The Scrapbook

Before Tony could get his bearings and react, Daryl walked up and asked, "Having problems with a customer, Ethan? Need some help?"

Ethan's eyes never left Tony as he replied, "No thanks Daryl, nothing I can't handle." Then focusing his full attention back onto Tony, he said, "Now Mr. Wiseass, I'm going to politely ask one more time. Please join Richard in his office. He would like to talk to you."

Tony felt he could handle either one separately, but wasn't sure about taking them on together. Besides, Ethan's strength had put him in a slight state of confusion. Needing a few minutes to regroup, he nodded his head and said, "Lead the way."

As he entered the office, Richard said, "Have a seat Tony. I hope it is alright if I call you Tony?" He courteously inquired. "At the same time, feel free to call me Richard."

Angrily, Tony snapped, "No it's not okay, I'm not one of your Wetap flunkies. You don't own me and I don't appreciate being physically forced to be here, thank you."

"Too bad you were not a 'Wetap kid,' it might have saved both of us some time and negated the necessity of this meeting." Richard calmly and factually stated.

Deciding to be a little more cautious because of Richard's tone and choice of words, he asked, "And what difference do you think that would have made?"

"First off, you would most likely be sporting a more civil and respectful attitude without being required to develop one," his host again calmly replied.

"Okay, enough of this bullshit, I suppose you think your high and mighty wealth gives you the power to force your will on others? Or do you intend to call in one or both of your muscled assholes to beat me into submission?" Tony sarcastically replied. "And be aware, I don't think you have enough muscle between them to get the job done."

"Tony, please rest assured that I would never, under any circumstances, resort to physical confrontation to 'force my will' as you call it on anyone. If that is what it would take, then my goals would not be worthy in the first place. No, the only changes I seek to accomplish are the ones I hope you achieve yourself."

"Then let's save both of us time and trouble, Mr. Richard. You have nothing I want and the sooner I get out of here and away from you, the better."

"That is fine, Tony. I take it then that you are submitting your resignation effective immediately. If so, I expect your desk to be cleaned out and cleared off first thing Monday morning. Believe me, there is a list as long as my arm of qualified people who would love to have your job."

**********

During the same time, Steph and Amber were having a 'heart to heart' of their own. It started as soon as the door closed behind them.

"I don't have time for this crap. I need to go find Mark," Steph stated through gritted teeth.

"Will you never get tired of being a stupid bitch?" Amber shot back at her.

Fit to be tied, Steph raised her hand and spouted, "You may be a few years older and married to one of the richest men alive, but I'll be damned if I'm going to take that from anyone."

"You can lower that hand slowly and calmly," Amber hissed, "or you can nurse a broken wrist when I'm done. I didn't survive on the fucking streets by letting dumbass bitches push me around. It's your choice girl, but I'd advise you to start getting smart in a hurry."

Amber's eyes were literally daring her to strike. Glaring into their depths, Steph hesitated as she felt the icy finger of fear for the first time in her life. Her pride began to shrink from the bitter cold of Amber's absolute fearlessness.

Suddenly Amber's eyes seemed to burst into raging fire. Steph would swear that she could actually feel the heat which finished making a believer out of her. As Steph began to lower her hand, she watched Amber's persona slowly return to compassionate understanding.

"I'm truly sorry," Steph said with a little quiver in her voice, "but I really must go find my husband. I've got something important to tell him."

Amber shook her head, "You can try, but I think you're about five years too late."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Stephanie, you should have gotten your head out of your ass and been communicating with Mark long ago. It may be too late now."

"What the hell are you talking about Amber? I just need to be with my husband."

"Mark saw you kissing Tony. Where do you think he is? Your husband left and he's certainly not looking for you."

"Oh God No... no... don't tell me that. It can't be... not now... now that I know," Steph cried as she dropped into one of the metal chairs that lined the wall.

Confused, Amber had to ask, "Know what?"

"That after all these years, I never really loved Tony. It's always been Mark, and only Mark."

"Well you certainly have an unusual way of showing it Stephanie. Do you always kiss the man you don't love?"

