Chapter Rating: PG
Natalia was sitting in her father's office, waiting for him to arrive. Her head hurt slightly as she had done her best not to self-medicate too close to the hour of the meeting. She wanted to be in complete control of her mind and mouth for their conversation. She leaned further back within the black, leather armchair, crossed one leg over the other, and folded her hands in her lap. Her heart had begun to race slightly. Anticipation and fear were the two likely culprits though Natalia couldn't really decide which was actually responsible. She took slow, deep breaths to calm herself, reminding herself that, even before she went behind her father's back, she had accepted this confrontation as the inevitable conclusion. She was prepared.
She thought she was prepared.
She began feeling like a child again. Very rarely had there ever been a need for Antonio Rivera to have to scold his daughter. She had worshipped the ground that he walked upon, and he had always doted upon her as though she were a princess. It was very much a give-and-take relationship with the two of them. For example: Natalia would sit quietly during dinners with important guests in her pretty dresses and was sure to use all of her manners and follow complete etiquette. She would then be allowed to go out into the gardens and play in the dirt or climb trees to her hearts content as a reward.
Her father could do no wrong in her eyes, and when she was little, and she had done wrong in his, this was how she had felt. Quietly awaiting a punishment, not of a loud scolding or the sting of a spanking, but the true agony of seeing the look of disappointment in her Daddy's eyes.
She remembered back upon the very day that she first became disillusioned of her father's seemingly infinite wisdom and superiority. When she came face-to-face with the reality that her idol was, indeed, just as errant as any other human. That day that took both her safe world and happy family and squeezed them together in a vice grip of pain until crushed forever, when a very young woman came to her mother Cidalia's door, claiming her husband as being the father of her young son. It was the first light that shone upon a multitude of hidden sins. It tore her mother apart, and it dimmed the glowing respect Natalia had for the man she had once adored.
Natalia became defiant and insolent – making him work harder for her forgiveness than he ever had for her mother's. He did the best he could from that point on to always do what was best for his family, including his illegitimate son, but things were never the same between the two.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her father entered the office and made his way around her chair, sitting slowly into his seat behind his desk. Natalia sat straight in her own and did her best to keep her expression neutral, even when she saw the haggard, sleep-deprived, and saddened eyes that stared blankly back at her.
Antonio Rivera cleared his throat. "Are you feeling better today?"
"Not really," Natalia answered.
"What happened?"
"I passed out."
Her father looked at her suspiciously.
"I was drunk." Natalia offered the answer that she knew her father was expecting to hear. It didn't shock him at all.
"I see," he said stoically.
There was a beat of silence, and neither Rivera looked at each other, both unsure of who should speak next. Antonio finally sighed, his shoulders almost hunching over as if the rest of his strength were giving way.
"Why, Natalia?"
"I told you; I did this for the Company."
"The company that I built from the ground up? The one I developed before you were even born? I own the majority of this company! You have been given a percentage because you have earned it through the years."
"And Mateo? What has he done for his?"
"I will not have you question any of the decisions I have made regarding your brother. This is not about your brother. This isn't even about your mother and I," he slowly leaned forward, years of guilt and repentance finally giving him the strength to face-down his persecutor. "This is about you and me, Natalia," he said in a slow and measured tone. "And this is about March 17, 1991."
Natalia's eyes flashed with dark rage, and her breathing became erratic as she did her best to control the rampage of horrible words that were desperately trying to seek freedom from the cage of her clenched teeth. They were never to speak of this. The wound was never to be reopened. She had been content on simply letting her father try to make it up to her for the rest of his life. To silently punish him by never verbally offering him forgiveness.
"No... It is not." Her voice was so cold and low that she hardly recognized it.
"If not that, then what, Natalia? What else are you chastising me for? What else is it you would like to take from me?"
