Miranda Page 12

  I immediately started moving away.

  Eliezer caught up.

  “What do you want, Clausell?”

  “What could I want in a place like this?”

  To tell the truth, I didn’t have an answer for him, but he did continue observing me. I would have easily shared some of the ideas I had in mind.

  “Wise, I want us to talk.”

  “Can’t you wait? We can talk tomorrow at the office, if...”

  He stopped jogging. It surprised me that I did the same when I realized that he was not next to me. I walked towards him.

  “If I wanted to talk to you about something related to Medika, Wise, believe me, I would have waited.”

  I began laughing. I know I’m a spoiled brat, perhaps as a result of having been raised under Norman’s wings.

  “Clausell, you and I have nothing that connects us, much less shared topics of conversation. What do you want to talk to me about on a Sunday morning?” His presence made me feel like something was stuck in my throat.

  His eyes half closed. I couldn’t figure out if he was trying to control his frustration, anger, or disappointment.

  “Well, you sure know how to play the game. Nothing has happened between us? Please, Miranda!”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Eliezer.”

  He bit his lower lip–yet another mannerism I was unable to figure out.

  “I think I got the wrong person. You’re not the one I want to talk to.”

  I got very close to him and looked into his face until I got him to look at me. I spoke slowly.

  “Let’s get something clear, Clausell. I don’t know what happened. I’ve been spending the last 30 hours trying to understand how I ended up in that bed with you. That should never have happened. Understand? Never! With you, never!” My confidence was displayed in my firm tone, a trick that hid the truth: my body… my body that was filled with emotions didn’t agree with what I said. “I cannot take back what happened between us, but I can tell you that it doesn’t change anything. Let me warn you...”

  Eliezer interrupted me.

  “Another warning for the list? What a pity that I don’t have anything to write on. There are so many, I won’t be able to memorize them.” He half smiled–so full of mystery and malice.

  “Don’t you dare use this against me!” I spoke with my index finger up high.

  Eliezer looked at me confused. Instead of smiling, he snorted.

  “I had not thought about it. Do you really believe me to be so cruel, Miranda? Sleeping with you was not a trick to fire you... though now that you mention it, it could be useful...”

  “Let’s just say that we’re even,” I clarified before he could give it any more thought and come up with a Machiavellian plan to destroy me. I ran my hand over my forearm, the same arm he had hurt days ago. Eliezer remained pensive. I sensed anger in his face. Once more, he was losing control. I had taken him where I wanted and he had helped me do it.

  “We’re even, International.”

  He turned and ran in the opposite direction.

  ***

  I no longer felt like jogging. As I walked home, I reflected on my responses and words. Maybe I shouldn’t have indulged in my rudeness. I should have given him a chance to talk, which is the reason he approached me. Perhaps he had come with the intent to apologize. Maybe he wanted to comfort me, telling me not to worry, that he was a gentleman and that gentleman don’t boast about their sex life.

  My God! If Norman were to find out, he would die of disappointment! He would always warn me: “Miranda, work and pleasure are like water and oil: they don’t mix.” If Eliezer were added to the equation, for sure you’d get the perfect recipe for an atomic bomb.

  I arrived at the rehab center at three in the afternoon. Seeing Norman on that day was like standing before a stranger. It had been a week since I last saw him, and with the twists and turns that life makes, I knew that from here on, he would stop being the man he was. No more Norman the confidant, friend, and father. No more valuable advice for me, a damsel in distress with a mind full of problems, a possible dismissal in the near future, and involved with the worst of men. I had to grow and learn to face the future without him and without help.

  When I arrived, Norman was leaving his room. A nurse was pushing the wheelchair. “Time for therapy,” she whispered when she saw me. Norman strayed from all decorum.

  “Girl!” he yelled, his face displaying happiness to see me. “Please don’t go. I’ll be back in forty-five minutes. You have no idea about the kinds of things they do to me in there…”

  The joke made the nurse laugh. She patted him on the shoulder. I smiled too.

  “I live in waiting for you,” I let the smile stay with me until they both disappeared through the door at the end of the hall.

  I reclined against the door frame of his room, my mind crazy with other thoughts that burdened my heart.

  Oh, Norman, what have I done? What have I done?

  A voice called out my name. My skin crawled. I turned.

  “Isabel?” She was looking at me as if she could hide her hypocrisy and make me believe she was happy about seeing me. I reciprocated. “Good afternoon.”

  “It certainly is.” She placed her hand on my shoulder. She pulled me towards her. “I imagine you’re looking for Norman. He just left.”

  “We met in the hall,” I corrected her and dispelled the idea that I had been waiting for Norman.

  Isabel smiled at me the same way her son would.

  “Come. I want you to join me for a cup of coffee.”

  I hesitated again. I wondered if the invitation was sincere. Nothing in that woman seemed to be.

  “Thank you, but... I’m on my way out.”

  I squeezed the handles of my purse and bowed my head to say goodbye. Isabel touched my shoulder again.

  “No, you don’t have to leave. Do you want ice water? A juice to cool off?” She insisted, and my heart raced.

