More Nights With Kate (Jack Ryker) (18 page)

 “Right, but I want to take it a step further.  We
can build huge factories that can do contract work for other designers and
retailers.  If they send over the designs, we could start working on a
moment’s notice. Then we could network all of our locations together. 
That way, if one location is overloaded, we can shift the workload with a few
keystrokes,” he said with that devilish grin.

“But aren’t you basically taking humans out of the
manufacturing process?” I asked, wondering if all of the factory workers would
be better off unemployed.

“There will still be jobs, but they will be more skilled and
higher paying.  A factory might have 250 well paid workers instead of 2000
slave laborers,” Jack replied.

“But what will the other 1750 people do?” I asked, still not
seeing how that would solve their problems.

“They can stay home and get an education.  You have to
realize that many of these girls are only 12 or 13 years old when they are
taken from their homes,” Jack explained with a sudden seriousness.

“I see, so most of the workers are too young to be working
in the first place.”

“Exactly.  Many of them are practically crippled by age
25 from the extreme hours and conditions.  I’m not delusional enough to
think that I can change things for all of them, but I need to try.  If I
can make a dent in the demand for slave labor, I will be happy.  If I can
put guys like Sau-Ming out of business, I’ll be even happier,” Jack said,
staring right through me.

“No wonder you’ve been waking up so early.  You’ve come
up with this whole plan in the last ten days?”

“If I find the right manufacturing partner to build the
machines, I’ll have the factory in Allentown in full production within 45
days.”

“Good thing Brandon is finding receptive merchandisers,” I
said, still thinking small.

“If Anthony and the Ricci brothers confirm my suspicions,
your line will only make up a small fraction of our overall production,” he
replied, causing my heart to sink.

“So we aren’t really talking about our business anymore?”

“
Our
business has grown exponentially, Kate. 
Your line is going to be very successful, but that’s just a small fraction of
the overall market.  By offering manufacturing to just a dozen of my
former clients, we could be doing several billion a year in initial sales,”
Jack replied with that intense look in his eyes.

“So that’s why Sau-Ming would want to discourage you from
pursuing a U.S. based manufacturing strategy,” I said, feeling smart once
again.

“Exactly.  He knows that I’m tenacious enough to get it
to work.  But, there are half a dozen other guys just like him sprinkled
throughout the world.  That’s why I need Anthony to do a little initial
research for me.  I don’t want to just single out Sau-Ming.  I don’t
discriminate when it comes to assholes.  I’ll take every one of them
down.”

“I believe that you will.  Your intensity almost scares
me.”

“That’s funny.  I haven’t heard that for a long
time.  My intensity always scared Eva, too, even though I told her that
was ridiculous.  Intensity is a good thing, unless you’re my enemy,” he
replied.

“I pray that we are never enemies then.”

“Don’t even let a thought like that enter your mind,” Jack
warned with a stern look on his face.

“I was just joking,” I said, squirming uncomfortably in my
chair.

“I’m sorry, I’m in business mode,” he said, realizing that
his demeanor was intimidating me.

~~~

That night as Jack tested out his new broadband access, I
couldn’t help thinking about how much the vision of our business had
changed.  It was no longer going to be a fun, little company that would
create unique clothes for working women.  Instead it was going to be
another gigantic clothing manufacturer that was simply located in the United
States. 
I’m glad Brandon wants to run the company, because this has
grown way beyond my administrative talents.
 

Now that Jack is all fired up, I’m sure he will play a
big role as well.  He’ll end up being the one stuck in boardrooms
again.  I’ll be home raising kids by myself. 
I stopped myself
from going down that road of creating issues that didn’t really exist. 
Jack
is a good man.  The best I have ever met. 
He had made it very
clear that he didn’t want to end up in the same situation again. 
Hopefully
he will stay true to his word.

“What’s on your mind over there?” Jack asked, breaking up my
thought stream.

“I’m just reflecting on everything that’s happening. 
Can I ask you a question about Eva?” I asked, thinking about how he had
regretted not spending many holidays together in the latter years.

“Sure.  You can always ask me anything.”

“Did you see her in the light?”

I had read that most people see their loved ones when they
die.

“No, and that was one thing that really surprised me. 
I had always assumed that she would be the first one that I saw on the other
side.  Instead, I had a feeling that she was all right, but I never
actually saw her.  Maybe I wasn’t gone long enough to see her or other
people from my past,” he replied with a look of wonder crossing his face. 

“Do you think she’s okay with you and me?” I asked, hoping
for a positive answer.

“Like I said, she’s at peace.  So I assume that
includes being okay with our relationship.  If she wasn’t, I’m sure I
would’ve heard about it.”

“That’s good.”

“In the end, when we are all together, you and Eva will get
along just fine.  You two have much more in common than you and Cynthia,”
he tried to assure me.

“Yeah, Mom and I are definitely not two of a kind. 
Belinda gets along with her much better than I do,” I said in a rather sad
admission.

“That’s because you’re creative, and your mother is
task-oriented.  Mothers and daughters have a tendency to fight for
dominance by their nature.  It’s magnified when a creative personality is
thrown into the mix.  In our family, Eva was more creative, while Jayne
was more pragmatic.”

“I can see that in Jayne.  Isn’t it strange that she
would be more like my mom and I would be more like Eva?” I asked, having a
weird realization.

“Yeah, maybe you’ve uncovered some sort of conspiracy. 
Maybe Eva was your real mother,” Jack joked, cracking himself up.

“No, I’m positive that I came out of Mom.  She always
gave me crap about my big head.  As if I could help the fact that I was
born with an unusually large brain,” I replied, adding to his laughter.

“And an uncanny wit to boot,” he added while tickling me.

I love everything about this man, so what if he’s a
little intense.  It sure beats being old and tired.

