Chapter 47

"How am I going to get through the funeral?"

The next day, funeral planning had Natalia and Jacques in the back pew of a large Catholic Church – watching as a display of flowers was arranged at the front of the sanctuary. The last remaining member of the original Rivera clan looked up at the grand architecture of the church that her family had attended on special occasions long ago. She tried to remember the last time she had set foot on religious soil, but she could not. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Natalia's parents had always made sure that they attended mass when they were living in Chicago, and religion had once been the backbone of the happy family. She almost chuckled to herself as she recalled actually having enjoyed the different traditions and rituals of their faith.

Faith.

She lost her smile upon the reflection of the word. Coincidently, the family had all but stopped attending church immediately following the arrival of the youngest Rivera. Natalia was unsure whether the reason for their noticeable absence had more to do with public humiliation and shame, or just a complete loss of faith.

The answer would depend on which family member was asked, she mused. Who needs to confess their sins in private when they're all in the weekly tabloids?

"One moment at a time, I suppose," Jacques answered, breaking her away from thoughts of her past and guiding her back to the impending stress of the day. "You can do it, Natalia, you're stronger than you think."

"God, I wish people would stop saying that!" the annoyed woman huffed. She pulled a church bulletin from the hymnal slot in front of her and began folding it into a paper airplane. "What is everyone saying about the future of the Empire Hotels?"

Jacques cleared his throat and attempted to denote sincerity in his answer. "Everyone is confident in your abilities as a leader. There is no need to worry."

Natalia rolled her eyes, clearly unconvinced. "You're only saying that because I'm currently a grieving mess." Receiving no further response from Jacques only confirmed her suspicion. "You know, it took me years to shake off my reputation of being the irresponsible 'Wild Child'. Now our shareholders have to deal with the fact that the same drunken teenage rebel – subsequently also the maniac who recently tried to sell off a shit-load of hotels to the highest bidder – is now at the wheel of this rapidly sinking ship."

"Well, it is good that you did not try to sell the entire corporation, n'est-ce pas? I'm sure we'd all be far less forgiving." Jacques accentuated his comment with a slight smirk.

Natalia gave the Frenchman a sideways glance. "Well, at least one of us has a sense of humor about it."

"You are calling the shots now, Natalia. Everyone knows where you stand when it comes to the future of the company. People are nervous, naturally, but you can restore their confidence in you. You will just have to assure the shareholders that you will be reasonable in considering all of the other options that have been presented to the Empire."

"Other options..." Natalia tossed the airplane and watched it land a few pews in front of them. "Such as mergers with relatively unknown companies? Letting the Empire brand turn into something completely unrecognizable? That particular 'other option', Jacques?"

"Natalia, there will be plenty of time for you to consider all angles of every possibility, but right now I think you just need to properly mourn your loss before moving forward."

She knew that Jacques meant well, but the last comment grated on her sensitive nerves. She turned to her father's former assistant and shot him a chilled glare. "Of all the myriad of things that I might not do properly, believe me Jacques... I KNOW how to mourn!"

Jacques was relieved when a caterer interrupted them at that moment to ask Natalia's preferences on certain menu items for the gathering after the service. A decision was made with a less than emphatic wave of her hand, and the employee disappeared quickly.

"Is all of this even necessary?" She motioned to all the flowers and professional lighting that had been added. "Dad doesn't..." she paused, sadly. "Didn't... care for such pomp and circumstance."

"Presentation, Natalia." Jacques looked up from a checklist that he was working on for the following day’s events. "Famous millionaires hate the media, but the media loves them. Your father always knew that."

"Ah yes... appearances." Natalia was quite used to keeping up appearances – a loathsome prerequisite of fortune that she had eventually learned to abide by rather well. 

"Besides, Antonio Rivera was adored by elite members of societies from all around the world."

"Most of whom he couldn't stand," Natalia sighed defeatedly and reached for the purse beside her feet. "Can you go over the rest of the arrangements with the coordinator? I need to get out of here before I cause a public, and very 'confidence' ruining, scene."

Jacques knew that – despite the veiled sarcasm – Natalia's last sentence was not a joke. He nodded his consent and watched her walk to the exit where the limo was parked. The crowd of reporters had been kept at quite a manageable distance thanks to a high iron gate that segregated the church property from the main roadway.

