The New Year Resolution (2 page)

“Aren’t we going to a party?” she enquired.

Ryan sighed. “Look, I’m sorry to be bringing this up now, but it’s important you know what you’re in for tonight.”

Nicole swallowed. This did not sound good. She glanced out of the window. They were too far away from her neck of the woods to make an exit, and diving out of moving cars wasn’t really her style.

“Don’t panic,” her date said quickly. “But let me explain. I needed a partner in order to attend tonight’s event. Someone... respectable.” He smiled briefly. “You see, I’ve got a bit of a reputation as a ladies’ man, which is not strictly true, but that’s another story.... The fact of the matter is I need to appear...” He searched for the word.

“Reputable?” cut in Nicole.

“Exactly.” Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. “So you understand why I couldn’t take just anybody?”

Nicole thought for a moment. She supposed that was a compliment in a backhanded way. At least she wasn’t deemed just anybody. What had Janine, or rather Dave, said to Ryan to give him that impression?

“Excuse me for sounding impertinent, but why is it so important you appear respectable tonight, at this particular function?”

“Good question.” He glanced out of the window as Johannesburg’s urban landscape flashed by in a motion blur. Turning back to Nicole he said, “I don’t know how much you know about my business?”

Nicole shrugged. “I know you’re an engineer. That you develop eco-friendly products.”

“Yes,” he said. “In a nutshell. But in addition to that we conduct a huge amount of research and development. Renewable energy is an emerging industry. Research costs money.”

“So you’re on the hunt for funding?” Nicole enquired, her quick mind putting two and two together.

He stared at her. “Absolutely. How did you guess?”

Nicole shrugged. “Investment bank function... makes sense.”

Ryan chuckled. “Of course.” He looked pleased.

“And I’m in the aerospace industry. I know all about financing research.”

“Really? What is it that you do?” There was real interest in his eyes now.

“I specialise in materials development projects, mostly for the aerospace industry.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? Which company?”

“The
NRI – the National Research Institute,” Nicole replied. Her employer was a giant R&D organisation for the aerospace industry. She could see the respect register in his gaze and felt a tinge of satisfaction.

“Impressive,” he admitted. “Have you worked for them long?”

“Since I left university,” Nicole told him. She’d worked off the bursary they’d given her to study and then worked her way up through the ranks until she was Special Projects Director. She loved her job and her proven track record meant she could work flexitime if needs be when Olivia got sick, or there was something she had to do at home.

“University of Pretoria?” he guessed.

Nicole shook her head. “No. Cape Town. You?”

“Witwatersrand,” he told her, mentioning Johannesburg’s oldest and most prestigious university.

Nicole nodded. “But I still don’t understand why you need respectability to attract funding. Surely your company speaks for itself?”

“It does, but the man I’m interested in approaching turned me down once before. I want to prove to him I’m a reliable recipient and I’ll put his money to good use.”

“I see.” Nicole studied him thoughtfully. “So you’re using me to get into his good books.”

Ryan shrugged. “I suppose you could look at it that way, yes, but aren’t you using me, too?”

“What do you mean?” Nicole frowned.

“As you said, you’re the one who asked me to accompany you tonight?”

“It wasn’t quite like that, okay.” She hesitated unsure how much to divulge of her embarrassing New Year’s Resolution. “I merely wanted to go out tonight and Janine, that’s Dave’s wife, thought of you. She suggested we ask whether you were available.”

She decided the less he knew about her dating dilemma the better. “She said you were recently back from abroad and might like to go out, that’s all.”

“So it was an attempt at matchmaking?” His perturbed expression said it all.

“Or just a fun night out,” finished Nicole. The last thing she wanted to appear was desperate. Although knowing Janine, matchmaking was exactly what she’d had in mind.

Ryan’s shoulders relaxed. “A fun evening I can handle, as long as you understand my priority is to secure that funding. I’ve arranged for us to sit at the same table as Vincent Mahler and his wife. My focus will be on them.”

“I understand.” Nicole smiled lightly. “I’ll be on my best behaviour.”

“Thank you.” It was too dark in the car to read his expression, but by the tone of his voice Nicole could hear he meant it.

“This is my girlfriend, Nicole,” Ryan said as introductions were made. Nicole did a double take, stood on the hem of her dress and fell, rather than sank elegantly into the chair Ryan held out for her. 

Did he just say girlfriend?

She cast a warning glance in his direction, but he avoided eye contact.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nicole,” said Vincent Mahler, an elegant gentleman with thick white hair and twinkling blue eyes. His handshake was surprisingly firm for his age. Nicole liked him immediately.

“This is my wife, Sylvia.”

The beautiful dark-haired, dark-eyed woman sitting next to him reached forward to take her hand. She must have been at least a good ten years younger than her husband, and wore a deep-magenta dress that sparkled with crystals around the neckline. Her hand was cool and soft, and glancing down, Nicole noticed her fingers were adorned with sparkling gems.

“How do you do, Nicole?” Sylvia greeted her graciously.

Nicole smiled, overwhelmed by the woman’s elegance and obvious beauty. Sylvia Mahler was probably in her fifties, but you wouldn’t know it. Her skin was flawless, and her eyes sparkled with vitality.

“Very well, thank you,” Nicole replied, “It’s wonderful to meet you both.”

They settled into their seats and a waiter materialised to fill their wine glasses. Nicole blinked as she read the label on the wine bottle. This New Year’s Eve party was on a whole other level to what she was used to. Even the airforce’s “black tie” event wouldn’t have been this classy. 

Taking a tentative sip and savouring the richness on her tongue, Nicole realised the award-winning South African Cabernet Sauvignon was the same colour as Sylvia’s dress.

