The Merger Mogul (22 page)

“You didn’t
have to bring me soup you know KT, but I really appreciate it.  I love
having you here.”

“I love being
here,” she admitted feeding him some soup “and I know you’re too weak to try
anything.” He laughed ruefully well aware that she was right about that.

“Oh, I almost
forgot.  I brought you a present.  It’s in my laptop case near the
front door.  Would you mind bringing it? Sorry to give you all this work.”

“You bought me
a present?  Oh Daniel, you didn’t have to!”  She found his laptop bag
dropped on the floor next to his suitcase and took it to him. Daniel removed a
bag from it and took out a square but flattish box which he held back for a
moment.

“When I saw
this at the airport I immediately thought of you so I hope you like it and that
you’ll accept it.” He handed her the box keeping his eyes on her face.

KT opened the
box and put a hand over her mouth which had dropped open.  Her eyes
immediately filled with tears. “Daniel this is beautiful!” she struggled to
control her tears. “You’re not going to believe this but when we were leaving
Barbados I walked into a store at the airport and saw this very bracelet and
admired it but I couldn’t afford it.  How did you know?”

“I didn’t know.
Maybe it’s a sign.”  KT hugged him and let him put on the bracelet for
her.

“Thank you
Daniel. I’ll treasure it.”

Daniel knew it
was now or never. “KT this is not how I intended to do this but I want you to
know that I love you very much and I’m serious about you so I want us to go
forward with a clean slate, no secrets between us.” He paused. KT had a sudden
feeling of disquiet as if she knew she wouldn’t like what Daniel was about to
say.

“I’ve changed a
lot since I’ve come to know you KT and I really regret some of the things I did
in the past.  I wish I could go back and change them.”

“The past is
the past, Daniel, let’s forget about it.”

“I agree, but I
need to tell you about something that happened when I was in Barbados.” 
KT’s heart felt as if it stopped and then started to race.  Daniel looked
at her remorsefully as he said: “Just before you agreed to come to Barbados, an
English girl who was staying in one of the condos invited me over to dinner as
a thank you for putting some sunscreen on her back.” He could feel KT begin to
withdraw even though she didn’t physically move. He met her gaze bravely and
pressed on: “One thing led to another and we ended up sleeping together.”

KT stood up and
backed away from the bed, clasping her hands around her waist as if she were in
pain.  Tears of anguish sprang to her eyes and rolled down her
cheeks.  She couldn’t believe that Daniel would do such a thing and then
invite her to come and visit. She wondered if she had walked past the woman,
maybe even spoken to her not knowing that she and Daniel had slept
together.  The hurt that ripped through her was agonizing.  How could
Daniel do such a thing and then say that he loved her?

Daniel’s heart
tore at the pain he’d caused her.  “I’m sorry, KT.  It didn’t mean
anything. It was just physical. I even apologized to Mandy afterwards.  I
never meant to hurt you.”

“You didn’t
think this would hurt me?  For all I know I walked past this Mandy on the
beach all during the holiday and never even knew that you slept with her. 
She must have been laughing behind my back.”

“No, KT, she
and her family were away for that week.”

“Oh is that why
you invited me? 
To have something to do while she was
away?”

“Of course not KT!
  It wasn’t like that. You’re not
being rational.  I wanted you with me; I wanted to share Barbados with
you.  I want to share my life with you KT.”  He hadn’t intended to
say that but it just came out.  He could see KT slipping away and he
didn’t want to lose her.

“Well I want no
part of your life, Daniel Tennant, if sharing it means sharing you with every
willing female.”

“It doesn’t,
KT. I would never do that again.”

“And how do I
know that Daniel?  How can I trust you again? I should have listened to
the people who warned me to stay away from you. I can’t deal with this right
now.  I have to go.  Don’t bother to get up, I’ll let myself out.”
And with that she walked out.  Daniel didn’t try to stop her.  He
knew that she was hurt and he had to give her some time, but how much? If he
thought he had felt bad the night he slept with Mandy, it was nothing compared
to the agony that was slicing through him now.  Was this how his father
felt when he wouldn’t forgive him? He closed his eyes and said: “Jesus.”