The limousine driver, Bobby, saw Natalia approaching the car in a hurry, presumably to try and avoid the few high-powered photo lenses that could still get a clear shot. He quickly pushed himself from off the car door he had been leaning against and opened it for his employer.

"Are we heading home, Ms. Rivera?" He inquired as he helped her into the limo.

Home.

Natalia paused in brief consideration of the word. Is the Empire still 'home' now that Dad is gone? She wondered. The place that she had spent the last half of her years now no longer felt like her home. While Bobby waited patiently for an answer, Natalia sadly resigned herself to the knowledge that she would likely never feel at home anywhere, ever again.

"Just back to the hotel, please," she replied.

They made their way through the congested Los Angeles traffic – despair setting in with each mile driven towards the Empire. Natalia rested her head against the window frame and blinked her eyes a few times against the midday sun, a tear slowly escaping down her cheek.

If home is where the heart is, I'm a vagrant in a multi-million dollar palace.

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"Yessssss, finally! I'm practically starving!" Emma exclaimed when a plate of french fries and gravy was placed on the table of the hotel's restaurant.

Olivia grabbed a fry from her daughter's plate and chuckled. "Practically, huh?"

Emma munched on her lunch and watched as her mother flipped through a magazine. The little girl could tell that her mom's smile was the kind of smile that grown-ups would put on their faces in order to make everyone think that they were okay when they really weren't. It sure wasn't the same smile that she had noticed a few days ago – before Natalia's dad went to heaven and everybody got very sad. That smile was a very fun smile. Never before had her mother worn such a happy face while shopping before. Emma dipped some fries in the gravy and stuffed them into her mouth.

I wanna see you smile like that again, Mommy, she thought to herself.

She then mumbled through a mouthful of food, "I don't wanna go home."

Olivia cocked an eyebrow and peered over the magazine. She reached for her glass of lemonade. "For the sake of reminding you of your table manners, I'm going to wait until you're finished chewing your food before I ask you to explain yourself." She took a sip of her lemonade while she waited.

Emma giggled and did as she was told. "Kay... all done."

"Fantastic." Olivia put down the travel magazine and leaned forward on her forearms, giving the little girl her undivided attention. "So... tell me why you don't want to go home."

"Cuz, I like it here." Was the simple response. Emma quickly sat on her hands and began swinging her legs.

The mother eyed her offspring suspiciously. Emma had never really protested going back home before when tagging along on one of her mother's business trips. Another fry was stolen from the girl's plate.

"Oh yeah?" Olivia responded. "And what is it that you love so much about this place?"

Emma tried to think of a few things off the top of her head. "I like swimming in the ocean. And I like playing in the fountains behind the hotel."

"Jane lets you play in public fountains?"

"Not, like, all the way in!"

"Mmhm..." Olivia said in mock disbelief. "Well, okay, what else?"

"Ummm... I like the bathrobes here."

Olivia let out another hearty chuckle, which caused Emma to laugh as well. She released one of her hands to grab another fry and began dunking it absentmindedly over and over again as she contemplated whether or not to tell her mother her real reason for wanting to stay.

Olivia could tell that her daughter was deep in thought. "Anything else, Emmabug?" she asked.

Emma decided to go for it. "I really like your new friend Natalia too," she answered quickly.

Olivia stopped chewing the bite of food she had taken and studied the child – whom she noted was no longer making eye contact. Emma had never taken interest in any of the business people she was introduced to, either. She finished her bite and decided to gently inquire further.

"You like Natalia?" The mother asked.

"Yup... I think she's fun!" the daughter answered.

"Oh yeah... She's a real hoot!" Olivia's voice contained only enough sarcasm for an adult to pick up on.

"When did you meet Natalia, Mom?"

"The day I came to California. A few weeks ago, I guess. Why?" Olivia sat back in her seat.

Emma shrugged. "You guys act like you knew each other from a long time before."

Olivia was quiet. She knew she shouldn't be surprised at how perceptive her daughter could be, but it startled her nonetheless.

"Is Natalia going to come visit us then? In Springfield? I mean, now that you guys are friends and all?"

"Emmabug..." Olivia leaned forward again, pausing to come up with the best way to simplify the issue for her daughter. "Honey, Natalia is one of the people that Mommy came to California to have business talks with. She's not exactly a friend friend. Not like you and Vanessa are back home. Do you know what I mean?"

Emma didn't give her mother any sign of understanding.