~~~

Jack

Once again, I woke up early with a strong desire to take on
the elliptical machine
.  I see the cardiologist at nine o’clock this
morning.  If I’m going to have an issue, it would be best for me to have
it now. 
He was going to run a few quick tests to check the progress
of my heart, anyway.  If everything came back good, he was going to do the
second injection of stem cells. 
After we leave the clinic, I’ll drop
our phones off at the airport to catch the flight back to the city.  I
need to make sure Kate has transferred her contacts.  I’m sure nobody is
tracking her, but then she can decide if there is anyone who shouldn’t have her
new number.

As I warmed up on the elliptical machine, I began to think
about Kate’s dad. 
He was always pissed off by the fact that Cynthia
had a thing for me.  I can’t imagine how annoyed he would be to find out
that Kate and I were dating.  I know how I would feel if I found out that
he was dating Jayne.  Not that he would have a chance with her anyway.
 
Just like Wednesday, after the warm up and a couple of sprint cycles, I felt
absolutely amazing.  It appeared that thinking about Kate’s dad provided a
little extra energy to blow through the 30 second sprints.  Before I knew
it, the first four were down.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kate shouted, jolting me out
of my trance.

“I’m just doing a few of them,” I assured her.  “I see
the cardiologist in a couple of hours, anyway, so I thought that it would be a
good time to try it
.”  It seems perfectly reasonable to me.

“How many have you done?”

“Only four.”

“That’s probably enough for today, don’t you think?”

“No.  I’m going for six.  Then I’ll do a good cool
down on the treadmill.”

“Alright, should I put Carla on notice just in case?”

“I’m not going to be requiring her services today, thank you
very much.”

“Two more and I want you on the treadmill,” she directed,
before heading back to the bedroom.

“Yes, dear.” 
She’s going to make a good mother one
day.

Kate

I’ve come to the conclusion that Jack is either going to
have a completely healthy heart or kill himself within the next few
weeks.  I guess I had better continue to focus on the healthy heart.
 
I couldn’t help but admire just how far he had come in a very short period of
time. 
It’s amazing actually.  Hopefully, another stem cell
injection will keep his rapid recovery going strong.

After a few more minutes, Jack came stumbling into the room.
“I don’t feel so good,” he said bending over and holding his stomach.

“I knew that it was too soon,” I said springing to my feet
and running toward him.

Jack burst out laughing and swept me up in his arms just as
I reached him.

“You worry too much.  You should’ve seen your face,” he
teased.  I failed to find the humor in it.

“I can’t believe you thought that was funny.  I worry
about you every time you work out.  It seems like you have some sort of
death wish or something.”

“It’s not a death wish Kate; it’s more of a life
quest.  I’m sorry if I have been insensitive or have seemed flippant about
my recovery.  I’m not being as reckless as you think.  I’m
comfortable with what my heart can handle and most of all I can feel my energy
coming back,” he explained.

“I don’t know how you can possibly know what your heart can
handle,” I replied in frustration.

“I just know.  I really believe the message that I
received about it being ‘
all in my head’
.”

