The Awakening (4 page)

“This is wonderful,” Victor said pouring the champagne. “I expect a great evening. I am taking you to the best restaurant in town. Well, it is my favourite. Beautiful fresh fish and vegetables. The food is guaranteed and the company is all ready fine, how can we fail?”

Andrew had quickly positioned himself between Victor and Carmen in the back of the limousine and kept his hand on her thigh throughout the ride to the restaurant. Carmen felt uncomfortable with such an obvious gesture of “ownership” and thought the less of Andrew for it. She hoped Victor wasn’t offended by it and wanted him not to think she was happy to be seen so clearly as property. She tried to move Andrew’s hand but he was not about to co-operate with her gently nudging. Clearly Andrew was far more upset by Victor’s strange words and close attention the other day than she had initially believed. She would need to make every effort to keep the evening light and pleasant and Andrew distracted from focussing on her and Victor’s every interchange and smile.

As they ordered coffee Carmen relaxed: it had been a most enjoyable evening. The food, as promised was sensational, the service better than anything Carmen had encountered before. Victor ordered expensive and exquisite wines and was in charge of the entire evening. Carmen felt he was showing off for her, but he was so understated she wasn’t sure and how well did she know him? Perhaps he was always like this? Gracious, generous, expansive. He’d managed to make Andrew laugh a few times and had encouraged Carmen to share her vision for the new imprint. It wasn’t just Andrew’s baby anymore, Victor rightly pointed out. She would be empowered to make many decisions, so what was her vision? Andrew had never asked her this. He’d just assumed she wanted what he did, that she saw the project in the same light. Well, she almost did. Andrew looked at her quizzically but allowed her to speak without interruption and when she’d stopped, he was still smiling. Both men were smiling and nodding at her.

“Excellent,” Victor said. “It is important to keep that humble edge, not to have stars that will alienate our public. I agree, this can be a spiritual awakening too. Not just another “if I can do these things so can you.” It should be about the journey. Not the destination.” He covered her hand with his. It was the contact she had been waiting for all evening. She tried not to smile too warmly as his hand held hers and she felt a strong connection to him. Something deep and forgotten was stirring within her. She felt a heat move through her, a sort of humming in her soul. Who was Victor Bernhard? Why did she feel she knew him so well so soon? He lingered for a moment quietly looking at her before turning to Andrew. “I knew you were smart, AA. Acquiring this lovely lady just shows me how clever you are.” He sighed triumphantly, gazed somewhere into the future. “Great Blizzard has a great future. Carmen Whyte has an even greater one.”

Andrew felt compelled to speak. He needed to take advantage of Victor’s good humour. “Carmen has an MA in literature and business management. I knew she was more than a sports star. From the moment we first met and talked, I knew she could help take the company forward. I knew she believed in what you – what we all believe in, Victor.”

“If companies like us don’t act responsibly, don’t actively care for the environment then who else will? Our profits remain strong. Our readers are loyal. The board is entirely happy.”

“But Victor, “Andrew ventured, “surely we are in a position to take some risks, to push our advantage? Shouldn’t we list on the Stock Market? Look at Utopia. Their profit has sky rocketed since they listed last year. And Pacific Moon is going the same way.”

Victor smiled indulgently, swirled the wine in his glass thoughtfully. He had heard this all before. He guessed Andrew felt it was a good time to float the idea again. After all everyone was in a good mood and Carmen’s presence meant they would both behave entirely professionally, neither wishing to show themselves up badly in her eyes.

“Andrew,” Victor began softly. “I know your feelings on this matter. I understand your position. You wish to increase profit. You see the floating of the company as the correct pathway to greater profit. You see it as the obvious next step for a company as successful as ours. Your examples support your premise. But, and I thought you understood this, Andrew, we are not all about profit. If we were we would not be Great Blizzard, we would be some other entity. This company is founded on supporting the environment in every way we can. Out paper is 100% recycled; we support
Green-Earth
,
Living Waters
and
Free the Animals
by publishing their materials for cost and making large donations to their organizations. We have our own plantations and contribute to the local economies in many parts of the world. We contribute to –”

Andrew held up his hand. “I know all of this, Victor. I have been your MD for five years. I know exactly what the company does and what it stands for. My point is that through greater profit we could do more. Much more for your many causes than we do now.”

