The Accidental Honeymoon (5 page)

Karin is open to Author’s words. She is still a little apprehensive. “I appreciate your words. But I still won’t reveal anything about Steven.”

“Let me ask you this. Do you care about this company?”

“Yes.”

“Do you care about Ryan?”

“Very much so.”

“Would this particular secret harm Ryan if he didn’t have to hear about it?”

“No.”

“Alright. So we’ll never have to discuss the matter again.”

The young intern exhales deeply. She leans against the elevator walls as though she had just run through an obstacle course. “Look, why don’t you go down to the cafeteria and get something to drink. If anyone is looking for you, I’ll tell them that you are running an errand for me.”

“I appreciate it.”

Author presses the bottom floor button on the elevator’s control pad. “You stick up for yourself pretty damn well. I can see why Ryan likes you.”

For the first time in hours, Karin cracks a smile.

The young intern usually abstains from caffeine and sugar. However, she has decided to break her personal diet code. She needs something strong to soothe her nerves. She goes to the in-house Starbucks cafe and orders the tallest, least healthy drink on the menu. She wants to shock her system back to normal.

“How may I help you?” the barista asks Karin.

“What drink could possibly put me into a coma?”

The barista laughs slightly. “Well, we have something employees like to call ‘Liquid Cocaine.’”

“What’s that?”

“The venti white mocha double Espresso with whipped cream.”

“I’ll take it.”

About a minute later, the barista delivers the monster drink into Karin’s hands. She takes a seat facing the windows and places the drink to her lips. The double espresso slides down her tongue and coats her throat in syrupy sweetness. Her eyes water. It’s the first jolt of sugar and caffeine she has had in over a year. Karin body begins to jitter followed by a rush of energy that pushes out all the anxiety she had just a few minutes ago. “I’m going to have a serious sugar crash after this,” Karin tells herself. The young intern stares at the majestic pines right outside her window. Her mind drifts back to Ryan. She wishes she could just walk up to his office and relax with him. Of course, she figures that acting a little too familiar with her soon-to-be husband would not be appropriate around the office. Her mega sized Espresso and a view of the Northern California pines are her only source of comfort for the time being.

It takes Karin a good half an hour to get to the bottom of her 16-ounce drink. She makes her way back up to the fourth level where she sees her future husband walking with a group of people. Karin smiles at Ryan who appears too preoccupied talking to his executives. A slight sadness comes across her face.
He is busy. He probably did not even see me. I have to stop being so emotional. I need to just relax
. The young intern can feel the sugar crash coming on strong. She goes back to the conference room and slides into her chair. About twenty minutes later, one of the senior execs commandeers her to take notes on a conference call.

Karin spends the afternoon in a windowless conference room listening to the most mundane conversations about distribution costs and efficiency. She dares not look at her watch. She doesn’t want to appear as though she is not paying attention. When the meeting is finally over, she is shocked to find that it is nearly 9 p.m.

The young woman is in a daze. Her sugar crash and emotional rollercoster of a day has burned her out. She is too dizzy to even remember she sits. Instead, Karin plops herself down on one of the comfy lounge chairs in one of the open areas of the fourth level. She looks at the red leather of the chair and playfully pokes at it.
Oh stop being such a sourpuss. You are getting married to Ryan. I like him. He likes me. Just roll with it. Relax.
Karin stares at the bone white wall in front of her. She listens to the ambient sounds of the office. Off in the distance, she can hear her future husband’s voice. Karin begins to smile.

“The resolution on this is better than I expected. It’s really lifelike. This is incredible,” Ryan brags.

Karin turns around and sees Ryan standing about five feet away from her. But something is strange.
Ryan is transparent.
Karin leans over the back of the chair and stares at this ghostly image of her fiance. “Ryan?” Karin calls out softly. She slowly stands up from the chair and gazes at Ryan. She looks through him. Red-eyed and exhausted, Karin is wondering if her brain is playing tricks on her. She walks up to Ryan. “Ryan?” Karin asks again.

