by M T Stone
Chapter 6 – An Eventful Afternoon
Kate
“Which door should I have her meet us at?”
“The south entrance on Fifth,” he replied, making sure the driver heard as well.
My heart leapt when I saw a tall blonde standing in the entryway. I was hoping to get the full effect since we were arriving in style. As the driver pulled over to the curb, Jack told me to go ahead and greet Jackie. He had to make a quick call and would be along in a moment. As the driver opened the door, I overheard him placing a call to Jayne. I ran up to greet Jackie and she had this “What the hell?” look on her face. This is only the beginning Jackie, prepare to be floored.
“What’s going on? Whose car is that? Where did you get that dress?” she asked in succession, with a stunned look on her face.
“I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you, so let’s go inside. He’ll come in a sec.”
“Ahh, Kate’s being secretive. Is he some old billionaire or something? I looked up Bill Addison, but the only person I could find was a dead chess player,” she said with a puzzled look.
“Yeah, well, he isn’t exactly a dead chess player,” I replied, just as Jack strolled through the door. He leaned over to give me a quick kiss and removed his jacket from my shoulders. Jackie just stood there wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open.
“Jack? Jack Ryker?” she stammered, trying to regain her composure.
“Yes. You must be Jackie. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Kate’s told me all about you.”
“Oh, yes. Thank you. Wow!”
That was the exact reaction I was dying to see from Jackie. I knew she would be absolutely blown out of the water when she saw who I was with. This is so amazing!
~~~
Jack
I could tell by Kate’s expression that she really enjoyed Jackie’s reaction when I walked in the door. I had gotten the feeling that Kate felt intimidated by her, and it was easy to see why. My first thought was that she would be perfect for the cover of the SI swimsuit issue. She was almost as tall as me with long blonde hair, gorgeous cool blue eyes, and a killer body to match. I had to wonder why she was in fashion design instead of modeling, but I decided it would be best to save that question for later.
“Come on girls! Let’s go find Rita,” I said, placing an arm around each of them. “Rita is an old friend, and she will take good care of you. She works for Saks, but if there is anything you can’t find here, she’ll take you elsewhere.”
“We’re kind of poor college students,” Jackie interjected.
“This is on me, Jackie. Thanks for coming to shop with Kate. It’s not really my thing. I trust you and Rita will help her put together a nice wardrobe. We have several important business meetings in the coming weeks, so she needs to look the part.”
“Sure, I can help with that.”
“What do I need?” Kate asked, seeming a bit confused.
“I’m sorry, Kate. We haven’t really talked about it have we? You’ll need four or five nice business suits, a few more formals for evening dinners and the rest can all be casual. Anything you think you’ll need in the coming days, including a couple of new coats!”
Rita was busy taking notes, so I knew Kate would end up with the perfect wardrobe.
“Jackie, for your help, I’ll buy you a couple of outfits as well. I’ll send my driver back for you at 4:30, so you have about two hours and twenty minutes to get it all done. Have fun!”
“My limits?” Rita asked, as I turned to leave.
“Ummm, five and thirty-five. Just call if you have any questions.”
“Five and thirty-five, I hope that meant hundreds,” I heard Jackie comment to Rita as I walked away.
“Actually, that would be thousands my dear. This is Saks Fifth Avenue.”
I love how Rita said that with just the right amount of snide.
Kate was so happy to show off a little for Jackie, it was easy to see why Jackie normally overshadowed her. Giving Kate a little shopping spree was the perfect end to the perfect date. Now it was time to meet an old friend at King Coles for a little reconnaissance mission.
~~~~~~
Kate
Jackie was originally impressed with her $5,000 wardrobe budget until she started dwelling on the fact that mine was $35,000. A few weeks ago she would’ve been thrilled with that kind of money to blow on clothes, but some people are never happy. I love her like a sister, but sometimes….
