Miranda (8 page)

“Fine! Then I won’t help you.” He threw up his hands in frustration.

I sighed and lowered my guard.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that it makes me angry that this was the first impression that he would have of me… as a klutz.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. You arrive late on the first day that there’s a new boss and this happens. Let’s see how you do now…” The answer didn’t make me feel better. I grimaced.

“I still ask God why you continue to work with me…”

“Because you adore me,” he smiled, “and because I rescue you from every problem.”

That was very true. It was impossible to be unpredictable with him. He always had everything ‘under perfect control,’ like Maxwell Smart.

“And what was it that happened to you? Didn’t you see him? The guy is big enough, Miranda. It’s impossible for you not to have seen him from the parking lot.”

We exploded in laughter.

Eliezer was, in fact, a very tall man, especially when compared to my height of 5 feet 4 inches. The new boss had to be six feet tall. How could he have passed by unnoticed?

I gave up on the blouse. The large brown stains and the smell of coffee might stay with me the whole day. However, I quickly remembered that, in the car, I had a long black dress.

“I still have the luggage from the trip in the trunk. Do you think you could bring it to me?”

It was a chore for him to find the keys in my purse. He complained by the doorway.

“Such a heavy purse, and I bet that ninety percent of its weight comes from things that you’ll never use.”

“Get going! That’s none of your business!”

He threw up his hands and left the office.

***

Dressed in a black dress, without the smell of coffee and with a notebook in hand, I made my way to Norman’s office, or more accurately, Eliezer’s. My nerves warned me of their possible betrayal at any moment. It didn’t seem possible that one simple coffee would incite so much hostility in a human being. I paused and breathed deeply before touching the door.

Stay positive, Miranda.

“Come in,” he ordered upon hearing me knock at the door.

His voice was similar to his father’s, but more intense. I opened the door slowly and there he was, with discomfort and annoyance all over his face. He had changed into a short-sleeved shirt. I took a seat at the conference table that Norman had in his office. With a hand gesture, he ordered me to sit at one of the seats in front of his desk. He didn’t have the manners to meet with me at the conference table.

In negotiating etiquette, one doesn’t sit to speak with anyone from behind a desk, much less for a first time conversation. A desk is a barrier that interferes with friendliness and creates a certain distance.
Unless that’s the message you want to convey
, I thought. I made myself comfortable in one of the chairs. Without warning, I apologized for the third time.

“I really regret what happened.” Maybe words of submission would help break the ice. “I didn’t see you.”

“You certainly didn’t. It must have been because you were in such a hurry.” He leaned forward, a gesture that seemed inquisitive.

“In fact, yes.” I presumed he was waiting for an explanation for my tardiness.

The truth is that I didn’t hear my alarm clock. I went to bed late and the fatigue… If you want, I’ll lift up my dress right here so that you can spank me a few times.

That was enough! I gave him what he wanted: acknowledging the tardiness.

“I imagine that the reason for your tardiness must have been a priority for you.”

And who does this so-and-so think he is? Idiot, what kept me on the edge of physical exhaustion these last months has been Norman Clausell and Medika.

I wanted to tell him all of that. Obviously it wasn’t the correct response for the moment. I perceived that Eliezer was testing me and I would not let him take me there.

“Yes, very important,” I answered without giving him any more details. “What did I miss?”

Eliezer sat up and his eyes could not hide the surprise that my question and carefree tone caused. He raised his eyebrows–a sign that he didn’t understand what I was referring to. Seeing him seated there, I could see how large Norman’s chair was for him. He wasn’t his father, and thank God, his father wasn’t he.

“At the meeting, what did you talk about?” I clarified.

“We agreed that tomorrow at eight o’clock you’ll present me with a report on the state of business in the international division.” He enjoyed every word. He savored them.

“It would be my pleasure to provide you with the information you’re requesting, but having the list ready for tomorrow would be complicated. I just got back from traveling, and I have some pending priority issues to which I have to attend.” It was the truth; I didn’t make up those issues.

“See? That is precisely what was lost!” He paused, bit his lower lip and his fangs looked menacing. “
We lost the opportunity to negotiate such things.
” His lips twisted in an expression of mockery. I took note that his face had a trace of some of Norman’s expressions, but not the arrogance that exuded from his pores.

“So make it tomorrow at eight o’clock in the morning, then.”

This guy would not ruin my day.
Who am I fooling? He already succeeded in ruining my day.
I don’t know how I would do it–how I would present the information that he asked for on time. I wasn’t willing to play his game. It was obvious that, like a dog, he was marking his territory, making it clear who was in charge now.

“Anything else?” I asked, getting up, out of the chair.

It wasn’t worth staying in his presence another second longer. I imagined that we wouldn’t agree on a single word.

“No. For the moment, that’s all.”

He didn’t look at me, not when he responded, nor when I turned around to leave. He was too occupied looking over his iPhone. I imagined flying over his desk and adorning his face with a slap. I quickly returned to reality.

“I am standing by for your orders for whatever you need,” I announced from the doorway.

***

Never, ever, has anyone treated me so badly. That man was the antithesis of his father: an overbearing, arrogant, calculating idiot–a real jerk.

In my office, the cell phone wouldn’t stop ringing. It was Norman.

“Hello, girl.” He was in a good mood. That’s what he called me when he was. “How is everything going at the office?”

“In short, last night I fell into bed exhausted. This morning, I almost couldn’t wake up. Thanks to Alex, I woke up at eight. I arrived at the office late. I didn’t make it to the meeting that Eliezer scheduled, and to top it off, I spilled my cappuccino on my new boss. What do you think?”

