by M T Stone
“Damn, I was hoping you had started dating again,” she replied with a sigh.
“Well, that’s another story. We’re going to Amsterdam on Monday to check out some 3D printing equipment. Are you familiar with what’s going on over there?”
“3D printing? That’s a load of bullshit,” she replied, never one to mince words.
“Either that or it’s about to eat your lunch. I’ll know for sure in a few days.”
“You really think it has that kind of potential? I love Amsterdam and wouldn’t mind taking a first-hand look if you’re sold on it,” she said in a less harsh tone.
Meanwhile Kate had walked into the room and placed a sticky note in front of me. “Still like nude yoga and hot baths?” Kate had written on it.
“Yes,” I mouthed back, giving her a wink.
“I’m sensing you’re distracted?” Silvia asked after a longer than normal pause.
“I’m sorry Silvia. My better half is vying for my attention.”
“Better half? When did this happen?” She asked, her pitch rising again.
“We met six weeks ago and it was love at first sight. I never thought it would happen to me again. Are you still interested in joining us in Amsterdam?”
“I’m definitely less interested now, but give me a call once you have a feel for things. Maybe you can send your jet to pick me up,” she added as if she was testing me.
“If you’re interested I’ll send the boys to pick you up and I’ll throw in a nice suite for the week too.”
“Alright. Call me after you have a lay of the land. I’ll try to clear up my schedule. I could use a break from the gunfire anyway,” she replied sounding a bit exasperated.
“Getting rough down there?”
“Getting rough? It’s a fucking war zone down here. They all want to control the drug corridor and the weapons keep getting more and more deadly. I go back to Arizona every night in a bulletproof Hummer and I still feel vulnerable as hell.”
“That’s no way to live Silvia. I’ll call you Tuesday afternoon.”
“Thanks for thinking of me Jack. I really do appreciate it,” she said softly before hanging up.
She’s not as tough as she makes herself out to be. I better go check on my nude yogi.
Kate
Not long ago when I mentioned nude yoga, Jack would drop whatever he was doing and join me. This was the first time that I had gotten nearly half way through my routine with no sign of him. I thought back to Valentine’s Day and how he had said that he didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. I wonder if that was his way of confessing that it was going to be an issue. After talking with Jayne and Brandon the night before, I had the distinct impression that he had been a total workaholic while building his first business.
“I’m sorry that took longer than I expected,” Jack said as he strolled into the master bath.
“You almost missed it.”
“Actually, it looks like my timing is perfect,” he smiled as my feet went over my head into the plow pose. “This brings back some great memories.”
“I thought maybe you were too busy nowadays to join me.” I smiled up at him teasingly.
“I’ll never be too busy for you,” he replied, running his fingers along my hamstrings.
Just as I stretched out and dropped my knees to the floor, his phone buzzed once again. If he answers that, we are going to have an issue. After it buzzed a second time, he glanced down to check it.
“I’m sorry, this is really important. I’ll be right back,” he said emphasizing the word ‘right’.
I had my doubts, because he closed the door behind him as he went back into the office. Most likely it was the guy from the Netherlands calling again. Those two could talk about the huge potential of 3D printing for hours. I focused my attention on breathing throughout the rest of my routine, but it couldn’t dull the anger that was slowly building inside of me. I’ve got to get out of here for a while.
I pulled the plug on the bathtub, pulled my hair back and put on a little eye liner and some lipstick. Grabbing my purse and phone, I gave Tim a quick call to see if he could give me a lift to my co-op. I have a few things I need to do over there anyway. I’m not going to sit around and listen to Jack talk about 3D printing all day.
“Good morning Kate. Where’s Jack?” Tim asked as he opened the car door for me.
“He’s on the phone talking business as usual. I’m already sick of hearing about contract manufacturing and it isn’t even off the ground yet.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied followed by a lengthy pause. “Jack’s life has revolved around work for a long time… He’s gonna have a hard time shifting gears.”
“I’m beginning to see that. How long have you worked for him?”
“Oh, it’s gotta be 15 or 16 years now. I was just out of college when I started driving for him.”
“So you’ve seen his workaholic tendencies first hand, just like Jayne and Brandon.”
“Yeah,” he said with a big smile. “Eva used to get so pissed that you’d think he was makin’ it rain at a titty bar or something. I’d have to go in and almost drag him out of his office. He just couldn’t help himself.”
“Well, I’m not going to be doing that. If he would rather work 14 hour days than spend time with me, I guess it’s best to find out now,” I replied in a sad realization.
“Ouch, the honeymoon phase is over already?”
“I don’t know. I’ve just been disappointed by every other male I’ve ever known, so I don’t know why this one would turn out any different.”
“You two just need to sit down and talk about it. Work out a schedule that works for both of you,” he said in a surprisingly authoritative voice.
“What are you a part time marriage counselor or something?” I asked sarcastically.
“I have a psych degree actually. Besides I’ve watched lots of Dr. Phil over the years while waiting for Jack,” he laughed.
“Why didn’t you ever use your degree?”
