Chapter 8 : Bitter Days
Around eight in the evening, Julia asked, “Your place or mine?”
Roman frowned and smirked at the same time, “I’ve heard people consummate their marriages on their wedding nights. I’ve never heard of anyone celebrating the night of divorce by having sex with their ex-spouses.”
Julia laid her guard down to the ground, at her feet, “Our situation is extraordinary and complicated.”
Roman cautioned, “Sex would further complicate things. I still don’t want to be your boyfriend and I still want you to find one or many men for the coming months, without the looming shadow of adultery.”
Julia asked, “Will you do the same? Find at least one girlfriend, at least for the summer?”
Roman remained silent for a long time. He loosened his grip and let Julia’s hand go, “I should not have spent so much time with you today. My mistake. Apologies.”
Julia did not wait another minute. She ran away. She kept running till she found a cab. The haze in her eyes turned to tears in the warm core of the cab. She turned off her phone. She did not want to hear a single word from Roman, again, “That scheming man! Played all lovey-dovey till he got what he wanted.”
She sniffed back all the tears, wiped off her eyes and her nose with the back of her hand and made a promise, “I’d never be played by you again, monster.”
Roman stood on the spot where Julia left him for a long time. He lost count of time. His mind was racing after Julia’s disappearing body. He wanted to grab her from behind, putting his hands around her waist. His mouth watered in the thought of a kiss on her neck. He shivered in a thought of flipping Julia’s body around and holding her in a tight embrace. His tongue melted imagining the slow warm kiss. He wanted to soak all the rolling tears on Julia’s cheeks with his tongue. But his feet remained planted on the sidewalk and his fists were rolled into a ball. His nails were tainted with his own blood from his palms. He murmured, “Hope, my love, you won't forget me. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to win you back.”
Next morning Julia woke up in bitterness. Whenever she was alone and on a break from chores or workload, she felt bitter. She felt aggrieved, “How could he do this? When we’re married he did not care if I existed. He never reached out. Not even asking for a divorce.”
Julia whimpered a little, “He was biding his time to free himself from his parents’ clutches. I understand that he was trying his best to free his personal life from the manipulations of his parents through something that does not involve me. Some bondage, some teether, exclusive between his parents and him.”
Then she groaned in anger, “But he did not hesitate to grab the opportunity that I offered him and agreed for a divorce.”
Julia was enduring the regrets, “I’m grateful that he did not make the divorce difficult. But all these six years of marriage he harbored resentment for me. He hated me so much that he refused to step forward in the romance that he wanted with me, the girl who impressed him at the TechBiz Consortium Award Ceremony.”
Roman was not at ease either. He regretted every lone moment for letting Julia go. He was dying to date Julia. At the same time he was wary that his parents could cause trouble because he accepted Julia’s idea of divorce and the divorce could be seen as a breach of trust between the Ybarras and Coppolas. To reinstate the trust with the Ybarras, Ronald and Eva would leave no stone unturned to make Roman remarry Julia. In all their efforts to bring Roman to his knees, they could try to kill his company.
Roman was determined, “I must buy back their shares at the earliest. It may take all my wealth. It may confine me in the city for at least one year. Other than business trips I may not be able to leave the town. Yet, I cannot start a relationship with Julia when my parents can take away everything from me - my company, my love and my dignity. I have to hold back a little longer.”
Julia never liked sweet things before. Yet, to appease bitterness in her life she started buying candies, a lot of them. Those little lumps of sugar used to uplift her mood a lot. She started watching foolish romance movies. She started waking up in the middle of the night, soaked in her own sweat, fearing that she was losing her mind. She started searching for an alternative that would bring her joy and that would fill up her free time though she would not feel stressed.
When she was a student she skipped parties. She used to spend her forlorn nights with unidentified people she found online by exchanging ideas of mathematics, technology and businesses. With the process of doing businesses came the discussion of laws and politics. She decided to get back to that forum.
Though she was no longer a student, she thought that she might get some new ideas about business and technology in those online communities. She hoped that among all her online contacts, at least one id would still respond to her. The one that responded to her during the previous Thanksgiving holidays. She spent most of her online chat time with this id since her Junior year in college.
