The Accidental Honeymoon (7 page)

Karin takes a while to cool down. She looks at Ryan and wonders if she has blown it. The CEO wanted to keep a low profile and here she is nearly starting a fight with a Russian supermodel. The young intern realizes that Ryan is an attractive, wealthy and powerful man. Many women will try to get close to him. Karin also knows that she needs to be mature enough to not lose her cool. The Emperor needs an Empress worthy of that stature. She slowly gathers herself together and sits up properly in the booth. Karin calmly asks for a glass of white wine. After taking her first sip of alcohol in ten minutes, she is nearly back to normal.

“I have to say I have a newfound respect for you,” Ryan tells her.

“Really?”

“That model was twice your size. She could have really ripped your head off.”

“I was trying to protect you. But I understand that my behavior could run counter to your intentions to keep a low profile.”

“Well, there are no media people in this club. So everything will be kept hush-hush.”

“I won’t do that again. I promise.”

“Don’t worry. I like a girl with a little fight in her. We’ve had our excitement for the night. My big meeting with the IBS board is in 12 hours.”

The couple makes their way out of the club. Ryan escorts Karin into the Bentley. They are driven back to the mansion. Ryan walks Karin to her bedroom.

“Have a great night,” Ryan tells her.

“You too.”

The couple stands there awkwardly for a moment. It’s as though each of them wanted to kiss each other goodnight. Ryan moves closer and gives his future wife a hug. Karin’s body suddenly heats up with this unexpected bodily contact. She hugs him back, pressing his strong chest against her body. When they let go, Karin just stands there for a moment. She slowly walks into the bedroom and closes the door. As Ryan walks away, Karin cracks the door open again to catch a glimpse of her future husband.

Karin takes a shower and hops into bed. Even though she is alone, she doesn’t feel alone. Ryan is right down the hall. She can feel his presence close to her. The young woman grabs one of the extra pillows and holds it close to her as though she were clutching Ryan. As she drifts off to sleep, she thinks about her future husband and slowly whispers, “Good night, Ryan.”

Ryan Wilde looks at the giant monolith of a black building from outside the tinted windows of a Mercedes transit van. His eyes gaze down to the blue letters over the front entrance of the building - IBS. “This is it,” the CEO of Emperor Technologies tells his President as well as his General Counsel. Karin sits off to the side just staring at Ryan. Ever since this morning, Karin has noticed that Ryan has been in some sort of “zone.” His eyes are intense. The Ryan from the nightclub is gone. She knows her future husband is in “CEO mode.” He is ready for one of the biggest days of his life.

Since Ryan Wilde is one of most recognizable faces in the tech world, he can not simply walk through the front doors of IBS. That alone would set every tech blog ablaze. Getting Ryan in front of the IBS board is a tricky task. There was a thought about having a meeting at a hotel. But in the world of cell phone cameras, one photo of Ryan with someone from IBS could leak the merger talks. Instead, it was agreed that Ryan would meet with the board at IBS in one of their “secret conference rooms” within their global headquarters.

The Mercedes transit van enters the IBS building through one of the four garage entrances. The vehicle is guided two levels below street level and directed to a large cargo elevator. Ryan, his top lieutenants as well as Karin exit the vehicle. Waiting for them is George Fowler, President of IBS.

The President of IBS’ eyes open widely as he looks at Ryan Wilde. Even he is somewhat star struck. “It’s good to see you, Ryan. My apologies for the unusual security procedures,” the 55-year old president of IBS tells his possible future boss.

“It’s understandable,” Ryan replies.

The group enters the cargo elevator. The President of IBS is not a member of the company’s board of directors. So he doesn’t really have an opinion about the merger per se. He just wants to make sure he still has a job no matter what happens. The President has already been passed over for the CEO role since the board and Wall Street has been looking for a “Rock Star” to replace IBS’ current 73-year old boss. George isn’t bitter. Frankly, he has risen through the conservative ranks of IBS by allying himself with the right people and navigating the dangerous waters of office politics. His first priority is to survive.

The cargo elevator rises to the 45th floor. The group is led to a set of double doors, locked by a fingerprint ID scanner. The President of IBS presses his finger on the pad, activating a “pass” tone from the security system. George opens the door. Karin’s heart is beating hard against her chest. Even though she is only here to observe, she feels as though she is the one about to give the speech. Ryan, on the other hand, is relaxed and focused.

Ryan and his associates are met by the 12-member board at IBS. None are under the age of 50 and all appear like school Headmasters in front of the relatively young Ryan Wilde. The Emperor Technologies’ CEO confidently shakes the hands of each member of the board. He can tell right away who is on his side and who is still skeptical about his leadership abilities. He knows right away that the Chairman of the Board, Vance Kesinton, is not on his side. Vance, a former Goldman Sachs CEO, has been an IBS shareholder for over 50 years and doesn’t like the idea of change. However, he knows that Ryan Wilde is a brilliant CEO and he wants to hear him out. At the end of the line is the 73-year old CEO of IBS, Ed Horace.

