Stepping Up To Love (Lakeside Porches 1) (27 page)

On their frigid walk over the Genesee River bridge and back, Manda disclosed everything she knew about the unfolding drama at Tompkins College, liberally mixed with speculation from both of them.

“Suppose Justin decides to resurrect the college in his own image?” Manda wondered. “Do you think Joel would have a fit?”

“Probably not. Probably Joel will just be glad to be done with it. If people still have jobs, he’ll be fine with it. If the whole thing implodes, it won’t be on Joel’s head anyway.”

Manda blew out a forceful breath. “You’re good!” she told her sponsor.

“That’s why you pay me the big bucks.” Gwen joked. “And I want you to work very hard to forge an alliance with Justin. If he’s going to be around a while, you can learn a lot from him.”

“I’m not sure he’s the kind of businessperson I want to be. Throwing his money around and dashing off to places that aren’t even on the Internet? Oh, except he wasn’t.”

Gwen gestured her impatience. “Manda, I repeat, you can learn a tremendous amount from him. And you can make his money work for you. Think about it. If you spend a few of his millions and lose it all, it makes no difference to him, and you learn some valuable lessons.”

Manda squawked. “Lose a few million and not care?”

“Really, think about it, Manda. You repeated to me a conversation you had with Joel about Cady’s Point, right? I remember you said you had a great idea with no funding. Instead of being terminally annoyed with this guy—and even though he probably looks to you like an egomaniac wheeler-dealer—you can put him to work for you. How’s that for a challenge?” Gwen pushed open the door of the coffee shop.

Manda’s laugh filled the shop as she and Gwen burst back in after their walk. The barista set down his homework.

“Ready for that Turtle Cheesecake?” the barista asked Manda.

“Make it two,” Gwen told him.

Hours later, Manda slipped through the door to Joel’s hospital room and let it close softly behind her. Joel was asleep, his face peaceful. She noticed the visitor chair had been moved around the bed to Joel’s right side. She wondered if Justin had done that and why.

When she took her seat she nudged the chair a few inches closer, and it scraped the linoleum. Joel’s eyes fluttered open.

Manda smiled and touched his hand. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Joel’s smile was lopsided, hampered by a bandage covering his cheek. “You’re beautiful,” he rasped.

“I love you so much.” Manda leaned forward to touch his face and his lips with tender fingers. “Would it hurt if I kissed you?”

Joel laughed. “Are you kidding?”

Manda carefully planted one hand on either side of his body and leaned down for a soft kiss. Joel cupped her breast with his left hand and she sighed happily.

“Justin is crazy about you,” Joel told her. “He wants us to be married tomorrow.”

She chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Only a little. He said he thought he was seeing Bridey when he met you at the airport. All you had to do was smile and you captured his heart forever.”

Manda sat back in the chair and exhaled in disbelief. “That’s pretty cool. I’m really glad.” She gave Joel a bright, happy smile. “He’s full of surprises.”

“He is that. He said you were here multiple times a day, day after day. I knew you were here, but I didn’t know how long I was out.” His voice trailed off for a moment and his eyelids drooped. “You brought me back, love of my life.”

“You’re falling asleep again, aren’t you?” Manda watched his eyes close. She kissed her index finger and touched it to his lips.

“I promise,” Joel added, struggling to open his eyes again. “I am going to get well for us. No matter what it takes.”

“Of course you are, Joel. We’re doing this together. Close your eyes now. It’s time to rest.”

Manda closed her eyes, too, and said a prayer of thanks. She listened as his breathing deepened and the beeping of the heart monitor slowed. At last, she stood up. She swayed slightly and reached for the back of the chair to steady herself.
I need to rest, too.

Manda was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when she heard Justin return to the suite. She had dressed carefully in a new outfit, the one Anita thought brightened her face. She listened to Justin moving around the suite. The shower started, and a few minutes later his wardrobe doors squeaked open and banged shut. He was humming, or maybe that was a poorly tuned radio station.

