A Gift from An Angel

By Christine Roy

About the Book
Russell Conrad is a very successful businessman who suffers a devastating heartbreak and has closed himself off from all relationships, including his family. Then he meets an angel named Carmella, who was sent to him to help him find love, happiness, and his family again. While on his journey, he not only finds love and happiness, but he also finds an inner feeling of gratitude and a passion for helping others who are less fortunate.
The story is about the journey of how Carmella helps Russell, a billionaire, become the man he really wants to be. Carmella assists him in meeting Diana, who works with many of the low-income people in the city. Russell gets introduced to her world and meets a young boy in a wheelchair whom he becomes very fond of. He has cut his own family out of his life for eight years now. Will they forgive him, and will he be able to reestablish those relationships? Will Russell find happiness, love, and family again?

About the Author
Christine Roy currently lives in Wisconsin with her fiancé and writing partner, Andrew Tessari. A Gift from an Angel was inspired by an idea from Drew, who collaborated with Roy on parts of the story. Christine is the mother of four grown boys and has four grandchildren. She loves spending time with her family, along with her loving and loyal golden retriever. She worked as a Psychiatric Registered Nurse for seventeen years before leaving the field in order to start writing full-time. In her free time, she enjoys doing crafts of every kind.
One of Roy’s sons was born with Spina Bifida and was paralyzed from the waist down. This led to the family’s involvement in adaptive wheelchair sports. Over the years, Christine developed a passion for helping other kids have the life-changing experience that wheelchair sports can bring to their lives. For this reason, she created the Trey Roy Foundation, which raises money to help purchase adaptive sports equipment for kids and families that may not be able to afford it and to also send these kids to sports camps in the summer. A portion of all of the proceeds from her book sales will go to her foundation. For more information about the foundation please visit www.tessarigroup.com and click on Trey Roy Foundation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Jul 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889257509

Book preview

Dedication

This book is dedicated to:

Drew

For your love, support, encouragement,

and for being my biggest fan.

For sharing your creativity, and ideas,

and providing inspiration.

Dad

I miss you so much, but I know you were with me

and played a part in this. I love you.

Mom

For always being there for me, for your encouragement, and for being my best critique.

I love you.

Derek, Trey, Brandon, Colton

For being the best part of my life. You’re my entire world and the inspiration for everything I do.

I love you all more than you’ll ever know.

Steve, Heather, Kaylee, Maddie, Alex

For sharing those family traditions and always putting a smile on my face. I love you all.

~Christine Roy~

Chapter One

The car comes to a stop at the curb as Tom rushes out to open the rear passenger door. Watch your step, Sir, he says to the man getting out of the car. Yeah responds the man as he walks briskly and firmly into the tall office building.

Tom was very familiar with the rude demeanor of his employer. He had worked as his personal driver long before the rudeness even began, had to be at least 12 years by now. Tom knew not to take the attitude personally as it was not intended to be against him, it was just the way Mr. Conrad’s personality had become. He didn’t always use to be this way. He used to be quite the opposite back in the day. Those sure were the days. Tom continued to wish for him to someday find something to bring happiness back into his life and heart. He knew that deep down Mr. Conrad was still a good man with a caring soul. He just needed to find someone to open his eyes to the beauty of the world around him and his heart to the warmth of love.

As the man enters the large, richly decorated building he heads toward the elevator. The elevator doors are made of the same dark cherry wood as the rest of the building’s interior. Exquisite carpentry with intricate woodworking designs covers the walls and doors. The floors are smooth lighter granite tile filled with dark flecks to match the cherry wood walls. The draperies are a light lacy material to allow the sun to shine in through the huge arched windows. There are desks scattered throughout the room on the right and the left. Straight ahead is a grand welcoming desk to greet incoming customers. As the man walks briskly down the walkway past the welcoming desk to the great elevator, he hears voices coming from all over the room. Good morning Mr. Conrad! The only response given to the greetings is a slight nod of his head as he disappears into the elevator, pushes the button, and the door closes as he looks upon them all.

