Gloria Moves to the Next Stage of Dealing with Diverticulitis

“Hello Patti, I’m here for my meeting with Mr. Olivier,” Trixie says as she walks into the reception area of Oliver Olivier Productions.

“Oh yes, I see you on the schedule. Let me ring him.”

Patti calls Mr. Olivier to let him know Trixie has arrived.

“Trixie, Mr. Olivier is waiting for you in his office on the second floor.”

“Thank you.”

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Trixie’s Meeting with Oliver Olivier

Trixie gently knocks on Oliver’s partially open door.

“Come on in, Trixie.”

Trixie steps into his quiet, comfortable office. “Hello, Mr. Olivier.”

“Have a seat, please,” Oliver says with a kind gesture.

“Thank you,” Trixie says as she sits in a chair at his desk.

“How are you today, Trixie?”

“I am well, sir. How are you?”

“Well, myself.”

He pauses for a moment.

“Yesterday, you may know that I let Jason Pooper go.”

“Yes, I heard,” Trixie says, thinking to herself, Oh no, he’s going to let me go also. Her stomach begins to turn.

“This entire situation was a mess. But now we have another situation to address.”

Trixie looks at Oliver with that deer‑in‑the‑headlights expression.

“The Executive Director position for Gloria’s show needs to be filled.”

Trixie breathes a sigh of relief. “Would you like me to get a list of qualifying candidates?”

“No, Trixie. I’ve already decided who I’m going to hire for that position.”

“That’s great, Mr. Olivier. How can I help you with this?”

“Well, Trixie, after careful consideration and reviewing financial records and activity logs, I have come to the conclusion that the person best suited for this position—”

Oliver’s phone rings. It’s Patti.

“Excuse me, Trixie. Let me get this.”

“That’s fine. I can step out if you need privacy.”

“No need.”

Trixie nods.

“Patti, I’m in a meeting right now. Is this call urgent.”

“It seems to be. News has leaked about Gloria’s illness. People Magazine is on the phone inquiring, as they put it, about Gloria’s passing.”

“Okay, let People know that Gloria is alive and she will resume her show in 5 to 6 weeks. Send any other calls from the press to Randi Spinwell our Communications Director.”

Oliver hangs up and turns back to Trixie.

“Okay, Trixie. As I was saying, I’ve come to the conclusion that you are the person best suited for this position.”

“Really?” Trixie beams, then reality hits. “But Mr. Olivier, I don’t have the experience to do this job.”

“On the contrary, Trixie. From what I’ve observed, and from the documents I reviewed last night, you are more than qualified. You’ve been more like Jason’s co‑executive producer than his assistant. You were doing a lot of his work.”

“Well… yes,” Trixie says, feeling a quiet strength she hadn’t let herself feel before.

“I’m offering you the job, Trixie. If you decide to take it, your salary will increase from $85,000 annually to $140,000.”

Trixie is stunned.

“You don’t have to give me an answer now. Give it some thought and we can meet again this coming Thursday.”

“Well, Mr. Olivier, I would like the job. You’re right—I know this job, the show, and your empire from the inside out. I’m ready for this and have been for a long time.”

“Fantastic, Trixie. I’m happy you accepted. We’ll call a staff meeting for this Thursday. In the meantime, I’d like you to think of somebody within the company you’d like as your assistant. I believe in promoting from within.”

“Thank you, Mr. Olivier. I’ll give that some thought.”

“Oh, and Trixie—please call me Oliver.”

“Sure thing, Mr. um… Oliver.”

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Jason’s Attempt to Get Debbie Back

“Jason! What are you doing here?”

“I tried calling and left you a few voicemails.”

“Yes, I deleted them.”

“Ouch,” he says with a forced smile. “I brought you a dozen American Beauties—your favorite.”

“Jason, this isn’t about roses or you dressing in your best suit. I was really disappointed by you. This isn’t something I can just shake off.”

“Well, Debbie… what do I need to do?” Jason asks as he nervously tugs on the bottom button of his coat.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do. The fundamentals of who you are at your core showed through loud and clear, and I did not like what I saw.”

“You know, Debbie, none of us are getting any younger. We’re going to need somebody sooner or later.”

Oh, what a jerk, Debbie thought. He still didn’t understand what he’d done wrong.

Debbie felt her backbone straighten. “You haven’t a clue, Jason. You need to leave now.”

She realized she wasn’t the same woman who once fell for Jason’s charm.

“Enjoy your roses.” Jason turns and leaves the chilled hospital room.

After he left, Debbie picked up the roses and, with dignity and force, she dumped them in the trash can.

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Gloria and Debbie Back at the Hospital

“Gloria?”

“Yes, I heard the entire conversation.”

“He had the gall to say, ‘We’re not getting any younger,’ as if that’s going to convince me to get back together with him.” Debbie made a small spit‑gesture as she said this.

“I almost laughed when he said that one. That really reveals a lot about his values.”

“Yeah, really.”

“I don’t know what you saw in him. I never cared for him.”

“He was nice to me and treated me well.”

“Oh honey, he was only nice to you because he wanted a slice of your peach pie.”

“I know. He really had me fooled.”

Gloria shook her head, grateful that Debbie was waking up to the truth.

“He’s a real dullard. You deserve better, honey. You always have.”

“Yes, I know. I’m working on my self-confidence.”

The nurse walks in. “Good morning, Gloria. How are you feeling?”

“Much better, but I’m still feeling quite a bit of discomfort in the lower left side of my stomach. It’s really irritating me.”

“That’s the diverticulitis. We’ll be prepping you for your procedure in the next ten minutes.”

“Are they going to have to cut me open?”

“Oh no, Gloria. Because your abscess is superficial and close to the skin, we’ll use ultrasound guidance. A small catheter tube will be inserted through the skin into the abscess to drain the infected fluid. The radiologist doing the procedure does a great job, and she should have it done in thirty minutes at the most.”

“Female radiologist?”

“Yes, she’s great!”

“That makes me feel better. I’m all in.” Gloria wasn’t afraid. She’d been through worse.

“Fantastic!”

“Will I be able to go home after the procedure?”

“Due to your age, we’ll keep you in the hospital the entire time the catheter tube is inside you. That could be up to two weeks.”

“Oh, that does not make me happy. But I understand.”

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Stay Tuned for More Adventures of Miss Gloria Cupidon

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

With Love, RHC ❤️