When he was quiet again, Manda called cheerfully, “I’m almost ready, Justin. Thanks for making the reservation for us.” She put a smile on her face and came out to their shared living room. “You’re looking dapper,” she told him. In truth his face was drawn, and his hand-tailored Italian suit hung on him.

He rubbed his hands together. “So, where shall we begin?”

“Please, with dinner,” Manda implored.

Justin gave a hearty laugh.

She could do this, she told herself and took a calming breath. Who was she kidding? She had passed out in her car when she returned to the hotel and come to with her head resting on the steering wheel. She’d taken a long nap and felt fine in the shower. Maybe she was just hungry. A hot meal was what she needed.

“I understand,” Justin told her, his hand on her elbow as he led the way to the grill, “they have the best steaks in Rochester.”

“Sounds perfect,” she agreed. She had no energy, so she decided just to listen for a while. She had a lot to learn about Justin.

Over their dinner of onion soup, sizzling steaks, steaming baked potatoes, baked squash, and crisp salads, Justin told her about the places he’d lived and the places he’d done business. He’d been based in Switzerland and London and had traveled the world, evaluating and financing new ventures, making a fortune. He said he was done with it. “I’ve closed my office, and I’m slowly divesting myself of my responsibilities. I won’t say why. It’s unimportant.”

Manda instinctively reached out her hand and covered his. Justin sandwiched her hand in both of his. “This is where I need to be—back with Joel, sharing his life, making a life for myself in Tompkins Falls, looking out at Chestnut Lake every morning and evening.”

Manda beamed. “I can identify with that.”

“Are you going to finish that?” he asked, pointing to her half-finished potato.

Manda shook her head, watched him lift it onto his plate and sat back to listen to more tales of his travels. She didn’t hear any separation anxiety. He seemed to be saying goodbye to that life.

She was surprised when he told her he’d been teaching throughout his career, for his alma mater University of Chicago, at their London campus and online. His voice was excited when he talked about his students and about conducting a class online with students from around the world. “That’s what it is, you know—conducting. When you’re never in the same room, the professor is a conductor making all the students perform at their peak in concert with the others. Tell me about your studies.”

She told him about her program of study at St. Basil's. He seemed genuinely interested in her commitment to not-for-profits.

Before long, the waiter was back, whisking away their plates. Manda asked, “So how was Joel when you visited this morning?”

“Our visit went pretty well. In true Joel fashion, he has insisted they withdraw the morphine as quickly as possible. I can see he has pain. Of course he has pain. But he is determined to manage it. I told him not to be foolish about it.”

“How much did you talk with him about the college?” Manda asked. Justin’s response was delayed while their waiter delivered dessert and coffee.

Manda took a forkful of her triple chocolate torte, moaned as the silky bittersweet chocolate coated her tongue, and closed her eyes to savor the experience.

“One of life’s pleasures, eh?” Justin asked and raised his coffee in salute.

“It certainly is. Did you propose taking over the college problem so he could focus on recovery?”

“I did. He is relieved. There was no argument.”

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Justin. Do you plan to get rid of the thieves and pretenders—as you so aptly call them—and then what? Look carefully at the employment picture for the faithful and capable?”

“You are on solid ground with that.”

“And if you decide to close the college,” Manda began and made a sudden decision to speak from her heart “I want to know if you intend to do the right thing for people who are within one year of retirement and those on disability.”

“Of course. Assuming they’re not among the thieves and pretenders, they would have a separation agreement to carry them to retirement. Those on disability would be counseled and their cases handled professionally so as to continue benefits as needed. Would you agree?”

“Yes.”

“And what would you recommend, Manda, for the good guys who don’t want to finish out the year?”

Manda took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts and answered, “Well, the people who want to take other jobs before the end of the academic year would be free to do so, and have reasonable time off for interviewing. Also, knowing that other colleges may be leery of hiring Tompkins employees—not knowing who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy—you and the board might want to provide letters of reference on a case-by-case basis in response to employees who request a letter and who provide a current resume and tell you their job-search strategies. Does that make sense?”

