by J A Fielding
“My thoughts exactly,” he said, turning around and wrapping her in his arms. “I have to warn you though, it’s going to be difficult to keep my hands off you.”
“Hmm,” was all she said, putting the side of her face against his chest and enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around her. “I guess we’ll have to see where the night goes.”
“Are you hungry? I pulled out everything we can eat without cooking. Tomorrow night we might want to cook, but for tonight I thought this would be good.”
“Thank you, I’m starving,” she said, pulling him to the table.
They enjoyed their impromptu meal, then curled up on the couch. Leslie decided this might be the perfect time to delve into Ken’s motivation for building the towers.
“So tell me more about why you came up with the idea for the towers. I know you’ve been avoiding the topic, but I think it’s a critical part of the film. The viewers are going to want to know,” she said, taking his hand.
“Well it’s kind of a long story, but I suppose it’s time I told you about it. Understand, it’s not like something terrible happened to me, but I was forced to change my life after it happened.”
“I’m listening.”
“Being the first born comes with a lot of responsibly. From the time I can remember, my father had preached the importance of improving our standing in the community. He was always reaching for that next level of respectability and the only way to achieve it was though the accumulation of wealth,” Ken began.
He then went on to explain that his father had groomed him to not only take over the business but to expand it into new markets. Most of the reason he had been sent to the States was to prepare him for doing business there.
He had never considered doing anything else but had decided to do business differently than most of his competitors. Instead of nickel and dimming his employees, he paid them a fair wage with benefits, allowing them to live a comfortable life. In return, his employees worked hard and were highly productive.
That had been the cornerstone of his success and he never deviated from the practice; consequently, jobs at his factories, shipping concerns, grocery stores, and multiple other investments were much sought after. He had grown rich this way even though others had laughed and said he could be even richer. By the time he was thirty, the family business was worth billions, but his father was still not happy.
He continued to push Ken, who over the next ten years expanded into America, offering the Chinese community products they couldn’t get except at home. As the business grew, Ken spent more and more time there, working to increase their already astronomical fortune. Ken only wanted to please his father and did everything he wanted.
But one day, when he arrived home, there was a strange young woman and her family sitting in their formal tea room. His father beckoned him to his side and promptly introduced him to his fiancé.
“Son, you’re almost 40, it’s time you were married, and Mei comes from one of the best families in town. She will be the perfect wife and give you many children.”
Ken explained that he had sat shocked for a moment before regaining his composure. He was polite to the woman and her family but left no doubt in their minds that this had been his father’s idea and he was not going to participate.
He had finally given in to his father’s wishes and promised to get to know Mei better before making up his mind. It had been a total disaster. Mei had been raised to be the perfect Chinese wife. She had no opinions of her own and was so subservient it began to get on his nerves.
The relationship had come to a quick end and Ken had made it clear to his father that he would be choosing his own wife when and if he decided to get married. He had rarely fought with his father, and between the strain of that and his hectic schedule, he had been flying to America almost once a week for months, he found himself in the hospital having chest pains.
It had been a wakeup call for Ken. His father had been felled by a stroke in the prime of his life because of his work habits. Ken’s doctors predicted the same or worse if he didn’t change something soon. Forced to take a sabbatical from work to rest, he decided to visit the one person who had been there for Ken during those years when he was trying to balance going to school with keeping the family business afloat after his father’s stroke.
He found Matthew in his small village in the hills, happily married with several small children. Matthew had been there for Ken when he had needed an open mind and someone who would listen to his problems. Looking back now, Ken saw how silly his problems had been.
Matt’s village was small and very poor. He had been selected to go to a university with the hopes that he could help the village become more prosperous. Ken could see some of the obvious things that Matt had contributed since his return but imagined there was much more that could be done.
He had been surprised to find that the people there were happy with what they had. As long as there was food to eat and a comfortable, safe place to live, they lived their lives feeling secure. Ken spent several weeks in the village, resting and recuperating, even staying longer than the doctors recommended.
He learned a great deal during that time, and he explained that there in that village the seed of Paradise Towers had been born. That had been nearly three years ago. In that time, he had given his brother more responsibility and begun plans for Paradise Towers.
It had been difficult to make his father understand what he wanted to do, but the prospect of his son beginning something that had never been done, had allowed him to come to terms with Ken’s decision. Besides, his brothers had been happy to take over running the companies interests in China and leave the American side of things to Ken.
“I know it may sound like another story of the rich guy working himself nearly to death, then seeing the light and becoming a new man, but the truth is that’s exactly what happened.”
“Wow, so are you healthy now. I mean a heart condition can be a big deal,” Leslie said, suddenly realizing that Ken was older than her and these were genuine concerns.
