40. Chapter 40 (2/2)

"padma is at rest. who will be hurt? besides, it's already done. we have a few loose ends to tie up on saturday, but, after that, declan will be down as my son and you as his great aunt. i will reveal my intentions to those who matter. everyone else can spend their time wondering if i cheated on padma. you may now look at your son through the eyes of a disinterested aunt who will have to do nothing more than assist cely and myself as we try to raise an upstanding nott."

"thank you theo," esther whispered softly. "i'll do my best to help raise an upstanding nott."

theo had one last piece of information for esther. "declan and conor will arrive early saturday morning. i've invited conor to stay the weekend to help declan settle in. at the same time, i made it clear that declan and i will have to step out to the ministry saturday afternoon to get declan properly registered as my son. if conor decides to take me up on my invitation, i expect you and cely to see to him until declan and i return. please be up and properly dressed early. work with cely to put together menus for saturday and sunday. with regard to future menus, remind her declan will require proper meals that meet the needs of a growing lad."

esther who was glad to be of service in some way quickly agreed to theo's request.

as soon as the door closed behind theo, esther's tears returned. however, the tears being shed at that moment were a different sort. they weren't tears of sadness, grief or regret. now that a permanent solution had been reached, esther was shedding tears of relief.

/*/

draco, donald and

ian had worked furiously throughout the day with the intention of getting the last two wales cases ready to present to blaise. however, it turned out they hadn't worked fast enough because blaise stopped in around lunch time to advise them he was leaving shortly for an extended weekend and would see them on monday.

blaise's early departure didn't deter team3. they wanted to have everything up to snuff by the end of the day so friday would be a guaranteed day in the field. before leaving, blaise had left three new cases on the desk which the team planned to review a little later.

the wales cases were finished by 2:30. in lieu of blaise, draco went over the cases with donald and

ian to insure they hadn't missed anything. they hadn't.

at 2:45, donald volunteered to go down to food services to pick up lunch for the three of them. the men spent a leisurely thirty minutes over lunch discussing their work week inside, vowing not to spend an entire week inside anytime in the near future.

after lunch, they reviewed the three new cases mostly for destination, and were chuffed to find out none of the crimes had taken place in wales.

"things are looking up," joked donald. "crime must be on the decline in lovely wales."

"thank merlin," muttered

ian. "i've had enough bara

ith to last me a lifetime."

"as delicious as bara

ith is, i'll have to second that," draco replied with a smug grin. "this time next week we'll probably be complaining about bangers and mash and our substantial weight gain."

ian and donald laughed out loud knowing full well they'd always have something to complain about when it came to food.

as the workday came to a close, draco, donald and

ian spent their time replenishing their ots kits. they didn't want to spend any more time than necessary in the office friday morning.

they all rode down the lift together separating at the floo in the atrium where draco would floo to malfoy manor.

/*/

as soon as draco stepped out of the floo, missy and elder appeared in front of him.

"mr. draco sir. will you be needin' something?" asked elder as missy stood by beaming. she didn't get to see the young master all that much anymore.

"i don't need anything at the moment. i'll be in father's study tending to his mail. is severus available?"

it was missy's turn to answer. "no mr. draco sir. mr. severus not in. he be out with mr. theo. they has business."

"right. theo has properties to show severus. well then, i'll be on my way to the study. mother and father will be home on sunday. please air out their wings and change all linens before then."

"yes mr. draco sir," replied both elves. "everything be clean and sparkling'

ight for miss cissy and mr. lucius."

/*/

lucius' desk was covered in mailers,

ochures and catalogs while there was only three pieces of business mail that called for either a signature or a response. since the business mail had taken less than an hour to clear away, draco decided to

owse through the mailers and

ochures laying his mother's glitzy catalogues off to the side.

having been told by severus of his father's interest in his project, draco was specifically looking for information regarding telecommunications. however, he found nothing and was ready to make a neat pile of it all when he remembered severus mentioning electricians, wiring specialists and contractors.

going back through the pile, draco found several

ochures offering the specialty services. draco studied each

ochure in turn before realizing they were addressed to

endan eilson instead of his father. bundling all severus' mail together, draco called elder to take the bundle up to severus' wing and place it on his table.

/*/

draco made a quick stop in his bathroom to pick up a few of his personal care products. it would have been just as easy to stop by diagon alley, but since he was at the manor, draco decided to make use of what was readily available.

while going through the top drawer of his dresser, draco found several of the cheeky cards he had received from wil, clarke and desmond on his last night in switzerland. as he sorted through them, draco laughed out loud as he wondered what his irreverent friends were getting up to. on the spot, he made a mental note to send them cards. the cheekier the better. returning the cards to the drawer, draco shrunk what he was taking with him then apparated to the house.

there was a tentative lads night out scheduled for that evening. however, draco wanted to check with hermione to make sure she hadn't made plans for something else.

draco was surprised to find the house empty. he'd beaten hermione home. heading directly to the master bathroom to put away his personal care products, draco chanced to glance in the mirror. as self important as it might seem, to him, his hair appeared unruly and dry. grabbing the hair care products he'd only just put away, draco stripped down and stepped into the shower intending to lavish a bit of self love on himself.

grinning to himself, draco quickly slathered his hair with a conditioning treatment content in the knowledge that hermione would never have to know.

