For his own good 1 - Love on the Rocks Part 13

Posted on Tue Oct 27, 2020 @ 9:36am by Civilian 'Arrival' Geral Lasuma & Civilian Sha'rae Astare & Lieutenant T'Lul

1,420 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Deep Space 5
Timeline: MD 9: 1300

Geral was having a hard time focusing. Business wise things couldn't be better and his profits had never been higher. It was his personal life that was in shambles right now and no amount of latinum was going to make it better.

Both Dorian and Sha'rae had approached him to talk to him, and he knew they were only trying to help, but both had been shut down with a glare. So he sat in his office stewing in his own frustration.

Having left Geral's office Sha'rae took a seat at the conference table, tapping her finger nail on the table as she plotted matters into her own hands, and not for the first time either. She knew that her boss, and friend, had a fix it mentality and he was going to sit there until he figured out a way to fix whatever was going on between him and Maritza. What he needed to do was talk to someone, but he had already shut her down. There was no one else on the station that he trusted and his closest confidant was back on Bajor.

A thought popped into head, one that would probably get her fired, but he was going to talk to some whether he liked it or not. Getting up she headed of to see if she could enlist some help.

T'Lul was sitting in her office, forming her thoughts regarding her most problematic patients and those who should be patients: The Captain, Alanna, and Jason. There were strategies to form. Of the three, Alanna was probably the most receptive and the easiest. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a chime. I don't recall having any appointments set for this hour.

Curiosity getting the better of her, T'Lul called out, "Come in."

Entering the office Sha'rae smiled. "Excuse me Lieutenant. I know this is going to be an...unorthodox request but I was hoping you could help me."

T'Lul looked at the woman before her. She was not a Starfleet officer. So, who was she? "Perhaps," the Vulcan equivocated. "Would you tell me your name and what brings you here?"

Sha'rae hesitated as she tried to word her situation. "I'm Sha'rae Astare and I work for Geral Lasuma and...it's my employer that brought me to you."

Tilting her head, T'Lul was more curious. "Please explain. If you would like, you may have a seat."

Moving to take the seat offered. "Thank you. Well business wise things couldn't be better, for him or for the company as whole. His personal life though is another story and now he's cut the off the two people closest to him."

"Who would those be? And why would he have cut off the two people closest to him?" T'Lul prompted.

"That would be me and his body guard. For several years now we have become not only his sounding board and advisers but his friends and confidants. Why he would cut us off suddenly? I don't know. He's been through a lot lately and keeping things bottled up. I'm concerned. He needs to to talk to someone, if only to vent. But..."

"But what?" T'Lul led on. Is her thoughts regarding being the two people closest to this person accurate or did this person ditch them due to a toxic relationship? I need more information.

"But he refuses to talk to the people he would usually talk to. If he had a business challenge to distract him he would focus on that; but right now, like I said, things couldn't be better. He's isolating himself, hasn't eaten all day, and I'm worried. I've worked with him for a long time and I've never seen him like this. Dorian told me what happened in the lounge, then there was a gap that is completely off limits for discussion, only to be followed by him returning with a bright red hand print on his face."

Does this Sha'rae love this Geral? A red hand print on his face suggests that he was struck. Logically, if he was hurt by someone that he cared about, then a normal individual would be as the humans call it, mopey. "Who is Dorian? And what happened in the lounge?" T'Lul asked, pieces starting to fall into place.

Sha'rae looked at her slightly puzzled, "You had not heard?" But as soon as she spoke she answered it for herself, "Then again you probably aren't interested in rumor. Well Maritza, forgive me Captain Soran, had finally agreed to meet Geral in the officers lounge last night. We had hoped that the two of them would get things straightened out...they were so happy together.

"Well from what Dorian told me, Dorian is Mr. Lasuma's bodyguard, Things started well enough, but the conversation turned into an argument and she had them beamed to her quarters.

"What happened there he will not discuss but when he walked out, Mr. Lasuma had been slapped. He cares for her deeply but he's not used to losing either."

T'Lul nodded. Now the relationships were clear. Of course, she could not reveal anything or indicate knowledge of the bet. Nor could she reveal that she believed that Maritza probably still cared for Geral. "I see," T'Lul responded. "So, if I am to understand you correctly, you and Dorian set the Captain up with your employer on a date last night. You, or at least Dorian watched the date, and Mr. Lasuma came away with what appeared to be a slap on his face. Is that correct?"

Sha'rae shook her head, "No no no. They had had a relationship that was going strong for some time. They were happy, hell even some of the stations personnel would come in and comment on the change in her. But as to their relationship; in a nut shell they got torpedoed and several people, Geral, myself...even the Klingon Ambassador and his wife have been trying to fix things between them. It took some doing but she finally agreed to hear him out.

The Vulcan breathed deeply. Not feeling unsympathetic to the situation but knowing her job was to counsel and not directly interfere, she asked Sha'rae, "And so, what exactly did you wish assistance with when you came here?"

It was her turn to take a deep breath. "Well there is no way he will come here. For a man in his position that would be bad for business. However if you were to come into the shop to…express dissatisfaction with a purchase; I could take you directly to his suite and then you could take it from there. I think if he would just open up, if nothing more than to vent, it could help him."

"I see," T'Lul responded simply. "But what makes you think that he will want to talk to me if he has not talked to you or Dorian? Would he not be displeased with you for having brought this to my attention?"

She shrugged and nodded. "My hope is that a neutral third party, one that is bound by confidentiality make get to the heart of the matter and oh he will be highly displeased. Although...he might be even more likely to open up if you were be investigating events effecting the Captain's well-being.

This was too close to the mark and disturbed T'Lul, even though she made no reaction. "So, you are willing to risk his displeasure and your own breach of confidentiality?"

"I know he cares for the Captain. If he thinks his cooperation will help her he'll do it. As to any consequence I will deal with them."

"Very well," T'Lul responded. "Of course, as you are not Starfleet Officers, there is the customary fee that must be paid. Assuming that is handled, I will participate in this rouse until such time I determine that it is not in the best interest of my prospective patient."

"Your fee won't a problem. Thank you."

"So, when would you desire to commence your scheme?"

"Well that would depend on your schedule and availability wouldn't it?" She said smiling.

"My schedule is filling but I have not completed my review of crew files. So, I could potentially meet with him later today."

"Perfect. I will ensure his schedule is clear. Thank you again."

T'Lul watched as Sha'rae left. Given her new "patient," she decided that she would do some research on him before meeting with Geral.


TBC

 

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