Victor nodded. “Yes, it is a compelling idea. But, my dear Andrew, as well you know, once we list, once we become a public company we are beholden to our share-holders and they may not endorse our current philosophy, our mission as an ethical, environmentally responsible company. I hardly think they would endorse the amount we give to our causes. Profit, your god, is a very sexy beast and many compromises would be made in the name of it. Believe me. We have greater freedom this way.”

“You mean you have, Victor.” Andrew looked his boss squarely in the eye. It was what he needed to say. It wasn’t about the board: it was all about Victor. “You are the company, Victor.”

Victor shrugged. “Indeed I am, AA. And I guess while I am we will not become a public company. One day I will no longer be here and perhaps then what you dream of will transpire. If you are still here.” Victor leant into Andrew, still smiling, not obviously threatening him. “Perhaps you will be able to prove to your father that you can be successful without his support, without playing his game. After all Andrew you really are only here until the time is right to move into your father’s domain, aren’t you? Perhaps you will realise your ambitions for Great Blizzard. But you may have a long wait.” Victor took a sip of his wine, his voice as calm and soft as it had been throughout the exchange. “Perhaps, AA, you need to find a place where your beliefs about profit and stock markets match better than with Great Blizzard?”

It was as if the whole restaurant stopped. Victor stopped smiling. Andrew was stunned. Carmen looked from one to the other. She was shocked by the palpable antipathy they had for each other. She’d believed AA and Victor were a strong team, working for the same ends. After all Andrew ran the company for half the year while Victor was away. He had only espoused the party line to Carmen since they’d met. He’d seemed full of admiration for Victor. Was Andrew conning her as well as Victor, in order to stage a surprise move to the top sooner rather than later? Had they meant what they’d just said?

Carmen touched Victor’s arm. “I’m sure Andrew didn’t mean that, Victor. I’m sure he-”

“No, Victor, no.” Andrew quickly realised that he was in danger of being out manoeuvred, of being out of his office and out on the street. Then his father would have the last laugh and Andrew was not going to have that. He would leave Great Blizzard when he was ready, not on Will or Victor’s time. He knew Victor did not tolerate deviance from the mission. Yes, he had gone too far, mistaken Victor for a man losing the plot when he was still very much in command. The only way for Andrew to get what he wanted was to bide his time, find a smarter means to his end. Tackling Victor head on, despite being his No. 1 for so long was not going to work. He’d misread the evening. He and Victor had spent too long apart this time. Andrew had spent too much time hatching schemes in his own head without taking enough reality checks. Victor was still the main man and Great Blizzard was as firmly under his control as ever. He and Victor were not about to become closer because of Carmen. In fact, she was what could drive them completely apart. Did Victor realise that, Andrew wondered.

“Look, Victor, I’m sorry. I went too far.”

“Yes, you did, Andrew. But sometimes it is better to speak what you feel. I am sure we can go on from here.” Victor’s smile was enigmatic. “But do you want to?”

Andrew put his hands up. He had put himself in such a stupid position with Victor – let him know too much of what was in his heart. If he couldn’t stand up to Victor how was he ever going to prove himself worthy to his father? Will had not given his blessing for Andrew to eschew the family law firm or delay public office for this long. Andrew needed to succeed where Will had failed. And part of the experiment in trust and making a new start had been to allow AA to come to Great Blizzard. But if he couldn’t succeed here how could he expect the family and the party to throw their full force behind him when the time came? Besides, he was still uncertain about all that. He had watched his father devote his life to politics and he wasn’t sure that he was cut out for it. He had thought that working for Victor was sufficiently different to following in his father’s footsteps. But too many times AA saw Will in Victor and wondered what he was actually doing with his life. Was it his own at all? Still, now was not the time for grand acts. He needed to hang in, see if he actually could make Great Blizzard his own. Victor was tiring, his trips away were not reinvigorating him as they had when AA had joined GBPE: surely he was on the precipice of retiring? All AA had to do was bide his time. “I can’t imagine working anywhere else. I don’t know what came over me.”

Victor nodded. “We both went too far. And we’ve been quite rude to Carmen, discussing our business differences at a dinner in her honour. Unchivalrous of us both.”

Carmen shook her head. “It’s fine. Please don’t mind me.”

“But I do,” Victor passed a small box to her. “This is for you. Welcome, Carmen. I hope you find all that you’re looking for with us. That we can help you become all that you must.”

It was a gold rampant polar bear pendant on a fine gold chain. Just like the company’s emblem. Two diamonds sparkled for eyes. It was simple and completely beautiful. On the back was an inscription –
Ursula -19 July
. Carmen looked at Victor. “Where did you get this?”

