Retreat, page 18
“She’s our newest employee.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah.”
“Who does she report to?” Jon asked.
“Officially? Me.”
“Well then I won’t let it affect my investment.”
“Very funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Jon, what the hell are you doing here?” she asked. “I know damned well that you don’t need to meet the team to make this investment.”
“Isn’t it obvious, Clara? I wanted to see you, and Bill opened the door for me. He asked me to come. In fact, he practically insisted.”
“I’ll get him for that.”
“We need to talk about what happened,” Jon said.
“No, we don’t. We were both there, remember? What’s done is done. It’s been done for a long time. We can’t go back and I don’t think we should go back, even if we could. I’m not the same person I was when I was in Fort Worth.”
“Damn it, then who the hell are you, Clara?” Jon said, kicking a stone across the dirt. “I think that’s just a cop out so you can pretend you don’t feel anything. So you can put that damned wall up again. And it’s bullshit. You’re the same person you were. You tried to pretend to be Miss Stepford-Wife down there in Tulsa but you know what? You couldn’t do it, could you?”
“I was doing just fine before you showed up,” she said, offended by his depiction of her as a Stepford Wife, even though the truth was now that she’d been away from Tulsa for a little while his comment hit a little too close to home. She had been getting sucked into a world that wasn’t her own. She just wished he’d stop pointing it out.
“And the second I did I saw you come back,” he pushed. “Not that façade you were putting on for the people at the gallery, but you, Clara. With all your opinions and that unstoppable drive you have to stand up for what’s right.”
Clara didn’t respond. She sat quietly for a few moments and then stood. “We’re done here. I’m going back to the cabin now. You’re welcome to walk with me if you want to. I assume you’re going the same way because Slippery Falls Cabin is beyond ours. But don’t feel any obligation.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I said what I brought you out here to hear,” he said, not moving from his seat.
“Get on with it, then,” she replied, crossing her arms. “I think I’ve heard about enough of how you think I sold out.”
“Clara,” he said as he stood and put a hand on her elbow, then used it to pull her toward him. Her skin tingled where he touched her. He used his other hand to gently lift her chin so he could look into her eyes. He looked so sincere that her breath caught in anticipation.
“I was an idiot,” he said. “I’ve spent the past week thinking about how much of an idiot I was. And now that I know that the whole thing was a set-up, I’m so pissed that I can hardly think straight. I’m not making the same mistake again. I’m not leaving and I’m not letting you walk away. And although you may want to argue otherwise, David Carpenter is the most unstable guy I’ve ever met and I have no intention of letting you battle him alone.”
“That’s why you came?” she whispered, her resolve melting away.
He didn’t answer. He leaned down and gently kissed her. It was nothing like the forceful kiss in front of the hotel. It was a soft, slow, gentle movement that made her relax into his embrace.
Still holding her, he reached down and picked up his flashlight, clicking it on. He moved his arm until it draped along her shoulder. He didn’t say another word as they walked back along the trail to the cabin.
She was silent, too. She didn’t know what to say. She was confused. She didn’t want to make another mistake. The problem was she wasn’t sure which mistake would be greater, walking away or giving him another chance.
When they reached the clearing in front of her cabin, Clara gave him a weak smile.
“Will you be around tomorrow?” she asked.
“Count on it,” he said.
“Goodnight, Jon.”
He leaned in and kissed her forehead, then turned and walked back down the path toward the campsite. She watched him go until the light from his flashlight faded in the darkness. Then she turned to go back to her cabin.
“Handsome,” Rebecca whistled, startling Clara as she walked past the front porch on her way to her door at the back of the cabin. She was sitting on one of the rockers out front in the dark.
“Yes, he is. I’m surprised you don’t remember that,” Clara said dryly.
“I don’t remember much about my time in Texas. What’s he doing here anyway? I thought you said you two weren’t an item.”
“Bill invited Jon and Marcy to meet the team,” Clara said, trying to sound straightforward. “They’re thinking about investing in the company. That’s the extent of it.”
“So why are you sneaking around with him in the dark?”
“It’s nothing that you need to worry about,” she said. “I’m heading in.”
“Don’t want to talk about it?” Rebecca pushed.
“With you? Definitely not.”
“How long are you going to keep this up?” Rebecca asked. “Bill and Josie gave me a job. You’re going to have to stop being such a bitch to me eventually.”
“We’ll see.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We’ll see how long you actually stick around,” Clara said pointedly. “I give you a week. Two, tops. If you had any common sense at all you’d take Elizabeth back to her father and his wife and give her some stability. I pity the poor child with only you as a parent.”
Before she realized what was happening Rebecca was down off the porch and in Clara’s face.
“Take it back!” she yelled.
“What are you? Twelve?” Clara said, backing up. “Grow up. Start taking some responsibility for goodness sakes.”
