by R. R. Banks
Sulagna paused briefly as she leaned back in the chair and looked up at Jacoby still standing by the window. “After a few months, I was starting to get frustrated with you because you were mourning your wife just as much as if she passed the previous day. It was as if time stood still and, while your company was dying, you were stuck in neutral and refused to get on with your life. I stayed back though, out of respect for you. I spoke, repeatedly, with Nathanial though, trying to get him to step in and finally be a leader. I tried to tell him what to do so that the company wouldn’t go bankrupt. Unfortunately, he couldn’t seem to grasp what needed to be done and the company went into an awful tailspin, to which, only recently has it finally come out of it.”
“Jacoby, I guess what I’m trying to say is that, I understand now,” she continued, changing the tone of her voice by softening it. “When my husband passed away a few months ago, the first thought that went through my mind was that I finally understood what you went through and what it felt like to lose the person who kept your life together. It’s been devastating and I don’t see how anyone can move on quickly to keep their life from falling apart.”
“It’s been the absolute hardest thing I have ever done and I wish it upon no one, Sulagna,” replied Jacoby as he continued to look out the window of his office at the night sky and the moon reflecting off the ocean. “Losing Annette was tragic, but watching my children have to deal with the loss of their mother was even worse. To this day, I am still haunted by their faces when they came in to see their mother lying lifeless in her bed.”
Sulagna nodded subtly. “Do you think they expected it?”
“I think George did,” he replied. “At the time, he was fourteen and was abreast in the world enough to understand what was going on. My daughter, Maggie, was only eight and I don’t think, to this day, she knew what was going on.”
“How are they now?” asked Sulagna. “Mina is a grown woman now, though still young and somewhat naïve, she is an adult. Your children though…”
Jacoby shook his head. “They both took it rough with Maggie holding on to her brother throughout the entire funeral. She didn’t speak to me for weeks, only relaying messages through her brother. George, unfortunately, was forced to grow up a lot in those days. I feel that he lost a great deal of his childhood when his mother passed away. Instead of focusing on the next rugby or cricket game, he was now trying to step in and take care of his sister instead of letting me take care of the two of them.” Jacoby looked down as he gripped the railing in front of the window. “I asked them if they wanted to leave Sydney and escape some of the pain for the school year. I offered to send them to a boarding school in England where they could forge their own path and escape this pain. I wanted it for them so that they would have an opportunity to have a childhood and grow up. Though reluctant, both of my children wanted to escape. I talk to them twice a week and I see them during the summers and around Christmas. I think this is the best thing for them.”
“I don’t think Mina would have wanted that,” mentioned Sulagna. “When her father passed away, she was quiet, but strong. She’s always been incredibly resilient and bounced back from the loss fairly quickly. I knew it would distract her and that she was hurting, but she kept her chin up, kept moving on. Mina is blossoming and becoming the woman that I have always dreamt she would become. She’s stronger than I ever was, and at her age, she’s already beginning to accomplish a great deal.”
“I’ve noticed that,” said Jacoby as he turned his head to look up at Sulagna. “I see she was given a very promising position inside the New Zealand Company that was just given admission to the consortium. I wonder though, was that because she earned it or because it was part of the deal to let Acostis’s company in?”
Sulagna grinned slyly. “A little of both,” she admitted. “She proved to both Dillon Flannigan and Robert Acostis that she was astute and gifted in the business world prior to our meeting in Zurich. However, with her along, I was more apt to give that company my blessing.”
“Nepotism still exists in this world,” quipped Jacoby.
“And it always will,” quickly replied Sulagna. “When your son is ready to take the reins of his own company, you cannot possibly tell me that you will not try and use your existing influence to get him a better position in the business world.”
Jacoby chuckled as he released the railing and walked over to the couch beside Sulagna. “I suppose you’re right,” he answered with a smile as he lowered himself onto the couch and leaned back. “I just, well, I want to make sure that this company will not have anything from Acostis’s company affecting us.”