“So that was actually real?  I thought maybe you had
set that up, to make me believe that you were alright,” I confessed still not
convinced that it had really happened.

“Is that why you searched my computer history the next day?”
he asked with a stern look.

“You know about that?” 
This is awkward.

“Of course I know.  You could’ve just talked to me
about it.  Besides, how would I have made up such a wild story?  That
sentence just came to me and I typed it in.  I couldn’t type it again if
my life depended on it.  It was some kind of impulse that just came to me
in the moment,” he said convincingly.

“Okay, I’ll have to take your word for it.  But would
you try to be a little more sensitive?  We would all be devastated if
something happened to you.”

“I’ll try, but I’m not going to back off on the
workouts.  You’ll see I’m right,” he replied with his usual conviction.

“Have you always been so damn stubborn?”

“That will be a good question to ask when you meet my
mother,” he replied, before giving me a kiss and heading to the shower.

If he really wants to test his heart, I should do a sneak
attack in the shower again.
 
On second thought, I would rather wait
to see his test results first. 

Jack

As I got in the shower, I thought about how motherly Kate
had been the past two weeks.  I hadn’t wanted our relationship to change,
but it was inevitable. 
I feel bad for scaring her.  I don’t want
her to worry about me. 
She had proven to be such a supportive and
caring person.  That was something I valued more than any other
trait. 
Hopefully she will be more at ease with each passing day.

“This is my last day of egg white omelets,” I informed Kate,
as we ordered breakfast.

“I knew that was too good to last,” she scoffed.

“I was reading that the egg yolk is the most beneficial part
of the egg.  They definitely make it taste better.  I’ll avoid adding
butter and cheese for now, though,” I compromised.

“We’ll see how long that lasts.”

“I’m 100% committed to getting in great shape, but I still
want to enjoy what I eat,” I tried to explain.
  

“We better finish up.  It’ll take us some time to get
to your appointment,” Kate said, changing the subject.

“No problem.  Tommy is ready to go, and our limo is
waiting at the airport.”

“See, you can function without Kristen doing those things
for you.”

“I haven’t heard from Kristen all week.  I’ll have to
send her a text later
.”  I don’t think we’ve ever gone a week without
talking.

“I’m betting she hooked up with Nico and he’s been keeping
her busy ever since.  You know what they say about Brazilian men,” Kate
replied with a gleam in her eyes.

“No.  What do they say about Brazilian men?” I asked,
not having a clue.

“Let’s just say they’re persistent and they get what they
want.”

“Hmmm, I guess I haven’t dealt with many businessmen from
Brazil.”

“Oh… I wasn’t talking about business,” Kate giggled.

“Okay, got it.  Well, kudos to Kristen.  She
definitely needs a Brazilian man in her life.” 
She has some making up
to do.

Kate

“This shouldn’t take long,” Jack said when the nurse called his name.

Yeah right, there’s a reason clinics have huge waiting
rooms. 
After fifteen minutes of looking through really old magazines,
my thoughts drifted back to Kristen and Nico.  Curiosity was killing me so
I sent her a quick text:

Me:  Hi, Kristen, how’s it going?

I was surprised by an almost immediate response.

Kristen:  Incredibly well.  Tell Jack I’m sorry
that I haven’t been in touch.  Nico just went back Wednesday and now I’m
at JFK waiting for a flight to Rio.

Me:  Wow, so you went for it?

Kristen:  I didn’t have to go for anything.  He
was relentless.  It only took a long weekend for him to wear me
down.  I’m so glad he was persistent.

Me:  A long weekend?  From what I’ve heard, that’s
moving really slow for a Brazilian man.

Kristen:  Have you ever dated one?  My head is
still spinning.

Me:  I haven’t, but I’m so happy for you.  Have
fun in Rio!  Don’t worry, Jack is fine.  He even reserved a limo
today using an app on his iPhone.

Kristen:  Wow, now my head is really spinning.  :
)

“Excuse me, Kate?” Dr. Salvatore said as he came up behind me.

“Yes?”

“Jack is doing fine, but a couple of enzymes were highly
elevated,” he explained.

“Well, he hasn’t exactly been taking it easy.  I told
him…”

“Yes, I’m aware.  I told him that this is either really
good news or very bad news.  These enzymes only elevate to this extent
under very extreme conditions.  That’s why we sent him in for additional
testing.  You’ll be able to see him as soon as we finish,” he said,
slapping his clipboard against his hand before once again disappearing down the
hallway.

