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Life's Illusions - 10 years on - Chapter 41
In Torremolinas it was seven o'clock in the morning, Sofia was close to completing her last shift at Guardian for the week, she was feeling really pleased.
Since Pauly's death, after which Reece disposed of all their business interests, Sofia had not worked, her Poppa no longer needed a PA which had been Sofia's role for both of her Poppas since she'd finished school.
It had been Carry's talk about how much she enjoyed her control work at Guardian that had planted the seed in Sofia's head.
With Carry's and Pierre's help, unknown to the rest of the family, she'd applied to Guardian for a controllers role, been interviewed by Rick and offered the job, mostly on the strength of Carry's and Pierre's recommendations, and Carry's assurance she would conduct the required training program.
Sofia had been in training for six weeks, she'd just completed her first week working solo when Juan walked into the control room having turned up early, normally Sofia would have left the building at eight o'clock before Juan, Josef or Pierre arrived for the day.
They came face to face and neither spoke for a few minutes.
Juan spoke first, though he was definitely confused seeing Sofia behind the desk wearing a headset, and it showed.
"What...., why......., where's the controller, why are you here, it's early, I didn't think Carry was on duty last night?".
Sofia knew she was busted, she had to come clean.
"I'm the controller, I'm just finishing up, my replacement should be here shortly".
Juan didn't reply for a moment, it was as if he was having trouble computing the information.
"You're the controller, how....., when....., why didn't I know about this, do Josef or Pierre know?".
He didn't give Sofia time to respond, he was flummoxed, but his response came out wrong, it came out as angry.
"This is ridiculous, you can't do this, you don't need to work, and you certainly don't need to be working night shifts, who hired you?".
Sofia couldn't respond in anything more than a couple of words, she was still dealing with incoming calls.
"Rick hired me".
Juan stormed out of the control room leaving Sofia to deal with the incoming calls and radio chatter.
Heading to the Tech floor he marched straight down the length of the room clearly not in the mood to chat, seeing Rick he stormed into the glass office where Rick had just logged on and was enjoying his first coffee whilst examining the last twelve hours of reports, he was stunned by Juan's outburst.
"What the fuck possessed you to hire Sofia as a controller, and why weren't Josef or I consulted, are you trying to make monkeys out of us?, she's fired, as of now".
Rick was completely stunned, but typically his response was just as aggressive as Juan's.
"I hire and fire on this floor not you, so unless she's done something terrible, she stays exactly where she is, and I'll thank you to have a little restraint and show some respect before you next barge into my office acting like some lunatic on drugs".
Ricks reply had only served to further incense Juan.
"Respect, honestly, you're cannot be serious, you want me to show respect when you display absolutely no reasonable judgement?, if anything it makes me question why you're even occupying this office".
Rick by now had had enough, he could see his staff staring wide eyed, listening to the vicious exchange going on, he banged his still full coffee mug down onto the desk, splashing the steaming liquid across most of the paperwork.
"I don't know what prompted this outburst, I've never given less than my best here, but you obviously don't think I deserve this office, you don't think I'm good enough to hold this position?, fine, find someone who is, I'm pretty sure I won't have any problems getting another job before the day is out, you know where to send my severance cheque".
At that Rick snatched up his backpack and barged past Juan out of the office.
Juan was stunned, sudden realisation struck, what the hell had he just done, as he looked out into the main Tech office he could see several operators packing up their things, he walked out to talk to them.
"Where are you guys going, there's work to do?".
One of the Techies answered for them all.
"Wherever he's going, that's where we'll be, like he said, you know where to send our severance cheques".
Josef and Pierre were also entering the building early that day, Pierre had bummed a ride with Josef because Juan had gone into the office early, they were laughing at a joke when they encountered Rick leaving, and behind him were several of his top Techies, Josef's greeting didn't get the response either of them expected.
"Morning Rick, off out already, you're keen".
Rick didn't respond with the expected smile.
"Off, not out, sacked I believe is the correct term, by your brother, though I have no idea why, goodbye".
