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Just then, I turned and looked at my grandmother.
There was no telling how much this latest hospital visit would cost. It’s not like it mattered that much anymore, but without my job at Hawkins Biotech, any hope I had of getting out of the debt was long gone.
After sliding the cell phone back down inside my purse, I walked towards my grandmother’s bed and stopped at the foot of it. There was no question our time together was near its end. Worst of all, we’d never know if the experimental treatments emerging from the Link Protocol trials might have saved her.
There would be no lucky breaks for us and no chance to enjoy time with one another.
I’d failed them all.
My grandmother lay dying because I was unable to persuade her to go back for chemotherapy and hopefully hold on long enough to become an experimental candidate. The simple truth was, I hadn’t been firm enough with her when I should have. And now, because of my inability to assert myself where I knew I was right, I would have to deal with her death.
As for Gabe, well, if the tone of his text messages were any indication, little hope remained. Although it would be a terrible outcome for me, I’d already resolved myself to the notion that he might fire me. However, if I had to confess, losing my job would be a preferable outcome to losing him. But now, I had little doubt that was going to be the case.
In fact, it was only a matter of time now before I would lose everything.
Reaching down, I touched the gemstones of my bracelet, searching for any sign of comfort. Yet the power they used to have in my life was all but gone. Soon, my grandmother would pass, and I would be alone and destitute. I’d never experienced true hopelessness… until that moment.
Just then, I felt a sudden rush of lightheadedness, causing me to lean against the beds railing for support.
“Oh no, not here. Not now.”
It was the last thing I remembered.
GABE
Never underestimate the power of being able to persuade people. In business, it’s a skill that’s learned through long hours of negotiation, mixed with a healthy dose of trial and error.
In spite of the ominous start, I’d been able to convince enough of the investors to give me and the Link Protocol another shot. I’d lost a couple of them, but that was completely understandable in the situation. Even so, I considered myself fortunate and realized full well this might be my one and only chance to raise the capital I needed.
Thanks to my negotiations, I did manage to buy us a couple of weeks. Some of the investors decided to stay and vacation on the island at my expense, while others vowed only to return once the presentation was available and complete. The good news was that one way or another, it probably wouldn’t take Fiona more than a week at most to fix the problem and put us back in a situation where we had leverage.
The investors aside, the way the things unfolded caused a bit of a rift between Don and me. In fact, the morning after the dinner meeting with the investors, I spent at least an hour with him and his team. The situation was tricky in the sense that while I needed their support, I couldn't allow any confusion as to who was in charge.
I invited criticism from them about things, and they were more than willing to give it. The primary issue remained a lack of confidence in Fiona's ability to effectively deliver the presentation when the time arrived.
Unfortunately, there was really nothing I could do, aside from reiterate my belief in her. It turned out taking that position was far riskier than even I had planned. The way Fiona behaved prior to returning to the lab gave me little in the way of optimism.
I hoped that once she was able to correct the problems as laid out in the email, she'd regain some sense of belief in herself and the viability of the project. For now, however, I had to convince Don and his team to believe in Fiona based purely on my personal assurances. After several hours, I managed to convince them to trust me, at least for now.
As for Fiona, communicating with her continued to prove difficult. She was constantly putting me off with lab-related excuses. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a position to challenge her, because of the situation on the island with the investors.
But now that things were relatively stable, I decided to take a bit of time and get some clarity, not only about where things were going with the Link Protocol, but more specifically, my involvement with Fiona.
Somehow, an insidious mix of business and pleasure had crept into my life. I’d always prided myself on being able to keep the two separate and distinct. But, where she was concerned, not only had I not done so, but I’d been completely unaware it was happening to me.
Aside from the obvious attraction and physical pleasure I got from her, the simple fact was that Fiona was complex and demanded more time than I was accustomed to giving a woman.
