September 1992 – Hawaii, Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa
Conrad audibly cleared his throat, attracting the attention of the many esteemed employees he had invited to the executive retreat. "If I could have your attention for a moment, please?" As Conrad addressed the congregation, Victoria hitched herself to his side and he raised his flute of Dom Perignon, "First and foremost, thank you to Carole, for organising this trip on my behalf." His secretary smiled, as her colleagues applauded in appreciation. "And, secondly, thank you to all of you. In spite of these troubled times, your hard work has ensured Grayson Global to be one of the most prosperous hedge funds in the world. That, as my wife so duly noted, deserved a reward." A shy smile graced Victoria's lips but, unaware to those surrounding her, her body exhaled from the disillusionment she had suffered since Conrad failed to make good on the promises that backdated, at least, three years. His involvement as a husband and father had dwindled further; she and Daniel languished behind as an after-thought to the prosperity of Grayson Global. "Before you go away and reap that reward for all its worth, I would like you all to join me in a toast..." The assembly raised their flutes alongside Conrad and Victoria, as instructed, and the hired photographer continued to snap candid shots for the press release Conrad had pre-planned. "To Grayson Global."
"Everything okay?" Lydia approached Victoria, who had purposely secluded herself from the festivities. "Conrad sent me over here to test the waters, so to speak." She crouched to Victoria's level and positioned herself on the greenery that overlooked the beach, a distance away from the celebration behind them.
Victoria rolled her eyes at Conrad's cowardice and continued her beautifully portrayed charade, "I'm fine."
"I know you better than that." In her brief year of employment at Grayson Global, hired as secretary to one of its executives, Lydia had struck up a friendship with Victoria. Whenever Conrad declined her offers of an impromptu lunch, or neglected to placate her many cries for attention, Lydia had picked up the pieces and the two women had conjured quite the rapport with one another. "What's wrong, Victoria?"
"It's Daniel's first day of school tomorrow," Victoria confided, her heart at its heaviest. "And, instead of being there to reassure him, I'll be here in Hawaii, sipping Mai-Tai's to celebrate the success of Grayson Global." The promise that both Edward and Elizabeth would be present to register and collect Daniel from school had provided little difference to Victoria's vehement reaction. Had Daniel not pledged himself, no doubt at his father's request, that he was 'grown-up' enough to start school without his mother present, Victoria would have refused to board the private jet that had flown them to Honolulu.
Though Lydia had no children of her own, nor did she care to, she appreciated how much Victoria adored her son and how difficult absence from such a milestone of his life must feel. "I'm sure he'll be alright. You're only a phone call away," she supportively rubbed Victoria's arm. Her friend flashed a bogus smile; it had been the exact words Edward, Elizabeth and Conrad had offered, in answer to her distress. Aware that her positive outlook had little effect on Victoria, Lydia nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders, "If it bothers you that much, there's nothing stopping you from jumping on the next plane and flying back to New York tonight." Half-tempted to consider the suggestion, Victoria exhaled a small laugh and shook her head and Lydia playfully nudged her arm, "Or we could just get drunk on Mai-Tai's?" Somewhat less subdued, Victoria radiated with a toothless grin and the two women giggled softly between themselves.
As he approached from behind, eavesdropping slightly on the conversation, Conrad relaxed at the sound of Victoria's soft laugh. "Now, that is music to my ears," he noted, announcing his arrival.
Lydia glanced over her shoulder and flashed Conrad a reassuring look, as if to confirm he had entered a safety zone, and rose to her feet. There were times Lydia wondered whether Victoria fathomed quite how much her husband adored her. "If you'll both excuse me, I promised Michael I would call him."
"Ah, young love at its finest." Conrad teasingly declared, "You've been apart, what, 48 hours at most." Lydia's lips twisted into a bashful smile and she wandered back into the direction of the hotel. Once the blonde departed from earshot, Conrad offered his hand forward and assisted Victoria to her own feet. "I know a work vacation wasn't exactly what you had in mind but we're not obligated to spend the entire week with them, you know?" He attempted to pitch the executive retreat that Victoria had made her resentment of quite evident. "We could find a local restaurant, somewhere on the beach –"
"I'm actually still a little jet-lagged from the flight," Victoria murmured. Her fingers rubbed her temple, in an effort to support her rejection of his romantic proposal.
Adorning a tropical-blue dress and white flower in her hair, Victoria looked anything but jet-lagged from the ten-hour flight from New York. She had an ethereal quality about her, like that of an earth-mother. It was often said that beauty equated to happiness but Conrad noted how alluring his wife made misery appear. Conflicted by whether to confront Victoria's emotional withdrawal from him, Conrad instead elected to play dumb and feigned an expression of concern. "Well, perhaps you should rest." He ran his fingers through her hair and massaged the back of her neck, "Book yourself in for a day at the spa and try to relax." Victoria softly moaned in agreement, leaning into his touch and Conrad kissed her forehead. There were often moments when Victoria didn't feel quite so neglected by her husband but they had become so fleeting that she failed to even respond to them. He had disregarded her qualms that he regarded her as nothing more than a 'trophy wife' but actions were much louder than words and Conrad's behaviour spoke volumes. "We can order something from room service tonight."
Victoria shook her head, retracting from him, "You should join the others for dinner."
Further disenamoured by her cold shoulder, Conrad frowned, "Honey, I know things have been rough lately but the company's back on track and, soon enough, I'll have enough time on my hands for us to have a real, family vacation. Just the three of us, wherever you want," he vowed. Given that he had broken his many pledges beforehand, Conrad couldn't blame Victoria for refraining from melting into his arms at the mere sound of another promise but he also couldn't disguise his resentment of her emotional distance from him.
Breaking the silence between them, Victoria forced a smile for the sake of it. "I think I'll go lie down for a little while. I just need to catch up on some sleep, that's all," she justified her attempt to flee from the confrontation she had long-anticipated. When Conrad failed to dispute her plan of escape, Victoria turned and wandered back into the direction of the hotel.
Bypassing Victoria, who avoided eye contact, Bill approached Conrad, "Trouble in paradise, boss?" His smarmy attitude usually amused Conrad but the sensitivity of the issue at hand riled his anger.
"Try not to sound too happy about it," he furiously warned.
"You know, they say 75% of married couples over forty have higher blood pressure than those that are single?" Bill chuckled, delighted by Conrad's predicament. "Whatever they tell you about the sanctity of marriage, don't believe it. It's a risk to your health, mental and physical." He bantered, as the two men retreated to the nearest open bar and Conrad ordered himself another drink. "Why do you think I'm still a bachelor?"
"I thought it was because women couldn't stand you," Conrad cajoled, half-serious in his remark.
"What about you, David?" He placed his hand on David's back, inviting him into the conversation. "Women; they're more trouble then they're worth, am I right?" A faint, nervous laugh escaped David's lips, as uncertain of Bill as he was Conrad. "Don't even get me started on kids." The two men erupted into further laughter, of which Conrad failed to join, as he watched Victoria retreat inside the hotel. Disenchanted, he removed the bright yellow flowered garland from his neck.