Josef thankfully was alert and quick off the mark.
"Whoa, hang on, you're not sacked, nor will you ever be, unless of course you do something pretty damn stupid, which I seriously doubt will ever happen, now please, I'm asking nicely, all of you, come to my office, I want to know what's going on".
At just that precise moment Sofia exited the building.
For each of them a different thought ran across their mind.
For Rick, 'Whatever you did, I just got the fall out'.
For Josef, 'Sofia, I thought you said you were staying with a friend, what are you doing here?".
For Pierre, 'Oh shit, I don't want to be here right now, this is not going to be pretty'.
For Sofia, 'Oh no, now they'll all know".
Sofia stopped dead in her tracks looking like a rabbit caught in headlights.
Josef spoke first.
"Pierre would you take the guys to my office whilst I speak to Sofia".
Pierre, quick off the mark responded with a negative reply.
"No you deal with the guys, I'll talk to Sofia".
Even as he was replying to Josef he was walking towards Sofia, grabbing her arm he almost frog marched her away from the group.
As soon as they were out of sight he started talking.
"What on earth happened, It seems Juan just sacked Rick, half the Tech staff have walked out in support of him".
Sofia was almost crying.
"He came into the control room, I was busy, I couldn't answer his questions properly, he asked who hired me, I said Rick, then he stormed out, I haven't seen him since, he's angry he said I couldn't do the job but I can, and I'm good at it, don't let him sack me Pierre, it's not fair".
Pierre could see how upset she was.
"Come on I'll walk you to your car, don't worry, I suspect it's me and Carry who are going to be on the receiving end of his and Josef's wrath shortly".
Now Sofia was concerned for him.
"Will you be okay?".
Pierre laughed.
"Oh yes, I'll be alright, your brothers may be able to frighten some people but I'm not one of them, trust me it will be alright, now you go get some sleep, I'll see you at home later this afternoon".
As Sofia drove off Pierre turned and headed for his office, fully prepared to face the music.
In Josef's office pandemonium reigned.
No sooner had Josef ushered Rick and his followers inside than Juan turned up, looking at Rick he started in on him immediately.
"Oh, changed your mind have you, not so long ago you were confident you could find another job by this afternoon, now you're begging my brother to keep you on".
Rick was quick to shout an angry response.
"I'm doing nothing of the sort, in fact I don't know why I agreed to this meeting, I might as well just leave now".
Josef was struggling to be heard above Juan and Rick shouting at each other when Pierre walked in, he put his fingers to his mouth and let out a high pitched whistle which shut all of them up.
"Rick, you're not sacked, please accept our apologies for this thing happening, it's a misunderstanding and I feel I'm partly to blame, I'll explain later, for now would you take your staff and return to your office, it seems Juan, Josef and I have a lot to discuss".
Rick nodded and left the office, trailed by his staff who'd been willing to follow him anywhere.
When they'd gone Juan immediately started ranting at Pierre who let him vent for several minutes.
"You knew Sofia was working here, how could you allow it and not tell us, you've made fools out of us, in future you'll have no input in any area not involving finance, your judgement is clearly impaired".
Once he stopped to draw breath Pierre jumped in.
"Shut up, you're being childish, I'm your partner in more ways than one, but that doesn't give you the right to rant at, or dictate to me, yes I'm partly to blame for this fiasco, but only in the sense I supported a family member who wanted a job, and that person has proved more than capable of carrying out the job requirements, therefore Rick is vindicated, she deserves to be employed".
Juan tried to interrupt but Pierre was having none of it.
"I said shut up, I meant it, Rick was totally oblivious to Sofia's family connections, exactly as Sofia wanted, to be able to secure the job on her own merits or not at all, Carry and I simply made the introduction and supplied a reference..............".
Pierre didn't get any further as Josef now jumped in angrily.
"Oh this gets better, Carry knew as well, were you all having a good laugh at our expense, how many others knew, how many of the staff are laughing behind our backs, a joint stitch up was it?".
Juan jumped back in.
"Looks like we've both been stitched up by our partners".
