Closing Time 02 - FTDS

Thomas Firsten was jittery. The company had been founded by his grandfather, passed on to his father, and then to him. He spoke frequently of getting it into the big leagues, pointing out that some of the internationals started their drug business after his. Albert, he declared, would head an empire. He called an executive staff meeting. "We are going to win, and win big," he declared.

I was jittery, and his silly pep talk boosted my spirits. Julia sent me her draft response to Arnold's petition. She had ignored my demand for no alimony, and I called her again. I didn't want any his money; I didn't even want a share of the other assets. He might not have faith in me, but I was going to show him that I did. Julia tried to talk me out of it, but I insisted. She made the changes and sent it to me. I approved, and she forwarded it to Arnold's attorney.

Arnold was not impressed. I barely got in the front door when he launched into me, telling me to lose the attitude. "This Offering is a joke! No one is going to buy it. Thomas Firsten is either a snake-oil salesman or an idiot. Don't let him take you down with him."

"So you must think I'm an idiot as well, because I'm a big part of the program."

"No, my love. I married you because you're brilliant. You're brilliant, beautiful and so many other wonderful things. I want the best for you, even if we don't stay together."

"Am I... am I still your love?"

"Forever. Walk away from the Firstens. Come back into my arms. We'll get past this."

"I... I can't." I sat down on the floor and broke into tears.

Caroline and Kevin both came to look. "What's wrong with mom?"

Arnold sat down beside me. I rested my head on his shoulder, drenching his shirt.

"I... I..."

"You can tell me, my love. I will always protect your heart."

"I... Not this time. Not with this news."

He looked at me, his eyes twitching. He turned towards his children, his mouth silent but open.

"What is it, dad? Mom?"

He stood and glared at me. "Who?"

"Albert."

Arnold nodded. "Kids, go to your rooms."

"We wanna--"

"Go to your rooms. Now!"

He sat back down on the floor beside me. "We had decided that we didn't want more than two children in our family. Now you're adding a third." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I can't accept that. You should move out; the sooner the better. I agree to your terms." He stood up and got some boxes, which he threw down the basement stairs. "I'll send the kids to help you pack when you're ready." He went into his office and shut the door.

Thomas was in a grand mood when I arrived at the office the next day. One of the major pharmaceutical news magazines had a nice article on our company and planned IPO. He showed it to me and said "let's get a room and celebrate." I fled to my office and locked the door. I jammed a chair in front of the door to the adjoining office.

Foolish. It was a swinging door. Albert pulled it open and approached. "Tell me."

"Arnold said he loves me and wants to protect my heart. He said we'll work past our problems." Albert's face sagged a little at that news.

"That's wonderful, Sarah. You'll be able to save your marriage."

I spoke so quietly I could barely hear my own words. "I told him I'm pregnant."

"What did you say?"

"I'm pregnant."

Albert took a step back. Moisture started to form in his eyes as he stared at me. "That's wonderful, Sarah. He has to stay with you now." The tears rolled down his cheeks.

"He's not the father."

"What do you mean?"

"Arnold had a vasectomy after Kevin was conceived."

"Then who is..."

"I've only had sex with one other person since Arnold and I got married."

It didn't take Albert long to figure things out. I could practically touch the joy that was infusing his body. "I'm sorry, Sarah. It was my first time. I didn't even think about the possibility of pregnancy. You know I will do whatever I can to take care of whatever our children need."

I didn't miss, but didn't respond to his use of the plural.

"He wants me out of the house."

"We'll make sure you have a place. We have extra rooms at our house, but that may not look good for your divorce."

I checked with Julia. She said the no-fault divorce was going to go through, no matter where I was living. Albert told his father that if I moved in with them and he harassed me, then Albert would quit. Thomas laughed. "Where are you going to go? How are you going to support yourself and our new family?"

"If you want to be part of your grandchild's life, you better behave when you're with his mother."

Thomas promised.

Arnold made sure everyone was out of my old house on Thursday when I met the movers to take my stuff. There wasn't that much. At my insistence, I had legally renounced my right to a share of our joint property, though Arnold insisted that I hold onto the house key. I took some keepsakes; pictures of the once-happy family, the family that I destroyed. Albert stayed by my side the whole time I was at my old home and brought me to my new, hopefully temporary abode.

