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Chapter 6
Liam sat behind his desk, staring out from his high-rise office window down onto the busy afternoon street. From the tenth floor, the cars and people down below looked like a big ant colony cheerfully moving across the modern jungle. A stark contrast from the bleak and somber mood of the office. The modern glass walls and freshly minted wood floors all but now seemed fake. His company used to be incredibly successful, bustling with people even though it had been founded less than three years ago.
It started out with nothing more than two eager young guys wanting a better life. One of them Liam, the other his best friend Mike. Within a year, their little, unknown textile distribution company became a nationwide competitor in the world of textiles. The concept was simple but quite genius. Liam and Mike would travel all over the US, trying to find small cotton farmers that were willing to start following practices necessary to get their cotton US Organic certified. A niche almost non-existent. When Liam set out with nothing more than determination and a list with a bunch of names on it, he had no idea what he would find.
Much to his surprise, the vast majority of small farmers were barely getting by, always one step away from bankruptcy. They were thrilled when he presented them with a new business model, staring at him like he was some sort of gift sent from the heavens to save them. Within months, Liam was able to approach major US manufacturers with millions of bales of certified US Organic cotton at reasonable prices, right at the time of a huge scandal of harmful toxins found in baby clothing.
The stars had aligned and manufacturers were fighting over his cotton, begging to be moved higher on the company’s waiting list. The two-man business exploded to a full-size company with over fifty employees. Liam’s business model was not only pioneering but also fair to the farmers and his employees. Farmers were able to keep most of the profits for themselves. Liam never believed in bleeding them dry to make millions for himself or wasting money appointing overpriced CEOs. He then implemented a salary structure that would pay everybody the same, him included. What sounded crazy to most people was a no-brainer for him. Every employee, no matter what they were doing, was getting the same amount of money. This equipped him with a highly motivated and loyal workforce. The front desk staff made the same as the managers. Work-related drama was brought to a zero, and people genuinely got along while staying professional to the business. Productivity and sales skyrocketed. Sick days were almost non-existent. At the end of the year, everybody walked home with a bonus of the year’s profits, which usually amounted to no less than $200,000. The company was featured in magazines around the globe. Thousands of resumes flooded them monthly, begging for employment at Green Wear LLC. Liam and Mike both came out as millionaires. So, what happened to the American Dream?
Like in so many tales of riches and power, the answer was greed. When Liam told Isabella that a man was the reason for his terrible financial situation, every word of it was true.
He’d known Mike since high school and they had been best friends ever since. They lost contact for a few years when Liam joined the military, but as soon as he got out, they were best friends again like nothing had ever happened. Mike moved to Philly to start the company with Liam. If only Mike had been satisfied with the three million dollars he made from the company in those three years, the American dream would still be alive. Not just for Liam, but the rest of their employees along with the farmers.
But Mike wasn’t. Without telling Liam, Mike sold his fifty percent share of the company to a big corporation that now wanted to change things around, turning Green Ware LLC from an employee-farmer paradise, into a predatory cotton mill institution from the 1920’s.
The bonuses were wiped off, minimum wage was introduced, the healthcare was terrible, and the farmers’ profit was cut to keep them just one step away from bankruptcy again. Liam fought them tooth and nail, got the best lawyer he could, but the end result was the same. Owning half the company with endless capital in their pockets, they vetoed every decision essential to make even the smallest sales. Their plan was to dry Liam out financially to force him to sell his share. Undeterred, Liam used up every dime he had, taking out loans until the banks would lend him no more, all while he kept paying his employees and farmers for as long as he could. He was hopeful that the court would pick up the case soon enough to settle in his favor, as according to Mike’s and Liam’s founding contract, Mike was obliged to offer his share at a fair market value to Liam first before he would be able to sell it out. Of course, he hadn’t done that and had sold his shares in secret, and now the new owner of these shares said that they’d bought these shares in good faith, which they didn’t, and that their purchase was legal. Mike was nowhere to be found, missing one court hearing after another.
So here Liam was, broke, contemplating every decision that weighed on his shoulders, reading file after file again trying to solve what seemed like an impossible equation, when a voice jolted him out from his own head. “Go home, Liam,” he heard the sad voice of his secretary Linda. She was an older woman whose fair share of tribulations was written all over her face. And unless a miracle fell from the sky, this would just be another glimpse of a better life taken away from her. Liam felt horrible at that.
“Not yet, Linda. Did the lawyer still not call back?” Linda twisted her lips to a frown and shook her head.
“No. But I told him earlier that he could reach you on your cell, so there’s no need to sit around here any longer.“ She was right. Liam got up and grabbed his coat. “If I leave now, do you promise you’ll go home as well? There’s really nothing else for you to do here either. You should stay home just like the others.”
At some point Liam had given people time off. Why make them wait at the office day in day out when they could be with their families and save on daycare costs? If, and it looked more and more like it, Liam was unable to turn this around, they’d all lose their jobs overnight. This would be the last month he was able to pay for their salaries and benefits. All his own money was spent and the loans the bank were willing to lend him would be depleted of every penny and nobody would see a cent. For some folks that wasn’t the end of the world. They could find new work rather quickly, but for people like Linda, at her age, they’d be hard-pressed to find a job. And for the farmers, it could mean the end, closing down family farms.