Russel Conrad walks to his office, past his secretary, saying only, I want no interruptions.

Yes, of course, Mr. Conrad, responds Greta, his secretary.

And get me, Frank Barringer, on the phone!

Right away, Sir, says Greta.

Russell walks past the shelves of books and the walls full of plaques and awards he had won over the years with the company. There was a conference table and chairs off to the left side. He walked toward his enormous mahogany desk that was positioned at an angle so that behind him was the glorious New York skyline. On the desk, there were two large computer screens and a keyboard. There was a phone, a name stand, and a coffee warmer holder. There were no personal items on the desk other than the name stand. No pictures of family or friends. It wasn’t a warm comforting workplace; it was rather cold actually. Russell Conrad was all business, no fun, and no games.

Russell stood at the window looking out over the city as he waited for the phone call. The snow was beginning to fall. December and the winter season were just beginning. People were starting to bring out their Christmas decorations. Christmas lights were firing up to brighten up the city. It had commenced again. And now the memories came flooding back. Memories of a different life. A time when he had been in love. A time when he had been hurt like no man, or anyone for that matter, should ever be hurt. When afterward he swore, he would never love again, he would never let anyone hurt him like that again. He closed his heart to love. He closed his heart to friendship. He closed his heart to everyone.

The phone rings and Greta states, I have Mr. Barringer on the phone for you, Mr. Conrad, Sir.

Fine, he says. Greta hangs up not expecting any sort of appreciation.

Russell! Great to hear from you! Frank says happily.

I’ll get right to the point, Frank. What the hell is going on with the Henderson deal? I wanted that on my desk first thing this morning!

I apologize Russ.

It’s Russell or Mr. Conrad! I don’t want an apology! I want the deal! Everything is riding on obtaining these last properties!

I’m sorry, Russell. I couldn’t stay late last night finishing it up. I had to go to Lamaze class with Susie and then to my daughter’s ballet recital last night. I’m working on it right now.

You left for Lamaze and ballet? Are you kidding me? I should fire you right now! So help me if this deal falls through…….you are fired!! Then you can Lamaze all you want! I can’t believe this! Get your ass to work! I want that deal done TODAY! And with that, he slammed down the phone.

Russell sat down in his chair and threw both fists down on his desk. He was furious! Frank went to goddamn Lamaze class instead of finishing up his deal….he couldn’t believe it! Did he not realize how much this deal was going to make for the company? Where the hell were his priorities?

And so went the rest of the day, as was every day at the office for Russell. Needless to say, he didn’t have many friends. He never socialized with people. He was all business, no play. And he was on a warpath. This was a huge mega deal. It was going to make him a fortune. He was buying up a large area of the property that housed small businesses, apartments, homeless shelters, food pantries, and some warehouses. The plan is to buy these properties up, tear them down, and build up a very tall office building that will be rented out as prime rental space. It will be a huge moneymaker. Russell has his men, like Frank, working deals, getting these people to sell their properties at a nice low price. Finding the dirt on them, any money they owe, and anything wrong with the property that they haven’t fixed, anyway they can use a heavy hand to get the owners to give up their building. There had been letters sent to Russell, which he never read, of course, pleading to him not to take their family’s business, which had been there for many generations. Or from the owners of the shelters stating how needed they are for the community and what a vital resource the food pantries are. All the pleas went completely unheard, not even considered. Making money was all that Russell was concerned about. That’s all he had in his life. And that’s just how he wanted it.

Chapter Two

Russell walked into his high-rise penthouse late that evening as usual. It was well past dinner hour. He went to the refrigerator, looked inside at its bareness, and simply closed the door. Instead, he walked to the bar and poured himself a glass of scotch. Then he walked to the wall of windows overlooking the city and gazed downward.

The snow was still coming down lightly. There were just a few places where the Christmas lights had been put up and were shining in the distance. For just a moment Russell thought back to what his life had been like in the past. He had an amazing childhood. So many great memories.