“I give you my word, there will be no intermingling of interests,” she confirmed as she sipped her brandy again. “I want you to think of their admittance as a stabilizing factor in this region, something that has been lacking for a few years.”
“Will you be honest with me about something,” he asked as he reached toward the end table, grabbing his small glass of bourbon. “I don’t care if you’re trying to protect my feelings or what not, but I have to know something. In the past few weeks, the consortium has done two things in this region that have had an effect on our business. Now, while one of them has been completely positive and, while I was incredibly skeptical at first, has proven to be a masterstroke by you all. I’m still holding my reservations about the more recent move COT has made with the other company in this region, but we’ll see what effect it has. Basically, were these two moves made because of our failures over the past few years, more specifically, because I couldn’t seem to grasp my life?”
Sulagna exhaled slowly as she looked ahead, not turning her head to face Jacoby because she knew the answer might potentially upset him. “Jacoby, I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to answer this,” she said reluctantly. “I mean, this region has been in shambles and something had to be done. We placed Alexis Matthews and Hannah Burchfield in your company to stabilize it, but we knew something else had to be done in that region. Can it all be traced back to Annette’s passing? Unfortunately, yes, but that is not the direct reason we did this.”
Jacoby held his hand up and shook his head. “I understand,” he said. “The company was failing because I could not direct it as I should have. We had the man that Nathanial and I chose to lead it swindle us, while Nathanial wasn’t capable of repairing the damage.”
“I cannot blame anything on the loss of your wife, though,” continued Sulagna. “Had you been around, these moves may have still happened. I don’t know.”
“It’s fine. I understand but I just wanted to know if her death was one of the reasons that these moves were made,” he stated calmly. “I get that there has been a long passage of time and I understand that something had to be done to stabilize the region. I was just curious, that’s all.”
Sulagna turned her head and looked at Jacoby. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “But you’re right. We did have to stabilize the region. It was a business decision.”
“And one that I would hope you would make no matter the situation,” he said confidently. “The consortium exists for all of the companies that reside in it to prosper and flourish; that will always be the case. Just because my life has been in shambles doesn’t mean that my company’s failures don’t affect everyone. I understand why this decision was made but wanted to know if it was my fault that it came to this.”
“Then if you don’t mind me asking, Jacoby, if you could go back and change something, what would it be? What do you think could’ve and should’ve been done differently?” asked Sulagna.
“There are several things, but if we really get down to it, I don’t think I would have ever allowed such a large share in the company to be sold to Nathanial Jenkins,” he replied. “Yes, we should’ve removed some of the leadership at various points, but I think if the majority owner were stronger, then the consortium would not have had to step in.” Jacoby paused as he looked at Sulagna directly in her eyes. “I think if N
athanial Jenkins would have never gotten involved in the Australian Oil Trade and Refiners, we would have never been in this situation.”
Sulagna smirked. “Interesting that you would say that,” she said. “What if I told you that someone is considering making a move at his shares of the company?”
Jacoby smiled as he sat up on the couch, surprised by Sulagna’s remarks. “That’s something that I would know about before you would. I’m afraid whatever information you have is wrong. All shareholders must disclose any potential sales to anyone outside the company to the board within 48 hours of an offer. I would know if someone was making a play at his shares.”
Sulagna laughed heartily. “Do you think you would?” she asked rhetorically. “What if I told you it wasn’t someone outside of your company? There would be no disclosures then, would there?”
Jacoby paused as he leaned back in his chair and thought to about the possibilities. “There is no way…”
She leaned forward and reached for her glass of brandy. “Are you sure there isn’t? she asked playfully. “Do you think you know what every shareholder is thinking?”
“There is only one person who would be bold enough to attempt to buy Nathanial out and he has a conflict of interest now with the other company in this region,” reasoned Jacoby. “Dillon Flannigan cannot be a principle owner of one company and the President of another. It’s unethical.”