Roman was restless and one night his books, his movies all appeared tasteless. He went back to an online forum where he met Zeta00. Zeta00 could be a human or could be a very smart machine - a machine made of softwares and run on computers. Yet Zeta00 never failed to compliment Roman’s thoughts.
He did not connect to Zeta00 for almost a year, since he met Julia and started chasing her, except for one weekend in the recent past. Julia made him forget how fettered he was by a marriage that was never his choice. He felt no need to exchange his thoughts with Zeta00 as long as he could meet Julia.
He was sad, “Now that I’ve driven Julia away, I must not disturb her peace. I should find my solace in the world of logic, algorithm, technology and machines. I must be in regular touch with Zeta00.”
For the following days and weeks and months Julia did as she planned. She made appointments with the investors. She kept revising her business plans and she was bagging investments in small and big chunks.
The connections to the investors lead her to broadening the customer base of LeanTech. Julia’s new move to get to more investors steadied LeanTech LLC ’s customer flow starting from the previous summer, after the TechBiz Youth Talent Award. These fresh pools of customers sprinkle some icings on otherwise bitter days of Julia.
LeanTech LLC expanded its teams. They recruited people from campuses and bestowed more responsibilities to the older employees. Julia was thinking of some ways to learn how to put her business on autopilot for short intervals of time. For the past three years, she never took a break. She heard Roman used to travel all around the world. She looked for his advice.
Roman was overjoyed when he saw that Julia invited her to the cafe in her neighborhood. Since the divorce Julia seemed to block his contact, on phone, on email and over all social media channels. He got little news about the health and personal matters from the YbarraCoppola families’ chat group. He learned about the progress of LeanTech in business news. He went to BizTalk cafe everyday in a hope to catch Julia between her meetings with clients. But Julia always left with her companions after their meeting was over. Roman avoided awkwardness and never hopped on before Julia when she was leaving the cafe with her meeting companions.
A photo of Julia, published as a publicity stunt, made Roman happy. In the photo Julia was on her Lexus LC 500, removing the hood. Even in the interview section Julia said that the car was a parting gift from her ex-husband.
This connection with ex-husband created a confused buzz in the YbarraCoppola families’ chat group. The parents who were earlier furious with their children for not valuing their marriage, called their children despicable for celebrating their divorce with such grandeur.
The publicity stunt brought hatred to the divorced money loving business woman. The social media hosted a competition of despising Julia Ybarra for marrying and divorcing at such a young age. They took no time labelling Julia a gold digger.
The PR agency asked Julia to sleep over the matter for sometime. Julia knew that people would stop thinking about her as soon as a new sensation would hit the entertainment market. Julia knew that sleeping over could be the death of LeanTech LLC. She shared her bank statement on social media for five years of her marriage.
Bank statements for over five years were hefty material. Very few people took the time and the pain of looking into them with thorough care. Julia’s claim that she took no money from her husband when they were married and when they divorced, went in vain under the uproar of uninformed opinionated people on social media from all over the world.
The flip side was that Julia’s LeanTech LLC was exposed to the world. But the negative comments about Julia stopped LeanTech LLC’s steady customer flow. The perception was that a divorced woman could not be trusted in matters of long term business cooperation.
Roman was unable to contact Julia when all this chaos broke out. He took the liberty and posted the photo of his divorce decree online on social media with all the trending hashtags on the issue of the founder and CEO of LeanTech LLC. He highlighted the sentences where the conditions of divorce, of both Roman and Julia, negotiated through their lawyers, were printed.
Roman tried to make everyone see that Julia Ybarra never took money from her ex-husband. The divorce was amicable. He went to share the photos of how he partied with Julia after the divorce. That shut the opinionated influencers of social media up for once and all.
He was anxious that Julia might have taken offence at his overbearing move. Yet he did not refuse to meet Julia in the cafe. Julia did not talk about the publicity stunt at all. She asked him, “How do you manage your business when you are out on wanderlust?”
Roman felt at ease, “Simple. I free my schedules and apply for a leave for the period of my absence, due to wanderlust, in advance and get them approved by the board of directors. It makes the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer responsible for their respective jobs.”