KT drove
blindly to Desiree’s apartment, wiping her eyes constantly as fresh tears
coursed down her cheeks.  She could see curious stares aimed at her as she
stopped at traffic lights but she was too hurt to care.  She eventually
arrived at Des’ place without wrecking the car.

Desiree
answered the door after a couple of knocks.

“Hi, KT,” she
started out cheerfully and broke off abruptly as KT burst into tears again.

“What’s
happened?” she asked anxiously, looking intently into her face.

“Daniel Tennant
happened! Oh Des, everyone was right.  He hasn’t changed at all.  He
slept with someone in Barbados just before I went there!”

“Oh! The dog!
How did you find out?”

“He told me
just now.  He said that it didn’t mean anything and it was just
physical.  That doesn’t make it hurt any less. I feel so betrayed! After
the wonderful week we spent together and him telling me that he loved me at the
airport, I feel so stupid and so deceived.”

“Oh, KT, I’m so
sorry.  It probably really didn’t mean anything to him, given his previous
lifestyle. You realize that he didn’t have to tell you and you would never have
known?  So maybe he does care about you and just wants to go forward
without any secrets.”

“That’s what he
said, but I can’t deal with him right now.”

“Give it some
time,” suggested Des. “If you and Daniel are meant to
be
together God will work it out.”

New York Times June 18,
2009

Tennant Consulting lands
historic merger

Tennant Consulting has just
signed a contract to be the consultant in the Biomass/Solar Farm merger, the
largest merger of biotechnology companies to date in the US. The fact that the
merger market has declined during the recession must make closing this deal
even sweeter for Tennant Consulting.

There is also talk that a new
consulting division in Tennant’s company, will assist with the post-merger
integration.  This is in stark contrast to the “Love ’
em
and leave ’
em
” philosophy of Tennant, who, until fairly
recently, was well known for assisting with mergers, walking away with a fat
check and not looking back…

Daniel grimaced
to himself as he leaned back in his chair. He put down the New York Times and
looked out of the window of his office, absently noticing that many of the
windows in the nearby buildings were now darkened.  Glancing at his watch
he saw that it was after 8.00 p.m.  He’d been working long hours ever
since he came back to work just over two months ago but there was nothing to go
home to and he hardly went out any more so what else was there to do?

He glanced at
the article again.  “Love ‘
em
and leave ‘
em
?” Yes that was him less than a year ago. He could
remember some of the things he’d done both in business and in his personal
life.  Things that now made his stomach turn.  No wonder people were
still so skeptical about this turnaround in him. The episode with Mandy in
Barbados still sickened him and what made it worse was the fact that KT had not
spoken to him since that day in his apartment. He’d tried to call her several
times and at first she just ignored his calls then one day she actually
answered but it was just to tell him that she wasn’t ready to talk with him
just yet. It was frustrating and agonizing that he couldn’t be with her and
show her how much he’d changed, but he knew that he had to give her some space.
He had told her that patience was one of his virtues but trying to be patient
about this was nearly killing him.

His PR firm had
booked him to do an interview on The Beacon Live to promote the new business
division and he’d agreed because he really believed that the concept of oneness
was the key to success in business.  He needed to leave now if he was
going to get home to pack and get some sleep before his early morning flight to
Atlanta. No doubt Jason Beacon, The Beacon as he was known on TV, would bring
up his past just to boost the show’s ratings. Everyone liked a bit of dirt and
there probably wasn’t a bigger skeptic alive on Prime Time TV.

