The Merger Mogul (21 page)

“It’s about a
group of people who got together and agreed to build a city and a tower that
reached up to heaven.  They were succeeding too and the Bible says that
God came down to see what they were doing and that’s when he said “The people
are one…”

“Oneness!”
Daniel interrupted excitedly.  The word Dana
spoke to him flashed into his mind and he remembered that she said God would
reveal what it meant to him.

“That’s it, KT.
The word that Dana told me was Oneness,” he said excitedly. His brain was now
ticking over rapidly.

“The people are
one and they all have one language. Now nothing they propose to do will be withheld
from them. That’s it!” he repeated.

“What’s it?” KT
hadn’t got the revelation yet.

“I believe
that’s the key to unlock the problems in merged companies. 
Oneness.
  We need to get to the place where the two
companies don’t just merge but they truly become one and everyone is speaking
the same language, so that nothing they plan to do will be impossible.”

KT then got it.
“The power of agreement.”

Daniel hugged
her tightly and she could tell he was fighting his emotions.  When he
pulled back a few moments later, his eyes were moist and he said in a hushed
voice: “I can’t believe that God spoke to me KT.  He revealed what oneness
means just as Dana said he would.  God is amazing!”

KT was
overjoyed for Daniel as she watched the dawning awareness on his face at the
thought that the God he never really cared about before would care enough about
him to give someone a word of encouragement for him, and then prove it by
giving him the revelation he had promised. She was even more delighted to hear
him acknowledge that God was amazing.  Maybe there was hope for them.

On Saturday
afternoon Daniel was torn.  He didn’t want KT to go but he was also
consumed with the concept of oneness and wanted time to explore it further. He
was eager to start developing strategies to create oneness in companies. 
He had read through the story in Genesis and he wanted to study it more
thoroughly and hopefully get some more revelation. The fact that his dream had
been on a construction site but he didn’t recognize the structure that was
being built was puzzling until he
Googled
‘Tower of
Babel’ and the diagrams of it resembled the structure he had seen in his dream.
That blew him away! He had excitedly called KT to his laptop and showed her the
weird tower.

Now they were
at the airport and KT and the others had checked their luggage and were making
their way towards the departure lounge.  Just before they got to the
security checkpoint, Paul shook Daniel’s hand and said: “I’m glad I had this
time to get to know you better.  Let’s catch up when you get back to
Manhattan.” KT noticed a look in Paul’s eyes, almost as if he was reassuring
Daniel which didn’t make any sense to her. Daniel hugged Michaela who said,
“Thanks so much for having us Daniel. We had a wonderful time.  When you
get back you’ll have to come over for dinner.”

“That would be
great Michaela and any time you guys want to use the condo, just let me know.”

They walked
through security to give KT and Daniel some privacy.  Daniel took both of
KT’s hands in his and looked her deeply in the eyes.

“I love you
KT,” he said.

She caught her
breath.  That was totally unexpected.  Tears pooled in her eyes and
spilled from her lower lids.

“Don’t cry,”
said Daniel pulling her into his arms.

“Oh Daniel, I
love you so much.”

“I’m relieved!
I thought you were crying because you had to tell me that you didn’t love me,”
he teased.

She sniffed and
smiled tremulously.

“Sorry that
this isn’t a more romantic setting but I couldn’t keep it any longer.”

“The setting is
perfect,” KT assured him.  Having Daniel actually say that he loved her
made any setting perfect.

He slid his
hands into her hair and held her head in place as he kissed her deeply. “I’m
going to miss you so much,” he said huskily, pulling her in for one more hug.
“I’ll see you in a few weeks but I’ll call you every day.”

“That will cost
a fortune,” she protested.

“You’re worth
more than a fortune to me, KT.”

“I’d better go
before I start bawling,” she sniffed.

They released
each other with great reluctance and KT quickly walked away to give her
passport to the security officer.  She briefly turned around and waved as
she got to the departure door, looking as if she would burst into tears at any
moment.  Daniel felt as if a part of him was leaving with KT and he wondered
how he would get through the next five weeks.

