| Subject: GBMO part eight |
Author:
Fairyt
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Date Posted: Thursday, November 18, 05:41:03pm
In reply to:
Fairyt
's message, "News about GMBO..." on Thursday, October 21, 10:34:47am
Nikita waited till the next day before she opened up the discussion with Phillip. She sensed that he wouldn’t take it too well, so she decided to tread with caution.
Phillip was sitting up in bed and looked better than the day before. Someone knocked on the door and entered. Pleasantly surprised to see his daughter, he rewarded her with a genuine smile. Seeing this, Nikita gave a nervous, hesitant little smile back.
“Good morning, father.”
“Good morning, my child. Come in, have a seat.”
“So, how are you today?”
“Better than before. I may decide to get out of bed this afternoon and walk around a little.”
“What’s the matter with you, father? Michael said ones that I should ask you about it.”
“Oh it’s not that bad, Nikita. My stomach is upset when I don’t hold on to my prescription. Nothing to worry about. Now, what about you? Can you get along with Adrian?”
“Yes, we’ve visited the factory. She was impressed. After that we went into London and had a good time together.”
“That’s wonderful news to hear. What do you think of her?”
“She’s a remarkable woman. She seems to have an answer to everything.”
“Yes, doesn’t she? She’s a great person to talk to, you know..”
“Well, that’s one of the reasons I came here for. When we visited the company yesterday, I talked to Jurgen. I think he’s a nice person, father. He wanted to take me out on a date, but didn’t know if it’s appropriate, since I’m your daughter.”
It was quiet for a few seconds. Both people observed each other carefully. Neither willing to show their emotions as yet. Cautiously he asked: “Did he really ask you out?”
“Not directly.” She wanted to protect Jurgen from trouble if necessary.
“I hope that this is not an act against my plans according your future, Nikita?” He did not say it with anger, but the tone indicated that he would not budge.
“As I said already father, I decide what my future will be. Since I am the one to live it. Why can’t I go out with Jurgen?”
“I can’t say that he’s a bad man. For that I don’t know all of his private life. But I can’t say that he’s all that trust worthy either. I have my doubts, even if I can’t point them out clearly. He has worked for the company for many years, but his loyalty and commitment wasn’t consistent. Since I’ve pulled Michael into this, he seems obligated to show more responsibility to his job. But I’m not sure if it’s wise to date with him, Nikita.”
“It’s not wise to date with him, but it’s no problem to marry Michael, a man I hardly know?”
“I can imagine this seems strange, but Michael is a very responsible man, Nikita. That much was very clear from the first day I met him. From what I’ve learned further more, I can truly say that he’s not such a bad choice. If anything, he’s shown more commitment in his efforts to the business than who ever have worked for me. And lately, I came to regret not have listened to him entirely. I thought that Jurgen had a good point in contradicting Michael, so I came through half way for both of them. That has proved to be a mistake. But we’ll see what’s to salvage out of this mess.”
“Ok, Jurgen made an error in judgement, but nobody is perfect, father. And it doesn’t make him a bad man either.”
“If.. you could only call it an error in judgement. Jurgen’s position is to keep us informed with all the turnings and competition in our business. I can’t understand how he missed this latest blow to our company. This proves of a lack of interest, or he may not think on same level as Michael. But no matter, I would prefer that you don’t get too close to Jurgen.”
“No, not to Jurgen. Only to Michael, isn’t it? I’m sorry, but I don’t see anything special in him.”
“I know I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want. My reasons are simply to see you well cared for and save. I don’t want to see you end up like your mother.”
“Well, that’s not entirely her fault, is it? At least she doesn’t tell me how to live my life and who to marry to. Maybe I should go and live with her.”
“I sincerely hope you don’t mean that, Nikita. It won’t do you any good.”
“Maybe not, but than, let me find out for myself. I think it’s time to move out. Some of my friends have their own apartment. I was considering moving in with one of them, father. I know you won’t like it, but I need to do it.”
All the blood drained from Phillip’s face. He couldn’t say a word for several moments. Fear struck him in his heart. With great effort he managed to keep up an inscrutable expression on his face. He asked: “Do you know what you’re going to do with all the time you have? Are you going into an employment? May I hear what plans you might have?”
“I don’t have any concrete plans as yet. But I feel that if I stay here, I’ll never be able to see if I can take care of myself. I’m sorry, father.”
She left the room feeling miserable. She’d noticed that he’d gone pale, but she’d hoped for him to tell her that he needed her, or something like that, but he didn't.
As soon as she’d left the room, Phillip collapsed, breathing heavily. But he didn’t call anyone right away. He waited for several minutes to calm down and then rang for a servant.
