Hidden Heart

by Camelia Miron Skiba

He cleared his throat, took her elbow and walked again.

  “We need to begin immediate price negotiations and write contracts for each one of the farmers selling us their land. Find a good notary to legalize all contracts. By the time the paperwork is ready, hopefully our headquarters will have the money to pay cash to each one of the farmers.”

  Tessa looked at him, crossing her arms over her chest and trying to remain calm. “Why do you need me for that? I write proposals, not sales contracts.”

  “Well, I understand. However, I just got off the phone with our CEO. He said because you worked on this project from the beginning, it would be preferable that you take it to the next step. It’s your baby.”

  Tessa untied her hair and massaged her forehead, then down her neck.

  “And by the way, he says you are getting a salary increase, you deserve it.” Victor’s face lit up with a wide smile.

  “I don’t need a damn raise. I want you to give this project to the Sales Department. They are experienced and know what needs to be done. You do realize I have three more proposals I need to finish, why on earth would I start writing sales contracts?”

  ***

  Tessa’s cozy little apartment was close to downtown Bucharest, near the historical Arcul de Triumf, in an old fashioned neighborhood. The two-bedroom apartment was her pride and joy, a tangible proof of her accomplishments. She bought it years ago when she received a bonus after closing another multi-million dollar deal. Her childhood was a time of poverty, hunger and fear but in spite of the chaos and corruption governing Romania, after the communistic regime was gone, Tessa had succeeded in building an enviable life for herself.

  When she got home that night, Tessa felt exhausted and stiff from the freezing temperatures. It took her over an hour and a half to get home. She was still mad at Victor. He finally agreed to let her go to the conference, but not before she compromised. Instead of being gone for five days, she’d have to return home after just two. She’d have to visit her sister Chiara, who lived in Berlin, another time.

  She wanted nothing, but a hot bubble bath, a glass of red wine and sleep.

  Daniel, her high school sweetheart and long time on-again off-again boyfriend was back in her life, living in her apartment. They had rekindled a little over a month ago at a party. Seeing him again after so long made her nervous, but they talked and he asked her if she would like to have lunch or dinner sometime. He called her a couple days later and they went to a movie followed by dinner. They had a great time, laughed a lot. Things felt like in the good old days. He apologized for his behavior when he left her a year ago and asked for another chance.

  Tessa missed him for a long time and wondered how he was doing; from time to time she heard news about him from common friends. He switched jobs—even kept his latest job—and tried to get his act together. He seemed genuinely changed. Tessa decided to give it another try. Things weren’t always great, but as long as she was okay with Daniel’s spending or partying, there were no reasons for arguments.

  “I know of a really good notary,” Daniel said, massaging Tessa’s feet.

  She rested on the couch in the living room, a glass of wine in one hand, watching TV. She felt more relaxed now after the hot bath.

  “Our company uses her whenever we have contracts to legalize, and as far as I know her office is somewhere near the airport,” he continued.

  “Okay, that would take some pressure off me. If you say she is good, then I don’t have to waste more time looking for one. It’s hard to find someone you can trust. Whenever we hire a notary, their fees just kill us. And all they do is read documents that someone else wrote, see if it complies with the law and boom! Stamp it and be done with it. I never understood why they are so expensive. Imagine, we have over five hundred farmers with whom we need to negotiate prices for their land, write contracts and notarize each one of them. This notary of yours, I hope she is not too expensive. She’ll make lots of money just from this deal.”

  “I’ll get you her phone number tomorrow.” Daniel finished massaging her feet, stood and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s get you to bed.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I have to wake up at four in the morning to catch my plane.”

  ***

  Tessa returned home after another long day of work and began packing for her next business trip. She had time to stop at her mama’s house for dinner and felt as if her belly would explode from all the tasty dumplings soup and cabbage rolls with polenta her mama had cooked. The last piece of apple strudel was the culprit. She should’ve known better—no more deserts for a week and double the workout time.

  “Ciao bella, I wish you were home, I have exciting news…call me,” was the only message left on her answering machine besides a couple of missed calls with no message.

  Tessa smiled at the sound of Isabella’s voice. Their vacation last summer made her heartbeat race each time memories of those days crept into her head. Her steamy, passionate night with Alessandro still haunted her as the craziest thing she had ever done. She had never felt so relieved about getting her period after her one-night with Alessandro and swore never-ever to act so irresponsibly.

  Tessa finished packing, made herself a cup of green tea and then called her girlfriend.

  “Ciao Isabella, come va?”

  “Ciao bella, since when do you speak Italian?” Isabella asked surprised.

  “Don’t get your hopes too high, I just decided after our vacation to give it a try and learn a bit. I wish I had time for some classes, but my schedule is killing me.”

  “Is this because of Alessandro?”

  “No, no, this is not because of Alessandro, and stop bringing him up each time we talk,” Tessa said quickly. “Enough about me, what’s up?”