Brandon Jergen had been his very best friend since the 2nd grade. They were in school together through college and they were joined at the hip. Brandon had six brothers and four sisters, so he wouldn’t be missed much if he wasn’t home. He spent almost all of his time at the Conrad house. He was usually there before breakfast and more often than not he spent the night or left near bedtime. He was there for pretty much every meal, even holidays sometimes. He was more like a brother than a friend. There were even Christmas presents under the tree with his name on them.

Christmastime was a very special time in the Conrad home. Russell thought back, as long as he could remember his parents had done the whole Black Friday shopping thing. The day after Thanksgiving was the official start of the Christmas season and everyone in the house knew it. While the parents were out Christmas shopping in the morning, it was the boys’ job to carry down all the boxes of Christmas decorations from the attic. The decorating would commence that afternoon and the entire family was expected to take part. Russell didn’t mind. He acted sometimes like all the family stuff was kind of stupid, but in truth, he rather enjoyed the family traditions. It was the one time of year when everyone seemed to be in a good mood, the family spent a lot of quality time together, and the idea of partaking in traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation was pretty special. Not all families had that. The Conrad family was very close. They all enjoyed each other’s company and got along together very well. Some families are not so lucky in that department. Brandon’s family was one of them. His parents never seemed to miss whether he was there or not. Russell was glad he was able to join his family during the holidays.

Decorating the Conrad house was not an easy chore. It was not a one-day event. It took well over two full weekends and Mom working on the inside of the house all week long to complete the masterpiece. It was a complete home makeover. Every decoration in the house was replaced with something red and green or seasonal. Lights went up all over the house, inside and out. Dad even hired guys to come to help put up the lights outside the house. Every single tree in the yard was lit up. There was a huge nativity scene in the front yard. There was an enormous wooden sign outlined in lights saying, Happy Holidays! There were several blow-up figures including a big snow globe, a Santa in a sleigh with reindeer, and a great big Grinch. And all the lights were synchronized to flash and blink along to various Christmas carols that played on outdoor speakers. Cars would parade down the street just to come to see the display. It was pretty amazing. Russell always thought his dad should charge admission. Dad said it was for the act of giving joy to someone else during the season that he does it, not to make money for himself.

Then of course there was decorating the Christmas tree. That had all of its own traditions to go along with it. First, the whole family had to pile in the car and head off to the Christmas tree lot way outside of town where you could cut down your own tree. Then they all had to go traipsing out in the snow trying to find the perfect tree that everyone could all agree on. This could not just be any old tree mind you. It had to be at least 12 feet tall, straight, nice, and full, with no bald spots, preferably the longer needle because that’s what mom liked. Once they found it Dad cut it down and had the three boys carry it back out to the car. That was the worst part, especially if they had walked far into the woods. When they got home Dad put it up in the stand and the fun began. Russell thought a million lights must have gone on that tree, both solid and blinking lights. Once that was done Mom and Dad strung the garland around the tree. Then came the best part, the ornaments. Mom had boxes and boxes of ornaments. Most of them were ones she had personally made from beads or other crafts. Then there were the ornaments that the kids had made over the years. There were family heirlooms passed down through the generations. There were ones just put on to add color. But Russell’s favorite ornaments were the ones that his mom had bought every year. She would buy one new ornament every year symbolizing something that had happened during that year. She had one for their wedding, for each baby’s first Christmas, for their new home, for Russell’s high school graduation, or one that was a souvenir from a family trip that year. The year of September 11, 2001, was a memorial ornament, or a bad financial year was one that just said Hope, or the year Russell had broken his arm was an ornament of a cast. It was a way to remember the year, both the good and the not-so-good. But by the time all of the ornaments were finally put on the tree, there wasn’t a single branch left uncovered. The tree was always breathtaking. Russell loved to turn the lights off in the room and just stare at it. It was mesmerizing. It always seemed to give him a warm happy feeling. He felt safe. He felt content. He felt loved.

