The Lesson (10 page)

Mason grabbed a blanket from the bed and
knelt down next to them. Reaching out, he put two fingers on the
old man’s wrist. After a moment, he removed his hand and placed it
on Bianca’s shoulder. “Sweetheart,” he said, his voice husky. “I
don’t think the blanket will do him any good.”

“What?” she whimpered. “What do you mean?
Give me the blanket!” She snatched it from Mason and wrapped the
thin cloth around the old man.

“Bianca,” Mason started.

“No!” she snapped. The faint sound of sirens
interrupted them and she held Nonno Joe closer. “The ambulance is
almost here, Nonno,” she whispered. “They’ll be able to help
you.”

“Bianca,” Mason tried again. “Honey. He’s
gone.”

“No!” she screamed. “He isn’t! He’s just
sick. He … he fainted, or he passed out. They’ll help him, I know
they will.”

The sirens grew louder at the same time
Mason’s cell phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he answered
with a terse, “Yes?”

He listened for a moment. “You don’t
understand. She …” He listened again. “No, it’s worse than that, I
…”

After a moment he sighed heavily. “Yes,
mother.” He pushed end on the phone and shoved it back in his
pocket.

“They want me to come back,” he told her,
his voice monotone.

“What?” she whispered. “Are you kidding
me?”

A voice called from the front room,
interrupting them. “Hello? Paramedics here!”

“Back here,” Mason hollered.

Two EMT’s came into the room, quickly
assessing the situation. Bianca moved away, Mason helping her to
stand as they began to work on Nonno Joe. It was only a few short
moments before they sat back and looked up at Bianca. “Miss, I’m so
sorry,” said one of them, a woman with chocolate skin and closely
cropped hair. “There’s nothing we can do.”

Bianca let out a horrible wail and crumpled
to the floor. “Nonno!” she sobbed, gathering the old man back into
her arms. “Oh, Nonno, I’m so sorry.”

Mason watched for a moment. “What happens
next?” he asked the paramedics.

“We have to call the coroner,” answered the
other paramedic, a man with sandy hair and a muscular frame. He
picked up a bottle of pills from Nonno Joe’s nightstand.

Do you need me to stick around?” Mason
asked.

The paramedic gave him a look of
disbelief. “We don’t
need
you
to stay,” he answered, holding up the bottle of pills. “Clopidogrel
is a pretty common medication for heart disease. I can’t be sure of
course, but it’s probably safe to assume he had a heart
attack.”

The female paramedic put a hand on Bianca’s
shoulder. “Miss, would you like to come sit with me for a few
moments? I have a few questions, if you feel up to answering.”

Bianca’s entire body shook from her sobs,
but she managed to let go of her grandfather, placing him gently on
the floor. She stared down at him for a moment. “I love you,
Nonno,” she wept, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek before
pulling the blanket over him. The paramedic stood, taking Bianca’s
shaking hand in hers and helping her to stand.

The female paramedic led Bianca to the
living room, Mason trailing behind them.

The other EMT followed them into the living
room. “I’m going to make the necessary calls,” he told the female
paramedic before walking out the front door to the ambulance in
front of the house.

“Bianca, I have to go back,” Mason told her,
rubbing the back of his neck, his face anguished.

Her eyes flew to his, and he flinched as
something in her expression hardened. “Are you kidding me?” She
stared at him. “Right now? When I need you the most?”

“You don’t understand,” he pleaded. “This is
the biggest social event of the year for my parents. All of their
biggest clients are there. If I don’t show up, all of Freeman
Industries will look bad.”

“I don’t care.” she whispered, folding her
arms over her chest.

“What?” he replied, his own face hardening.
“What do you mean you don’t care?”

“I don’t care!” she screamed. “I don’t care
about Freeman Industries, I don’t care about your snobby parents
and their snobby friends, and I don’t care about you!”

The female paramedic took a step forward.
“I’m going to go take care of a few preparations before the coroner
gets here,” she told them uncomfortably before fleeing the
room.

