The Merger Mogul (17 page)

“I’ll bet she
did,” she said sweetly. “So when are you leaving?”

“Sunday.”

“Well get some
rest and try to stay out of trouble while you’re there, although I know that
trouble is your middle name.”

“Hardly Angela
and anyway I’ll be on my best behavior,” Daniel protested.

That’s what I’m
afraid of, thought KT, remembering the last time Daniel made that promise.

Daniel and KT
left about an hour after that, for which KT was very grateful. She lost count
of the number of women who came up to kiss Daniel and greet him, mostly
ignoring her.  She wondered how many of them he had slept with in the
past.  She probably didn’t want to know.  She was sorry that she had
come to the party.  It only confirmed what she already knew in her heart;
that Daniel Tennant lived in a very different world to hers and she certainly
didn’t fit into it, nor did she want to.

They drove back
to her apartment in silence.  Daniel seemed pre-occupied and she didn’t
feel like making light-hearted conversation, especially when her heart felt so
heavy. Daniel was sorry he’d asked KT to go to the party.  He could tell
that she didn’t enjoy it and to tell the truth, neither did he. He was glad to
see some of his old acquaintances but it didn’t help that there were a few
women there that he’s slept with in the past.  He was glad that KT didn’t
know that, although he figured that she suspected as much. They weren’t exactly
subtle.  He felt bad about it. Was that his conscience pricking him?
Compared to them, KT was pure and untouched and he felt that he’d somehow
dirtied her by exposing her to his previous lifestyle.

KT was
reflecting on the evening and the women she’d observed.  Some of them
seemed as if they were just recycled among the men, Daniel included, moving
from partner to partner. She couldn’t fathom that kind of life. She had bought
Daniel a gift to take with him when she slipped out to buy the new dress
earlier in the day. Now she was in two minds whether to give it to him. 
It seemed kind of ridiculous after witnessing him in his element at the
party.  Would he reject it?  Would he laugh at her gesture? The
Porsche pulled up to the curb and parked behind KT’s compact car.

“I’m sorry you
didn’t have a good time,” Daniel said, turning to her. “But thanks for going
with me.  If it’s any comfort, I didn’t really enjoy it either. I think
I’ve changed and I don’t seem to enjoy that kind of thing anymore, but
it’s
part of doing business and networking.”

“It wasn’t that
bad,” KT assured Daniel. “At least Claire and Cassandra were nice and most of
the men were too.”

“Yes, I
noticed.  They were practically devouring you with their eyes; single and married!”
KT smiled. She hoped that Daniel was a tiny bit jealous, considering the number
of women who seemed to know him intimately or would like to.  She decided
that she would give him the gift after all. He could certainly use it.

“Could you wait
here for just a minute?  I have something I’d like you to take on your
trip.”

She ran into
the apartment and came back in a couple of minutes with a book in her hand. She
slid into the passenger seat again.

“Another book?
Is it as good as
Presence
?” asked
Daniel.

“It’s better.
It’s a Bible.”

“Oh,” said
Daniel a bit skeptically.

“You don’t have
to read the whole thing cover to cover.  Start with John.”

“OK, John it
is. If I promise to read it can I get a goodbye kiss?”

“That’s
bribery,” protested KT but she leaned over and kissed Daniel on the lips. 
He caught her before she could move away and kissed her as if he was storing up
the memory for the next two months. They were both breathing heavily when he
stopped.

“I know I
promised to be good, but that has to last for two months,” he managed to tease
huskily.

“You were
good,” she flirted getting out of the car. “Enjoy Barbados!”

“How can I when
you’re not going to be there?”

“I’m sure that
won’t be any hardship for you Daniel,” she retorted drily. “You’ll probably find
lots of women there willing to make your holiday dreams come true.”

“That’s not
going to happen, KT. Now don’t
you
go meeting any other guys when I’m
away,” he joked, although he was quite serious.  KT was becoming important
to him and he didn’t want anyone else to have her.