“Ha! That’s great!” Ryan proclaims. Karin turns her head and sees another image of Ryan. He is holding what appears to be a camera phone. Then Karin looks back at the transparent image of her fiance being projected from the camera phone. “Lifelike isn’t it?!” Ryan tells Karin. The young intern looks at the 3-D image of her soon-to-be husband.

“This is our prototype of our holographic video camera. You shoot anything through this camera. And you can play it back as a hologram. The 19th century brought photography to the world. The 20th century gave everyone a video camera. The 21st century will belong to holographic imaging. We’re going to put this technology into the hands of the average person.”

Karin looks at the projected image of Ryan. She is astounded. Not of the technology but of Ryan. She sees a man who can simply will anything out of him. “Can I hold it?” Karin asks.

“Sure.”

Karin grabs the camera and begins to project Ryan’s holographic image in different areas of the office. “I feel like I am controlling you,” she jokes.

“Yeah. The man of your dreams. You can put him anywhere and make him disappear at will.”

“And I can put him in my pocket,” Karin jests.

“Alright. It looks like you’re having a little too much fun with that.”

Karin hands the holographic camera back to Ryan. “How long did it take to make that?”

“Fourteen months, 16 days and three nervous breakdowns in the R&D department. They finished it two weeks early for me,” Ryan remarks. “Well, it looks like it’s almost 11 p.m. I want to let everyone to go home and rest.”

“At least I won’t hit a lot of traffic on the way home,” Karin remarks.

“Hey, you want to spend the night over at my place?” Ryan asks innocently. “I mean, we don’t have to do anything. I just thought that maybe since we’re going to be married, you should get to see my home.”

The sheer curiosity of seeing Ryan’s place overwhelms Karin. “That would be cool.”

“I think you’ll like it.”

Karin nervously gathers her things as Ryan dismisses his Research and Design team for the evening. She nervously holds her bag as Ryan gives his final instructions for the evening. “Let everyone in your department sleep in. They don’t have to come into the office until 10 a.m.,” the CEO tells his head of R&D. Ryan motions for Karin to come with him. Together the soon-to-be-married couple get into the elevator and leave the office.

Karin gets into Ryan’s car and they speed off out of the office campus. Her knees knock together. She feels as though her body has run through every type of emotion possible. Ryan confidently navigates his Audi R8 into Palo Alto’s most exclusive enclave. The car slowly pulls up to a set of iron gates that are flanked by 8-foot hedges. The gates open. The CEO of Emperor Technologies guides his car up a cobblestone driveway. Karin looks out at the perfectly manicured landscaped gardens lit by soft ambient lighting. Her eyes are guided forward to the elegant English Countryside style home. It is not a billionaire mega-mansion by any standards. Instead, the young billionaire resides in the kind of estate that seeks to comfort rather than intimidate.

“We’re home,” Ryan tells Karin. Those two words hit Karin’s ears with the kind of warmth that puts her instantly at ease. “This will be home. At least for the next year or so,” Karin tells herself. Ryan stops in front of the entryway of the home. He gets out and opens the door for his fiance. Karin steps out and looks around at the grounds. She is struck by the simple beauty of the old growth trees and the perfectly manicured shrubbery. There is a slight smile on her face.

“What’s the smile about?” Ryan asks.

“This place is so unlike you.”

Ryan opens the front door to his home. “Yeah. Most people expected me to build this ultra modern house. But the truth is, after a long day of work, I want to come home to something that feels warm and welcoming.”

Karin walks inside the home and finds a rather cozy living space with overstuffed couches, several area rugs and a couple of black and white framed photos. The only evidence which would give away the wealth of the owner are the Picasso, Van Gogh and Pollock paintings on the wall as well as several oriental vases and other ancient artifacts. “I hope you feel comfortable here,” Ryan tells her.

“Well, it sure beats the apartment I share with two other girls.”

