The Merger Mogul (9 page)

His thoughts
drifted to Kathryn Taylor like a compass point to North.  He just couldn’t
seem to help himself.  Yes, she was beautiful, but so were all the women
he dated.  Maybe he was thinking about her because she was the first woman
to interest him since his surgery.  Whatever it was, he couldn’t get her
out of his mind.

He found her
intriguing. A combination of professionalism mixed with a rare innocence that
stirred something in him.  If he was honest with himself, it was probably
the predator’s instinct to sample a new kind of prey. He should halt those
thoughts.  She was probably too young for him anyway.  He figured
that she was about twenty-three or four and definitely too innocent for him,
which only made her more appealing. He honestly couldn’t think of an innocent
woman he’d ever known.

Vanilla.
  OK, his thoughts were not cooperating. He
remembered the scent of her as she helped him back to his wheelchair.  It
was as if she bathed in it or rubbed her body with vanilla scented
lotion.  Just the thought of her rubbing her body with lotion was enough
to make him stir restlessly on the couch.  He would enjoy doing that for
her.  Not that it was ever likely to happen.  Apart from the fact
that he was her patient, she seemed kind of prudish so she probably didn’t
approve of casual relationships and those were the only kind he was into.

They were obviously
chalk and cheese, oil and water, black and white, all the old clichés that
indicated they were too different to mesh well, but he wasn’t a merger
specialist for nothing; he could find common ground.  Maybe he’d invite
her out on a date when he finished his therapy sessions.  He’d never been
out with someone like KT, in more ways than one. She’d probably turn him
down.  He smiled at the thought of the challenge and fell asleep with the
smile on his face.

KT finished the
Caesar salad with grilled chicken that she’d picked up from the deli on her way
home.  She had kept the garlic bread until last, as she tended to do with
her favorite foods and now she savored the moist garlic-filled bread. 
Bread was her weakness.  She took another sip of white wine and carried
the trash to the garbage in her compact kitchen.  She loved her
apartment.  It wasn’t big but it was comfortable and homey. She’d really
stretched herself to use what little creativity she had to decorate it by
reading many décor magazines.  It turned out very nice. At least her
friends said so.  Her Emma
Shaplin
CD filled the
small room with soothing, modern opera music.

Her eyes
scanned the sitting room and landed on the antique looking lady’s writing desk
in the corner between two windows.  She had found it at a garage sale,
during her décor phase, looking scarred and rejected and had taken pride in
sanding it down and staining it until it looked almost like new.  Her
laptop was open on it but not turned on. That made a thought pop into her head:
Google ‘The Merger Mogul’. 

“Thanks
Connie,” she muttered out loud. “This is entirely your fault.”

‘That would be
like spying’, her conscience protested.  ‘Not really, it’s more like
research,’ argued another voice. ‘Why do you want to know more about him if
you’re not interested in him?’ queried her conscience. ‘You should know who
you’re dealing with,’ reasoned the other voice.

That makes
sense, thought KT turning on the computer. She drained her glass and went to
wash it while her computer booted up.

Sitting at her
desk, she
Googled
‘The Merger Mogul’. Up popped the
top three search results:

Merger Mogul –
Is a free opt-in e-newsletter that provides expert commentary…

Mergers &
Acquisitions – Sign up today and take advantage of member-only content…

Merger Mogul

Commenting
on the collapse of Shellbury Investments after its merger with Offshore Savings
and Loans,
The
Merger Mogul
, Daniel Tennant,
CEO of Tennant Consulting said: “People don’t…nytimes.com/pages/business

KT eagerly clicked
on the link and read the New York Times article that had been published just a
few months earlier. The Daniel Tennant quoted in that article seemed like a
typical hard businessman. Not at all like the Daniel Tennant
she
had
met today.  ‘Why am I researching him anyway?’ she thought, but
couldn’t seem to resist
Googling
Images for
Daniel
Tennant
. That gave her more information than she cared to know.  There
were quite a few Daniel
Tennants
out there but there
he was, “her” Daniel Tennant in a business suit being interviewed by reporters,
at a cocktail party, at a Knicks game, leaving a Broadway show.  Apart
from the business photos he was with a different woman each time.  All of
them were beautiful and glamorous. 