Daniel stood up
and stretched. Throwing a few files into his briefcase and picking up his
laptop bag, he turned off the light and left his office.  The elevator
took him swiftly to the basement garage where his Porsche was parked.
Triggering the keyless entry, he opened the door and slung his bags on the
passenger seat and climbed in, starting the powerful engine. The power of the
engine gave him the usual rush and he was sorry that he didn’t have time to go
for a spin outside the confines of the city.   He was tired though. 
He was tired from the long hours that he had been putting in since KT left his
apartment, but he was also tired of the newspapers invading his privacy, and
tired of his past always being resurrected. 

The nasty
letter he’d received yesterday didn’t help either. It was from a former client,
Patterson Morgan, who was very happy with his merger when it was finished three
years ago but who was blaming him now that it wasn’t working out. It wasn’t the
first such letter he’d gotten and it probably wouldn’t be the last.  People
tended to get that way when they saw that the millions they spent to acquire
another company weren’t paying off the way they’d expected. He’d give him a
call when he got back in town and see if his new division could help if things
were not too far gone.

He made a
mental note of it as he drove towards his apartment. His thoughts returned to
the New York Times article.  That person no longer existed. He did things
differently now. People could change. He grimaced as he remembered the
conversation he’d had with KT almost a year ago when he told her that he didn’t
believe that people could change. The mere fact that he’d been celibate for
about four months now was proof.  Of course to date four months was his
limit so he couldn’t get too comfortable. Apart from that fiasco with Mandy, he
could hardly remember a time before his surgery when he wasn’t sleeping with
someone or the other but he no longer led that lifestyle and he was doing OK.
Well barely, he admitted. He thanked God for Margaret and Bob who really
encouraged him to stick to his new path and who held him accountable.

 He turned
on the radio to listen to some music just as the radio host was introducing
some band called Flyleaf which he’d never heard of.  What kind of a name
was Flyleaf anyway?  He left it on and let the lyrics wash over him…

All my complaints shrink to nothing

I'm ashamed of all my
somethings

She's glad for one day of comfort

Only because she has suffered

Fully alive

More than most

Ready to smile and love life

Fully alive and she knows

How to believe in futures…

He could relate
to some of that.  He had to admit that he was ashamed of all his “
somethings
”, but he had suffered a lot this last year,
physically and emotionally, and had come out alive. He wasn’t fully alive
though, not since KT had walked out, but while his personal life was in
shambles, at least he was excited about his work again and it wasn’t just about
the money anymore. His pleasure was now from trying to figure out how to help
newly merged clients through that difficult post-integration phase.

They may still
refer to him as the Merger Mogul in the media - the hard, ruthless, determined
consultant who made sure his clients got the target they wanted at the best
possible price – but he had changed.  In the past he did what he had to do
to make sure that his client got the company they were going after if he
considered it a good fit and at the best possible price.  That was his job
and he did it well.  Now he was committed to not only bringing companies
together, if that’s what they wanted, but helping them to stay together. 
He only wished he was as successful doing that in his own life with KT.

He was still in
contact with Paul who’d told him that KT wasn’t seeing anyone and he was pretty
sure that she still loved him and to give her some more time.  He’d
invited him to his and Michaela’s fifth wedding anniversary lunch on Sunday and
KT would be there.  He hoped that he’d have the opportunity to speak to
her alone.

“Caveat Emptor!
Let the buyer beware.” The words dropped
from Jason Beacon’s lips with just a hint of a smile. “That’s what you were
reported to have said after the collapse of Shellbury almost a year ago when
their merger failed.”  He picked up a photocopy of the old Wall Street
Journal article and read: Merger Mogul, Daniel Tennant, says: “People don’t
usually go into marriage expecting to get divorced, but divorce happens. 
That’s why people should protect themselves with a prenupt.  In the world
of M&A’s there are no prenupts and no guarantees.  When I’m the
consultant in a merger I do everything to make sure that the fit is right and I
try to leave no stone unturned in the due diligence but no deal is perfect and
we have little control over what happens afterwards.
Caveat
Emptor!”