Chapter 11
“So is everything in order and arranged according to your liking?” Jack asked Hudson. Carl and Sue had already signed off on the new contract with Lewis Investments, and now they were just waiting on the final stamp of approval from Hudson.
Hudson didn’t answer but sat quietly reviewing the last few remaining pages. Once he finished, he looked up at Jack and Karli. “Only one adjustment is needed. I want a dedicated person for my account. I do not want to be shuffled among McCallan associates. I’m hiring your company, but I trust only one person, and that is Karli. I need that added to the contract.”
Jack looked a little baffled, because having Karli in the contract meant that if Karli left the firm—or, heaven forbid, they had to let her go—Lewis Investments would go with her. “Mr. Lewis, I understand that you admire Karli’s work, as we do, but I can—”
“If you can’t or don’t trust your own employees, how can I trust your company?” Hudson said, cutting him off, with a serious expression on his face.
“Hudson, if I may,” Karli interjected, shooting a glare at Jack that was an unspoken order for him to be quiet. “How about this? What if I add myself on a contingency basis as the lead for your account for one year? If I do not satisfy the requirements of the contract in that year, McCallan and Associates can assign a new lead, with whom I will work closely. That way, your needs are met, it gives McCallan some leeway, since you are bound for another year, and it allows me to honor my employee requirements with McCallan in case of separation. Would that be fair?”
Hudson’s mouth creased into a small smile. “Works for me, if it works for Jack and you.”
Jack smiled at Karli and gratefully patted her back for her quick thinking. “It definitely works for me.”
Karli grabbed a pen and made a note of the adjustment for legal on the paperwork. “We’ll get that added in and have the final copy to you by the close of business today,” she said, confidently placing the pen in Hudson’s hand.
He signed; then Jack and Karli did the same. Hudson reached across the table to shake Jack’s hand.
“I do believe we have a deal,” he said.
Everyone cheered and stood. Hudson came around the table and took Karli’s hand. “Thank you, Karli,” he said, covering their joined hands with his free hand. “You are truly a gem.”
“My pleasure, Hudson.”
Hudson dismissed his team and stayed behind to converse with Jack and Karli. In the middle of Jack gushing about Karli and getting excited about their impending deal, he received an important phone call and excused himself.
“Karli, I can’t wait to get started with the new campaign for Lewis Investments,” Hudson said.
Karli folded her arms. “Hudson, you do realize that you hired a team to take care of these things, don’t you? Carl and Sue are very capable and are willing to work with me.”
Hudson looked at her in both shock and admiration. “I knew there was something I liked about you.” He laughed.
“What is that?” She couldn’t help but laugh with him.
“Your boldness,” he answered. “I’m fully aware that they are capable, but I’m a hands-on kind of man. This firm doesn’t run by my allowing others to report back to me. It runs on firsthand knowledge. Sure, there are things I can’t handle, but I always know what’s going on. Besides, to take the competitive edge, I will have to. That damn E-Trade baby is killing the game.”
He and Karli shared a gut-wrenching laugh.
“You don’t like the E-Trade baby, whhhat?” she joked, mimicking one of the commercials on TV.
Hudson chuckled. “On the contrary, I love the E-Trade baby. I wish it were my idea, which is why I was determined to have you on my team. I know you were on that development team,” he said, looking at Karli’s shocked face. “Mmm-hmm, whhhat?” he added, mimicking her. “Didn’t think I knew, huh?”
Shaking her head and giggling, she admitted, “You definitely did your research. Now I’m impressed.”
Hudson looked at his Rolex and then back at Karli. “I’m afraid the only thing I had for breakfast this morning is a cup of hot tea. My stomach is making me aware that it’s time to replenish. Have lunch with me?”
A doubtful look spread across Karli’s face, but before she could decline, Hudson reminded her that it was lunchtime and surmised that she’d have to eat sometime as well. So she agreed.
As they sat at a table covered with a white linen tablecloth, Hudson ordered a vintage bottle of Barolo Monfortino Riserva to go along with their lunch. Once the waiter brought the bottle and poured the wine, Karli took in the aroma of the wine, swirled it in her glass, and enjoyed the taste.
“This is good.” She nodded, in agreement with his choice.
He raised his hand to his chin as he watched her enjoy the wine and smiled slyly. “It is. I told you to trust me.”
She smiled, tilting her glass in agreement.
After their entrées were served, Hudson said, “I’m intrigued, Karli. Tell me a little about yourself.”