Back at his
condo Daniel felt incredibly lonely. The place seemed so empty and lifeless
without KT.  All he could do to ease the aching loneliness was to lose himself
in his search to understand oneness which was beginning to obsess him. He
turned on his laptop and went to get his copy of
Built to Last
while he
waited for it to boot up.

Now that he’d
discovered the concept of oneness, he was seeing it in the books he had
brought. In the same story that he had discussed with KT about Team Guatemala
in
Presence
, he recognized that when the team came into agreement, or
oneness, things began to happen which had seemed impossible before, given the
enmity that existed between them during the civil war. He also saw it in
Built
to Last
where companies which had been around for a hundred years seemed to
have succeeded in part because they indoctrinated newcomers into the culture,
so that everyone spoke the same language and they were constantly sharing their
vision so that everyone understood what they were aiming for and were committed
to working together to achieve it.

Finally all the
programs had been loaded and Daniel was able to open Word, start a new document
and begin to type.

That night
Daniel lay on his bed and waited for KT to call.  She’d promised to call
him when she got home which he expected would be about 10.30 p.m. her time or
11.30 in Barbados. While waiting he began to read Luke which he hadn’t done much
of since KT and the others were there.  He soon began to see a pattern
emerging.  Jesus would teach the people and then he would do miracles.
Daniel realized that he would communicate his message then he would demonstrate
it. People began to follow him because they not only heard his message but they
could see the truth of it being worked out before their eyes and they saw how
it could benefit their lives.

He was still
engrossed in his research when the telephone rang but he picked it up right
away.

“Hello?”

“Hi Daniel.
I’ve reached home safely. It’s freezing here and
I miss you already. But I just wanted to say thank you so much for what was the
best week of my life.”

“You’re very
welcome, KT and it’s been the best week of my life too. The place is so quiet
and empty without you.  The only good thing is that I’m getting quite a
lot of work done without you to distract me,” he teased. “Maybe I’ll come home
earlier.”

“That would be
wonderful Daniel.”

“I’ll let you
know.  Glad you got back safely.  Love you.”

“Love you
too.  Bye.”

Daniel hoped
that she would still love him after he told her the truth.  Maybe it was
best not to say anything.  Why spoil something this good?
The truth
will set you free.
OK, roger that!

Three weeks
later, Daniel walked into his apartment just before 11 p.m. and dropped his
suitcase and laptop case next to the hall table.  Barbados was wonderful
but it was great to be home. At least he was in the same country as KT
again.  He’d planned to stay for the whole time but Bryan had called him a
couple a days of ago to tell him that things were looking bad and that he
should come back sooner rather than later. What he found amazing was his
response to the situation.  A year ago he would have been going crazy with
worry, but for some reason he didn’t feel worried.  He felt that
everything would be alright. He had a peace that he couldn’t explain given the
circumstances; it made no sense but it kept him sane.

He’d got a lot
done and he’d managed to come up with several strategies to help merged
companies, or those thinking about merging, based on the concept of
oneness.  When he took a break from working, he’d met Mandy’s parents and
had dinner out with the family one night.  They seemed pretty reserved, at
least compared to Mandy, but he put it down to their being English. He was glad
that he and Mandy had agreed to be friends and he was truthful when he told her
that he hoped to see her again sometime and wished her well with chef school.

Although he’d
been fed on the plane, that seemed like hours ago and he was beginning to feel
hungry.  His throat also felt dry and a bit sore. Heading to the kitchen
to see if there was anything edible in it, he was pleasantly surprised to find
his fridge well stocked.  He smiled and silently blessed Margaret for her
thoughtfulness.  When they got through this recession he’d give her a big
raise.  He made himself a sandwich, grabbed a coke and headed back to the
living room where he sat on the couch and turned on the TV to see what was
happening in the business news. It was much too late to call KT so he sent her
a text just to let her know he was back in town.