“That you’re a disaster!” Laughter followed immediately. “You know what I think? That you need to go home, rest, and reintegrate into the world in the morning, when you will no longer be a menace to anyone.”

Yes, he definitely was in a good mood.

“You know what I think? That I agree with you.” I had to pretend that this day did not happen, because it wasn’t a day in which I should linger.

“What do you think about Eliezer?” The mood of his words varied. The gritting of my teeth was like a filter against the complaints I wanted to make to him.

“Look, other than the coffee incident, all good.” I asked Norman if he had already had contact with him, if he already knew whom he had put in charge. I had to ask. “Have you spoken with him?”

“No,” he answered vaguely.

“That is, before he took his position?” I restated.

“No, I never exchanged words with my son.”

Then where did you get the idea to give him that position at Medika?

Norman interrupted my thoughts. He dismissed me quickly because he knew that I would continue insisting on asking questions about Eliezer.

“Go, go home, disconnect and rest. You need it.”

“Yes…” A big yawn came out of my mouth. “I need to recharge my batteries. One more thing.”

“Go ahead,” he protested.

“Tomorrow I need to present Eliezer with a business review. How much do you want me to tell him?”

“I don’t understand the question, Miranda.”

“How much information do you want me to share with him? Do you trust him enough to share everything about Medika with him?”

His response was delayed.

“Miranda, Eliezer is the new president of Medika, the leader of the company, and as such, he must have access to as much information as he needs and is necessary to facilitate and sustain decision making at the firm.”

“I understand.” Although he couldn’t see me, I lowered my head.

“And yes, I trust him.” He surprised me, and although I didn’t like hearing him say that, his words reflected confidence.

“Excuse me, only I… it’s that…forget it. I understand, Medika must be an open book for Eliezer.”

“Exactly. Now, go and rest.” With that decree, he used that paternal tone that always comforted me.

I remembered that was the day that they were going to transfer him and that Isabel would accompany him.

I hung up. I would inform Eliezer that I would not be in the office for the rest of the day. After such cruel treatment, I would have to be crazy to stay!

I wrote a note that I left on my desk and took my things.

The note was to Alex:

Dear, I won’t be available for the rest of the afternoon…

“This shirt is hopeless. And this is supposed to be easier. However, it’s harder than I had thought. Here, time hasn’t been passing. It seems like time has stopped at this firm, in this office, where every thing is in the same place… in the same damned place as I remember it.”

A new day and my batteries were recharged to one hundred percent. I slept sixteen hours without telephones or text messages–with only my bed and me. It was a bright morning, even though there was terrible traffic that was moving a drop at a time. My positive attitude lasted barely a few minutes: only until I remembered with whom I would have my first meeting of the day.

I turned on my cell, which also got its much-needed rest. I got twenty-six messages all at once. Ten were from Alex (letting me know about Eliezer’s attitude and the information that he was requesting regarding the financial condition of the international division). There were others from members of my team and some clients. One was from Eliezer.

“Wise, they tell me that you are indisposed. Return my call.”

What poor manners! Who does this guy think he is with that haughty attitude? I wouldn’t let it bring me down. Nothing nor anyone would ruin my day or drain my energy.

***

I arrived before seven. I wanted to be ready for the meeting. I didn’t have much to prepare. I had the words in my mind. Nine years in charge of the division should be of some use to me.

There were no other parked cars there yet. Neither Eliezer, nor any of the directors had arrived. When I entered, I deactivated the alarm–confirmation that I was the first to arrive. Walking toward my office, I noticed something strange in the air, in the atmosphere, on Medika’s walls.

The paintings!

They were gone. The paintings that Norman so treasured were gone! The paintings that bid me farewell every evening were gone!

A terrifying cold froze my hands.
And what if someone stole them? But when? Yesterday morning they were hanging here. Was it in the evening? At night? Impossible! The office alarm was active when I arrived. Who would dare do something like that?

I jumped when I heard someone approaching.

“Margaret!”

“Good morning, Miranda.” She always used the same relaxed tone during all of those years that she was dedicated to Norman, Medika, and me.

Margaret was a calm tempered woman but with an authority about her that was fit for the role she played. She had watched me grow up since Norman decided to take me on. She always told me how proud she felt. It was she who had covered women’s issues with me–the real versions, of course, because, at the orphanage, the nuns would give me the moral versions. She kept scolding Norman because she blamed him for my lack of social life. “You give her so much work that you never let her live the life of someone of her age,” she frequently told him. I had a lot of affection for her and I lived my life being thankful to her. While I was in school, when getting out of class, Norman, or she, would look for me at school and bring me to the Medika offices. She would take responsibility for helping me with homework and studying. Even though Norman paid her a separate salary for it, I know that she would have done it without compensation anyway.

“Miranda, are you ok?”

I let out a shriek from the surprise.

“The paintings, Margaret! What happened with Norman’s paintings?”

“Well, the paintings…” her face said ‘I’m sorry.’ “Yesterday, Eliezer ordered them removed.” From the informal way she spoke about him, I understood that her years of experience wouldn’t allow her to feel intimidated by him. Notwithstanding, she removed the paintings. Wasn’t that intimidation?

I’m sure that Margaret must have given Eliezer a big fight when he ordered her to remove the paintings. She knew every detail about everything related to Norman, both in his professional life, as well as his personal life. There were no doubts about her loyalty to Norman or Medika. Ethan often called her “the tomb,” because she never spoke any more than necessary, nor did she ever reveal anyone’s secrets.