He concluded, “Also, even at vacation, I was just a phone call away and I could see all the chat groups of the company. But up until now, I never had to look into company’s things when I was on vacation.”
Julia muttered, “I’m just worried if the shareholders would try to snatch my company from me, when I would be away.”
Roman advised, “You can put your bargains on the contract. You must mention that there could not be any change in the company leadership while you are on compulsory leave.”
He paused and added, “Make your lawyer put that clause in the contract.”
Julia smiled and typed all the necessary inputs on her phone so that she would not forget any of the advice from Roman. The silence gave Roman a way to bring a change in the conversation, “Are you mad at me?”
Julia was candid in her answer, “You know, I am.”
Roman smiled then rephrased the question, “For posting the divorce decree on social media?”
Julia smiled. The smile was dry, lifeless. She expressed gratitude, “Thanks. It solved the problem of losing customers and investment. But I shared my bank statement for the five years when I was married, before you shared the divorce decree.”
Roman explained, “But you just told them you were divorced, but did not tell them who your husband was. My post gave away your husband’s identity.”
Julia looked at Roman with a poker face, “Doesn’t matter. Not to me. I’m a little annoyed as more men are asking me out everyday.”
Roman smirked, “Isn’t that good? After all, that’s what we wanted.”
Julia rectified in a strong tone, “That’s what you wanted.”
Roman tried to change the topic again, “You blocked me for all these days. You did not yield to me at BizTalk Cafe, at all. Are you avoiding me?”
Julia was blatant, “You know, I do. And you forced me to do that.”
Roman tried to appease, “We can meet whenever you want to meet.”
Julia was still grumpy, “We did.”
Roman exposed his vulnerability, “I miss you.”
Julia almost screamed in a broken voice, “That’s your own doing.”
She stormed out of the cafe and did not look back.
On her way back to the apartment she got a call from her mother. Her answer was brief, “I’m outside. I’ll call you back when I return to my place.”
Entering the apartment, before she locked the door she got a call from Eva Coppola, “How are you? Even if you are too busy, don't forget to take care of your body and mind. Self care is not a selfish act but a necessity.”
Julia did not think much, just said, “I’ll remember. Thanks. How are you?”
For the next thirty minutes she regretted, “I should not have asked about her well-being.”
Eva Coppla kept lamenting, “I still cannot believe that you and the brat I raised got divorced. It must be his idea. He does not listen to anyone. Such a willful cunning manipulative creature.”
Though bored and pissed off, Julia could not agree more. She even fueled the discussion, “Seems, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.”
Eva’s nagging continued, “You two look so happy together … At your parents' place, last Christmas, we wondered how you two bonded even though you’ve not known each other for so many years … I wonder what happened in the weeks after that you got divorced … We don’t know what made you think you two don’t get along, but even the photos of you two celebrating your divorce exude so much camaraderie, so much joy of togetherness … you look like an old couple …”
Julia sighed, “These fools … for them seeing is believing … they don't even understand their children after those children become adults … always obsessed with the image of their children that they created in their minds …”
Eva kept blabbering, “Our heart aches to see you two live alone … thinking that you would grow old alone …”
Julia asked, “Are you cursing me? Why would I die alone? I’m just twenty four. I have plenty of time to find my mate and live in eternal bliss …”
Eva argued, “You’re such an introvert … I doubt it …”
Julia took the opportunity, “If you’re so concerned, then why don’t you send some people to me and see if I can date one of them?”
Eva stopped for a moment, then she hung up with, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Julia was all smiles. She was happy to make Eva feel embarrassed.
She called back her mother to extend her happy mischievous mood. Judith asked, “Where have you been? Work? Or meeting friends?”
Julia decided to speak the truth, “I met Roman.”
Judith went silent for too long. Julia held the reign, “Do you need something from me? Why did you call?”
Judith was still searching for an appropriate answer so that she would not end up hurting her daughter’s feelings. Julia went on quenching the unspoken curiosity of her mother, “I sought his advice on some business matters. The purpose of our meeting was not a reconciliation to remarry soon. Don’t hold your hopes too high.”