“You have no idea,” Rebecca said, sneering at her, “what responsibility even is.” She turned on her heel and marched back up the steps. Clara shook her head and headed back to the private entrance to her bedroom.
When she got there she tried to put Rebecca out of her mind and concentrate on what Jon had said. He was worried about her, genuinely worried. That’s why he was here. He thought she was in real danger from David.
David. How could she have been so stupid? God, she fell for his act completely. If Jon hadn’t stepped in she would have been living that lie for who knows how long. All that time wasted. So much time already wasted.
She shook her head in disgust.
At least David wasn’t an immediate threat to her, since Jon had made sure he was preoccupied putting out political fires down in Tulsa and she was trapped in the Spritzer family feud out in the boondocks.
As she slipped into her pajamas she briefly wondered what Karen had planned for them for tomorrow. She’d have to check the agenda in the morning.
CHAPTER 14
Clara woke early. She didn’t hear any movement from the rest of the cabin, so she assumed the other women were still asleep.
She pulled her hair up in a high ponytail then slipped on a pair of warm-up pants and a sweatshirt. She slowly opened the cabin door and slipped outside unnoticed.
The early morning air greeted her, soft and cool on her warm skin. She breathed in deeply and began to walk toward the nearest trail, which began a few feet from the dirt road that passed in front of the cabin. She walked a while, and then slowly began to jog in the quiet wilderness.
Her breath and the sound of her sneakered feet hitting the mulched trail awakened her. She ran harder, beginning to break a sweat. The only sound was the pounding of her footsteps along the trail. She hopped over small logs and sticks that poked from the damp, lush ground. Soon she became winded and dropped back to a walk.
For a while the sound of her own breath filled her ears as she worked herself back from the cardiovascular brink. As she began to notice the other sounds around her, she realized she wasn’t alone. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and began to run slowly, hoping the other people out on the trail wouldn’t catch up to her. She preferred a comfortable buffer zone.
Just as she thought she was pulling away enough to be left alone she heard the sound of urgent footfalls coming up behind her. She moved to the side of the trail, trying to avoid the puddles of mud that threatened to overtake her running shoes. She waited for the footfalls to pass but they stayed slightly behind her. She turned to look to see who was coming upon her. When she saw who it was she stopped, breathless, resting her hands on her thighs.
“Jesus Christ Jon, what the hell are you doing?” she gasped.
“I wanted to see you before you met up with Karen,” he said, stopping beside her. “I’m not planning on being in your sessions today. Corporate kindergarten isn’t my thing.”
“Corporate kindergarten?” she questioned, breathing hard.
“You know, all this … what did you call it last night? Teambuilding crap, where an overpaid consultant reminds everyone to play nice together and share. Not my thing.”
“Oh,” Clara said, aware of how she must look, red-faced with sweat dripping down from her hair. “I’m just about done here … I need to run for a few more minutes and then cool down. You can run with me if you want to.”
She turned and started jogging down the path. Jon fell into step beside her.
“I have a business proposition for you,” he said as he leaped over a log that had fallen across the trail.
“You already asked me to come work for you and I said no,” she reminded him.
“This is something different.”
She shot a suspicious glance at him. “What’s that?”
“There’s a company in Büdingen that is nearly identical to your Dad’s. Same competencies, about the same size,” Jon said, sidestepping a root that jutted out of the ground. Clara moved over on the trail, giving him a little more room on the flatter surface. “I’ve been working with them on and off for two years now, seeing if there are any smaller firms they can acquire. I want you to take a trip there with me to talk with them and see what you all can learn from each other.”
“Büdingen?” Clara asked.
“Germany.”
“You want me to go to Germany with you?” she asked, slowing to a walk.
“If I make the investment, yes,” he said, matching her pace. “You may not be completely up to speed but you’re the strongest member of the team besides Bill. You know that Clara. You know more about what’s happening and where the company needs to go than anyone.”
“So why not take Bill?” she asked.
“He told me to ask you. Said he doesn’t like to fly.”
Clara shook her head. “Unbelievable,” she said.
“What?”
“He’s never expressed a fear of flying to me.”
“You think he’s lying?” Jon asked.
“I don’t know what he’s doing.”
“So will you go?”
“I can’t answer that right now,” she said. “You and Bill need to figure out if you’re going to be an investor. And if you are then I’ll consider it, but only on the condition that it’s about idea and information exchange. I’m not selling my dad’s company out to some German competitor.”
“That’s all I can ask,” he said.
He picked up his pace and began to jog.
“Hey,” Clara said as he pulled away from her. “Where are you going?”
“My work is done here,” he said. “I’m going back to the cabin.”
“What?”
He turned and jogged backwards. “You answered my question so I can leave.”
“You jogged all the way out here just to ask me that?”
“Yes,” he said, turning forward again and taking off down a side path that led back to the Slippery Falls Cabin.
Clara stopped walking and stood there staring at the place where he’d veered off the trail.
She shook her head. What are you up to? she thought.