Sulagna smiled. “There is no competition inside the consortium though,” she answered. “Besides, what if the two companies were to come together and control the entire Pacific Ocean?”
“There is no way that could possibly happen.”
She laughed as she turned up her drink, finishing it before setting the glass back on the table in front of her chair. “There are a lot of moving parts regarding this, Jacoby, but what I can tell you is that this is something that will probably happen and will be the greatest thing that will ever come of this company.”
“How?”
Sulagna continued to smile. “Because you’ll be one of the larger shareholders in a company that controls a quarter of the world’s oil distribution.”
He sat back in his chair and looked at Sulagna with a very deep, almost blank expression. His mind wandered about how that could happen and what it would mean for him in the long term, but he struggled to wrap his mind around it. “What do you mean?” he asked innocently. “I’m afraid I’m not following you.”
“What if I told you Nathanial Jenkins was going to sell his shares in the company to Dillon Flannigan and then through a non-compete agreement with the company out of New Zealand, all of the South Pacific region would become property of Australia. Jacoby, you would become an even more wealthy man.”
“I’ll need to think on that,” he said. “I may not like him entirely, but he still is my partner and I don’t like thinking about my loyalty coming into question.”
Sulagna stood up and walked around the chair. “You don’t have to leave yet,” announced Jacoby as he looked at Sulagna. “I hope that answer didn’t upset you.”
“Oh, of course not,” she replied. “I just know that it’s getting late and you’re going to be wanting to get home at some point. I’d hate to keep you here all night.”
“I have nowhere else to be tonight, Sulagna,” he said calmly as he slowly rose to his feet. “If anything, spending more time with you would be the highlight of my night.”
She grinned as she walked up and wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek before hugging his neck tightly. “Well, if you want to spend more time with me tonight, call my hotel and make some arrangements. I’m not from Sydney so it’d be nice to have something to keep me entertained this evening.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied as she let go and turned around, heading for the door and leaving his office.
Chapter 3
She walked into her hotel room and set her hand bag on the table beside the door. Shutting it softly, she turned and looked at her suite before walking further into the living area and removing her black jacket. As she placed it on the chair beside a small desk, she turned to notice the telephone positioned in the corner blinking. “I wonder who would call me on this phone and not my cell?” she asked to herself as she reached over and pressed the blinking light.
“You have two new messages,” announced an automated voice from the machine. “First message from, Dillon Flannigan.”
She smirked as she nodded. “Why wouldn’t he text me?” she asked rhetorically as she listened to the message.
“Sulagna, I hope this finds you doing well. I know how this is odd that I’m calling you, but my hands are busy and I needed to give you a message before I step onto this airplane with Marisol. I spoke with Mina, who has also spoken with Hannah Burchfield and Robert. The plan to make Jenkins a minority owner is on, so long as we can convince him that selling the majority of his shares is the best thing for business. Hannah seems to think that if we could offer him stake in several companies to offset his loss, as well as compensate him for the shares he’d be selling to me, he’d go for it. She thinks that we will have to make it appear as if Nathanial is getting a deal that he can’t afford to turn down versus getting swindled out of his company that he let fall into stagnation. If you don’t mind, call me when you get this and let me know if Jacoby is in. Without his blessing, I’m less likely to want to go through with this deal. Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow in Sydney.”
Sulagna nodded as she pulled out her phone to message Dillon when the second message immediately started playing. “Sulagna, this is Jacoby,” said the gruff voice over the answering machine, immediately grabbing Sulagna’s attention away from her phone. “I was wondering if you’d have dinner with me tonight to discuss the acquisition a bit more. We never really went into how everything will work and how all of the parts will move. Give me a call back and let me know if you’re interested.”