That brought
back the nagging question that followed him all the way from Barbados, kept him
company on the plane, and now was here as well.  Where, when and how would
he tell KT about Mandy? He didn’t want to tell her somewhere publicly so he’d
either invite her here or go to her place.  When?  As soon as
possible because it was eating him up.  How? Well, he’d have to play that
one by ear.

He’d bought her
a bracelet at the airport in Barbados which he was eager to give her.  He
knew that she would think the gift was a bribe when he told her about Mandy but
it wasn’t.  As soon as he saw the diamond and ruby bracelet he’d thought of
KT and bought it for her. They might be in a recession but he wasn’t destitute
yet. Most women would be delighted with a gift like that but he’d probably have
to persuade KT to accept it.  He’d have preferred to buy an engagement
ring but he felt that would have been a bit presumptuous under the
circumstances.

Suddenly
feeling very tired and achy, he stood up, stretched and yawned and headed to
the bathroom for a quick shower before bed.  Tomorrow was another day.

Daniel awoke to
the sound of the phone ringing next to his bed.  He thought that he was
dreaming for a while until the persistent ringing penetrated the fog of his
sleep.

“Hello?” he
managed in a hoarse voice.  His throat felt dry and his body felt
sore.  He hoped he wasn’t coming down with anything.

“Daniel I’m
sorry if I woke you!”

“Hi KT, no
problem, I don’t mind you waking me up.  In fact, I’d like you to wake me
up every morning but with kisses.”

“Daniel
Tennant! I’m so glad you’re back.  I missed you so much.”

“Me too.
  I wanted to see you today. I have a present
for you but I feel as if I’m coming down with something and I wouldn’t want to
make you sick.”

“Daniel, I work
in a hospital, I’m not going to get sick. I can come around and bring you some
chicken soup as soon as I can. Would that be OK?”

“I’d love you
to KT if you’re sure you’ll be alright. My apartment is Penthouse 2 in the East
River
Apts
on 59
^th
Street.  There’s
underground parking. 
Can’t wait to see you.”

Daniel’s heart
accelerated at the thought of KT coming to his apartment.  He wasn’t sure
if it was excitement because he hadn’t seen her for three weeks or if it was
anxiety at having the opportunity to tell her about Mandy.  Was this
really the best time?  He dragged himself to the bathroom feeling a bit
weak and slightly feverish. This was not how he envisaged entertaining KT in
his penthouse but maybe she’d be more sympathetic to him in his illness. He
hoped so.

KT rang the
doorbell to Daniel’s apartment.  She’d gotten a bit lost on the way but
she was here at last.  She looked around appreciatively while she waited
for Daniel to open the door.  Only the best for Daniel, she thought as she
looked at the luxurious foyer and then remembered the vow he had made to never
lack for anything again.

Daniel opened
the door dressed in black silk pajamas.  His hair was mussed up and he
looked as if he’d just gotten out of bed.  He was gorgeous.  He held
the door open and KT walked into his arms carefully balancing the bowl of
chicken soup she had managed to make. Daniel held her tightly, almost
desperately, even as he said: “I hope you don’t get sick.”

“I’ll be fine,”
she insisted. “Now show me the kitchen and you go and lie down.  I’ll take
care of you.”

Daniel showed
her the way to the kitchen and headed back to bed. He could get used to this,
even if he was too ill to fully enjoy it right now.

A few minutes
later KT came in with a bowl of soup which she put on the bedside table to
cool. She pushed back Daniel’s hair and felt his brow which was a bit
warm. 

“You feel
feverish. Do you have a thermometer?”

“No, I don’t
think so.  I’ve got some tablets in the cupboard in my bathroom if you
don’t mind getting a couple for me.”

“No
problem.”  KT passed through the walk-in closet and went into the bathroom
to look for the medicine.  The bathroom was very masculine and
sophisticated, decorated in creams and dark blues with gold plated faucets. It
was kind of strange being in Daniel’s space, seeing his shaving stuff, his
cologne etc but it felt intimate and she liked it.  Finding the tablets in
a small medicine cabinet she took them to him and went to the kitchen to get a
glass of water.