by BWWM Club
“I did not know that that was the case, although now that you have told me I must say that I am not surprised,” said Kizzy.
“And why are you not surprised?” asked Michael Gamble, folding his hands on the desk and giving Kizzy his full attention. She felt like she was doing well so far. He probably would not have started to focus the entirety of his attention on Kizzy had she not been interesting enough to force him to do so. “This job pays extremely well,” said Michael, “and doing it well would mean a letter of recommendation from me which can get someone a job in any of the most prestigious companies in the city. Why are you not surprised that people would be hesitant to take this job?”
Kizzy thought about it for a moment. Was she supposed to be honest in her reply? She had a feeling that Michael Gamble was the kind of person that would appreciate honesty from someone that was going to work for him, so she decided to take a risk.
“I think it’s because you’re a tough boss,” said Kizzy. “You demand a lot from the people working for you, and a lot of them end up thinking that you, perhaps, ask for a bit too much and aren’t reasonable in your demands.”
“And what do you think?” asked Michael.
“I think that you are a man with an enormous burden to bear,” said Kizzy. “You are tasked with running a company that your father built from the ground up. People are expecting you to fail, they think that you do not deserve your position because they assume that you only have it because of nepotism. You need to prove these people wrong, and you need to keep this company growing for your father as well. You need to show him that you are worthy of his trust, of his respect. Hence, you need the people that work for you to be at the very top of their game, because that is what you expect from yourself.”
Michael looked at her with a curious expression on his face and then said, “Go on.”
“I don’t think that you are unreasonable,” said Kizzy. “I think that you are Atlas who needs some help bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. I think that you are demanding and that you are probably crazy to do all of this on your own, but I also think that I am just as crazy as you are. I think that you have a lot to figure out as well, and I think that I am just the right person to help you figure it out.”
Michael gave her the same thoughtful look yet again before saying, “Well, you knew when you walked in here that you were going to be hired. People who are this confident don’t expect anything but victory for themselves. I will see you here tomorrow at eight in the morning. I expect you to stay here until seven in the evening, and the work day might stretch beyond that as well.”
Kizzy was beyond elated. “Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Gamble!” she said, reaching forward and shaking his hand. “I will not let you down.”
“You’d better not,” said Michael, “Because I don’t believe in second chances.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Kizzy, walking out of his office. This was a victory for her, one that she had sorely needed. Her salary was going to get a huge bump, as was her health insurance coverage. Michael was a demanding boss but he compensated well for the job that he assigned. Kizzy was going to be able to afford part of the treatment that her father needed if she took out a loan and saved up for a few months.
There was a nagging concern tugging at her brain, however. She was going to need six months before she could pay for her father’s treatment, four months at least and that too with a loan. What if something happened before then? What if her father’s condition worsened and he had to end up going to the hospital immediately? How would she pay for it then?
There was also the question of the loan that she was going to take. It was going to be a very hefty loan indeed, she wasn’t sure how she was going to pay it off. But that was all besides the point. The only thing that mattered now was her saving her father’s life, and this job was going to bring that, at the very least, into the realm of possibility.
Little did she know that this job was going to change everything about her life. It was going to become more than just a job in the long run. It was not just her salary that was going to change, not just her office. She was going to undergo a fundamental paradigm shift in the way she lived, and she had no idea what lay just around the corner for her.
Chapter 2
Kizzy woke up at half past five the next morning. She knew that if she wanted to impress her new boss she was going to have to put some real effort into it and make sure that she was in the office ten minutes before eight. She was the sort of person that liked to enjoy her mornings, eating a nice breakfast and doing some yoga before she left instead of just showering, dressing and rushing out. She woke up feeling quite fresh and ready for what the day had in store for her.
She had awoken particularly early this morning so that she could talk to her parents as well. She had not called them for a long while now, and now that she had gotten a job with Michael Gamble Jr. she was not going to have any time to call them as often as she wanted.
She started cooking her breakfast and while she was waiting for it to be done, she called her mother.
“Hey Mom,” said Kizzy when her mother answered the call.
“Hey honey,” said her mother, Kendra Crawford, true joy shining through her voice as she spoke. Kizzy felt a little guilty for not having called her parents in over two weeks. She was an only child, and her parents loved her more than anything. Even though they were always very understanding whenever Kizzy did not call for extended periods of time, she knew that nothing made them happier than hearing her voice and the fact that she made them wait so long before they could hear it made her feel like she wasn’t being a very good daughter.
“I’m sorry I’ve been AWOL, Mom,” said Kizzy, desperately wanting her mother to know that she realized how important she was to them.
“Oh don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” said Kendra. “We know that you are working so hard over there in the big city, our daughter is going to go places and she’s not going to be able to get there without giving it her one hundred percent.”
“Thanks for being so understanding,” said Kizzy. “It’s my first day at that new job today. Remember, the one I texted you about last night?”