"No, you don't understand... and until tonight, I didn't either. Even though I loved and cared for my husband, I had never fully let go of or gotten over Tony. At least, I thought I hadn't. Now it turns out that it was only infatuated fantasy. Oh God, what am I going to do?"

"What do you mean you hadn't let go of him?" Amber questioned.

"You don't know the whole story. Tony and I were close, I mean very close. At least we were until he took off for college. I never got to have what some call 'closure' or a chance to deal with my feelings. Due to the fact I was pregnant, the pressure of feeling desperate caused everything to happen so fast."

"Oh God, your daughter, she's not Mark's?"

Red faced, Steph realized she'd let the 'cat out of the bag.' "No one was supposed to know," she said. "Please don't tell anyone. My daughter thinks Mark is her daddy and as far as I'm concerned, he is."

"Don't worry, no one will ever hear it from me," Amber assured her. "But all the more reason to wonder about what happened tonight... why?"

With pouring tears, Steph continued, "I have been so..., you were absolutely right, a stupid bitch. It's been eating at me, Tony's success, his accomplishments, his degree, his career. All the while I've been constantly comparing my husband to him."

"Stephanie, you can't do that. What Mark has done for you and your baby...."

"I know that now, but until tonight, I was living in some half assed fantasy world that left me feeling I had missed out on everything. Don't say it, I know, I have it all and the best of it too. But until that kiss tonight, I didn't realize it," she confessed.

"Damn it girl... your husband swore Richard to secrecy, but not me, and I know something you evidently don't."

With a quizzical expression, Steph looked up.

"Mark would have put Tony's accomplishments to shame, but he sacrificed all for you and your daughter. It's quite apparent your husband never told you that his senior year he had applied to several universities, but with Richard's help had been accepted to Harvard.

"To meet their requirements Mark had to take a pre-requisite course that summer before your wedding. He couldn't complete it in time to be accepted for the fall term, but was all set to begin classes at the start of the spring semester.

"Then suddenly Mark came to Richard and told him you were going to have a baby and that you two were getting married. I've never seen my husband so disappointed, yet so impressed with anyone the way he was with Mark that day.

"Richard agreed to let him work full time at Wetap so you could have housing on the estate. He's never given up hope that your husband would go back to school."

"Noooo, not Harvard...! Damn, I can't believe... yes I can, that's my Mark, only he would give up a chance at a Harvard degree to help me.

"God, how selfish can I be, I must take the cake. Amber, I truly need to find my husband. There is so much I have to make up to him."

"I believe you," Amber said. Then she added sadly, "I just hope you haven't waited too long. I know for a fact Mark was putting off some major decisions that depended solely on your actions tonight. Several days ago, he came to Richard and informed him that you two may be getting a divorce."

"DIVORCE," Steph jumped up and shouted in shock. "What fucking divorce? My husband has never mentioned anything about a divorce," she sobbed. "What the fuckin' hell is going on?"

"All I know is Richard was crushed by the news," Amber replied, "but didn't ask why, that is between the two of you. He did ask if there wasn't possibly some way it could be worked out. Mark said he would know after tonight. His exact words were, "Steph and Tony will provide the answer at the reunion."

Still in shock, she cried, "Amber, I have no idea why he suspected something might happen tonight, at least between Tony and me. But it doesn't matter, I blew it... and probably everything else," Mark's young wife sobbed at the full understanding of what her actions had done.

Suddenly Steph said, "Excuse me, I have to go find my husband, for my daughter and me, for both our sakes. We love Mark too much to just let him go. Even if it's too late, I have to try. Whether he knows it or not, we need him. He's the center of our lives," she exclaimed while hurrying out the door.

Shaking her head in sympathy, Amber remembered how she'd almost lost Richard out of her own foolish stupidity. Amber smiled at the thought, 'True love is difficult to defeat though. If anyone should know, it would be me.' Recalling her own pain during the time when Richard had left and didn't return for two years, Amber felt a prayer of thoughtful hope, 'Hang in there girl. Even if it takes years... believe me, the love is worth it.'

