“Why them, then? Why do you go for women like them? Why not women who can make you happy? Give as much love and affection in return.”
He dragged in a deep breath and released it in one long stream.
“That would be the sensible thing to do, would it not?”
She shrugged, knowing it was rhetoric.
“Maybe I don’t believe in finding forever. Something like my parents had. Something like your parents have. It isn’t for everyone.”
“Sounds like there’s a story there. Surely, you didn’t just wake up one day and receive the epiphany.”
He chuckled then. Slowly, lazily, in that charming way that made her breath catch in her lungs.
“I wish I could say that was the case. Sounds more badass than admitting I got my heart broken… twice.”
“Twice?” This was news.
“Yes. Not proud of it. You would think once would be enough for me to learn.”
“Tell me about it.” She truly wanted to know what had happened, what had made this man.
And so he did.
Chapter 6
“Okay. It’s not so much of a story, but here goes nothing. You see, it wasn’t just football that got my attention in high school. Girls did too. At that age, everything was raging. I was noticing all the girls who had suddenly glowed up, and I was getting a lot much attention for being the school’s hunk. Captain of the football team, president of the business club, and class vice president, you could say that I was quite popular. So… anyway, mother and father always taught me never to toy with a woman’s heart. If I didn’t love her, then I had to leave her alone. Or at least, never deceive her into believing that I did. I wasn’t supposed to make promises I knew I wouldn’t fulfill and all of that. So, while I wasn’t exactly a saint, I stayed out of relationships and intentionally breaking any hearts.”
He paused to take one long swig. “I was a senior high when this girl transferred from another school. Her name was Trina. She was so beautiful. Had lovely blonde hair that just went on forever, legs that were even longer, and a shy smile that melted my heart from that very first moment. I knew I was in love. I had it bad. I started getting closer to her and she let me. Soon enough, we started dating. The rumors started a bit later. She was sleeping with guys from her former school, and even guys in our school. Turned out being known as the school whore was actually the reason for her transfer. But I was too in love to believe any of that shit. I would beat up any guy I overheard claiming they’d had something. I started getting into trouble with the school authorities, even my grades dropped, and I almost lost all the positions I had earned. I knew I had to get myself together and get to the root of it. I never dared to ask her, I felt it would hurt her if she even knew I was doubting her for a moment. But I was. We weren’t always together. We both spent a lot of time apart, and I knew if she wanted to screw around, she had plenty of time.”
He paused again to clear his throat.
“Well, I started doing some diggings on my own. And I didn’t even have to dig too deep. I found out she was pregnant. For one of my teammates, no less. And she couldn’t have an abortion, because that would have been the third one. Last I heard of her, she was married to a mayor. I also heard he engages in a lot of discreet affairs. I guess she found her soul mate, after all.” He took another long swig as he finished.
Life was one funny fucker, thought Keisha. At least, she had been hurt because she hadn’t exactly been a stud, skinny, flirty and flighty like those other girls. Yet, Kane who had been every girl’s dream had been cheated on, by the one girl he had loved and chosen?
“Why would anyone cheat on you? Why do bad things happen to good people?”
“Because good people don’t do bad things and bad people need people to do bad things to. Anyway, you’ve not heard all of it. The second girl, Aeesha, I met her in business school. We dated for two years. I even asked her to marry me. She said yes, even moved in with me… I thought yeah, this was it. Then, she woke up one morning, looked at me and said, I wasn’t it for her. She wasn’t feeling what we had anymore and she had to go find herself. She had to go somewhere new, had to find something new…” he scoffed.
“More like, someone new. She got married four months later, to her college professor. They are still very happy together. After that, I just knew I couldn’t bring myself to try anymore. Twice burned was more than enough for me.”
Listening to him talked had given her a glimpse – a deep one, into the heart of the man that was Kane. He truly was a good man. Despite the betrayal, he tried his best to treat his women right. She had never seen him be with more than one at a time and he still stayed true to his parents’ teachings – he never made promises he had no intention of keeping.
“And here I was, thinking I had suffered the world’s biggest rejection,” she joked.
The tenseness in the air immediately dissipated at the sound of his laughter. It pleased Keisha to know that her plan had worked. It pleased her very much.
“I believe I am still a learner where many are concerned, but that’s that. The past is the past.”
Was it? He might have moved on physically but the scars from those burns still hindered him, emotionally, mentally. He was scared of commitment, that much was obvious. He didn’t want to give all of himself to anyone else, only to have them rip it all apart, once more.
She sighed deep within as she regarded him carefully. She hoped that one day, he would find someone who would realize how lucky she was to have him. Someone who wouldn’t jeopardize that for anything in the world. And that when he did, he would be able to open up his heart to love her.
“Indeed, the past is the past and we must look forward to the future. Speaking about the future, I was hoping to talk about the company.”
“No. This dinner isn’t supposed to contain words like business, company…”
“Funny. I swear I can remember you saying business, several times. Business major, business school… since we are already on a roll, why not just continue?”