Pierre had been trying to explain but neither of the brothers was listening, finally he walked up to Josef poking with his finger at his chest.
"You take that back............".
But he didn't get any further, Josef pushed him away sharply towards Juan, who did exactly the same, propelling him backwards, but Pierre was still not good on his feet and he lost his balance, sending him head first into a wooden cabinet with horrific consequences.
Pierre had turned slightly in falling, causing his face to strike the cabinet with a loud thud before he collapsed to the floor, blood streaming from a large cut over his left eye.
To Josef it was as if everything happened in slow motion, he saw it happen, but his brain refused to accept it.
Exactly the same were true of Juan, he knew he'd done it, but he couldn't accept it, he wouldn't hurt Pierre.
Whilst they stood staring, transfixed, Josef's secretary walked in, seeing Pierre on the floor, bloody and struggling to get up she screamed, that brought both of the brothers out of their trances.
As she tried to help Pierre up Juan leapt forward to aid him.
"I'm sorry Pierre, I don't know what happened.................".
He didn't get any further.
"Get away from me, I don't want to see either of you ever again".
Helped by the secretary Pierre stumbled from Josef's office to his own.
Once there his own secretary took charge, arranging for someone to drive him to the hospital.
On the way Pierre called his Poppas, he was crying when he spoke.
"Help me, I need to come home to Montclair, I'm on my way to the hospital, I need stitches".
Aly was shocked.
"Who hurt you, Josef or Juan?".
Pierre's reply sent him into a rage.
"Both, I want to come home Poppa".
Aly stayed calm enough to answer Pierre.
"Go to the hospital son, I'll arrange everything, I'll call you back soon".
Aly's next call was to Reece.
Reece answered his phone and was taken completely aback by Aly's angry tone.
"What the hell is going on with your son's, one or both of them just injured Pierre badly enough that he needs hospital treatment, and he's alone at the hospital, you get there and make sure he's safe, I'm on my way, oh by the way Reece, you best warn your boys, I'm out for blood, and all the training they've ever received won't help them when I get hold of them".
Reece was shocked when Aly terminated the call, he immediately shouted Sofia who came into the lounge surprised by his shouting.
After hearing what Aly had told her father, Sofia immediately started crying, explaining what had happened, about how angry Juan had been, Reece was just staring, how could this be happening, Juan and Pierre were the most loving couple possible, he couldn't understand this, it must be wrong.
On his way to the hospital Reece called Josef but his secretary informed Reece that Josef wasn't taking calls, Reece didn't mince his words.
"Tell my son to get on this call now or to never come home again, tell him I'm furious and he's balancing on a knife edge right now".
Within moments Josef came on the line.
"Poppa, I'm sorry, it wasn't meant to happen, I only pushed Pierre away from me, Juan did the same, but Pierre lost his balance, he fell and hit his head, it's like a nightmare".
Reece's anger wasn't abating.
"You used him like a rag doll, he's nowhere near to the level of fitness you boys have, you know how unsteady he still is on his feet, yet you do that to him, I'm appalled, thankfully your Poppa Pauly isn't here to witness this, he'd be so disappointed".
Josef tried to answer but Reece cut him off.
"I'm on my way to the hospital now, I can't believe you let him go alone, and don't you dare give me that crap about him not wanting you with him, what's Juan doing, this is his husband, well you both need to be prepared, Aly is on his way, he's out for your blood, and if you have one iota of sense in those heads, neither of you will fight him, there's lots you don't know about Aly, in a fight he'd make you look like kindergarten kids, he's capable of hurting you in ways you don't even want to think about, and he wouldn't even raise a sweat".
Josef again tried to answer but he was talking to thin air, Reece had cut the call.
Aly had come off the call to Reece and immediately called PJ.
"PJ I need help, do you have a plane here at Nice, Pierre's been injured, I need to get to Torremolinas urgently".
PJ response was guaranteed, he told Aly he didn't have a plane in Nice but his number three aircraft had just finished its service plan in Malaga and was ready to fly.