When Steph got to the front door she asked, "Ethan, do you know where Mark went?"

"All I can tell you is that your husband came barreling through here and out the front door. From the expression on his face, I can only assume that he didn't plan on coming back. A few minutes later his car went flying by, headed in that direction," Ethan pointed down the street. "Where he was going, I have no idea."

With a slight sniffle she replied, "Thank you. Could I get you to help me with one more thing, please? I need a cab soon as possible." He could tell it was taking all her effort to hold back the tears.

"There are two parked at the end of the block," Ethan informed her. Then he turned and asked, "Daryl, would you please escort Steph down the street to a taxi?"

**********

Back in Richard's office, Tony had suddenly lost all his pompous bravado, "What the hell are you talking about? What resignation? I don't work for you."

"No...? Do you not work for one of the largest privately owned corporations in the world?" Richard asked.

Now a very concerned Tony cautiously stated, "Yes. But what does that have to do with you?"

"Actually, quite a lot... but out of curiosity, who did you think owns the company where you are not only gainfully, but I might add, very lucratively employed?" Richard calmly traded barbs with him.

"I was told that we are owned by an international holding company, which in turn is part of a conglomerate of holding companies," Tony quietly replied.

"Quite correct," Richard continued, "but, did it ever cross your mind to ask who owns the controlling interest in the conglomerate?"

All of a sudden Tony lost a little color, "Please, don't tell me I work for you."

"I am sorry to inform you this way, but yes, you do. That is unless you seriously want to tender your resignation." Richard goaded him.

"No... I mean no sir. I have no desire to resign my job." Tony now sat down, almost collapsing into a chair.

"Then for the sake of argument, I will now assume that it is alright to call you Tony? And as I said, feel free to call me Richard. Do we have any more issues with that?"

"No sir... I mean Richard, none whatsoever," the now subdued sounding young man replied.

"Tony, you weren't aware that I've been keeping tabs of your progress and accomplishments throughout your high school and college career. I do this with not only Wetap Kids as you call them, but also with local kids who show potential.

"Over the years, it has been my privilege to help many of them. Several, such as yourself, have secured positions not only at Wetap, but also throughout various companies in which I own at least a controlling interest. Do you have any questions so far?" Richard paused to ask.

Intrigued, Tony courteously replied, "No sir, please continue."

"Well I will try to make a long story short, since I know you want to return to the festivities. Let us just say I was very instrumental in your being hired at your current job. I actually insisted they place you over two other very qualified individuals. Out of curiosity, are you aware of the unwritten ethic or moral code we live by at Wetap?" Richard asked.

"Yes sir, at least somewhat. It's pretty common knowledge and joked about quite a lot," Tony embarrassingly answered.

Richard chuckled, "That is alright. I have probably heard most of them. But as you know, I insist everyone living at Wetap take them very seriously. However, I would never dream of trying to impose them on the numerous employees working throughout our various companies.

"There is one exception though. I firmly believe that upper management represents my corporations and therefore represents me. Tony, you are upper management and along with your peers, I do insist that you adhere to those very same principles.

"Ever since hiring on a few months ago and especially tonight, your actions have been atrocious. I do hope to see some immediate improvement... starting now. Have I made myself clear?"

Red faced, Tony replied, "Yes sir, no problem, I understand fully."

"Tony, as you probably know by now, your current CEO plans to retire in ten years. I had originally hired you as one of the possible candidates for his replacement when the time comes. But I feel it necessary to be totally honest in case you wish to reconsider your plans.

"The decision has been made as to who will be groomed for that position. I am sorry to say Tony, it will not be you. I have no doubt, if you keep up your current progress, you will have the number two slot secured when the time comes." Richard paused again to give him time to comment.

After having perked up at the mention of the CEO position, Tony slumped when informed about being out of the loop. "I wish I had known this before I accepted the job," he said. "I might have considered other options."

Richard nodded and smiled in understanding, "I could not have told you then even if I wanted to. The choice had not been made when you first started to work for the company. Actually, your actions tonight helped to finalize the decision.

