Cougar Bounty

by J. A. Rawls

  Jana closed her cell phone and her eyes, tears sliding down her cheeks. He’s dying, I never expected this.

  Marshal moved closer taking her in his arms, “Everything will be fine, Jana. Remember God never gives us more than we can handle.”

  “Thanks, I think. I’m worried about Craig, but I’m also concerned about Liza. As mad as she gets at her dad she loves him unconditionally. This is going to be rough on her and Jake’s not there to help her through this. Knowing the military, they won’t send him home until Craig dies; am I right?”

  “Pretty much, with Jake in Iraq, it will be hard to get him out of there any sooner than his rotation dictates.”

  “I was going to suggest we go back to the room, but I think I’d like to get drunk.”

  “Okay, we can do it here or we can go to the room and order room service.”

  “Let’s stay here for a little while. I enjoy watching the people. Believe it or not I think it helps.” She laughed softly but the laughter didn’t reach her eyes.

  Marshal had to do something; maybe talking about her ex-husband would help. “Tell me about him Jana. What is Craig like? What was your marriage like?”

  Jana laughed softly as she remembered the craziness of their marriage, this time her laughter reached her eyes and the tears once again flowed. “Sorry!” she apologized. “Marriage to Craig was interesting. We always seemed to be striving to achieve something from the day we were married. He’s a musician, did you know that? No probably not. Anyway he played in rock and roll bands when we first got married; that’s what we lived on. He was good, really good.” She smiled softly as she remembered. “We were poor as church mice, but we were happy.” She stopped talking as her memories continued.

  Marshal encouraged her to finish, “Then what, he doesn’t play now, does he?”

  “No, he plays guitar now more than drums, but he still has those drums, and a lot of guitars, maybe twenty?” What are we going to do with those?

  “When we went into business together it was a nightmare. He didn’t like giving up any of the control of the company to me. He was boss; you know ‘I am man and thus boss’ issue. Well I wouldn’t stand for it. I wanted equality and as our culture moved in that direction Craig was made to do the same thing, even though he resisted for a long time. He knew I was smart, and valued my opinion on the direction we were taking the business, but I can tell you I sat in plenty of meetings where I was not even recognized as an employee, let alone a partner.”

  Marshal shook his head, “Wow, you’ve come a long way if that’s how your company started.”

  “No it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t like one day everything changed–it just did. The world changed and Craig did too. We grew up together with the company and that was great for both of us.”

  “I hate to ask this question, but why did you get a divorce if it was as you say.”

  “It wasn’t always good, in the end it was just a job and it wasn’t very enjoyable. We just stopped working at our marriage and finally realized we weren’t moving forward anymore, at least not together. So we decided, very amiably I might add, that we’d be better apart. We’ve stayed friends, we still fight, and we both love our daughter, but I know the divorce was the only option we had.”

  Marshal noticed her beer was empty, “Do you want another beer?”

  “Yes, thanks. One more and then we’ll head back to the hotel.”

  “Jana, are you okay?”

  “Yes, I suppose as good as can be expected. I really don’t have much choice here, do I?” She looked at him hard, “Marshal, if you’d like to go to the base I understand. I’m probably not the best company right now.”

  “I’m not going anywhere Jana. I’m in this for the long haul. If you want we can talk; I’ll hold you; I’ll make love to you; but most of all I’m here for you.”

  She reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thanks Marshal, I’m glad you’re here. I really need a friend right now.”

  Marshal ordered them both another beer as well as a bratwurst they could share. He figured he’d better get some food in her along with all the alcohol.

  Seven

  The rest of the weekend passed quickly, although the sexual excitement had been diminished by the family crisis. Jana and Marshal made love, and he held her while she cried over the problems she knew she’d face when she got home. Liza hadn’t called, which surprised her. Now though, she had work to do, and a flight to catch. Marshal shared a cab to the airport with her and reluctantly left to catch a bus to the base. He said he’d stay in touch, and she knew she could always find out how he was from Liza or Jake. She smiled; I guess the cougar is alive and well. As she finished checking in and moving to her gate she noticed Charlie sitting alone at a table. “You look like you lost your last friend. Care if I join you?”

  “Please,” he stood and pulled out an empty chair, “no, I’m fine, I was just thinking that’s all.”

  “About what?”

  “You, Sami, the cougar lifestyle, as well as your in-flight adventure.”

  She ordered coffee, “What brought this on?”

  “I just want the women in my life to be happy.”

  “Believe me, we’re very happy.”

  “Maybe I’m worried about what will happen with all the problems you’ll face when we get home.”

  “What are you talking about?” I haven’t said anything to him, does he know? “Is there something I’ve missed here?”

  “Marshal called me and gave me a heads up about Craig. I’m concerned about how manipulative he can be when he wants you to do something for him.”

  “Don’t be, that’s exactly why I asked Liza to come home. She will help me work through all this with her dad. Tell you what; let’s not worry about this now. They’re boarding our flight for London and we have some things to go over before we arrive.” She finished her coffee, “Let’s focus, time to get back to work.”

