Only the Strongest Survive (36 page)

Once when she
was
absent from a meeting, he had had
enough, and said, “Then, let Alexandra become the CEO if that’s
what she wants so badly.”

The meeting room echoed with disapproval.

“But why not?”

“
Alexandra
can stay where she is,” someone on
his
left said. “Not everyone can be a CEO.”

“
Perhaps it
would work. We can’t …”

The rest of
his sentence went unheard due to the angry protests that erupted
among the members of the management board.

“It’s alright, you know. I’m sick and tired
of various insinuations that I'm not up to the job.”

“
Listen,
Blake,” the human resources manager said, “so far there have been
no negative effects of your leadership. The numbers confirm that
the company’s growth is 8 percent a year. We’re all very happy with
you and see no reason to put someone else in your
place.”

Everyone nodded.

“
But—”

At that moment Alexandra walked in. “I
apologize for being late, but I had a minor accident and then had
to wait ages for a taxi. I suggest we start.”

Everyone looked around the room and then
someone began with the first subject on the agenda.

And now
, he thought,
this stupid woman will argue with me
again.

“
I don’t know
how you could sign a contract with Agona,” she
shouted at him as soon as she sat down in his
office.

The moment he
heard her voice, he felt as if someone had pressed directly on his
brain. “Listen, Alexandra, I have no intention of explaining my
decisions to you.”

“They’ve already misled us once. I don’t know
if you’re up to date with everything, but we’ve been involved in a
lawsuit with them for the last two years.”

That pain in his head again. “Of course I
know, I led the case myself.”

“Then you should know that they owe us two
million dollars.”

“Yes, my dear Alexandra,” he said cynically.
“The problem is that you don’t know that there has been a change in
management and that they’re ready to settle their debt within two
months.”

“I think they’re buried in debt and
everything they do is a lie.”

Blake looked at his watch in order to let her
know he had no intention of arguing with her much longer. “We’ll
see. I think it’s prudent to give them a chance.”

“And I think it isn’t,” she said sharply.

Blake said,
“Listen, Alexandra, I don’t give a hoot about your opinion. I don’t
know if you realize this, but your job is to deal with accounting
matters and not to manage the company.”

“
I’m quite
clear about my place, but I’m not so sure that you’re aware of the
negative consequences of your decisions. I’d like to help
you—”

“Oh, I know how you want to help me. And what
negative consequences are you talking about?” His head was going to
explode.

“
For example,
your decision about a general 7 percent pay increase. Do you know
what that means?”

“Of course I know. It means that people will
earn more. Which means they’ll be more content and more productive.
And besides, there hasn’t been a pay increase for two years.”

“
Of course
there hasn’t, it means a lot of money. You don’t seem to realize
that 7 percent means our expenses will rise by up to five million
dollars. Have you thought about that?”

That was it.
“If you’re really bothered, say something at the next management
board meeting or call a meeting of the supervisory board. I’m
asking you to leave my office now and never show up in here again
without being invited.” His voice was strict and firm, which didn’t
happen often.

She looked at
him angrily for a while, and it was clear that she was about to
explode as well. Then she got up and left, slamming the door so
hard that Blake had to bite his tongue to drown the pain in his
head.

“
Let her go
to hell,” he said out loud. He
picked up
his car keys and left the office.

Chapter
18

_______________________

“
Well, hello
there, Ms. Donnovan. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

With horror
Emely stared at the small, rotund figure. Her worst nightmares had
become reality. Ronald stood in front of her, out of breath due to
his exertions of breaking through the door. He held the ax in one
hand.

Kitty desperately wanted to escape from
Emely’s arms and was growling frantically.

“I suggest you restrain that animal or I’ll
turn it into a couple of steaks with a single blow.”

Where’s John
?
she wondered.

To her surprise, Ronald discarded the ax and
took a wrinkled handkerchief out of his right front pocket to wipe
his sweaty brow. Just as she thought of grabbing a chair and
hitting him on the head, he pulled a revolver from his back
pocket.

“No panic,” he said calmly.

She stared at the black barrel aimed at her
chest. The image of him pulling the trigger almost suffocated
her.

“How did you find me?” she said, her voice
trembling.

The answer
didn
’t really matter; all she wanted was
to postpone his decision. Fear of death pushed her mind into
overdrive and she was able to think with incredible
speed.

Ronald lifted
his head proudly and laughed. “My brother John is not the smartest
thing on this planet. He may have always been more handsome
than
me, but I have always been more
intelligent.” He sat down on the chair, which was approximately six
feet away from her.

“
It seemed
inconceivable that John would decide to live alone in this horrible
house. He’s not the type. I know him well.”

You don’t know him at all.

“
At first I
thought he was having a nervous breakdown, that he was going
through a crisis because of what we did to you.” He corrected
himself
. “Well, because of your funeral.
You’ve got to admit that the coffin idea wasn’t bad. But it’s clear
that the actual execution never happened.” He laughed cynically, as
if telling an old joke.

Emely felt like spitting in his face, he
repulsed her so much.

“He’d resigned from his job and at the same
time drank champagne and ate caviar. I thought there was something
fishy, but couldn’t find an explanation.” The barrel of his gun
kept moving to and fro while he talked. “Before, he used to call me
at least once a week. John was very attached to me, you see.” He
paused for a moment, looking at her with disdain, wanting her to
feel that she was the one who had built a wall between the two
brothers.

“After he moved to this house, there was no
sound from him. In spite of the astronomical phone bill I noticed
on my first visit, he never called me. When I came here, he wasn’t
glad to see me at all. How, my dear Emely, could I not get
suspicious?” He looked around the room contemptuously.