Justin was turning his coffee cup around and around. “You have a head for this. Of course, I may want to see how things go once the thieves and pretenders are gone. Suppose the college is viable in some form after the purge? Wouldn’t that be the best possible solution?”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“It remains to be seen. In that case, will you want to continue to advise me?” Justin’s eyebrows were raised as far as they would go.

She took another forkful of her torte. “Actually, no. I think Joel and I should just let you take over the whole college mess and handle it however you see fit.”

Justin stifled a laugh and watched Manda lick thick chocolate off the fork. “You mean to say I could not expect any advising from you or Joel?”

“I’m afraid not.” She winked. “Nor any arguing or interference.”

“Do I hear correctly that you’re in favor of turning over the whole college disaster for me to handle as I see fit?” he restated.

“I actually think that’s asking a great deal of you, Justin. What would you want from Joel and me in return, once he’s well enough to reciprocate?”

Justin drummed his fingers on the table and looked into the far corner of the room for a few moments. “Interesting question. What little project do I have that Joel could do better than I could do?” Justin kept a straight face, but Manda could see his eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Let’s say I take over the college. Clean it up and close it down, or whatever I choose to do with it. Perhaps you and Joel should take responsibility for his charitable fund. It’s been parked with me too long, and it would benefit from his attention.”

Bingo.
“Interesting possibility. You know, I always wondered why you agreed to handle it for him.”

Justin sighed dramatically. “I set it up according to his wishes when he was still a teenager, with the expectation he would take it over in due course. But Joel, as you know, warm-hearted as he is, has immersed himself in his community and has become too deeply involved in the moral issues of his college to have time for the foundation. If I free him of the college, by rights he should pick up the responsibility and do it his way.”

Manda’s smile was brighter than morning sunshine on the lake.

“Bridey smiled just like that, you know, lass. And you don’t fool me for a minute.”

“Justin, I love you. I believe that trade—college for charitable fund—will make Joel smile even brighter than I’m smiling right now. That’s where his heart is, Justin.”

“And yours, Manda? Where is your heart?”

“With Joel, of course.”

“Goes without saying, doesn’t it? And what of your own business interest?”

“I’d like to build a rehabilitation center on Cady’s Point. At first for wealthy clientele, to get it off the ground.” She was amazed how easily the words came and how right they sounded.

“What kind of rehab? Drug and alcohol, I presume?”

“No. Heart and chronic illness and physical rehabilitation—people who are ready and willing to change their work habits and their thinking, start eating for health, and find exercise they want to do and will commit to for a lifetime.”

“Sounds like something I need myself. Say more.”

“Justin, Cady’s Point has healing energy. Whether you believe it or not, the Indians knew it, and I’ve experienced it myself. And I’m sure you know there are medical schools and alternative-medicine institutes all over the Finger Lakes. The Chiropractic College, the School of Massage, two doctoral programs in physical therapy, the whole concept of Clifton Springs, naturopathic physicians, energy workers, herbalists.”

In her excitement, Manda pressed Justin’s hand. “Some of those professionals are open to working with the other professions. I’m talking a holistic rehab facility. And with any facility like that, there are management and accounting and clerical and hospitality positions that need competent people. Builders and electricians and grounds persons. Jobs, Justin. And plenty of capable people in this area to fill them.

“And plenty of baby boomers in the northeast with heart problems and lupus and arthritis and joint replacements and sports injuries and money to get the best treatment they can find. And some of them are smart enough to know it’s not a quick fix. They need to change. They’re willing to take the time and find the quiet and the expertise to facilitate that change. I want to create that place and make it a success. That’s my business interest.”

“How much will you need?” he asked her.

“I need you to help me figure that out and to make it happen. You’re the venture capitalist, and I need your mentoring to make this fly.”