I was given the guest suite at the Firsten's, consisting of a bedroom, sitting room and kitchen. The bathroom was huge, with every modern amenity possible. My suite had its own front door, but Thomas told me not to bother; rather to use the main entrance.

They had an invisible housekeeper; a woman who came in, cooked, cleaned, and disappeared. Her duties included my suite, and she increased the amount of food she prepared.

Thomas sat with me as I got ready for bed. "Tomorrow's the big day."

"Today was pretty momentous for me."

"The end of one phase of your life. With the launch tomorrow we begin a new and glorious phase. Nothing will be beyond our reach."

I nodded. Arnold's warning about the IPO played in the back of my mind. "I'm scared."

I was actually trembling lightly.

"Lie down. I'm going to get rid of your tension."

"You have some secret, reassuring news?"

"I'm going to give you another massage. Do you remember how good it made you feel?"

"Yeah, but..."

"I'll go get Albert. I'll be right back."

I pulled my nightgown off and lay down on my back. I had enough experience at whoring to know what was going to happen next. Thomas soon came back into the room and stripped. Albert sat on the other side of the bed, looking uncomfortable.

The massage was as good as the last one as one orgasm blended into the next. It ended with Thomas holding me like a bowling ball: his thumb in my ass, a couple of fingers in my vagina. He withdrew, rolled me over, spread my legs, and went to wash his hands. Albert move into position and entered me. I could feel the warmth of his love more strongly than the heat of his passion. "That's the last time my father does anything intimate with you," he whispered. A wave of joy from his words and body washed through me, cleansing me. I soon fell asleep.

Launch day. There was nothing to do at work but sit nervously at the office. Everything was on auto-pilot to bring us multiple millions of dollars. Thomas and I went for lunch at our usual venue. He insisted on sitting next to me and kept his hand inside my thigh the entire time. Albert took the day off to look after some unspecified chores.

"At your age, you should be with someone older than my son. You're robbing the cradle."

"I was with someone my age, but you ruined that."

"I suppose; it wasn't on purpose. Did you enjoy your massage last night?"

"You know I did. Did you enjoy giving it?"

"Yes, but it left me with blue balls."

I giggled, something I rarely do.

"Can we go into the bathroom so you can service me?"

"Service you? In the bathroom? Thomas, I know you're a lech, but this is going too far, even for you."

"I can wait till we get back to the office."

"Okay then." I wondered what Thomas was expecting. Whatever it was, I was thinking far less. It turned out to be even less than that.

Arnold agreed that I should spend the coming weekend with my children: Saturday with Caroline, Sunday with Kevin. It wasn't easy. I took my daughter shopping, offering to buy her a whole new wardrobe with my company credit card. There wasn't one thing she liked. I took Kevin go-karting. He used to drive aggressively, to the point that I was afraid. This time he just slowly circled the track.

I understood. They knew what I had done. They played a large part in Arnold learning what was going on and couldn't let themselves enjoy their time with me. In their minds that would be a betrayal of their father. Maybe they were right.

I didn't expect Albert to disappear, but he left the house Saturday morning, not returning till Sunday night. His father assured me he was okay, that it was something he sometimes did. I wanted to call, but Thomas said he turned his phone off when he vanished like this. He advised me not to ask about it when Albert returned. Thomas kept mostly to himself the entire weekend, not even parading naked in front of me as he was often wont to do. I wanted to help him calm down, but all my words were ignored.

Albert returned late Sunday evening and immediately came to my suite. I was taken aback by his loud greeting: "Hey, gorgeous!" Usually, it was a quiet "hi."

"Hello, handsome."

"I missed you, Sarah."

"So don't leave me."

"I never will. You're stuck with me." He put his hand behind my head and gave me a fierce kiss. "How was your time with Kevin and Caroline?"

A person with poor social skills, a person on the spectrum would not ask such a question unprompted. I knew Thomas had set me up with his son, but how much of a setup was it?

"They made it clear they would rather not be near me. They were with me, but not their hearts."