  “You know, you can deny it as much as you want, but your voice betrays you.” Isabella paused, giggled and then continued, “I called to tell you, we finally set a wedding day for June eighth, this summer at the little chapel where my parents also married, you know the one we took pictures of last year where we both loved the paintings? I am so excited! And I want you to be one of my maids of honor,” gushed Isabella so quickly, she needed an immediate gulp of air when she finished spilling the news.

  “This is great, Isabella, I am so happy for the two of you, congratulations!” Tessa said. “Although, I feel sorry for poor Antonio—I don’t really think he knows what he is getting himself into— “

  “Don’t you dare tell him about my wild times in college. Those times are long gone and I’ve become a serious woman,” Isabella said and burst in to a bubbly laughter.

  “I’ll think about something to blackmail you with,” Tessa teased in return.

  “And I will give Alessandro your number…unless you chan—”

  “No way, you can’t give him my number!” Tessa said mortified.

  “Come on, Tessa, why are you so resistant to this? You two are perfect for each other. Besides, each time we meet he asks about you…”

  “What? You still see him? I thought he was a tourist there,” Tessa asked with a jittery voice. Would he tell her friends about her visit to his room? A heavy feeling settled in her stomach.

  “Si, he was a tourist here, but whenever we visit Carlo and his wife, we go out for dinner and Alessandro joins us. He is very lonely and Carlo really likes him, so they became good friends. As it turns out they work for the same bank, but different offices. And speaking of Carlo, he will have twins, can you believe it?”

  ***

  Weeks passed since Tessa had won the auction and her company worked nonstop to develop a plan that would ensure the smooth transition of the agricultural land from the farmers’ hands to their ownership. She formed a team with the best people from the Sales Department and the Marketing Department. She was given full authority to proceed with the acquisition, held daily meetings and strictly followed the timeline her superiors gave her. The last transition would be finalized no later than four months after the auction.<
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  “I think I found a good notary,” Tessa entered Victor’s office, walked to a nearby chair and slumped in it.

  “Are you ever going to learn to knock? What if I was naked?” Victor barked, looking at her over the rim of his mug.

  Tessa looked at him, tilted her head to the right, then to the left, tongue in one cheek. “That would be the day I’d probably die laughing. Why would you be naked in your office? I know you spend your nights here but hey, change your clothes at home, would you?” she said and rubbed her palms together. “Now, going back to serious matters; I have drafted the first contract and presented it to the notary. She said it’s good and we can start scheduling meetings with the farmers. I also have it translated for our headquarters to have the lawyers look over it. As it looks, we are ahead of the game. Did we get the funds?”

  Victor put the coffee down, took his head in his palms, pressed his temples, and then rubbed his eyes.

  “Don’t tell me, we don’t have money,” Tessa said as if she read his thoughts.

  He nodded and sunk deeper in his chair.

  “Why? Did you tell them we are moving fast and the farmers aren’t going to sign the land over unless they see the cash?”

  “Trust me, I explained myself for the past two hours. I just hung up with the headquarters. I was told, the company is short on cash—they do all their business through banks, not like us here, where we barely started using credit and debit cards. They said it would take a while to find a bank willing to transfer all that money into our accounts and then proceed with the acquisition. I explained to them the farmers have no accounts and they want their money in cash so they can hide it beneath their mattress.

  “Our CEO said that’s impossible, Romania is not a third world country, why can’t we accept bank transfers like all the other countries? I told them—we aren’t like all the other countries. After forty plus years of Communism and brain washing, what do they expect?” Victor stood and filled up his cup. It looked as if he needed something to preoccupy his hands.

  At times Tessa wondered if he had coffee running through his veins, rather than blood. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him drink water. No wonder he never slept.

  “What did you just say?” Tessa forced herself to focus. Her mind wandered about her boss’s addiction to coffee—a sign of exhaustion. A day off would be welcome, but she’d talk to Victor about it later.

  “Okay, you’re either sleeping over there or you’re just trying to annoy me, right?” Victor’s voice brought her back.

  “Sorry, Victor…You were saying— “

  “For a deaf old woman, the church bells don’t ring twice,” Victor said. “I asked where did you find the notary?”

  “Oh, that. Daniel said their company uses her a lot. I met with her a couple times and she seemed professional, knows her stuff. I think we are in good hands.” Tessa stood, walked to the door, opened it and said, “Well, I guess it’s just as good. I’ll start next week meeting with the farmers and negotiate prices.”

  “Why not this week?”

  “I’d like to take the remainder of the week off… Mama is done with her chemo and the results aren’t as we hoped…”

  “Sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do? Dina visited her a few weeks ago and said how weak Ana was due to the treatment…”

  “Yeah, I know. Thanks for offering, but there is nothing you can do. Just let me take the days off, I feel the need to spend as much time with her as possible.”

  “Whatever you need. Maybe we can arrange to get together and have dinner or something. I’ll have Dina call you to make arrangements.”

  “Sure, I think Mama would love that. I’ll see if she is up for a visit. Say hi to Dina for me. And you should go home; it’s getting late. Good night, Victor.”

  “Yeah, I should. I’ll see you in a couple of days. Good night,” Victor said.

  ***

  “Mama, are you ready? The cab is here,” Tessa said.

