Only the Strongest Survive (20 page)

It was a
tango and Emely leaned back, executing a move shown to her by her
dance teacher. Most of those watching were impressed.

“You’re flattering me terribly, Mr.
Gold.”

“You can call me Michael if you want.”

“OK, Michael,” she whispered in his ear
before doing a double turn.

“And you’re Emely, if I’m not mistaken? May I
ask what you do?”

She
smiled
. This was the question she had
been waiting for. “I own a medium-sized company which makes
investments for other companies.” She lied about the company being
medium-sized. In comparison to other firms hers was minute, but
that wasn’t something she could say.

“
How’s
that?”

“
It’s like
this. If you’ve got too much money, you can put some of your
capital into a transferable securities fund that I manage. Within a
year, your investment produces a much higher income than if you had
put the same amount into a bank account.”

“Very interesting.”

The music stopped.

“
Excuse me,
please,” a tall man said. “May I ask the beautiful lady for a
dance?”

Michael gave
him an angry look, but said politely, “Of course.”

Emely could
see in Michael’s eyes that he wanted to hit the man. She used a
moment when there was a lot of commotion around them to
surreptitiously slip her business card into Michael’s hand. He took
it gratefully, pretending nothing had happened.

“See you soon,” he said.

“Bye.”

The man she had not met before put his arms
around her as the orchestra began playing the next song. “You must
forgive me for interrupting your dance with your partner, but the
desire to dance with you was overwhelming.”

Emely leaned
back slightly and assessed his appearance. He was an attractive
guy, about forty-five. Although he wore glasses, they didn’t mar
his good looks. “No, not at all. He’s not my partner, I met him
here.”

“I see. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Dr.
Grodny, Bill Grodny. I’m a heart surgeon.”

“Is that so? I just hope my heart doesn’t
stop on account of your right arm squeezing me so tight,” she said
jokingly.

“Oh, please forgive me, I really am a klutz.
In fact I rarely attend this kind of event and don’t have as much
dancing experience as you do. You look like a professional.”

“
Oh, come on,
I was only joking. Let me introduce myself too. My name is Emely
Donnovan and I own a company …” She went on to tell him what she
did.

“You must be a very bright woman,” he
said.

She thanked him with a flirtatious look. They
chatted for a while until a third man appeared in front of her and
bowed politely. “Miss Donnovan, allow me to dance with you like no
one ever has.”

She looked at him questioningly. “I’m sorry,
but I can’t quite place you. Do we know each other?”

“
You don’t
know me but I know you, thanks to Mr. Baldwin, who’s singing your
praises to everyone. You obviously created a good impression on
him. He told me you’re a real expert in securities.”

“
Oh, come on,
Mr. Baldwin is exaggerating.” She decided she must thank him later
for inviting her to the wonderful event.

“He’s not exaggerating at all. I’m sure what
he says is true. Shall we go for a drink instead?”

Emely
remembered her previous dancer was still waiting. She thanked him
for the dance and skillfully put her business card into his hand.
He looked at her in gratitude and winked. She was aware she was
using the fact that she was a woman, but her desire for success was
greater than any embarrassment she may have felt at this.
It’s not as if I intend to sleep with
them,
she thought, knowing that many
rather unpleasant rejections lay ahead.

“I’d love to have a drink, my throat is very
dry. But I don’t know you at all.”

“
Erick
Estwick is my name.”

She could only hope to remember all those
names. He took her hand and they walked to the bar.

Her eyes were
transfixed for a few moments. She admired the numerous chandeliers
hanging from the ceiling,
illuminating
the long hall. She took a good look at all the people and their
elegant, expensive clothes. The gleaming jewelry some women were
wearing took her breath away.

Her eyes caught someone who seemed familiar.
He was by far the most attractive and elegant in the whole crowd.
He was well over six feet tall and his wide shoulders gave him an
athletic appearance. He had a slightly elongated face and short
hair with black sideburns. What she liked most were his thick
eyebrows that were as black as coal. She stared at him for a second
or two and felt a pleasant flush on her face.

“
I suggest we
step outside. I’m sure no one has shown you the beautiful view from
out there
,” Erick said.

Emely ambled
to the balcony. She saw a huge garden of various trees and bushes:
on the left were tropical palms and on the right, other vegetation.
Slightly farther away, pine trees fronted beautiful silver spruces.
The trees were tastefully grouped together, a sign that a team of
gardeners had spent years working on this masterpiece. All around,
beautiful flowers in every color imaginable made her wonder what
plants these were that she had never seen. They resembled what she
imagined grew only in a jungle. She stood on her toes and inhaled
the scented air.

“It’s truly wonderful,” he said.

“You’re right, Miami is beautiful.”

He said, “You
are beautiful. The beauty of this garden is nothing compared to
you.” He came closer and put his hand on hers.

She
didn
’t know what to do and quickly pulled
her hand away.
Does my
behavior really indicate I’m that accessible?
she asked herself.
I’ve known this man only a few minutes and he’s already
coming on to me.

He put the fingers of his right hand on her
bare back and she could feel their coldness.

“Listen, Mr. Estwick, move your hand away
immediately.” She said this in a calm and decisive voice even
though she was bristling with anger and fear inside.

He moved his hand, but stayed close to
her.

That very
moment she
noticed a pair of penetrating
eyes under thick eyebrows as black as darkness itself.

“
Allow me to
introduce myself,”
the man said. “My name
is Blake Crouse.” He gave Erick Estwick such a grim look that Erick
quickly moved away, muttering a few parting words as he
left.

