Zach and Sabrina: Round 1

by K. M. Hill

  “It sounds very interesting. So you go business-to-business doing this?”

  “Yes and no. I do that to get to know the businesses and to help them. The other thing I do is create company wide programs and systems to pull the whole organization together on this idea of having top talent and how to develop them.” Sabrina spoke effortlessly about her work.

  “Do you know that your face lit up the moment you started talking about work?” Zach offered.

  Sabrina blushed. She knew that she often was off and running without realizing that she had lost herself, especially about work.

  “I think it is so fantastic when people can find something they love to do.” Zach mused.

  He realized he made her uncomfortable. It was a shame. He really enjoyed watching her get animated about her work. He wanted to get her back to that point. “Tell me more.”

  “Well, I like to build things. I like to come in and make something out of nothing. I love to be challenged. I also really enjoy helping someone or an organization figure out how they can be better than they were yesterday. It’s exciting and kind of humbling all wrapped in one.” Sabrina offered, trying to be a bit more subdued by not being very successful at it.

  “I know what you mean. What you are saying is what I feel when I work with a young or green horse that doesn’t have any experience or training. All of the horses I have competed with at the Grand Prix level are ones that I brought up and trained completely myself. It’s so fulfilling.” Zach offered.

  That puzzled Sabrina. She assumed the horses he rode in the World Cup and other major events were made horses. He made it look so easy so she thought they were horses that were pretty finished and were handed to him.

  And without a sponsor even…as they unfortunately determined by her putting her foot in her mouth earlier. How could he afford what it took to bring a string of young horses along? He probably had family that backed him. There was nothing like daddy to pay your bills, particularly in this highly competitive, expensive world of show jumping.

  As she reached for a breadstick, he reached for a piece of bread at the same time. He ran his hand across hers on accident and that one touch went straight to her center. Her eyes shot straight to his. He felt it too. She had an immediate flash of those hands running up her back and across her body intoxicating her and getting lost in those eyes. Why does every touch by this man electrify her?

  Sabrina blushed fully and quickly pulled her hand away.

  What was it with this guy??? Did he have some magic force to snare her into his powers???

  “I apologize. Can I get you a piece of bread or breadstick Sabrina?” Zach offered, knowing their electricity unnerved her.

  “No, thank you. I changed my mind.”

  How was she supposed to eat when her stomach was in her mouth at every turn?

  Chapter 16

  Ok, where was she? She was where that electric shock went into her hand and all the way…. No, focus! Where was she with the conversation?

  “Well, um. You were saying something about training your horses yourself. That’s pretty admirable and not very common for people at your level. Are your parents in the horse business too? Is that how you got your start?” Sabrina inquired.

  Zach laughed.

  “Are you really asking if my parents pay my bills, Sabrina?” Zach pushed.

  Sabrina was taking a sip of water at the time and was glad to have the large goblet in her hand so she could hide behind it as she took a sip. Was this man a mind reader or had she suddenly become so transparent. She was known for never giving anything away with her facial expressions and being a tough negotiator. Apparently she landed from Singapore and left all of her good sense and skills on that plane.

  “No, Zach. I’m asking if your family is in the business as well.” Sabrina replied curtly.

  Yeah, right, thought Zach. Nice try. She thinks I am some playboy that is kept by sponsors or parents.

  “My father owed the biggest fashion business in the world. He and my mother built that business from a storefront and seamstress shop up to its glory of over 100 companies. You may have heard of it. It’s called Blaze.”

  Blaze! Seriously?? She knew it!

  “You are kidding, right? Your family owns Blaze???” Sabrina said with clear shock.

  “Did.” Zach corrected.

  “Did? What do you mean?” Sabrina asked further.

  “My parents built that company from scratch but it’s not ours any longer. It was sold.”

  “They must have made a mint when they sold it then. Why did they sell it?” inquired Sabrina.

  “They didn’t sell it. I did. My parents died in a plane accident when I was 25. They were actually on their way to see me. My father was coming once again to make a pitch to have me take over the business. His pilot had a heart attack while flying the plane and everyone on the plane died in the crash.” Zach said quietly.

  Sabrina was stricken. She could see the still raw pain on Zach’s face, regardless of how much he tried to hide it.

  “Zach, I don’t know what to say. That’s so horrible. I’m so sorry.” Sabrina said clearly affected by what he told her.

  “My parents were amazing people and lived each day to their fullest. I miss them every day. I also tried hard to get over the fact that they were on their way to see me.”

  Sabrina saw the guilt that still remained shrouded in his eyes and the tightness of his mouth.