She collapsed on the couch, sobbing. “If
you’re going to leave, then do it.” She pointed a shaking finger at
him. “But if you do, don’t bother coming back.”

Mason’s eyes widened. “What are you
saying?”

“I’m saying that if you can’t stand up to
your parents now, the one time I really need you, then I don’t want
you in my life.”

“Bianca, I love you.” He knelt in front of
her and tried to take her hands in his. She yanked away from
him.

“Nonno Joe is dead, Mason. Dead!” she
snarled. “Because I was with you, taking a bunch of … of
shit
from your parents. If I had
been here, I might have been able to help him. And now you’re going
to leave me here, with
no
one
, to go entertain a bunch of people who only know
your name because you’re a
Freeman
.”

“That’s not fair,” he protested.

“No, Mason, what’s not fair is that you
would even consider leaving.” She glared at him. “I don’t have the
energy to sit here and talk about this anymore, so you’re going to
have to make up your mind. Are you going to stand up for me, for
yourself, and take control of your own life? Or are you going to
run back to your safe, privileged life?”

“Please don’t do this,” Mason begged her
with his eyes and a muscle in his jaw ticked.

“Are you staying or are you going?”

He stood up and took a step back.

“I see.” Her hands fell to her sides and her
shoulders sagged.

“Bianca, I love you.”

“Get out.”

“I’ll call you.”

“I won’t answer,” she replied. “Please
leave.”

“I don’t have a choice,” he said as he took
another step back.

“There is always a choice,” she answered as
she slumped into her grandfather’s Barcalounger. “Goodbye
Mason.”

He hesitated a moment longer and Bianca’s
hands went to her face, tearing at her hair.

“Get out!” she screamed. “Get out, get out,
get out!” She stood up and took a step toward him, still screaming.
“Get out of my house!”

The female paramedic came running from the
bedroom and Mason took one last look at Bianca before he turned and
fled the house.

“My dear,” the paramedic caught Bianca as
she collapsed. “You poor thing. Shh, now. I’ve got you.”

For now,
Bianca thought desperately.
But what
about tomorrow? And the day after that? And the rest of my life?
Who will have me then?

Shh,
the
little voice inside her responded, sympathetic for the first time
in Bianca’s memory.
I’m here. I’ll always
be here.

Me, myself, and I,
Bianca thought insanely.
No more
Nonno Joe. No more Mason. Just me, myself and I.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Bianca shook her head, trying to dispel the
bad memories. She stared at the drop down menu of messages on her
Facebook page. She could read the first few words of Mason’s
message.

Bianca, I’ve hesitated to contact you after
the way we left things, but I…

Bianca’s finger hovered over her mouse as
she debated clicking on the message so she could read the rest of
it.

What could he possibly
have to say?
She wondered.

He probably wants to
apologize,
the little voice inside her
answered.

It’s too late for apologies.

Perhaps,
the
voice replied.
But you know how much you’d
love to hear one, how much you’d love to see him groveling at your
feet.

He would never grovel.

Maybe, but there’s nothing wrong with
fantasizing, is there?

No, nothing wrong with fantasizing, Bianca
realized as she diminished her Facebook page.

Besides
,
whispered the voice.
You know you’d love
to talk to him. See him. You’ve always missed him.

Shut up!

“Miss Russo,” a voice interrupted her
reverie and she jumped, letting out a small, involuntary cry.

Martin Trayne hurried across the office,
laughing slightly. “Did I scare you?”

“A little,” she gasped, leaning back in her
chair and looking up at her boss. “I’m sorry, I guess I was lost in
thought.”

Why can’t you be attracted
to a man like that?
The little voice inside her
asked.
He’s intelligent, kind, and
attractive. Not to mention single!

Bianca studied him for a moment. He had
light brown hair, neatly trimmed, brown eyes and a pleasant face.
He wasn’t tall, but he still stood a few inches taller than Bianca
even when she wore heels. His trim frame looked good in casual
shirts and jeans as well as the suits he wore to the office.

