Chapter 10
Kendall
I sat behind my desk and could sense from a distance that everyone in the department was happier that Elijah wasn’t here. The work was being done, but everyone just seemed a little too relaxed, and it wasn’t how a company should be run.
The bell on the elevator dinged and lifted my head. Travis exited and headed toward my desk.
“Is he not in again? he asked.
“No, still no sign yet, and Peter has not given an indication when he will be in,” I replied with a vague look on my face.
“We should make the most of it, and I can see everyone is doing just that,” he replied as he smiled.
“Yeah, but, just because the boss isn’t here, there is no reason to be totally lax in how we perform our duties.” I was a little worried that things had become out of control.
“As long as the work is done. That’s all that matters,” he replied with a grin.
“Well, it’s not the way I look at it, I perform my best if the boss is here or not,” I replied with assertion and pride.
“I’m a bit worried though, he will blow his stack when he finally comes in and see’s the difference and how people are acting,” Travis answered.
"Probably." I looked at my computer emails: 329.
“Maybe it has gone a little too far; it won’t be easy for people to switch back and hide it, I’m sure he will notice and go on a wild rampage. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few empty seats at the end of it?” Travis added finally as he left my desk and headed toward the shipping department.
I wondered what would happen when Elijah did finally return, would he blow a fuse? Would it be safe for him to do so in his condition? I mean, he was sure to be a little fragile to start with, and any big outburst could have a really bad negative effect on him.
I carried out my duties. I had been busy keeping the reports up to date and made sure everything was filed as Elijah liked it, at least I could help to ease him back into it, and I wouldn’t be on the end of one of his tantrums. The emails kept coming.
I returned after lunch to find Peter in Elijah's office. He was looking through some of the papers I had left ready for the return tray. Peter looked up and noticed I was heading back toward my desk, he waved and gestured for me to go into the office.
“Hi Kendall, how is everything going?” he asked.
“It’s as well as can be expected. There has been nothing major to report,” I replied.
“Have a seat. I need to explain something to you,” he replied.
“There is nothing wrong, is there?” I asked with a quizzical expression on my face.
“No, nothing is wrong, it’s just, I’m going to bring Elijah into the office tomorrow, and you will notice a difference in him, a very big difference,” he said plainly.
“What sort of difference? Like a physical difference, or something like that?” I questioned.
“No, he has lost his memory, he’s not able to remember anything, I even had to show my driving license to prove I was his brother!”
“My God, that is awful, so he will not know anything about here, who I’m or the other staff, or even the business itself?” I asked in wonder.
“Correct, and the doctors are unsure if his memory will return, or if something will trigger it to return, and this could be any time or any place, they just don’t know,” he said.
“Well, I’ll help in any way I can, I’ll try and make it as easy as possible for him without bombarding him with the business side of things to start with,” I replied as compassion rose inside of me.
“Thank you, Kendall, I think he will need you more than ever now, you will be his shoulder to give him some support,” Peter said as he beamed me a wide smile.
“So, are there any messages that were left for him? I’ll pass them on to him and see if they mean anything to him,” Peter asked.
“There are one or two, I’ll hand them to you before you leave,” I replied.
“Thanks, I’ll just finish going through these papers, and I’ll head back to the hospital, he’s being discharged later, and I’m taking him home with me for tonight,” he added.
“Okay. I’ll sort through the messages keep doing what I was doing,” I answered as I stood and returned to my desk.
"Thank you, Kendall."
“Oh, one thing Peter, should I tell the others about his memory loss?” I asked as I reached the office door.
“No, don’t mention his memory, just tell them he will be in tomorrow at some point,” Peter said as he scanned the documents on the desk.
***
Seated at my desk I glanced toward Elijah's office, Peter was a much more relaxed sort of person than Elijah and easier to approach. But it was hard to pinpoint why there was a difference, and I was sure there was a good reason. Even the staff got on better with Peter, especially Jefferson, he had warmed to him much better than anyone else, and it was hard to believe that Peter was acting in a senior capacity because they seemed equals to each other.
Peter stood and headed toward my desk to get the messages.
“Here you go, these are his messages. I have sorted them into what I think is a priority order. I do have a couple more messages, but these were nothing to do with work, so I’ll speak to him when he’s back in the office about those,” I informed Peter.