“Good. Well, I can give you a little tour of the home,” Ryan tells her. They walk down the hallway, where Ryan shows off his home office. It is a simple room, not much more than a computer and a desk. The CEO leads Karin to the kitchen. The young woman is instantly struck by the copperware as well as the high-end appliances. As someone who once worked a summer at an Italian restaurant, Karin can tell there is about six figures with of upgrades in this one room. “I also have a ‘boy room’ over here,” Ryan tells Karin as he leads her to a windowless area filled with pool tables, arcade games and pinball machines. Karin looks at the pool table with particular interest. Her father taught her pool at the age of five and she has been known to hustle games against unsuspecting frat boys in and around Santa Clara.

“Are you good at pool?” Karin asks.

“I’m not bad. How about you?”

“I know my way around,” Karin tells Ryan as she playfully runs her fingers against one of the pool sticks.

“Let’s see what you got,” Ryan tells her as he racks the balls. Karin confidently grabs the stick and places the cue ball in place. She takes aim and breaks the rack, knocking four balls into the pocket. After that, she proceeds to knock ball after ball into each pocket. Ryan is speechless. “You are knocking them off in order aren’t you?”

“Yep. Except for the eight ball. I’m leaving that for last.”

Karin continues to knock the 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 balls into the pool pockets. The 15 ball, however, is blocked by the eight ball.

“You’re going to need two shots to get that 15 ball in the pocket.”

Karin shakes her head. “No I won’t.”

“The eight ball is blocking your way.”

“I know.”

“And you still think you can knock the 15 ball in one shot?”

“Yep.”

“Bullshit.”

“Watch me,” Karin responds as she lines up the shot. She aims her pool-stick downward and hits the cue ball, causing it to hop over the eight ball and safely knock the 15 ball into a corner pocket.

“I can’t fucking believe what I just saw!” Ryan exclaims. Karin giggles as she knocks the final ball into a side pocket. “And that’s how I play pool.”

“You can skateboard, snowboard, and play pool. You are full of surprises.”

Karin just giggles. The two of them look at each other. Ryan stares into the young intern’s eyes. He moves closer to her. He stares at her soft curly hair, light eyes and tight young body. Ryan thinks about kissing her. But he holds back.
He knows the marriage is a business arrangement.
He doesn’t want to complicate it with a kiss. Karin can feel her heart race as she wonders if she should grab Ryan and initiate something. Ryan is cute and smart and warm.
But Ryan is her boss.
She knows that she can not make the first move.

“Let me show you the koi pond,” Ryan tells Karin, breaking the tension. He leads the young intern through a set of double French Doors. The couple wals outside and looks down at the artificial pond filled with dozens of bright red and orange koi fish. Karin had never seen anything like it before. She is mesmerized by the view of the color fish dancing in the clear water.

“They are cute!” Karin exclaims.

“They calm me down. Sometimes I just stare at the fish for a full hour. It really takes the pressure off.”

The couple stare at the fish, standing closer together than they have ever been before. Ryan’s hand brushes against Karin’s thigh. His fingers wander over to her hands. Karin feels her boss’ fingers against the back of her hand. She moves her fingers. The two of them quietly brush their fingers against each other while staring at the koi, illuminated by ambient lighting. Karin’s breathing gets heavy. Everything in her mind tells her to kiss him. But no matter how much she wants to do it, she backs off.

“It’s greeting late. You probably want to go to sleep,” Ryan tells the young intern.

“Sure.”

Ryan walks Karin upstairs. He leads her to a guest bedroom with its own balcony leading to a view of the backyard. “I hope this makes you feel at home.”

“This makes me feel better than being at home.”

“There is also a bathroom suite over there.”

“Now, I feel like I am being spoiled.”

“That’s good. I want you to feel comfortable.”

Ryan stares into Karin’s eyes. Their mouths so close to each other that they can feel each other’s warm breath. “Good night, Karin.”

“Good night, Ryan.”

Karin wakes up unfamiliar with her surroundings. She focuses her eyes on the doors leading to the balcony. The room is brighter than her usual bedroom. She gets up and looks out of the French Doors and stares at the perfectly landscaped yard painted in slivers of morning light. She looks around and begins to remember where she is - Ryan’s home. The young intern wanders over to the bathroom and takes a shower. She gets dressed and makes her way out of the bedroom.

