The woman copied the website information into her phone. “Thank you. I’ve never bought shoes online before.”
I nodded. “I know. It seems like a risk, and you might have to send things back, but I find that I’m buying nearly everything online these days.”
One of the men sitting in front of us turned around and glared.
“Oops. Sorry,” I said quickly and smiled at the woman beside me. I whispered in a conspiratorial manner, “I guess we’re supposed to pay attention, hmm?”
She smiled back at me. “I consider this networking.”
“So do I.”
But we both dutifully returned our attention to the speaker.
The speaker continued. “I will need ten volunteers for the next activity. Ten people to really get to know each other. And the prize is two thousand dollars.”
At this, the speaker had my full attention. I could definitely use two thousand dollars.
“Theoretically, every one of the ten can win two thousand dollars.”
Even better. I glanced around the room, looking at my potential competition.
“Who is interested? Raise your hands.”
Nearly everyone in the room raised their hand.
“Now for the tricky part. As part of this activity, you will be handcuffed to another person – one of your co-workers – for twenty-four hours.” She held up a pair of handcuffs. There were a few gasps, a groan, and some good-natured laughs from the crowd. “Who’s still interested?”
I kept my hand up, but my neighbor lowered hers.
“Come on,” I whispered. “How bad can it be?”
“No, thank you,” the woman said. “I’m too old for that nonsense.”
I said, “This is a corporate event. I don’t think there’s going to be any fifty shades going on.”
The man ahead of us turned around again to frown at me.
I smiled at him sweetly. It wasn’t my fault he was such a grump.
The speaker continued. “And at the end of the twenty-four hours, if you last that long, you will make a presentation to the group about what you’ve learned.”
Twenty or more people lowered their hands.
“All right, that’s an easier number,” the speaker said. “Everyone who is still willing, please pass one of your business cards to the aisle and my assistant will collect them.”
I was glad I had new business cards in my purse. I sent mine down the aisle and said a little silent prayer that I’d be chosen.
Everyone watched as the cards were gathered and placed in a large bowl. The assistant carried the bowl up to the front of the room where the speaker was standing by a podium and a large table. The speaker said, “Volunteers will be divided into 5 pairs. They will each be given a set of instructions, questions to ask each other, as well as a camera to record moments for their presentation tomorrow. They can choose to participate in the mixer activities or not, but the main thing is – they’ll have to work together. Obviously.”
There was some laughter at this.
I held my breath, waiting for the participants to be chosen.
The speaker continued, “We know that not everyone will be able to last twenty-four hours, so there are some participation prizes. If the team lasts six hours, they will each receive one hundred dollars. If they last twelve hours, they will receive five hundred dollars. And if they last the full twenty-four hours, they will receive two thousand dollars.”
Someone called out, “Is that two thousand each or two thousand for the team?”
“Two thousand each.”
Okay, I can do this, I thought. If I just get the chance.
I held my breath as different names were called and individuals walked up to the front of the room. Team one was a young man and an older woman. Team two was two men. Team three: two women. When the speaker pulled out the first name for team four, she seemed startled by the name. “Philip Nilsson?” she called out.
There was a bit of crowd reaction when she said the last name Nilsson.
“I wonder if he’s a relation to Theodore, the CEO,” my neighbour whispered. “It’s not that common of a name.”
“Maybe a distant cousin?” I suggested. “I mean, if I was CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company, I’d make sure there were jobs for all my relations, believe me.”
“No kidding.”
The speaker continued in a louder voice, “Vice President of Business Development. Philip Nilsson.”
At this, the room grew loud with clapping.
I watched as a handsome man approached the front of the room. He was in his early thirties and tall with an athletic build. He moved with confidence and a natural grace. He wore a beautifully cut charcoal suit that looked more Armani than Brooks Brothers, although I was no expert in men’s clothes. His hair was brown and thick and styled back from his forehead. I couldn’t see the color of his eyes.
He smiled briefly with a shrug that seemed to say What am I getting myself into? which made me smile. He was a good sport.
Wow. Vice President. What were the odds of his being chosen for the game? I felt a moment of pity for the person who would be on his team. It would be intimidating to be handcuffed to a Vice President for a day.
Or, it could be a good networking opportunity, depending on one’s attitude.
“W. J. Abbot.”
For a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming. Was that really my name that had been announced?
“W. J. Abbot,” the speaker repeated.
That was me, all right. I raised my hand and called out, “Here I am.” I stood, feeling a little nervous and self-conscious.
“You go girl!” my seatmate whispered.
“Wish me luck,” I said.
“You got it.”
I rolled my shoulders back and walked to the front of room, trying to ignore the fact that everyone was watching me. I hoped my hair wasn’t falling down.
When I reached the podium, Philip Nilsson shook my hand in a warm, firm grip. “Hi.”
He was even better looking face to face, if that were possible.
And his eyes were blue, a brilliant, beautiful blue.
CHAPTER TWO
PHILIP
My companion for the next twenty-four hours was a young woman; pretty, blonde, wearing a tailored suit that emphasized her curves. She wasn’t fat; she was what I would call pleasantly plump. Lush.