/*/

hermione stopped in the ladies before heading to the conference room. still a bit embarrassed over the novice mistake she'd made with her staff, she'd spent a good bit of time thinking about the most efficient way to

ing harmony back to the group without alienating anyone.

her last thought before stepping into the conference room was to chide herself about how she'd let personal issues cause her to take her eyes off what was once the most important thing in her life, granger and associates. perhaps, she thought as she plunked her butt down in a chair, it was time for a change.

/*/

with all eyes on her, hermione began to address their issues. even though it should have been clear, she explained what was expected of her two team leaders and her newest prosecutor. hermione was clear and concise and had boiled it all down to one thing, respect in the workplace.

hermione glanced around before continuing. now that it had been

ought to her attention, she realized that gloria did have somewhat of a smug attitude. how had she missed that little air of superiority? to add insult to injury, a small smile had appeared on gloria's face as she listened to her boss reinforce the idea of respect for each other. the smile irritated hermione. it seemed as though gloria thought the meeting was meant to chastise terry.

it was time to set her straight.

"i'd like to hear what you think about what i've just shared. you seem amused gloria. how do you feel about what i've just said?"

a very surprised justin pulled himself up straight when hermione asked gloria for her opinion. he wasn't one to upset the applecart, so he'd kept his opinions about gloria's attitude to himself. he found it quite interesting that hermione had called on gloria instead of terry. perhaps hermione had cottoned on after all.

gloria was caught off guard as well. she hadn't expected hermione to address her when the meeting was supposed to be about terry's behavior. at least, that's what she thought.

"i apologize if it seems like i'm amused. i'm not. i think respect in the workplace is an extremely important topic. what you've just shared is very informative. granger and associates is a well oiled machine that can only function with precision if we work together. no one person is more important than the whole."

"i think you've hit the nail on the head gloria," hermione replied. "no one person is more important than the whole. however, attitude plays a great part as well. do you have anything to add terry, justin?"

terry had a ready answer. "i've been here from the start of this firm and we've always functioned as, what was it, a well oiled machine. however, there's been a bit of dissension lately due to a presumption of superiority. i don't mean to be an arse about it, but you asked. i believe we should all take a step back to consider our attitudes towards others. i would like to extend an apology to gloria for the way i've addressed some of my concerns."

gloria smiled at terry like she'd won a prize, but terry wasn't finished, and he was far from amused.

speaking directly to gloria, terry continued. "this meeting was called to clear the air, so i will. with that apology comes an addendum. i believe you should drop the false airs of superiority. you carry yourself in the manner of someone who has already proven herself, but you haven't. reaching the position of prosecutor is only the beginning. the air of having accomplished something should be saved until you've proven your skills in court. i've mentioned this very thing to you on several occasions, but you chose to take it as a rebuke rather than constructive criticism. so here we are."

terry hadn't held back, but to gloria's credit, after the blush of embarrassment left her cheeks, she replied in a professional manner.

"have i been that obnoxious? i suppose i have," she replied, answering her own question. "you are quite correct in assuming i took your attempts at constructive criticism as rebukes. it seemed as though you meant to undermine me. i stand corrected. i've let my confidence get ahead of my proven skills. thank you for your frank assessment terry. as i want to be a productive, integral part of this firm, i will work on myself. however, i believe in myself, and intend to revisit this conversation after i've kicked some criminal arses in court."

the tension disappeared from the air as everyone smiled at gloria's somewhat cheeky remarks.

hermione was pleased. each aggrieved person had used the time to speak frankly which she appreciated. after this come to merlin meeting, all parties should feel comfortable enough to address problems among themselves without involving her.

justin who hadn't offered any opinion congratulated gloria and terry for putting their issues out on the table adding how he thought the meeting had definitely been necessary.

hermione nodded in agreement. "i absolutely concur justin. the remark of the evening goes to gloria. no one person is bigger than the whole. i suggest we all remember those words when we find ourselves going off center. is there anything else?"

gloria spoke up. "i'd like to request assistance with the cases i'll be taking to court next week."

"i thought you'd never ask," joked terry. "justin and i will be glad to sit down with you tomorrow afternoon."

for hermione, it had been a win-win situation, especially since the meeting had ended on a very pleasant note.

/*/

it was late, but hermione took a few more minutes to place an order for three, dinner plus one certificates she would present to gloria, terry and justin. she felt they deserved a bit of a pat on the back.

although productive, the meeting had taken a lot out of hermione. she was exhausted. it was after 7:00 pm when she gathered her belongings and made her way to the lifts. since draco planned to attend a boy's night with his mates, hermione looked forward to a quiet night that centered around just herself, a hot tub soak and her wine.