“But she obviously is an expert.” I ran a hand through my perfect haircut. “She should have her own salon.”
Staring down at my hands for a moment, I pondered. “Could I give Katy her own salon? I mean, I have the money to snap my fingers and make that happen.”
Looking up to Laura, I said, “I didn’t mean to lie to her. I really didn’t. I just thought that she’d understand me better if there was a bit of time for her to get to know me before she saw that other side of me. I wanted to keep her in a little bubble of just the two of us so that we could bond.”
Usually I had a big, booming voice designed for speeches and presentations. But now my voice was weak. Quavering.
“Laura, I love her so much I feel like I can’t breathe without her. It actually physically hurts knowing that she’s disappointed in me.”
Laura looked at me in shock until she smiled. “Sir, you are going to be incredibly proud of your video team later today.”
CHAPTER NINE
* Katy *
My body alternated between feeling like it was floating, and sinking heavy as a stone. I shuffled through the day on autopilot, even though Tasha and the other stylists were still being much nicer to me.
I cleaned my station, grabbed my purse, and went out the door, expecting to go home immediately to have another good cry. But there was a huge black town car in front of the shop with the back door open, and Dan on his knees on the sidewalk in front of it.
“What are you doing?” I gasped.
“Katy, I am begging you for ten minutes of your time to watch a video. Then, if you agree, I would like to drive you to a building and show you something.”
A few people on the street were looking at him strangely. It was obvious that he was not the sort of person who should be groveling on the sidewalk for anyone.
“Okay,” I said, more to get him into the car and off of his knees than anything else.
He looked incredibly relieved, standing up to take my hand and help me into the back seat. A video screen was set up, and as soon as I was settled, he hit play.
It launched into a fast-paced account of Dan’s life. His education, his short-lived football dreams, his admission that he’d only dated three women, and never for more than a few months.
His father had retired completely due to health reasons, and his mother threatening to leave him if he didn’t. Apparently, his heart condition required a lot of rest, and very little stress.
When Dan took over, he went through the entire corporation, updating things and making environmental and ethical improvements. His dad was livid at some of the changes and didn’t speak to him for a month. But Dan needed to do everything that he felt was right. He even put a few advisors in place who had instructions to check Dan if he ever considered doing anything remotely out of place.
Then it showed the amount of money and resources he was pouring into his education division, especially improving literacy. There was a brief clip of Dan explaining to a huge crowd of people that helping children read well was a step toward them thinking for themselves, and making clearer, more balanced decisions later in life. If their inner lives and imaginations were richer, their entire lives would follow. More intelligent children now could improve the entire planet in the future.
The sharp, high definition video faded, then a slightly shaky low-resolution video showed Dan sitting at his desk looking completely lost.
His eyes flew wide as he stared at the person who must have been wearing the camera as a pin. “That’s why we click so well. I’m trying to improve the world, and she’s trying to improve one person’s life at a time. I get that now.” He nodded, sipping his coffee.
“She listens so well,” he said. “And I love that she was very precise. She didn’t take my word for it about measurements, she pointed. She worked with me.”
“I noticed that too,” a woman’s voice said softly. “It made me feel more relaxed that we were figuring out what I needed together instead of her just telling me and playing the part of the expert.”
“But she obviously is an expert.” Dan ran a hand through his hair. “She should have her own salon.” He stared down at his hands. “Could I give Katy her own salon? I mean, I have the money to snap my fingers and make that happen.”
Looking up, he said, “I didn’t mean to lie to her. I really didn’t. I just thought that she’d understand me better if there was a bit of time for her to get to know me before she saw that other side of me. I wanted to keep her in a little bubble of just the two of us so that we could bond.”
His voice was completely different. He sounded weak. Dan looked up, just past the camera, his eyes swimming with fear and sadness. “Laura, I love her so much I feel like I can’t breathe without her. It actually physically hurts knowing that she’s disappointed in me.”
The video faded to black.
Turning to Dan, my eyes were full of tears. He seemed frozen, not even breathing, waiting for my reaction. I leaped into his arms, holding him tightly as he took a shaky breath.
“Baby, I probably don’t understand relationships yet. Help me. Please.”
I nodded against his shoulder. “Thank you for telling me everything.”