Dave
Sarah looked at Lancy with a glare. “Lancy, I was the one talking right? Why did you interrupt me like that? Are you switching jobs from my assistant to my boss now?”
“Uh, no Madam. I didn’t mean that at all. I just thought you were talking in roundabout ways and that was wasting too much of our time. That’s why I explained everything myself. If you didn’t like this then I’m sorry.”
“An apology solves everything, does it?” Sarah grunted, pointing in her direction.
“Um….” Lancy glanced over in my direction and I couldn’t help but interrupt.
“Sarah, calm down,” I said trying to assure her. “Lancy is right. Please don’t blame her. She did the right thing here.”
“WHAT?” Sarah narrowed her eyes at me.
“So, where’s the suit Lancy?” I asked, checking the time on my watch.
“Uh, in the car downstairs.”
“Great, bring it over. And Sarah, you wait here. I’ll go and make a call in the meantime.”
“Okay,” Lancy left right away.
“Why? I thought you were done working?” Sarah asked, settling down on the chair with her legs crossed.
“Yeah, I am. It’s not a business call.”
“Then…. are you calling your family? Your wife, or daughter?” Sarah asked in a curious tone. “Will they be worried if you go back home late?”
I stopped in the middle of my task to look in her direction.
“Yeah, and I think it’s normal for them to be worried. Cause they are my family after all.”
“Your family…. hm…they are definitely,” she remarks with a hint of amusement. “If I remember correctly, you always wanted to have a family to call your own, didn’t you? Because the relationship between you and your dad was always worse. So, leaving him out, you wanted a real family.”
“There’s nothing wrong in wishing for that, is there?” I asked, pulling out my phone.
“Well, yeah. There’s nothing wrong with it. I was thinking, your wish finally came true. Your dream became fulfilled.”
“Yup, just like yours.”
She looked at me in surprise upon hearing that.
“Dave!”
“What? Did I say anything wrong?” I asked, walking over to her side to look down at her. “Didn’t you also wish to become rich and marry rich? Your wish became fulfilled after marrying my dad, didn’t it?”
She looked away with a look of disgust.
“Why are you silent? It’s the truth, isn’t it? You always wanted to reach the stars, the heights you’ve never witnessed before. That’s the reason you left my side just so you could be together with my dad! Isn’t that right? Because he could fulfill all your wishes! Just admit it!”
She looked a bit nervous about my statement.
“Dave, why are you bringing that up again”
“You are the one with whom I dreamt of having a family together. The promise that we made under the moonlight while out in my car, was a dream we both shared. But, you broke that dream without a single thought, with no remorse. And left it all just to make your dreams come true. How could you do that? How could you be so selfish, Sarah?”
“I didn’t have a choice!” she yelled, looking me dead in the eyes. But there was no change in her expression.
“No, you had! You had a choice. You had me. I was your first choice,” I retorted. “But, you abandoned it! For your own greed. You are greedy, Sarah!”
“Yes, because you couldn’t provide me with anything,” she replied, getting up from the chair, slowly. “You couldn’t give me the assurance I needed from you. All that you gave me was, stress and more stress.”
“What?”
“Yes! You were a free soul. Yeah, you might be a rich man’s son. But, you had no aim in life, no ambition. You were so clouded by your ideals and had no touch with reality that you didn’t realize that I was also a part of your life. You couldn’t fulfill my expectations, or live up to them. While on the other hand, your relationship with your dad was slowly getting worse and worse. That’s why I thought, maybe he won’t let you inherit his property after all. And that’s the reason why I took that drastic decision to save my future. Nothing else!”
I was dumbfounded by how she made it sound so convincing. So carefully she had placed all the burden on me just to save herself.
“You were scared my dad wasn’t going to let me inherit his property? That’s why you married him to inherit his property? You finally confessed it. Congratulations!” I clapped for her.