“There was no lasting damage from that incident. It was a mild episode, and I changed my lifestyle almost immediately. I got rid of the stress and my body responded. I’m as healthy as any man my age can be.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want to be worrying about losing you all the time,” she said, taking his hand in hers.
“Hmm, that statement seems to imply that you’ve got me. Does that mean that we’re an official item?” he asked, massaging the back of her neck with gentle fingers.
“I think that’s exactly what I’m saying. What girl would turn you away? Besides since it appears we’ll be spending a couple nights cooped up together in a motel room, I have a feeling things might develop that will make us more than friends.”
Ken was just about to kiss her when there was a knock at the door. Opening it, Leslie found the girl from the front desk standing there with a big arm load of towels and pillows. She also had candles and flashlights.
“I’m going to turn in for the night. The owners asked me to stay on the property since we might lose power, so if you need me, I’ll be in the rooms behind the desk. Here’s some flashlights and candles in case the power goes out.”
“Thank you,” Leslie said, taking the load from her arms. “Is there any word on the roads?”
“There’s a meeting at 10 o’clock at the community center next door. A few of the other guests are going to go ,so I’m leaving the door unlocked until the meetings over.”
“Oh, that sounds like a good idea. We’ll have to hurry if we’re going to make it.”
They hurried next door and arrived just as the meeting was scheduled to start. The sheriff was at the front of the room standing next to a map of what they assumed was the county.
There were red Xs all over the map, showing the bridges that were currently washed out or under water. With a sinking feeling, Leslie realized that they were stuck just where they were for the near future.
“Now folks, I know most of you are from out of town and stranded here in our little town. We hope your stay will be uneventful, but if you need anything, please let me know. It going to be a few days before we can get you out of here, but some of those bridges were designed to handle being flooded, so once the waters recede, you’ll be able to get going. But until I give you the go ahead, please just stay put.”
There was a lot of moaning and groaning from the crowd, and Leslie realized just how lucky they had been to get the room at the hotel. Most of these people had no place to stay and had been put up in the gym at the town school.
“Well, looks like we’re stuck here for a while. I’ve got some thoughts about how we could spend some of that time,” Ken said, with a mischievous grin on his face.
Chapter 6
As they were leaving the high school. the sheriff stopped them. “Hey folks, I didn’t see you at the high school, just wanted to make sure you’ve got a safe place to stay.”
“We were lucky enough to get the last room at the hotel earlier today, so we’re good. We’ve got emergency supplies as well, so we should be fine. Thanks for asking though,” Ken explained.
“Good, this happens about once a year and you can’t imagine the crazy things people will do in emergency situations. The café and store will be closed tomorrow. Marge and Josie will be helping out with serving meals and keeping everyone entertained.”
“Looks like you all have this well under control. I’d be happy to help if you like. Just sitting around is not my thing,” Leslie said.
“Well, that’s a great offer. We might just take you up on that. Find me in the morning and I’ll put you to work. Have a good night folks. I better go see how things are back at the station. Busy night, I’m sure,” the Sheriff said, struggling back into his rain gear.
As they made their way back to the hotel, Leslie was getting increasingly nervous about what might happen that night. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to sleep with Ken. They had known each other for quite a while, but there was so much wrapped up in their relationship, unwisely they had mixed business with pleasure, and Leslie didn’t want the documentary to fail should things not go well between them.
Ken, sensing her mood, stayed quiet until they got back to the room, leaving her time to sort through her feelings. He had no plans to pressure her into something she wasn’t ready for. When and if they had sex, he wanted it to be her decision. He knew deep down that he was ready, but if she still needed time he was willing to wait.
“This had turned into quite the adventure and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Ken said, lighting the fire since the room had chilled while they were gone.
“I’m so glad you’re here. I would have been going crazy by myself. I hope you don’t mind that I offered to help tomorrow. Sitting idle is not my thing and it looks like they have a lot of people to feed and keep entertained,” Leslie said, realizing that Ken might not want to help out tomorrow. “You don’t have to come along if you don’t want to.”
“No, it was a great idea. I probably would have thought about it in the morning. Right now, I’m so exhausted I just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep.”
Relieved that he had given her the perfect opening, she said, “Me too. Even with that nap this afternoon I’m still exhausted. Which side of the bed do you sleep on?” she asked, blushing.
“Usually on the left, but I could take the right if that’s better for you.”
“Nope, that’s perfect, I like the right side.”
They each took a turn in the bathroom, shut off the light, and crawled into bed. With the rain pattering on the roof and the dim light from the fire, the room was warm and cozy. Leslie thought she would have a hard time falling asleep, especially when Ken wrapped his arms around her and snuggled her close, but within minutes they were both asleep, the strain of a long day finally taking its toll.
They awoke the next morning to the sound of the rain on the roof; it sounded heavier than it had been, but that was good because the forecast had called for this, as the storm finally blew itself out. After a quick breakfast cooked on the gas stove in their room, they headed out for the high school. The power had gone out overnight as predicted, but everyone had been prepared for that possibility and continued on as planned.