“I hate making promises I can’t keep. I like coming here. It gets me out of that empty house.” Linda gave a frail smile. Liam nodded in empathy. He knew the truth. Her husband had passed away several years ago. And her kids? They were selfish little pricks who only called her when they needed money. She had nobody but a tubby cat. Kind of like him, which was probably why he liked Linda so much.
“Go home, Liam. Now.” Her eyebrows perked up in a commanding way. “I’ll be fine here. I’m tougher than I look.” She gently pushed him away from his desk, nudging him closer toward the door. “And besides, don’t you have a little lady friend at your house now?” Linda crossed her arms with a big grin.
“Woah. Let me stop you right there. It’s not what you think.” Liam raised both hands.
“Mhmm…” She raised an eyebrow.
“Gosh, I should have lied to you and never told you about her.”
“Impossible. It’s written all over you. That walking therapy commercial face of yours seems almost joyful at times again,” she teased him, poking a finger at his arm. Was that really true? The morning after he picked up Isabella and walked through the office doors, Linda jumped in with a loud ‘Who is she?’ To this day Liam didn’t know what it was that caught Linda’s eye and accused him of romance literally one day after Isabella had moved in. Which by the way was a whole different set of problems. But Linda was right, he should head back home to make sure Isabella was okay. Jerry drove by his place and checked in on her frequently, but Liam still preferred to get home before the bright, lively town of Philly transformed into the dark, abandoned streets of the night; prime time for stalkers like the mysterious man, Ghost, who till this day had yet to be caught.
They had been living together for a few days now. Things had been a bit awkward around the house. Weirdly enough, it wasn’t due to the fact that two strangers have been thrown into a small desolate apartment that didn’t even have a tv (he had sold that too). No…weirdly enough they enjoyed each other’s company, and even Rambo loved her. What made the whole situation awkward were Isabella’s efforts to do everything she could to stay out of his way. After a long back and forth, she finally gave in and agreed to take the bedroom while Liam slept on a blow-up mattress in the living room. He refused to allow any guest to sleep on the floor, especially not one he had hit with a car just a few weeks ago. But ever since that arrangement was set in stone, she disappeared into that room never to be seen again.
The first day, he thought she was just resting her head for a bit. But after two hours turned to four, then to six, then finally to eight, he decided to knock. She had a bathroom attached to the bedroom so that was not the issue…but what about food? Water? Was she drinking tap water? What was she doing in that empty room? He was working on his computer when he decided that after eight hours, that was it.
He found her wide awake, looking out the window as if it was a tv. She apologized for hiding, said she didn’t want to be in his way, but to be honest, he wanted her to be in his way, to talk to him, to trouble him with whatever it was on her mind, of whatever it was that worried her.
By now he knew about her living out of a tent behind the police station with her friend Dan. At first, he was a bit mad that she’d pretended to go to the hospital, only then to disappear into a life on the streets. But her excuse that she feared to be admitted to a mental institution was understandable enough, and he couldn’t help but admire her strength, resilience, and her incredible talent for survival.
Soon enough, she began to open up. Never had he met a woman who was so easy to talk to. Even though her words were few and selective, there was something about her that seemed almost noble. The way she spoke, moved, and laughed was as if she’d been raised by royals. She could wear rags and still pass for a queen. To go through the streets of Philly without complaining, seeing herself as an equal with those cast aside by society, surviving a near-death experience—that was not a thing anybody else he knew could just pull off. And all of this in a foreign country. No, Isabella Astley was not like any other woman he had ever met. To him, she was special, different.
Liam’s heart pounded faster as he pulled up in front of his apartment. His feet drummed against the floor as he staggered to open the door, anticipating the conversation. To see her smile that lit up his gloom-filled day. To share that sweet laughter once more. He just had to get her out of that damn room again…
Liam couldn’t believe it. When he entered the apartment, he expected to find the usual empty space with Isabella locked behind closed doors. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. It smelled like food as he heard dishes rattling from the kitchen.
“Perfect timing, it’s ready,” he heard Isabella call out from the kitchen. He walked over to the table. It was set up for dinner, but in an odd way.Two plates each with two large knives, three large forks, a small spoon, a smaller plate tothetop left and a water glasssettotheright. It looked like the setup of a five-star hotel dinner. Isabella rushed by to put some pasta on each plate. “I hope it’s okay that I prepared dinner. I wanted to make up to you one way or another. I hope you’re hungry.” Isabella smiled.
He was beyond speechless. He was so used to coming home to an empty apartment, so used to a lonely life without a female touch in it. Sure, he had dated before, and he was by no means one of these pathetic guys that were unable to hold a relationship, chasing women barely turning eighteen to make themselves feel young again. In fact, Isabella was the youngest woman he had ever spent time with outside of work. But when he was in the military he was constantly on deployment, and after he finally got out, he threw himself and every minute of his life into building up his company. He simply had no time for dating apps and romantic dinners. But maybe those were all excuses? To put it simply, he had never fallen in love.
His sister often told him about the love his father had for his mother. Because of that, Liam wouldn’t settle for anything less than love, for the sake of his future wife as much as his own.
“Thank you for making dinner,” he finally snapped out of it. “You really didn’t have to,” was the only thing he got out.
