Irresistible Forces (15 page)

“Well, don't get too excited. Let's talk first.”

“We'll do lots of that, I promise. Ask me anything you want to know when you get here, Merrie. I have no secrets from you.” She loved that about him. He was an honest man, with integrity and a brilliant mind. It was a terrific combination, and she already knew they worked well together. But still, it was an enormous decision, and she couldn't let Steve risk his career for her either. She had to look out for his best interests, even if he was inclined to be kind to her. She wanted him to be happy too, that was vital to her. “I can't wait to see you,” Cal added.

“I didn't think I'd see you again this soon.” She laughed. This was all so new and so unexpected. She had never dreamed anything like this would happen as a result of his public offering and their road show. It seemed almost providential to her. But she was still worried about it. She wanted to make the right decision for all of them, and it was an awesome responsibility to do that.

“I was afraid I'd have to start another company just so I could take it public and see you again. This is great news, Merrie. And you and I do such great work together.”

“We do, don't we,” she smiled. She was still so pleased with how his stock was doing. “Well, let's see what happens when I come out to California.”

“I'm going to start burning candles, Meredith … or doing rain dances or something. I'm going to do my damnedest to talk you into this. I hope you know that.”

“I kind of suspected you might,” she laughed again. He wasn't the kind of man to take no for an answer. But she was also very grateful to her husband for letting her go out there, he was being incredibly generous to encourage her to do it, especially if it represented a sacrifice to him, which was entirely possible. But for her sake, he was willing to chance that, and she loved him all the more for it.

“See you on Wednesday,” Cal said cheerily as they hung up, and after they did, Meredith sat silently in her living room, staring at the phone, and wondering what would happen in California.

Chapter 9

T
HE FLIGHT TO
California on Wednesday went easily, and Cal was waiting for Meredith at the gate, as she came off the plane carrying the familiar briefcase. He was standing to one side, watching for her, and his face broke into a broad smile the moment he saw her.

“I had a moment of panic while I was standing here. I suddenly wondered if you had changed your mind, and were too chicken to call me.”

“I wouldn't do a thing like that,” she said with a look of surprise, as he took the heavy briefcase from her.

“I know. I used to feel like that when I was a kid too. I was always afraid my father would lose the tickets to the circus. He never did, but I always worried about it.”

“Well, I'm here.” She had done a lot of thinking on the way out, and she still didn't see how she could expect Steve to leave his job in the trauma unit. She was more concerned about him than about what Cal would offer. She knew how solid his company was, and he had already told her about the stock options he would give her. But Steve was still her principal worry. “I can't believe I did this,” she said, still feeling stunned by his entire proposition, and Steve's willingness to let her explore it.

“I should have thought of it before. It just never occurred to me that Charlie would quit.” He was still a little concerned that it would create problems with his shareholders, but there was nothing in Charlie's contract that said he couldn't do that. It would only have been a violation if he'd left during the road show, and Charlie knew that, which was why he had waited till they got back to California. “Meredith, if you do this, it could be the most important decision of your career. And I don't think you'd ever regret it. If I were just your friend, and not involved here, I would tell you you'd be very foolish if you didn't do it.”

“I know. It's just such a big change. Not only a change in careers, but moving to California is a big decision.”

“I know you're worried about Steve,” he said, as they picked up her bag at the baggage claim, “but there are great hospitals out here. I've already made some contacts at SF General for him. And you told me he has friends at Stanford. And there's a UC hospital in the city, and a very good trauma hospital in Oakland. There are a lot of options out here for him. This could be very exciting for him.” But the one who was most excited was Cal. On the way back to his office in Palo Alto, he talked endlessly about how important she would be to him. And Meredith was as enamored of the idea as he was. From a purely business standpoint, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.

At two o'clock that afternoon, they hadn't even stopped for lunch yet. They'd been talking for three hours, and his secretary finally brought them each a sandwich. Both he and Meredith had the same kind of work ethic, the same drive and passion about their work, their love for what they did was not only creative, it was almost obsessive. And they spent the rest of the afternoon talking about new diagnostic tools and new products.

“Meredith,” he said, looking intensely at her late in the afternoon. “I can't do this without you.”

“Yes, you can,” she said quietly, but she had loved everything she had heard since eleven o'clock that morning.

“The point is, I don't want to. I want you here to share all this with me.”