Judith was still speechless. Julia took the opportunity, “Mrs. Coppola called me today, just after I entered the apartment. I have asked her to introduce me to some people for matchmaking. After all, she used to run a matchmaking website …”
Judith asked, “These days there are apps for that. Before we sold the website, Roman built us an app. We sold both the website and the app together. We made a fortune. Coppola's son is a true talent. It’s our loss that we could not have him as our son-in-law.”
Julia mocked, “My bad. I failed to bind him in marital leashes … My mother’s fault - she never taught me how to wrap a man in fingers. Though I grew up with a dad who never confronted my mother … that spineless dad made me too willful I guess …”
Judith hung up. Julia smirked, “Peace. For a week or month. Unless news about my business or Roman’s business would stir them up.”
She remembered that she decided to keep Roman blocked on all communication channels till she would be needing him for something. She looked at her phone and saw a message from Roman, “Hope, you’ve not blocked me yet. I forgot to tell you that you should use the compulsory breaks to see the world. My visits to remote inaccessible places on the earth helped me think of better solutions for human life, and helped me find new business opportunities.”
Julia was thinking, “Let’s keep him unblocked. He’s quite useful.”
She expressed her gratitude, “Thanks for sharing.”
The phone started ringing. Julia picked up with lots of hesitations. Roman said, “My mother called me. She told me that you are looking for a new partner. She asked me about my plans.”
Julia protested, “I will go insane if I start discussing my dating life with you. I’m trying hard to move on. I’m no longer tethered by a horrible marriage anymore. I do not need someone to pay a great amount of attention to me and to spend a huge amount of time everyday with me to goad me to seek a divorce from that ruinous marriage so that I can date the person I chose to. This freedom may help me find a suitable match for me. I would like to explore the opportunity.”
Roman sighed. He hung up. He thought, “That’s good. Good for her. But why am I feeling so heartbroken!”
By the end of the quarter Julia finalized a contract with an investor who wanted her to expand LeanTech’s business overseas and have compulsory breaks. Before that she asked her lawyer to tweak the policies of LeanTech so that while she was on compulsory leave, the board members of the company could not replace her. The investor agreed to that change in the company policy.
Julia booked a trip to Galapagos for her first break by the end of the next quarter. She posted her photos of the trip in the Ybarra-Coppola family group chat after she returned to work. Roman sent her his vlogs and shots from his trip to Alaska the same summer. He sent those photos in the private message, not in the group chat. He went for a longer trip than Julia and he enjoyed the fishing trip the most.
One evening, after a meeting with the new client was finished, Julia clocked out at BizTalk caffe. She noticed a few times that Roman was sitting at a table every evening. That evening he walked to Roman and sat opposite to him. Roman smiled, “Can’t ignore my charm any more?”
Julia threw her question in response to Roman’s question, “When did I deny that I am enamored by your charm?”
Roman smirked, “Touché.”
Julia held the reign, “Don’t waste your youth just looking at me. Either you shake off your issues and embrace me. Or, look other ways. It aches my heart seeing you hurt.”
Roman lowered his gaze towards the table, did not say a word, for a long time. Julia stretched her arms, held Roman’s face up so that his gazes could fall on Julia’s piercing eyes, “In summer, I’m going to Greenland. A fishing trip. Come with me.”
Roman shook his head. That shaking did not loosen the cupping of Julia’s grip. He held Julia’s wrists and freed his face. In a cold voice he said, “Have you thought of extending your trips to a business trip and foray into foreign markets?”
Julia was flabbergasted. She stirred up so much emotion in the moment and the man brought business in the spur of the moment!
She replied in a colder voice, “I’ll remember your input.”
Then she warmed up her voice a thousand times and said, “I don’t like you to die alone.”
Roman stunned Julia with, “It’s my life. Whether I live alone or die alone, that must be my choice. Thanks for your concern. But stop turning your concerns into meddling into my life, like my parents did.”
He stood up and left Julia hurt on that table.
The chapters will be updated every day on -
Blog : https://projectionofnaught.blogspot.com/
On this Page : https://www.facebook.com/WrigglerSan%20hita2000s
Snippets on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/sanhitamukherjee3478/
~~~~
Each book costs less than ₹ 90/-
The whole series less than ₹ 800/- Here’s the series : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0F6KTSMPY