She struggled to put Jon out of her mind as she walked back to the cabin. She was never going to be able to concentrate on the retreat with him in the same wilderness. She could almost smell him he was so close.
When she got back to the cabin the rest of the women were up and moving. Josie was feeding Elizabeth cereal and fruit while Rebecca showered.
“Hey Clara,” she said.
“Hey Mom.”
“Good run?” she asked, breaking a piece of banana off and handing it to Elizabeth.
“Interesting run.”
“Why’s that?” her mother asked.
“Jon met me out on the trail.”
“This early?” she said, an amused smirk crossing her lips. “I’d have thought he’d of slept in after taking off with you last night.”
“Yes, this early,” Clara said. “You don’t sound that surprised that he’s here.”
“Bill told me he wanted to come up here and meet the rest of the team.”
“He wants me to go on a business trip to Germany with him if he invests. Dad told him he doesn’t fly.”
Josie smiled. “He did, did he?”
“What’s he up to?”
“What do you think?” her mother asked.
“Unbelievable.”
“Your father wants to see you happy, Clara. I guess he must think this guy will make you happy.”
“We’ll see,” she said, looking around. “Where is everybody?”
“Beck is in the shower and Meg went to help Karen get set up. Marcy said she’d catch up with us later.”
“What are we supposed to wear today?” Clara asked, grabbing a granola bar from the kitchen counter.
“Shorts and a t-shirt or maybe jeans, whatever you have. It’s going to be cool in the morning.”
She handed Clara a hot pink note card.
“These were fanned out across the dining room table when we got back last night,” Josie said as she gently wiped Elizabeth’s mouth with a soft napkin.
Spritzer & Spritzer, Inc.
Corporate Retreat
Saturday Morning
Agenda
6:00 a.m.
Rise and shine
7:00 a.m.
Breakfast
7:30 a.m.
Morning Dialoguing
8:00 a.m.
Trust Modeling Engagement Process
10:00 a.m.
Free time
10:30 a.m.
Trust Modeling Debrief
11:30 a.m.
Lunch
“Any idea what any of this means?” Clara asked, scanning the agenda.
“Hurry up and get out there and you’ll find out.”
Okay. I’m going to get a shower,” Clara said, starting toward her room.
“But it’s already 8:30,” Josie said. “You’re missing the first session.”
“I think I had enough dialoguing last night,” Clara replied. “Do you think she knows that isn’t a word?”
Josie just shook her head and made a funny face at Elizabeth. “You won’t be such trouble will you?” she said sweetly to the little girl.
Clara grabbed a fast shower and pulled on shorts and a long-sleeved shirt. When she came out Josie was playing with Elizabeth on the porch.
“You’re not coming?” she asked.
“I thought it was more important that Rebecca get to know the rest of the team.”
“So you’re babysitting?” Clara asked, raising her eyebrows at her mother.
“You have a problem with that?”
“No. I … I’m just surprised I guess.”
Josie sighed. “I guess you never pegged me for the grandma type, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I missed out on a lot with you girls because I was so screwed up myself. I just want to spend a little time with Elizabeth, that’s all. Get to know her while I can.”
“Before Rebecca takes off again you mean?” Clara asked.
Clara walked down the steps and headed down the path toward Slippery Falls Cabin. When she got there the rest of the group was already assembled and Karen had started.
“Well, there you are. Good morning Clara. It’s important that we start on time. That goes for everyone. Try to make sure you are aligned with the agenda throughout the retreat so we can be sure to get everything in. We won’t wait for anyone.”
“Sorry Karen,” Clara mumbled and took a seat next to her father.
“It’s okay. Now we all know the expectations,” Karen said, smiling broadly at the group, catching each person’s eyes one by one.
“As I was saying, today is about learning to trust each other,” she continued, projecting loudly. “If you’re all going to work together you need to be able to say what you feel and trust in each other without worrying about any backlash. This morning’s activities will help us develop that trust.”
Clara leaned over to her father.
“I saw Jon,” she whispered.
He turned and looked at her. “And?”
“Thanks for warning me that you invited him.”
“I thought I’d surprise you,” he said, smiling and nodding at Karen as if he were paying attention.
“It worked.”
“I thought he might want to meet the rest of the team,” he shrugged, feigning innocence. “He stopped in at the cabin this morning while we were eating. Funny, though, he seemed more concerned about where you were.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him you run every morning and that if I had to guess where you’d run it would be on the Bear Claw Falls trail. Then I gave him a map.”
“You don’t fly, huh?”
He winked at her. “Pay attention or Karen will have both our heads.”
“Nice try. Don’t try to play matchmaker, okay?”
“Me?”
Clara shook her head. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”
“Yes, I do. And I want you to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
“I know. I have the pictures of the broken artwork to prove it,” he whispered.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“Yes, it was. You may be able to close off and block things out but I know deep down inside you are devastated.”
“I’m fine.”