"She was someone that Mommy was trying to work with. Now my work here is done and so it's time to go home." Again Olivia waited for Emma to respond.

The little girl was now eyeing her mother as suspiciously as her mother had been eyeing her. You never had so much fun with any other business person I've ever met.

There was another break of silence.

"So you have no more business with Natalia?" Emma said, almost gloomily.

Olivia began tracing the pattern of the lace tablecloth with her index finger – her answer was given just as cheerlessly. "Nope. No more business with Natalia."

Emma didn't like that answer. She didn't know why but she wished that her mom could have just lied to her and said, "Sure, Natalia will come and visit!" She had decided to stop talking about it, because it was making her sad, when she noticed Natalia walk past the doorway of the restaurant and head for the elevators.

"Mom we have to go back upstairs!" she said excitedly, jumping off her chair in the process.

The confused elder Spencer had no idea what had just happened. "Why on earth do we have to do that? We're going to go to th–"

"Uh...Boris!" Emma began tugging on her mother's arm to get her to move. "I forgot to put water in Boris's shack thingy! He's gonna shrivel up!"

"Emma, I don't think that your snail is gonna dry up in less than three–"

"Pleeeaaaassee", Emma persisted.

Olivia sighed and got up out of her seat. "Fine, okay... off we go... savin' a snail's life."

As the Spencers made their way down the corridor, Olivia noticed that the door to the private elevator was actually closing.  Emma rushed through it and disappeared around the corner. Upon turning the same corner to catch up, Olivia found her daughter standing beside Natalia, innocently staring up at the numbers.

Natalia looked over at Olivia, nodded toward the child, and smiled.

"This belong to you?"

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The doors closed and the two women stood on opposite sides of the elevator. No one said a word. The normal amount of tension from this awkward silence was made even more unbearable given that there was a child in between them.

Emma quickly scooted around her mother and nudged her into the middle. When Olivia was about to ask her what on earth she was doing, the girl beat her to the punch. "I like holding on to the railing or else I will get dizzy!"

"Since when?"

"Two weeks ago."

Natalia could barely stifle an entertained grin. She kept her eyes up at the flashing floor numbers as she felt Olivia's arm brush against her own.

"So... How are you holding up today?" Olivia asked, also staring at the numbers.

"Oh, you know. I'm going to be okay." Natalia replied. "Apparently I'm 'strong'," she added in annoyance.

Olivia wasn't sure what else to say. She'd thought their last conversation had been just that.

"So you're both probably looking forward to going back to your own home, yes?" Natalia interjected into the silence.

"Yeah... pfft... Palm trees, sandy beaches, beautiful people... we can't possibly stand being here another minute!" Olivia joked. "California has nothing on Illinois!"

Natalia managed to smile once more, which immediately vanished the moment the elevator doors opened. An unknown man in a navy suit was standing directly in front of them.

"Ah, Ms. Rivera, I've been waiting for you."

"Creepy," Olivia had meant to mutter under her breath.

The man held the elevator door open and ushered them all out into the hallway. Olivia made her way to her door and let Emma inside. "I guess I will just see you tomorrow?" she asked Natalia, waiting for a sign to see if the other woman needed her to stay out in the hallway.

The younger woman simply held a finger up at her, motioning her to stay right where she was. "Would you kindly introduce yourself and tell me what exactly you are doing on a restricted floor, Mr. ... "

"Detective, actually." The man held out his hand toward Natalia. "Detective Ross Monroe."

The irritated younger woman refused to shake his hand. "I've just come from the church where I will be attending my father's funeral tomorrow. Would you like to tell me why exactly you're up here... waiting for me?"

"Well, you see, here's the thing..." Det. Monroe began as he rocked back and forth on his heels. "You won't be attending a funeral for your father tomorrow."

Olivia immediately closed her door and stood beside Natalia. "What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked aggressively.

"Well, I believe in order to have a funeral, you would want to have a body present. And, as of about an hour ago, the body of Mr. Antonio Rivera has been admitted to the forensic crime lab downtown."

Without missing a beat Olivia whipped out her cellphone and called her personal assistant. She looked to Natalia, who was now turning a frightening shade of grey, and reached for the shorter woman's arm to balance her, as Greg answered her call.

"Greg, darling, I need you to cancel my flight for tomorrow.... No, I won't be going anywhere."