  And what if she knew that I’d slept with her son? Why did she say “cool off?” when that is what I’ve been trying to do since I had her son in my bed? Could this be just a bad twist of fate and a coincidence?

  I decided to give her a chance. Norman once taught me that one should not let one’s self be carried away by prejudice alone. Who knows, maybe Isabel is an affectionate woman and could be the best of friends.

  “Water is fine.”

  Isabel smiled Eliezer’s smile again.

  ***

  Once in the cafeteria where some children were running in between chairs and tables, she chose a place to sit and indicated where she wanted me to be. That was not a good sign. I hesitated a bit, but to not create any misunderstandings, I obeyed her wishes.

  “So tell me about your life, Miranda.”

  Me eyes opened wide. Is this woman crazy or is she the witch she appears to be?

  She touched my hand lightly.

  “I understand. How are you going to make me your confidant if the impression I made on you was not the right one? I apologize, dear.”

  “That’s not necessary,” I said, because, after all, she wasn’t. She carried the “wife” title, so she was just following proper protocol. I opened the water bottle and took a drink. I almost choked when she insisted.

  “Well, can you now tell me something about yourself?”

  I closed the bottle. I swallowed slowly and I moved forward. The conversation was hinting at war.

  “What else are you interested in knowing?”

  She showed me her imposing teeth again. Her friendliness was alarming.

  “How’ve you been these days? For example, what have you been doing?”

  “I’ve had a lot of work,” I summarized.

  “Yes, Norman mentioned that. In fact, he said you never stop working. You know, a young woman like you should make time to go out, have fun. There’s a saying: ‘What’s not on display doesn’t sell.’ Have you heard it?”

  So much friendliness a
nd such sound advice could not be a sign of anything good. I folded the napkin that was wrapped around the plastic bottle in four.

  “I prefer the one that says: ‘Better alone that in bad company.’”

  “You’re right about that.” Again she gave that chilling smile. “Tell me, how is Eliezer doing?”

  “You should ask him.”

  The plastic smile melted and her voice took a tone of rudeness.

  “I’m asking you, Miranda.” She regained her composure and softened her voice, “Could you give me your opinion?”

  “Eliezer is my boss. I don’t think it’s prudent to give my opinion.”

  Her tone of voice went from heavenly to earthly and the red color of her lipstick intensified like flames hungry for destruction.

  “Why don’t you leave?”

  Before opening my mouth in surprise, I took my purse and I stood up. Isabel took my hand and left some marks with her fingernails. I sat down. I heard the reverberation of my heart beating.

  “Enough with the games and cordiality, Miranda. Get out. Leave Medika,” she blurted out. I understood then what she wanted. I should have trusted my instincts.

  “Help me find a reason why I should leave Medika.”

  Isabel was silent for a few moments looking at me with anger. As I looked at her in such close proximity, I noticed her eyes looked glassy and worn out. The make-up and Botox hadn’t succeeded in hiding how horrible she really was.

  “Are you as naive as they say you are, or do you try to live up to your name, Wise?”

  “I live up to my name,” I smiled the same way she did, which was the same smile I had learned from her son.

  “In that case, Wise, I’ll be very clear so as not to leave any doubts between us. For more than twenty years you lived by Norman’s side. I imagine that you must be very grateful that he saved you from the life that you would have otherwise had.”

  She paused and drank her coffee. The brief delay gave me that time to realize that the woman was worse than I imagined. I would also have to deal with Isabel on my own. I had not doubts about where Eliezer got his bad genes. If there was someone in the world more hateful that him, that someone was his mother, the drama queen. Norman is neither naive nor stupid. At some point he must have realized the mistake he made by marrying this kind of woman.

  “Your time is up, Miranda.”

  I used her son’s words to respond.

  “I didn’t know I had an expiration date. Norman never mentioned it.”

  Isabel laughed loudly.

  “You’re not at all naive, dear.”

  “I know. By the way, you should verify your sources.”

  I stood up again, purse and water bottle in hand.

  Isabel gave her farewell from her chair.

  “Don’t cross my path, foolish girl.”

  I approached her and poured the water in her coffee cup.

  “I’m not the one who crossed the other’s path.”

  A text message was the only communication I had with Eliezer:

  I’ll see you in the hotel lobby at 7:00 pm.

  Eliezer didn’t respond to the message. It seemed to me that we were finally, exactly even. We came up with excuses (some made up) to avoid each other, and neither one of us was uncomfortable with the separation.

  Following the encounter with Isabel, the last thing I wanted was a 17-hour flight in the company of her adoring son, which is why I was traveling first class on a commercial airplane, and why my rear and back were hurting. There was no first class that compared to the comfort of a private jet. Even so, tired of thinking so much, my mind thanked me for enduring the minor discomfort. Without Medika people around me, only strangers, an internal peace came over me. I felt as if I were losing myself in a deep dream where I was a different person and Medika didn’t exist.

  I landed in Beijing, after having added eight thousand four hundred miles of flight to my rear. I asked for a taxi to the hotel. At the desk they gave me card keys for my room. They didn’t ask too many questions. I opened my purse to give them my credit card and the man on the other side of the check-in desk smiled and said, “Oh, no, no. Your boss already arranged everything for you, Miss Wise. Enjoy your stay!”

