Chapter 11

Becca bounded into the hospital before eight o'clock and brushed past the staff to his room. He was awake and he had food in front of him although she could see that he hadn't eaten any of it. It suddenly dawned on her that the food was solid and he probably couldn't chew it yet, she ran for the nurse and complained that the food he had been given was unsuitable for him. An argument ensued and she picked up her cell phone and called Mr. Blum. When the nurse found out that she had called a lawyer the head nurse was called and immediately came to Carl's room. Proper food was ordered for him and Becca fed him slowly to avoid choking him.

After he had eaten what little he could, he started moving his hand sideways rapidly. He seemed very agitated. She tried to calm him down, but he continued to move his hand and tried to push her hand away.

"I don't know what you want, Carl. Do you want me to leave?

He raised his hand and she was hurt that he didn't want her help. He put his hand over her and patted her hand and then pushed her hand away. Then it dawned on her what he wanted.

"Do you want me to leave and go to work?"

His hand rose twice and he pushed her hand away. She reached for him and hugged him.

"OK, I'll leave. I'm going to get you your own doctor and a therapist and a full time nursing staff. We're going to get you out of here as soon as the doctor approves it and get you back on your feet."

After she had kissed him and had bathed him as well as she could, she went to the office. She immediately called a meeting of all of the managers and presented them with a copy of the power of attorney. They asked if Carl was sick and she brushed off their questions and told them that he would be back in the office shortly. Until then they would consider her the person in charge of all decisions for the company.

After the meeting and the few kiss-asses trying to jockey for position with her, she called Alex Blum.

"Alex," she said as he came on the line, "I want you to find the best stroke specialist in France and hire him to take care of Carl. I want a team of the best therapists that you can find and I want his therapy to start today. I want a full-time nursing staff to watch over him twenty-four hours a day. I want this done today and that is to be your only job. I want Carl out of that hospital and home as soon as he can be moved. By the way, no one is to know that Carl had a stroke. If anyone asks, he is on another project and he will get back to them."

She hung up the phone without waiting for his reply. Alex Blum was a brilliant lawyer and he was an employee of the company. Carl paid him well and he had no private clients.

The rest of the morning was taken up with reading the requests for venture capital from people who had heard that Carl had financed FMI. She turned all of them down. None of them were very good and she didn't want to over-extend the company. FMI seemed to be getting off the ground with few problems and she silently hoped that they would not have to take over the factory. They would make much more money if FMI succeeded.

About four hours after she had called Alex Blum, he called to tell her that Carl's new doctor was with him as they spoke and a therapist would start working with Carl the next day. Four nurses were hired to take care of him and one of the nurses would be at the hospital within an hour. The doctor had been given her office number and he had been instructed to call her as soon as he had completed the examination.

Becca thanked him and reminded him to get the powers of attorney for every country that they did business in. She was worried that some of the managers would find out what had happened to Carl and would loot the company.

After she hung up, she went back to work. She quickly found out that there was more to the company than Venture capital. She had little knowledge of the stack brokerage end of the business and she was blessed that the managers for that end of the business were competent and honest.

The doctor called just after noon and said that he was amazed that the damage from the stroke was so light. He concurred with the emergency room doctor that Carl could look to a full recovery. He decided to leave Carl in the hospital for five days in case an emergency popped up.

Becca told him that she needed a complete diet for Carl and she asked if it would be wise to hire a cook. They discussed the treatment that he would prescribe and what Carl's progress should be. The doctor told her that he would have the meals brought to Carl each day and they would be prepared by one of the best dieticians in France.

"Don't worry Mrs. Detroit. Your husband is in excellent health and he will be back to work in no time."

She looked at the phone. This was the second time that she had been called Mrs. Detroit. She thought for a will and decided she would not tell the hospital that she wasn't Mrs. Detroit unless it became necessary. That would eliminate questions and delays in Carl's care.

Becca stopped by the hospital and sat with Carl for two hours. She explained everything that she had done that day and he seemed to listen to what she was saying. She left when he fell asleep.

She fell asleep in the car on the way home and had to be awakened when they arrived at the hotel.

As she walked into their room, Marie was coming out of her bedroom. Becca noticed that her luggage was gone and she assumed that it was already in her in the lobby waiting for the chauffeur to take her to the airport.

"Leaving?" Becca asked.

"Yes, I guess the party's over. It was fun while it lasted. Chico already left for the States. By the time Carl recovers the vultures will have picked his companies bones. Honey get what you can before someone beats you to it. I don't know if you have access to any of his money but if you do, get it."

Becca didn't answer. She shook Marie's hand and walked her to the elevator. She sighed as the doors closed and made a mental note to have the New York office have security bar her and Chico from the building. She knew that Marie had intentions of grabbing whatever she could if she got in the building.

Becca went back to the room and stripped off her clothes. She went to the bathroom and started to fill the tub with hot water. As she looked around the suite, she thought that it looked so large with only her in it.

She went back and turned off the water. The water was very hot and she lowered herself into the water slowly. The water relaxed her and she felt the cares of the day slip away. Her mind started to go over the events of the past few hours and she had a little anxiety attack. She wondered if she could really take care of Carl's companies. She didn't even have a college degree. So much of what she had seen today was new to her. She knew next to nothing about how a brokerage worked. She wondered if she would ever be asked to pass judgment on a large stock purchase. As quick as the anxiety attack started it passed. That's why Carl had hired the people in the company. She would have to rely on them for a while until she got her feet on the ground.

She woke up when her head fell back and bumped on the tub. She got out of the tub and dried herself off and got into bed. The suite seemed much too large for one person and it took a while for her to fall asleep.

Chapter 12