“Yes, I remember,” said Kendra. “I’m so very proud of you, baby. This job is going to give you a pretty serious salary bump, huh?”
“Yeah,” said Kizzy. “Plus I only got annual bonuses before. Now I’m going to start getting quarterly bonuses!”
“That’s wonderful,” said Kendra. “What’re you planning to do with all that money? Are you going to be able to help out with the medical bills?”
“Yeah, Mom,” said Kizzy, “that was why I was so happy I got the job. With all of the money I’ve saved up, the money I’m going to save up while I am working here, and my first quarterly bonus combined I am going to be able to pay for the whole medical procedure. Don’t you worry about that.”
“I am so sorry that you have this burden, Kizzy,” said Kendra. “You’re out there in the big city where everything is so damn expensive and you’re stuck having to save up for your father’s medical bills. You could have moved into a lovely new apartment with all of that money, or maybe you could have bought yourself a new car.”
“It’s okay Mom, this is what money is for,” said Kizzy. “It’s not your fault that our medical system is so messed up that we need to spend so much to get a life saving medical procedure. Besides, you guys are the ones that raised me, you spent so much money getting me anything and everything that I could ever want. I am so glad that I have parents like you, I can tell you for a fact that I would not be where I am without you guys. So don’t you dare apologize, okay? This is the very least that I can do to help you guys out. It’s my job. And if you guys were in my position you probably would be doing a lot more to help me out than what I am doing right now.”
“Of course we would,” said Kendra. “That’s what family is for. Oh, here’s your father. Talk to him, he looks like he might
explode if he doesn’t talk to you right this very instant.”
Kizzy laughed and said, “Alright, give him the phone.”
“Hey baby,” said James Crawford, Kizzy’s father. “How’ve you been? Living it up in the big city?”
“Hey Dad,” said Kizzy, a smile breaking out across her face. Listening to her father’s voice was one of the most enjoyable things in the world for her. It made her feel like she was truly home, like she had never even left home in the first place. “I guess, but I miss you guys so much. I wish I could just take a vacation and fly out to meet you. I miss home, you know? I miss how simple things are over there. It’s just with this new job and all, I won’t have the time to take a long lunch let alone a short vacation.”
“Of course,” said James. “You are trying to make something of yourself, that’s how things work when you are raising yourself up from the ground. You’d better buy yourself something nice with all of that money you’re going to be earning now! You deserve to treat yourself a little, especially after having come this far all on your own.”
Kizzy chuckled and said, “I will Dad, right after I have saved up enough money to pay for your heart surgery.”
“Oh forget that, I’m fine,” said James. “You don’t need to waste your money on something like that. Treat yourself, I don’t need that damned expensive surgery anyway, it’s probably just a way for the hospital to earn some money, that’s what all of these hospitals do anyway.”
“It doesn’t matter, Dad,” said Kizzy. “The doctor said that you need this surgery if you want to live and I am not going to risk anything. I want you to get better, I want things to start improving.”
“Alright, alright,” said James. “I swear, you and your mother are exactly the same. You both worry too much.”
“This is the sort of thing that people tend to worry about, dad,” said Kizzy.
“I know,” said James. “I know.”
All of a sudden, Kizzy noticed how tired and haggard her father sounded. He sounded utterly exhausted, and this was a sudden development. His voice had been cheerful and energetic up until this point.”
“I just feel so bad that you two have to put up with this,” said James. “It’s just that… I’ve never been sick before, and I never got really great insurance because I thought that it would be a waste of money. If I’d just been a little more responsible with my money things would be better now. And it’s not just money, either. I feel bad about the fact that I am so sick that your mother has to take care of me. She can’t go out and see her friends, she can’t even have a nice quiet night to herself because she always ends up taking care of me. It’s not fair for her, and that just makes me feel terrible because I feel like it’s all my fault. Maybe if I had taken better care of myself we wouldn’t be in this position right now. Maybe if I had exercised, eaten right, done all of these things we would be fine…”
“Dad…” said Kizzy, “Stop saying that. It’s not your fault, it doesn’t work that way. So you didn’t get great insurance, a lot of people do that and end up suffering as a result. It’s the system that’s so messed up, it shouldn’t be like this for anyone, healthcare should not be a choice in the first place. And it’s not your fault that you’re sick, either. Sometimes people just get sick, that’s just the way the world works. You quit smoking thirty years ago, you never drank soda in your life, and you have never been drunk in your life you always limit yourself to a few beers and that’s it. You have taken better care of yourself than a lot of other people. There are so many people out there who don’t take care of themselves at all, and they are enjoying perfectly long and healthy lives. These things just happen sometimes, it’s not your fault at all.”
James sighed and said, “Thanks, honey, for trying to make me feel better. I just wish that I could be a little more useful, it would help my situation. At the very least, I would start to feel a little bit better about myself. Alright, here talk to your mom again. She looks like she’s dying to talk to you, and I know that you haven’t got a lot of time because you need to be on time for your first day at the new job.”
