With a silent prayer, I squinted shut my eyes, yelled a pre-emptive “Four” and gave it everything I had. A loud whoop behind me jolted me out of my thoughts. I gazed out at my ball as it landed shockingly close to the little flag.
“Did you see that?” I screeched.
Without stopping to think, Marcus scooped me up in his arms and spun me around in a circle. “That was brilliant!”
“I twisted from the hips!”
“You twisted from the hips!”
Our laughter slowly faded as we stared into each other’s eyes. I flushed and glanced away as his hands quickly loosened. He set me gently on the ground and took a small step back just as Takahari came around the corner, squinting off across the lawn.
“Akio, did you see that?” I cried.
Marcus raised his eyebrows and muttered, “Akio?”
Takahari used his hands like a visor. “Was that you, Marcus?”
Marcus grinned proudly and turned to me. “Actually, no. That was Rebecca.”
“Really?” Takahari took me by the arm and started leading me up the lawn to follow the shot. “In that case, Miss White, you need to let me in on your secret.”
“It’s all in the hips...” I said sagely, rejoining Takahari. Marcus and a henchman climbed into the cart and sped past us over the green.
The old man and I walked for a while longer in comfortable silence, before he turned to me speculatively. “Did you see the article that came out this morning?”
There was a hitch in my step. “I did.”
“Didn’t paint your boyfriend in the best of light.”
“No,” I admitted with a sigh. “I guess it didn’t.” We walked a few steps farther when I pulled us to a sudden stop. “But you know, Marcus never claimed to be a saint.”
Takahari looked at me curiously. “Go on.”
My eyes flickered across the green as I tried to think of how to phrase it. In the end, I simply shook my head. “I think any man who gives four million dollars each year to fight the disease that killed his mother is worth consideration.”
The old man nodded, but his face was hard. “Sentimentality isn’t the greatest attribute when it comes to business.”
“I have to disagree. We shouldn’t be afraid of the full range of human emotions, even if some of them may seem too sweet. It makes your company more human, right? And that gives it the competitive advantage.”
He laughed and took my arm again as we continued walking.
“The four most important traits in an advisor are integrity, competency, accessibility, and amiability. Marcus is all of these. Now, you know that integrity is the most important trait of all.”
“Yes, I agree. It’s the quality of being honest and fair.”
“We both know that Marcus is honest. His father was honest. He comes from an honest, hardworking family.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“He’s competent. Marcus has a broad knowledge in many areas. He can give you sound advice on estate planning issues, income tax law, retirement planning, insurance and risk management, cash flow, and budgeting, and business succession planning.”
“Marcus is very knowledgeable. Even more so than his father.”
“Accessibility,” I continued. “Although this is important, without integrity and competence, accessibility is meaningless. When you have a need and call your advisor, Marcus is always available. I know he picks his business over anything else. Because he loves what he does and it means everything to him.”
“He always takes my call.”
“Amiable. Again, without the first three traits, this is pointless. Marcus is friendly and pleasant.”