Fabrizio had spent the last days working with Cal, finding him actually much less annoying with the passing time. True Cal had his bad moments, but he clearly knew what he wanted and that impressed Fabrizio in a way. Surely the straightforward Cal was the complete opposite of Jack, another reason why they didn't get along.
Jack had always been like a tumbleweed in the wind, while Cal was planning everything out.
Cal had explained to him how to order up his papers and Fabrizio found it actually he had obviously enough trust in him to let him see them.
Somehow Fabrizio felt special, with working for a real millionaire. Having come here to America to get rich himself, it was at least the next best thing to be confided in by one. He looked up at Cal, who seemed to be deeply in thoughts.
Fabrizio noticed that he was holding Rose's picture in his hands again.
Despite being sure that the two of them shouldn't have been together in the first place, Fabrizio started to feel a little sorry for Cal. Not so much of how he had treated Rose, but because he understood now, how hard it must've been for Cal to always be alone.
Yes indeed, all his talks seemed to involve something concerning business. Caledon Hockley had no friends, he had business partners. Other than Ruth, he obviously had no other relatives either and technically speaking she wasn't even one. Rose had never understood him as well and most likely never even tried to.
Cal looked up from the picture staring into space. He then turned his head to the window, getting up, slowly walking towards it. Fabrizio observed him closely. The Cal he had come to know through the weeks, was quite different from the one that Jack had mentioned to him.
Fabrizio surely had never seen a man with a more complicated character.
Cal stood there, looking out of window, the photograph of Rose in his hands. Fabrizio slightly wondered, if he still wanted to have the diamond back so desperately or had probably come to understand the real important things in life.
Surely Rose had meant more to him than Jack and I have originally thought.
The door opened with a rush, revealing a woman around Cal's age. Fabrizio instantly knew, who she was, even if he had never seen her.
'What does this woman still want here?' he remembered Ruth lecturing Cal.
She was holding a newspaper article in her hands and her face clearly showed that she wasn't too happy about its content.
"Here see, what they write!"
Cal turned looking at her annoyed, rolling his eyes. Fabrizio by now knew how much he hated any disturbance when being busy at work.
"Can't this wait?" he growled.
Obviously it couldn't as she just threw him the paper into his face. Skimming through the article Cal could read some admiration about Rose. It included a whole story about their engagement, but especially about Rose's growing up. She was praised as the perfect debutante.
Cal looked up from the paper, Clarissa's angry face flaming up in front of him. Sure, it wasn't the nicest thing to read about her rival but still, what did she expect him to do?
Clarissa had always known that she could never be more than his mistress. His father would've never allowed him a marriage with her and now with Rose dead, morality detained him from doing so. Moreover Cal wasn't particularly the most thoughtful human being. Women and their feelings surely were alien to his nature.
"She is dead. What else should they write?" he asked her as if he didn't know.
Before saying anything Clarissa glared at Fabrizio, who understood and was about to move out.
"I better go," he announced, but Cal stopped him. "I don't see any reason why."
Of course Fabrizio was aware that Cal didn't want him to stay out of amity, but surely, because he wanted someone to back up his version of the story.
Clarissa was clearly furious.
"Fine," she choked out, seeing that there was no way out at the moment
She had never met Rose personally, which didn't mean she had never seen her. At Cal's and Rose's engagement ball for instance she had been hiding in the background trying to get a glimpse of her. She had even attempted to talk with her, but Ruth had stopped her in time.
Clarissa liked neither Rose nor her mother. Rose not, because she was her rival and Ruth she didn't, because she found her double-faced, throwing her daughter into an ill-fated marriage.
"Honestly, you know very well that these articles will fade with time. I bet tomorrow no one will even care about it anymore."
She looked at him, hurt and depressed. Fabrizio just but slightly felt for her. Certainly Cal meant more to her than she wanted to admit.
Cal had turned his back to her, seemingly not wanting to look at her. Clarissa moved forward, noticing how the picture of Rose on his desk had been taken away shortly. A glimmer of hatred shot up in her eyes.
What was so special about this woman? She had thought that it was a business arrangement and indeed as long as she had been alive, he had always made it seem like one. Now with her dead he faked some real love interest.
'You don't need to worry, nothing's going to change between us,' he had ensured her.
"I think she's a little bit pale, even sickly looking," she began with contempt in her voice holding up the photograph. "Really I don't see any beauty in her," she continued rolling her eyes.
Sharply Cal turned around, giving her an angry look. Harsh and quickly he grabbed the picture out of her hand.
"You better go now," he told her calmly.
Fabrizio noted his tension though and wondered what would've happened, if he hadn't been there as well.
Caledon Hockley was so strange and Fabrizio could never be certain, if his actions or words acted in accordance with what he was thinking. He very much doubted it.
Clarissa, about to leave, couldn't resist mumbling "If you prefer a dead and tedious porcelain doll…well then, I can't help you...," she laughed out not caring about Cal and his looks at the moment. For sure Ruth Dewitt Bukater was not the only one, who was being dishonest.
Once again Fabrizio noticed how Cal had clenched his fists underneath. Clarissa obviously didn't. She just grinned again, cocking her eyebrows in victory, before closing the door behind her with a loud thump.
Cal meanwhile ripped up the article in pieces, which landed on the floor.