She wasn’t overtly sexy, though. There was a sweetness to her and she had a friendly smile. We shook hands and waited while Team Five was chosen. They were another male/female team.
I looked over the other participants. I decided that I had been extremely lucky. My companion was lovely, and it would be no hardship to be handcuffed to her for twenty-four hours. And who knew, if things went well, I might even get a date for Thanksgiving out of it. I wondered if my mother would like her.
Nilsson Worldwide had no ban against employees dating each other as long as no sexual harassment or coercion was involved.
But I was getting too far ahead of myself. In the next few hours I might completely change my mind about wanting to get to know Ms. Abbot better. Over the years I’d found that initial attraction could be fleeting.
The world was full of beautiful women who wanted my attention, or more accurately, wanted my money and my name.
I didn’t blame them. My fortune was a target on my back. Why shouldn’t a smart woman want to acquire it? I acted similarly when I was searching out new locations for Nilsson hotels. It took me three years to acquire Sunthaym Castle in Bavaria, but in the end, I achieved my goal, and it was very satisfying.
But as in many things, the pursuit was more enjoyable than the acquisition. I thought briefly of Carly Simon’s song Anticipation.
It was human nature, wanting more. Not being satisfied with the status quo.
At this point, we were taken to another room to sign waivers and receive our instructions. I admired my companion’s smooth hair and wondered if she were a natural blonde. Either that, o
r she had an excellent hairstylist. And she smelled faintly of Chanel No. 5, which reminded me of my grandmother Rika. Chanel No. 5 was her signature scent.
One of the men in the two-men team complained. “This is not what I expected. I didn’t expect to get another guy.”
“That’s sexist,” one of the women said.
I said calmly, “If you don’t want to participate, you don’t have to. But this is just a team building activity, not a dating service.” I said that for his benefit and as a reminder for myself as well.
My companion said cheerfully, “That’s good. I wouldn’t want my fiancé to get jealous.”
I looked at her sharply. “Fiancé?”
She beamed and showed me a miniscule diamond ring on her left hand. “Yes. We’re getting married in six weeks.”
One of the other women congratulated her.
Ms. Abbot said, “Thank you. It’s very exciting and that’s why I want to win the two thousand dollars. For our honeymoon.”
I didn’t think they would get much of a honeymoon for only two thousand dollars, but I wished them well. I smiled at her. “Then let’s do it. Let’s last the entire twenty-four hours.”
She said, “Oh, good! I am totally on board with this. But I’m thinking it would be best to take a bathroom break before we start, don’t you agree?”
Suddenly the logistics of the being handcuffed to someone else seemed daunting. I could imagine us getting all tangled up like people playing Twister.
One of the other women said, “Oh, no. I hadn’t thought of that.”
My companion said, “It’s going to be complicated and awkward, that’s part of the challenge and humor of the situation, but as long as everyone is respectful and willing to close their eyes occasionally, I think it can work out.”
Ms. Abbot was a facilitator, I decided. She smoothed things over and got things done.
“If you say so,” the other woman said.
“What do you think, Mr. Nilsson?” Ms. Abbot asked as she turned towards me.
She was warm and friendly and off limits. “Philip, please,” I corrected. “I do not want to be Mr. Nilsson for twenty-four hours.”
“Okay, Philip. What do you think of our challenge? Do you think it can be done?”
At this, everyone in the room looked at me, and I knew that my father would be amused if he could see me now. As Vice President of Business Development and the most senior representative of Nilsson Worldwide in the room, I represented the company. I said with more confidence than I felt, “Of course. It sounds like fun.”
Ms. Abbot smiled her approval at me, and I felt a little zing of pleasure that I quickly dismissed. Watch it, Philip. She’s a friendly young woman. Smiles mean nothing.
While she was in the bathroom, I sent photos of the waiver agreement to my lawyers. The language of the contract looked straight forward, but I did not sign anything without legal advice.
Within an hour, we were all signed and ready to go.
A young man with handcuffs approached us. He explained that inside the cuffs there was some sort of a GPS tracking and recording device as well as a timer. The locks would come undone automatically in 24 hours. If either one of us wanted to remove the cuffs before that time, we could override the lock by entering a PIN number.
“Very high tech,” Ms. Abbot said, and I could tell from the little quaver in her voice that she was hesitant.
The assistant asked which hands we wanted to use. “My left,” I said, just as my companion said, “My right.”
She smiled at me. “That’s convenient.”
“You’re left handed?”
She nodded and within a minute, her right wrist was linked to my left.
I twisted my left arm, automatically lifting her right arm a few inches. The cuffs were not too tight, but there was no way to remove them without using the PIN. The cuffs were joined by a thick chain, no more than three inches long.
“Are you comfortable?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“What is your first name, again?” I asked. Her lanyard was on backwards. I was usually good at remembering names, but hers was more complicated. She had two initials.
“W. J.”
“W. J.” I repeated. “I’m guessing you don’t like your first or middle name.”