“I’ve had it for a very long time. It’s been waiting for you. Here, let me put it on for you.”

Andrew felt the same tug in his gut as in the office yesterday morning. He fought for calm, knowing there was absolutely nothing he could say about anything: not to Carmen, certainly not to Victor. He felt completely out played, absolutely out manoeuvred. He wasn’t sure he knew what the game was any more. He saw Victor look at him as he fixed the necklace in place and wondered if he had actually been set up by Victor about work because of Carmen. Was Carmen the prize, not the company? Andrew looked at them together. Victor’s hands on that golden throat, touching her perfect skin. Carmen’s eyes were closed, her head tilted back, her lips slightly parted. Victor kept Andrew’s gaze as he kissed Carmen’s naked throat. Andrew swore he heard her moan. He hoped it was because she’d had too much to drink that she was so open to Victor. But as quickly as the idea entered his head Victor was simply standing behind Carmen and she was smiling at him, caressing the gift. “It’s so lovely, Victor. So completely perfect.”

“I told you I knew you. You will come to the truth of the matter and understand that we have much work to do together. The path will not always be easy but it will be rewarding.”

Carmen nodded, entranced by the necklace, only just taking in Victor’s strange words. Victor seemed to look into her soul, go beyond all her carefully protected dark places. He made her feel at once vulnerable and uncomfortable yet completely safe. How did he do that? Sitting next to Andrew, whom she was supposed to love, she felt only conflict within. She wanted Victor to hold her again, move his hand inside her and touch her pain, which she knew he knew all about. It was if he knew her better than she knew herself. She shivered: his eyes on her soul, his hands around her throat made her uncomfortable. She wanted to be as far away from him as possible, yet at the same time have him hold her tight, pull her closer to him. Her confusion was almost too much.

Victor waved to the maitre d for the bill. The night was over.

Every fibre in Carmen’s being wanted Andrew to go to home his own place after dinner. Her head was too full of Victor and the inscription on the pendant. She desperately wanted time to savour the evening, those moments of contact with Victor, let all her emotions swirl about at the back of her brain, deep in her subconscious where she might be able to make sense of how she was feeling. But she knew that if she sent Andrew home she would never see him again and she wasn’t ready for that. Whatever was happening between her and Victor really had nothing to do with Andrew. She knew that. Just as their tussle at dinner was nothing to do with her. They had their own war to wage. She knew there was only one way to show Andrew she truly loved him and that Victor was not about to hold her heart in his hand. Her soul may have been under threat and there was an inescapable electricity between them but love was not a word floating in her head as she thought of Victor. Something more, something much bigger than that was stirring. But she had no idea what was going on. Carmen was simply aware of how confused Victor made her feel.

Once inside her apartment she kissed Andrew softly on his sad mouth and took his hand leading him to her bedroom. She slowly removed his clothes, letting them fall to the floor in a crumpled heap of silk and wool. She stroked his muscular chest, ran her hands across his shoulders, tousled his dark hair and kissed his dark eyes. “It’s all right, AA. You’re here now, with me.” She pushed him back onto her bed. She let her dress fall to the floor and stood in the lamplight letting him look at her. He moved to touch her soft round breasts and stroke her long hard thighs. She moved on top of him, like a lioness devouring her prey. She licked and nipped at his flesh, eliciting little squeals of pleasure. She reached for his already erect penis and stroked it with a calculated roughness – just enough to bring him to the edge of his pleasure, but not take him beyond – not yet. “I want you,” he breathed. “Soon,” she said. She moved her breasts in front of his mouth, tantalisingly out of reach. She kissed his neck, his face, finally his open mouth. He grabbed her breasts and squeezed them hard. She moaned and arched her back. “I want you now,” she said as she moved her wet pussy onto him and ground her hips into him. He sighed with relief. It felt so good to be inside her at last. He thrust into her, watching her breasts sway as she writhed her hips. He loved to watch her face flush, a tell tale sign that ecstasy was invading her whole body from her toes all the way up to her scalp. In one deft movement he grabbed her hips and swung her underneath him, her back flat on the bed. Now he was where he liked it most. On top, in control. Yes she was good to watch above him but this, and he never admitted it to anyone, was his favourite position. Strong man on top of his woman, commanding the scene. Pushing into her, feeling her juices ooze onto his balls, making them tighten and electrify.