Page 5 of Degrees of Acceptance
It reminds me that I really do need to call my own mom. I’m still trying to absorb the fact that I have a father who doesn’t know I exist. The hospital visit is the last time I’ve talked to her since I haven’t really known what to say. I’ve been answering texts, but I just haven’t gotten up the nerve to have a full-blown conversation with her about it, yet. “I should call my mom and see if she wants to visit Chicago unless you’d like to make a trip to Naples?” I ask.
“Why don’t you and your mom talk about it and whatever you decide is fine, but let’s do it soon. I’d like to learn more about your dad and make sure security is appropriately appraised. If she wants to fly up, we’ll send one of the jets down to pick her up.”
“Chase, I’m not sure if I want to know who he is,” I say hesitantly.
“Katarina, you may not want to get to know him or have a relationship with him, but if he and his family were to find your mom, it would lead them to you. The only way I can ensure your safety is to be well informed and have security in place,” he says.
My head is spinning with everything that has transpired in the past few weeks. To think I thought Chase was a criminal, and as it turns out, my own father is one of the heads of an organized crime syndicate.
He reaches for his phone. “Chase here… Let them know you’ve discussed it with me and I’m proposing we discontinue negotiations and are exploring different areas for expansion. In the meantime, put some feelers out and get back to me,” he says, disconnecting.
“What’s the matter?” I ask.
“Just ordinary negotiations when host countries are required to change their existing labor laws and practices. We are at a critical point, though, ready to buy and rebuild the information and technological services in Basra. It’s in an ideal location. It’s situated on the southern border of Iraq, on the Shatt al-Arab river and adjacent to neighboring Iran, so it would be advantageous to our government and the people in both communities. You really want to hear about this?” he asks.
“Of course… I’m very interested in learning about your work.”
“The country has been war torn, and the infrastructure for information and technology is in great need of upgrading. The negotiations were going well, but we’ve run into trouble with their agreement to our labor and human resource areas of the contract. It can get a little bumpy at this stage.”
“Will you fire all the people and bring in your own?” I ask.
“No Baby, just the opposite. This is a government contract, and the goal is to help them develop an infrastructure and provide more of their own people with skills and jobs,” he says.
“I don’t understand why they aren’t happy then.”
“They have certain labor laws or gender specific treatment practices, and we are asking them to give them up to get the contract. They are opposed to the human resource and labor part of the negotiations. They want the ability to treat workers as they choose, and it’s something I will never agree to,” he states.
“So what is all this talk about not working long hours? It’s not even six in the morning, and you’re negotiating out of the country contracts.”
“You young lady are sassy as ever! Why don’t you get showered up? I have a couple more calls to make before I get ready,” he states, trying to control his smile.
I kiss him gently and instantly feel the spark that exists between us. “Thanks for breakfast, it was delicious,” I murmur.
He captures my lips with his own and then deepens our kiss, pushing my hair back from my face as he does. “Baby, you should go and shower before I do unmentionable things to you,” he says, kissing my forehead. “Go,” he says, as I reluctantly head towards the master suite.
I dress quickly, apply a little makeup and go in search of Chase. He’s at his desk, his hair is still wet from his shower, and he is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He looks up from the conversation he is having on his cell and pushes a button, mute I surmise, as he begins talking to me. “That dress really looks incredible on you.”
“Thank you. Who’s on the phone?”
“Just a conference call… Sid’s doing all the talking,” he says, smiling. “Jay should be ready to take us in shortly. Dad was going straight to the office, and I need to meet with him about some contracts this afternoon.”
In short order Jay has us safely at Prestian, navigating the traffic with skill and experience. “So, I take it I can kiss you goodbye when I drop you off at your office?” he asks, referring to our long discussion last night.
I smile teasingly, “I am going to leave that up to you, Chase.”
“A quick study,” he says, his eyes holding mine with his gaze. He guides me towards my office and stops at the reception desk introducing me to Mary. “Mary has been with our company for over twenty years. She was Dad’s executive assistant until he moved to New York, and still manages parts of his contracting and oversees all of the administrative support. Aside from that, she is also a very close personal friend,” he adds.
“Mary, Kate is the project consultant for Torzial and will be working on the new center downtown. If you have not read the papers lately, she’s also very special to me personally.”
“Kate, it’s wonderful to finally meet you. I was out of the office the last couple weeks visiting family, but was hoping to get to know you,” she says warmly.
“Thank you, Mary. I’m very pleased to meet you.”
“Mary, Katarina has moved into the newly remodeled area. Would you be able to assign someone for administrative support? I’d like it to be full-time. See if there is internal interest and backfill if you need to,” he says.
“I’ll post the position, and if you like you can help with the interviewing process,” she says to me.
“Chase trusts your instincts and whoever you assign to assist me will be perfectly acceptable, Mary. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone,” I add, embarrassed that Chase has asked for clerical support to begin with.