Emely sighed
in gratitude. She had been in a difficult situation with no way out
and if this man had not turned up, God knows what might have
happened. She said, “I don’t know how to thank you for stepping in
like that. How did you know that …?”

“I happen to have very good eyesight. I could
see immediately that you were in trouble.”

Emely blushed, not knowing what to say and
feeling embarrassed.

As if he
could read her thoughts he said into her ear
, “Don’t reproach yourself. Even high society is full of
bullies like him. Forgive me, but I also noticed that this is your
first time in such company.”

She looked at him with surprise.

“I expressed myself clumsily. You’re acting
naturally and genuinely. You’re not one of those stuck-up girls who
walk around like peacocks and look down on everyone.”

“Thank you, I don’t think I’ve ever been
stuck-up.”

“And I hope you never will be. You wouldn’t
believe how many women I know who only a short time ago wore shabby
shoes, then married a rich guy and all of a sudden became as snooty
and refined as if they had grown up among British royalty.”

Emely
laughed. She turned toward the palm trees, leaned on the metal
railing, and remained in that position for a few moments, admiring
the tropical fauna. “Isn’t it beautiful? I could stay here
forever.”

“Then let’s,” he said.

Emely looked into his eyes again and felt
feverish once more. She could only hope that she had applied enough
foundation to hide the redness on her cheeks.

She put down
her glass, took a few steps away from Blake
, and then assessed him from head to toe. He really was
special. Trying to decide how old he was, she thought he must be
just over forty. He was a mature and confident man, the sort she
wanted to meet.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to embarrass
you,” he said. “I have to go.”

Emely was
looking at him with surprise as he left the balcony. “Don’t go,”
she said, but it was too late, he was already gone. She was trying
to remember whether she had seen a ring on his finger.

Later she met
a few more people, but couldn
’t stop
thinking about Blake.
And I
didn’t even introduce myself. I don’t know anything about
him,
she thought on the way
home.

*

Early
Monday morning, the phone in Emely’s office
rang. “Hello,” she said in a friendly voice.

“It’s Erick Estwick.”

She quietly
held her breath.
He really is
a bore. I’ll have to get rid of him quickly.

“The reason I’m calling is business. I’d like
to invest eight hundred thousand dollars in various securities. You
know, I’d like to open a portfolio or whatever you call it.”

Now she
inhaled audibly.
He wants to
invest nearly a million dollars? My God, these people have serious
amounts of money,
she thought. “Of
course, Mr. Estwick, investing that amount of money certainly is a
good idea.”

“I don’t doubt that at all. Listen, I don’t
have much time these days to take you out for a drink. Don’t hold
it against me, but I’m buried in work. So I’ll get my secretary to
call you in about an hour and you can talk to her about the
contract and money transfers and all the other details. Is that
alright with you?”

“
Of course,
Mr. Estwick.” She could not believe it.
I won’t even have to go for a drink. Maybe this Erick
isn’t such a bad guy after all.

“
Well
then
, I wish you a successful
day.”

She was so
happy that she immediately had another coffee, the second that
day.

The phone rang.

“Dr. Grodny here, I’d like to speak to Ms.
Donnovan.”

Well
, I never,
she thought. “Hello, Dr. Grodny, how are you?”
she said with a smile in her voice.

“Couldn’t be any better. And you?”

“Not bad, thank you. How come you thought of
me?”

“I have a little bit of money sitting in my
bank account and last night I kept thinking about how interest
rates are way too low.”

“
Of course,
Dr. Grodny, like I told you, we can make your money work much
harder here. What sort of sum are we talking about?”

“
Five hundred
and fifty thousand.”

A
gain she was speechless. If
things continued this way, she would soon need at least twenty
employees.

“Great, I’m sure you made the right decision.
When can we meet? You know, to sign the contract and so on.”

“You’ll arrange it all with Sophia, my wife,
who’s also my secretary.”

Emely was
horrified.
He’s married and
more than open about it.
She felt as if
he had misled her at the ball.
Maybe I was wrong,
she thought,
and said, “As you wish, Dr. Grodny. It’s very kind of
you.”

“
My wife and
I are celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary. We’re going to
organize a small party
a week from today,
on Friday, in Chicago. It won’t be as prestigious as the one the
Baldwins threw, but there will be at least a hundred people there.
I’d be honored if you came as well, Ms. Donnovan.”

“
Oh,” she
said, surprised. “Of course I will. I don’t know how to thank
you.”

“Don’t thank me, just come.”

He had
already put the phone down. Emely felt like
shouting with joy.

She turned on
her computer and figures appeared
,
showing the values of various shares. She pressed a key and the
values of bonds appeared. Nothing very interesting, the market was
obviously still asleep. According to her estimation, the following
week would be most suitable for investments.
If the money arrives in my account by
then.

She picked up the phone and called Baldwin.
“I haven’t thanked you yet for inviting me to your party. I don’t
know how to make it up to you.”

Baldwin laughed. “You’ll make it up to me by
attending another party. Everyone asked me about you.”

“You’re very kind. Erick Estwick and Dr.
Grodny have already called me.”

“Did they now? And what did they want?”

“They both want to invest some money. I’m
really grateful to you.”

“
Oh, that.
I’ve got something for you as well. I hope another one million
eight hundred thousand dollars is enough?”

She
couldn
’t believe her ears.
All these people are rolling in
money.

“It’s more than enough. You really are too
kind.” Her voice was trembling with excitement.