By far everyone’s favorite tradition of all was the family Christmas cookie-making weekend. Grandma and Grandpa came down, Mom’s two sisters and their families, the Conrad family, and of course, Brandon all joined in, and they made enough cookies to feed the entire state of Wisconsin. They made over 100 batches of cookies that weekend. Sugars were flying! They had some people making dough, some pressing dough, some decorating, some baking, and some spreading out on paper in the garage to cool. They had all stations covered. It was a finely tuned machine. They all made rum balls, spritz cookies, pecan fingers, ginger snaps, sugar cookies, buttercream cookies, peanut butter oatmeal, and grandpa’s favorite chocolate chip cookies, all to the sound of Christmas songs playing in the background. There was something to satisfy just about anyone. And when they were all done, all the cookies were divided up and each family took their prizes home to share with their family and friends. But the entire group had an absolute ball that weekend. There was usually a flour fight or two sometime throughout the weekend. Lots of laughter all weekend long. It was a great time.

Celebrating the actual holidays was a weeklong affair also. The Conrad family had so many places to go they couldn’t get to them all in one day. So, the gatherings were spread out throughout the week from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Eve. It was nice going to all the different houses to see how everyone else decorated for that year. Of course, there was usually a gift exchange of some sort whether it was buying for everyone, girls bringing girls’ gifts, and boys bringing boys’ gifts to trade kind of thing. Either way, everyone always went home with something. His parents were always very stern about pointing out the true meaning of Christmas though. It was Jesus’s birthday that they were celebrating, and Christmas gifts weren’t about what you were going to get, but what you could give and share with other people. When buying gifts for other people they always wanted us to spend a lot of time thinking about what to give first, as gifts should be something thoughtful, not just bought for the sake of buying. Think about the person and what would mean something special to them.

Over the years Brandon participated in most of the family traditions along with the Conrads. He was there for all of the Christmases that Russell could remember. Brandon’s family didn’t have the traditions they shared as a family. His parents were so busy they usually just threw up an artificial tree they kept in the basement right before Christmas Eve. There were no special ornaments or family heirlooms. They just had the same old colored glass balls that were getting all faded. Brandon was very fortunate to have the Conrads include him in their holiday festivities.

The two boys were also on the same baseball team, football team, and basketball team, and both ran in track. They both excelled in their academics and received scholarships to attend Harvard University. There was no way that Brandon’s parents could afford to send him there, so the Conrads offered to pay the remaining balance. After all, Brandon was just like a son to them and had been for all of those years.

While in high school Russell had begun dating Vivian Randolph. Brandon was a bit more of a player and preferred not to settle down with just one girl. But Russell had fallen in love. He was head over heels for Vivian, just as she was for him. So, when high school was over, Vivian went on to Harvard along with Russell and Brandon. The three of them were inseparable. They all shared an apartment in Boston to save on expenses. After graduation, they all moved to New York to start their careers.

Russell and Vivian rented a very cute apartment together in Manhattan. Brandon got his place in Brooklyn. They were all still together for most of their free time. The three of them hit the town or stayed in and watched a movie and had popcorn. Sometimes Brandon would bring a girlfriend he was dating that week, but most of the time he was single. As for Russell and Vivian, they were very much in love. They had spent every waking moment together. He adored her. He lavished her with gifts. He bought her everything she ever wanted. They went on glorious vacations. She was his queen. The last vacation they went on was ten days in Italy. It was there that Russell had proposed to Vivian in the most romantic setting. She had, of course, accepted. They were engaged to be married.

Christmastime was their favorite time of year. They loved celebrating the holidays together and with their families. They spent hours shopping for their family members, getting just the right gifts that they would love. They would go search for the perfect tree for their apartment and stay up all night decorating it. Russell was adamant they continue the family tradition of buying a special ornament every year that represented something that happened to them during that year. They had a Christmas party every year with their friends at their apartment. Vivian helped him arrange a special party for his employees at the office to thank them for their hard work throughout the year. She’d go out and buy special little presents for them all. They’d take time off of work to spend a week with each family either before the holiday or after. The family was very important to both of them. They had hoped to have several kids of their own soon to share with the families.