“And the truth is,” she sighed, “I want to be here. But I don't know if I have a right to do it.” She felt incredibly torn between an important career decision, and her personal life. She was still worried about Steve, no matter how good Cal said the local hospitals could be for him. He was already firmly entrenched where he was, as the number-two man in an internationally known trauma unit. And there was no question in either of their minds that he would be the number-one man someday, and probably sooner rather than later. Harvey Lucas had been talking about retiring from trauma work and going into research for years, and Steve had been convinced recently that Lucas was getting closer to it. He was tired, he'd had problems with his heart, and the trauma unit was getting to be too much for him. There was a high burnout rate in trauma, you just couldn't live with that kind of pressure forever. “I have to give Steve a chance to think about this seriously,” she said to Cal. “He's a major factor in this decision.”

“I'll find him a job if I have to, Meredith. I don't want to lose you.”

“You don't have me yet,” she said with a tired smile. She wanted this as badly as he did. She loved his company, and she knew that they worked well together, and she thought that she could do some important things for him, given the right opportunities. He had convinced her. The only real problem was Steve now. She didn't even feel as guilty about leaving her investment banking firm. Cal was right, she realized, they didn't really appreciate her. And if she hadn't hit the glass ceiling yet, she knew she was damn close to it. But at Dow Tech, as Cal said, the sky was the limit.

“What do you think, Merrie? Will you do it?” He had tried not to pressure her all afternoon, but it was hard to hold back. He just wanted her to take the job so badly.

They had also met with Charlie McIntosh that afternoon, and she was surprised that even he encouraged her to take the job. Given the direction the company was taking now, he thought she'd be very good for them. “You won't regret it, if you come out here,” he said, sounding more like an old friend than the thorn in her side he'd been for the entire road show. “And you already know the company, Meredith. There won't be a lot of surprises here for you. Besides,” he smiled at her benevolently, “Cal is a great guy, and a pleasure to work for.” He treated him more like a son or a nephew than the CEO of the company that employed him.

“I've never worked for a publicly held company, and I just don't want to start now. I'm too old to start worrying about shareholders, and whether or not the stock market is going up or down and taking us with it. But you two are young enough to enjoy it.” He seemed relieved by his decision. “I hope you take the job, Meredith,” he urged, and she didn't feel so much pressured as wanted and appreciated. Here, she really was needed.

Cal invited her to dinner that night but she said she wanted some time to herself, to do some serious thinking. She had room service bring her scrambled eggs, and she called Steve at the hospital, and was lucky to find him.

“So how's it going?”

“Great, unfortunately.” She sounded tormented. She had been weighing the pros and cons all night, and she felt more confused than ever. One part of her wanted to leap at the chance, and the other told her that she owed it to Steve to stay in New York and stick with what she was doing. She felt guilty even putting the possibility out there for discussion. But she had come this far, and now she had to. “It looks terrific. And I think I'd love it here, or the job at least. I have no idea what living in California would be like. The job is the real draw for me. But what about you, sweetheart? What do you really think about this?”

“I think it's something you really have to look at,” he said fairly. “That's why I told you I thought you should go out there.”

“But what about you? If I take this job, what will you do?”

“Find another trauma unit,” he said simply. He didn't sound as emotionally invested in the decision as she did, which surprised her.

“But what if you don't like what's out here?” Where he was was state of the art, and in a far bigger city than San Francisco. In many ways certainly, San Francisco seemed very provincial. You really couldn't compare the two cities, although Cal said that the quality of life would be better in California. But both she and Steve had had a love affair with New York since they'd gone to college.

“Do you want me to come out and take a look?” Steve asked sensibly. “I think that's the only way we'll be able to make the decision, don't you? I'll catch a plane tomorrow after work, take a look around, and see who I can talk to in the trauma units out there. Maybe I can take Monday off too, and then at least we'll know what we're talking about.”

“Baby, I love you,” Meredith said with tears in her eyes. He was always committed to make things easier for her, not only in small ways, but in some very big ones. “It would mean a lot to me if you'd come, Steve.”

“Good. Then I'll do it. Besides, I want to take a good look at this guy and make sure he's not too good looking before I let you take the job. I'm not sure about all this stuff about Gary Cooper.” He was only half kidding and she knew it. But Steve knew he had nothing to worry about. They had a solid, happy life together, and nothing could jeopardize that, for either of them. She was certain of it.

“That's not what appeals to me about the job,” she said easily. “It's just such a great company, and he's a good person to work with. He's got integrity, tremendous energy, and some fantastic ideas for the future. I think he's going to triple the size and impact of the company in the next two years, not to mention the profits.”

“Then you should give it some very serious thought, Merrie. I'll be there tomorrow night. Just tell me where to meet you.”