  Jana settled into her first-class seat. The problem with Craig was going to impact her there was no way it wouldn’t. A man she’d loved, a man who was the father of her daughter, was dying and there was nothing she could do. As she closed her eyes and took another deep breath to steady her nerves, she knew she had to concentrate on her current business venture. There were issues that needed to be worked, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Still, I have a lot of crap on my plate right now. Jana went over their agenda for the day and her plan for getting exactly what she wanted.

  “Jana?”

  “Yes, Charlie.”

  “I love watching you work. You’re an amazing woman.”

  “Thanks,” she lifted her coffee in a semi-toast, “to the venture and its success and to Charlie, for letting the cougar out of her cage.”

  *****

  As they departed the flight Charlie assisted Jana with her carry on. “Why didn’t you check this one too?”

  “Because it has my jewelry in it, and checking it is not a good idea. I tend to lose things that way.”

  “Just asking. Don’t worry; I got it, not a problem,” he mumbled.

  “Charlie, quit whining, it’s not that heavy. I’ve been toting that case for over twenty years. Sometimes you’re such a baby.”

  “Stop with the baby jokes, I said I have it. Is there a car meeting us once we clear customs?”

  “Yes, there’ll be a car so we should make the meeting without a problem.”

  “Jana, if we get done today, are we going to try to catch a flight tonight?”

  “Yes, that’s my plan; we have reservations on three different flights this evening with a fall back tomorrow if we don’t complete our business today. I’m hoping we finish up this morning so we can sneak out and get some fish and chips at a nice pub before we leave town. Are you game?”

  “Sure sounds great. Exactly why am I along on this trip Jana, just curious?”

  “Actually I thought it’d be good for you to put some faces and names together since you’ll be coordinating my activities with the
se people. That said, I also think if you find you can handle this, when I’m busy I could send you over here alone to handle things for me. At times I think you know as much about this venture as I do.”

  “You really think I could do this without you?”

  “Sure, and I need someone to be my voice and not their own. By bringing you along I’ve indicated my confidence in you. If you have to come back on your own they’ll provide you the same respect.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I thought you were just giving me a bonus by letting me tag along. Yes, I pay attention and I know the details of this merger. Do you want me to handle some of this for you?”

  “No, not this trip, these guys are use to working with Craig. They need to understand that I’m in charge of my company and I make the decisions. Once that’s established I could send Mickey Mouse over here and they would trust that I knew what I was doing. They need to trust me first. Then you can step in and finish up the details. Did you ever see the movie Pretty Woman?” Seeing Charlie’s face she began to laugh.

  “Sure I’ve seen it a couple of times. Don’t laugh I know it’s a chick flick but Julia Roberts is hot.”

  “Do you remember where Richard Gere decides how his business is going to be handled and makes the decision to move forward, then he leaves it up to his people to settle the merger, well that’s what I’ll do today. I’ll settle the merger, assuming I like the final plan, and then I’ll tell the group that you will close the deal while I make some phone calls. That establishes your position in my company. Are you ready to do this?”

  “Sure, between you and my mom you’ve been training me to take this on since I started working. I’m ready Jana, really. This will be great.” I’m excited I can’t believe she’s going to let me do this.

  They cleared customs and met their car and driver. When they entered the building lobby a young woman welcomed them and led them to the conference room. “Hi, I’m Laura; I’ll be your escort today. We’re all excited to have you here,” she smiled, shyly.

  “It’s good to meet you too, Laura, I’m Jana and this is Charlie. We’re glad to be here.”

  “The meeting is in our main conference room. If you’ll please follow me; I’ll take you there.”

  “Sounds great, we’re ready.” On the walk to the conference room Laura talked continually about the business, the people who worked there, and the city that supported them.

  Jana was surprised at the depth of the young woman’s knowledge. “Where did you learn all that information, Laura?”

  “My dad has worked here all his life and I’ve worked here since I got out of college. I guess you could say I grew up here. I love this company and all it stands for.”

  Jana stopped the woman in mid-stride, “Laura, what are you trying to tell me?”

  “Please don’t close us Ms Gates. We’re a profitable, small company with strong work ethics and we’ll make you proud to own us.”

  “Laura, let me be the first to guarantee you that I’m not here to close down this company. In fact, for your info, I’m actually hoping to broaden the business market for your goods to the American consumer. If we can make it work, the company will get bigger, not smaller. Okay?”

  “Yes ma’am and thank you.” Smiling from ear to ear, Laura opened the conference room door and escorted Jana and Charlie to her father. “Dad, this is Ms Gates and Mr. Brandon. Ms Gates, Mr. Brandon this is my father Dale Brown.”

  “Mr. Brown it’s good to finally meet you. I know it’s not your custom to call us by our first names but I’d be pleased if you called me Jana, and this is Charlie.”

  “You can call me Dale. I’ll introduce you to the rest of my management team in a few minutes but first we need to know what your plans are-if you don’t mind. We’re curious and a little afraid.”

