The Merger Mogul
Page 9
“What about you?” asked KT.
“Do I have a secret fiancée or do I have any siblings?”
“Both.”
“I’m alone in the world. I’m not seeing anyone and I’m an only child.” KT was relieved at the first, if he was telling the truth and saddened at the second. She could feel the loneliness in his words although he said them matter-of-factly, and her heart softened towards him a bit more. “My mother died when I was in law school and my father died recently.” Daniel felt a stab of sorrow.
“I’m so sorry. So how did you spend your Holidays?” she asked.
“My personal assistant, Margaret invited me to stay at her place. I spent a lot of time reading Presence when I wasn’t over there. It’s amazing! I’ve just read the part about the group from Guatemala, do you remember that?” She nodded.
“That was when a team of people from all different sectors came together to try to come up with a vision to rebuild the country after years of civil war.”
“Yes. The Vision Guatemala team,” Daniel continued, “and they were supposed to develop scenarios of how Guatemala could move forward in the next ten years. What I found really fascinating about the group was what happened when they started to share their stories of the war. After one person finished their story (the one about the bones of the unborn children of murdered pregnant women) they said that there was complete silence in the room and later one of them said that there was a “spirit in the room”, another person referred to it as a “moment of communion”. That episode made them really come together as a team because suddenly everyone knew why they were there and what they had to do.”
“Then there was that old Mayan proverb or something that one of the authors mentioned. How did that go again?” asked KT.
“‘We did not put our ideas together. We put our purposes together. And we agreed. Then we decided.’” quoted Daniel. “That’s what keeps coming back to me. It’s as if there’s a key in there somewhere to unlock not just the problems in merged companies but in many other companies.”
KT nodded, pleased that she had helped Daniel find his enthusiasm for work again in some small way.
“It seems that you’re beginning to love your job again,” she said.
“Or perhaps love what it can become,” agreed Daniel.
After they finished eating, KT walked Daniel to the entrance of the hospital to wait for a cab to take him back home.
He took her hand in his and said: “New Year’s Eve is in a couple of days. Will you go out to dinner with me? I don’t think I’m up to a party just yet.”
“I can’t Daniel,” said KT regretfully, “you’re still my patient.”
“So what?” he asked.
“So I live by certain principles and I won’t change them just to please you.” Although it was tempting.
“I’d like to please you,” murmured Daniel in a low sexy voice. KT blushed and looked away.
“Then don’t pressure me,” said KT ignoring his innuendo.
“OK” conceded Daniel. “I can wait for two more weeks. I’m sure you’re worth the wait.”
KT wasn’t sure if she liked the sound of that. Just what was Daniel expecting from this date? She hoped not more than she was willing to give.
Chapter 15
Daniel walked into the Physiotherapy department with almost no trace of evidence that only seven weeks ago his balance had been impaired. When he reached KT’s desk he presented her with a beautiful deep purple orchid in an attractive ceramic pot.
“Beauty for a beauty,” he declared. The other patients and therapists in the room began to clap and whistle, making KT blush with embarrassment.
“This is beautiful, Daniel! Thank you! What’s the occasion?” asked KT.
“I just wanted to add some color to your life as you’ve done to mine. And besides this is our last session, or have you forgotten?”
“How could I forget?” said KT. She’d miss seeing Daniel every week. It was amazing how quickly the time went especially since he’d only needed seven weeks of therapy to practically get back to normal. “I’m actually going to miss you, Daniel Tennant, although you’re nothing but trouble.”
“The only good thing about this is that since I won’t be your patient any more you can go out with me now.”
“Who says I want to go out with you, Mr. Tennant?” she asked coyly.
“I’m hoping that you do,” said Daniel humbly, “And don’t forget what you said about hope deferred.”
KT smiled. “I wouldn’t want to make your heart sick, now that I’m beginning to believe that you do have a heart,” she teased.
“So how’s next Friday?”
“I’ll go out with you next Friday on one condition,’ said KT. “That you’ll come to my cell group on Wednesday.”
“Agreed! Is that the group with the ex-cons? That should be interesting. I can come and pick you up now that I’ll be able to drive again.”
“They’re not ex-cons, Daniel. Don’t you dare say anything like that when you come. Remind me to give you my address afterwards. Now let’s get to work. Since this is our last session, I need to be convinced that you’re really ready for the world again.” Though she wanted him to be fully recovered she feared losing him to his old life again.
“Oh no, Mademoiselle de Sade is back!” joked Daniel. “I’m really going to miss this time together,” he said seriously holding her gaze. KT’s eyes misted up. She didn’t know how she was going to survive not seeing Daniel walk through those doors every week. In spite of what she told Connie, she was afraid she was becoming very attached to Daniel Tennant.
“I’m going to have to find other things for us to do together because I can’t imagine not seeing you every week,” he continued.
“Maybe you can join my cell group. That way we’d see each other every week,” she suggested half jokingly.
“I’ll see,” said Daniel. That wasn’t quite what he had in mind.