She stared at me puzzled. “This isn’t funny, Dave! You realize, that all of this happened because you were careless, right? Cause you weren’t serious about your life and career”
“Oh, shut it! I don’t want to listen to your crappy explanation. You’ve been always greedy for money and power. Don’t try to deny it. Just blaming me won’t get you anywhere in life.”
“And what’s wrong with it? Everybody loves money. Everyone wants to experience luxuries once or twice in their life because they don’t get to experience them. What’s bad about it? I don’t see my fault.”
“And you’ll never be able to see your fault, ever!” I explained. “You know why? Cause, luxuries and status should only be enjoyed if they are meant for you, through your hard work. But, you! You wanted to take the easy step. That’s why you married a rich guy and got all you ever wanted so easily. And you don’t think that’s wrong. You are so delusional!”
“Come on! The only delusional person in the room is you only,” she mocked with a smile. “Ever after so many years you still haven’t managed to see the truth! You still believe that everything has to be achieved through hard work. And that’s very funny itself.”
“And why is that funny?”
She smirked, patting over my shoulder with a look of pity.
“Times have changed. Nobody wants to spend their entire life just to acquire the things that could be acquired easily with little to no hard work. And for me, I had the looks. It was my power which I traded for the lifestyle I wanted. That’s why no matter how you look at it, I still won in the end. But, look at you!”
“You are still the same stupid Dave who doesn’t have a touch with reality. You believe hard work can bring people wherever they want to. But, that’s not true. You can’t reach everywhere with hard work only. You need the connections, the skills, and the looks to reach the top. Which can only be acquired through rich people only.”
I composed myself and turned to face her. “As far as I can see, you haven’t changed one bit, did you? That’s very good character development, you know? It’s not that easy to stay the same person throughout the years. I salute your dedication and hope you never become wise enough to see the truth.”
She glared at me. “Are you mocking me? Even if you do, I don’t care Cause I know I’m right always. And I took the right decision by dumping you over your dad. At least, I didn’t marry a poor nurse. I married into wealth, and now I have everything that I ever wished for. An attendant who follows me around everywhere I go, a room filled with expensive pieces of jewelry, closet filled with branded clothes, Mansions under my name, all the luxuries at my feet.”
“You are bragging as if all of this is yours even though you got it thanks to my dad,” I snickered. “Anyway, I’m not interested in talking about this with you anymore. I’m honestly fed up with all this. It was my wrong decision to think there was a future with you. I’ve realized my mistake now.”
“You”
“Um, your suit is here. Where do you wanna get changed?” Lancy interrupted, who stood right behind us.
“On time! Let’s go. Sit tight, Sarah.”
“Don’t take too much time,” she yelled behind me.
Lancy followed me to the 17th floor. After handing over the suit she left to accompany Sarah who called her for a drink afterwards.
And I started getting ready. It took me 15 minutes to get ready. And when I was brushing my hair, a knock on the door followed.
“Come in!” Must be Marshall.
Marshall came inside and closed the door behind him before approaching me carefully.
“You called me? Woah, where are you getting so ready for? We don’t have any party today, do we?”
“No, we don’t. But, I do.”
“You do? Are you going as a sole representative? And where is that party happening?”
“I forgot the name of the hotel. And yes, I’m going alone to represent the company.”
“I see…. what’s the client company?”
“The Avisen.”
He blinked twice unable to believe it.
“The Avisen? Isn’t that your”
“Yes, my dad’s company. We are having an alliance with him over a new project. And don’t ask me, I’m forced into everything. I didn’t agree willfully.”
“That’s…. I expected. Your dad is so stubborn, there was no way you could deny him and he’ll agree to it so easily.”
“You know him so well,” I sighed, fixing my tie. “Anyway, The reason I called you is not to discuss about my dad. I’m leaving in a few minutes. But, it’s almost time for Aileen’s college to be over. I can’t pick her up today, so you gotta fill in as my substitute. I know she’ll be a little upset. But, she has to manage. You can do that right?”
“Pick her up? Yeah, I can do that. You don’t have to worry, you can attend the party peacefully,” He assured me with a proud smile.