Given half a chance

Chapter 7

Sebastian

I ring the bell and wait. A minute later the door opens and Mary greets me with a serene smile " Good Morning Sebastian. "

I smile back " Good Morning Mary ." Mary blinks as if she hasn't expected that. " Is something wrong Mary ?"

She shakes her head " You never smile in the morning. You are very cheery today Sebastian. It's good to see you smiling. " She holds the door for me and I walk to the staircase wondering  haven't I ever smiled before in the morning during my visits here ? Surely I have. But when ?

The door to my father's room is open as usual . He's sleeping peacefully. I stare blankly at his fragile frame. He has lost weight. There are dark circles under his eyes .

" You are back again ." Gerard sighs. I look at him briefly over my shoulder and decide to ignore him . I sigh and turn towards Gerard. He's sipping his tea . He watches me with wary eyes . We stare down at eachother for few seconds until Mary climbs upstairs.

" Do you want tea Sebastian ?" Mary asks sweetly .

" I don't drink tea Mary. " I reply not looking away from Gerard. Gerard raises one greying brow at me. I don't have the time to play this games with him . Another day Gerard.

" I have to go now. Take care of him and ... everybody else ." I nod at Mary and leave the house as soon as I can. 
                                     
                                      °°°

There is someone already inside Anna's office. Not George . Because he's in his chamber doing something in his computer. Then who ?

I stop in front of Anna's office . A guy in grey shirt and black slacks is fidgeting as Anna tears open an envelope.

" So you ..." Her eyes meet mine and she stops only for half a second before looking back at the guy and leans back in her chair . She looks like a queen looking down at her paid royal servant. It amuses me because this sudden change in demeanor is probably to impress me . But I pity the fidgeting guy .

" Why now Mr Dawson ?" I have no idea what she's asking about. I wait curiously for the fidgeting guy's response. Maybe that'll help me to grasp on the matter better .

" It's written there on the letter. "

Anna put the letter face down on the table and entwine her fingers together , resting her elbows on the handles of the chair and look unimpressively at the guy. "Your letter says it's harming your conscience to work here. But what do you say Mr Dawson."

" I want to resign . This company is a trap . It steals money from people , from dieing people , in the name of providing insurance . It collects all the bank details and then drains all money out of people's accounts. I can't work here. I am not shameless like you ." The guy spats venomously at Anna .

I have heard this before. The very same words have been thrown at me not once , but again and again in the last six months. Different sentences holding the same meaning . And those words  ' stealing money ' and 'bankruptcy ' and ' falling shares ' .

" So your conscience won't allow you to work in a company like this , right ?" Anna asks calmly. Her calmness is dangerous. I know this calmness . She's about do something. So I wait instead of interrupting and accepting his resignation.

The guy nods " so can you please accept my resignation letter . So that I can go now. "

" Where were your conscience all these months Mr Dawson ? On a trip to Europe ?" All calmness gone. She's ferocious now .I like that fire in her eyes. It's almost like a hazel fire burning behind her deep brown eyes.