Meanwhile Nikita left the house, heading to Terry. Maybe she could help her with this particular problem. With no experience at all and little money, she would need a good advisor. From all her friends, she thought of Terry as the wisest.
*****
Michael was having lunch in his office, when the telephone rang. When he picked up and answered, he heard it was Phillip. He sounded restrained. He requested Michael to come home and if Michael could notify Charles Sand that he was to come also. Terribly worried, Michael did what was asked and returned home.
When Adrian saw Michael entering the house, she frowned. This was an odd hour to be home from work. It gave her a funny sense of déjà vu. She’d asked him what was wrong and after he told her she started worrying. That morning when she’d visited Phillip, before Nikita, everything was fine. Something must have happened. And Nikita was gone.
Two ours later, the three men were still discussing Phillip’s intentions according to his last will. He revoked the first one he’d already made. This new one would also involve Michael.
First Phillip wanted to force Nikita to marry Michael in order to inherit the money. But Michael voted against it. There wouldn’t be much money left after they’d solve the problems they were facing in business right now. In stead Phillip decided to sell the company and put up a trust fund, with the understanding that Michael would do whatever he could to provide for the girl. So Charles left to prepare the forms for the men to sign.
After Charles left, Phillip collapsed again, in front of Michael this time. Michael called a servant to call for the doctor. Adrian came rushing in, startled with fear. Phillip was breathing heavily; the air came out with gasps. While Michael was supporting his body to hold it steady, Adrian rushed to administer his medicines, at the same time ordering a servant to call the doctor.
Although the medicine had relaxed his muscles, he had not calmed down completely, he seemed upset. When the doctor arrived and examined him, he took a syringe out of his bag and injected some kind of fluid into his veins. After a few minutes Phillip was completely at ease, was breathing calmly as if he was sleeping. He was mildly sedated.
They settled him a little more conveniently in his bed and left the room quietly. The doctor asked to have a word with them. He asked them how long they were staying, if they were family, etc. He told them he was relieved to know that they were around to look after things in these final days. Also that Nikita had to be informed of what was happening, how difficult it may be. Gradually, this situation will grow worse. Maybe they would want a nurse to be there on daily basis. In this state of development, it was wise to be prepared and to make all the arrangements necessary. The doctor put out some more medication, and with the remark to call him if needed, he left.
Adrian went to the room to take another look at Phillip and saw that he was still sleeping calmly. No one knew where Nikita was. Something must have happened in the room while she was there, Adrian thought. She must have said something that made him upset. Adrian went to talk to Michael about it.
Nikita came home late. Just when Michael and Adrian were about to start with their dinner, she excused herself and took a seat at the table. The air in the room became tense.
Michael and Adrian glanced at each other, not knowing if they should start the difficult conversation right now.
Nikita did catch the look between the two, thinking that she knew what it was about, shot daggers at Michael. He tried to engage her in some communication, but she would give short clipped answers.
Then Adrian decided to cut in and asked if she’d seen her father when she got home.
“No, I haven’t seen him yet. I’ll go to him right after dinner.”
“Well,..I believe that we should talk first, Nikita. We have to tell you something very unpleasant.”
Nikita looked at the two others back and forth. The serious expression on their faces told her that something bad must have happened with her father and suddenly she was filled with dread. Eyes enlarged, in fear she asked:
“He’s not dead, is he?”
“No, he’s not dead, but he’s not.., he might not make it till the end of the year, Nikita.”
“What do you mean exactly?”
“Your father is very ill. More worse than you think. He has this illness for several years. There’s no medication. He collapsed twice today, so we called the doctor. Things aren’t going to get better with your father, Nikita. The doctor advised us to be prepared for what’s coming.”
“Oh, my god. That’s terrible.”
Nikita paled while listening to the dreadful things that had occurred when she was gone. She felt guilty for her part in this, because it must have been her ill timed confrontation that had caused her father to collapse. Even the fact that she hadn’t known how badly ill he was, she could have been more considered towards him if she really cared. Could that have been the reason for his silence all these years?
That he could tell Michael and Adrian, who were practically strangers in her opinion, showed how much he distrusted her in her ability of dealing with the troubles ahead. Even now that she felt sad and disappointed, she could still be mad for the way he’d treated her. But the blame she heaped on herself, started to weigh heavy on her shoulders. She wanted to cry, but her eyes remained dry. She wanted to say something, but didn’t know what, so remained silent. The anxiety growing in her.
Adrian looked at her, eyes filled with compassion. Then she turned to Michael and motioned him to leave them alone, and he did so quietly. He understood that she needed the privacy with Nikita to help her processing this terrible news. It wasn’t long after he’d closed the door that he heard the sobs coming from the room.
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