Without hesitation, Sulagna deleted the message she was preparing to send Dillon and immediately called Jacoby. Unknown as to what she would do and in what direction she would go, she knew that calling him back would at least help the transition for the company. Within two rings, Jacoby answered with a positive tone. “Good evening, Sulagna,” he announced from his end. “I was hoping you got my message.”
“Yes, I did,” she announced in affirmation, shaking her head as she realized how dumb she sounded. “I’m sorry. I know that by me calling you after… you know what, never mind.”
“It’s ok,” replied Jacoby. “I hope my message didn’t unnerve you; that was not my intention.”
“Oh, of course not, Jacoby,” she stated playfully. “Don’t be silly. You can leave me a message whenever you want.” She hesitated briefly as she realized again how silly she was sounding, almost appearing as if to have the mindset of an adolescent girl. “Jacoby, I’d love to have dinner with you this evening,” she stated calmly, honing her voice and lowering a bit as she exhaled to calm herself down. “Do you have anywhere in mind?”
“Umm, as short notice as this is, how about I call around and see what’s available and then text you where to meet me?” asked Jacoby. “I’m not a very big fan of waiting at a restaurant.”
Sulagna chuckled as she looked at her appearance in the mirror in front of the desk. “I agree,” she said. “There is nothing worse than going to a restaurant and being constantly teased by the vast amounts of food they keep bringing out.”
“I know!” exclaimed Jacoby. “It’s quite awful how they tease you. No matter, I’ll shoot you a message when I have our reservation. Is two hours long enough for you to get ready?”
“It’s plenty of time,” she replied. “Thank you, Jacoby, and I will see you soon!”
She hung up the phone and smiled as she continued to look at herself in the mirror above the desk. “Sulagna, you’ve got some work to do,” she stated as she ran her fingers through her hair. “You may need a lot more than a
couple of hours to get this rat’s nest sorted out.”
Sulagna immediately turned and walked into the bedroom portion of her suite and over to the incredibly large bathroom waiting on her. She slipped off her purple dress, pulling the two straps off her shoulders and letting it fall casually to the floor before slipping off her bra and panties, then walking over to the shower. She opened the glass door and reached into the marble shower, turning a silver knob in the center of the wall allowing the water to pour from the spout on the ceiling. Steam formed inside the walls of the rainfall shower before she walked in, breathing slowly and exhaling softly before placing her right foot onto the tile surface to allow her body to start acclimating to the heat. After a few seconds, she brought the rest of her body into the shower and allowed the hot, steamy water to deflect off her dark skin.
Her mind started to dwell the moment she stepped into the shower and reached for her washcloth and soap. Her husband, Amin Patel, had passed away six months ago and she still possessed sleepless nights. Though he was taken by a disease that he out lived by several months, the pain associated with his loss was not lessened. For twenty-two years, Sulagna and Amin were incredibly close, spending hours together daily even though both of their jobs required them to be at different locales in the world. Through phone calls, messages, and finally, webcam conversations, the two grew incredibly close though painstakingly far away from each other. Sulagna traveled all over the world helping companies involved with the consortium amass larger fortunes and become more influential and successful. While Amin was a doctor, traveling the world performing lifesaving operations and practicing experimental medicine. Both were highly respected in their fields and highly sought after for their skills and expertise, but unfortunately for the couple, it kept them apart for the bulk of their time.
As she moved the washcloth about her body, spreading the soap about her frame, she thought back on all the good moments the two of them shared as his life was drawing to a close. As a doctor, her husband had always kept a sound mind about him. Throughout his struggle, he maintained his wits and rationality as the cancer ate away at him. With his bones starting to show through his sagging skin, he always did his best to not show his weakness and tried to keep a smile on his face. “No matter what this disease puts me through, I will never let you see me weak. I will never let you see me struggle. I will never let you know how much pain I am in because I want your last memories of me to be pleasant. I want you to cherish the amazing memories we’ve made together and not dwell on any you might create seeing me in an awkward state. I want you to remember how and why you fell in love with me instead of how I left this world.”