Then suddenly one day Russell’s entire world came crashing down around him. Russell went to work that morning as he usually did. He kissed Vivian goodbye and said how much he loved her. They had already discussed their dinner plans for the evening with friends of theirs at their favorite restaurant downtown. They were meeting at 6:00 p.m. so Russell needed to be home a bit earlier than usual, which he didn’t mind at all. He loved coming home to her. She was his entire life.

While at work Russell couldn’t stop thinking about Vivian and how much he loved that woman. He never thought he could be so in love. He felt so completely happy that he just had to be with her. He decided to take the afternoon off and go home to her. He stopped to pick up some flowers but couldn’t find any that were nearly as beautiful as she was to him. He settled on a dozen mixed roses and headed home.

He walked in the door to find music playing, but she wasn’t in sight. He looked in the family room and the kitchen, she must be in the bathroom. He headed down the hall. He heard her giggle. Did she hear him come in? The bedroom door was closed. He opened the door and stood in absolute shock. The color rushed from his face. Then it rushed back as the anger set in. There was the love of his life in bed with his very best friend, Brandon. Vivian grabbed the sheets to cover herself and tried to make up some story. He heard nothing but garble. His head was spinning. He didn’t know if he was going to pass out or blow his top. He was so angry he felt like he wanted to kill them both. He didn’t know what to do. His beautiful queen was gone. His friend since childhood was gone. He took a step back and turned to leave the room. As he did Vivian called out his name. It was just a muffled garble. He continued walking towards the front door, with an abundance of mixed emotions. He feels hurt, he feels pain, he feels anger, all emotions he was not familiar with and did not know how to deal with. Just as he opened the front door, Brandon stood at the doorway of the bedroom and called out his name. Russell just looked at him and said, Why? Why? He turned and closed the door. He walked to the elevator. As he was going down the elevator he leaned against the side of the elevator and said to himself that he would never trust anyone again. He would never let anyone hurt him like that again. He vowed that no one would ever get close enough to hurt him again.

Russell swirled the scotch in his glass. He had kept his vow that no one would ever get close enough to hurt him again. He has remained alone for so many years now. He has pushed his family aside. He no longer visits them. He no longer even talks to them. They tried to be there for him through the breakup and to support his healing, but he wouldn’t allow anyone to help him. He never wanted to heal. If he healed, he’d be subject to suffering pain again and he couldn’t bear it, so he led a life completely and utterly alone.

Until now, this is where our story begins.

Chapter Three

In this world, there are angels, whether they are guardian angels or past family members who are with us to keep watch over us. They are there to help us during difficult times and help guide us to make the right decisions in our lives. Russell had such a guardian angel and her name was Carmella. Carmella has been working for some time now to get her wings. When the task of helping Russell find happiness and love again was assigned, she knew in her heart that she would finally earn the wings she had so longed for.

Carmella watched Russell for several days. She saw what a lonely man he was. He didn’t portray it on the outside, but she could feel it in his heart. She could see there was a different man inside, but he kept it bottled up and hidden from others out of fear of being hurt again. On the outside, he came off as rude, cold, self-centered, and uncaring. Carmella could see quite the opposite was hiding inside Russell just needing the right incentive to come out. But what was the incentive? What would break the hard-shell protecting Russell’s heart? Carmella would have to figure this out. She would need to be forgiving, direct, determined, and driven. Knowing Russell’s past and what meant a lot to him, Carmella came up with a perfect incentive to help encourage Russell to change his behavior. With that in mind, she put her plan into action.

Russel walked down the sidewalk towards his office building. He is normally oblivious to the people around him, but today he was drawn to look down at this elderly woman holding out a cup. Her unmatching clothes were somewhat dirty and tattered. She appeared to be homeless. She was short and obese. She looked at him with the prettiest blue eyes that just sparkled in the sunlight of the morning. Can you spare some change for a homeless old lady?

No, I can’t, Russel replied.

Fiddlesticks, Carmella said.

Russell stopped as he was walking away and thought