Karin detects the faint aroma of eggs, pepper and potatoes. She follows the scent to the kitchen where Ryan is making breakfast. She is somewhat stunned at the sight of Silicon Valley’s most powerful billionaire working over a stove.

“Good morning. Do you like eggs?” Ryan tells his future wife.

“Good morning. Sure, I love eggs. I didn’t know you cooked.”

“Oh yeah. When I first started Emperor Technologies, I used to make breakfast for everyone at 7 a.m. That ensured that they would show up early for work. Ever since then, cooking has been my one hobby. So how do you like your eggs"?”

“Scrambled would be great, thanks.”

Ryan prepares a breakfast of eggs, potatoes and a side of orange slices. The couple sits down at the humble breakfast table right off the kitchen. As they eat, Karin gets the feeling that she is already married. She can certainly get used to being with Ryan. As each minute passes the couple become more and more comfortable with each other. As Karin finishes her breakfast, Ryan checks his laptop. He begins to furiously type messages to members of his staff. As he is typing, he looks up and notices Karin. Ryan places the laptop to the side. “That’s a bad habit,” the CEO remarks.

“What are you talking about?” Karin asks.

“Me typing like that while you are eating.”

“I understand. You have a huge company to run.”

“I know. But those messages can wait. I need to learn to be more, well, courteous.”

The couple finishes their breakfast and head into the car. As Ryan drives to the company headquarters, he begins to field calls through the Audi’s hands-free phone system. Karin is impressed by the way Ryan efficiently deals with each call. One minute Ryan is negotiating with a manufacturer in China, the next minute, he is making decisions on new products. When Ryan and Karin reach the Emperor campus, Ryan has already talked to three departments within his company.

The couple exit the car and walk into the building with their bodies closer together than usual. Karin is not nearly as self-conscious as she was before. And anyone observing the two would not doubt for a moment that they are a couple. They enter the elevator and trade mischievous smiles and giggles as they rise up to the fourth floor. When the elevator doors open again, Karin realizes that it is time to go their separate ways.

“I guess I’ll see you later,” Karin tells her fiance as she heads off to the conference room.

“You can come hang out in my office,” Ryan invites.

Karin is speechless. She didn’t think that Ryan would allow her to be this close to him around the office. The young intern joins her boss in his vast corner office. When they get inside, the Karin relaxes on one of the two large sofas.

Ryan quickly morphs to CEO mode. He examines the local papers on his desk while his personal assistant gives him the rundown on what needs to be done for the day.

“The sales reports are on your desk,” Ryan’s assistant tells him.

“Thanks, Anna.”

Karin watches her fiance get to work. She is fascinated by the look on his face. He is intense.
She loves to watch him think.
When Ryan looks up at her for a moment, she quickly turns her head away, afraid that she is being too creepy. She grabs a nearby pad and a pen and pretends to take notes.

“Ryan. Are you busy?” Author asks as he stands right outside the CEO’s office.

“Come on in, Author.”

“So I have been talking to Ed over at IBS.”

Ryan gives Author his full attention. “And?”

“He has been talking to his board and you
may
have the votes to be CEO after the merger.”

“What do you mean
may
have the votes?!”

“Ed thinks you have about eight of the twelve votes from the IBS board of directors. But those votes are not set in stone.”

Ryan drops some papers on the desk and shakes his head. He looks around his office and gives a passing glance at his Napoleon bust.

“I want to meet with their board of directors.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m getting on a plane, I’m going to New York and I’m going to seal the deal.”

“Alright. I’ll make the call.”

Author leaves to call the CEO of IBS. Ryan paces his office like a caged tiger. Karin wants to give her future husband a word of encouragement but she doesn’t want to break his concentration. Ryan hops on his skateboard and slowly rides it around his office.

“What do you think they are afraid of?” Karin asks.

“They think I’m too young. And I’m not that young. I’m 36. The thing is, everyone over at IBS is at least 50 years old. They still see me as a kid.”

