Under His Care (7 page)

He wanted Kennedy to look for patterns in the industry that would tell him whether to sell off a piece of his existing business, buy another smaller company, merge, or perhaps get into another industry entirely.

Red hadn’t wanted to burden Kennedy with expectations or constraints.

Your mind is a weapon
, Red had told her during one lunch meeting.
And I want your creativity and that awesome brain of yours to be free to fly and come up with anything, no restrictions, no preordained conclusions.

It was an intimidating but ultimately exciting chance to display her abilities in a way that she’d never done before.

And the great thing was, for the most part she was able to forget about Easton and the sadness of their breakup as long as she was diligently focused on the task in front of her. While she was reading, studying, brainstorming ideas, Kennedy could forget that Easton existed—forget that
she
even existed.

It was simply ideas, a universe of concepts and possibilities and numbers colliding and exploding and it made everything else seem small by comparison.

The morning after she got her first paycheck deposited, Kennedy woke up and took a bath, luxuriating in the warm water, resting her eyes and not thinking about work or Red or Nicole, not even thinking about Easton and the loss of her love.

She was just resting in warmth, moaning pleasurably as she experienced real relaxation for the first time in ages.

And that’s when it hit her, like a bolt of lightning. Kennedy sat up straight in the tub, eyes wide open, as water splashed over the side and onto the floor.

“Shit,” she said, dumbstruck by what had just happened.

It reminded her of the times at MIT when she’d been working on a difficult math problem and had suddenly realized the solution when she hadn’t expected it.

Only this was a million times better because it was her idea—not some math problem that someone else had come up with. Kennedy had solved a problem she hadn’t even known existed, and it had simply popped into her mind fully formed.

Red would want to hear this straight away.

Kennedy climbed out of the tub, naked, dripping, and ran to the bedroom and got her phone. She texted Red and said she had a proposal for his business that he might want to hear.

Come by the house
, Red texted her back.
Nicole and the baby are here we can make a day of it!

As she was getting dressed and ready to head out the door, she realized that she hadn’t eaten and her stomach was grumbling unhappily. A wave of nausea passed over her and Kennedy thought that she should probably at least have something to nibble on for the drive to Nicole and Red’s house.

She grabbed a couple of hardboiled eggs in a plastic baggie and some carrot sticks, then put her laptop in its case and headed out the door.

Driving to Connecticut, Kennedy started feeling better, managed to eat both eggs and most of the carrots. She was so excited to tell Red about her idea that she could hardly take it.

She just hoped that he didn’t completely shoot it down.

It would suck if Red ended up realizing that she’d been a total bust after such a short time working with her.

And she also realized that what she would be proposing to Red was almost a complete reimagining of his entire corporate strategy, and it would be incredibly expensive to undertake.

Her nerves were jangling and she began feeling lightheaded at the thought that Red might decide she was crazy after this meeting.

Finally, Kennedy arrived at their home, took a brief moment to compose herself, and then grabbed her computer bag and got out of the car.

Nicole, holding Riley, met Kennedy at the front door.

“Look who it is! It’s Aunty Kennedy!” Nicole said, as Riley flashed Kennedy an enormous smile and then shyly turned back to her mother’s chest.

“Oh, she’s adorable,” Kennedy laughed.

“She just woke up so she’s feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment,” Nicole explained, as they headed into the house.

As they walked down the hall together, Kennedy was suddenly hit by the strong scent of Nicole’s perfume. Normally, she thought Nicole smelled lovely, as everything about her sister was understated and tasteful.

But this time, Kennedy was struck by how repulsive and actually pungent the scent of the perfume was. It was like she’d doused herself in a bucket of the stuff.

Kennedy’s gorge rose as she tried to walk more slowly behind Nicole in order to get away from the smell.

She put a hand on her tummy and felt her belly gurgle unappreciatively.

Finally, they arrived at the sitting room, where Red was waiting, dressed more casually today. He crossed to where they were and shook Kennedy’s hand, then looked at her more closely. “Are you feeling all right? You look pale.”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” She gave a wan smile and then sat down as quickly as possible. She was starting to feel as though she was on board a boat that was swaying side to side.

“So,” Red said, clapping his hands together and sitting across from her, “this must be pretty big news.”

“It is,” Kennedy told him, looking to Nicole and trying once more to force a smile. Sweat broke out on Kennedy’s forehead as her stomach lurched and she swallowed, saliva pouring into her mouth. “I’m very…very excited about this proposal, Red.”

“Well let’s hear it.”

“It actually came to me all at once, like a light bulb moment,” Kennedy told him. “I’ve been doing so much research on the global impact of big business, and particularly advertising and marketing, public relations campaigns. But nothing had stood out in terms of meaningful trends, until suddenly while I was in the bath this morning. And it hit me.”

“In the bath?” Nicole asked, and then Riley squealed.

“I think that’s where Einstein figured out the theory of relativity,” Red replied. “Don’t knock it.”

“Whatever works,” Nicole laughed.

Kennedy laughed too, but it was an anxious, forced laughter, because she was feeling dizzier and dizzier. “What came to me this morning, is that the way advertising will work in the modern era isn’t going to be just viral marketing and social media, or even big data and the like.” Kennedy closed her eyes.

“Is something wrong?” Nicole asked her.

“No, no. I’m fine.” Kennedy opened her eyes and pushed onward. “The patterns of global commerce tell me that the next wave’s going to be focused on complete immersion in emerging markets.”

“How so?” Red asked. “I mean, it’s a nice headline. But what does it mean that my business needs to do tomorrow?”