The glow light cast magic on his face as his lips slowly spread into a grin, his eyes glittering as they did.
“You are too smart for your own good,” he accused.
She didn’t miss a beat. “Which is one of the reasons why you hired me.” Sitting up, she went into the room, grabbed her glasses, her iPad and a few files.
By the time she stepped out again, the table was cleared. Thoughtful and helpful, she observed.
Choosing the chair closest to him, she turned on the patio lights and handed over the files. Then, she proceeded to show him a summation she had come up with. She had known the answer was in this summation, but she hadn’t been able to see what it was.
The answer had come to her as they spoke. Not that anything had caused it, it had just come, in its own sweet time.
“Take a look at this. I was working all day, racking my head and brainstorming a way out of this. I knew that we just had to get the numbers up. The numbers for production, sales and stock. All of them are dropping and that’s why we are in such a fix. The people are wary of our goods, our stock, and frankly, we are not siphoning enough money into production. We need enough capital. We need to gain back our trust but most importantly, we need our good reputation back on our backs. How do we gain all three? I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out before now, but the answer is – a merger.”
“A merger?”
“Exactly. We need a company that shares our interest. Preferable one that has stakes in Wells Cargo and something to lose, obviously. A company with impeccable reputation, and who can afford to give us the kind of money we need to get back on our feet again. This would pay the staff, encourage them to work harder and work well, get the public to trust in us again, keep us floating long enough and ultimately save us from bankruptcy.”
“A merger,” Kane repeated and she contemplated smacking him.
“Yes, a merger. Do I have to go over all of that again?”
“No, of course not. I heard you the first time, it’s just…”
Before she could say his name, her iPad was out of her hands and she was out of her chair, her feet hanging in the hair as he spun her around.
It took her a minute to catch her breath when he put her back on her feet, and another moment to wonder what had just happened. Yet, she could not ignore the feel of his strong hands by her side, and how she still felt them even now that they were no longer there.
“What was that for?” she asked, breathless as she was surprised.
His answer was a kiss. Smack, right on her lips. Nothing sexual. In fact, it was completely platonic. Yet, that short, chaste moment caused every nerve in her body to tingle and her lips ached to repeat the action.
She lost every train of thoughts when his head fell back, to let out glorious bout of laughter from the depths of his heart.
“My goodness, Keisha! You are so freaking smart! Of course, a merger! How didn’t I think of that? How? You are a genius. A genius is what you are. Damn! Definitely, a merger would work. I can see exactly how it would work in our favor.”
He was on a roll now and he stepped away to start pacing back and forth as he rambled on.
“We have about four companies in the same market, who have stakes in Wells Holdings. Three of which have been in the business for long enough to have a solid reputation. It might be hard work, convincing them to have the merger, but I am sure we can manage to make them believe that they need us too.” He stopped abruptly and turned to look at her.
“This is definitely the missing piece we have been looking for – the fix. Yes, this would work well. We have to start making calls as soon as Monday comes. I’ll give you the list of the companies so you can start reaching out to them and setting up meetings. We would be having a series of those in the coming week, I presume. It’s important to get enough rest, tomorrow.”
He walked over to her.
“Oh, Keisha. What would I do without you?”
This time, when he took her in his arms, his eyes held hers for a fraction of a second before falling to her lips where they lingered. Something in the atmosphere shifted.
Keisha suddenly grew cold and felt goosebumps shoot out of her body. Her eyes fell to his lips, powerless to resist the pull of those beautiful lips.
And when their gazes found each other once more, the hairs on the back of her nape stood. A shiver ran down her spine. Why was it suddenly so chilly? And surely, this couldn’t be what she was thinking, was it?
Okay, it was, she thought as his head started to lower, slowly. Before she could form another rational thought or decide whether to protest or not, his lips were moving against hers. Tugging and giving, in a sweet, passionate kiss that seemed to go on forever. One that left Keisha dazed and sizzling when he finally pulled away.
Whether he had been dazed too, she did not know… if he had been, he must have recovered before her. Because, the next moment, he was bidding her a good night’s sleep and promising to see her tomorrow.
Long after he left, she stood there, wondering when last she had felt and seen fireworks explode in her head. The answer came to her late in the night as she tossed and turned, unable to catch a wink of sleep.
Never.
*******
Like Kane had said, the week that came after that weekend was a very hectic one. Everyone in Wells Holdings Miami, was up and about, trying to get a company who trusted them enough to want to merge with them. It wasn’t as easy as they had hoped it would be. Apparently, no one wanted to go down with a sinking ship.
They had spoken with three of those companies, already. The fourth and their last hope, promised them a meeting today and it was scheduled to happen in about ten minutes’ time. Keisha was all up in her nerves, but no one could blame her. Kane was barely managing to keep his cool, himself.
It didn’t matter that since that night on the patio, that kiss that they were yet to talk about, she couldn’t be around him without her body burning up like it had that night. Every time she saw him, it was all she could think about. Hell, she couldn’t stop thinking about it when she was away from him, either.
