“You know, Holly, you should come along,” Eddie suggested.
“Why is that, Sherlock?”
“Well, you don’t have to be a world-class detective to know that super-wealthy people often have super-wealthy friends."
"You think I should use a reception following a funeral as an opportunity to meet Mr. Right? I don't know, that seems a little creepy to me," Holly said as she began to consider the possibilities.
"Come on, maybe you’ll meet Richie Rich, I mean Mr. Right, and you can leave my best friend Rob high and dry when you move into that deluxe apartment in the sky.”
“I wouldn’t mind meeting a millionaire,” Holly said, beginning to wonder if she might indeed strike it rich.
“Millionaire?” Rob asked in a raised voice. “Billionaire! If you’re going to leave me for a life of luxury, I want to see you sail out of Sausalito on one of those superyachts. You know, the kind that has their own helicopter pad.”
“Of course, you’ll miss the weekly grind at The Standard,” Eddie cautioned, and Rob nodded in agreement.
“Trust me boys; with that kind of money, I’ll learn to adjust.”
CHAPTER TWO
The front half of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church had already filled, and the back half was filling quickly when Holly, Rob, and Eddie entered and found Sylvia and Jack, who had saved them enough space to squeeze into their pew.
Both Rob and Eddie thought Holly looked terrific in a simple black dress she had purchased for the occasion.
“You came dressed to impress,” Eddie whispered into Holly’s ear just after they took their seats.
“I bought it last night, and I’m returning it to Nordstrom’s tomorrow, so don’t you and Rob get into a food fight at the reception and ruin my chances of getting a full refund.”
“We’ll be on our best behavior,” Rob whispered into her other ear.
Reaching around Rob, Holly tapped Sylvia on the shoulder and asked, “Who are the people sitting alongside William Adams?”
"Those are William's parents, Fran’s parents, and his longtime law partner, James Finch, and his wife, Jade. Behind them in the next pew are Fran’s sister and brother, and William’s two brothers. We met all of them at that big anniversary party."
The service was somber and relatively brief. James Finch spoke about William and Fran's meeting at Berkeley Law, where he too had been a student. How they regularly put in sixty-hour-plus workweeks to establish successful practices and how they developed a passion for guiding new and promising talent in the growing field of high-tech.
"They gave far more to their community than they gave to themselves," Father Winslow Michaels intoned in a deep and somber voice. "Fran was someone who wanted to leave this world a better place. And those who know of her work in support of Bay Area schools, the homeless, senior outreach, and several of our programs here at St. Stephen’s, know that she exceeded all her goals."
Forty-five minutes after it began, the mourners rose and mostly in silence followed one another into the church’s spacious reception hall.
As they had anticipated, Eddie and Rob found an impressive buffet waiting for them.
“Now these, my friend,” Eddie said, putting an arm around Rob’s shoulder as they looked in wonder at the buffet table, “are the fixings for a sandwich worthy of the upper crust.”
Rob, eyes wide, said, "I’ve got to have at least two.”
“Not to mention trying those side dishes.”
“I have a question: How do you guys eat so much and stay so slim?” Holly asked. "It makes me a little nuts."
“Twice weekly pick-up basketball games down at the old MLK School gym, that’s how,” Eddie answered. “You should come join us one night. We welcome ladies, but you have to be able to keep up.”
“I’ll pass. I see enough of Rob five days a week. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find a millionaire. Maybe at our wedding, I'll get the same caterers. I'd hate to disappoint you two.”
“That's very sweet of you, Holly," Rob said with his mouth half full.
Eddie put his hand around her arm and pulled Holly close. “Remember, no mere millionaire. Go find yourself a billionaire."
"That's right, Holly," Rob said. "Stick to the game plan, Billionaire with a B.”
“Well I’ll try not to disappoint either of you,” Holly said as she slinked away in a form-fitting black dress that said, “I’m grieving in style.”
Less than an hour later, the three were walking back toward Rob's car for the ride home to Sausalito. Rob and Eddie were beyond satisfied, but Holly's search had fallen far short of her hopes.
"I met two handsome guys, apparently very wealthy, who were early investors in Google."
"Well that sounds promising," Eddie said.
"I thought so too until they mentioned they were happily married to each other."
"Ouch!" Rob said.
"Then I met another man, who made millions in the tech world and wasn't shy about telling me about his success. A bit of a brag, but I could have lived with that."
"Sounds like you caught a big one. You should have reeled him in and knocked the hapless soul over the head," Eddie suggested.
"I thought exactly that until he spoke of the thrill of shooting a lion on a recent safari in Nairobi. I can't go there. You want to go halfway around the world to kill Simba, and then mount his head on the wall in your den? Sorry boys, I'm all in on finding a millionaire, but you have to draw the line somewhere."
“So no luck finding lasting happiness among the bereaved?” Rob asked.
“No, smarty pants, it was a bust, but that wasn't the worst part. One of William Adams’ nephews ran into me and got chocolate cake on my dress. I doubt I’ll be able to return it now.”
“Well, if it’s any comfort, I spoke to Adams for a bit,” Eddie said. “He’s
