Harry's Protégé Ch. 12

The next morning when Rhys came to work, looking quite ill, and his father berated his son for behaving like a kid who had lost his tricycle. He told his son that Rhys' 'bit of fluff" knows that only Rhys can steer the redesigned business paper into profitability. Then as soon as it was in the black, Rhys should marry the woman as good women were like good help - very hard to find these days.

Jenni is little changed, though now married and loving having a tender, considerate man at her side. Her goddaughter Hattie comes to stay with her at least twice a month and they occasionally have Rhys children to stay; they really like Jenni. She is now majority shareholder of Zephyr Media and executive chairman, with Ron as managing director and relishing the role of expanding the company into product over-printing - one of the fastest growth areas in business.

Jenni serves on three boards and is chairman of the trust set up by Lady Barcote and her friends. Lady Barcote and friends have discretely nominated Jenni for a New Year's honour for service to journalism.

Jenni and Rhys are soon to go to Bognis Regis on the south coast of England for a meeting with a solo mother and the woman's relatives and her solicitor. The woman, who is dying of cancer, was a beneficiary of the trust and as a result of counselling, had broken through the so-called glass ceiling in local body administration before being stricken.

As a dying wish she's asked Jenni to consider adopting her fourteen-year-old daughter who is being to lose her grip on life. Jenni took one look at the photograph and decided she would love to mother that child. Rhys wasn't surprised that Jenni only took half a second to make her decision upon seeing the photograph: the only time Jenni couldn't decide what she wanted was when she went shopping.

THE END