  “Why didn’t you want to go into that business? Was it because you weren’t prepared for it because you had pursued the horses?” Sabrina inquired.

  “No. I was actually very well prepared. I traveled with them through my whole childhood. My sister and I have been to about 50 countries. My father brought us both up in the business and taught us how to think about business and how the business made money. It was his vision that someday I would be CEO.” Zach explained.

  “Did you go to college?” Sabrina asked.

  Sabrina remembered him winning some big Grand Prix’s at a very early age so she was pretty sure he hadn’t.

  “Yes.”

  “Really? Where did you go?” Sabrina asked.

  “Right here in Boston.” Zach offered cryptically.

  “Oh? Which school?” Sabrina asked casually. There were so many schools in the Boston area.

  Zach chuckled to himself. She really doesn’t want to give up this image of me being a playboy just riding horses.

  “I went to Harvard for undergrad and then moved to Connecticut to go to Yale for my MBA.” Zach said plainly, in an understated way.

  Sabrina nearly fell off her chair. She worked hard to hide the surprise but it was just too much of a surprise to hide. It was NOT was she expected to hear.

  “Sabrina, you think I’m just a pretty face. There is actually a brain in here, you know.” Zach chided her.

  Pretty face indeed. One that caught the attention of the waitress and all of the women in the restaurant, she thought annoyed. This did not go unnoticed by her but seemed to go unnoticed by Zach.

  “No, of course not! I don’t think you have a pretty face. I mean it’s fine but I’m not looking at it. Well I am. Damn, you know what I mean. It’s just that with the success you have had with the horses and your young age and well, those are pretty tough schools, and…” She tapered off knowing she was madly scrambling to safe face. Better to just shut up, she decided.

  Zach loved watching her dig out. He had a feeling that it wasn’t often that she had been on the end of trying to regain control. She seemed one to not let go of it in the first place very often.

  Chapter 17

  “Well, the deal with my parents was I would go to the school of their choice, if I got in of course, but I would still be able to ride and compete.

  It wasn’t easy, I will tell you that. I rode every chance I got. I was lucky enough to have a car and the horses close to Harvard. Some days I rode as early as 4 am or as late as 10 pm and everywhere in between. I would study in betw
een horses as one was cooled out and another was being readied. I had a great team of grooms working with me who were very committed to us being successful so they let me focus on exactly what I needed to do. Those are the guys you met today. They have been part of my team for years and I couldn’t do it without them. “ Zach offered.

  “Wow, Zach. I’ve got to give you credit. That’s pretty amazing. I’m surprised with that business background you didn’t go into the business. Why is that?” Sabrina asked.

  “I hated it. I hated being cooped up. I hated stepping into something someone else built. I tried it for a bit after Yale. I was always on a plane and never was able to ride. I finally had the courage to acknowledge that unless I was soaring over 5 foot fences, I actually wasn’t breathing correctly. I confronted my father and he was furious. My mother, even through she was COO and wanted me to run the company, was better about my decision. My sister was amazing. She was in my camp every step of the way. Then again, she opted out of the business too.” Zach explained.

  “I think it was disappointing and frustrating for my father. He kept trying to get me to change my mind. Like I said, he was on his way to me when they crashed. I had been out of the business for nearly 2 years but he never stopped trying to convince me in that time. I was actually pretty good at the whole business thing and I think he thought if he worked on me long enough, I would change my mind. I guess we will never know because he ran out of time.” Zach stated with a flat voice.

  Sabrina watched him as he talked about the business. There was no passion. Just seemed like remnants of guilt and regret over his father.

  “So you sold the business?”

  “Yes. After the funeral, the company lawyers said they were presented with some very good offers from people interested in buying the company. I discussed it with my sister and we decided to do it. It took some time to structure the deal and to deal with the sales proceeds. But after six months, it was done.”

  Deal with the proceeds, Sabrina thought. That must have been a big pile of money. She actually was recalling some articles at the time in the Wall Street Journal on this sale and recalls a number north of $50 billion.

  Holy shit. This guy was sitting on at least $25 billion?

  “So that allowed you to fully fund your riding and focus on it full time?” Sabrina probed.

  “Actually, I didn’t take a dime from the company. I fund the riding all my own.” Zach said.

  “What do you mean you didn’t take a dime? As one of two heirs, you and your sister must have made a fortune from the sale of that company. “ Sabrina replied.

  “Sabrina, hasn’t anyone ever told you it isn’t polite to talk about money?” Zach teased.

  Sabrina blushed. He was so right. She NEVER talked about money with people and here she was peppering this guy once again with totally inappropriate questions.