Waving her finger in defiance, Karli swallowed her bite of food before replying. “No, sir. You seem to know a lot about my background. Tell me more about you, and I don’t want to hear the typical stuff, like where you went to school,” she joked.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “What? You don’t want to hear about my high school?” he said, ribbing her. A thought came to mind, and he stated, “Okay, well, I started my business—”
“No, nothing like that, either,” Karli quickly interrupted, extending her palm. “If I can find it on your company bio, I don’t want to hear it.”
Charmed, Hudson sat back, in deep contemplation. He was truly stumped, which was rare. No one ever really wanted to hear about him. About his accolades, his credentials, his advice, yes. About him, no.
He placed his fingertips on his chin, in awe of Karli. “Wow. I really don’t know what to say here.” He gazed upward as he grasped for straws, debating what to reveal about himself that was unrelated to his firm. “I like long walks in the park,” he said and then paused. “Wait, I sound like a dating service ad.”
Karli wiped her hands on her napkin, sat back, and crossed her legs. “And that’s what I want to hear. If you like long walks in the park, then tell me that. Hudson, Lewis Investments isn’t just a company to you. You are Lewis Investments. Tell me what makes Hudson tick.”
Hudson was simply amazed. Her intellect was one that he hadn’t seen in a long time in his field, and that was saying a lot. He knew several really smart people, but that special intellectual was a rare find. The sunlight shone in the window near their table and danced playfully on her hazel eyes, and he had to look away to keep from getting lost in them. Those beautiful brown pools left so much to be explored.
He cleared his throat and stared at her intently again. “I actually do like long walks in the park. I love hot cups of tea, to get my creative juices flowing, and relaxing glasses of wine, to rest my mental. My mind works continually. I sit idly sometimes for hours at a time, thinking, strategizing. This business makes you click, makes you learn more, makes you shift from idea to idea in search of the next best deal, product, and service. Learning what works and what doesn’t, trying new things, revamping old things.
“I’m a contemplative man. I’m an admirer. I search for the beauty in a thing, which is why I love photography and scenic views, but not just what we all can see. I see what most refuse to see, what goes beyond their matrix of thought processes. The inner workings and inner beauty of the thing are what I care about. That is why Lewis Investments stands out, why I stand out.”
Entranced, Karli hung on his every word, and it wasn’t until he picked up his glass of wine that she focused on the here and now.
“Salud,” he said.
Karli raised her glass, and he touched it with his own. “Salud,” she said. They sipped together.
“So tell me about Karli.”
Giggling, she swept her hair behind her ear. “Oh, well, I graduated from high school at sixteen—”
Laughing, Hudson put his hand up. “So you’re going to give me the bio now?”
“You weren’t specific,” she said and cackled.
Holding up two fingers, he agreed. “Touché! But I am intrigued by that. Graduating from high school at sixteen? Wow. That is why you are the intellectual that you are.”
She nodded in agreement. “My parents were extremely driven about my education, as was I. I was the high school valedictorian, I graduated summa cum laude, with dual bachelor’s degrees, at twenty, and I got my MBA degree at twenty-three.”
Hudson clapped at her accomplishments. He didn’t think he could be any more impressed with her, and yet she kept surprising him. He looked down at her left hand and finally addressed the elephant in the room. “And the ring on your finger says you’re married.”
Karli looked down at her bands. Honestly, she had almost forgotten she was wearing them. Her face reddened slightly, and she suddenly felt a bit ashamed and, to be honest, alarmed by the thought that she was enjoying the company of a man who wasn’t her husband. Hudson was the type of man that you could get lost in. Literally, time seemed to stand still, and the outside world had nearly disappeared, as she sat with him, until he mentioned her marriage.
She nodded and cleared her throat. “Yes, I am. I’ve been married for four years,” she said. “No children,” she added meekly, diverting her eyes from him.
Gliding his finger along his lips, Hudson leaned forward to make an assessment. “Pardon me for my forwardness, and forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I would guess from the manner in which you just spoke that your husband wants children and you do not.” He sat back and awaited her response.
Her frustration mixed with defensiveness, and worry lines creased her forehead. “I really can’t discuss this with you.”
Without thinking, Hudson leaned forward again and covered the top of her hand with his. Their attention immediately turned to their hands and to the fact that he was now caressing hers, in what was almost a loving gesture. Strangely, she didn’t protest, and he didn’t pull his hand away.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make you discuss your personal life, Karli. It was inappropriate. Forgive me.”
She patted the top of his hand with her free one and then removed both of her hands from the table. Hudson leaned back, and for the next few minutes, they ate in silence. It was apparent that Karli was deep in her personal thoughts, and Hudson had already overstepped his boundaries, so he dared not interfere in her contemplative moments.