Wednesday night
Daniel found KT’s apartment easily. He called her from his car and waited while she came out, although he would have liked to have seen her apartment. He hoped she’d invite him in when he brought her back.
He got out of the car as KT locked her front door and walked down the short flight of stairs. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, a deep red sweater and a long black coat. Her hair was in its usual pony tail.
“Hi there!” he said holding open the passenger door.
“Hi Daniel. Nice ride!” approved KT eying the black Porsche.
“Thanks. I’m now getting used to the feel of it again after not having driven for so long. Want to drive?”
“No thanks, it’s too powerful for me. I’m afraid I might hit it.”
“I trust you, but maybe another time when we’re out of the city.” KT noted that he seemed to take it for granted that there would be other times. “You’ll have to tell me how to get to your friends’ house. What were their names again?”
“Richard and Ann Baxter. They’re the cell group leaders. We usually have about 12 people give or take a couple. I told them that I was bringing a former patient of mine who had brain surgery but I didn’t go into much detail.”
“So what do you do at cell group?” asked Daniel.
“Lots of things: hang out, listen to music, sing, talk, pray, read the Bible, eat….”
“Read the Bible? Is it some kind of church?” asked Daniel, wondering what he’d got himself into.
“It’s not some kind of church. We are the church.”
Daniel had no idea what that meant. All he knew was this was not what he had in mind for a first date. Although technically this wasn’t the first date, it was only the precursor to it. OK, he’d endure church if that’s what it took to get a real date with her.
“Tonight we’re just going to hang out and watch a movie.”
With KT directing him, in about half an hour they pulled up to a sizeable house in a nice neighborhood. He got out and opened her door.
KT rang the bell and the door was quickly opened by Ann who greeted both of them with a hug and ushered them inside.
“Ann, this is my friend, Daniel Tennant. Daniel, Ann Baxter and here comes her husband, Richard. Richard this is Daniel Tennant.”
Daniel shook hands with Richard and said, “Hi nice to meet you.”
“Likewise” replied Richard.
“KT tells me that you’ve recently had brain surgery. You seem fine though,” said Ann.
“Yes, I’m almost back to normal although I find I still get tired quite easily. KT was great in helping me to get back on my feet; that’s how we met.”
“Well you must be special because KT has never brought one of her patients to cell group,” said Richard.
“Uh, why don’t we go and join the others,” suggested KT quickly changing the subject. Richard was not known for his tact!
Daniel was introduced to a room full of people who welcomed him so warmly that he immediately felt at home. It was a mixed group in more ways than one: there were about seven men and eight women, of several races and ages. Most of them were in their late twenties and early thirties although Richard and Ann were probably the oldest at about 40. He knew that he would have trouble remembering half their names. They all appeared to enjoy each other’s company and to genuinely like each other. He and KT were obviously the last to arrive because as soon as they joined the others, Ann turned off the CD that had been playing in the background.
“We’re going to watch a movie tonight,” announced Richard.
“What are we watching?” asked one of the guys.
“Matrix. You’ve probably seen it before. It came out several years ago but I recently ordered the DVD so I thought it we could watch it and talk about it,” said Richard. “Have you seen it Daniel?”
“No. I’ve heard about the special effects in it but I’ve never seen it.”
“It’s a bit of a guy film so you’ll probably like it. Lots of action.”
Daniel smiled as Richard started the movie while Ann passed out bowls of popcorn and put other snacks on the table. The room was quiet for the next two hours except for the sounds of the movie.
“Now that was amazing!” said David, one of the younger guys. “The action scenes were awesome, especially where they were doing flips and running up the walls!”
“Yes,” agreed Richard, “but apart from the action, the film had some amazing parallels to our beliefs. For example, the way everyone in the Matrix believed they were actually alive when in fact they were living in a virtual world.”
“How does that parallel your beliefs?” asked Daniel, interested in hearing the answer.
“We believe that although we’re alive we may not always be truly living as God intended because we’re mostly slaves in the same way that the people in the Matrix were slaves to the machines.”
“So what do you believe we’re slaves to?”
“All kinds of things – desire for wealth and power, fame, illicit sex, alcohol, you name it. We’re often controlled by these desires and we can’t help ourselves, that’s what makes us slaves.”
“That sounds kind of hopeless,” remarked Daniel.
“It is hopeless when we try to do things our own way, but we believe that when we ask Jesus to help us do things his way, then he frees us from slavery and we can live as God intended us to, not controlled by anything. That’s like Neo taking the red tablet and being released from the Matrix.”
“Ah,” said Daniel. Now he understood what KT had meant about people in her cell group being freed from a type of jail.
“They also kept referring to Neo as the One and they believed that he could save the world,” added in Ann. “In a way he paralleled Jesus, who we believe to be the savior of the world. Neo even died and came back to life, as we believe Jesus did, and in the end he called and told everyone the truth and left it up to them to make their decision about whether they wanted to continue in the Matrix or be free. Then he shot up to heaven.”