Natalia could no longer hold in the tears that formed in her angry eyes. "Take from you?" Her voice was jagged now and her volume rose with every syllable. Her body began to shake from the violent malignancy she felt toward the man she once admired. "Take... from you? Do you know how long it took for me to be able to look at you without wanting to be physically ill? You took everything away... You ripped us all apart... You killed my..."
Natalia quickly clasped her hand to her mouth and shut her eyes tightly. She knew she had gone too far. She leaned back and put both hands over her eyes briefly and tried to breathe out the animosity in order to get back to a more calm and in-control state. It wasn't going to do either of them any good to talk about it further. Nothing could be gained.
They both sat in silence for several long moments. Neither of them looked at each other. Both were reliving the past events through two separate vantage-points – one the terrified victim, the other the one-time monster.
"I have had the lawyers temporarily suspend any proceedings with the Livingstone-Westgate Group, stating that the offer of our franchise was made erroneously by a renegade employee that acted illegally on my behalf." He watched as Natalia closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "You didn't honestly think you were going to get away with this, did you? That I would let you hand my company away to the highest bidder?"
-----------------------------------------------------------
Olivia pushed her chair back slightly from the desk. She had just finished looking over the different reports that her team of experts had submitted. She tugged at the end of her pen with her teeth and eyed the group with a gleam in her eye.
"Am I seeing a unanimous agreement across the board?" she asked calmly.
Each member of the team smiled.
"This is doable," she said, almost in awe as the weight of the glorious prospect finally hitting her.
The panel once again agreed and slowly nodded their heads.
Olivia's heart began racing and she tossed the pen unto the table. "Greg... Mr. Rivera... line one... immediately," Her assistant suppressed a happy giggle and reached for the phone.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"I won't apologize. You and I both know that whatever the reason behind it, my plan is the best thing for this company. It makes sense." Her last words came slowly, and her finger hit the top of her father's desk for emphasis.
"I will never ask you to apologize to me. But I will, however, do what I believe is the very best thing for all of us."
"Just as you've always done?" She couldn't have stopped it; the words simply fell from her lips.
Antonio's phone rang, and he decided to reach for it rather than be once again raked over the coals by his justified daughter.
"What is it?... Yes, put her through... Hello, Ms. Spencer."
The air was instantly sucked out of the room at the sound of her name: vacuum-pressure that wouldn't allow her lungs to work. Her heart thudded so forcefully against her chest that she thought it was trying to release itself from the confines of her ribcage. Had there been movement in the room, it would surely have been slow-motion, but she was immobile, transfixed at the edge of her seat, panic-stricken.
No... NO! Oh God! Why is she calling him?
"Why is she calling you?" It came out hurriedly, her brows furrowed with confusion and worry.
Antonio waved his hand at his daughter to quiet her. "Yes, Ms. Spencer," he looked over at his daughter, "she is actually... Yes, of course," he covered the phone with his palm and turned to his daughter. "Will you please excuse me, I have to take this call privately. Sounds fairly urgent."
"Father, No!"
"Natalia, this no longer concerns you. We will address what your position with the company will be from this time forth at another time."
"Father please.... listen to me," she was frantic now. "Not this hotel. Not her... just... NO!"
"I will not ask again."
Natalia stared him down before rapidly exiting the room, slamming the door behind her. She moved as quickly as she could to the elevators, not caring about the pain behind her left ear, she began running.
"Damn you, Spencer!" When she got to the elevator she pressed the button repeatedly. "Come on! Fuck!"
This is not happening. This CAN'T happen!
She ran off the elevator to her room, flew into her suite, and yanked her cell out of her purse. She immediately went over to her land-line phone and called down to her office.
"Sheila, thank-god! I need you to go through Jacques' contact list and find me the number for Ms. No-Feelings-At-All Spencer's cell... Yes, the bitch from my office the other day, that's the one..." She waited for Sheila to pull up the numbers and then punched them into her cell as they were being recited to her. She hung up the land-line and brought her cell to her other ear.
Damn you Spencer. What the fuck are you doing?