“$35,000 on clothes? It will take me almost three and a half months to get that kind of money out of Desmond,” Jackie said, referring to her Sugar Daddy.
“Maybe you need to renegotiate,” I suggested with a cheerful smile.
“Well, this will probably be all you get.”
“Yeah, this and the $10,000 check he gave me last night.”
“What? $10 grand and $35 more in clothes? That’s ridiculous!”
“Keep your voices down, girls,” Rita warned, as she looked at us over the top of her Gucci glasses.
“Sorry, Rita,” I replied, even though I was having so much fun with Jackie. She always tried to “one up” me on everything. If I liked someone, she would flirt with them. If I saw an outfit that I couldn’t afford, she would buy if for herself. Why is she my friend again? Oh yeah, her apartment is only a block from school.
“I would rather have two upscale outfits than ten of these. Where are the custom pieces?” Jackie was asking, as I simply rolled my eyes and walked away.
I had done my own shopping for the past seven years, so there really wasn’t any need for that level of personal assistance. Besides, Jackie would keep Rita running until every bit of her $5k was spent. Then maybe I could ask for her for an opinion or two. I’ll never spend $35,000 in the next two hours, I thought to myself as I turned over the $395 price tag of the Black lace dress that I found adorable. Maybe I did need Rita’s assistance more than I cared to admit. Who the hell spends $35,000 on clothes anyway?
“Kathleen? Is that you, Kathleen?”
I didn’t even need to look in order to know who had just spotted me. My mother was the only person on Earth who still called me that. I should have known better than to agree to shop there on a Sunday afternoon. That was the day she reserved for comparison shopping at her competitors. Just my luck that this would be the week she chose Saks.
“Oh. Hi, Mom. What are you doing here?” I asked, giving her a quick hug.
“You know me, just checking out the competition. Making sure our prices are in line. How about you? Did you win the lottery or something?” she asked, eyeing my new dress.
“No, why?”
“Well, honey, at Nordstrom that’s nearly a $2000 outfit. So there’s something amiss here.”
Oh shit! Here comes Jackie and Rita. Can someone please pull a fire alarm or something?
“Here you are, Kate. You better get busy. You’ve got $35,000 in credit and only two hours,” came out of Rita’s mouth before I could figure out a way to stop her.
Wow! The look on my mother’s face is even more priceless than the one on Jackie’s earlier.
“$35,000? Kathleen, where did that come from? Last week you were worried about covering the rent for Christ’s sake.”
Oh sure, now Jackie and Rita decide to “leave us to talk”. Couldn’t have had that thought thirty seconds ago, before dropping that effing bomb on me!
“Relax, Mom. I had a meeting with Jack Ryker about my business idea, and he liked it. He invested $10,000 to get the ball rolling and sent me here to get some decent clothes for upcoming business meetings,” I explained, in a calm stroke of genius.
“Really? He invested in your idea. You aren’t even out of school yet,” she replied, with a plentiful dose of exasperation in her voice.
“Yes, he did.”
“Are you sleeping with him?”
“What? Mom! No!”
“Tell me the truth, Kathleen! I know when you’re lying.”
“Mom, please relax. I’m going into bu
siness with Jack, not sleeping with him. I swear he liked my idea for the line of working women’s clothing, and we’re going to see where it goes.”
“So he’s selling his multi-billion dollar company in order to jump right back into business with you? And you’re not sleeping with him? That makes a lot of sense, dear! You sound a little too much like your father.”
“Ouch, Mom. Thanks. I was planning on calling you tonight and maybe setting up lunch to tell you about it. I thought you’d be happy for me. You know this idea is the exact reason I went to Fashion U.”
“I’m sorry, honey. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to see you hurt. You have to understand how it sounds. I’ve been in retail for too many years in this city, and there are only two types of women who get $35,000 credits. I’ve never seen one yet that’s been given to the gentleman’s business partner. Who knows, maybe you’re the first.”