Aly asked if he could use it to bring Pierre home, PJ agreed immediately, and told Aly he'd advise the pilot to expect Pierre.
Aly called Reece.
"Your boys have a reprieve, PJ's plane is waiting at Malaga for Pierre, I need you to take him there and put him onboard, are you with him?".
Reece passed the phone to Pierre who was resting after having a line of stitches inserted over his left eye.
"Son, I can't get there, but PJ's plane is waiting at Malaga to bring you home, are you sure it's what you want?".
Pierre didn't hesitate.
"Yes Poppa".
Aly replied.
"Okay, Reece will drive you to the airport, call me when you're airborne, I'll be at Nice to meet you, I love you son".
As soon as Pierre had re dressed, Reece helped him out to the car, before they set off Reece tried to talk to him.
"Pierre I can't excuse what happened, I'm as furious at them as your father is, but I have to ask, would you not consider talking to them first, the situation becomes so final if you leave".
Pierre was crying but his reply saddened Reece.
"It is final, what would be achieved by trying to talk to them, I tried that once, you can see their response, I'm going home, there will be no coming back, I'll start divorce proceedings in the next week, I doubt I'll ever forgive either of them, but especially Juan, I'll never understand how he could do that to me".
A few hours later Pierre was wrapped in the arms of his Poppas and brother as he came out of Nice airport.
None of them could believe what Pierre told them, it seemed so far fetched, all because Sofia had taken a job at Guardian.
A few days later at The Inn, Bo sat with Pierre chatting, he was concerned, worried even.
"Pierre, the last time you came home like this it almost broke you, and it came close to breaking our family, are you going to be alright this time, are you sure about what you're doing, it's a lot to lose, you might be all grown up son, but we still worry about you?".
Pierre was grateful, he still had their love, a safe haven to come home to.
"Yes Poppa, I'll be alright, it hurts to think about what Juan did, what I've lost, not what I'm losing, it was gone as soon as he hurt me that day, it won't come back, that part of my life is over, I need to move on".
He paused, obviously thinking how to put the next part.
The last time I came home, I was in limbo, hoping, praying, waiting every day for him to contact me, it's not like that this time, I know what I need to do, I'm going to see Sebastian tomorrow, I want the divorce proceedings started as soon as possible".
He stopped speaking again, Bo didn't interrupt, he could see this was difficult for Pierre, he just waited until he was ready to continue.
"Poppa, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I don't want to live at home, I've moved on, okay it didn't work out, but I'm more independent now, I don't want to give that up, I'm worried you'll all see that as me being selfish, please don't, I love coming home, it gives me a sense of belonging, but I need my own place".
Bo could see the nervousness in his expression.
"Son, you need to stop worrying about everyone else, you've been doing that all your life, do what Pierre wants for a change, I understand, and I know Poppa Aly will too, Piers on the other hand, well he'll just seek you out wherever you are".
This time Bo stopped to think.
"This may be of no use but, one of the houses in the village is empty at the moment, the tenants moved out a few days ago, it may not appeal to you being rather large, it's the four bedroom place on Avenue Montclair, it has a chunk of land at the side which is rented by one of the villagers for vegetable growing, the same guy also rents the small apartment over the garage, you get to keep that rent to offset against the monthly rental fees on the whole property, or of course, you could buy the property from us, I'm sure we could come to a fair price, but non of your fancy haggling, this is family".
Pierre was more than interested, he knew the property, in fact he knew everything about his parents portfolio, after all, it wasn't that long ago since he'd managed it, the property Bo had talked about would be exactly what Pierre wanted, somewhere he could live, on his own, but be close to his family, he wasn't sure what else he wanted to do, but at least he was in the fortunate position, he didn't need to worry about money".
"I'd like that Poppa, I've always liked that house, it's old, it has character, I think I could be comfortable there".
Bo noted Pierre's choice of words, 'I could be comfortable there', not, 'I could be happy there', that was the big worry for Bo and Aly, they didn't think Pierre was ever going to be happy again, not without Juan.
TBC ARB Allan
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Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.