“That means getting in on the ground floor of countries where they’re just beginning to embrace capitalism, and helping to set up infrastructure, becoming part of the community,” Kennedy explained, while sweat dripped down her forehead, and her stomach grumbled. “As our partners engage in building a thriving capitalist marketplace, the consumers will then trust them implicitly. The companies that work with us in this new way will have brands in Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, Russia and China that are as familiar to locals as Coca Cola, Webster’s Dictionary or Betty Crocker are for us here in the United States.”

Red nodded his head as he thought about it. “That sounds like a tremendous change in how we use our resources. It’s a turnaround in corporate strategy, too, because right now everything is geared towards data gathering in the digital space.”

“And that…that will continue,” Kennedy told him, stifling a belch.

She had to stop. If she spoke another word, she was going to be sick.

“Kennedy?” Nicole asked, rising from her seat.

Suddenly, at that moment. The doorbell rang. Now it was Red’s turn to stand up. “Did you invite anybody else?” he asked Nicole.

She shook her head. “Nobody called us from the gatehouse.”

The doorbell rang again and again. He started for the door, and his footsteps echoed down the hallway as he went.

Nicole came to Kennedy’s side and knelt down, stroking her hair away from her face. “Honey, you look like death warmed over.”

Faintly, Kennedy could hear Red’s voice as he answered the door and then another familiar voice that instantly hit her to her very core.

“Easton’s here,” Kennedy moaned.

Nicole’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she said. They both became still, listening, as Red murmured and then Easton’s voice came through loud and clear.

“I need to see her,” his voice echoed through the halls. “I’m sorry, Red, but I need to talk to Kennedy.”

“Easton—wait just a damn minute!” Red yelled.

Kennedy stood up. “It’s okay, you can let him in,” she called out, not wanting the two men to start fighting over this.

Nicole got up and looked at her. “You don’t need to do this right now. You’re clearly in no condition to deal with him.”

“I’m okay.” She wiped a strand of sticky hair off her sweaty forehead, feeling the ground sway as she tried to remain upright.

A moment later, Easton appeared in the entranceway to the room, with Red right behind him. Red’s face was flushed, but Easton’s eyes were cool and clear as he turned his laser like attention on Kennedy.

“I know I interrupted your meeting, but I just had to see you,” Easton announced.

He was wearing a dark suit, no tie, with the top couple of buttons open on his collar. He looked gorgeous, and even in the midst of her feeling sick, Kennedy could feel the pull of him, his physical presence taking over the room.

Red moved past him and went to Nicole. “I couldn’t stop him unless I wanted to have a fight on my hands,” he muttered.

Nicole just shook her head. “It’s okay,” she said.

Easton glanced at them. “I know this seems crazy to you two,” he told them. “But I really don’t care what you think of me. I’m here for her,” he said, turning back to Kennedy. “I need you,” he said, walking closer.

Kennedy looked away. “You should have said this the other night—“

“Look, I fucked up,” Easton said forcefully. “I know I fucked up. It’s been eating away at me. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. I don’t give a shit about my job.”

“Hey,” Red said, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t,” Easton told him, still looking at Kennedy. “I only care about one thing.”

“Stop it,” Kennedy said, even though she was starting to crumble. Her defenses were low, and she was sick, and tired of fighting her loneliness and her aching soul that cried out for this man.

“I won’t stop,” Easton told her. “I need you in my life. You know we’re supposed to be together.”

“You wouldn’t even stand up to your father,” she said, shaking her head at him. “I can’t take you seriously after the way you treated me. It’s just talk, Easton.”

“It’s not just talk,” he said. “I’ve put everything on the line for you.”

She opened her mouth to respond. But at that moment, Nicole moved and another gust of her perfume hit Kennedy’s nostrils, and the smell of it was so intense that her stomach heaved and she had to run out of the room, just praying she could make it to the bathroom in time.

“Oh God,” she cried out, putting a hand over her mouth. Everything was about to come up—this was no false alarm.

She threw open the bathroom door and lunged for the toilet, getting there just as vomit poured out of her mouth in a stream, her entire ribcage feeling as though it was being turned inside out.

Kennedy threw up again, and her throat and nose burned and she was crying from the humiliation of it all.

The door was shut by Nicole, who came beside her, rubbing her back. “You’re sick,” she said. “You’re really not well, honey.”

“I don’t know what my problem is,” she said. “This happened the other morning too. I thought it was because I was hung-over. But I didn’t even drink last night.”

Nicole put a hand on her forehead. “You’re not warm, I don’t think you have a fever.”

Kennedy flushed the toilet and then put the cover down, leaning across, hugging it as if it was an old friend. It felt cool against her skin.

Nicole ran some water on a washcloth and then pressed it to Kennedy’s forehead. After a moment, Kennedy took the washcloth and held it herself.

“I’ll go and get you a glass of Ginger Ale,” Nicole said. “Be right back, okay?”

“Okay,” Kennedy said, resting her head on the toilet and closing her eyes. She was starting to feel better already.

When Nicole came back a few minutes later, Kennedy could hear Easton outside asking if Kennedy was okay, and Nicole reassuring him that she was, but Nicole’s tone was annoyed.

Then Nicole opened the door just wide enough to squeeze through, before closing it quickly behind her as she handed Kennedy the glass of Ginger Ale.

Kennedy took it and sipped gratefully. “Oh, that’s good. That’s perfect, Nicole.”

Nicole crossed her arms and looked down at Kennedy with some concern. “You said this happened the other morning, too?”

“Yeah,” Kennedy said, still drinking the cool and refreshing liquid. Ice cubes clinked lazily against the glass.