“Okay. Thanks, Mom. It was a pleasure running into you, too. Have a nice time comparison shopping. I’m going upstairs.”
“Call me, honey. Let’s have lunch.”
“We will, but it won’t be this week. I’ve got meetings.”
Walking away from her that day, I made a decision. I was tired of living to please everyone else. It was time for me to go after what I wanted. My father was the light of my life growing up, and he abandoned me. My mother has always looked down on me for being too much like him. Then there’s Jackie; well, Jackie can really be a self-centered pain in the ass! I don’t care who knows what! I’m going into business with Jack Ryker, and my mother is going to be ordering my clothes next season! Now, where the hell did Rita go? I’m going to spend every nickel of that credit!
~~~
Jack
I looked at my watch, and it showed about 4:05, so I sent Kate a text to find out whether they were still at Saks. She confirmed they were, but said she wouldn’t be ready until closer to 5:00. I relayed the information to my driver and then went back to my conversation with Dr. Ben, a member of the Board of Trustees at Fashion U as well as Kate’s academic advisor.
I had known Ben since I went to school there and graduated almost 27 years ago. He had agreed to meet with me and bring along the project Kate had been working on for the past semester. I was impressed to find out she was nearly a four point student, only one B the whole time she had been there. He gave a glowing overview of both her and the project she was working on. He then agreed to share her work with me.
Looking over her designs, cost estimates and sales projections, I could see she had used a lot of real world data in her analysis. Even using antiquated distribution chains and outdated logistics, she had wide enough margins to make the project very profitable. By moving everything onto my state-of-the-art merchandising platform we could cut marketing and distribution costs dramatically, and with traditional outsourcing practices it would be a grand slam.
That’s when the big idea hit.
Would it be possible to manufacture the entire line of Working Women’s clothes here in America? After all, roughly a half-million American jobs had been lost in this sector since 1990, and with the economy so stagnant we would get a ton of free press! I ran the idea past Ben, and he agreed it would be worth looking into. At that point, we needed to part company before Kate got back. I didn’t want her to think I was snooping behind her back, even though I kind of was. I just needed to see if her ideas were solid enough to work with. Luckily my instincts had proven correct: Kate had a great head on her shoulders.
~~~
“Hi, Jack! We’re back!” Kate called as she came through the door.
A couple of old cronies of mine Drew and Alan gave me a little hell about it, but I was glad to see her. They whispered back and forth, reacting to their initial glimpses of Kate and Jackie. I could tell they were debating whether or not I was romantically involved with either of them.
“Hi, sweetie. Did you find some nice stuff?” I asked, giving Kate a kiss to settle the debate.
“Yes, it’s all in the back of the car. I wasn’t sure what you wanted me to do with it.”
“Well, how big is your closet?”
“Big enough to hold about half the shoes,” Jackie chimed in.
“How about you, Jackie? Did you find some nice things?”
“Yes, I did. Thanks, Jack. I just love Rita by the way.”
“She’s great isn’t she?”
“Excuse me. I have to use the little girls’ room,” Kate said, as she set down her purse next to me.
“I’m going to wait here if that’s okay,” Jackie told her.
“That’s fine, I’m a big girl.”
“So, you and little Kate are going into business together huh?” Jackie asked the minute Kate was out of earshot.
“Yes. I’ve been going over the numbers, and it looks like we are.”
“Hmmm, so the whole sugar daddy thing is off the table?”
“Well, Jackie, that whole concept isn’t really my style, and Kate wasn’t comfortable with it, either.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I would rather go into business with you, too. If you know what I mean.”
“You would like to go into business with Kate and me?”
“Well, little Kate would be optional,” she replied, running her foot along my leg.
“Okay, Jackie, but do you know the first thing I look for in a business partner?”
“No, what?”
“Loyalty. Apparently you didn’t read my interview in Apparel Magazine?”
“No, I must’ve missed it.”