“Let me know your flight, and I'll pick you up at the airport. And Steve …” She hesitated for only a fraction of a second, loving him more than she ever had, because he wanted the best for her. He was astoundingly unselfish, and such a decent person, it was part of what she had always loved about him. That and the fact that he was smart, had a great sense of humor, worked like a dog, really cared about what he was doing, and had the best body she'd ever seen, and she still found him incredibly sexy. It was an unbeatable combination, no matter how different their jobs were. And besides, she liked that part. It stimulated both of them that their careers were so different. “Thank you, baby, you don't know what this means to me,” she said gently.

“Listen, maybe this will be the best thing that ever happened to us. Maybe we'll even decide to have kids in California.” She made no comment and he didn't push it. She felt she had enough to think about, just worrying about his job and Cal's company, without adding babies to it. And as she hung up the phone, she felt as though an irresistible force were propelling her forward, almost as though this had been meant to happen. It frightened her a little bit, but it was also incredibly stimulating.

She spent all of Thursday with Cal again, following him to meetings, and talking to key employees. She had a better sense of his organization and staff than she'd ever had before, and so far she still liked everything about it. She checked in with her office that afternoon, but nothing much was happening, and they had no idea what she was doing. She had told them that she had to go away to attend to family business.

“Would you like to come to dinner at the house tonight?” Cal asked as they wrapped up at six o'clock. Everyone else was gone, and she noticed that most people didn't work as late as they did in New York. It was never unusual to see people working till nine or ten o'clock in her office, and sometimes considerably later. But as Cal had pointed out to her from the first, the quality of life in California was considerably different. People seemed to care more about their health, their personal lives, their time off. And after work, they went home, or out to play tennis, or work out. It seemed a healthier, happier, more well-balanced existence. In New York, the people she met in the business world looked as though they existed under a flat rock, they were pale and tired and stressed, and most of the time looked frantic and unhealthy. This was certainly very different.

“I'd love to come to dinner, but I have to pick Steve up at nine,” she explained. “I don't want to screw up your dinner.” They exchanged a smile, they already had an easy, close, comfortable working relationship. After the time they'd spent on the road, and now here exploring the intricacies of his company, it was almost like being married.

“I was going to have dinner with the kids early anyway. Do you want me to drive you?”

“You don't have to do that. I'll take a cab, and we'll go back to the hotel and talk.” Cal had made an appointment for him at SF General for the next day, and another at the hospital he'd mentioned in Oakland. And she knew that Steve had called his friends at Stanford. He was going to have a busy day on Friday, while she went out to meet some important clients with Cal, he said he wanted her to meet them. Meanwhile, they had heard that day that his stock had gone up further. It had skyrocketed in the week it had been on the market. Everything was coming up roses for him, particularly if he could get Meredith to join his company.

“Why don't you come home with me, and I'll barbecue some hamburgers and hot dogs?” It was the other side of his life that always intrigued her, it was so out of sync with the business genius she saw in him, and the young high-tech tycoon that the rest of the world saw. The thought of him barbecuing in his backyard amused her.

“Okay, I'll come,” she agreed, “if you don't think your kids will mind.” She still remembered the cool reception she'd gotten from them on her earlier visit.

“They'll be fine,” he assured her. And they were, for the most part. Andy remembered her and shook her hand with a smile this time. He even remembered that her husband was a doctor. And Julie was cool to her, but politer this time, she even asked how their trip had gone, and told her that her father had brought her a really great sweater from Paris. Meredith didn't tell her that she had helped to pick it out, but she was secretly pleased that the child had liked it. Mary Ellen was still the only holdout. She looked irritated as soon as she saw Meredith get out of the car with her father, and disappeared upstairs to her room moments after. She came back downstairs again for dinner, but only long enough to pick at half a hamburger and then say that she had to go back up to do her homework. But she had looked startled, and not particularly pleased when Meredith mentioned that she'd met her mom in London. If anything, it seemed to make Mary Ellen more suspicious of her.

“She doesn't get along terribly well with her mother,” Cal explained after the kids left the table they'd set in the backyard. He and Meredith were drinking coffee by then, and the pleasant young housekeeper who took care of the kids as well had cleared the table. Cal said he'd had her for years and she was a godsend. “I think Charlotte feels some kind of rivalry with Mary Ellen, now that she's getting older, and she's hard on her. Mary Ellen just thinks she's mean. And she took it the hardest when Charlotte left. She was six then, and it wasn't easy for her.” Meredith felt sorry for the girl suddenly. Even though she wasn't particularly welcoming, or even polite at times, she had obviously suffered, and maybe as a result, she was suspicious of women. Charlotte didn't look like anyone's dream mother.