Through Thick And Thin

Chapter 4

“This looks great but if we could have a more detailed stitch work done in here, it will perfectly mimic the Chinese collar dresses we have on display,” Amelia said as she looked at the dress that was being made by one of the tailors. “We also need more embroidery in the fabrics that will be making the women’s shirts.”

“Of course Miss Gold,” one of the tailors said.

Amelia had spent almost four hours on the fourth floor of the Dalton Enterprise building where the entire tailoring section was centered. She was beginning to curse herself for agreeing to run point on the whole project.

“It should have been enough that I came up with the goddamn concept,” she thought as she walked out of the noisy area. She was especially exhausted now that she had been walking around in her killer heels and her head was pounding. She needed a break, soon. She had taken a two week compassionate leave to mourn her grandmother and ever since she came back to work, she hadn’t stopped. It was the only way she knew how to fill the gaping hole in her heart that had been left by the death of her grandmother. Sundays were especially hard on her since that had been the official family day. The dinner table felt a little too weird without Leila’s presence. In the will, Leila had left Amanda and Amelia the house and none of them had it in them to sell it. Three generations of their family had lived in that house. Getting rid of the property was just weird for both of them. A realtor had advised them to lease it or rent it out.

As Amelia waited for the elevator doors to open, she suddenly felt strange. A dizzy spell had come upon her and she was feeling like her legs were failing her. She leaned against the wall and took long deep breaths trying to calm herself down. She had been having these dizzy spells for a while now but she had always brushed off the symptoms.

“I need to take it easy,” she thought as she took long deep breaths.

She was still leaning against the wall when Leo walked up to where she was.

“Are you feeling alright, Miss Gold?” he asked. She turned and looked at him and forced out a smile. “You don’t look…you seem to be exhausted or something.” He was now trying to help her to her feet.

“I’m quite alright Mr. Dalton and how many times have I told you to call me Amelia?” she asked in a low voice. Her boss couldn’t tell but even constructing a simple task was a daunting task to Amelia.

“Alright Amelia,” Leo said as the elevator doors open. “You need to go home.” She looked at him as he pressed the basement parking.

“No, I need to go back to the office. I need to talk to…the suppliers and the models for the advertising campaign…” she started but Leo wouldn’t hear any of it. “My car keys are in my office.” She could feel her legs getting weaker.

“I will take you home. You are in no shape to be behind the wheel.”

“My purse….my keys….my desk….” She stammered.

“I’ll have my secretary bring your stuff down and reschedule your meetings.” He steadied his strong arm around her. “I must make sure you get checked out by a doctor first.”

Amelia opened her mouth to speak but she could feel her legs getting weaker and her head was heavier than ever. Suddenly, her vision was blurred and soon enough she could not see anything. She looked at her boss but it was like she was looking into complete and utter darkness.

“Miss Gold” Leo said softly as Amelia looked at him. She seemed to be looking right through him. “Amelia?” he called out panicking when she closed her eyes. Suddenly, her entire body weight was on him and just then he realized she had passed out.

*****

Amelia’s head still felt a little heavy as her eyelids fluttered open. She opened her eyes and looked around the room, her heart was pounding. It took a minute for her to be aware of the heart monitor that began beeping frantically. She saw someone rush to her side and say something to her. She could see her lips moving but she couldn’t hear her. She closed her eyes and opened them again and that was when she saw her boss standing in the far corner of the room. She raised her head and that was when she noticed she was on a hospital bed.

“Don’t…don’t try to get up.”

Amelia could finally hear the woman.

“She’s awake?” Leo asked before rushing to where she was. He looked down at her and smiled. “How are you feeling?” he asked. It then dawned on her that it was a nurse. She was in hospital. She looked up at the ceiling and then around the room trying to figure out where she was.

“Where am I?” she mumbled.

“Hospital. Mercy General,” Leo said.

“Miss, can you tell me your name?” the nurse asked.

“Amelia. Amelia Gold.”

“Very good. And do you know what day it is?” the nurse asked again.

“Twentieth of June. Two thousand fifteen.”

“That’s very good.” The nurse said as she looked at Amelia. “My name is Nurse Hopkins and I am supposed to make sure you stay put at least for the next half hour.”

“Why? What happened?” Amelia asked.

“She doesn’t know?” Leo asked.

“What? What don’t I know?” Amelia asked.

“Miss Gold, you passed out and your boss Mr. Dalton brought you here,” the nurse said.

“Then why don’t I remember?” she asked as she looked at the nurse.

“It’s common for this to happen. Most patients just know that they blinked and the next thing they knew, they were somewhere else.”

“I tried calling your sister…she is listed as your next of kin but her phone kept going to voicemail,” Leo said and Amelia shook her head.

“Don’t…” she suddenly said. “I’ll sort everything out when I get home but don’t call her.”

“Are you sure?” Leo asked.

“Do this one thing for me please,” Amelia begged. She knew how worried her sister would get. And the last thing she wanted to do was get Amanda all worked up over a little fatigue.

The nurse looked up at Leo. “Do you mind if I have a minute to talk to Miss Gold alone?”

“Of course. I’ll be right outside,” he said before he walked out.

“Is everything alright?” Amelia asked as she looked up at the nurse. She gasped silently when she jerked her arm and felt pain where she had an IV hooked up to her arm. “What is that?” she asked as she looked at the tube.

“We are just giving you some fluids because you were severely dehydrated,” the nurse started.

“Dehydrated…what…”