Echoes of Titanic (33 page)

Sadly, even if she did apologize to him now, it would probably be too little, too late. She couldn't give him back what he'd lost. On the phone earlier this morning, he'd said it was all “water under the bridge,” but she knew that somewhere inside he must still harbor plenty of resentment toward her. Even so, she had no doubt his current offer to help had been genuine. To his core Cole was a good guy, the kind to set aside personal differences when necessary to deal with the matter at hand.

Poor Cole. At least he'd eventually landed on his feet. She wasn't sure exactly what his new company did, but he'd sounded as though they were making a go of it. For all she knew, he was even married by now. He could have children.

She, on the other hand, had barely dated since Cole left, let alone acquired a spouse and kids. In a flash she saw her own life for what it had become—an empty, work-centric existence that drew all emotion from the job rather than from other people. Now she found herself ostracized and alone, at odds with her firm's management and in danger of losing the family business. In
a sense, she realized, Cole had surely come through their breakup in far better shape than she had.

Now, looking around the restaurant, her nerves jangling with every clink of glass or scrape of silverware, she realized that without her team and without insider access, she was never going to preserve her great-grandmother's legacy nor save the company from a hostile takeover. Cole had said to let him know if there was anything he could do to help. How ironic that she now seemed to have no other alternatives. She did need his help, desperately so. She would have to take him up on that offer—it was that or lose everything her family had worked so hard for.

Is this Your idea of a joke, God?
she prayed silently as she gestured toward the waitress for her check.
Is going to Cole with my hat in hand my just desserts?

When she left the restaurant it was dark outside and the temperature had dropped significantly. Shivering in her light jacket, she jogged almost all the way home. Once there, she was so wound up from her run that she changed into sweats and a T-shirt and climbed on the stair stepper. Finally, after a brutally long workout, she hit the shower. It wasn't until she was dried off and dressed for bed that she admitted she could stall no longer. She put down the hairbrush and reached for her phone. She pulled up the number she'd used earlier that day and tapped it.

Cole answered on the third ring.

“Kelsey! Glad you called. What's up?”

His cheerfulness and confidence hit her with greater force than she'd expected, and she sat down abruptly on the love seat.

“I…Cole, is the offer still open? I need help.”

“Of course. I told you, anytime.”

“Well, then, I'd like to take you up on it.”

“Sure. Why don't you come to my office first thing in the morning? I'll round up my people and we'll see what we can do.”

“That…that would be great. Thank you so much.”

“No problem. You okay?”

She closed her eyes even as her ears were straining for background noise, for clues—the voice of a woman, the chatter of a toddler. The proof of a happy life, of having moved on. She heard nothing.

“I'm fine,” she replied finally, clearing her throat. “It's just been a rough day.”

“I can imagine. Well, not to worry. I'll see you in the morning and we'll try to figure out how we can make tomorrow a lot better.”

He gave her the address for his office and then they ended the call.

She went on to bed soon after and dreamed she was floating in a small boat, alone, cut loose from its moorings and drifting slowly out to sea. She woke up after that. Getting out of bed, she went to the window and sat there in the darkness for a long time, looking out at the lights of the city.

She'd always wanted to grow up to be just like Adele. But Adele had found a way to have a successful career and a happy family and a full life. With tears rolling down her cheeks, Kelsey realized things hadn't turned out the way she'd planned at all. These days, she was nothing more than an empty workaholic who channeled all of her emotions and her energies into her career, pursuing success at all costs. Outside of that, she had nothing in her life, nothing else to live for. Swallowing hard, she had to admit the truth.

She hadn't grown up to be just like Adele.

She'd grown up to be just like Gloria.

T
he next morning Kelsey approached Cole's office in the Chelsea section of Manhattan with a mix of trepidation and excitement. It would be so great to see him again, but a part of her was afraid it might be too much, that her cool demeanor would slip and she would end up revealing her feelings—about him, about their past, and about how much he still meant to her.

At least she'd made a point of looking her best today, and she thought that added confidence would go a long way toward helping her keep a level head. Cole had always loved her best in blue—the blue of her eyes—and so she had chosen an azure silk shirt dress with a slim silhouette that hung mid-calf with a slit to the knee. She always felt a little uncomfortable at B & T without a suit or at least a jacket, so this dress didn't get much wear. But she loved it, and with the addition of a black belt, her
Q
pin, and a beaded black necklace, the effect was at once completely businesslike and yet strikingly feminine. Knowing Cole, as long as there was blood still pumping in his veins, his heart would skip a beat or two over this one.

His office was located on a side street off of 9th Avenue. The address certainly wasn't as prestigious as the B & T offices, but not everyone could afford rent in the financial district. Their suite was on the third floor of the building, so she took the stairs, pausing at a mirror on the second floor landing to check her hair and makeup.

Continuing up one more flight of steps, she easily found the door she
wanted, the nameplate reading Thornton Resources, Inc. Pausing a moment to collect herself, she steadied her shoulders and then twisted the knob to open the door, entering a pleasant reception area brightly lit by a full wall of deep windows.

“May I help you?”

Kelsey started at the sound, realizing that a woman had come out from the back to stand at the reception desk.

“Uh, hi,” she replied, stepping closer. “Kelsey Tate to see Cole Thornton.”

“Of course. He's expecting you. Just a moment.”

The woman left again, and Kelsey took a deep breath, telling her heart to stop pounding so furiously. After a moment she could hear someone else coming, and then there he was, emerging from around the corner and walking toward her, a smile lighting up his whole face.