  I said good-bye with a timid smile and nodded my head slightly. As I crossed the lobby that lead to the elevators, Eliezer appeared in front of me. He prevented me from walking further and checked me out from head to toe.

  He showed is habitual mocking smile.

  “Welcome to China, Wise!”

  “Thank you, Clausell!” I mimicked his enthusiasm with a smile that disappeared in less than a second.

  My boss looked rested, and from the soap scent coming from his body, I guessed he had just taken a shower.

  Sometimes I hate you more than usual...

  I slid to one side to make my way to the elevators. He crossed my path again.

  “Where do you think you’re going, Wise?”

  I yawned casually.

  “It’s not seven yet, Clausell. Where do you think I’m going?” I waved the card keys I had just received in my hand. “I’ll see you then.”

  He raised an eyebrow and grimaced. He raised the briefcase he was carrying.

  “No. We’ll review the documents that Margaret asked me to sign now.”

  I let my shoulders drop.

  “Clausell, that can wait. I’m tired. I need to recharge.”

  “Don’t you know how to take responsibility for your decisions, Wise?”

  There it was: my punishment for traveling on a commercial airplane.

  I tried to dodge him a second time. He did not even allow me to try to walk.

  “Miranda Wise, I need for us to review the documents. Now!”

  “Eliezer Clausell,” the tremor that my lips caused when I pronounced his name pleased me, “I’m not joking. If I don’t take a nap now, I’ll fall asleep, and you don’t want me to fall asleep while were discussing important subjects, do you?”

  He shook his briefcase as if to tell me that it wasn’t his problem.

  I sighed. I had made a decision and I had to face the consequences. I would remember this moment the next time I had to travel to China with him and I chose a commercial flight. Breathe, Miranda. He is your boss.

  “Can you wait? I need to leave the luggage in the bedroom.”

  He smiled.

  “Only if you do it very quickly.”

  Ugh! Why couldn’t he just say yes and leave it at that? Why did he have to be sarcastic or speak with double meanings? My nostrils flared. How I would have liked to slap him at that moment.

  “You know what? I’ve changed plans, Clausell. Let’s review the documents now.”

  “Perfect! Follow me. You’ll love the coffee at this hotel.”

  I rolled me eyes. As if I’d never been here before.

  Just after six in the evening, between questions, yawns, and coffee cup after coffee cup, I fell asleep on the reclining chair.

  “Do you hear me, Wise?”

  The question came up following the clattering of cups and plates. Eliezer had slammed his fist on the table.

  “Yes, yes,” I said, with my eyes wide open and my heart about to jump out of my chest. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”

  Eliezer drank some coffee and reworded his question but not before giving me a look of annoyance.

  “We have too much money invested in this country. Don’t you think it’s risky?”

  “That’s precisely why we’re making this investment. It’s very costly to repatriate money. The tax rate is about thirty to thirty-five percent.”

  “We should at least repatriate our initial investment.”

  “Chinese law dictates that capital funds cannot be repatriated unless the company is liquidated. That’s basic knowledge during a first year of study in international business, Eliezer. You should take a short course, at least.”

  I was hoping to insult him with my comment so that he would lose control.

&nb
sp; His cell phone rang. His expression changed when he looked at the screen. He gave me a look of doubt and excused himself. He left the café to take the call. I was dying of curiosity to know with whom he was speaking. He was pacing back and forth, moving his hands when he wasn’t hiding them in his pockets, while every few seconds his eyes would turn to mine.

  “Wise! Shit!” he cursed as he stomped back to our table in a fury, while giving me a look such that if the whites of his eyes were to turn red, they would complement the rest of his face. Taking his seat, he slammed his fist against the table again, which made me jump in my chair.

  “Go to sleep. Dinner is at eight. Be punctual,” he barked.

  Dazed and scared I couldn’t say anything more. I raised my hand to my forehead and saluted him.

  “Yes, sir!”

  He made no gesture to help me with my things. With my back to him, while I was picking up the suitcase and laptop case, I discovered in the reflection of the glass table that he had hit so many times, Eliezer’s mischievous and mocking smile. He enjoyed torturing me. Is that possible?

  ***

  The dinner, although casual, was decisive. We would be closing agreements on a partnership between a Chinese company and Medika. We would put up capital, knowledge, and infrastructure, and although it was a business dinner like many others that I had attended, something told me that this one would have a distinctive touch.

  In the room, I was paying attention to details that used to never bother me, such as the fit of the black dress, the soft waves in my hair, the right lipstick that would bring out the subtle color of my eye shadow–and this time I would not be the one who would be late.

  To see Eliezer through the tinted window of the car made me take a second look at my cocktail dress, the waves in my hair, and my lipstick. Eliezer wore a finely tailored suit that reinforced the luster of his ego. The sliding doors that were the entrance to the hotel opened for the imposing masculine presence before them. Eliezer exited through them. He looked to one side and the other. The chauffer caught his attention, opened the back door, and invited him to board.

  “Hello, Clausell.”