“To make more than what Jack pays me, I would have to go back for my doctorate. Plus, there are plenty of perks to flying and driving him around.”
“That’s true. Have you started chopper training?”
He peered back in the mirror at me. “I tried, but they just laughed at me when I said I needed to learn how to land a helicopter on a yacht. Apparently that’s not something the average pilot can handle.”
“That’s what Tommy said too. He laughed when Jack told him that he was sending you for helicopter training.”
“Those military guys are always so cocky,” he scoffed as my phone began to buzz. It was Jack.
Jack
As my call wore on, I had noticed that the suite had become a little too quiet. It wasn’t until I got off the phone and that I realized Kate had actually left. What the hell? I thought she was in the mood for some fun. At the very least, we could’ve had some breakfast together.
“I thought you were going to be right back,” she chided as she answered my call.
“I’m sorry, it was an important call. There are quite a few loose ends I would like to tie up before we leave on Monday.”
“That’s why I thought I would go over to my place. I need to sort through my clothes and figure out what to bring with us. This way you will be free to work as much as you want,” she replied flatly.
“I was hoping we could get some breakfast.”
“King Coles opens in 40 minutes. I’m sure a few of your old buddies will be hanging out.”
“I would rather eat with you.”
“I’ll come over tomorrow morning and we’ll go for breakfast,” she countered.
“Tomorrow morning? Are you serious?”
“Yes. I think we both need a little time to think about what we want and where things are going. So much has happened in the past six weeks… I just need to step back and think for a minute,” she explained as her voice began to crack.
“Alright
, but I’ll miss you.”
“I miss you too Jack. I’ve been missing you quite a bit lately,” she replied softening her voice.
“I’m sorry. I’ll call you later.”
I felt like total shit as I hung up the phone. I could’ve gotten back in her good graces immediately by telling her who I had been talking to for the past 25 minutes, but she obviously needed some time to herself. Maybe I should call Sheri and have her deliver some sweats and running shoes. A good workout would blow out the carbon and help me feel better. The series of gurgles that suddenly arose from my stomach convinced me to go a different route. I ordered my favorite truffle and smoked Gouda omelet instead and began to fill the whirlpool bath. Why can’t I do anything in moderation? I always have to go balls to the walls.
Once my breakfast arrived, I settled into a warm bath with my plate and a steaming cup of coffee. This feels pretty good actually. I began to realize that Kate was right. We both needed a little time to reflect on all that had happened and decide what was important to each of us. My talk with Cynthia had been enlightening. Both she and Kate had been let down so many times by Phil that it had left some pretty deep emotional scars. I would have to keep that in mind going forward. This omelet sure tastes good compared to those tasteless egg whites I’ve been eating.
Kate
After collecting my mail, I headed up to my place. It felt a little awkward as I met Brandon in the elevator with Ellie on one arm and Sasha on the other. Luckily we were going opposite directions so we simply exchanged awkward greetings. The sheepish grin he gave me made me smile. It’s no wonder Brandon was in a hurry to leave the restaurant last night. I think he’s more of a player than Jack thinks.
I felt even more uneasy as I entered my condo. Prior to this, the only nights I had spent there was when Jack ditched me and I had been a complete train wreck for those two days. It felt as if I was entering a stranger’s home despite the fact that some of my personal belongings greeted me. Walking over to the patio door, I flung open the curtains hoping that a beautiful view of Central Park would make me feel better. The view was nice, but it failed to obscure the empty feeling that was growing inside of me. I looked down at the chair that I had spent several hours crying in, unable to console myself. Why do relationships always have to be so hard?
In order to distract myself I began to sort through my clothes, deciding which I should take to Europe and which to put in storage or give away. I couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between my latest purchases and everything I had owned prior to meeting Jack. Looking back, I think part of me was having a hard time believing that I actually deserved to be wearing those $2000 dresses. I guess my biggest fear was that Jack’s fascination with me would wear thin and he would go back to doing what he truly loved. Even though we were still having incredible sex, something had felt different between us ever since his heart attack.
I recalled hearing about how some men go through dramatic life changes after having a heart attack. Jack obviously had come back with some issues that he needed to resolve. I had found myself hoping that it was just a passing phase and that everything would go back to normal in a couple of weeks. The real problem was that he seemed to be getting more distant and distracted with each passing day.
I know that I should feel grateful for all the things that he has done for me, but all I really want is to spend our days together like we did those last few days of January. I began to wonder if those intense feelings had been genuine or if they were just magnified by the fact that we both wanted what we thought we couldn’t have? Now that he had me, maybe he had begun to realize that I wasn’t as special as he had thought. I ambled to the bedroom and collapsed onto my bed, hoping that a nap would improve my mood.
