CHAPTER 4

The elevator doors opened like welcoming arms as Liam Right crossed the marble floor of the office building in Lower Manhattan. Not having to wait for an elevator during the Monday morning rush was always a good sign. It was going to be one of those great days when everything went his way.

         When the doors opened again to deposit him on the twenty-fifth floor and the “CareShields Ins. Group” offices, he was already moving.

         Life has never been better!

         After four years of hard work for the most prestigious insurance company in Downtown New York City, he’d had a few subtle hints dropped his way about a vice presidency coming vacant when Eric Hall retired.

         Liam was now more than ready to be the youngest Vice President in the company’s history.

         As he strode to his office, Liam enthusiastically greeted his private assistant.

“Good morning, my dear Robyn.”

“Good morning, Liam.”

         Robyn Loggins was one of the most efficient private assistants he knew inside the company. In her early fifties, she was the one keeping him with his feet on the ground and eyes on the prize. Robyn was probably the closest to a stroke of sheer luck he’d ever had in his career.

         They respected each other’s work ethics, and operated as an efficient team, a true “Dream Team”, and Liam knew that one day when he was president of “CareShields Ins. Group”, she’d still be his right hand.

         A partnership like that doesn’t come along very often.

         They were a match made in heaven… professionally speaking, of course.

“Listen, I know you’re not a fan of last-minute changes, but I had to make a couple to your schedule today. The ‘Zurich Financial Group’ asked if you could make it at two instead of three. I said yes, and I shuffled some things around, so you could meet them.”

“You did great! Thanks, Roby.”

         He scratched his nose. It was itchy with sunburn after a weekend sailing where he’d played hot doctor with a steamy nurse from Philadelphia who’d kept him too busy to think about using sunscreen to protect his skin.

         Well, too busy to think at all.

         She just went on and screwed his brains out.

“Oh, and you had five phone calls from a woman named…”

         Robyn made a suggestive break before giving him the last part of the information.

“Jazzy.”

“A new client? Did Jazzy leave a last name?”

         Robyn smiled thinly.

“Let me put it this way… ‘boss’: I don’t think this Jazzy character is interested in an insurance policy… At least, not that type of insurance, if you catch my drift.”

“Jazzy… Jazzy... Oh, ‘that’ Jazzy!”

         She was a flight attendant he’d had some fun with, ‘helping’ him enjoy the mile-high club for the fifth time that month, but who clearly, wanted more from the relationship than he was willing to give.

“I don’t know why she called here. I specifically told her not to call me at the office.”

He never gave out his office number to women he hooked up with, but it wasn’t hard to track him down. A simple G****e search did the trick.

“If she calls again, tell her…”

“Oh, no, no, honey. You know very well that I’m not playing this game with you. It’s stipulated in my contract. So, if ‘our’ valiant Jazzy calls again, I’ll put her right through, and I’ll let you handle your own mess… ‘Comprende… jefe’?”

“Ok, you’re right… I have to talk to her myself…”

“So, just for my own fun, enlighten me… This weekend, you didn’t get sunburned with Jazzy, right?”

“Nope. I sailed with a gorgeous blonde named Adriana,” he replied, chuckling in memory. “She’s got the body of a model, but she’s a nurse, and she is a lot of fun… As a matter of fact, I will…”

         Robyn was looking over his shoulder and suddenly interrupted him.

“I’m so glad to hear that, boss. There’s no wonder you two clicked the way you did!” she exclaimed. “She is quite a doll. Trust me, you two are the perfect couple. Your fiancée was made for you, believe me.”

         If Robyn was talking so much and so enthusiastically about ‘his fiancée’, it could only mean one thing, which was confirmed when an older man’s voice hailed him.

“Hello, Liam! Do you have a minute? It’s been a while since we had a conversation.”

         Liam turned to greet Howard Shields, the President and CEO of the insurance company.

“Of course, Howard. Come on in, please.”

“You’re sunburned,” the older man remarked. “Where were you and your fiancée off to this weekend?”

         Liam felt Robyn’s eyes burning into his back like twin laser beams of disapproval. Sure, it wasn’t a good idea to tell lies to the big boss, even if they were just little white ones, but Liam was confident his reasoning was sound.

“In the Hamptons, Howard. We went sailing. The weather was absolutely magnificent, so we took advantage of it.”

         He led his boss and the CEO of the company into his office, where they settled around a small conference table. Liam kept his space shipshape. The only personal touches were his framed MBA degree, his current insurance industry designations, and on his desk, a photo of him lovingly hugging a blonde beauty.

         The only thing people could see was the back of her head, but Liam was laughing into the camera, and they were clearly having a good time. Howard gestured to the photograph.

“And how is that lovely girl of yours? I trust everything is good?”

         Liam had been talking about ‘his fiancée’ for months, ever since he’d heard rumors of Hall’s imminent retirement. He knew that “CareShields Ins. Group” had an unwritten rule: no one, male or female, got promoted to the position of Vice President of the company if she or he wasn’t married.

         The vice presidents were expected to entertain clients both at home and abroad, and for that reason, Howard and Gregory, his brother, who ran the company, preferred that the vice presidents, both male and female, be part of a couple.

         Liam figured he’d fudged the lines on a few rule books, and he was determined to do the same with this. So, he’d started mentioning things about ‘his fiancée’. Casual mentions. He’d come to work on a Monday and talk about the weekend he and his lovely soon-to-be wife had spent in San Francisco. Or the quick trip they’d taken to the Barbados.

“More than good. She is just wonderful, Howard,” he answered, smiling. “So kind and so loving. She gives my life new meanings. And how about Amanda and the kids? Are they in good health?”

“Just perfect.”

         They chatted for a while about college decisions for the twin boys and a new path away from the insurance world for the youngest member of the Shields family.

“Liam, listen,” Howard said, “we would like to celebrate your engagement. As you know way too well, we are a family business and, let’s face it, we are all involved in each other’s lives, especially at the executive level. We’ve got a board dinner coming up. I want you to come along and bring your wonderful fiancée with you.”