"Yeah, I figured that would happen, but didn't want to say anything. Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I'm not. It's empathy." Albert's face twisted in frustration. "Look, my father likes to pretend I have no insight into other people. That's not true. I only became afraid to talk to people after my mother was hospitalized. The doctors first said she would never be sane enough to come out, but when I visited her this afternoon, she seemed normal. I think you get a lot of the credit for that."

"Me? How?"

"My father hounded her constantly about me. Nothing I did was good, and it was all her fault. When I started to clam up, she started to freak out. Dad tried to help in his own stupid way, putting pressure on her to be a more effective mother, telling her she wasn't living up to her capabilities. He thought that was encouragement. She finally snapped, and I went into my shell."

"How am I helping?"

"The last few times I went to see her I started talking about you and how close we had become. She was thrilled when I told her how comfortable... how happy I was, and that you seemed happy with me. When I told her you were carrying our child she was over the moon with joy. Would you like to meet her?"

"I'd love to."

"I've applied to have her guardianship transferred from my father to me. I asked the psychiatrist in charge of her file to do a complete review of her current status. Hopefully, I can get her released sooner rather than later."

"Won't Thomas help with that?"

"I don't know. He has a lot of guilt about what happened to both of us. I think he had good intentions, but no idea how to execute them. He messed up my mother, and I coped by putting a shell around myself. Then he messed up your life, ruining your marriage. I don't think that he wanted to hurt any of us but simply didn't bother considering what other people thought or needed. He focused on a goal, and everything or anyone else be damned."

"I don't know what to say."

"I confess that I'm happy he got us together. I can't deny how much I love you, how much I need to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm thrilled to have you, despite the unhappiness losing your family has caused you. I'll make it up to you."

"Albert, I'm almost fifteen years older than you."

He wrapped his arms around me. "What's that got to do with anything?"

I reciprocated. "Make love with me. Make me yours."

"You are already mine," he whispered as he started to undress.

"Let's put the IPO out of our thoughts for the day," Albert told all the executives, including his father. He had summoned our top people to a nine a.m. Monday meeting. "We'll gather back here at four-thirty to update each other on what's happening with the IPO. In the meantime, we have a pharmaceutical business to operate."

"That's the first time my son has ever taken charge like that. I'm so proud, and I owe it to you." Thomas touched his foot to mine under our conference table.

We all re-convened at the scheduled time. There were no updates on the IPO. Albert related that when he called Candy, she said she'd let them know when anything significant happened. Essentially it was a 'don't call me; I'll call you' message.

Tuesday, Wednesday there was the same news: nothing. On Thursday Candy told Thomas that it would be worthwhile if I was sent to New York, the real New York, to persuade Marcia Jones, the head of Greenrock Capital to invest.

"Why me?"

"You're a woman. Marcia's reported to be a bitter feminist. She'll be much more receptive to you. Should I set it up? I'll try to get you in and out on the same day."

I wasn't enthusiastic, especially as I was experiencing occasional bouts of morning sickness. Still, it had to be done. Tuesday morning I was on an early flight to Newark. Tuesday at one I was sitting at the desk of one of the most powerful women in corporate America.

"I don't know why Ms. Ortega insisted that you come here to discuss your IPO, Mrs. Sanborn. I told her quite clearly that there was no way I would invest."

"If there's no way, then why did you agree?"

"We have an employee in Nicaragua rotting in one of their miserable jails on trumped-up drug charges. She said if I met you he could be home within days."

I tried to digest the implications of her answer. "But if you're not investing--"

"She doesn't need me to invest. Candy Ortega just wants to create the appearance of interest. She doesn't give a damn about advancing the IPO."

"But... but..."

"Let me get you a glass of water. You look like you're going to pass out." She led me to a couch.

The water calmed me down. "Okay, so let's put Candy aside. First Pharmaceuticals is a strong business, with deep roots and decades of experience."

"First Pharmaceuticals was founded by Matthew Firsten. He and his son were brilliant, motivated and trustworthy businessmen. His grandson Thomas, not so much. Thomas' son Albert, who will eventually take over the reins... well there are questions about him."

I tried to keep myself calm. "Look at our prospectus. Look at the numbers. They speak for themselves."