“Wow!” said one of the women. “I never even thought of all those things when I first saw the movie.”
“Yeah, that was deep,” said Peter, another one of the guys. “It’s true though. You can just go through life thinking that you’re living and free when you’re not, because you’re really just a slave to something and you don’t even know it.”
Daniel realized that finding out he had a brain tumor and that he could die had made him start examining his life. He’d always believed that he lived life to the fullest, but was he really living or was he nothing more than a slave to the desire for wealth?
“So Daniel, will we see you next week?” asked Ann.
“Uh, sure. It’s certainly been interesting.”
As he and KT walked to the car Daniel asked, “Would you like to go for a coffee? I don’t want to go home yet. Unless you want to come with me,” suggested Daniel with a teasing smile.
“I don’t think so. Coffee sounds good though,” agreed KT wanting to prolong her time with Daniel. This was the first time that they were together outside the hospital and she didn’t want it to end. Granted, she had to go to work the next day while Daniel could sleep in but she figured the time she would spend with him was worth a couple of hours sleep.
Settling into a booth of a popular coffee shop with their cappuccinos, Daniel asked KT, “So tell me about your red tablet experience. What made you want to come out of your Matrix?”
“It’s a long story but suffice it to say that my initial high school years were not easy. Because I’m of mixed race, my mum is Caucasian and my dad is African American, I felt that I wasn’t really accepted by either race. I was too black for the white kids and too white for the black kids. I was all messed up. I felt unattractive, rejected and I was lonely and insecure.
“I started hanging out with the Latin kids. That’s when I met my friend Desiree Rodriguez. She invited me to a Youth Group meeting at her church where the youth pastor was talking about us being fearfully and wonderfully made and that God doesn’t make mistakes and stuff like that and that we need to accept ourselves and each other for who we are because God does. I felt that he was speaking to me. So that night, when he asked if anyone wanted to be free from fears, doubts, insecurities and give them to Jesus, I did it. I felt as if a void that had been in my life was finally filled. I also discovered that I didn’t have to prove myself to anyone or try to fit in. I could be just who God created me to be.”
“That’s great! So are you totally over your insecurities?”
“Sometimes they try to creep back on me but that’s usually when I’ve gotten too far away from God and I forget all the things he’s said about me. What about you?”
“I’ve never really had any exposure to God and that sort of stuff. I guess I believe he’s out there somewhere, because I don’t buy the Big Bang theory, but I’ve never given him much thought in the past. In fact I’ve probably thought more about him in the last few months than I have in all of my life before the tumor.”
“Maybe that was the purpose of the brain tumor, to get your attention.”
“That’s what Margaret said to me the night in the hospital when I found out. Well, if nothing else, one good thing has come out of this brain tumor,” he said taking her hand in his. “I met you.” KT smiled and said nothing. She still wasn’t sure what Daniel’s agenda was.
“It’s getting late and some of us have work tomorrow.”
They drove back to KT’s apartment in a companionable silence, with soft music playing in the background. Daniel seemed to be deep in thought, even as he pulled up to the curb.
“Thanks for the ride and the coffee. See you Friday,” she said getting out.
“I’m looking forward to it,” replied Daniel. More than you know, he added silently.
Chapter 16
Friday Night
Daniel arrived at KT’s apartment at exactly at 7.00 p.m. He rang the doorbell and glanced around the neighborhood while he waited for her to open the door. When he heard the door open he turned his head, saw KT in the doorway and immediately sucked in his breath.
“Wow!” he exclaimed. KT looked amazing. He had never seen her with her hair down but tonight her long, light brown hair was loose and fell well below her shoulders. She was immaculately made up and wore a pinkish red strapless dress that hugged her body from the scalloped top to where it ended just above her knees and cinched at the waist with a broad belt the same color as the dress. It was perfection; not too tight, quite modest in fact and yet very sexy.
“Wow!” he said again. She had certainly been worth the wait.
“Wow yourself. You cleaned up pretty well, Mr. Tennant,” she teased taking in his well fitted black suit.
“Here, let me help you with your coat,” Daniel offered. She held out a long, elegant black coat and turned around so that he could help her into it. Once she got her arms through the sleeves he adjusted the collar and lifted her hair from inside the coat. Having exposed her neck, he couldn’t resist doing what he’d wanted to for a while. He leaned forward and ran his lips down the side of her neck.
KT shivered and spun around.
“You promised to be on your best behavior!” she accused in a husky voice.
“Believe me, I’m trying.” Daniel’s eyes belied his words as they dropped to her lips which were glistening with bright pink lip gloss, rather than lipstick.
“But you look stunning and very kissable!” murmured Daniel, his eyes darkening to black with desire.
KT almost gave in to the temptation to be kissed by Daniel. This was too much. “We’d better go,” she said picking up a small handbag.
“If you insist.”
“I do. So where are we going?” she asked locking the door.
“There’s a new restaurant down town called The Black Pearl. I’ve never been there so I thought we could try it. It’s supposed to be excellent.”