Chapter 9
Stefan’s assistant Jody Lawson had moved with him when he relocated to D.C. She was single with no family and was ambitious. She could very well run the division if she put a mind to it. He had plucked her out of the secretarial pool when she was a teenager and she had been with him since then. She had been a high school drop- out and he had a soft spot for the underdog. She had earned her GED and was now getting her degree while working for him and he was amazed by her go-getting attitude.
Stefan depended on her; she was truly his right hand man; so to speak. Jody had grown into an attractive woman. She was as tall as he was, so when she wore heels she towered over him. She was a beautiful African American woman with voluptuous curves and he had been teased on more than one occasion for having the most attractive assistant. The guys were always asking if he had “tapped that.” But Jody actually felt like a daughter or at least what he imagined what it would feel like to have a daughter.
Normally he only had Jody do work related things; he was never a get me a cup of coffee kind of boss like some other executives. But now he was going to have to lean on her a bit more. He was grateful that he could ask this of her since they had such a long and companionable working relationship. He called her into his office.
She came in with pen and paper ready to take notes. “Have a seat Jody.”
Something in Stefan’s tone alerted Jody. “What’s wrong?”
“I normally don’t ask you to help me with personal things, but I’ve got a situation.” Stefan said seriously.
“Whatever you need Stefan. How can I help?” Concern etched Jody’s brow.
“My fiancé is sick and I need...” Stefan couldn’t finish his sentence because she cut him off.
“Fiancé! I didn’t know you were dating someone, let alone had asked her to marry you! Who is she? How did you meet? How long have you been dating?” Jody had stood in her exclamation.
Stefan motioned her to sit back down. “You know I keep work and my private life separate. Stacey is everything I could hope for in a woman and I love her deeply. We haven’t known each other long, but she is an amazing woman and I’m blessed beyond belief to have found her. She has been diagnosed with leukemia and on top of dealing with my mom’s dementia; I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and I’m going to need some help. “
Jody’s tone was sympathetic and reassuring, “Anything you need Stefan.”
It was a relief that he was going to be able to lean on Jody a little. She really was his right hand at the office. His mind was still trying to come to grips on how to get Stacey to realize that he wasn’t going to call off their engagement just because she was sick. It was times like these he missed his mother’s wise advice, his dad was great, but he really missed his mom.
Stefan handed over the stack of papers he had been poring over to Jody. “I need you to go through all of these and see if you can come up with an option on where to have our sales convention. Oh and if you need help with what venue to choose, Nick’s girlfriend Jasmine is an event planner. Her number is in my contacts, mention my name and see if she can point us in the right direction. Can you pick up my shirts from the dry cleaners? I hate to ask...”
Jody nodded her head and left his office waving off his protests of doing personal tasks for him. He was sure whatever she came up with would work out, so the next step was to go through some contracts. But his mind was not on the task at hand. All he could do was to wonder how he was going to overcome Stacey’s reluctance to allow him to take care of her.
He wasn’t going to give up. And he wasn’t going to let her give up either. The fear that gripped his gut at the thought she might not survive was overwhelming. The reality of it was beginning to sink in. He called Nick to see how she was doing, but had just gotten his voicemail. It was frustrating to just not be with her.
Nick was on the phone with Stacey when Stefan called and he didn’t look forward to calling him back. Stacey had been adamant on going to work and having everything seem normal. Nick knew how to deal with Stacey, but Stefan was another matter. His buddy was a good guy, but could sometimes be short on patience, so this situation with Stacey was going to test him greatly. Nick dialed Stefan’s number and took a deep breath. “Hey man.”
“I was just about to call you again.” Irritation was already dripping from his voice; Stefan knew it wasn’t Nick’s fault, but still couldn’t help resent that Nick could be close to Stacey and he couldn’t be.
“Stacey is fine Stefan. In fact she’s at work.” Nick said.
“At work! What the hell man! Why on earth would you let her go to work?” Stefan exploded.
“Do you know the woman? Once she has set her mind to something, there is no changing it. Besides she isn’t feeling sick. She needs to keep working for as long as she can.” Nick said.
Stefan felt at a loss as to what to do. “Nick how can I make her see reason?”
“You’re not going to be able to make her do what you want just by sheer force of will. It’s going to take time to wear her down and make her understand your perspective. She’s scared, this is huge Stefan. Part of her argument in going back to work is that she doesn’t want to just sit imagining the worst case scenario. But then the other part is that even though she’s a nurse it doesn’t mean she gets free medical service. It’s going to be expensive to go through this even with her insurance.” Nick said.
Stefan felt a flare of hope. This was something he could do for her. He already made an absurd amount of money and so far all of his investments were solvent; which was quite the boast in these economically uncertain times. He had thought once they were married that he could ask Stacey if she wanted to be a housewife, but he had thought that she wouldn’t want to give up being a nurse. It seemed to be a fundamental part of who she was. “I want to take care of her medical expenses. How can I do it? I know she will refuse if I try to approach her. Do you have any connections at the hospital that might help?”
Nick thought for a moment. “It looks as though things between her and Alyson have gotten better. Maybe I can approach her and see if she has any suggestions.”
“Let me know what you find out. Thanks Nick.” Stefan hung up feeling frustrated. But he could never show that to Stacey. He was going to have to figure out how to handle this delicate situation; the wrong move could alienate her. Right now she thought she was sacrificing herself for the greater good; of that he had no doubt. But somehow he was going to have to prove her wrong.
Take Care of Me Page 17