“Kelsey, wow, it's great to see you,” he said, giving her a quick hug. She hugged him back, hoping he couldn't feel the thudding of her heart as she did.

“Hi, Cole. Thanks so much for this.”

“Of course. You look great, by the way.”

Kelsey smiled, looking up into his beautiful green eyes. He looked great too. Better than she'd remembered. His new maturity sat well on him. He was wearing a navy blazer with a light blue Oxford cloth shirt and khaki slacks. Apparently Thornton Resources had a business casual dress code. It seemed to fit the office—and its dashing CEO.

“Thanks,” she managed to say. “Ditto.”

“Why don't you come on back? I have us all set up in the conference room.”

He led her from the sunny reception area and down a hall that was much darker by comparison.

“This is a neat space you have here,” she said as they went. “Sunbeams shining in a third-floor window. That's awesome.”

He flashed his handsome, handsome smile. “Thanks, Kels.”

Cole stopped at a conference room doorway and gestured for her to go in. She did, stepping into a large room with a big table at its center surrounded by chairs, everything already set up for their meeting. At the far end of the room was a coffee dispenser, a platter of breakfast pastries, and a pitcher of ice water flanked by drinking glasses.

“I'm impressed,” she said, gesturing toward the food service and inhaling the delicious scent of the coffee. “Looks like you went all out.”

Cole grinned. “Well, I know you, Kelsey. Can't focus without a cup of joe in your hand.”

She smiled in return, thinking,
He does know me. It's been five years, but still he knows me
.

He told her to help herself and have a seat while he left to round up the team. “Just so you know, I'm bringing in my two best guys on this. I'm sure you'll be sharing information with us that's quite confidential, and I just wanted to say that you can trust these two implicitly. They may not be your typical Wall Street suits, but they have been with me since the beginning and have never wavered in their loyalty or dependability. You're safe with us.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks, Cole. That's comforting to know.”

After that he was gone, and so she set her things on a chair and went to the far side of the room and made herself a cup a coffee. Grabbing a small paper plate, she chose a blueberry muffin top and carried it and the coffee back to the table. Then she sat, putting her goodies to the side as she placed her briefcase on her knees and popped it open.

Kelsey had managed to eventually get back to sleep last night, but she had gotten up just a few hours later, soon after dawn. She'd spent that first hour of the day at her laptop, organizing her thoughts and preparing her information for the meeting. In a business like theirs, facts needed to be clear and straightforward, preferably laid out chronologically in an easy-to-understand fashion. Though she wasn't coming to Cole for an investment, she was coming to him for help, and considering that he was doing this for free, she wanted to make things as easy as possible.

Thus, she'd assembled her main points into a handout, topped it with a typed-up version of her family tree, and printed out several copies that she'd stapled together. She removed those handouts from her briefcase now, along with a pad of paper and a pen. She hoped she could quickly run through the facts and then get down to the business of figuring out how to find the answers to at least some of her many questions.

She had just placed her briefcase on the floor behind her when she heard voices coming up the hall. Cole reappeared with two other men, a slender young guy with pale skin and brown hair who was in an electric wheelchair, and a tall, lanky African-American man with a shiny bald head and a big gold cross hanging at his neck. She stood as they came into the room, giving them each a smile in turn.

“Wow, boss, you weren't kidding,” the one in the chair said, eyes wide and admiring.

She looked to Cole, but he just poked the guy on the arm. “Kelsey Tate, I'd like you to meet two of the most trusted members of my staff.” Gesturing toward the tall one, he added, “This is Thriller. He's the best there is for research.”

“Hi, Thriller.” Kelsey shook his hand, wondering what the story was behind the nickname.

“Pleasure to be working with you, Miss Tate.”

“Call me Kelsey.”

“Kelsey,” he replied, nodding.

“And this is Flash,” Cole continued, placing a hand on the shoulder of the younger one in the chair. “He's our techie. Flash can do anything with a computer—and I mean anything.”

“Security systems weep when they hear my name,” the guy told her with a smug smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too, Flash,” Kelsey said, shaking his hand and wondering if everyone who worked at Thornton Resources had a nickname.

The guys helped themselves to the food and beverages, and then they took their seats at the table. Once everyone seemed ready to begin, Cole turned to her, his posture relaxed as he began to speak.

“Kelsey, why don't you tell us what can we do for you. I've spelled out the situation to the guys, as far as the people and the companies involved, but I didn't have many of the details.”

Kelsey nodded, clearing her throat. “Well, basically, there's a big mess at my family firm, Brennan & Tate, and I need help sorting it all out. I have lots of questions I'm not going to be able to answer by myself.”

“Then you've come to the right place. Finding solutions is our specialty.”

Nodding again, Kelsey told them that the situation was so complicated that she'd decided to lay things out chronologically, from the beginning. She gave each man a handout, and they seemed impressed as they looked over the notes.

“On the first page,” she began, referring to her own copy, “you'll see I started with a family tree. This is so you can keep all of the players straight. Things are going to get pretty complicated, so you can use this chart as reference.”

The men nodded, studying the diagram.

“Anyway,” Kelsey continued, flipping over to page two, “I think it's best if I begin at the beginning and bring it all forward from there.”

Glancing down at the first item on her list, she started by saying that her great-great-grandfather Sean Brennan was born and raised in County Antrim, Ireland, and that when he was grown he married a woman named Beatrice and had a daughter named Adele. In 1896 he left his wife and child behind and came to America to build a better life for them all.