I was eight when my dad took me to a meeting he should never have. But he probably thought what could go wrong if he took his little daughter to a business meeting. It wasn't like I was going to attend it with him, I'd be doing my own thing while he did his work.
I was a little dumb but I was also very friendly and loved people.
My father was a very loving man. He adored me, so he liked taking me to places even when Clio wasn't with us. There were many times Dad took me while Mom took my brother while going out.
Dad wanted the best for his family and had ambitions of owning a big business.
I remember being in his arms as he carried me all the way to one of the top floors of a company building. There was an executive lounge there, reserved for the purpose of meetings.
"Daddy!" I was amazed by the twinkling chandeliers and the view from those wall sized windows were just too good, "We're so high up!" I raised my hands in the air to show him how excited I was.
He laughed, "We are!" He softly pinched my cheek, "But we're going for a meeting now, so you can't disturb daddy, alright?" He placed his finger on his lips, "You have to play quietly. The person I'm meeting today doesn't like kids much,"
I copied him and put my finger on my lips as well, "Okay," I nodded as I whispered.
"Good girl!" He smiled brightly and put me down, "See those bookshelves there, go get a book and read it while I attend my meeting."
"Okay," I ran like a kid that I was and jumped on the beanbag slamming my body on it but enjoying the sensation. The beanbag was right by the three story high bookshelf while the open room was in a different area. I settled down on it, then looked back at my dad.
I waved at him and he waved back at me. Then pointed at the books for kids, "Take one you like," I nodded and turned to see what I wanted to read. I was still in the middle of choosing when I heard Dad.
"Hello!" I turned to look at him and saw him meeting another man, "It's a pleasure to meet you,"
"Likewise Mr. Pane," The man replied. He looked like he was the same age as my father, maybe a little younger, I wasn't sure, "Come sit," He pointed at the long couches and both of them went there.
Hmmm?
Where is daddy going? I stood up, seeing him going away made me anxious. I began to run out of the open room when he suddenly popped his head back in.
"Hey!"
"Daddy!" I stopped in my path.
"I'm right here, don't worry even if you can't see me, okay?" He nodded at me and I nodded back, still feeling a little worried.
I clasped my hand together and looked at him with an open mouth, "Okay..."
"I'm not going anywhere," He nodded again, "I'll come to you when the meeting will end."
I nodded back,
"Okay..."
"Go back and read a book," He then went away again while I turned around to walk back to the beanbag. It was big and I jumped on it again but this time with less enthusiasm. I settled myself on it, then stared at the books.
There was this book with a dark blue cover with stars on it that caught my attention and I took it out.
'Le Petit Prince'
I opened the book and looked at the pictures. I really loved the art in it and for a while I just stared at it. After a while I went back to page one to try and read it, but for some reason I couldn't.
The words were written in English but they didn't look english. And I tried again and again to read but not a single word made sense to me.
And when I failed, I felt like crying.
I slid down the beanbag with tears brimming in my eyes and the picture book still in my hands. I stood up and walked out of the open room to look for my Dad.
Mom and Dad often joked around that I was slower than Clio and Clio would call me dumb. And now that I couldn't read a picture book, I felt like they really might be right and I didn't like that. So it made me wanna cry.
I didn't think I was dumb and I could read. But why couldn't I read today?
Did I really turn dumb?
"Daddy..." I hiccuped as I went to look for him. I was trying to hold in my tears till the time I found him and whenever I did that, it puffed up my cheeks and my nose would get red too. I sniffled as I went around the rows looking for him.
"We need collateral for this. We're lending you a huge amount Mr. Pane."
!!!
I found the guy my dad met. He was sitting on the couch in my view and I immediately upped my speed because if he was here, my dad would be too.
"Daddy!!"
My father popped his head from the couch that had its back to me and the moment I saw him my tears started running down my cheeks.
"Oh! Shit!" Dad got up from the couch and took me in his arms as soon as I reached him, "Hey!" He tried to calm me down but I hugged him tightly, "Why are you suddenly crying?" He stroked my head, "You were doing fine an hour ago," He glanced at the other man, "I'm so sorry sir,"
The man didn't answer but he kept his eyes on us as he nodded.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
I sniffled as I moved away from him and showed him the book, "I can't read,"
"You can't read?" He tried to look at the book but couldn't focus on it since we was holding me close, "But you can read,"
"No," I hiccuped, "I can't,"
He frowned and put me down, "Baby, can you wait for a few more minutes?" He crouched down, "I'll take a look at what's wrong later, hmm?"
Tears kept rolling down my flushed cheeks as I held the book in my hand. I sniffled at him, "But,"
"That's because the book isn't in english." The other man said and we both looked at him. It was then I noticed that he had his eyes on me with a subtle smile on his face. There was a scar above and below his eye. As if someone tried to slash his eye but the target didn't exactly go as planned or maybe it did since his left eye was completely white.
"It's not?" I tried to blink the tears away.
"No," He shook his head and I walked towards him which seemed to have caught him off guard. His expressions changed a little, as if he was surprised. I walked up to him and placed my hand on his knee, I even tried to get up and sit down next to him, so I could talk to him more.
"Wait," My Dad tried to grab me.
"It's alright," The man held me up and sat me down on his lap sideways, then he pointed at the book, "This version you have in your hands is in french, that's why you can't read it."
I stared at his finger and the book, "Oh..." I let out a soft breath, "So," I looked at him with big eyes, "That means I'm not dumb right?"
The man stared at me for a moment, then let out a chuckle, "No, you're not," I kept my eyes on his face. His scar was particularly very amusing to me and I stared at it so much I stopped crying.
"What happened there?" I softly touched his skin under his eye
"Hey!" My Dad tried to grab, "Kiddo, that's rude."
The man raised his hand to stop my dad again, "It's fine," And my dad stopped.
"I got hurt," The man answered and kept staring at me, "You don't find it scary?"
I shook my head at him, "It doesn't hurt?" My questions were very innocent and not even my father would have guessed that something so pure could invite something so vile.
"No," He replied, "Not anymore," His smile got wider, "You're the first child who isn't scared being this near me and the only one who stopped crying instead of bawling."
"Why would I cry?" I asked and he was pleased with my answer.
"Exactly what I've always wondered," He kept staring at me and I quietly looked back at him. I was an overly friendly child so I didn't find anything wrong with the whole thing. I was just sitting on his lap and we both stared at each other.
For me, it would be something like having a 'who blinks first' competition that automatically started in my mind. And then he blinked and I ended up grinning.
"You blinked first," I said, "That means I win," I passed him a toothy smile that seemed to amuse him.
He looked at my father, "Mister Pane," I looked at my dad too, "I've decided on the collateral I'll be taking if you fail."
It was the first time I saw the color leave my father's skin. There was a smile on his face that went out within a second and he immediately went pale.
"Sir, you don't mean," He looked at me.
"Yes,"
Dad immediately grabbed me and yanked me off from his lap, "No," He answered with his eyes wide open, "Please don't," He shook his head as he held me close
"It's up to you," The man stood up, "If you want the investment, we'll need the collateral."
"But why!?" Dad hugged me so tightly, it made the book in my hand fall down, "She's a kid! Why would you put a kid as collateral?"
He turned around, "It won't be needed if you succeed Mister Pane, are you not confident in your plan?' The man began to walk away,
"Sir," There was panic in his voice, "Wait,"
"We'll meet again."
There were some men in black waiting at a distance who joined him as he walked past them while dad stood in his place in shock, holding me tightly.
I didn't say anything, and it was probably because I noticed the shivering hands of my father.