  “I know Zach. I’ve been very rude tonight and I apologize. But I’m just too curious so I’m going to be rude again. What do you mean you didn’t take a dime?” Sabrina continued.

  “Just what I said. I didn’t want their company or their money. That all belonged to my parents. I felt like it was up to me to make my own way. They helped me along the way as I got started, as parents do, but once I was on my own on sure ground, I wanted to distance myself from their achievements. My sister largely felt the same way. I kept a portion of shares and have a seat on the Board of Directors so I can make sure my parents’ legacy lives on, but that’s it. So we took the proceeds of the sale and put them into a trust.”

  Sabrina was fascinated but kept quiet while he continued.

  “My parents were always careful to only do business with factories that did not employ children in emerging market countries. It was a dilemma for them. Not because they wanted cheap labor. They knew their products were good and they charged a premium for them so the profit margins were always large. They could manufacture anywhere. No, it was a challenge for them because by not employing children in their factories meant that the children might not eat. Child labor is horrific but dying from hunger is much worse.”

  Sabrina soaked this in. She hadn’t thought about the issue of child labor around the world from the standpoint that these children were actually in need of jobs because they weren’t provided for otherwise.

  “So my sister and I set up a charitable foundation. The foundation does work in each of the geographies that we have factories. We build schools and provide housing and food for the children in the area. We’ve set up scholarships for those who graduate and want to go onto college. It’s pretty expensive but the money managers who are managing the proceed of the sale of my parents’ company are very good and even with all of the expenditures we have had, we’re actually richer as a foundation than when we started.” Zach was clearly proud of this work.

  “Who are these money managers? I need to get my hands on them! Wow, Zach. That’s pretty amazing work.” Sabrina said admirably.

  “Actually, they are guys I went to Harvard with and some of my best friends. We all lived in a house together most of our time there and became very close friends. They are financial masterminds. They actually are the ones who help me fund myself with the horses. I saved every dime, every bonus, and every stock option I made while working for my father and handed it over to them every week. They were just getting started in a financial management business they created and needed capital. I believed in them. I figured if I lost it all, I would find a way to make more.” Zach said casually.

  “They are magic. They turned me into a very rich man. Now, they take all of my winnings from the Grand Prix’s and continue to invest for me. I’m very lucky to have these friends because they are like brothers and they take care of my financial security. It allows me to focus on competing.”

  Sabrina now clearly understood how he could be so successful.

  Zach continued. “It also allows me time and space to focus on the Charitable Foundation since I am the Chairman.”

  Chapter 18

  Sabrina looked across the table at Zach. When she climbed into his Ferrari soaking wet, she totally typed him as just a playboy. And maybe he still was a playboy but he was definitely more. When she saw him at the barn she typed him as a great rider who had lots of support.

  That’s not what she had in front of her at all. Undergraduate from Harvard. MBA from Yale. Turned down CEO role of the biggest fashion business in the world (although it now made sense as to why his clothes are so nicely tailored and why he looks hot in anything he is wearing). Chairman of a charitable foundation to which he gave most of his money to with the sale of the company. A loyal friend who took a chance on his friends with his savings. Nope, not what she thought she had in the man in front of her.

  This only made him more attractive and she was doing her best to down play the attraction she felt for him just on the physical side. She needed to get a call into Lacey and Michelle soon so they could talk her out of this. Actually, switch that. They would definitely talk her into this. She was in trouble.

  Zach was pleased to see her mulling this over. He didn’t discuss any of his background with most of his dates. And no, this wasn’t a date he reminded himself, even though it felt like one. When his prior dates somehow found out about him being the heir to a major company and that he gave away the money, they were appalled. Some of his dates were just interested in him being an international equestrian, others for his money and most didn’t care that he had a brain.

  He knew women found him physically attractive but that didn’t interest him. I mean it certainly did when he wanted to get laid. But sex was sex. He hadn’t cared what people thought of him and never let anyone get her nails into him much less into his mind.

  Until now.

  Why was it so important what she thought of him? Why did it offend him that she suggested several times that he was getting help from other people to be successful instead of making his way by himself? He had known her only a few hours. Yes, she was attractive. Smart.
Very successful in business. Confident. Ok, he could go on but big deal.

  The reality was that he found her incredibly sexy and he couldn’t pursue this because she was a client. While there were the barn rules of no client-trainer relationships, he did wonder if he could put this attraction behind him if he just took her to bed.

  With conscious effort, he moved the conversation back to her job.

  “So where do you travel to next?” Zach inquired

  “Actually, I’m due to go to Dubai next week. But just for a few days.”