  “I’m sorry, Dale, if I’d known that was what was going on here I would have come sooner.” Looking around the room, Jana motioned for everyone to take a seat. “Please make yourselves comfortable. First of all let me assure you I have no intention of closing down this company. As I told Laura, my goal is to make this company bigger, expanding your market to include the American consumer. I like the quality of your products and I think Americans will as well. Nothing will change in how you manage this company other than the fact that you might find you need to hire more people. I’ll still want you to manage this company and I would also like to invite you and your management team to America to visit my offices. This will give them a chance to put faces with names as we move forward. I’ll want you to work directly with Charlie if you need anything. Does anyone have any questions?”

  A young woman, about Charlie’s age stood up, “You say you don’t plan to make any changes but how is that possible if you want to expand our market?”

  “Good question, Charlie would you like to answer that for her?”

  “Yes, ma’am; we don’t want to put any additional machine runs into operation until we’re sure we have the customer base in America. Through analyses of your floor space and your machine lines, we feel we can start up one additional production line within 60 days. Once we finish the product testing we’ll know how soon we have to start the second line. So for now, we’ll leave everything as it is and make any changes we need to make slowly. If a decision is made to expand we’ll need some time to meet with you and figure out how we proceed. Does that answer your question?”

  “Yes, thank you,” taking her seat she smiled.

  Jana opened a leather binder, “If we can take some time to review the agreement...”

  “Are there any other questions?” No one else said anything. “With no further questions, all that has to be done is to get a few signatures and we can consider our merger complete.” Everyone clapped excitedly. “I’ll sign this document and leave it to Charlie to finish things up. If you’ll excuse me I need to call my daughter. Thanks again to all of you for your time.” Jana left the room and realized that Laura was immediately by her side.

  “Ms Jana, let me take you to my father’s office so you have privacy for your call.”

  “Thank you, Laura, that’s very kind.” Jana dialed Liza’s cell. It rang once, twice, three times and then went to voice mail. Where is she? Jana dialed her home phone and again it rang once, twice, three times and no answer. Where could she be, it’s only 6:00 a.m. and she’s normally not an early riser. On second thought let me try Craig’s office. On the second ring, Liza answered.

  “Hello parental unit, how’s your trip going?”

  “Liza, you worried me to death. I called your cell and the condo and there was no answer.”

  “Sorry mom, forgot to turn the cell back on after I left the hospital yesterday. They hospitalized dad to run some test and to give him some mega vitamins. He’s still there; I’ll spring him this afternoon. He’s doing as good as can be expected. So again, how’s your trip going?”

  “It’s going better than I thought it would. Once I told them I had no plan to close their operation, they’ve been very supportive. We will finish up within the hour and be on a plane this afternoon. I should be back late tomorrow. You said your dad was getting some kind of treatment; I thought they couldn’t do anything for him?”

  “They can’t. I talked to his doctor and basically they’re feeding him intravenously because he’s not eating enough. That’s one of the side effects of the cancer, he just can’t eat.”

  “Liza, does dad know about this?”

  “Not exactly, the doctor asked me and I said do it. I don’t want to lose him mom.”

  Jana heard her crying. “Liza you need to stop this. Your dad will be furious if he learns you’re keeping him alive. He’s not a dog, Liza, he’s a person and he’d hate this. This is the last time you do this, do you agree?”

  “Yes mom.” She sniffed, “I knew you’d be mad, but mom I didn’t want him to die before you got back.”

  “Don’t be silly, knowing your dad like I do he’s going to wait until I can be there so I’m mise
rable too. Aren’t you in the office early?”

  “Actually Charlie called me this morning and asked me to send over some documents he needed to provide to Dale Brown. He also wanted the last pages of the merger document changed to include three signatures on our side and six on the side of the merged company. Not sure why he needed that but I took care of it and he should have it by now. I’m glad everything is going the way you want. I’ll be glad when you’re here. I really don’t want to do this by myself. I’ve got about twenty questions for you. I’d ask dad but he’s resting and I think that’s more important right now.”

  “Is there anything you need me to answer right now?”

  “No, I’ve got it under control. I’ve made some decisions already I think you need to do a sanity check on for me, but everything else can wait. How was your flight over there?”

  “I’m confident you’ve done a good job but I’ll be glad to take a look if it will make you feel good. The flight over was nice-in fact I met someone Jake knows.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “His name was Marshal, said he was at your wedding, though I don’t remember him.”

  “You mean Marshal Upton. Yes, he was at the wedding. Jake and Marshal went through Staff Officer School together and have stayed in touch. In fact, Jake did tell me Marshal was meeting up with him in Iraq; he gets out of the service the same time Jake does. They both retire when they return from Iraq. You might want to look at hiring him. I think in some ways he has better qualifications than Jake, but don’t tell him I told you that,” she laughed.

  “Yes we had a long talk on the flight and I did tell him to contact me when he got out of the service and we’d hook him up. He doesn’t look old enough to retire though.”

  There was a pause on Liza’s end, and then she spoke, “Tell me if I’m out of line here, okay. Just how well did you get to know Marshal? Jake said if he didn’t know better he’d say Marshal was smitten with you.”

  “Smitten?” Jana laughed.

  “Yea, that’s what he said, the exact word. Is there something I need to know here?”