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There was a bench under a tree near the driveway. I wasn’t going to stand at the door or sit in my vehicle, so I went and waited on the bench. She took her sweet time joining me. I would guess that she was making a phone call to Almi trying to gain some information as to why I was there. If Almi was smart, he didn’t take her call.
When she came out of the house, the first thing I noticed was her attire. She looked dressed for a business meeting. White blouse, with a navy skirt and heels. Interesting choice.
I thought she would sit beside me but instead, she stood in front of me, and asked, “What is it you want to talk about?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to sit?” She shook her head and I added, “Okay. But this might take a while. I’m here so you can explain to me why you were in your father’s office yesterday.”
“I believe I made that clear. I was there for the laptop and cell phone.”
“For yoursickfather?”
Crossing her arms, she said, “Did you come here to retrieve them? Because if so, I can go get them for you and you can be on your way. I mean, I’m sure you have things to attend to at the factory.”
That was an understatement. I didn’t have time to play games.Yet, I’m here. “I will require them to be returned since your father is not utilizing them.”
She looked me in the eyes, and I expected her to give me some crazy excuse, but she didn’t. “We both know that he is not. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get them.”
I was glad she admitted it. It was a start. “Wait. Before you do, I need to ask you something,” I said, reaching outand grabbing her hand so she couldn’t leave. Big mistake. She snatched it back and her eyes turned dark.
“I believe I told you once before not to put your hands on me,” she snarled.
Releasing her I said, “Ovi, I’m sorry. I was just trying to stop you from leaving. We need to talk.”
“Is there anything really to talk about? I mean, I have a feeling you already know everything. Do you need to hear me say it? Are you expecting an apology from me? Because if you are, you’re wasting your time. I’m not sorry for going into the office and doing my father's job. I’m only sorry that you returned unexpectedly, and I got caught. Another week and my father would’ve been back in the office, and you’d never have known. And for the record, you should be here thanking me. If I hadn’t stepped in, then it wouldn’t be just twelve orders behind schedule, it would be a lot more,” she stated firmly.
I don’t recall being on the attack, but she was very defensive. She was also stating facts that I already knew. “I’m not saying that you didn’t do a good job holding things down while he was gone. Because you did. I’m impressed with what you sent me. Hell, it should've been a red flag with the detailed reports I was receiving. Not something your father ever did. But I do believe you shouldn’t have pretended to be Trye. You easily could’ve sent me a text or called me. We could have put in a game plan and moved forward. But you didn’t. And I need to know why,” I demanded.
“Because I love my father and I know that if I told you he was at his breaking point and was walking away during such a critical period, you’d have fired him. Am I right?” she asked.
Not proud of it, but it sounds like me. “It is possible and only because he never spoke to anyone about anything personal. Definitely not to me.”
“And you were so busy that you never even noticed what was going on in his life. All you wanted was for someone to come in and do their job while you sat there getting richer,”
Her accusation was way off. “You don’t know me,” I stated firmly.
“And you don’t know me.”But I’m trying.“Or my father.”
“I know what I need to know,” I snapped.
“Really? So, you know that my mother passed away about six months ago?” she asked, glaring down at me.
“No,” I replied, shocked. Trye never mentioned it, nor had he said that his wife had been ill. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure it has been difficult for you both.”
“It has, and all I would hear each night when he came home was that you were demanding an increase in productivity. And he was fighting for all the employees. He was pushing them as hard as you were pushing him. We know how that worked out. You pushed him to his breaking point,” she said. “I couldn’t let you crush him when he was in such a delicate emotional state.”
“You don’t know what I would’ve done,” I replied.Hell, I don’t know either.I was hard, but not cold. If I were, then I could have moved my business out of Tabiq. To a place that was more convenient for shipping and growing my business. But I cared about Tabiq and all my fellow Tabiqians. I didn’t need to share that with her. It had nothing to do with what she did.
“Mr. Rio, you...you...” she sighed, and I prepared for her to accuse me of something else. “You’re right. I don’t know what you would’ve done. And what I did was wrong. I was trying to save his job. Save everyone’s job. I know what your factory means to people. None of them can afford to lose their job.”
“Then come and work for me.”
“What?”
What? Why did I say that?
The words were out, and I couldn’t retract them now. Just alter them a bit. “Not permanently. Just until I can find a suitable replacement.”
“For my father?” she asked. I nodded. “Even with what you know you’re firing him?”
