Johanna 2

Having made up her mind, Johanna reached for her computer and turned it on. She spun her chair around a few times while it booted up, and took a moment to dry her eyes. When it was ready, she reached for the mouse and clicked a few times, opening a new email. As she typed in her boss's address, she realized she had been holding her breath, and slowly let it out between her teeth.

She started and erased an email several times, renaming the subject line four or five times as well. Finally she settled on a simple approach.

Harry, I have something you may be interested to hear. When is a good time for a private meeting? 

Vague, unassuming, and most importantly, wouldn't tip him off to her intentions. Once she had her email open, she tried to push everything out of her mind and actually get some work done. There were a dozen unread emails waiting for her, each and every one of them adding something to her to-do list.

In less time than she expected, an email from Harry popped up, saying that he would be free for a little while around one. She could come by his office then. Johanna checked the clock. 9:36. That left just under three and a half hours for her to finish up what she could.

Just before one, Johanna found herself standing in front of Harry's secretary, telling her that she had a meeting scheduled with him. Before the little blonde could pick up the phone to tell Harry, the older man came out of his office.

"Johanna! There you are. Come, come. I have to get somewhere, but we can talk on the way." Harry didn't give Johanna any time to protest, taking her by the elbow and directing her towards the elevator.

She was dumbstruck until they were in the elevator going down. She really would have liked to sit down and tell him one on one, not in a car, or in an elevator, or wherever he was going. She had to get her bearings, figure out where he was going, and plan how to approach this again. She needed to do this today, no putting it off.

The elevator dinged at the main floor, and Harry led Johanna out of the building and into a waiting town car. The chauffeur must have been expecting him, because Harry didn't have to tell him where to go. This only increased Johanna's confusion. She needed to know where they were headed. Should she tell him on the way, or there? Maybe on the way back? Without knowing what to expect, she had no idea how to do this.

It didn't really matter though, because Harry didn't let her get a word in edgewise. "You know, Johanna, I inherited almost everything I have. My grandfather worked very hard to build a company from the ground up, and my father worked very hard to turn it into an empire. The hardest decision I ever had to make was what I wanted to major in at college. That was my father's rule, you know. He had four sons, so he required that each of us go to college and get a degree and then decide what we wanted to do. I don't know if you know this, but only two of my brothers are part of the group. David is a doctor, you know. He wanted nothing to do something else altogether. Anyways, I was the youngest, so by the time I graduated, my other brothers had already taken over some part of the company. I didn't have to do anything to get to where I am now." He paused and looked at Johanna, as if expecting some sort of response. Johanna smiled as if to say Go on, still desperately trying to figure out what was going on.