“Okay, I’ll be off and see you tomorrow, and don’t forget, be yourself and don’t make too much of a fuss when you see him,” Peter said as he turned and walked toward the elevator waving at Jefferson as he left.
I called a few of the employees and informed them that Elijah would be in the office tomorrow at some point and to be on their “normal” best behavior. I was questioned where he had been, and I just told them he’d been in a serious accident and was just being discharged from the hospital later today.
I could see dismay on a lot of their faces at the thought that the tyrant was going to return which meant their life of luxury at work had come to an end.
I spent most of the afternoon thinking of the difference in Elijah and how it would affect the working environment, it could be that it changed everything completely especially if he had no recollection of who he was or what he had become.
I headed off home and decided to call Mom and keep her updated with the developments, I wasn’t sure how she would take it, yet I hoped she would feel a little sympathetic.
“Hey Mom, how are you?” I asked.
“Well, this is a turn up for the books, it’s normally me who calls you!” she said with a chuckle.
“I have breaking news to tell you, so get a seat ready,” I replied.
I curled my legs up on the couch, and Bo joined me after he had run around the garden a couple of times.
So, what’s this big news you have? Oh, you have a new job to go to already?” she asked.
“No, nothing like that, Elijah is coming into the office tomorrow finally,” I replied with a smile on my face.
“Why is that breaking news, he has just been away, so what?” she pressed on.
I could tell from her tone she was a little miffed at what I just said.
“I know that doesn’t sound like anything drastic, but it will be different now because he was in a bad motor accident,” I said sorrowfully.
“That is bad, but once a prick – so to speak – always prick, he will never change,” she said angrily.
I could tell Mom was totally bitter toward Elijah, she had become over protective of me since Dad wasn’t there, but I was 25 and had grown up a lot. It was true there were some things I was still naïve about, but this didn’t make me a dumb blonde.
“Wait, there is more, he has lost his memory, he’s unable to remember anything, and even Peter had to show him identification for the both of them,” I explained.
“So, he has no idea he was a total prick?” she asked.
“No, and the doctors say he might not ever remember anything,” I said.
“At least you won’t see him if he does get his memory back, you will be well gone,” she said. “Please tell me you are still leaving?”
“Erm, well, I have decided to give it a while longer, he needs my support,” I said. “I can’t just leave him in his time of need.”
“Oh God, and here was I overjoyed you had finally made your mind up,” she said with a disappointed tone in her voice.
“Mom, I thought you had raised me better than that; you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl, you always told me,” I said.
“Yes, but this is different, he has a mean streak in him,” she said in anger.
“He had a mean streak,” I emphasized.
“Whatever you think sweetheart, it’s your decision at the end of the day. You make them, and you live by your choices, good or bad,” she added.
“It’s not for me to just leave someone in that condition, you know I would help anyone in their time of need. And especially someone I know, no matter how much of a dick they have been to me. Elijah gave me a chance in a position that I wasn’t really qualified for, so, I do have to be a little thankful about that,” I said.
“Just make sure you don’t go too overboard with your compassion and keep an eye on his attitude because you never know what will happen. I mean, he could just break altogether and then where will you be?” Mom asked.
“I’ll observe his behavior. If it’s a bad as Peter says it is, I’ll still go back to plan A and quit my job, but I’ll do it in a quieter way rather than telling him he can shove his job up his ass,” I said.
“Okay, dear, just keep me updated with what goes on, I hope for your sake he doesn’t remember the person he used to be and instead he ends up with a completely different mentality altogether,” she added.
“Well, I better go, I don’t want to be late on his first day back, that wouldn’t be very wise for me to do,” I said. “I’ll speak to you soon Mom. Take it easy.”
“Bye, dear,” she said as she hung up the phone.
I showered and took Bo to the garden before going to bed, I laid there and thought of what Elijah’s return would be like. Even just talking to him would feel strange as he would have no clue what you were talking about, even for the simplest of things.
As I relaxed in bed I had a happy feeling come over me. It had lifted a weight off my shoulders knowing he was physically okay. Additionally, and on the mental side, it had brushed away the thoughts of me leaving for the time being. Hopefully, things could get back to normal soon, and on a much better level than they previously had been.