Robert, Her Billionaire Widower

“First of all,” said Marie, “It is, indeed, true that my husband has earned a lot of money from slave labor. I say this to him all of the time, I do not shy away from this fact. However, I will defend him in public, because it was not his fault that sweatshops were used. He subcontracted production of the clothes that his company sold, and these subcontractors were the ones that hired people in sweatshops.

“Robert, in fact, closed down several factories after he learned about the terrible conditions the workers were suffering in. He was very up front about it and did not dilly dally, he caused himself a lot of loss by firing subcontractors when he found out they were using slave labor in sweatshops. I think he feels guilty about it to this very day.

“My husband is a billionaire, it’s true. He is one of the top hundred richest people in the world. However, you should realize that he would be one of the top ten richest people in the world were it not for the fact the he is a man with a conscience. Every single worker that he released from the sweatshops was compensated. They were given a hefty financial compensation and were even offered an all expenses paid trip to America with visa included, and I’m not talking about vacations here. My husband wanted to bring these workers to America so that he could employ them and give them jobs. He wanted them to feel like they had a place in the world, that they could accomplish absolutely anything that they wanted. This is important. You should keep this in mind. I would not be with my husband if he still employed people in sweatshops. He is a billionaire, but every cent he currently owns is completely legitimate, legal and, most importantly, morally obtained.”

Vanessa was impressed with this answer. She would look into it some more, of course, she was not going to let the Wexlers off the hook that easily, but she was satisfied with the answer that she had gotten from Marie.

“I don’t think I have any further questions,” said Vanessa with a smile. “But I think your answer holds merit.”

They cut to commercial and Vanessa and Marie began to talk in a more candid manner.

“Thank you for asking that question in such a professional manner,” said Marie. “I know that you had to ask it. It’s an important question. I probably would have lost respect for you as a journalist if you didn’t ask me that question, in fact. I think that it’s important to be blunt, but respect is also really important. Not respect in the sense that I am your better, but just general respect for your fellow human.”

Vanessa smiled and said, “I really appreciate you not getting offended and lashing out at me. Also, I really respect the answer that you gave. It didn’t seem rehearsed. In fact, it seemed like the kind of answer that came from the heart, and I am sure that all of the people that watched you give this answer probably felt the exact same way.”

“I hope so,” said Marie. “Robert really needs people to cut him some slack. He’s a fine man, and I love him dearly. I just hope that people start to realize that he really is very honest and that he cares about the people that work for him almost as much as he cares about his own family.

They had talked some more after that, about Marie’s next novel and the novel that she was planning to write after that which would have some seriously feminist undertones. Vanessa respected her so much in that moment. She idolized her, in fact, and hoped that she would be able to interview her once again soon. She was looking forward to watching Marie become the greatest novelist in American history.

*****

Two years later, Vanessa was sitting in her office, completely numb at the fact that Marie had just died. She had spoken to her a couple of times since that interview. Marie had released her fourth novel, and her fifth novel had been considered a seminal work in modern feminism. She had reportedly been working on a sixth novel as well, and people were starting to call her unstoppable, a veritable force of nature in the world of literature. Vanessa had been hoping to interview her again, and Marie had been very receptive to this. She had told her that the interview she had conducted had been the best interview she had ever given. Vanessa had been honored by this.

She couldn’t believe that she was never going to be able to interview Marie again. She couldn’t believe that one of the most important novelists in the world had died so early on in her career. She imagined what the world would have been like by the time Marie would have released her tenth novel. By the twentieth novel she would certainly have been considered one of the greatest novelists in history, a living legend.

Marie’s death was going to have a serious impact on Vanessa’s life as well, although she did not quite know it yet. She was going to experience a serious change in her life, and it was not going to be the kind of change that she had been expecting. Nonetheless, change comes and goes as it pleases, it does not take into account the wants and needs of the people that are left altered in its wake. Vanessa’s life was going to change, but at this point no one could have been able to guess if it was going to change for the better or for the worse.