“Alright Dad,” said Kizzy, “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby,” said James, and then handed the phone to Kendra.
“Hello?” said Kendra.
“Hey Mom,” said Kizzy.
“Okay good, your father has left the room,” said Kendra. “Listen, Kizzy, I have to talk to you openly now. When can you send the money for the treatment?”
“I don’t know, Mom,” said Kizzy. “I have about a third of it right now. I am going to save up for the next three months and get over half, and then with my bonus that will be more than enough to pay for the whole thing.”
“So you can’t send any money until three months from now?” asked Kendra.
“I mean, I have a third of the total cost but that’s not going to do anything since we’re going to have to pay for the whole thing,” said Kizzy. “What’s wrong Mom? You sound so stressed out.”
“The doctor told me that your father is stable for now,” said Kendra, “but anything could go wrong at any moment. They said… they said that your father could end up having a stroke because of a buildup of plaque in his blood vessels. And if that happens, they are going to have to operate immediately, and there is a chance that your father may… may die. The doctor said that we need to get the surgery done as soon as possible, otherwise we are going to end up getting into a situation that none of us want to be in.”
“Oh God…” said Kizzy. “I don’t know what to say Mom… I wish I had the money right now but I don’t know if I am going to be able to get it in time. What the hell am I going to do? I had no idea that the situation was this serious. If I had known… I don’t know, maybe I would have moved to a cheaper apartment. I could have sold my car. But none of those things can happen on such short notice, I would’ve needed a lot more time to get all of these things done.”
“I don’t know what to do,” said Kendra. “What if something happens? It’ll be too late to do anything then, and besides even if we get the surgery done we will never be able to pay for it. I don’t know what to do Kizzy.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” said Kizzy. “I’ll figure something out. Look, I can take a loan or something. It’ll work out in the end. Just give me a week, I will call my bank and ask them for a loan. With the money from the loan and the money that I have saved up we are going to be able to afford the surgery, and then I will pay back the loan over the next year or two.”
“Oh baby but that is going to be such a hassle,” said Kendra. “I don’t want you to end up in debt over this. There must be something we can do, something that won’t leave you struggling to pay back a big loan. Maybe we can just sell the house. I mean, we have been stalling it for no good reason. If we need the money to pay for this surgery, all we have to do is sell the house and then we will have all of the money that we need. In fact, just the down payment combined with your savings would be enough to get us past that finish line.”
“No, Mom absolutely not,” said Kizzy. “You guys worked your butts off all your lives to buy that house. It’s the house I grew up in! You can’t sell it. Look, if I take a loan it will take me a while to pay it off but I will still be young by the time it has been paid. You guys… if you sell the house what will you have left? It’s going to be impossible for you to get another place after that.”
“We can just rent a small apartment,” said Kendra.
“No,” said Kizzy. “That is not going to happen. You guys are not going to end up without a home just because of this stupid medical bill. This is something I can do, and it is something I can do well. Just let me do it for you.”
“Okay,” said Kendra. “I’m so sorry, baby. I wish there was some other way.”
“This is life, Mom,” said Kizzy. “These are the things that we have to deal with. It’s okay, we will get past this and move on to greater things. Once this is behind us we are going to be able to move forward,
and that will be worth all of the money that is being spent on this right now.”
“I hope you’re right, baby,” said Kendra. “I really, really hope that you’re right.”
“I am sure that I am right,” said Kizzy. “Alright, Mom, I’ve got to go. I have a big day ahead of me, a lot of work to do.”
“Of course,” said Kendra, “Good luck. I know that you are going to do great today. After all, out of all the people that he could have picked your boss picked you, and he did that for a reason! I can’t wait to see the impact that you will have on this company. I know that this whole loan thing is a real setback, but it’s going to be just a small roadblock. I can’t wait to see you grow into something greater, baby.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Mom,” said Kizzy with a chuckle. “I love you. Take care of Dad, I’ll be there as soon as I can. And don’t worry about the money, it’s all going to work out in the end. We are going to manage somehow or the other.”
Kizzy cut the call and sighed. This was a situation that she really did not want to be in. Her father was sick, her mother was worried, she had a new job that she was going to start but she really did not know if she was going to be able to do it. Everything seemed to be falling apart around her, and she just wanted something that would help her get past all of this nonsense.
She had ended up burning her breakfast because the call had taken too long. She looked at the time and realized that if she wanted to get to work she was just going to have to make do with some cereal and milk and shower quickly before leaving.
She got into her best suit, a suit that she had picked out especially for this occasion, and then she headed out to get to work on time. There was so much on her mind, but she knew that she was going to have to get everything out of her head and start to actually focus before she got to work. She needed to get her head into the game and stop thinking about everything going wrong with her life.