-----------------------------------------------------------
Olivia could hear Natalia's voice in the background. Her stomach quickly flopped, and she had to force herself to remember that she was secretly wishing for just such a scenario. She wanted Natalia to know that it was her on the line, speaking privately with her father. She delighted in the worried tone of the other woman. She asked Mr. Rivera if they could talk without an audience, knowing full well it would drive Natalia insane to not know what was being said between the two. This is how you always wanted her. Rattled and unnerved. Back to basics, Spencer, stick to the plan.
"I was hoping I would get a chance to speak with you again, Ms. Spencer. I also hope that you haven't been too upset by the unexpected events of the other day."
"I was shocked to say the least, but I am sure it doesn't compare to how you yourself must be feeling? How are you coping with everything?"
"Not well, as you can imagine. But I have been able to halt progress of the offer that was made without my knowledge."
"Yes, actually, I have heard."
"You have?"
BZZ BZZZZ BZZ
"Could you hold on for just a moment, Mr. Rivera? I have an incoming call on the other line," Olivia asked.
"Certainly."
She took her cell phone from the table and looked at the name on the screen.
N. Rivera
She smirked evilly and pressed the end call button.
"Never-mind, it wasn't important. Now, where was I?"
"You were telling me that you were aware that talks had been stopped with the LWG," Antonio said suspiciously. "I am a bit curious as to how you found that out as I just made the call this morning?"
BZZ BZZZZ BZZ
Olivia looked down at a new text message sign on her phone and pressed 'Open'.
<NRivera>What the HELL are you doing Spencer?
"I think you will find that I am a very determined woman, Mr. Rivera. I am sure you can appreciate the benefits of not throwing in the towel till the last round." She said while typing on her cell and hitting 'Send'.
<OSpencer>Having a nice little chat with owner of the Empire. Y?
"Well, yes, I can, and I would like to say that I am thrilled that you haven't been completely turned off by my daughter's actions."
Olivia smiled at the older man's choice of words. "Absolutely not, in fact I have to say I admire your daughter for her dedication to doing what she thinks is best for your company. Now, her tactics on the other hand..."
<NRivera>Get off the fucking phone!
"I would of course, have to agree, but I assure you that I am rectifying the situation as we speak."
"Well, this is a very good thing... for both you and I."
<OSpencer>That would be rude. He and I are just getting to the juicy part.
"I was hoping to be able to get a chance to discuss your proposal with you. I cannot guarantee it will be right away, mind you, but the South Beach Empire will be back on the table at some point... if you are still interested, that is."
"I am indeed. If I had had my way I would never have left California without a signed deal with you, Mr. Rivera."
"Again, Ms. Spencer, you may call me Antonio."
"Only if once again you call me Olivia."
<NRivera> Stay away from my family! Stay out of my hotel! You are DONE here!!!
"Antonio, I would like you to know that not only am I still interested in purchasing the South Beach from you, there is also another proposal that I wish to discuss. Something that, in not only mine, but my entire panel of advisor's opinion, could very well be extremely beneficial to both of our hotel chains."
<OSpencer>Oh, but the service there is unbelievable. And who would want to miss out on that delicious cuisine? Miss it already.
"Is that so? I am very intrigued as to what you have to say Olivia."
"I was hoping you would say that. So, I guess the next question would be how soon can we sit down with each other again?"
<NRivera>I am warning you Spencer... Walk. Away!
"I am available whenever you are."
<OSpencer>Can't do that.
"How does Monday sound?"
<NRivera>Y not?
"I look forward to seeing you then."
"You won't be sorry, Antonio."
<OSpencer>Because I've just made another reservation at your father's magnificent hotel.
<NRivera>Don't do this!
Olivia looked down at the phone and no longer saw her cell. She saw the beautiful dark eyes of the worried woman who was clear across the country. She hesitated and then began to type again.
<OSpencer>You were right Natalia. I AM done. But not with your hotel.