“Nice to meet you again, Ed,” Ryan tells his elder counterpart.

“We last met in Geneva I believe?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“You were with those three French models.”

Ryan has to take a moment to think. “Yes, I think they were French.”

They both laugh.

The board members begin to take their seats at the long conference room table. Ed Horace takes his seat at one end of the conference room table while Vance Kesinton, the Chairman of the Board, occupies the other end of the table. Ryan’s associates, as well as Karin, take seats behind the conference room table.

Ryan stands before the 12 gray haired board members, the jury that will decide the fate of Ryan’s proposal. The young CEO stands in front of the board members and looks every member in the eye before he begins. “I would like to thank the board for meeting me on such short notice,” Ryan begins. He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of newspaper. He carefully unfolds it and begins to read,
“This CEO is a disaster waiting to happen. He is immature, untested and reckless. His pipe dream proposals and newfangled technological inventions could not have been introduced at a more inopportune time. Do not expect this ‘child in a suit and tie’ to last another year.”
Ryan stops reading and looks at the board members. “This article was published in the Wall Street Journal on April 17, 1935. The subject of this article is your own company’s founder William Watson. In the midst of the Great Depression, Mr. Watson left a secure job at Bell Telephone to start a new company called International Business Systems. He had no customers, no cash flow and no allies on Wall Street. But he did have a vision - to create punch card automated databasing for the business sector. So he worked 18-hour days and built the first prototypes out of his own shed. He wheeled his punch-card computing machine up and down the streets of Manhattan. Everyone mocked him. His wife threatened to leave him. But Mr. Watson did not care what others thought. He had a vision. And he knew his product would change the world. After 500 companies slammed the door in his face, Mr. Watson made his first sale to Abbot Labs in October of 1935. Six months later, he sold ten more machines. Three years later, IBS grew to 400 employees and became the fastest growing company at the end of the Great Depression.” Ryan places the article back into his pocket. Every member of the board is now leaning forward in their seats. “I started my company back in early 2000 just as the first dot-com crash began to crush thousands of tech firms. No one was lining up to invest in my company. In fact, no one was lining up to invest in any Silicon Valley company. It would have been easy for me to quit. But I didn’t. I pushed forward. While other start-ups were liquidating, I began growing. While I would not put myself in the same league as your founder, I understand what made him great. It’s about ignoring the noise, the media, the pundits, the chaos and dedicating ourselves 100% to our vision. Together, IBS and Emperor Technologies would become the second largest tech company in the world after Apple. And every day, I will wake up with the vision to make us the number one tech company on the planet. Now, just how will I did that? Allow my associate to explain,” Ryan cryptically adds as he reaches into his other pocket. The entire board is rapt with the young CEO’s every movement. Ryan produces the prototype device from his pocket and holds it up. He turns it on. Across the room, a holographic image of Ryan appears. Everyone in the room gasps.

“Hi, it’s me again,” the holographic Ryan announces. “So how will our combined companies become the number one tech company on the planet? By introducing innovative products to the market. They will change the world. They will enhance people’s lives. The product you are looking at is just one of the ways will shall do that. Now, if you will excuse me, the real Ryan would now like to conclude this presentation.” The holographic Ryan disappears. The real Ryan takes the device and places it on the conference room table. Everyone’s eyes stare at it in disbelief. “The world’s first consumer holographic recorder. This will be the very first product our merged company will bring to the market. Our research conservatively estimates that we can sell two hundred million units at seven hundred dollars per piece,” Ryan announces. “With your blessing, I would like to lead the merged company in changing the world. Thank you very much,” the young CEO concludes.

No one in the room makes a sound for a full thirty seconds. The first audible disturbance comes from Ed Horace’s chair as the elderly CEO of IBS slowly slouches forward to reach for the prototype device. As a lifelong engineer, Mr. Horace marvels at the wallet size invention. “53 years ago, Mr. Watson gave me my first job at this company. And I always said that there would never be another man like him,” the 73-year old CEO tells the room. “Well, I am wrong. Mr. Wilde, you
are
Mr. Watson.”

For the first time in recent memory, Ryan is choked up. He watches as other members of the board look at his company’s new prototype. The Chairman of the Board, the most skeptical of the bunch, holds the prototype in his hands. “I’m a money guy,” the Chairman tell Ryan, “Not a tech guy, so I don’t know how this thing works. But I do know that this thing will make a lot of damn money.”

The Chairman of IBS places the prototype at the center of the table. “All in favor of the merger between International Business Systems and Emperor Technologies vote ‘yea.’ All those not in favor vote ‘nay.’”

