Love Conquers All

by Galia Albin

  *

  Talia studied the letter, trying to fathom all its details and implications, but the attempt only exhausted her. Its main message was quite obvious, though; it was summed up by the acronym MBMY—Buy Me or I’ll Buy You. Manu now gave her the choice of either allowing him to guy her share, thereby losing her holding of the most profitable company in her possession, or buy his share. An elegant offer, she thought, alien a little shocking in its suddenness. No doubt, he assumed—quite rightly, one might say—that she wouldn’t be able to mobilize the necessary funds to buy his share in the short time specified.

  Three and a half million dollars was not exactly small change and, at the moment, Talia needed money to recover from the exorbitant expenses she’d incurred in LA. And yet she balked at Manu’s attempt to dictate to her the terms of the sale of her share of Cooling. No, she will not capitulate to his conditions and would not agree to the arbitrary price, which, in her opinion, was too low and, at any rate, came at a bad time for her. This was all a result of Manu’s vindictiveness. Talia felt bitter and indignant; she asked herself how far she was willing to go, just “to show him.” But, them, where would she get three and a half million dollars in the space of one month?

  She was still rapt in thought when Jenny handed her the receiver, ignoring her gestures of refusal. A young man asked pleasantly, “Talia do you remember me?”

  She answered impatiently, “No. No riddles please. Just tell me who you are.”

  “Gad Monolith. Do you remember the name?”

  “Refresh my memory.” The pleasant voice on the other side of the line sounded vaguely familiar.

  “You let us stay I your house in LA after you left town. I’m sure you remember now.”

  She remembered well. Eager to go back home, Gali let him and his wife stay in her posh house, since the rent had been paid for the whole year in advance. She insisted they take it for free. The young couple was lucky, indeed. In their case, she thought, fate proved not to be blind. Gadi and Noa were young, cheerful and honest, and she took to them right away. At least I did one mitzvah during that year, she smiled contentedly.

  “Well, we’re back,” Gadi said, “and while we were there, we worked hard and made some money. If you have an idea for investment, I’m game.” “What are you looking for?”

  “An established, serious company that perhaps ran into some management problems, not because the product is poor or the workers are inferior, but because of human relations problems. You know, quarrels among heirs or unresolved conflicts among shareholders. In such situations, someone stepping in stands a good chance to make a profit. I didn’t learn this in business school, but in real life, the only school that doesn’t issue certificates but is worth attending.”

  Gadi was a man after her own heart; she, too, had learned most of her lessons from life. “I have an offer for you. It’s not cheap, but if it suits you, then it’s just what you’re looking for. Shall we meet tomorrow?”

  The guarantees provided by Gadi at the signing of the contract were twice the sum specified by Manu’s BMBY letter. Talia made it clear to Gadi that she intended to make a profit on the deal that was foisted one her, and Gadi accepted the price she quoted. For him, the deal offered an excellent opportunity to enter the Israeli business world. In all else, h told himself, friends are friends and business ins business, but he already had proof of Talia’s generosity, and he vowed never to forget it.

  For the time being, they kept the deal a secret. The rumors around them were rife. Eager prospective buyers called Talia with attractive offers. She declined them politely and raised the price shamelessly, secretly enjoying the uproar and imagining the surprise that would greet them all at the end of the moth when the truth would be out.

  Manu, too, prepared himself carefully for the shareholders’ meeting. Not for a moment did he doubt his victory. He gave numerous interviews in the economic section of newspapers and magazines, bragging that Talia’s share of Cooling was in his pocket. To journalists from his own circle, he announced his future moves. His smug face smiled at Talia from the front pages.

  The directors and shareholders were convened in a general meeting at the end of November. For the occasion, Manu bought a new conference table of polished oak, and replaced the tattered naugahyde chairs with leather chairs. The walls were decorated with framed lithographs of Israeli artists. Nobody could accuse Manu of stinginess of poor taste.

  A few days before the meeting, Manu received a registered letter from Talia which struck him dumb. “In reply to your letter of December first, I hereby inform you of my intention to buy all the shares of Cooling Air Conditioning Company that re in your possession, in accordance with the BMBY agreement that exists between us.” His shock turned to fury. Her declaration of war caused him great agitation. After all, before sending her his letter, he had used all the tactics known to him to check her financial situation. His investigations convinced him he had nothing to fear from her threats. And yet he was furious; that woman has a nerve! Well, he would how here just who would have the last word!

  Later that day, Cooling’s lawyer, Yohanan Meir, called Talia and with the polite manner of an old fashioned lawyer, told her, “I must draw your attention, Madam, to an important point: your non-compliance with the purchase clause, as expressed in your last letter, may entail a suit for breach of contract on the part of Mr. Emanuel Ma’or; according to the BMBY rules, in such an eventuality, Mr. Ma’or is entitled to demand compensation as he sees fit.”

  “Of course, Mr. Meir,” Talia replied nonchalantly, “don’t worry. I am not going to give your client the satisfaction of buying my share of the company and imposing a fine on me. My only advice to you now is to wait patiently for the surprises in store for you.”