<OSpencer>See you Monday! ;)
Natalia was sitting in her father's office, waiting for him to arrive. Her head hurt slightly as she had done her best not to self-medicate too close to the hour of the meeting. She wanted to be in complete control of her mind and mouth for their conversation. She leaned further back within the black, leather armchair, crossed one leg over the other, and folded her hands in her lap. Her heart had begun to race slightly. Anticipation and fear were the two likely culprits though Natalia couldn't really decide which was actually responsible. She took slow, deep breaths to calm herself, reminding herself that, even before she went behind her father's back, she had accepted this confrontation as the inevitable conclusion. She was prepared.
She thought she was prepared.
She began feeling like a child again. Very rarely had there ever been a need for Antonio Rivera to have to scold his daughter. She had worshipped the ground that he walked upon, and he had always doted upon her as though she were a princess. It was very much a give-and-take relationship with the two of them. For example: Natalia would sit quietly during dinners with important guests in her pretty dresses and was sure to use all of her manners and follow complete etiquette. She would then be allowed to go out into the gardens and play in the dirt or climb trees to her hearts content as a reward.
Her father could do no wrong in her eyes, and when she was little, and she had done wrong in his, this was how she had felt. Quietly awaiting a punishment, not of a loud scolding or the sting of a spanking, but the true agony of seeing the look of disappointment in her Daddy's eyes.
She remembered back upon the very day that she first became disillusioned of her father's seemingly infinite wisdom and superiority. When she came face-to-face with the reality that her idol was, indeed, just as errant as any other human. That day that took both her safe world and happy family and squeezed them together in a vice grip of pain until crushed forever, when a very young woman came to her mother Cidalia's door, claiming her husband as being the father of her young son. It was the first light that shone upon a multitude of hidden sins. It tore her mother apart, and it dimmed the glowing respect Natalia had for the man she had once adored.
Natalia became defiant and insolent – making him work harder for her forgiveness than he ever had for her mother's. He did the best he could from that point on to always do what was best for his family, including his illegitimate son, but things were never the same between the two.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her father entered the office and made his way around her chair, sitting slowly into his seat behind his desk. Natalia sat straight in her own and did her best to keep her expression neutral, even when she saw the haggard, sleep-deprived, and saddened eyes that stared blankly back at her.
Antonio Rivera cleared his throat. "Are you feeling better today?"
"Not really," Natalia answered.
"What happened?"
"I passed out."
Her father looked at her suspiciously.
"I was drunk." Natalia offered the answer that she knew her father was expecting to hear. It didn't shock him at all.
"I see," he said stoically.
There was a beat of silence, and neither Rivera looked at each other, both unsure of who should speak next. Antonio finally sighed, his shoulders almost hunching over as if the rest of his strength were giving way.
"Why, Natalia?"
"I told you; I did this for the Company."
"The company that I built from the ground up? The one I developed before you were even born? I own the majority of this company! You have been given a percentage because you have earned it through the years."
"And Mateo? What has he done for his?"
"I will not have you question any of the decisions I have made regarding your brother. This is not about your brother. This isn't even about your mother and I," he slowly leaned forward, years of guilt and repentance finally giving him the strength to face-down his persecutor. "This is about you and me, Natalia," he said in a slow and measured tone. "And this is about March 17, 1991."
Natalia's eyes flashed with dark rage, and her breathing became erratic as she did her best to control the rampage of horrible words that were desperately trying to seek freedom from the cage of her clenched teeth. They were never to speak of this. The wound was never to be reopened. She had been content on simply letting her father try to make it up to her for the rest of his life. To silently punish him by never verbally offering him forgiveness.
"No... It is not." Her voice was so cold and low that she hardly recognized it.
"If not that, then what, Natalia? What else are you chastising me for? What else is it you would like to take from me?"
