Conquer

Chapter 7

A heated argument assaulted Lilian’s ears as she entered the Town Hall. She looked and Dawn Flemming stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Sam Brown sat behind the front desk looking up at her with confusion in his eyes.

“How could you?” Dawn practically screamed at the top of her lungs, “You undermined me, this Council and everyone who is deeply committed to this project!”

“Dawn,” Sam said quietly, “I went to that Church. Besides, attending one fundraiser is hardly undermining you. Everyone knows that the Council will be able to get the funds way before Father can raise them. What he raises can still be useful somewhere else.”

“That’s not the point,” Dawn lowered her voice, but still stared at Sam with venom in her eyes, “It’s about loyalty. You work here.”

“Twice a week,” Sam put in, “ and you know I don’t think you should be going after the Eustace place anyway. Father Green’s idea is a good one.”

“Making money for the Town is a good idea as well, “ Dawn leaned down so her face was inches away from Sam’s, “Remember that and how much you like serving the Council.”

Dawn turned and stalked into her office, slamming the door so hard the pictures on the wall shook.

Slowly Lillian walked over to the desk.

“Hi. I’am here for my appointment with Ms. Slany,” she said quietly, “Is everything alright?”

Sam looked up and smiled. “It’s fine. Lillian right?” Lillian nodded, “Rachel will be with you right away. Her office is the first one on the left,” Sam pointed.

Lillian went into a small hallway and knocked on a door with a plaque reading “Rachel Slaney Treasurer”.

“Come in,” a lilting voice called out.

Lillian entered.

The office was small and surprisingly homey looking. The red carpet was soft under Lillian’s feet. The white side walls were lined with shelves filled with various books. A slight woman with mink colored hair pulled into a pony tail sat at a desk in the middle of the room. A large picture window filled the wall behind the desk and was flanked by two large planters containing small green trees.

Rachel Slaney smiled and indicated one of the orange chairs in front of the desk. Rachel smiled back and sat.

“You must be Lillian,” Rachel said cheerfully, “Sam already told me that you wanted to register a business.”
“Yes,” Lillian answered, “What’s the procedure?”

Rachel lifted her shoulders and looked delighted. “Right to business. Love it. I just need some information and for you to fill out some forma.”

“Great,” Lillian answered.

Rachel took out a few forms and smiled into Lilian’s smile. “Actually I ask you questions, and fill out the forms with your answers. After that you sign the forms.”

“Sounds easy,” Lillian said.

Rachel picked up a pen, “Name of business?”

“Party Time Even Planning,” Lillian answered.

“Is the business already up and running?”

“No. I just moved here. The business was running in St. John’s.”

Rachel’s smile widened. “You’ll be reestablishing it here then. Great. Will you be having clients from St. John’s as well as here.”

“That’s what I am hoping for. I will be contacting my older clients from Town and seeing if they want to access the business here,” Lillian said.

“How long has the business been in Town?”

“About four years.”

“How many clients do you currently serve?’

“It fluctuates but I have about ten repeat customers, families that have celebrations for mostly everything.”

“What will the business address be,” Rachel asked.

Lillian gave Rachel the address and phone number at Linda’s house.

“That’s a residence, correct?” Rachel answered and asked.

“Yes,’ Lillian said, “ I want it to be a home based business, at least for now, until I can find out about office space available in Grand Rock.”

“There are many tax benefits to owning a home based business,” Rachel said.

“I know. I am keeping that open as a possibility, but I have to find out what size of home I will be able to buy in Grand Rock. Right now I am staying with my friend and setting up in her house.” Lillian explained.

Rachel asked Lillian a few more questions and got Lillian to sign the forms she had just filled out.

“I will put these through and you can come by later and pay for the business licence. It will be $150 per year,” Rachel said.

With that completed, the women shook hands and Lillian left.

Outside of Rachel’s office Lillian saw Dawn Flemming standing in the hallway. She looked pensive. Lillian walked over.

“Ms. Fleming?” she quietly said.

“Yes,” Dawn turned with a bright smile.

“Lillian Dwyer,” Lillian put out her hand, “I’m about to start a new business here. I suppose that means we will be seeing more of each other.”

Dawn shook her hand and smiled wider. “That’s great. The town could use more revenue.” Dawn looked at her watch, “ it was great to meet you. I have a meeting to get to,’ she said and walked away.

Let’s see exactly what this town needs. Lillian thought. I’m going to the next General Meeting.

At Linda’s place Lillian was feeling optimistic. It seemed like there wouldn’t be much trouble with setting up Party Time Event Planning. It would be so nice to have a chance to run her business in peace. Andrew had interfered so much with her business.

Linda’s living room was small but tidy. The desktop computer sat in a corner desk on the far corner of the room. There was plenty of room to hold her lap top which held her business files. She retrieved it from her back pack and plugged it in.

That reminded her, she had promised Linda she would get the mail if she was alone at the house. She took a small walk to the mailbox. There were just bills and a large magazine from the Town Council. She walked back and decided to look at it.

The Town Council newsletter showed all the events that Council was planning for this month. There were pumpkin carvings, a breakfast for the seniors of Grand Rock and a few garage sales listed. It looked like the Town Council tried to keep the citizens informed about special events. She hadn’t had any like this in St. John’s. Lillian found it very refreshing.

Lillian spent the rest of the afternoon calling her clients from St. John’s. She was delighted to find out that her repeat clients were willing to drive to Grand Rock to do business with her. She was relieved that her move hadn’t impacted her business.

Lillian’s eyes wandered to the living room window. She began thinking about the Eustace estate. She had to find out more details about that. Something kept going through her mind, and it had gotten more bothersome since she spoke to Dawn Flemming. Lilian looked at the Council newsletter again. There was a General Meeting that night at 8:00PM. Lillian sat back.

That would be the best place to get more details, she thought.

She would ask Linda if she wanted to come as well. No matter what happened with the meeting, it looked like Grand Rock would be a fine place to conduct business. If the Council put off events, she might see if she could get hired to plan some of them.