Meeting Mr. Mogul(57)

"Wait. Are you telling me you are quitting?" she asked in shock, her  eyebrows crunched together in confusion. "I thought you wanted this  job."

"I don't think that I'm fit for that job anymore," I stated swiftly  without my voice quivering from the lie. This is it. I finally realized  what I wanted to do about this entire situation.

"Are you doing all of this because of what happened?" she asked worriedly, her voice was filled with guilt and regret.

"No. It's not like that … " I lied smoothly; though my voice trailed off as she raised her eyebrow at me.

"Please don't lie to me. I won't hold it against you, but William  wouldn't really like it," she admitted silently as her face flushed in  realization.

"It's not really his concern, Ms. Maxwell. So, can I take this weekend's  event planning as my last job?" I asked with more confidence.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I think I am." I mumbled softly in reply.





Thirty-Six





When the car slowed down and stopped in front of a tall building, a  thought crossed my mind. I turned towards Alexandra and gave her a light  pat on her arm.

"Ms. Maxwell, about the conversation we had on my resignation, can we keep it between us for now?" I asked.

She studied me with a stern face for a second before she nodded. "Sure,  but you have to give me a formal resignation papers for formality sake.  You can send it in tomorrow." she replied in a business-like manner.

"Thank you, Ms. Maxwell. I shall have it on your desk by early morning. Have a good day."

She gave me a small reassuring smile before she got out of the car. The  car stayed for a little while longer until Alexandra entered the  building safely. When I could no longer see her retreating figure, the  car slowly turned to the main street, towards my father's hospital.

I thought about my decision on declining the job that I actually wanted.  After hearing the good news about my father, I felt like there wasn't a  point for me to find a job in this city. If he would be released soon, I  knew he would want to go back even though there was nothing to come  home to.

My thought was interrupted when Kevin suddenly slowed down towards the  curb that led to the main entrance of the hospital. I quickly got out of  the car and gave him brief yet sincere thanks before he hit the road. I  watched him drive off before getting inside the hospital.

I felt tired as I walked back to my father's room. I can't really hide  my gloominess from the man who raised me. I didn't have the energy  anymore to pretend that I wasn't. I had been pretending for the past  hour or so. It's time to take a break.

"Where have you been?" my father asked after I entered his room.

"I had lunch with my boss, it's for a job." I replied without interest, letting out a small yawn.

"Are you okay?" he asked with worry, his eyebrow scrunched together in concentration as he studied me with watchful eyes.   





 

"Oh, Dad. Why hasn't anyone made any book for answering hard questions  in life?" I whined as I slumped down on my usual chair and leaned my  head down on the left side of father's bed, right beside his upper arm.

"If they did, where is the fun in that?" he replied with a soft chuckle, though the worry in his voice was still evident.

Before I could divulge anything about what happened during lunch, the  door suddenly opened. The doctor came in with his head down with a  clipboard in hand. I watched him silently enter the room and slowly stop  at the foot of my father's bed. He glanced up, slightly startled when  he saw me sitting beside my father's bed.

"Andy, you're here." he stated in surprise, but he was about to cover up his expression. "How are you doing?"

"I'm well, Doc. So, how are things?" I asked, helping him get out of his  shocked state. I didn't want him to expose any information about this  morning. I can't believe so many things happened in just a day.

"Ah! Yes …  I'm here to bring some good news," he enthusiastically  replied. "I can see that Mr. Peterson here is responding well to the  treatment, and has a possibility of checking out early, but he still has  to come to the hospital for monthly visits. Based on these results, he  can go home with you next week," he announced.

I didn't really give the right reaction to this situation since I  already knew about this before I met with Ms. Maxwell. So, I only gave a  light shriek of excitement, which wasn't my usual happy reaction. My  father looked at me expectantly for a second after Logan gave the  announcement. He raised his eyebrow when I didn't do my happy dance.

"What? No dance or jumping around?" he asked teasingly and smiled.

"I already knew about it before I left for lunch … " I whispered in  admission, but my happiness hasn't died down. "When would be the  specific day that he can be discharged?" I asked, turning my attention  back to Logan with a serious expression, though I wasn't really serious  about it – mostly.

He chuckled and replied. "Maybe by the middle of the week, he can go but we have to do some more tests before that happens."

"Got it," I nodded in understanding, though I was confident that he would be discharged from the gleam on Logan's eyes.

"I'll get to see this place you've been living for the past few weeks,"  my father suddenly stated in enthusiasm, making me turn to look at him  in wonder.

"Oh, I don't know about that …  Don't you want to go back home?" I asked all excitement had died down.

"Why would we go back when you've already settled down here? Besides,  you have a job and a place. We have nothing for us back home. Maybe, in  the future when we can buy back the old house," he trailed off when he  saw that my face stayed blank. "Is everything okay, peanut?" he asked  worriedly.

"We're staying here?" I asked in a whisper.

"Yes. Why wouldn't we?" he countered in confusion as to be expected.

I didn't expect this reaction from him. He had been missing home since  we came here. But now, he was telling me that we weren't going back  home. "Dad, don't you want to go home?" I asked, feeling a little angry  for no reason.

In my peripheral vision, Logan slowly walked towards the door. He didn't  bother to excuse himself, understanding the atmosphere of the room. For  that, I'm thankful.

"Yes. I would love to go back home, but I can't overlook the fact that  you have a life here and a possible future. I'm an old man, peanut.  There is not much future for me to look forward to." he replied softly,  his words were like a caress.

"Thank you, Dad. Thank you for looking out for me until now … " I stood up  and pulled him into a tight embrace as I felt tears slowly escape my  guarded eyes.

It's been a while since I had this kind of talk with my father. He might  be tough, who lived by a rigorous code, but he never lost his soft side  when he was with me and previously with my mother. Uncle Billy helped  me understand this side of him when I was young and couldn't grasp his  tough parenting, but he had been more expressive with me when he got  diagnosed. Everything had changed that day we received that bad news.   





 

I stayed with him for most of the afternoon, and then excused myself  before sunset. I walked to the bus stop, but I didn't feel like going  back to my apartment. I don't feel like going anywhere that would make  me feel alone. So, I jumped into a different bus route and got my phone  out. I scanned my contact list until I found the name I wanted to call.

"Hey! Thank god you still have the time to answer my call … " I started when the other line picked up.

"What's up, Andy? Why the sudden call?" Terry asked curiously, ignoring my words.

"Are you at work already? I'm coming over." I asked, getting straight to the point.

"No. I'm still at my place. How long would it take you to get here?" He asked casually, not even surprised by my sudden visit.

"Fifteen minutes, more or less."

"Okay. I'll be here waiting." He ended the call quickly, giving me no time to say a proper goodbye.

The bus ride to his place was short. When I reached his apartment, it  was almost dark outside. I had a small sense of longing for the old  place. I didn't hesitate to knock on the door. It took a while for Terry  to answer.

"So, what brings you here?" he greeted as he allowed me to enter.

"Can I crash here for a few days? I don't feel like staying in my place at the moment," I replied wearily.

I directly walked towards the couch and slumped down, sighing as I  settled in. "I miss this couch," I stated longingly, disrupting Terry on  what he was about to say.

"And, you're changing the subject because … ?" He asked in wonder, his tone was filled with suspicion.

"Because it's not a subject I want to talk about right now, though it's  quite obvious that it is about a certain someone," I answered dejectedly  as I slowly lay down on the sofa comfortably.

"So the fairy tale was a hoax?" he asked, stating it as a fact rather than an observation.