Natalia could no longer hold in the tears that formed in her angry eyes. "Take from you?" Her voice was jagged now and her volume rose with every syllable. Her body began to shake from the violent malignancy she felt toward the man she once admired. "Take... from you? Do you know how long it took for me to be able to look at you without wanting to be physically ill? You took everything away... You ripped us all apart... You killed my..."
Natalia quickly clasped her hand to her mouth and shut her eyes tightly. She knew she had gone too far. She leaned back and put both hands over her eyes briefly and tried to breathe out the animosity in order to get back to a more calm and in-control state. It wasn't going to do either of them any good to talk about it further. Nothing could be gained.
They both sat in silence for several long moments. Neither of them looked at each other. Both were reliving the past events through two separate vantage-points – one the terrified victim, the other the one-time monster.
"I have had the lawyers temporarily suspend any proceedings with the Livingstone-Westgate Group, stating that the offer of our franchise was made erroneously by a renegade employee that acted illegally on my behalf." He watched as Natalia closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "You didn't honestly think you were going to get away with this, did you? That I would let you hand my company away to the highest bidder?"
-----------------------------------------------------------
Olivia pushed her chair back slightly from the desk. She had just finished looking over the different reports that her team of experts had submitted. She tugged at the end of her pen with her teeth and eyed the group with a gleam in her eye.
"Am I seeing a unanimous agreement across the board?" she asked calmly.
Each member of the team smiled.
"This is doable," she said, almost in awe as the weight of the glorious prospect finally hitting her.
The panel once again agreed and slowly nodded their heads.
Olivia's heart began racing and she tossed the pen unto the table. "Greg... Mr. Rivera... line one... immediately," Her assistant suppressed a happy giggle and reached for the phone.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"I won't apologize. You and I both know that whatever the reason behind it, my plan is the best thing for this company. It makes sense." Her last words came slowly, and her finger hit the top of her father's desk for emphasis.
"I will never ask you to apologize to me. But I will, however, do what I believe is the very best thing for all of us."
"Just as you've always done?" She couldn't have stopped it; the words simply fell from her lips.
Antonio's phone rang, and he decided to reach for it rather than be once again raked over the coals by his justified daughter.
"What is it?... Yes, put her through... Hello, Ms. Spencer."
The air was instantly sucked out of the room at the sound of her name: vacuum-pressure that wouldn't allow her lungs to work. Her heart thudded so forcefully against her chest that she thought it was trying to release itself from the confines of her ribcage. Had there been movement in the room, it would surely have been slow-motion, but she was immobile, transfixed at the edge of her seat, panic-stricken.
No... NO! Oh God! Why is she calling him?
"Why is she calling you?" It came out hurriedly, her brows furrowed with confusion and worry.
Antonio waved his hand at his daughter to quiet her. "Yes, Ms. Spencer," he looked over at his daughter, "she is actually... Yes, of course," he covered the phone with his palm and turned to his daughter. "Will you please excuse me, I have to take this call privately. Sounds fairly urgent."
"Father, No!"
"Natalia, this no longer concerns you. We will address what your position with the company will be from this time forth at another time."
"Father please.... listen to me," she was frantic now. "Not this hotel. Not her... just... NO!"
"I will not ask again."
Natalia stared him down before rapidly exiting the room, slamming the door behind her. She moved as quickly as she could to the elevators, not caring about the pain behind her left ear, she began running.
"Damn you, Spencer!" When she got to the elevator she pressed the button repeatedly. "Come on! Fuck!"
This is not happening. This CAN'T happen!
She ran off the elevator to her room, flew into her suite, and yanked her cell out of her purse. She immediately went over to her land-line phone and called down to her office.
"Sheila, thank-god! I need you to go through Jacques' contact list and find me the number for Ms. No-Feelings-At-All Spencer's cell... Yes, the bitch from my office the other day, that's the one..." She waited for Sheila to pull up the numbers and then punched them into her cell as they were being recited to her. She hung up the land-line and brought her cell to her other ear.
Damn you Spencer. What the fuck are you doing?