"But if it is your desire to pursue other employment, you may still do so. I will make sure there is a glowing report to go with your resume if that is what you decide. But, I know for a fact that you could not have secured another position starting at even half of your current salary. Especially when taking the perks into consideration, and an almost guaranteed advancement to the number two slot in the corporation.

"To date you have been doing an outstanding job, and are very personable in spite of your outrageous behavior, which I hope we have outgrown as of this evening. At your present level of progress, I have no doubt you will have a fantastic future. It is your choice, but I think you would be very foolish to gamble it away by relocating to another firm."

Tony stood and said, "You're right. Not only do I have a good job, but I truly enjoy it... and I do appreciate what you've done for me. Besides, I've never had a desire to be the coach, it's always been more fun being the quarterback," he quipped with a smile.

Richard laughed and while they were shaking hands added, "By the way. It is time to leave the married women alone and find a nice lady of your own."

Tony smiled, "As I said, no problem. It will never happen again, you have my word." While walking out the door, he thought, 'Well shit, guess that almost makes me a "Wetap Kid," but I'm smiling... go figure.'

**********

Contrary to his efforts, a tear finally escaped and rolled down Mark's cheek just as he strode into the diner. Finding the corner of his mouth, the brackish taste matched his thoughts. 'Five years of loving and trying... all for nothing... because of a single... oh hell, that kiss isn't the problem. It only represents what's been there all along... just under the surface.'

Mark noticed Helen standing behind the front counter, butt propped against the back one, sipping a cup of coffee. He couldn't help thinking, 'Some things never change.'

Glancing up, Mark expected to see the same smiling face that always greeted him. But with his raw emotions on full display, it was obvious that he was very upset about something. With her concern showing, she only nodded.

Not looking for sympathy, Mark diverted his eyes and headed for an empty booth as Helen continued to somberly watch his every move.

Reaching down, she grabbed a menu, tucked it under her arm, and proceeded to follow him. He looked up just in time to see her reaching into her apron pocket for an order pad and pen.

Then shaking her head, she shoved them back in and said, "Hell, I've worked here too long. I can tell by looking that food is the last thing on your mind. I'll be right back with your coffee since that's the only thing you're going to order."

In spite of his pain, Mark thought with a solemn grin, 'No wonder everyone loves Helen. We were all pulling for her even before Bobby proposed. They sure make a nice couple. Plus Bobby's disposition has been a lot better since they got married. He hasn't been near as surly.

'Overall, Helen and their two kids have been a nice addition to the Wetap family. I wish I could say the same for Steph and me, especially the part about kids.' With that thought, another tear rolled down his cheek.

After coming back with two cups in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other, Helen set them on the table and slid into the other side of the booth. While pouring both, she shook her head and said, "It's Steph... isn't it?"

With a deep sigh, he questioned, "Does it show that much?"

"Your wife loves you a lot more than she realizes.... And believe me, Steph knows that she loves you a lot," Helen flatly stated.

"You haven't even asked me what's wrong," he responded in surprise.

With a sympathetic smile, she chose a lighthearted way to inform, "Mark, I've worked in this diner for... well, forever. I've been here so long I'm not even sure anymore if I had a life before it. Come to think of it, I may have even been born here.

"But one thing I've learned in all that time is how to read and understand people. Bartenders don't have a thing on waitresses when it comes to sob stories. There's nothing I haven't seen or heard.

"When attending parties or picnics at Wetap, you think I haven't noticed how Steph always seems to be holding back. And it's a crying shame because I've never seen a woman more in love with her husband. But when your wife does show affection, her love and pride for you just brim over. So, whatever problem you're experiencing doesn't really matter. The dilemma is getting Steph to realize and understand the depth of her feelings for you."

With sad conviction, he said, "I'm afraid it's too late for that."

Before Helen could respond, they both noticed a taxi go by and watched as its brake lights came on. From the look on Mark's face, she realized there was no doubt it would turn around and come back. The passenger had evidently seen his car parked in front of the diner.