A View From The Dark, Part 4

Todd watched eagerly as his stock began to rise, while Sarah assumed control of the television and returned to her nature special. “I wish you wouldn’t be so concerned about those stocks of yours” she said to Todd. “But honey, this could make us rich” he said back. “Isn’t that what that job of yours is for?” she asked. “That’s a loaded question and you know it” Todd said angrily. He stormed off to his office to continue examining his portfolio. As time went on, Sarah became angry with Todd. Every month it was a new excuse as to why he couldn’t start his new job. Very quickly it became apparent to Sarah that this “dream job” was just that, a dream. She confronted him “Todd, you have been in school for five years, you were supposed to have this job when you finished your diploma, what happened?” “I don’t have to justify myself to you, they just don’t have the capacity to hire me right now, that’s all. Things changed out there” Todd said defensively. “You changed Todd, you changed” Sarah said, in tears. “What about that girl at the dealership, you know, the new detailer?” Sarah said, nearly shouting. “What about her, Sarah?” Todd said, lowering his voice. “I know about you and Veronica, Todd, I know, why, Todd, why?” Sarah was sobbing outright by now. “I was stupid okay, it was just a dumb fling. There is nothing between us” Todd said, trying to calm Sarah down. “That’s too bad for you, Todd, I guess you are gonna have to find somebody else than, you two would have made a cute couple” Sarah said, as she shoved the ring into his pocket. “It’s over, Todd” she said as she began to pack her things. “Sarah, wait, I love you, really, I love you” Todd pleaded. “If you loved me, you wouldn’t be banging the detailer, if you loved me you wouldn’t have lied to me about your job, if you loved me…” Sarah couldn’t finish because of the flow of tears.

Feeling sorry for himself, Todd went to his local alehouse. “The bitch broke it off” he said. The bartender looked up at Todd, “What, the drugs wore off and she realized she was engaged to you?” he said with a wry smile. Todd slammed his empty glass down on the bar, “She, she, she just didn’t understand me, nobody does, nobody…” he said as he threw a twenty on the bar and stormed off. One of the regulars at the bar turned to the bartender, “Serves him right” he said. He was not well liked in the establishment, well, to his knowledge he was the life of the place, however to avoid the inevitable arguments, they kept their disdain for his presence quiet. The bartender turned to the man and said “ I wouldn't be too worried about him, he'll have a new woman on his arm by noon tomorrow."

Robin was sipping his green tea while reading the newspaper when the phone rang. “Robin, they want to buy us out” the voice said, “three hundred million dollars, Robin, three hundred million dollars”. Robin sent a large plume of tea across the room. “How many partners is this split between, Adrian?” he asked, trying to calculate his potential wealth. “Just us, Robin, just the two of us” the voice said. “My advices as the silent partner is to sell, Adrian, sell it, SELL THE DAMN COMPANY” Robin shouted. “The paperwork is on the way, Robin, I thought you would say that” the voice said. “Alright, call me when you need me” Robin said before hanging up. All of a sudden, he realized how much money that really was, and that it was all his, the fruit of his labour, his hard work had finally paid off.