The sheriff directed them to the cafeteria where breakfast was well underway. “Martha should be around somewhere, she can put you to work if you want. There’s always plenty to do, lots of mouths to feed and people to entertain.”
They found Martha who immediately put them to work helping to serve breakfast. “You two should eat first then you can jump in and give someone else a break,” she said, pointing to the food line.
“We brought supplies with us just in case, so we’ve had our breakfast already, but thanks,” Leslie explained.
“It’s always good to see young people who are prepared. Jump right in then, still lots of people to feed.”
Leslie took a woman’s place on the serving line while Ken grabbed the coffee pot and juice pitcher and began to make the rounds of the room giving refills where needed and helping those who needed it get food from the buffet. With so many mouths to feed, it would be an ongoing battle to feed them three meals a day.
Ken and Leslie already accustomed to working together teamed up after breakfast to recruit a cleanup crew and soon had the town volunteers putting their feet up with a cup of coffee for a well-deserved rest. It wasn’t long before the spirit of cooperation caught on and people began volunteering to help.
Groups of children were assigned to adults who then entertained them in any way they could find. Another group joined in the preparation of lunch, while a third group volunteered to help the sheriff check on residents to make sure that anyone stranded at home was okay. There had been a few rescues, but most of the residents had been prepared from long experience.
“I declare, I’ve never seen anything like it. Everyone is happy and busy, normally we have to keep people calm, this many people forced to be together in such a small space can be difficult. But instead everyone is distracted, it’s wonderful,” Martha said, as she stood there watching all the activity.
“That wasn’t what we were thinking when we recruited volunteers but it’s amazing how it happened. Might make for a good story,” Leslie said, realizing what they had just achieved.
The rest of the day flew by; there was down time of course, but it turned out that when people set their mind to it, there was plenty to keep them occupied. Late in the afternoon, Leslie was looking for Ken. He had disappeared right after lunch and she hadn’t see him since.
She found him in the art classroom with a group of kids. There were art supplies and other toys piled around the room. The kids were busy creating buildings; the little ones were using blocks and Legos, while the older kids were using just about anything they could find. The kids were intent on their work, quiet and calm.
Ken was working with a group of middle-school-aged kids who had a box of tongue depressors and were creating an elaborate bridge. As she watched, she could see that he was explaining some complicated point to them. He was using his hands to demonstrate with a fierce look of concentration on his face.
As she approached, the students began to understand what he was trying to explain and his face lit up with a big smile. He looked up, hearing her approach, and their eyes met across the room. Leslie was hit with a huge wave of desire followed by admiration, and her heart rate accelerating, love. She couldn’t help but smile back at him as she realized that Ken had managed to capture her heart.
She hadn’t been planning on a romance right now. Her career was just getting started and there was still so much she wanted to do. Romance took so much time and work and most men just weren’t willing to be second to her career. But Ken had entered her life and he was the kind of rare man who would understand and give her the space she needed to accomplish her dreams. Their schedules and his family in China might be a stumbling
block that they might not be able to overcome, but she knew that with no risk there was no reward.
Suddenly, Leslie wanted nothing more than to get Ken out of here and back to their room at the hotel. She had slept better, wrapped in Ken’s arms, last night than she had in a long time. Tonight she planned to sleep in his arms again, but she hoped they would be doing more than sleeping. She had no doubt that Ken wanted her, but she was still nervous. For her, this was a big step; sex was not something she took lightly, it was a commitment.
“Looks like you’ve got them all well entertained,” Leslie said, putting her arm around his waist.
“They decided to build a city, should keep them occupied for the rest of the day. What have you been up to?” he asked, kissing her on the cheek and pulling her close.
“Making cookies. You can’t believe how many cookies this many people can eat,” she said, with a laugh. “How about we get out of here and go back to the room? As much fun as today had been, I’m ready for some quiet time.”
“Sounds good to me. The other adults can take over for me, the kids know what they’re doing. Dinner in the room then?”
“Yeah, I’m sure we can put something together,” she said, as they headed for the cafeteria to say their goodbyes.
They found Martha, made their excuses, and headed for the hotel. They would return in the morning for an update on the roads; the rain was forecast to end by early evening and everyone was hopeful that the bridges would be passable by mid-day.
When they got back to the room, Ken built a fire and Leslie lit the candles they had brought with them. The room was warm and cozy quickly; they curled up on the couch, tired from the busy day.
“I had fun today, it was a unique experience. I’m glad we’re here together,” Ken said, reaching down to tip her head up for a kiss.
“You never cease to amaze me, taking all those kids under your wing to teach them something in a situation that could have otherwise been difficult for them. I’ll bet the parents were just as happy as the kids.”