Eddie
By ellenbell
- 812 reads
Edward stared at his hands. He turned them over and stared at his palms. He looked at his wedding ring, the thick strip of gold encircling his finger, and he sighed. At 57 he still remembered how these hands had looked when he was a young man but could make no connection between the youthful and idealistic Eddie he had been in those days and the disillusioned Edward he had become. He had not had a bad life and it would be untrue of him to claim unhappiness or dissatisfaction with anything but his marriage. Edward was ridiculously wealthy; he had a keen mind that had served him well for over 40 years. As Eddie, he had been intelligent and astute and now as Edward, with the added bonus of life experience, he was even more so. The only thing he felt had changed was his outlook on the world and its inhabitants. He had married at the age of 43, only once he had become established, once his business had taken off and he had made his first million. Edward realised that in his decision to put his career ahead of his personal relationships he had made a huge mistake, but Eddie being as idealistic as he was had never dreamt that his wealth would inspire deceit in the women he dated.
So he had married Elaine, Eddie believed himself to be in love and would never have dreamt that Elaine was marrying him only for the money and the lifestyle. He had loved her, and he supposed part of him still felt fondly for her. She had never loved Eddie, she had tried to destroy him and his idealism. She had created the cynical man he had become and she didn't love him either. Eddie wasn't totally destroyed, not yet; Edward knew he was still deep down inside himself, waiting for something. She had cheated her way through their marriage, and had been none too discreet about it. The first one had been devastating for Eddie, they had been married for three months when he found out. His name was Richard or 'Ritchie'; tall tanned, devastatingly handsome and, rather predictably, he had no money. Elaine didn't love him either, he soon discovered, she took the money from Eddie and from the men she had affairs with she took whatever else she needed, discarding them whenever she bored of their presence. Edward thanked the Lord that they had never had any children. His wife had slowly developed addictions for alcohol and gambling and she had become a first rate manipulator, no child deserved a mother like that. She had never been a supportive wife, but recent events had really shown just how little she cared for her husband, and how much she valued his money.
Edward was being sued. He was currently sitting in his lawyer's office waiting for the settlement meeting to begin. Edward Hart was being sued by an employee of his company 'Hart Industries'. He employed thousands of people in New York alone and millions world wide. This woman, Martha Banks, was a 46 year old who had been employed as his secretary in the New York office, and she was suing him for sexual harassment and wrongful dismissal.
Edward was roused suddenly by his lawyer patting him on the back,
'Ok Mr Hart, are you ready?' Edward looked up from his hands and came back to reality; he rose and smiled genially at his lawyer, whom he genuinely liked. William Goodman was an employee of his too, in the law department of his expansive company, and had, over time, become a good friend. William had not wanted to take on the case, Edward suspected that this was because he knew he would lose and worried it would affect their friendship, or even his career. But Edward had insisted and William finally capitulated albeit rather reluctantly; he was an excellent lawyer and a loyal friend, Edward was pleased to have him with him throughout the proceedings. As William led the way to the room Edward caught sight of his reflection in the windows. Edward knew that once upon a time he had been a handsome man, but lately he had noticed how old he had become, his hair was almost completely grey and the lines on his face gave away his maturity. His once imposing height and impressive frame now seemed withered, he was smaller somehow. He frowned at his appearance and sighed once more before continuing after William.
Edward entered the settlement room and took a seat next to his lawyer; he looked across the table to where Martha Banks and her lawyer Fiona McKenzie sat. Miss McKenzie was a formidable looking woman; her steel wool hair was scraped back into a bun as severe as her suit. She didn't smile but rose to shake William's hand. Edward smiled at Martha, but she was too engrossed in the table in front of her to return the gesture. Martha was physically the opposite of her lawyer; her face offered a beautiful gentility and was delicately framed by waves of soft brown hair. Her eyes were a deep blue and, Edward remembered, they lit up when she smiled and danced when she laughed. She was not a glamorous woman and Edward could never remember seeing her wearing make up, but she was beautiful. Edward had always been fond of Martha; they had had a good working relationship when she was his secretary. She had a wonderful sense of humour and had shown intelligence and imagination in her work. He often regretted having to fire her, and not because of the law suit.
Edward barely listened as William and Miss McKenzie went over the details of the case which he had heard too many times before. Instead he allowed his mind to drift; he remembered his wife's words this morning. He had been on his way to the meeting when he ran into Elaine in their hallway, she was just arriving back from - Edward didn't care where - she had been gone for a few nights now.
'Where are you going?' She asked, her voice expressing no interest.
'Settlement meeting.' Edward pulled his suit jacket on and picked up his briefcase, 'Everything should be settled today.' His voice was hopeful, he smiled at his wife but her stare was icy.