“Well, Jackie, before we go any further, you need to read it. When you get home, sit down at your computer and type “Jack Ryker Loyalty” into Google, and I guarantee you will find it.”
I felt the blood boiling in my cheeks when Kate returned from the bathroom.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, sweetie. Jackie just brought up a topic that sets me off. It’s no big deal. What do you girls want to do?”
“I’ve got to run, and I will read that article. Thanks for everything, Jack,” Jackie said, as she got up from the table and grabbed her purse.
She couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
“I’ll have Tim give you a lift to your apartment. Make sure you get all your bags.”
“I will. Thanks again, Jack. See you later, Kate?”
“I’m sure you will.”
The minute Jackie disappeared from view, Kate wanted to know what had made me so angry. I knew if I told her the whole truth, it would probably damage their friendship. So I decided the best course of action would be to put it as mildly as possible.
“Do you consider Jackie a good friend?”
“At college, she’s probably my best friend. I have better friends; but most of them don’t live very close, so I don’t get to see them very often. Right now, I spend more time with her than anyone. By the look on your face, I need to make some new friends.”
“Kate, I don’t think I have to tell you why I was angry.”
“No, I already know. She does it to me every time. She’s so beautiful, and yet she’s so insecure. It drives me crazy.”
“She doesn’t hold a candle to you, Kate. She might be tall and pretty today, but your beauty goes all the way to your core. In a couple of decades, she will be an old bitter hag, but you will still be beautiful because your beauty is more than skin deep.”
“Thank you, Jack, but she’s way hotter than me. I’ve accepted it.”
“I don’t know about hotter, but you, my dear, are much more beautiful,” he replied.
Wow! There was nothing better he could’ve said. I grabbed his hand and enjoyed the moment. It had been a wild and tumultuous day with several ups and downs. Right now, though, it didn’t really matter.
“I ran into Mom at Saks this afternoon.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I wish I was.”
“How did it go?”
“Well, right when we started talking, Rita came up to us an
d blurted out that I only had two hours to spend the $35,000 of credit. By the look on my Mom’s face, I think she nearly blacked out. She was already in shock from the dress I was wearing.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I went a little overboard. How did you leave it with her?”
“Well, I told her that you and I had gone into business together, so I needed clothes. She basically told me that only wives or whores get $35,000 credit lines. Since I’m not your wife, I guess she called me a whore.”
After sitting there in silence for a moment, I said, “Well, Kate. We can order dinner and talk business and prove your mother wrong; or I can get the Diamond suite for another night, and we can go up there and prove her right. The choice is yours.”
“I think we should order room service and have sex while talking business. That way everyone can win!” replied Kate, rising from her chair.
“Sounds like a winning combination! You order room service, and I’ll take care of the room.”
As we left the bar, I couldn’t help glancing back at Alan and Drew, who were once again checking out Kate. “Good evening, guys!”
“Yeah, same to you buddy,” replied Drew, who had done legal work for me in the startup days and was recently divorced.
The three of us had spent many nights in this bar discussing how we never wanted to date again. It seemed we all had forgotten there was a definite upside to the time honored ritual.
“Jack is back,” I heard Alan say as the door closed behind us.
It was true. For the first time in recent memory, I felt completely alive and had something other than work to look forward to. Once the deal was complete, and I didn’t have to return to the office Eva and I had shared every day, my life was going to change. I decided to make a fresh start during my 50th year of life. I had been the dedicated husband, the loyal, nurturing father, and the infallible corporate leader. But now, those roles were in the rear view mirror for the most part. It was time get out of this city and see what was going on in the rest of the world.
As I stood at the front desk with my credit card in hand, I made another decision. I booked the Diamond suite for the next three weeks and asked my driver Tim to have Kate’s bags sent up to our room. By the time we left the hotel, our new business would be off the ground. I have to call my housekeeper and let her know the house is hers for the rest of the month. She had worked for me for over a decade, so I didn’t have any concerns about leaving it in her capable hands.