God, I hate this place.  Why couldn’t he just relax
and let the stem cells do their thing. 
As my stomach began to twist
into knots, I caught myself and intentionally redirected my thoughts in a
positive direction. 
The doctor said that it’s either really good or
really bad.  Why would I automatically assume that it’s something
bad? 
I began to focus on his doctor telling me that it’s the most
amazing recovery he had ever seen.

Ever since Jack had initially told me to focus on what you
want instead of what you fear, I had seen its power.  I had written down
exactly what I wanted about a month ago.  That was when I first started
feeling insecure about our future together.  As I pulled it from my purse
and began to read it, I couldn’t help but smile.

-
         
I want to design and sell a clothing line for working women

-
         
I want to build the business with Jack

-
         
I want to get spend less time in New York

-
         
I want to see the world with Jack

-
         
I want Jack to become more health conscious

-
         
I want to marry Jack

-
         
I want to have three or four children with him

The first five items on my list were all coming true, so I
quickly added one more to the list.

-
         
I want Jack to be 100% healthy

I know that he will want to get married and have more
kids if he gets a clean bill of health. 
I thought back to the
conversation that we had on the helicopter, as we flew to that deserted
island. 
He mentioned several couples who had a wide age spread, and
almost all of them had kids together
.
 That has to mean that he has
been thinking about it himself.  He will be an amazing father.  We
will have to bring tutors along, so the kids can travel with us.  I
suppose we’ll have to settle down somewhere, though, so they can be in sports
and make friends.  I wonder where he will want to live.  I don’t
really want to raise kids in Manhattan.  I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad
if we lived across from Central Park.  Maybe we could combine the two
co-ops and make a nice sized home.  Brandon can have Jack’s house.  I
couldn’t see myself living there anyway.

Our entire life was planned out in my head by the time Jack
returned to the waiting room.

“Sorry that took so long,” he said, as he took the seat next
to me.

“What was the problem?”

“My body is rebuilding itself too fast.  It’s scaring
the cardiologist,” he joked.

His answer pretty much sums up Jack’s mindset at the
time.  Ever since the day that he decided he was going to live to be 93,
nothing had stood in his way.  It seemed as if he truly believed that he
could make anything happen. 
Maybe that’s why things happen for him;
because he believes it. 
I glanced down at my list once again. 
All
eight of those things are going to come true.

“Kristen is on her way to Brazil,” I mentioned, as I glanced
through my messages.

“Good for her,” Jack replied with genuine enthusiasm. “I
hope she’s having a great time.  She deserves it.”

Jack seemed truly happy to hear about Kristen, because it
was one more person that he wouldn’t have to worry about.  He might have
been tough on competitors and adversaries, but he was always a softy when it
came to his family and friends.
  I love that about him.

“Jack would you come with me?” Dr. Salvatore asked as the
door swung open. 

“Good luck,” I said squeezing his hand and giving him a
smile.

As they stepped into his office, the doctor asked him
something about anabolic steroids.  I hadn’t been listening that closely
but those two words grabbed my attention.  Unfortunately, the door closed
before Jack had a chance to answer. 
He better not be using steroids.
He promised that he was going to quit using testosterone.  Steroids are
even more dangerous.  Maybe it’s something he did back in his younger days
that’s coming back to haunt him. 

My phone buzzed again and this time it was Mom
calling.  I should’ve probably stepped outside and took her call, but I
wanted to be there when Jack came out.  I’ll let it go to voice mail and
send her a quick text.  As I was writing a text, my phone buzzed again, so
I knew that she had left a message.

Me:  I’ll call you later.  I’m at the clinic with
Jack.

Mom:  Have you talked to your father?  He’s
driving me nuts.

Me:  No.  I sent him a text telling him I’m fine.

Mom:  Listen to the voicemail.  I’m sorry he’s
such an ass.  Call me later.

I knew that the message from Mom wasn’t going to be good
when she started out with an apology.  She also admitted that she had
given Dad my cell number.  It appeared that his call had nothing to do
with me, but was actually about him.  I felt that familiar pain in my
chest as she explained that he was in serious financial trouble, and had
borrowed money from the wrong people. 
Now I see how Mom felt when he
did this to her.  He makes bad choices and then expects us to bail him
out.  He’s old enough to know better.  At least he should by
now.  Mom’s wrong... I might be an optimist, but I’m definitely not like
my father.
  Once again, I had tried to forgive him, only to be crushed
by the reality of who he really was
.  He will never change.