Something about Hudson made him easy to talk to, and even though Karli barely knew him, she felt that he was open and honest. Normally, she wouldn’t talk to a mere stranger about anything in her personal life, but she longed for an unbiased opinion and possible advice. Without warning, Karli looked up at him and asked, “Hypothetically speaking, do you think it would be wrong not to want children? I mean, at least not now.”
Hudson wiped the remnants of his steak from his lips with his linen napkin, then wiped his hands. Taking a sip of his wine, he sat back, in contemplation. After placing the wineglass down moments later, he pointed at her. “Can I be frank?”
“I asked, so sure.”
“No,” he said, so quickly and assuredly, she almost thought he was playing. Hudson noticed her perplexed expression and explained further. “Personally, I feel like this. Even if you’re married, if one person wants kids and the other doesn’t, the answer is simple. You shouldn’t have children. Let’s face the facts. Unless you’re ready to be God Himself, you shouldn’t bring another life into this world. Why do I say God? I know you’re wondering.” He paused, and Karli nodded, fascinated by his viewpoint.
Then he continued. “Having children is the ultimate sacrifice, the coup de grâce of your existence, because they become the single most important aspect of your life. Your relationship with your child is much like the relationship that God has with us. It is unapologetic, unconditional, and unselfish. It is loving, nurturing, caring, and it entails placing anything and everything to the side and nothing above your child, not your career, your marriage, or even yourself. It is the most blessed and sacred sacrifice that you can make in this world. So if you’re not ready for that, then no, you shouldn’t bring another life into the equation.”
He paused for a moment. “The problem with the world today is that too many people are having children they don’t want or love, and because these children don’t know love, they don’t love themselves and, therefore, can’t possibly love and respect others. That’s the reason why crimes, violence, and hatred are at an all-time high. So I say that acknowledging—hypothetically speaking, of course—that you do not want children, and that you aren’t willing to bring a child into this world to appease someone, is virtually the most respectful and selfless thing that you can do.”
Karli was literally stunned speechless. There was nothing to say after his assessment. Hell, his argument was better than one she could’ve devised, and yet it fit her mind-set and situation perfectly. He’d given her something for her arsenal, even though she was undecided if she should use it.
“Are you all right?” Hudson asked.
Clearing away her thoughts, Karli answered, “Yes, I’m fine. I was just lost in thought.” She looked at her watch. “I should be getting back to work.”
“Of course.”
Hudson called the waiter over to get the tab. He paid the bill with his AmEx Black Card, and then they stopped by the coat check to collect their things before heading out. The attendant checked their tickets and came back with their coats and gloves. Hudson threw his coat over one arm and instinctively held out Karli’s coat so that she could slip it on. Once her arms were in, Hudson pulled the coat up on her shoulders and then lightly rubbed them.
Karli tried not to let the feel of his powerful hands and his tantalizingly clean smell intoxicate her. And Hudson’s heart raced at the feel of her beneath his hands. He took a couple of slow, labored breaths before stepping back. Karli exhaled. Neither of them spoke as they walked out of the restaurant together and into the brisk New York air.
As they stood outside, Karli turned to him. “I will hail a taxi, since we’re going in opposite directions.”
“What kind of gentleman do you take me for, Karli? Nonsense. My driver will drop you off at work, and then I can head to my destination. I’m the CEO and owner. They’ll wait for me.”
Karli giggled. “Arrogant much?”
He held up his index finger and thumb and squeezed them together. “Un poquito,” he joked.
When his car pulled around, he opened the rear door for Karli, watched her get in, and then climbed in after her. During the ride, they discussed some minor strategies for the marketing plan, and before they knew it, they’d arrived at McCallan and Associates.
“We’re here,” she said, looking out the window at the building.
“Well, it’s been a pleasure, Karli. I will have my assistant call and schedule a time for us to meet next week to expand on the ideas we discussed.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
Hudson opened his door since he was closest to the curb, and then he stepped out onto the sidewalk. Karli scooted over the seat to get out on his side. He held out his hand to help her out, and she took it. After covering her hand with his other hand, he lightly caressed it and smiled devilishly at her, peering at her with those oceanic gems.
“Thank you for having lunch with me. I truly enjoyed your company,” he told her.
Blushing, she grinned. “Thank you for inviting me. The food and the wine were great, and the company was exquisite.”
Smiling shyly, he fought back a groan. Everything about this woman was perfect. From her silky hair, which blew softly in the wind, her impeccably aligned and brilliantly white teeth, and her sunlit hazel eyes to her shapely figure and sexy dainty feet in her Louboutins. Her sexiness and her intellect were a lethal combination.
“Have a good day, Hudson.”
“Good day to you, Karli.”