Strung Read Online Free

facilities.  Well, the only availability I have is tomorrow evening, five o'clock."
    "I have an important event tomorrow and..."
    She cuts me off.  "We're off season.  Take it or leave it!"
    "I'll take it.”  I reply quickly.  I will come up with something.
    "Between five and six pm, don't be late!"  The line goes dead.
    I put the Blackberry down on its cradle, wondering if Savannah is always so abrupt. 
    "I guess we all have our problems. ”  I mutter to myself, remembering Victoria and her 'nasty dog' analogy as I start backing out the drive.  I need to get some food in me before I muddle through my commitments for tomorrow.  My head is positively pounding now and I am feeling light headed. 
    First stop – SUBWAY for a sandwich , second stop – Grants office, then pick up a weekend bag and head for Seattle.  Oh, joy!
     
    ~.~
     
    I head up the dank stairs to the second floor where Page and Associates General Legal Practitioners have their modest offices and go in search of Grant.
    "Hey Grant."  I find his lean, tall body bent over double, trying to pry a paper jam from the photocopier.
    "Hi Acacia, I'll be with you in a minute."  He is deep in concentration, his lips pursed and deep furrows mar his expansive brow.  I lean against the door jam and watch in amusement.  Twice he runs his fingers through his receding, neatly trimmed sandy hair, his green eyes squinting at the problem at hand.
    "Grant, when are you going to get a secretary to do all this for you?"
    "When I actually get paid for the work I do, so I have money to pay the secretary.  There!"  He straightens and smiles victoriously, at the offending photocopier.
    "Good point!"  I murmur.  More than half the work he takes on is pro-bono, the shelter's tenants and I included.
    "You wanted to see me? ”  I ask, as the copier starts smoothly spitting sheet after sheet of paper, into a collection tray.
    "Yes, and I'm glad you're a little early."  He gestures to the hallway and we both leave the copier to continue its work unsupervised.  I note that the name plaque on Grant's door has finally fallen off.  It's been hanging precariously, for several months.
    "Coffee?" he asks as I take a seat in one of the two mismatched chairs in front of a cluttered desk.
    "I'm good.  Thank you. ”  Grant's coffee should come with a health warning.
    "Okay.  I have a Mr. Willow coming to see us in a bit.  He represents an organisation which wants to propose becoming a Fiscal Sponsor."  He tells me, as he pours himself a cup of sludge from a dumbwaiter in the corner of the room.
    "A Fiscal Sponsor?  What does that mean exactly?"
    "I only received a copy of the proposal this morning and have only had a brief look at it.  In this particular case, it means that Broken Haven will officially become a project, so to speak, of their organisation.  Although as far as I can tell, it will remain Broken Haven and operate independently as such, at least in the public eye."
    "What's the point?  Broken Haven becomes their project but doesn't change - why bother?"  Grant looks a little uncomfortable.  I suspect there is a lot more to this and he is not sure how to tell me.
    "You could lose ultimate control of Broken Haven.”  Grant looks down at his coffee and concentrates on stirring it thoroughly.
    "What?  Why would I even consider it?"  I am astounded that Grant even thinks I might be prepared to entertain the idea.  "You should have run this by me before arranging this meeting with Mr. What's-his-face."  Grant assesses the horrified expression on my face and shifts uncomfortably.
    "Willow.  Mr. Willow.  Acacia, losing ultimate control of the charity is not necessarily a given.  It's a legal requirement but doesn't necessarily have to be enforced by their board, unless there were serious legal problems."
    "Serious legal problems like what exactly?"  I am struggling to get my head around what this all means.
    "Like fraud, law suits, insurance