sure to get
done. Anthony never questioned, or rolled her eyes the way some of
Josephine’s paid employees did. Employee. Josephine wondered if
Anthony felt she was an employee.
    Anthony did live free of charge in the
estate. She never wanted for anything. Chloe