Marcia pulled a newsletter from the top of her desk and handed it to me. "I pay three-hundred and fifty dollars a month to subscribe to the SCK Investment Newsletter. Look at the bottom left of the page, at the table of pending Initial Public Offerings. Do you see yours? It's in the "Intensely Dislike" column."

I didn't see it. I was staring at the cute printed doodle at the top of the newsletter, a doodle I saw every day of my married life. Arnold scrawled it whenever he had a pen, paper, and a moment to relax. SCK was a weird name for a newsletter. It seems he didn't want to spell out "Sarah Caroline Kevin."

"The top investors in America all subscribe to this newsletter, and we follow its advice religiously. I'm sorry to break this to you, but First Pharmaceutical's IPO is going to crash and burn."

"I can't believe that one newsletter has so much influence."

"Believe it. There's intense competition to be allowed to subscribe. The owner says he's limiting it to five hundred copies. It's printed on special paper that can't be photocopied, and sent out by Federal Express. No one knows who the author is."

I knew. I understood everything now, especially why Arnold was so against my participation in this project. He tried to protect me from my own arrogance. He failed.

I realized that I also failed: as a mother, as a wife, as a businesswoman. I fainted.

I woke to a paramedic kneeling beside me, taking my pulse while holding a stethoscope to my belly.

"Both of you are okay. You have to avoid stress. Next time you faint it may not be on a plush sofa."

I nodded my thanks and sat up.

"I asked one of my analysts to take a closer look at First Pharmaceuticals while we were meeting. We've just met, Sarah but I'm telling you as a friend to jump ship. Find another job. Get rid of any shares and stock options."

"I can't. We're in the SEC lock-up period. I can't do anything with my shares."

"Oh, right." She sighed. "They really have you by the balls."

"If I had balls I wouldn't be in this situation. If I had balls I wouldn't--" I stopped myself. I barely knew this woman and shouldn't tell her such personal matters.

"Does your husband know?"

She was sharp, extrapolating the truth of my pregnancy from limited data. I had plenty of data along with expert advice from my husband, but couldn't see the truth about the IPO.

She picked up another paper from her desk. "Our leadership analyst says that Thomas Firsten is driven, doesn't pay attention to the consequences of his actions, and has a difficult time recognizing women as more than instruments to use."

"Yes, that sounds accurate."

Marcia shook her head. "I won't ask you any more about your personal situation. It seems I know more about your business situation than you. I hope you didn't invest too much of your own assets."

I sat forlornly on the sofa. Marcia came over and handed me her business card. "Let me know how you're doing. Maybe I'll be able to help. I won't say you've been deliberately conned by the Firstens. They may have conned themselves, and everyone around them is suffering the consequences."

"I can't believe I got myself into this mess."

"Lots of smart, trusting, honest people make bad decisions when they deal with the wrong people. I've got another meeting now Sarah. Are you well enough to go, or should I have someone stay with you in our lounge?"

"I think I'm okay. Thank you for everything, including this." I smiled and held up her business card.

My flight home touched down in the late evening. I had to decide where to go. Arnold's home made the most sense. He was right about everything and he had tried to protect me even after he knew about my evil behavior.

I couldn't go there.

I gave the Firsten's address to the taxi driver and tried to sneak quietly into my suite but Albert came right into my bedroom. I took a couple of steps back. He looked at my face, gently squeezed my hand and asked "that bad?"

"Much worse. A person who should know says First Pharmaceuticals is going to crash and burn." I made air quotes for emphasis. "All my investments will be worthless. If it's as bad as she predicts, I will soon be out of a job. No assets, no money, and worst of all, no family. I pray to god that Greenrock's analysts are wrong."

"I know they're not."

The color drained from my face. "You knew? You knew that this IPO was a scam, bound for failure? You knew that it was going to destroy your livelihood and mine? That my family was being destroyed for nothing?"

"Sit down, Sarah. I don't want you to faint." He gently pushed me down on my bed. "I didn't know any of the details. I don't claim to understand business. But I know my father, I know his schemes. The only one that I ever appreciated is the one that brought you into my arms, though look at what it has cost you." He sat beside me.

"I'm lost."

"No, not as long as you're with me."

"Albert, I'm going to have a baby. I'm going to need a place to live, I'm going to have to pay for food, diapers, school..."