“I do,” she said. “But my first name is a silly one, and no one takes it seriously. I thought since I have a real job now, I should have a more grown-up sounding name.”
I was amused. “What do you mean by a real job?”
She smiled. “Full time. With a reliable company that gives health benefits.”
“You can’t do better than Nilsson.” We were a very reliable company and gave our employees excellent health benefits.
“I know. Believe me, I did my research and I’m thrilled to be on Team Nilsson. Before, I had a lot of part time or temporary jobs. But now that I’m getting married, I decided that I needed more stability. And I want health insurance for when I have children.”
Children. Of course, she would want children. It was written all over her face. I sensed that she would be a good mother, warm and loving.
I asked, “How long have you worked for Nilsson?”
“This is my third week.”
I smiled wryly. She was very new indeed. I was surprised that she’d been invited to the company mixer. “What do you do?”
“I’m the second assistant to the banquet coordinator.”
Everyone had to start somewhere. I asked, “Wilma?”
She was surprised. “I beg your pardon?”
“Is your first name Wilma? Like Wilma Flintstone?”
She laughed, and the sound was like a sudden arrow to my heart. I liked her. I wanted to get to know her better, but I wasn’t a jerk. She was happily engaged, and I wasn’t going to do anything to mess that up.
She said, “No, my name isn’t Wilma, but you can keep guessing if you want. That will give us something to do for the next twenty-four hours.”
I said, “Do you want to go over the instructions and start filming?” Each team had been given a small backpack with a digital camera and a selfie stick so we could film our adventure. “We needed to plan for our presentation tomorrow.”
“Sure,” she said brightly. “Why not?”
I had a feeling that the next twenty-four hours would be the longest day of my life cuffed to a pretty woman I couldn’t pursue.
CHAPTER THREE
WINNIE
I liked Philip Nilsson. He was professional and engaging, exactly what a high-powered executive should be. I hoped that we would get along well enough so that the next twenty-four hours were not miserable. It would have been terrible if I had been handcuffed to that grumpy gentleman sitting in front of me earlier. But even if I had been handcuffed to that man, I would have tried my best to make the situation a success for both of us. Two thousand dollars was going to make my life much nicer.
I wanted to text Shawn and tell him the good news, that within a day I would probably have money for our honeymoon, but I held back.
I didn’t want to get his hopes up before the money was a reality.
Shawn often worried about money. His new Tex Mex restaurant wasn’t doing as well as he had expected, and money was tight. That was another one of the reasons why I’d gotten a full-time job. I hoped that if I had a steady paycheck, that he would be able to relax a little.
I imagined how happy he would be when I let him know that I had two thousand dollars. It was like pennies from heaven, one of the old Frank Sinatra songs that my mom liked to sing. I made a little silent thank you prayer up to God.
Philip and I sat together on a couch in the hotel lobby, reviewing the instructions. “They want us to start with an introduction,” I said. “So, do you want to go first?”
“Fine with me,” he said.
Using both hands, which meant that his left hand came along for the ride, I put the camera on the end of the selfie stick and connected the Bluetooth c
ontrol.
Philip said, “You seem to be an expert at this.”
I smiled. “Oh, me and selfie sticks go way back.”
“Were you always taking pictures of yourself and your friends in high school?”
“I was,” I admitted. “I even had my own Vine account.”
“What’s Vine?”
“It was an app that showed six second videos. But it doesn’t exist anymore.”
Philip was surprised. “Was there a market for six second videos?”
“Not really. I was never popular enough to have companies hire to me to make videos for them, but it taught me the importance of lighting and getting a good angle.”
Philip said, “I can see already that I got the right person for my team. I hereby put you in charge of filming.”
I smiled. I liked being in charge. “Great!” I held the stick out so the camera could capture the image of us on the couch. “Testing,” I said. “Testing One. Two. Three. Smile.”
I then watched the footage and said, “It looks great. Let’s go.”
Philip adjusted his tie and then smiled at the camera. “Hello. I’m Philip Nilsson and this is W. J. Abbot, and we are –” He lifted our joined hands to show the camera. “Together for the next twenty-four hours.”
“Short and sweet,” I said after I turned off the camera. “But that’s good.” Philip was comfortable in front of a camera, but he should be. He was Vice President of Business Development, accustomed to meeting important people and making deals.
After filming our introduction, we considered going to the River Walk for the photo scavenger hunt. We had instructions for that activity as well. I was glad to see that they were collecting photos rather than individual items. “That should be fun,” I said. “I love the River Walk.” Shawn and I often visited the River Walk on dates, although it had been a while since we’d gone together. Lately, Shawn had been spending nearly every waking hour at the restaurant.
Philip said, “Then you can lead the way. I’ve never been to the River Walk.”
I looked at him sharply. “Never? But you’re from Texas, right?” When I took that bathroom break, I’d done a quick Google search on Philip, so I wouldn’t look like an idiot. The man was worth billions and current gossip said that he would one day be CEO of Nilsson Worldwide.
Roses from a Billionaire: A Clean Billionaire Romance (Lone Star Billionaires, #2) Page 2