The way his lips had felt against hers, melding with her flesh so rightly, as though they had been made for each other. She could still remember the million sensations she had felt bursting in her bloodstream, and of course, the fireworks. Fucking multi-sparkling colors. And there had been no tongue.
Wow. Just wow. Who knew the man could kiss like that?
“Do you think they would agree to sign this merger?”
Snapping back to here and now, she looked up at him from the sofa across the room. All of this had taken a toll on him. He had been taking the time to shave every day, this week. But his eyes still looked tired, he had creases from stress all over his face, and he had visibly lost a few inches too.
She understood what that felt like. Her clothes were starting to feel freer on her body.
“I’m ever hopeful. The Rickon’s like us. The records show that we have been doing good business for a while now. They are one of those companies that have never seen us a threat.”
“Healthy competition is good for business. Every businessman that knows his hay understands that.”
“And I believe they would understand that the merger would only strengthen the two companies. It would even be more excellent if we can manage to broker a deal for merging only the company here in Miami. After all, it is registered as a subgroup.”
“It could work in our favor, since Rickon’s in Miami is registered just the same. We both still get to keep our companies separate – safe for the ones in Miami.”
“As long as they agree to keep the staff on board, it would be a win-win for everyone. Regardless of the 65-35 ratio.”
“I hope one day, we will will be able to get back to a 50-50, or maybe even buy all of it back.”
She smiled reassuringly at him. It could not be easy to lose your sweat and blood so suddenly, all in a bid to save it from crashing to the ground.
“In good time. In good time.”
His phone rang then, and from the conversation, she knew what the call was about.
“They are here, aren’t they?”
He gave a curt nod. “They are.”
She got to her feet, as he rose to his, and waited for him to walk to where she was.
“We mustn’t keep them waiting,” she said when he stopped beside her.
“I know… but…”
The edge in his voice made her look up at him, really look, and she saw it. He was afraid. Afraid that this would all come to naught. Without thinking, she raised her hands and cradled his face.
“We will get this, Kane. We will get the merger, we will get this company back on her feet, we will get those bastards who tried to take everything from us, and we will get every dime we lost. Trust me on this. We will.”
He took a deep breath and when he released it, she could see the change. He was back in control. It was as visible as his fear had been. As she started to withdraw her hands, he caught her left hand and dropped a kiss inside her wrist.
Her heart skipped a beat, the kiss firing straight up to her ventricle, but she kept her cool.
“Thank you, Keisha. Really, thank you.”
Another small smile as he released her. “Always. We should get going, now.” She gestured at the door and he nodded.
Together, they stepped out of his office and walked to the room where the meeting would be held, she could not stop wondering what she was getting herself into.
Chapter 7
“They can’t be serious.”
“Seems to me, like they were.”
“But their demands are ridiculous!”
“Not that we are in the best position to say that. They have the money, they have the power. The ball is in their court. We need them, not the other way around.”
Kane could not believe his ears. Blackwell was supporting the Rickon’s? Really? Was this what it had gotten t
o?
He turned around to look at Keisha who had been awfully quiet since seeing the representatives from Rickon’s off.
“And you? What do you have to say about this?”
Silence rang for a moment as she said nothing. Then, she shrugged and responded.
“As much as these words taste like chaff in my mouth, I have to say them. Blackwell is right. They are our only hope and we do not exactly get to call the shots. They already made their demands, and in all honesty, they are fair demands.”
Kane scoffed, and despite his anger, found the whole situation ridiculously hilarious – not really.
“Fair demands. They are all but dictating my life. Marriage? I have to get married before they can approve the merger? And in no less than six months too? Where am I supposed to find a wife?”
The managing director who had been part of the group of representatives sent, had shared that they would be more comfortable forming such a lasting alliance with a CEO who was a family man. Someone who actually stood to lose something. Someone who they could trust to put in his best and not drop off the radar. It made no iota of sense to Kane. He couldn’t just drop off the radar. He was a public figure. There was nowhere in the world he could hide. And why would he want to do so when he had a company to run? Oh, that’s right… in case things went south and the merger didn’t prove to be the answer, after all.
If he wasn’t such a practical man himself, he would have branded them pessimists.
He swore in French as he loosened his tie. His suit had been the first to come off, and it now hung haphazardly on the chair he had flung it at.
Christ! But he was so angry. And the worst part was, he wasn’t even angry at Rickon’s. Oh no. He was angry at the betraying thieves who had put them all in this situation in the first place.
Marriage! He never thought that the day when he would be considering saying his vows, would have come so soon. Yet, here he was, unable to not consider it, if that was the only way to get this fast sinking ship to float again.
It was a chain reaction. If they could not manage to rescue the Miami branch, one by one, other branches would start to fall, until Wells Holdings would become “Once a company.” He could not afford to let that happen.
Have My Baby Page 6