How dare he call me dear? This man is
sick.

“
And he was
somehow distracted and nervous. I don’t know how to describe the
state he was in. And then the alarm. Why would anyone install an
alarm
at a house where there are no
neighbors anywhere near?” Once again Ronald aimed the gun with its
deadly charge.

“
Last night I
finally decided to make an unannounced visit. I wanted to do it
earlier, but the problem is that I’m a very busy man. You
understand, don’t you, Emely, you’re a busy businesswoman
yourself.” With his head up he waited in vain for her to nod, and
then said, “In fact, I watched the house from a distance last
night. As I was about to come nearer, I saw you walk out of the
house first. I must admit that was the last thing I expected. My
heart stopped for a few moments, but then I got really
mad.”

He rose from
the chair and transferred his weight to one foot. “Allow me to ask
you a rather indiscreet question. How come you’re still
alive?”

Emely
inhaled, wanting to throw something, anything, in his face, but
stopped herself. Any wrong move could be fatal for her. She was
aware that she had to keep him talking for as long as possible,
regardless of what they talked about.

“John is not a bad man. After you buried me,
he came and dug me out and took care of me until I got well
again.”

“And probably used you as a sex object,” he
said.

“No, nothing like that happened.” She was
looking at the wall.

“
Hang on, Ms.
Donnovan. You’ve been shut in this moldy room for a few months and
you’re telling me John’s not a bad person. I can’t believe it. It’s
no business of mine, but tell me why John dug you up and kept you
here.”

She looked at
the red bag and decided that the time for revealing the truth had
not arrived yet.
When
necessary, I’ll use the money as a weapon. But not yet. When
there’s no other way, I’ll tell him about those
millions.

“John loves me,” she said calmly.

“Come on,” Ronald said, laughing. “He’s
incapable of loving anyone or anything but alcohol and money.”

She stared at him angrily, not knowing what
else to say.

Ronald
said,
“Then it really was about time for
me to appear on the scene. John had made a bundle of mistakes in
his life before this. Luckily he’s got me to get him out of
trouble.” He stood up firm and became serious. “Well, Ms. Donnovan,
say your last prayer, because our ways will have to part. As I said
earlier, I’m a businessman and I’ve got things to do.” He laughed
out loud. His eyes were wide open and his second chin took on the
shape of a small cushion.

She could see his finger on the trigger
beginning to move.

She said
quickly, “What about John? He’ll be back any minute.”

“That’s precisely why I have to act now.”

“But he loves me.”

“Oh, he’ll soon forget you, don’t worry.” The
gun rose level to her heart. “Goodbye, Emely.”

She was
panicking, staring into the barrel that seemed so very black to
her. Her thoughts entered a black tunnel, the one she would travel
through after dying.
Don’t
books about life beyond death talk about the soul rising above the
body and travelling along a black tunnel up to Heaven? At least
that’s what those who were clinically dead and then revived are
supposed to have said. Or was it a white tunnel? Yes, of course,
the black tunnel is for those who commit suicide. I’d go through
the white tunnel.

She noticed the glimmer in his eyes and the
mouth stretched into a smile. His tongue was licking his dry
lips.

“I’d like to say just one more thing. I’m
sure you’ll be interested. There’s eight million dollars in this
room.”

“What?”

“Yes, in that red bag on your right, there
are eight million non-counterfeit bills.”

His eyes stared at the sports bag and the
barrel of the revolver lowered by a fraction. “Do you think I’m an
idiot or something? If you think that you can fool me in such a
ridiculous way, you underestimate me terribly.”

“I’m telling you that bag is full of
money.”

“And why would all that money be in such an
ugly bag?” He hesitated for a while. “OK, I’ll have a look, it
won’t cost me anything.”

He moved
toward the bag while looking at Emely. He was sure it was a
deception. First he stepped on the bag.

“
It
’s full. I bet it’s old
newspapers. Or even sex aids?” He laughed again.

Carefully he
squatted next to the bag and transferred the gun to his other hand.
With his right hand he pulled the zipper. He tried a few times, but
it kept getting stuck. He had to use his left hand as well, so he
put the gun down next to the bag. His eyes were fixed on Emely all
the time while his hands were opening the bag.

Finally he
succeeded and glanced inside, expecting to see anything but money.
The sight of all those banknotes made his jaw drop. It was like
watching a crime story on television. He had never seen that much
money in cash at once.

“Damn it, this is a fortune.” His eyes were
still glued to the money, which had the effect of a magnet on him.
He picked up a few notes to look at them more closely. “They’re
real. I don’t believe it.”

At that
moment Emely kicked him in the groin so hard that he moaned loudly
before collapsing onto his back. Emely quickly grabbed the chair
and hit him on the head. Then she kicked the gun under the
bed.

Screaming in
pain, Ronald was so angry that he wanted to kill her with his bare
hands. “You’re not getting away!” he yelled.

At the last
moment, she evaded him and ran out of the room. She ran as fast as
she could, yet even before she reached the stairs leading to the
ground floor, she felt a hand grabbing her right shoulder. She was
pulled back and fell on the floor and banged her head against one
of the steps. She must have lost consciousness for some time
because suddenly he was standing over her, wheezing like an asthma
patient. He hit her face brutally with his right hand, but she
returned the blow as hard as she could.

He was not
expecting her to defend herself and certainly not with such a
fierce blow. He lifted himself a fraction and Emely used the
opportunity to kick him in the groin again. He paused for a moment,
then screamed, turned on his side, rolled into the fetal position,
and emitted strange noises.