«Bridget, I’m serious. Salazar seems to have a legitimate claim on the business. He’ll give us trouble,» Isaac warned Bridget, but she was skeptical.
«Please, Isaac.A picture of an old birthday postcard? That could take away the company my grandfather left me?» she scoffed, shaking her head and leaning back in her office chair.
«At the very least it will cause a scandal and the stock will fall. That’s not how you want to start your time as leader of this company,» the man continued earnestly.
«This individual wants to sue on behalf of the business and, of course, he also wants compensation,» he added.
«But there’s something strange about this picture. I mean… I vaguely remember something about my grandfather writing the idea on a birthday postcard, but I wouldn’t even know where to start looking,» Bridget said.
«Grandpa had a lot of houses, and who knows if he actually kept that postcard in one of his homes,» the woman added. «Also, the photo that man sent you looks out of place, like it was photoshopped or something.»
«Bridget, the solution is to try to find this birthday postcard, no matter how hard you have to look for it. It’s solid proof of everything. I’ll do what I can, I don’t want anything to tarnish your leadership,» Isaac added.
«That’s why he’s doing this. He’s probably a jealous old coworker who hated that your grandfather was successful. But maybe he was afraid to try this antics when he was alive. That’s why he waited for Mr. Lara to die. Please find that birthday postcard.»
Bridget still thought the idea was absolutely crazy. Her grandfather passed away and she immediately inherited his shares, becoming CEO of his company.
But when her appointment was announced a man appeared out of nowhere with this «proof» that he was the one who had come up with the business.
However, that proof was just a photograph of an old birthday postcard. He said he had the original postcard hidden, but something inside Bridget told her the man was lying.
Otherwise, she would have sued years ago. The business had been making millions for a long time.
Bridget knew that her lawyers would try to dismantle the individual’s entire scheme, but this man could ruin her public image and it was something that, whether they liked it or not, would affect her stock prices.
She needed to get to the bottom of the matter, so she called her mother and grandmother, who gathered all the staff they could to start searching for the postcard immediately.
They had maids, butlers and even staff in the office going through boxes of old documents and letters. Bridget also joined the search because they had to go through years of memorabilia in all three of her late grandfather’s homes.
«Mrs. Lara, will this be of any use?» a maid asked Bridget, who frowned at an old letter.
«What is this?» she asked.
«It appears to be a love letter. Well, more like a goodbye, but look at what it says: ‘I wish I had never given you that postcard,'» the maid pointed out.
Bridget looked at the details. The letter appeared to be a farewell note, and whoever had written it wasn’t happy with her grandfather’s business.
Apparently, he was dating a woman and was so busy with work that they broke up. «I need to find her,» Bridget said as she folded the letter in her hands. Luckily, there was a return address and the full name of the woman who wrote it — Angelica.
Bridget asked her assistant to confirm that the woman still lived at that address and, once they did, she drove nonstop there.
«Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe he kept this letter,» the old woman said staring at the paper Bridget was holding out to her as she explained her dire situation.
«Please, Mrs. White. I need to know all about that postcard,» Bridget pleaded, using her hands to increase her desperation.
«Don’t be distressed, dear. Your grandfather came up with that idea on his own. He wrote it down on a birthday postcard I gave him. We were in a restaurant and the idea suddenly came to his mind. He couldn’t stop scribbling on the postcard,» Angelica explained, but her eyes became nostalgic.
«Unfortunately, I lost your grandfather that day, all because of that business idea.»
«Do you know where my grandfather might have kept that postcard? I mean, like he kept his letter, he could have kept the postcard too, right?» the young CEO asked, biting her lower lip.
«Did you look at the house in Palo Verde?» the older woman asked.
«The house in Palo Verde? I didn’t know he had one there. Grandpa’s house in California is a long way from there, and we already checked the one in Las Vegas and the one in Aspen,» Bridget said, shaking her head.
«Look, I don’t know if he sold it, but a few years back I drove by there once and it was completely empty,» Angelica said.
«We used to live there. We were going to build a life together before he had that idea. I decided not to be with someone who prioritized work. If he didn’t sell it, that house is your best chance.»
«Could you give me the exact address?» the young woman asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.
Angelica gave her the address and Bridget called her staff. Her assistant confirmed that it was owned by her late grandfather and managed to get the keys from her grandmother’s house.
She hurried to the home with some of her staff and when they arrived, they started going through everything, every box, set of papers, counters, corners and…. nothing. The postcard was not there.
«It has to be here,» Bridget said, rubbing her forehead in frustration.
«Ms. Lara, sit down,» her assistant suggested, pulling up a chair. «Try to rest for a while while we continue the search.»
«Thank you, Alex,» she said and sat down.
He was right, of course. She was too stressed and her heart was beating too fast to be productive in this search.
After a few minutes, she got up and walked around the house, looking at everything and taking it all in. This was her grandfather’s other possible life. He had been about to marry someone else and live a simple, suburban life.
«Maybe I wouldn’t even be here if he hadn’t had that idea,» Bridget muttered, looking at the painting in her late grandfather’s office. It was crooked for some reason and she went to fix it.
She picked it up and flipped it over, not knowing why, but her instinct told her to do so, and right there, taped to the back of the picture, was a birthday postcard.
«Oh my God,» she said and quickly grabbed it. «Alex! Alex! I found it!».
Her assistant and the other employees rushed in and she jumped up, holding out the birthday postcard. Right on the back was her grandfather’s complete business plan.
«Did we do it? Did we find it?» asked Alex in wonder and Bridget nodded excitedly. But then she got right to the point.
«Call Isaac. We’re going to fight that stupid lawsuit and win,» she said, fixing her jacket and hair.
Her confidence was back. She had the proof of her company in her hands and nothing was going to take away her legacy.
Despite showing Mr. Salazar his proof, he continued with the lawsuit. However, the best lawyers in the country, who were the legal representatives of Bridget’s company, proved that he had manipulated the photograph.
The case was dismissed and the public barely heard about it. Bridget started her leadership strongly and made sure the birthday postcard was safely tucked away.