Daniel lay on
his lounge chair on the beach with a feeling of supreme contentment.  The
waves were barely making a sound as they lapped against the coral sand. 
It was one of those truly beautiful days in Barbados with the sun shining
brightly, a few white clouds randomly populating the azure sky and enough of a
breeze for it not to be too hot.  His Jack Welch book was next to the
chair but he didn’t really feel like reading at the moment, he was just enjoying
the pleasure of doing nothing. 

He’d arrived
yesterday afternoon and after he’d been dropped off at his condo by a taxi, he
just spent the rest of the day settling in and watching TV, something he’d done
a lot more of while he was recuperating. He didn’t even feel inclined to watch
the business news as he used to in the past.  He didn’t know what was
wrong with him but work didn’t seem that important anymore.  Maybe that’s
why he needed this time to refocus and find some solutions to the problems the
business was facing.

The luxurious
condominium was well stocked but he’d gone to his favorite restaurant, The
Cliff, for dinner and had not been disappointed.  As good as the finest
restaurants in New York, it was nestled on a cliff overlooking the sea, hence
the name.

His only real
work was to figure out how to spend his days.  Maybe he would rent a car
and drive around the island or, better yet, hire a taxi to take him around
because he really didn’t feel up to negotiating the narrow roads. He’d been
over to the east coast of the island just once and found it wild and untamed in
contrast to the west coast.  It was battered by the Atlantic Ocean and had
waves big enough to attract both local and international surfers.  He
would love to show KT Barbados.  It was a tiny island, just 166 square
miles but with a rich heritage and had been a British colony up to 1966. He
wondered what KT was doing now.
Probably urging a patient to
do some exercises that they didn’t want to do.
  He smiled as he
remembered telling her that she was related to de Sade, and the first day when
she’d told him to keep his offensive comments to himself.  He now
understood her reaction.  That was the lifestyle she had chosen and the
values she lived by. It seemed as if it was going to be marriage or nothing
with KT.  Was he ready for marriage?

Not being one
to remain idle for too long, he was just about to pick up his book when a
feminine voice with a very English accent said: “Excuse me, but may I impose on
you to put some sunscreen on my back?”

Daniel looked
around and saw a very nubile brunette holding a skimpy bikini top over her
generous bosom.  It was unhooked at the back. He looked the other way to
see if she was speaking to him or someone else, but no-one was close enough to
them so he guessed she was talking to him.  He groaned silently. 
This was not what he had in mind when he came out on the beach.

“No problem,”
he said graciously getting up and walking over to her lounge chair.

“I’m Mandy by
the way.  I hope this isn’t a bother.  I thought you were ignoring me
because I called you twice before you answered.”

“I’m Daniel. I
wasn’t ignoring you. I guess I didn’t hear you because I recently lost the
hearing in my right ear.”

“Oh, I’m
sorry,” she said in sympathy a lot louder. “That must be really hard. I hope
I’m not being too much of a bother but I really would like to get an even tan
and not be red all over tomorrow.”

“Thanks and
it’s no bother.” ‘Not unless rubbing sunscreen on a scantily clad female body
is considered a bother,’ he thought to himself.  ‘It’s probably a very
innocent request,’ he assured himself as he squeezed cream onto Mandy’s
back.  She wiggled a bit because of the coolness against her warm skin and
practically purred when he rubbed it in.

“That’s
wonderful, Daniel.  I’ll have to find some way to repay you for this
imposition,” she said suggestively. Cancel the thought about this being
innocent.

“That’s okay,”
said Daniel finishing the job quickly. “I think I’ll take a dip now, it’s
getting a bit hot out here.” He jogged down to the beach with Mandy’s “Thanks”
in his ear and dived into the crystal clear water. Whew, just what he needed to
cool him down. He swam out until he couldn’t stand up and floated for a while
on his back.  The last thing he needed was a Mandy distracting him. 
He was trying to change his lifestyle and the tempting English tourist was not
helping. He hoped he could pack up his stuff and leave the beach without her
noticing.