  The seven directors turned their heads in unison, as if by command. Talia walked into the conference room wearing black high-heeled shoes and a black, tight-fitting business suit fastened with a snakeskin belt. With her head held high, she took her place next to Manu. The whispering around her grew until it turned to a resounding chuckle. It was Manu, who having thrown her a baleful look, now turned to Uzzi Levin and said, loud and clear for her to hear, “Well, Uzzi, have you heard the joke? She’s going to buy me out. Talia Schwarz is going to buy out Manu Ma’or!

  ,Talia rose to her feet and, looking around the table, opened her hand. In it was a piece of paper. It was a check. Slowly she waved the check in front of Manu, like a red rag in front of a matador. “Well, Manu, can I have your shares now?” she asked.

  An awkward silence ensued, and Emanuel Ma’or squinted his eyes like an animal caught in headlights. “What, what did you say?”

  “You heard me. Here’s your check. Read what it says. Three and a half million dollars?”

  “Is that check good?”

  “It’s a cashier’s check, as you can see.”

  “Which bank?” he sounded incredulous.

  “Workers’ Union, the State’s bank. What else do you want to know?” Manu sat there, his face ashen, his hands shaking.

  “You’re fired, Manu. Pick up your things and go.”

  “This is illegal. You can’t do that! Seven days from today you must convene the board of directors!” he cried hoarsely.

  “Oh, I can do that all right. This is exactly what you would have done to me had your dirty little trick succeeded. I don’t have to convene the board of directors. I am the director now. Gentlemen, you can all go home now.” She turned to the board members, who had been silently following the drama. “If I need you, I’ll let you know.”

  The embarrassed members collected their papers and hastened to leave the room, mumbling to themselves confusedly. Manu strode out of the room heavily, visibly upset and agitated, Talia lingered in the room, feeling drained of energy. Yohanan Meir, the company lawyer, watched her, concerned. A moment later, Manu came back into the room, accompanied by an unidentifiable man; the two approached her with inscrutable faces.

  “This is Abraham
Agami. He’s head of the workers’ committee.

  Talia, I’m warning you, it’s not going to work. If you insist on taking over the company, you will destroy the entire plant. Four hundred workers will go on strike. They will fight you to the bitter end. Don’t you see that?”

  Manu looked pathetic, and ridiculous in the last ditch battle he was waging on her territory. She ignored him demonstrably. “You’re suspended, Mr. Agami,” she turned to the workers’ representative, “Unless you are instructed otherwise, you should stay home.” She didn’t enjoy this show of toughness, but at such moments one must not show any sign of weakness.

  “Can she issue suspension orders?” Manu turned in desperation to the lawyer, Yohanan Meir.

  “Yes, this is a legal proceeding. She has done her homework.”

  Manu turned pale. He approached the lawyer and grabbed him by the lapels. “You good for nothing bastard! Now you’re telling me this? It was your evil counsel that got me into this trouble in the first place. You conducted the investigation, and you told me that she had no liquid assets! You’re fired!”

  “You are forgetting, Mr. Ma’or, that you no longer have the authority to fire people in this company,” Talia said. She was now seated in the high, leather, upholstered chairman’s chair. “At any rate, the new chair you bought is really fine. It’s both handsome and comfortable.”

  Talia turned the key in the hole and walked in. The house was very quiet, too quiet, the children were sleeping over at friends’ homes, and the nanny was on her day off. She kicked off her shoes and tossed her purse in a gesture of liberation, then turned on the light in the living room. A strange smell invaded her nostrils. Somebody’s been here, she thought, alarmed.

  This is impossible, and yet somebody definitely has been here, the thought came back to her insistently. Who could it be?

  She went up to her bedroom In a safe in the closet room she kept the jewels that Jonathan had given her over the years. Here the smell was so pronounced, it practically assaulted her. Whoever was here is no fond of bathing, on top of being a heavy smoker, she thought with growing panic. She was positive now; her sense of smell—like that of Jonathan — was particularly refined and couldn’t be fooled.

  She rummaged through dozens of her dresses, pushing away laden hangers to where the safe was hidden. Her pulse quickened and a cold sweat gathered on her neck. She let out a shriek; her safe was wide open, its lock broken.

  With trembling hands, she riffled inside the safe and heaved a great sigh of relief. All her jewels were in place. She would have found no consolation if some lowlife criminal had stolen her most cherished mementoes whose sentimental value far exceed their actual worth. She did not normally wear the diamond studded bracelet and the pearl string with the Marquise diamond clasp. On regular days, she wore just her wedding ring and the three and a half carat gold ring that Jonathan had given her when he proposed. Once in a while, she would take the jewels out of the safe and look at them—each one reminding her of unforgettable moments of love and happiness. That was their only importance to her.

  While relieved to find the jewels intact, a frightening realization seized her: the documents! Jonathan’s letters! The will! Oh, God, what a fool am I! What use are my jewels to them? They were looking for what’s important, what’s worth more than silver, gold, or diamonds. They were looking for papers that can hurt me; they want to get at my jugular. Well, I do have a copy of the will, deposited with the lawyers, but the original was so precious to me!

  Base, immoral criminal, she muttered tearfully. The war between us will never end. But you will not beat me. She knew full well who was behind the surgical burglary that hurt her where she was most vulnerable; it was Manu Ma’or.