Connie was
right, he’s definitely a womanizer.  She suddenly felt depressed and as
unattractive as she did when she was a teenager. She certainly wasn’t in the
same league as the women in Daniel Tennant’s life.  Why did I do that?
she
lamented. She quickly turned off her computer and went to
the couch and picked up the book she’d been reading for several days but it
didn’t hold her attention. She kept seeing the images of Daniel in her
head.  That should teach you. Not only is he not your type, he’s out of
your reach so don’t get any ideas KT!

One week later

Once again the
orderly pushed Daniel into the Therapy department. KT was busy at her desk but
looked up when she heard the doors open.

“Hi, Daniel.
How are you today?” She greeted. She smiled
briefly but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“I’m much
better now that I’ve seen you,” Daniel replied.  KT rolled her eyes but
Daniel realized that he was serious even though he’d said it to flirt with her.
She radiated a sense of peace that calmed the restlessness he was feeling, the
impatience to get better quickly.  “And how are
you
?  You seem
a bit serious today.”

“I’m fine,” she
said, “And please save your flirting for someone who will appreciate it.” She
reminded herself of the images she’d seen of him on the Internet.

“Ouch! I
promise to be on my best behavior,” said Daniel even as he eyed her from head
to toe, pausing for microseconds at interesting points along the way. She was
dressed in jeans and a long white coat like the last time so he couldn’t figure
out why she looked so sexy to him. Maybe it was the enforced abstinence kicking
in.

KT ignored him
and said: “Let’s get you started.”

“You really
love your job, don’t you?” asked Daniel stalling.

“Yes, I love it
and I want to keep it so let’s get moving. I have rent to pay.”

“I know it’s
more than that to you so you can drop the ‘I just work here’ façade.”

“You’re right,”
said KT relaxing a bit. “It’s not just a job to me. I do love it.  I love
seeing the transformation of weak, barely functioning bodies into strong
healthy ones when my patients reach inside themselves and find the strength and
determination to overcome their challenges. It gives me a lot of pleasure to
see the satisfaction on their faces when they accomplish even the smallest
feat.”

I’d like to
give
you
a lot of pleasure and see satisfaction on
your
face,
thought Daniel.  Best behavior, Tennant, he scolded himself.

“So it really
upsets me when a patient is prevented from receiving all the treatments they
need because they don’t have enough insurance or they can’t get equipment because
their insurance doesn’t cover it. Right now I have a teenage boy who was
involved in an accident where his friend was driving under the influence. He
needs an electric wheelchair now to get around and another six months of
therapy if he’s to recover fully, but his mom is single and barely making it as
it is, so the little insurance she has doesn’t cover it!”

“I’m sorry to
hear that,” Daniel commiserated.  He knew all about needing medical
treatment and not having adequate insurance coverage.  That’s what had
contributed to his mother’s death. Medicaid was a help but sometimes it was the
waiting period for treatment that determined the patient’s outcome. Maybe he
could find out
who
KT’s patient was, without her
knowledge, and provide whatever finance he needed to get him back on his feet.
It was the least he could do and he could certainly afford it. He wished
someone would have done that for his mother.

“What about
you?  Do you love your job?” She asked changing the subject.

Daniel thought
for a while.  Did he love his job or did he love what it gave him?

“I don’t
honestly know anymore,” he confessed.

“What do you
mean?” asked KT.

“I’m a merger
consultant so my job is to find the right companies for my clients to merge
with or acquire at the best possible price. I used to love the challenge of
finding the right partner for a client and bringing them together.  To be
brutally honest, I really didn’t care if they stayed together as long as I got
my money, but now I don’t know. So many mergers are failing. It’s kind of like
a marriage.  Everything starts out looking good but after a while cracks
begin to show up and soon a collapse happens and it can be messy as marriage
without a prenupt.  There are just no guarantees.”