You’re right. I wish I was attracted to him.
Or any man. But I’m not.

He frowned a little. “Is everything alright?
It isn’t like you to get so distracted.”

She nodded. “Everything is fine, I
apologize.” She pointed to her monitor. “I’m almost finished with
your speech. I’ll have your cards ready for you in about twenty
minutes.”

“No need to apologize,” he smiled, sitting
on the edge of her desk. “You’re the best assistant I’ve ever had.
Which reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about your future with
the company.”

She sat back again and looked up at him.
“Oh?”

He nodded. “As you know, one of the reasons
for this convention is to address the changes we’ve had to make to
medical policies since the new laws came into play. We’ve realized
we need to create a new department to deal with new policy holders
with preexisting conditions. We need people to negotiate with
doctors, pharmaceuticals, et cetera. The trick is making sure
people have adequate coverage and still turn a profit.” He shook
his head. “Our stockholders have been screaming at us for months.
He gave her a wry smile. “Anyway, I’ve been offered the illustrious
position of heading this brand new, money pit of a department.”

Bianca laughed. “Well, if anyone can make it
work, I’m sure you can.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he
grinned. “I wish I was as certain.”

“You can come visit me any time you need a
boost,” she offered.

He laughed. “The truth is, I was hoping to
bring you with me.”

“As your assistant?” Bianca asked. She
thought about it a moment, then shrugged. “Why not? As long as it’s
a lateral move, it’s worth the risk.”

“No,” he shook his head. “I don’t want you
as my assistant. They’re making me the executive director of the
‘Preexisting Conditions and New Policies under the Affordable Care
Act’ department.” He punctuated his words with finger quotes.

Bianca laughed again. “That seems a bit
cumbersome.”

“And how!” he grinned. “At any rate, one of
the perks of the new position is that I get to handpick my team. I
want you as assistant director.”

Bianca gasped and tapped her lips with an
index finger. “What?”

“You’d work directly under me, overseeing
the rest of our management team and helping me with negotiations.
It would involve a bit of travel. For instance, I’d like you to go
to Vegas with me. I know it’s last minute, but there’s no time like
the present to start getting you familiar with some of the people
you’ll be working with.”

“I, I don’t know what to say.”

“Say yes,” he smiled. “You’re smart,
efficient, you learn quickly. It might chafe some of the guys
who’ve been around a while, but the truth is, they could learn
something from you.”

“What would that be?” She raised an
eyebrow.

“You have a level of compassion that most of
the guys in the business don’t. You’ll work harder than they will
to get people the services they need. It’s a quality this company
needs in this new era.” He frowned and gave a little shrug. “They
don’t understand that the world has changed for us, and there’s no
going back to the old way.”

Bianca felt a flush creep across her face as
she absorbed his praise. It was nice to hear, but she never
expected to move forward in her career so quickly.

Why on earth are you
hesitating?
The voice inside asked.
This is exactly what you’ve been working so hard
for all these years.

I know.

Oh. My. God. This isn’t
because of
him
, is
it?

Of course not.

Liar,
the
voice accused.

Shut up!

“Thank you for the compliment,” Bianca
replied carefully. “And I appreciate the offer. May I think about
it for a day or two?”

“Of course.” He stood up. “But I’d like to
know soon. Like I said, I want you to go with me to Vegas and if
you’re going to go, we’ll need to make arrangements as soon as
possible. And Bianca?” He tilted his head a bit as he said her
name. It surprised her, as he had always called her ‘Miss Russo’ in
the past, but she understood that he was attempting to signal their
equality, that she could view him as a contemporary, colleagues,
and no longer merely employer and employee. “Don’t think for a
moment I’m doing you any favors. You’ve earned it.”

Bianca nodded. “Give me the night and we’ll
talk in the morning. And, Martin,” she hesitated a little,
realizing it was also the first time she’d called him by his first
name. “Thank you. It means a lot to know you think so highly of
me.”