He swam and
floated for about half an hour, long enough for her to fall asleep he hoped,
and then made his way to the shore.  He smoothed his hair back from his
face and walked over to his lounger and dried off a bit with his towel. 
He packed up his sunglasses, slippers and book and made his way to the garden
and up the stairs to his condo.  Thank goodness that Mandy seemed to be
dead to the world.  Maybe he should have cautioned her about taking in too
much sun but she was a big girl, he was sure she could look after herself.

KT wrote up the
notes for her last patient and stood up stretching her back.  She was
tired as she hadn’t slept that well the night before.  Daniel was on her
mind a lot.  She missed him already and he’d only just left.  How was
she supposed to get through the next two months?

“You’re looking
rather tired,” commented Connie from her desk across the room. 
“Late night with The Merger Mogul?”

“No
Connie.  Besides he’s gone to Barbados for two months.”

“Barbados? 
Alone?” KT nodded. “I’m sure he won’t be for long.  I really hope you
haven’t lost your heart to him KT because there’s probably not a faithful bone
in his body.”

“There’s
nothing going on between us,” insisted KT, “so it’s not as if he has to be
faithful to me.”  Still she really hoped that he wouldn’t go back to his
old ways, if he’d ever left them. She knew that being away would make it easy
for him and she would never know.  Wonderful! Why did she always listen to
Connie?  She must be a glutton for punishment.

“See you
tomorrow Connie.”

“See you KT.”

She didn’t look
forward to going home to her empty apartment and pining for Daniel, so she
decided to go shopping instead.  A little retail therapy was just what she
needed. She’d worry about the credit card bill when it came in. She wondered
what Daniel was doing and who he was doing it with.





Daniel was
sitting on his ocean front patio drinking in the amazing sunset with a gin and
tonic for company. The sky was ablaze with pinks and oranges which were the
back drop for the darkening clouds. He could hear the crickets beginning to
chirp.  It was amazing how after just a few days on the island you didn’t
notice them anymore. He’d gotten through quite a bit of his book today after
he’d come in from the beach. He’d reached the part where twenty years earlier,
Jack Welch was sitting on the beach at Sandy Lane, not too far from where he
was now, when the word “boundaryless” popped into his head.  The idea
obsessed him for the next decade and he did everything he could to make GE
boundaryless. Daniel wished that something would pop into his head to help him to
solve some of the post-merger issues that his clients faced. Unfortunately the
only thing that popped into his head was the fact that he’d like to share this
sunset with KT.  If she couldn’t be there he could at least e-mail her
some photos. That’s when he realized that he didn’t have her e-mail address.

He picked up
his phone and sent her a text: Text me your e-mail address so that I can be in
contact and send photos of this amazing island.  Maybe you’ll change your
mind and come. 

He hit the send
button and waited for a few minutes, hoping that KT would respond right
away.  It would be an hour behind in New York, so about 5.30 p.m.  KT
would probably just be finishing work.  He could always call her… He was
interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.  Who on earth would be calling
on him? He reluctantly got up and went to answer it.  It was Mandy,
wearing a sexy, short sundress.

“Hi Daniel, I
hope you don’t mind me calling on you but I just wanted to invite you to dinner
as a “thank you” for doing my back today.”

How on earth
did she know which condo was his, he wondered?  Oh yeah, he belatedly
remembered the directory in the foyer downstairs.

“Uh, thank you
Mandy but I’ve already made plans to go out for dinner,” he excused.

“Oh that’s too
bad.  
How about tomorrow night then?”

Daniel really
didn’t want to go but how could he refuse again without seeming impolite? He
drew on the health excuse. “I’m not really good company right now Mandy, I’m
recuperating from an operation.”

“But you look
perfectly healthy to me.”

“I’m on the
mend but I still need to take things easy.” He hoped she would take the hint.

“That’s
OK.  You won’t have to lift a finger to do anything. You just need to show
up.  I’ll take good care of you.”  That’s what I’m afraid of, thought
Daniel.

“OK,” he agreed
reluctantly.  “What time shall I come?”

“About seven.
  That will give me time to prepare
everything.”