Lost and Found Family - Jennifer Ryan Page 0,1

rolling.

“And so it begins.” Sarah waited for the tide of resentment to pass.

Abby made a disgusted face to let Sarah know what she thought about Margaret’s attitude.

Abby leaned over the desk and put her hand over Sarah’s. “I just wish, for once, someone gave you as much as you give to others. Only the good things you do in the name of the company are public knowledge. But that all changes at the benefit next month.” Abby gave her a mischievous smile, excited Sarah would be publicly celebrated—mostly against her will.

“I just want to focus on the job I love. I get people want to celebrate a woman in my position and that I’m a role model for young girls who want to be in the tech industry. But I hate doing press.”

“As co-CEO you should take credit for all you do and not let Evan hog the spotlight.”

“He can have it.” Sarah held the position so she had a say in how the company was run, but she left the majority of the public aspect of the CEO job to Evan, who knew how to run the company and loved being the face of Spencer Software.

She and Evan ran the company the way she’d hoped she and Sean would have done if Sean had been a different kind of man.

“Your new security program will innovate the market. And though everyone knows a woman is behind the bestselling Andy’s Antics games, the press and consumers can’t wait to find out that it’s really you behind the obscure photo and bio on the website.”

Because Andy’s Antics wasn’t a public company, Sarah had been able to keep her identity somewhat secret. Insiders knew, but she’d kept the narrative on the games, not who made them.

“It’s about time you had your coming-out party.” Abby held up her hands. “That’s all I have to say. You should get credit for all you’ve accomplished.”

“Margaret won’t like it when I do. I don’t even know how much Margaret knows about what I’ve done with Spencer Software, let alone if she even knows about Andy’s Antics.”

“She’ll know soon enough. If you come clean to Margaret about Sean, you could get all the secrets out of the way in a matter of weeks.”

“Some skeletons are better left buried. You should go home. It’s late.”

“How much longer will you work tonight?”

“Not long. I’ve got a call for the Knox Project, and then I have to pack up the laptops for the trip.”

“How many are you taking?”

“Only three. I have the Knox Project to finish, the Knight’s Revenge game for Tyler to test, and another data storage project for Cadence Medical.” She liked to use a different computer for each project to keep everything straight and because it was easier to hand off to her team when she had the programming done and they could test it, work out the bugs, and implement it for the client.

“Assign some of the work to the programmers downstairs and take some time to yourself during this trip.”

“They’re as overworked as I am. Besides, look around. There are twelve laptops representing my various projects.” She took on the big, complex projects that had catapulted the company’s name and profits. “Be thankful I’m not taking more than the three.”

“Only twelve right now.” Abby opened her mouth in mock surprise.

At any given time there could be more than twenty laptops in Sarah’s office. Twelve wasn’t so bad. The fact that she’d only work on three projects while away meant she might get more than four hours of sleep at night. Maybe. Probably not.

Abby headed for the door. “I’m out of here. Make your call, then go home, see your kids, and get some sleep tonight because tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day.”

“Thanks, Abby. Go have some fun for both of us.”

She wished she could ditch work, cancel the trip, and go to Hawaii with the boys instead of Carmel.

She picked up the letter from Luke again and cursed Margaret for going to an attorney when a simple phone call would have sufficed. She did not look forward to the long car ride tomorrow, facing Sean’s mom, and dredging up all those memories of him, what had happened, and a past she tried to bury but always seemed to find a way to rise to the surface.

Chapter Two

Excitement warred with anxiety in Margaret’s stomach. “They’ll be here tomorrow. I can’t wait to see my grandsons. It’s been too long.” She regretted that in