Jack
Quiet reflection had never been my forte, but it was obviously time to give it a try. Looking back, it was easy to see why Kate had been experiencing mixed emotions. Since meeting her I had fallen head over heels in love, walked out on her and the entire corporate world, gone back and begged her for forgiveness, had a heart attack and then plunged full steam back into a new divinely inspired business idea. What the hell? If I were her, I would be seriously questioning my sanity. As erratic as all of that seemed, I had been equally reckless with my health. Who has a heart attack, gets a pacemaker installed and then immediately begins an aggressive new workout routine? Someone who is desperate to prove they are still young enough to keep up with a 22 year old. I need to sit down and think things through.
After drying off, I threw on a robe and retrieved a notepad. I went out to the living room in search of the most comfortable chair I could find. After settling in, I started writing out my priorities. It proved to be a very revealing exercise. Kate’s happiness, the success of her fashion line, as well as the success of Jayne and Brandon were my clear priorities. Now that I knew that Sau Ming was not the one bothering us, I wasn’t nearly as fired up about directly challenging the off-shore manufacturers. I still wanted to make a dent in the slave labor situation, but there had to be easier ways to effect change.
Reality began to sink in as I stared at my short list of priorities. Ever since the little heart incident, I hadn’t spent any time working on Kate’s line. In fact, I had been so distracted that Kate and I really hadn’t been discussing anything beyond the superficial day to day items. I thought back to the speech I had given her on Valentine’s Day. What a joke. Since then, I had gone completely against everything I told her was important to me. It’s no wonder she was so irritated with me this morning. It was obvious that her anger had been building up inside of her for a while. After my discussion with Cynthia, I knew I was going to need to make a few changes.
I wanted to call Kate immediately to discuss my realizations. However, I decided to give her a few hours to take care of whatever it was that she wanted to get done. It can wait until dinner. It will be better to talk in person anyway. Instead, I gave Sheri a call to deliver some fresh clothes for me and another little black dress for Kate. I’m a little obsessed with seeing her in little black dresses because of our first date. It was then I decided to recreate the night we met, so I started by getting her an outfit similar to the one she had worn that night. Instead of a trench coat however, I ordered her a full length blue fox coat. I settled for the faux version, because I knew she wouldn’t wear a real one. Even the faux version will look incredible on her.
In addition to clothing, I made a few more calls to get everything in place to recreate our first night together. As I thought about it, I became convinced that the key to our relationship was going to be active communication. Kate obviously wasn’t going to be happy if I continued to go off in my own direction and work on other projects. If we learned to work together and began to share a common focus, we could have a spectacular time building her business. It was so obvious that I had to wonder where my mind had been the past two weeks.
Chapter 6
Kate
Once my clothes were sorted and packed, I distracted myself for another hour by cleaning the entire place. Not that it was dirty, but it felt kind of good after having been waited upon for several weeks. Jack would always ask me why I made the bed and picked up our room before the maid arrived. After years of being taught to clean up after myself, I was still uncomfortable with leaving a mess for others. In the midst of polishing the granite countertops my phone began to buzz. Mom appeared on the screen. She must have sensed that I needed to talk to someone.
“Hi Mom.”
“Hi sweetie. I called to apologize to Jack earlier and I wanted to apologize to you as well, but you had apparently left,” she explained.
“Oh, that was you? I thought he was talking to a business contact in Amsterdam.”
“No, it was me. I felt so bad about how I acted last night. I’ve been feeling rather jealous after finding out about you and Jack…”
“It’s ok Mom. I totally get it. I could tell you were just getting it off your chest. Too much wine does that to me too
.”
“I definitely can’t handle wine like I used to. I’m sure Anthony wasn’t very impressed. We hit it off so well and then I became a raging bitch right in front of him. I could’ve just crawled in a hole this morning after thinking about it,” she replied with obvious regret in her voice.
“Anthony has a pretty colorful past Mom. According to Jack, the guy has seen it all. I’m pretty sure it would take more than a little drama to scare him away.”
“Nonetheless, after what Jack did for us yesterday I felt like an ungrateful schmuck,” she confided.
“You and I both Mom.” I began to realize how badly I was overreacting myself. “After all he’s done for me... I can’t believe that I walked out on him this morning. What’s wrong with me?”
“I’m afraid it’s probably going to bother you whenever he puts work first,” Mom confided. “Your father missed so many important events. It breaks my heart to think of all the times he let you girls down.”
As our talk progressed, it was almost as if Mom was removing her armor piece by piece. For the first time in years, I began to feel as if we were on the same team. Instead of mother and daughter, we were two women who had both been hurt by the same man. For years she had been a rock, rarely showing any emotions other than frustration or anger. But deep down, she was hurting just as badly as Belinda and me. She had always put on a brave face for us and it had taken its toll over the years.
“I’m sorry he hurt you so many times Mom. I wish I would’ve realized how much pain he was causing you.”
“You were young girls who loved their daddy. I didn’t want to take that away from you. At least now you understand that it was him and it had nothing to do with you,” she replied in a reflective tone. “He basically shit on all of us.”
“Until recently I always thought that one day he would show up and apologize for all his mistakes and ask for my forgiveness. Instead he only called because he needed someone to bail him out,” I confessed feeling a lump in my throat. “What a piece of shit,” I whispered, trying not to cry.