“Yea!” the entire board proclaims.

“All in favor of appointing Ryan Wilde as the Chief Executive Officer of the merged company vote ‘yea.’ All those not in favor vote ‘nay.’”

“Yea!” the entire board erupts once again.

“It is passed. The merger of IBS to Emperor is passed by the board with Ryan Wilde as Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. The motion will be put forth for final approval at the next shareholder meeting.”

Ed Horace stands up from the table and walks over to Ryan. He shakes the young CEO’s hand. “Congratulations. It looks like you’ll be the captain of the ship. And I can finally retire.”

“Thanks, Ed. I will strive to continue your vision and the vision of Mr. Watson.”

The board members join Ed Horace in congratulating Ryan Wilde. Karin excitedly jumps out of her chair. Her first instinct is to give Ryan a big hug. Then she stops herself. After all, that would be more than simply awkward in this setting.

Karin stands there and watches her boss, friend and future husband conquer the room. Within five minutes, every board member voted their allegiance to Ryan, “the Emperor.” The young intern is enrapt with Ryan’s charisma, vision and power. As Karin continues to stare at her boss, Ryan looks back at her. He waves for the young intern to come join him. Karin points at herself wondering if it is indeed her whom Ryan wants by his side. He nods, “yes.” Karin happily joins him.

“I would like to introduce all of you to a very special person. This is Karin,” Ryan tells the board members.

Everyone in the room politely shakes the young woman’s hand. Karin can feel Ryan’s right arm around her side. “Is this your exclusive lady friend?” Ed asks.

“Indeed,” Ryan answers.

“You must be a very special woman,” Ed tells Karin.

“Thanks,” Karin responds shyly.

“So when should we pop the big announcement on the world?” the Chairman of IBS asks Ryan.

“Today is Friday. Let’s do it Monday morning before the markets open. We can book the Waldorf-Astoria for the event.”

“Sounds good,” the Chairman answers as he looks towards his CEO and other board members. Everyone appears to be onboard with the Monday morning announcement.

“Excellent,” the Chairman responds. “Let’s say 8AM.”

“8 a.m. is good,” Ryan responds. “Now, I can enjoy the weekend in the city.”

The group begins to break-up. Ryan meets with his President and General Counsel. “Looks like we’re about to create a monster,” Ryan jokes.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how the papers react to the news,” Michelle Ackerman, Ryan’s President and Second-In-Command responds.

“I’m sure some people will think I’m not ready for this.”

“The usual pundits will call to question your maturity,” Author interjects.

“Well, I’ll have a second bombshell to drop soon after the merger announcement,” Ryan mentions with a sidelong glance at Karin.

“A second bombshell?!” Michelle asks.

“Let’s just say I’m staying one step ahead of everyone,” Ryan responds. “Now, I would go out and celebrate but that could cause a little suspicion. So we’ll have to quietly go our separate ways until Monday morning. I hope you two can find a way to have fun in the city this weekend.”

The three head back downstairs and get into the Mercedes transit van. Michelle and Author and dropped off at their hotel. Ryan looks at Karin and offers with a smile, “Let’s do a little shopping.”

“Where?”

“Well, where would you like to get a ring?”

Karin’s eyes open wide. She knows that she is entering in this arranged marriage with Ryan. But now that he has mentioned the ring, things have gotten immensely real.
She is going to do this.
A rush of anxiety and exhilaration rushes through the young woman’s body. She looks out of the window and sees the gilded stores of Fifth Avenue before her eyes. The entire city has become her candy store.

“Well, I’ve never really been inside a fancy jewelry store before.”

“I don’t go shopping for jewelry much either. How about Tiffany’s. I’m sure that would be a fun place to start.”

“I think Tiffany’s would be a nice place to start as well,” Karin responds with a nervous giggle.

The Mercedes transit van pulls up to the flagship Tiffany & Co. store at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. The driver exits the vehicle and opens the door for Karin. Ryan follows soon thereafter. The couple takes no more than three steps when people on the busy New York street begin to turn their head and call out, “Ryan Wilde! Hey, Ryan!” Karin is caught off-guard by the “rock star” attention the CEO receives from people on the street.

Ryan opens the door for Karin. The young woman walks into the store. She looks around at the display of wealth and opulence. She feels so out of place. It’s as though Karin had been transported to an alien world. For a moment, she almost wants to flee from the store for fear of being seen as some sort of vagrant. It’s not until Ryan joins her side that she begins to get more comfortable.

Karin’s eyes wander around the store. She is blinded by the various displays of accessories and jewelry. Ryan looks at Karin’s eyes and enjoys the wonderment on her face. It’s the kind of look Ryan enjoys seeing when people first encounter one of his company’s new products. Ryan has always enjoyed “wowing” people.