“They had to be young once,” Karin jokes.

“I don’t think any of them were ever young!” Ryan jokes. “Well, I take that back. Their founder was actually 28 years old when he started IBS back in 1935. William Watson. A certifiable genius. He built a the first accounting machine - in his spare time - while working at Bell Telephone. Of course, everyone back then wore suits and were grown-ups.”

“So, William Watson was a visionary guy, kinda like you.”

“Mentioning me in the same sentence as William Watson is about as nice a compliment you could have possibly given me,” Ryan tells her. The couple exchange flirtatious glances and for a moment, it appears as though Ryan was going to skate over and give Karin a kiss. Just when the impulse is about to hit him, a burst of an idea runs through his head. “I know how to sell myself to IBS,” Ryan proclaims. He presses his assistant’s button on his desk phone.

“Yes, Ryan?” the assistant answers.

“I’m leaving for New York in two hours. I want my jet fueled for takeoff by noon.”

“Okay. Should I book accommodations?”

“Have my residence on Central Park East prepared for my arrival.”

“Will do.”

The CEO turns to his fiance and asks, “So Karin. Do you want to go to New York?”

The young woman’s eyes light up. She has only been to New York a few times. And the idea of going on Ryan’s private plane makes her head spin. “Yeah, sure.”

“Alright, we’ll be going in a few hours. You’ll probably need to grab a change of clothes. On the other hand, we can go shopping for clothes when we hit the city,” Ryan states.

Everything around the office begins to accelerate quickly. News spreads fast that the CEO is headed out of town. Though 99% of the people in the building are not aware of exactly why. Anxious department heads want to get any last minute approvals from the boss before he heads on his plane.

Karin watches as the head of Marketing presents a final cut of the new Sat-Phone TV campaign. Ryan carefully watches each spot and makes some minor comments. Afterward, a design team shows off some packaging for a new laptop. Ryan gives them some quick notes as he gathers his stuff and gets ready to hit the road.

“Author and Michelle should be coming with me,” Ryan calls out to his personal secretary. Karin checks her watch. It’s 11:30. Ryan mentioned that he wanted to be in the air by noon. She doesn’t know he is going to pull that off.

“Um, Ryan. It’s 11:30.”

“Okay.”

“You mentioned that you wanted to be in the air at noon.”

“I know.”

“So you only have half an hour.”

Ryan laughs. “We’re not flying commercial. It’s not like we have to show up two hours early and remove our shoes for the TSA agents.”

Ten minutes later, Ryan gathers his messenger bag. “Alright. Let’s fly!” Ryan tells Karin. The young intern gets up and joins her future husband. Just outside Ryan’s office, the President of Emperor as well as Author, the company General Counsel join the CEO and Karin. The three senior execs make some light chit-chat as they head down to the first floor. For them, this is routine. For Karin, taking a private jet across the country is a bit of a shock.

When the group exits the office, a stretch SUV is waiting for them. The group enters the vehicle which quickly speeds off of the Emperor campus. The SUV takes the short five-minute drive to the Palo Alto Airport. Karin looks out of the window as the SUV makes it way through a private entrance towards a private airport hangar. When the SUV stops, Karin notices a large Gulfstream jet less than fifty feet away from the vehicle.

Ryan escorts Karin out of the SUV. The group walks straight to the Gulfstream where their luggage is already being boarded. Karin looks at her watch. 11:57 a.m. She shakes her head and laughs. She never wants to fly commercial again! The group enters the Gulfstream. Much to Karin’s surprise, the jet resembles more of a hip lounge with cool blue ambient lighting and overstuffed black and red leather seats.

Ryan sits down at one of the jet’s sofas and invites Karin to sit next to him. The intern cozies up next to her future husband. She is practically resting her head on his chest. Michelle and Author relax in captain’s chairs while the flight attendants prepare drinks for the passengers. The door to the cabin is closed. The jet begins to taxi backwards. Karin looks at her watch. 11:59 a.m.

