take this all in. The money, the responsibility, it’s impossible. And unbelievable.”
Here I was suddenly very rich, and very depressed. And I certainly didn’t like the way I had inherited it all.
Dennis coughed to get my attention.
“The life insurance policy is valued at one million dollars,” he quickly spit out. He’d been dying to tell me that.
“Ha. A measly million? Peanuts,” I said sarcastically.
Dennis coughed again but this time it came out as a squeal.
“She’s joking Dennis, joking,” Cleve assured him.
I finally sat at the table and put my head down on my arms. I wanted to go to sleep now. Waves of fatigue rolled over me and I felt my eyes closing. I wanted to curl up in a ball under my duvet in my little apartment, and go to sleep. Sleep comes easiest to me when I’m stressed but I reluctantly forced myself to sit up and pay attention.
“Can I have some coffee? Is there a machine around where I can make some?”
Dennis jumped up. “I’ll get it for you. Decaf?”
“No way. I need high test.”
When Dennis left the room, Cleve quietly asked me, “How are you feeling about all of this, Kate?”
“How the fuck do you think I’m feeling?” I shouted. “Do you want me to jump up and down and yell, I’m going to Disney World? This is terrible, it sucks. I never asked for all of this. I’ve never even dreamed about winning the lottery. I have no idea what to do about all of this. I don’t want it.” I had a sudden thought. “I can refuse to take it, can’t I?”
Cleve slowly shook his head.
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Because I don’t want it . What part of that don’t you understand?”
“Calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. You take the money. And the responsibility. And the eleven hundred employees. And the fucking exotic fish.” At that, I burst into tears. I was so incredibly mature.
Dennis arrived at that moment with a thermos of coffee in one hand and a stack of Styrofoam cups in the other.
“Dennis,” Cleve said. “Can you give us a minute?”
When Dennis had left the room, again, Cleve told me to sit down and get a grip on myself. The man was definitely the strong, sympathetic type.
“You can’t change what’s happened Kate.”
“No I can’t.” I wiped my nose in a very unladylike manner on a balled-up Kleenex that I found at the bottom of my purse. “But I don’t have to like it. In fact, at this moment, I’m more pissed off at Tommy then I’ve ever been. Didn’t he have a favourite charity or something?”
“Kate, you’re missing the point. Phoenix Technologies was his life. And he said in his will that he wanted it left in the capable hands of the one person he trusted implicitly. You.”
“Well, Phoenix Technologies is in deep shit. Sure, I can type like a demon, transcribe dicta-tapes until the cows come home, organize a mean meeting, but I have no idea how to chair a board of directors and run a multi-million dollar company.”
Cleve reached across the table and covered my hand with his huge paw.
“You’ll just have to learn.”
I turned up the air conditioner full blast, and stood naked under the ceiling vent. When I was chilled sufficiently I crawled under the covers on the king-size bed, curled up in a ball and tried to sleep but I could still feel the caffeine coursing through my veins. The digital alarm clock on the bedside table read 1:45 a.m. and I cursed the amount of coffee I had consumed over the past several hours.
It had been just after midnight when Lou returned me to the hotel. The lobby was quiet and I was overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness as I trudged to the elevators.
After the meeting with Dennis, Cleve and I had returned to the Phoenix offices for the emergency board meeting. Cleve introduced me to each of the directors and then he conducted the meeting because I had told him I had absolutely no intention of chairing the meeting and that the onus was on him to get through the
Here I was suddenly very rich, and very depressed. And I certainly didn’t like the way I had inherited it all.
Dennis coughed to get my attention.
“The life insurance policy is valued at one million dollars,” he quickly spit out. He’d been dying to tell me that.
“Ha. A measly million? Peanuts,” I said sarcastically.
Dennis coughed again but this time it came out as a squeal.
“She’s joking Dennis, joking,” Cleve assured him.
I finally sat at the table and put my head down on my arms. I wanted to go to sleep now. Waves of fatigue rolled over me and I felt my eyes closing. I wanted to curl up in a ball under my duvet in my little apartment, and go to sleep. Sleep comes easiest to me when I’m stressed but I reluctantly forced myself to sit up and pay attention.
“Can I have some coffee? Is there a machine around where I can make some?”
Dennis jumped up. “I’ll get it for you. Decaf?”
“No way. I need high test.”
When Dennis left the room, Cleve quietly asked me, “How are you feeling about all of this, Kate?”
“How the fuck do you think I’m feeling?” I shouted. “Do you want me to jump up and down and yell, I’m going to Disney World? This is terrible, it sucks. I never asked for all of this. I’ve never even dreamed about winning the lottery. I have no idea what to do about all of this. I don’t want it.” I had a sudden thought. “I can refuse to take it, can’t I?”
Cleve slowly shook his head.
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Because I don’t want it . What part of that don’t you understand?”
“Calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. You take the money. And the responsibility. And the eleven hundred employees. And the fucking exotic fish.” At that, I burst into tears. I was so incredibly mature.
Dennis arrived at that moment with a thermos of coffee in one hand and a stack of Styrofoam cups in the other.
“Dennis,” Cleve said. “Can you give us a minute?”
When Dennis had left the room, again, Cleve told me to sit down and get a grip on myself. The man was definitely the strong, sympathetic type.
“You can’t change what’s happened Kate.”
“No I can’t.” I wiped my nose in a very unladylike manner on a balled-up Kleenex that I found at the bottom of my purse. “But I don’t have to like it. In fact, at this moment, I’m more pissed off at Tommy then I’ve ever been. Didn’t he have a favourite charity or something?”
“Kate, you’re missing the point. Phoenix Technologies was his life. And he said in his will that he wanted it left in the capable hands of the one person he trusted implicitly. You.”
“Well, Phoenix Technologies is in deep shit. Sure, I can type like a demon, transcribe dicta-tapes until the cows come home, organize a mean meeting, but I have no idea how to chair a board of directors and run a multi-million dollar company.”
Cleve reached across the table and covered my hand with his huge paw.
“You’ll just have to learn.”
I turned up the air conditioner full blast, and stood naked under the ceiling vent. When I was chilled sufficiently I crawled under the covers on the king-size bed, curled up in a ball and tried to sleep but I could still feel the caffeine coursing through my veins. The digital alarm clock on the bedside table read 1:45 a.m. and I cursed the amount of coffee I had consumed over the past several hours.
It had been just after midnight when Lou returned me to the hotel. The lobby was quiet and I was overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness as I trudged to the elevators.
After the meeting with Dennis, Cleve and I had returned to the Phoenix offices for the emergency board meeting. Cleve introduced me to each of the directors and then he conducted the meeting because I had told him I had absolutely no intention of chairing the meeting and that the onus was on him to get through the
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