“Caveat
Emptor!” said KT quietly. It still bothered her how cold and hard he had
sounded in that article. She didn’t want to be attracted to a man like that.

Daniel didn’t
hear what she said but it looked like she said Caveat Emptor. He couldn’t
imagine how she would have known about that quote and for some reason he hoped
she hadn’t seen the article in the New York Times.

“I don’t
believe in prenuptial agreements and in any case they’re for people who have
lots of money,” said KT louder. “They may deal with the financial issues but they
can’t take away the emotional damage that divorce causes.”

“As I’ve said
before ‘People don’t go into marriage expecting to get divorced, but divorce
happens.’ So it’s best to protect your interests.”

“I know that
divorce sometimes happens, but I believe in marriage.  I see it as a
lifetime commitment not some business transaction where I have to protect my
interests, few as they are, so when I get married there will be no prenupt and
divorce will not be an option.” She picked up his notes, looked him straight in
the eyes and said: “Caveat Emptor!”

Let the buyer
beware. Daniel didn’t even need to know Latin to recognize that he’d just been
warned. KT was not into casual relationships. She was a marriage or nothing
kind of girl.

“Come on
Daniel, you’re not focusing today!” scolded KT. “You did these weights easily
last week. Try again!”

“Are you by any
chance a descendant of the Marquis de Sade?” snapped Daniel.  He was tired
and yes he was distracted but it was because of her.  All he could hear
echoing in his ears were the words: “I believe in marriage.  I believe in
marriage.” Well that was certainly clear enough!  She may as well have
said: You don’t have a chance Daniel Tennant. Anyway did he really want a
chance with Miss Prude? She seemed like too much effort.

“Are you
suggesting that I’m sadistic?” asked KT in a mock offended tone. “I’ll have you
know that I’m a professional and I would never intentionally hurt a patient.
You’re just not focused at all.  What’s on your mind, Daniel? Thinking
about all those dates you’re missing out on?” Even as the words left her mouth
she was mortified.  She’d never spoken to a patient in that way and
certainly not about their personal life.

“I’m sorry
Daniel.  I shouldn’t have said that.” She apologized.

“I want you to
say what’s on your mind,” Daniel encouraged. “I want to know what you’re
thinking.” He was surprised to realize that it was true; he wanted to get
inside her mind, not just her pants. That was a first.

“You
don’t
want to know what I’m thinking,” mumbled KT under her breath. “What I’m
thinking is that you can do at least five more of these leg lifts,” she said
louder.

“You’re all
business, aren’t you?”

“That’s what
I’m here for.”

“And what if I
want more than what you’re here for?” Whatever happened to ‘She seems like too
much effort?’

“That’s not an
option.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know
what you have in mind, but I don’t get involved with patients beyond helping
them to get better.”

“What about
when they’re not patients anymore?”

“I’ve never had
a situation like that so I don’t know.”

“At least I
have a bit of hope then,” smiled Daniel.

“Hope deferred
makes the heart sick,” quoted KT.

“Then don’t
make my heart sick,” said Daniel.

“That’s
assuming you have a heart in the first place,” retorted KT.

“Touché,” said
Daniel. “This round goes to the lovely Kathryn Taylor.”

KT
laughed.  She had enjoyed their verbal sparring.  So did
Daniel.  He felt more alive than he had in a long time. If he felt this
good just sparring with her, what would it be like making love with her? 
What was wrong with him? He had a one-track mind when it came to KT or maybe it
had been too long since Angela.

“And no, I’m
not thinking about the dates I’m missing out on,” he said with a satisfied
smile, resuming his exercises.

She’d hoped he
hadn’t heard that! That left ear compensation was beginning to kick in!

Daniel wanted
to do something for KT.  Just to please her.  He couldn’t remember
the last time he had wanted to do something to please someone without an
ulterior motive.  He remembered how upset she was that she was unable to
help the teenager who needed treatments that he couldn’t afford.  He could
certainly help there.