Page 88 of The Call She Made That He Never Answered
The interview went smoothly. The first candidate was younger, MBA degree. He answered confidently with clear reasoning and offered several solid optimization suggestions. You could tell he'd prepared extensively.
The second candidate was trickier. Named Hill. Twenty-plus years on Wall Street. I'd heard of him. I was wary of someone that ambitious. But his experience was a valuable asset.
After the interviews ended, I was weighing the pros and cons of both candidates on the evaluation form.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Ella rushed in, tears streaming down her face. Pure panic.
I yanked off my headphones and hurried to her.
"What's wrong?"
Ella looked at me, then at Maya. Maya was still sleeping, breathing steady.
"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Ella's voice was low, but I could hear the fury she was barely containing. Her voice shook.
"What?"
"I called you over a dozen times!" Her voice trembled, tears already falling. "Why didn't you answer?"
I pulled my phone from my briefcase. Fifteen missed calls on the screen. All from Ella. Plus twenty-some unread texts.
"I had it on silent," I immediately explained, instinctively lowering my voice. "I was afraid the ringer would wake Maya."
But Ella's expression didn't soften at all. Her face was ashen, lips trembling, looking like she was about to collapse. Her eyes were huge, full of terror and despair, as if she'd just experienced something horrible. She couldn't seem to hear my explanation at all.
"Do you have any idea how important that medication is for Maya?" Her voice rose higher, almost shouting. "Do you know what happens if something goes wrong?"
"Ella, calm down..."
"You want me to calm down?" Tears spilled down her cheeks, her voice breaking. "If there's a rejection reaction, the surgery was for nothing! She could die! I trusted you with something this important, and you had your phone on silent!"
"But I promised you I'd do it, so I did," I tried to soothe her. "Plus, there are nurses here. They watch the medication schedule too. You don't need to..."
I stopped. Because I realized what I'd been about to say.
"Make such a big deal?" Ella finished for me, her voice full of sarcasm and pain. "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?"
"That's not what I meant."
"That's exactly what you meant!" Her voice shook, her whole body trembling. "Just like at the manor! You figured since there were servants, I didn't need to worry about anything. So you felt perfectly justified not answering my calls, not being there when I needed you!"
"Ella..."
"You have no empathy," she said, tears streaming continuously. "Even now, you haven't changed. You only ever see things from your angle. You always think your explanations are reasonable, your arrangements are right. You never once stand in my shoes and think about how scared I am, how worried!"
I finally grasped the gravity of the situation.
This wasn't just about the medication. Not just about that phone call.
This was about everything I'd done to her over the past two years. All those decisions I'd thought were reasonable, correct, for her own good.
I tried to move closer. I wanted to take her hand, hold her, make her understand that I got it now.
But she stepped back like I'd burned her.
"Don't touch me," she said.
"Ella, listen to me..."