-----------------------------------------------------------
Olivia could hear Natalia's voice in the background. Her stomach quickly flopped, and she had to force herself to remember that she was secretly wishing for just such a scenario. She wanted Natalia to know that it was her on the line, speaking privately with her father. She delighted in the worried tone of the other woman. She asked Mr. Rivera if they could talk without an audience, knowing full well it would drive Natalia insane to not know what was being said between the two. This is how you always wanted her. Rattled and unnerved. Back to basics, Spencer, stick to the plan.
"I was hoping I would get a chance to speak with you again, Ms. Spencer. I also hope that you haven't been too upset by the unexpected events of the other day."
"I was shocked to say the least, but I am sure it doesn't compare to how you yourself must be feeling? How are you coping with everything?"
"Not well, as you can imagine. But I have been able to halt progress of the offer that was made without my knowledge."
"Yes, actually, I have heard."
"You have?"
BZZ BZZZZ BZZ
"Could you hold on for just a moment, Mr. Rivera? I have an incoming call on the other line," Olivia asked.
"Certainly."
She took her cell phone from the table and looked at the name on the screen.
N. Rivera
She smirked evilly and pressed the end call button.
"Never-mind, it wasn't important. Now, where was I?"
"You were telling me that you were aware that talks had been stopped with the LWG," Antonio said suspiciously. "I am a bit curious as to how you found that out as I just made the call this morning?"
BZZ BZZZZ BZZ
Olivia looked down at a new text message sign on her phone and pressed 'Open'.
<NRivera>What the HELL are you doing Spencer?
"I think you will find that I am a very determined woman, Mr. Rivera. I am sure you can appreciate the benefits of not throwing in the towel till the last round." She said while typing on her cell and hitting 'Send'.
<OSpencer>Having a nice little chat with owner of the Empire. Y?
"Well, yes, I can, and I would like to say that I am thrilled that you haven't been completely turned off by my daughter's actions."
Olivia smiled at the older man's choice of words. "Absolutely not, in fact I have to say I admire your daughter for her dedication to doing what she thinks is best for your company. Now, her tactics on the other hand..."
<NRivera>Get off the fucking phone!
"I would of course, have to agree, but I assure you that I am rectifying the situation as we speak."
"Well, this is a very good thing... for both you and I."
<OSpencer>That would be rude. He and I are just getting to the juicy part.
"I was hoping to be able to get a chance to discuss your proposal with you. I cannot guarantee it will be right away, mind you, but the South Beach Empire will be back on the table at some point... if you are still interested, that is."
"I am indeed. If I had had my way I would never have left California without a signed deal with you, Mr. Rivera."
"Again, Ms. Spencer, you may call me Antonio."
"Only if once again you call me Olivia."
<NRivera> Stay away from my family! Stay out of my hotel! You are DONE here!!!
"Antonio, I would like you to know that not only am I still interested in purchasing the South Beach from you, there is also another proposal that I wish to discuss. Something that, in not only mine, but my entire panel of advisor's opinion, could very well be extremely beneficial to both of our hotel chains."
<OSpencer>Oh, but the service there is unbelievable. And who would want to miss out on that delicious cuisine? Miss it already.
"Is that so? I am very intrigued as to what you have to say Olivia."
"I was hoping you would say that. So, I guess the next question would be how soon can we sit down with each other again?"
<NRivera>I am warning you Spencer... Walk. Away!
"I am available whenever you are."
<OSpencer>Can't do that.
"How does Monday sound?"
<NRivera>Y not?
"I look forward to seeing you then."
"You won't be sorry, Antonio."
<OSpencer>Because I've just made another reservation at your father's magnificent hotel.
<NRivera>Don't do this!
Olivia looked down at the phone and no longer saw her cell. She saw the beautiful dark eyes of the worried woman who was clear across the country. She hesitated and then began to type again.
<OSpencer>You were right Natalia. I AM done. But not with your hotel.
<OSpencer>See you Monday! ;)
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