  “I’m almost ready, let me grab my coat. You go ahead, I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Tessa went to the cab and waited for her mama. The play would start in about an hour, but with the crazy traffic in town, she didn’t want to take the chance to be late.

  She loved going to theater with Mama; it was a bonding experience for both of them, something they looked forward to, once a month. They missed last month’s play due to the chemotherapy. But now with the treatment over, Ana seemed to feel and do better than before she had been diagnosed with cancer, six months ago. Tessa hoped the doctors had it all wrong; the treatment had helped and Mama would beat the tumors spreading in her fragile body.

  Her mama deserved to live. And enjoy her retirement, watch after grandchildren, see them grow.

  Be with her daughters.

  The cab’s door opened and Ana stepped inside.

  “Hi, Mama.”

  “Hi, Tessa,” Ana said, a weak smile on her face. She placed a soft kiss on her daughter’s cheek and patted her hand. “I was afraid the weather would make it impossible to go. I am so excited to do this again.”

  “Don’t worry, Mama. We’ll be there on time.” Tessa squeezed Ana’s gloved hand and snuggled close to her.

  The taxi took off and thirty-five minutes later pulled in front of the National Theatre, a grand and opulent building close to the University Square. The building seemed even more impressive with the reflectors lighting its tall columns, a massive entry and multi-leveled round windows.

  The cold winter air engulfed them as they walked up the wide stairs leading to the theater.

  Ana needed a small break to catch her breath; she seemed dizzy for a moment, but her daughter’s arm held her firmly. They began to walk again, slower.

  “Don’t strain yourself, Mama. We still have plenty time,” Tessa said, reassuringly.

  Once inside, they left their heavy coats at the coat check. The place looked packed with people waiting in line to leave their winter coats, walking slowly to their seats or just chatting in the massive entrance.

  “You look beautiful tonight, Mama.”

  Ana wore a black velvet scarf twisted around her baldhead, delicate golden earrings and matching necklace and bracelet. A long, dark green dress swathed her petite but gracious body.

  “You’re too nice, Tessa dear, but I accept your compliment. It’s been a long time since I got one,” Ana said as mother and daughter took their seats in the middle of the room, second row from the stage.

  “Don Quixote” lasted for almost an hour and a half. They laughed and applauded; they cried and applauded; and then they applauded some more as some of the finest actors and actresses revealed their talent and charisma. Throughout the play, they forgot about the world, pain and suffering; it was replaced with hope, love and passion.

  “Thank you for a wonderful evening, Tessa,” her mama said as they entered Ana’s house. “It was magnificent, as always.”

  “It was one of the best I’ve seen. I’m glad you felt up to it.”

  Tessa made two cups of lemon tea, took a box of cookies from the pantry and joined her mama in the living room.

  “So, now that we are here, why don’t you tell me what the doctors said?”

  “Why on earth would I start talking about such things after a wonderful night?” Ana took a small sip from her tea then nibbled at a ginger cookie, savoring its aroma. “For once in a long time, I just want to ignore being sick. Please, Tessa.”

  Ana stood then walked into her bedroom only to return seconds later with a small package in her fragile hand.

  “For you. Christmas is long gone, but I had to wait to get this present for you.”

  Tessa took it, tore the gift paper off and exclaimed, “Oh my God, where did you get it? Mama, you can’t afford to buy me this!”

  Chapter 2

  Spring found Tessa ready to close the land acquisition. The long cruel days of negotiations with the farmers were over, the dates for the transactions set and the entire team anxi
ous to end the deal. If only the money would soon be transferred into the company’s account.

  If all worked out well, in ten days she’d sign the last contract and she could celebrate. With her considerable bonus she had made an offer on her favorite cabin up in the mountains that was for sale. That would be one of her best investments. She’d rent it for eleven months out of the year and keep it for herself for two weeks over the summer and two weeks over the winter. Down the road, after the investment paid off, she’d transform it in to her vacation house, her haven of peace, away from the tumultuous city, among sky-tall mountains and green grass that touched the horizon. She’d take her mama and Daniel and her friends. She daydreamed of the way she’d spend her time there.

  She had also been busy traveling all over Europe to find investors for the new development the company planned with the land purchase. Sometimes Victor traveled with her, sometimes he sent her alone. He told her, investors are likely to pay more attention to her talking rather to an old man like him. The feedback from her trips alone versus accompanied by him exceeded in positive results, so soon he let her handle all potential investors.

  Three projects were heavily discussed. Once the land acquisition ended, the terrain would be divided to form three different complexes: a commercial park, a residential park and a business center. Foreign investors were drawn to the potential profit the projects would bring in and the planning and architectural departments worked almost non-stop to provide blueprints, charts and presentations.

  Tessa dropped a box of doughnuts and a cup of coffee on her assistant’s desk, smiled at her and walked towards her office.

  “Mmm, tasty, thanks, boss,” Eva said, her mouth full already.

  “They are not all yours, dear. Call the girls in the other offices, too.”

  Minutes later Eva brought a cup of green tea and a magazine with a financial profile. She pointed to the third page to Tessa’s interview she gave a week ago.