VII
After the family eat their ice cream, Nikolai drives them back home. He didn't want to say goodbye to his son so soon but he had another meeting he had to attend. When he reached the home, he parked the car and waited for Camden to get out so he could help her with a sleeping Michelangelo. The car had grown quiet, just the sounds of Michelangelo's soft snores.
"Thank you for the ice cream Nikolai, Michelangelo loved it."
Nikolai smiled and turned to look at her.
"You are very welcome, I would do anything for him and for you. I know what had happened between us has caused you pain, I just want you to know that I will do anything and everything to get you back. I mean it Camden, I really do."
Camden saw the sincerity in his eyes and his voice and nodded.
"Who was that woman you had brought with you to my parents' event the other night?"
Nikolai smiled.
"You got jealous my sweet?"
Camden shook her head.
"No, I just want to know that is all. If you don't tell me, I won't force you to."
She reached for the door handle to leave but Nikolai's hand on her arm stopped her.
"She had been a business venture that I lost due to that night."
Camden looked down.
"I am sorry if I had caused any trouble with your business that night, I had not been aware."
He chuckles again and lets go of her arm. He also gets out of the car and walks over to her side and helps her out.
"It had not been your fault. It had been mine, my mother had wanted me to take her to the event because she wanted me to date the woman. But I had no intentions of doing so, especially after I heard Michelangelo."
She looked into his eyes to see if she could find any trace of a lie but she had found none.
"This was fun Nick, thank you. If you want, you can come in. You can put Mickey in bed for the rest of his nap, that is if you want to."
He smiles.
"I wish I could but I have a meeting to attend, but I will call you later to set up the visiting arrangements."
Her smile faltered a little bit.
"Oh okay."
She then got out of the car and he sighed. He knew she had gotten upset. He too stepped out of the car to help her with the boy but she just shook him off. She then walked towards her doorstep after taking the sleeping babe out of the car. She opened her door and turns to Nikolai.
"Thanks again for today, it really was fun."
He took a step in her direction but she stopped him.
"Please, I don't want to make you late for the important meeting you have to go to."
With that she entered her house and closed the door behind her while Nikolai stood there, disappointed in himself for making her upset with him. Sighing, he walks back to his car, he gets in and then starts the car. He pulls out of the driveway and drives off.
All throughout the meeting, Nikolai could not focus. The only thing that kept running through his mind had been the face Camden showed as he told her he could not stay. He felt so guilty, he never wanted to see that look of disappointment ever again on her pretty face, especially if he had been the cause of the disappointment. He shakes his head out of his reverie when his colleagues tried to get his attention.
"Mr. Gabrielli, have you been paying attention at all to what I had been presenting? This is very crucial for this company Mr. Gabrielli."
Nikolai had had enough of this man working for him, everything he had presented in the past had gone down the drain and causing the company to lose money. He turns to the employee and stared at him straight in the eye.
"Mr. Parker, thank you for another well thought out presentation but I had realized that all of your ideas that we had put into place for the well being of the company, has cost us so much money for the plan to fall through the cracks every single time. I think you have amazing ideas but I think they are just not for this company. I am sorry to this but Mr. Parker, your time with Gabrielli Knight has ended. Please pack your things but the end of the day, I will compensate you your final month's pay. This meeting is over, thank you for time gentlemen."
With those last words, he got up from his seat and left the room. He sighed and loosened his tie, he walks over to his and sits at the chair behind his desk.. He pulls out his cell phone and notice that he had no messages waiting for him to answer. He had opened a new chat to message Camden but he had been interrupted by a knock at his door.
"Come in." He put the phone down and watched as his secretary came into the room.
"Uhm sir, a Ms. Calhoun is here to see you."
What is she doing here? She better not be here because my mother had sent her, Nikolai thought to himself.
"Yes, let her in. Please cancel all other appointments for the day, after the visit with Ms. Calhoun, I am taking the rest of the day off, you can go home whenever you please."
She smiled and nodded. She then turns to Ms. Calhoun.
"Mr. Gabrielli will see you now."
She then leaves the woman to Mr. Gabrielli.
"Hello Nikolai."
Nikolai looks at the woman.
"Hello Candace, how can I help you today?"
She sighs and sits down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"I am here because I want to make a deal."
Nikolai looks at her with suspicion.
"And what is this deal?"
She rings her fingers through her hands while sighing and looking down.
"I probably ruined the only good thing in my life by agreeing to help your mother with separating you from your family. I had everything I ever wanted, the perfect job, the perfect home, and the perfect boyfriend who if I hadn't agreed to help your mother, would have became my fiance. But I being the dump, insolent, gullible woman I had been, I had thrown it all away for no reason. Now I have to live with that regret for the rest of my life."
Nikolai stared at her for a while, then he placed his hands on his desk.
"Who did you give up for me?"
She finally looks up into his eyes.
"Conrad Beverly, I gave everything I had grown with him so I can help your mother, or she would tell him the truth about me. The one truth I never told him, the truth about the daughter I had to give up."
Nikolai sighs.
"So what does this have to do with the deal that you have propositioned?"
She smiles. "I will help you with Camden if you help me get Conrad back."
Nikolai sighs again.
"I am sorry Candace but I don't think I can help you with that. You see, I hear that Conrad has moved on, he has been seen with a lovely woman that I have had the pleasure of meeting."
Her eyes glazed over with unshed tears.
"So I lost my chance? I am too late?"