As the jet rolls down the runway, one of the three flight attendants asks the intern if she would like anything to drink. At first she was going to ask for some ice tea. Then she noticed that everyone else inside the jet is partaking in wine.

“Do you want to split a bottle of Pinot Noir?” Ryan asks Karin.

“Why not?” Karin laughs. This is just too much for her to take in. The flight attendant quickly pulls out and uncorks a bottle of 1990 Romanee-Conti. Ryan and Karin are each given a glass. The flight attendant pours each of them a glass of the pinot noir. The couple toasts and takes a sip from their glass as the Gulfstream settles on the runway.

The Gulfstream’s jets fire and propel the craft down the runway. The fifty million-dollar jet lifts itself into the Northern California sky. Karin looks at her watch one last time. It’s noon, exactly. Then she looks at Ryan. She thinks to herself,
This man has complete control of the world around him.

****

Karin can’t stop smiling. She gets up and walks around Ryan’s private jet and marvels at the size and opulence of the Gulfstream. She also appreciates the fact that her future husband has decked out the jet in his own personal style.

“The designer of the Virgin Airlines lounge in London designed the interior for me,” Ryan explains. “I love to think of this jet as my own little private club or lounge.”

“This certainly looks like a party plane.”

“Oh, you don’t even want me to tell you what I have done on this plane.”

“I’m not shy or frigid. You could tell me.”

“Look, even though our pending marriage is not real, I still feel strange telling my future wife what I did up here.”

Karin laughs. Her imagination flares with the thoughts of what possibly could have taken place on the plane.

“So do you like the plane?”

“I have to confess, I am overwhelmed.”

“Oh, you’ll get used to it. I was overwhelmed when my life changed so drastically out of college. You become comfortable with it.”

Karin has never been the materialistic type. In fact, she used to look at the young, professional guys who shopped at the Northface to be less desirable than the scruffy, somewhat irresponsible and slightly dangerous guys she would meet at the bars or local clubs. But she looks at Ryan and sees the best of both worlds - a wealthy guy with a hint of unpredictability and danger.

“So, we’ll be landing in New York at around eight p.m. Would you like to grab dinner somewhere?” Ryan asks Karin.

The young woman looks around wondering if the CEO is talking to everyone on the jet. Then she realizes that Ryan is talking to her specifically. “Sure,” Karin responds somewhat nervously. She doesn’t know if Ryan is asking her out on a date.

“Are you into French cuisine?”

“Well, um, to be honest, I don’t think I have ever been inside a French restaurant.”

“Oh, well, I think you’ll like Daniel on 65th Street. I always try to grab a table there when I am in the city.”

“I feel like I’m being spoiled.”

“Life is too short to not spoil yourself every once in awhile.”

****

Ryan Wilde’s Gulfstream arrives in Teteroboro airport at a little after 8 p.m. Karin can’t get over the fact that flying across the country can be this relaxing. She doesn’t even feel the least bit fatigued. The Gulfstream taxis up to a private hangar where a couple of Bentley sedans are waiting for the group.

“So where are you guys staying?” Ryan asks his President and General Counsel.

“We’ll be at the Mandarin Oriental.”

“Fancy!” Ryan exclaims.

“Well, not as fancy as your place.”

“You could have stayed over at my place if you asked.”

“I don’t think I could handle another one of your Manhattan house parties.”

“Well, I’m about to be a married man. Those parties will have to come to an end. At least for the time being!” Ryan jokes.

The group exits the plane. Michelle, the Emperor Technologies President gets into one of the Bentley Mulsannes with Author Stevens while Ryan and Karin take their own car. The cars make their way from the small airport in New Jersey over into Manhattan in under 20 minutes. Karin looks out of the window and stares at the giant buildings. She feels as though this is all a dream. “I can’t possibly be living this life,” Karin tells herself. The young intern watches as the Bentley makes its way to the Upper East Side. The vehicle turns onto 67th Street and stops in front of a large five story white marble townhouse.

“Here we are!” Ryan tells his future wife.