'You're not going to give this woman any money are you?' she asked, her voice betraying her concern.
'I will probably have to; Martha has a good case against me.'
'But the company will pay for everything? It won't be us paying her?' Edward thought his wife's use of the word us rather ironic since she had never worked a day in her life.
'Martha isn't suing Hart industries Elaine, she is suing me, personally. I will be giving her the money.'
'Well then, you listen to me' Elaine's voice grew colder and she took a menacing step towards her husband ' Don't give that woman a cent more than you have to, that money is mine too, you signed the pre-nup, and I am not letting that whore get her hands on my money, do you understand?' Edward was shocked by the venom in his wife's voice.
'Elaine¦'
'Don't say anything. You should count yourself lucky I didn't leave when I found out about you and that tramp in the first place. I'm prepared to forgive and forget your indiscretions Edward' she spat his name at him 'But that bitch is not getting my damn money!' with that Elaine had stormed up the stairs leaving Edward alone in their vast and empty hall.
'That may be enough to cover the wrongful dismissal, but what of the sexual harassment?' Fiona McKenzie's brisk voice brought Edward back to the present. William gave a small chuckle but Fiona was not to be put off 'Two million dollars, no less. It is what my client deserves.' Again William chuckled. It was a short, sharp and high pitched chuckle; Edward had noticed that he did this a lot in important meetings. At first he had put it down to nervousness but soon realised it was a distraction technique and had become increasingly fond of the sound.
'Miss McKenzie, my client is willing to offer one million dollars and not a cent more. I advise your client to accept this very generous offer and avoid any further un-pleasantness.' Edward noticed a note of sympathy creeping into William's otherwise professional tone, Martha had been a popular employee and Edward did not doubt that William found this hard and suddenly realised why he had been so reluctant to accept this particular case.
'If the case were to go before a jury¦' Fiona began but Edward stood up, he did so suddenly and everyone turned to look at him, even Martha. He looked into Martha's wide eyes, they were glistening and he had never seen them look more beautiful.
'Martha...' his voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat, 'I am very sorry about all this, believe me.' His eyes searched Martha's round surprised ones until be became aware of William's questioning gaze burning into his back, he turned to face him 'Will, I want you to give Martha, Miss Banks four million dollars' William's face contorted with confusion 'you can draw up the papers with Miss McKenzie here and I will sign whatever is needed. Again Martha I am sorry, I hope this in some way compensates for your loss.' The room fell quiet. Martha's eyes, which had never left his face, glistened with tears but she blinked them away. William started to speak but Edward stopped him. 'If you don't mind I need a bit of fresh air, I trust you can wrap everything up here?' He didn't wait for an answer but left the room without looking back.
It was with a heavy heart and busy mind that Edward walked through Central Park. It was a sunny day and the park was overflowing with tourists and locals alike. Edward manoeuvred through the crowds and walked to a quiet area; he found himself a bench and waited. Edward didn't know how long he had waited before the figure came and sat next to him in silence. They sat for a few minutes one either end of the bench, neither talking until finally Edward reached out and held Martha's shaking hand in his own.
'Are you alright?' He asked, his voice was flooded with concern. Martha shook her head and a small sob escaped her parted lips. Edward's heart broke. He moved a few inches closer and held her hand tighter, his knuckles began to lose colour but still he clung to her hand, as if somehow that simple act of affection could make her pain disappear.
'I still don't totally understand why we had to go through all of that, people will think¦they will think that you¦' Martha's voice broke off, she stared Edward in the face and there was a fierce loyalty in her eyes.
'I know you don't understand' Edward's voice was gentle. 'But I just couldn't see any other way. My pre-nup is air tight; you know that, Elaine would get everything if I left her. I couldn't leave you with nothing.' Edward saw Martha draw breath to respond but didn't let her 'No, I could never not take care of you. I couldn't just give you the money, people would find out. They would speculate about you and about us, your name would be tarnished and I couldn't allow that.'
'I hate this' Martha's eyes were dry now but her voice was filled with pain. Edward swallowed the lump forming in his throat.
'I know' he sighed 'Martha' he held her gaze 'you know I don't¦you know I don't have long. They reckon six months at the most.' This time Martha gripped his hand hard. 'I could never leave you with nothing, you have been the love of my life, and my only regret is that I didn't meet you first.' Edward smiled at Martha and she returned the smile. It was a sad smile filled with regret and missed opportunities, Edward kissed her hand. 'I don't know when we can meet again, but hopefully it will be soon' he rose from the bench and picked up his briefcase. He smiled again and his eyes shone with love, he turned and began to walk away, as he did he faintly heard Martha sob.
'Eddie'.
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