Vincent and Ryan engaged in small talk for a while, mostly about the status of local mining stock, while Nicole and Sylvia discussed some of the outfits they’d seen floating around the room. By the time the first course arrived, Nicole was feeling very relaxed and even enjoying herself. Ryan was appropriately attentive, refilling her glass and smiling at her from time to time. He hadn’t mentioned anything more about the girlfriend remark, but Nicole fully intended to take him up on it later, in private.

“So how did you meet Ryan?” enquired Vincent, as the waiting staff placed dishes of paté, crudités and wafer-thin crisp-bread in front of them.

“Through a mutual friend,” Nicole replied, carefully spreading liver paté onto a crisp-bread.

“Dave and I were at university together,” explained Ryan. “Engineering department.”

Vincent nodded, looking from Ryan to Nicole.

Would they hold up under scrutiny?

“Dave’s wife, Janine, is a close friend of mine,” said Nicole, putting down her knife. “We’ve been friends for over twenty years.”

“Friends like that are hard to find,” remarked Sylvia. “You’re lucky to have her.”

“It says a great deal about a person’s character, that they’re able to sustain a friendship like that,” commented Vincent idly, but his eyes were on Ryan. Why did Nicole get the feeling there was more to the history of these two men than Ryan had originally let on?

“Have you known each other long?” Sylvia asked with genuine interest.

Nicole felt a warning hand squeeze her thigh. She ignored it. “Not really.” She turned to smile into Ryan’s eyes. “But long enough to know what a great guy Ryan is.”

She could have sworn he was blushing.

Sylvia nodded. “It was like that for me too, with Vincent from the beginning,” she said, leaning over to kiss her husband on the cheek. “I knew straight away he was the one for me, even if his values were very different to mine.”

“Values?”

“Oh, yes.” Sylvia gave a deep throaty laugh. “Vincent was a mining boss who exploited the land and the workers for corporate gain.”

Nicole was struck by how animated she became. Her skin flushed and her eyes glittered with energy. Sylvia patted her husband’s hand. “He’s since learnt the error of his ways. Haven’t you, my darling?”

Vincent gave a tiny nod. “I now invest in renewable energy,” he explained to Nicole, who was watching with amusement. “I’ve made my millions working for large mining corporations and now I’m giving something back to the environment.”

“How very noble of you,” said Nicole. She now understood why Ryan was so desperate to sit as Vincent’s table tonight.

“Sylvia was quite the young activist in her day,” piped up Ryan, smiling at Vincent’s wife. Once again Nicole got the impression there was more between them than the pure formality of a previous business arrangement.

“My daughter tends to exaggerate.” Sylvia smiled, but her eyes were dancing and Nicole could clearly picture the young radical activist she would have been.

“Daughter?” she asked, turning to Ryan.

“How is Melanie?” Ryan peered at Vincent over the top of his wine glass. Nicole held her tongue. Obviously Melanie was the connection here.

“Very well, thank you,” the reformed miner replied with a curt nod. “She got married early last year and we have a grandchild on the way.”

“Congratulations,” said Ryan, placing his glass carefully on the table. “Please send her my regards.”

“We will.” Sylvia smiled. “Now why don’t Nicole and I go and freshen up while you boys talk business?” Sylvia got up and nodded to Nicole to follow.

Nicole took the hint and got to her feet. Excusing herself she followed Sylvia to the ladies room.

“Well, let’s hear it, then,” said Vincent to Ryan as soon as the ladies had walked away.

Ryan took a deep breath. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. He gave silent thanks to Sylvia for her insight and turned to look at Vincent, his one-time mentor and prospective investor.

“I want to do some testing on a new wind turbine I’ve developed. The prototype is great but the project requires an entire wind farm to record reliable energy output. I’ve found the perfect spot up the west coast, where the wind never stops blowing. The council have approved my application to use the space. All I need is the financing to go ahead.”

Vincent thoughtfully fingered the stem of his wine glass. Ryan waited patiently. He knew the man well enough to know he didn’t dive into investment schemes without thorough due diligence. If Vincent, by some miracle, did decided to help him, there would be a lengthy period of product reviews, discussion and negotiation before any cheques were signed.

“Tell me why I should help you, Ryan? You haven’t exactly proved to be a worthy investment in the past.”

Ryan sighed. He knew this was coming. “I was much younger when I dated your daughter, sir,” he began. “Neither of us was ready to settle down then. I’m truly sorry I hurt her, but it was pointless continuing the relationship. I had a company to build. She was doing her law exams. We both had bigger fish to fry.”

Vincent studied him, his clear blue eyes missing nothing. Ryan had always liked the old man, even when he had been dating his daughter. He was the kind of father figure Ryan had hoped his dad would be, but never was: successful, fair, wise. It was a shame they’d lost touch over the years.

If only the mining magnet felt the same way. Ryan knew he wouldn’t be able to set up an experimental wind farm otherwise. There wasn’t anyone else who had the money and vision of Vincent Mahler, or the sympathetic environmentalist wife to encourage him.

“Okay, I’ll grant you that much, but since then you’ve been in the media constantly with highly publicised relationship dramas. If you can’t look after your private life, how are you able to run a business effectively?”

“I know it’s a concern. The publicity was unfortunate. The press zoned in on me as an easy target and I’ve been in the papers ever since. My private life has no bearing on my business. I am keeping a low profile now. Not many people know I’ve returned to South Africa.”

“Keep it that way,” intoned Vincent, seriously. “Nicole is a nice girl. I would hate to see her dragged through the papers. You know how unkind they can be.”

“I’ll make sure Nicole’s protected,” cut in Ryan. Lately he’d been flying so far under the radar the press had nothing to write about. He hoped it would stay that way. He hadn’t dated anyone for almost three months – and he didn’t intend to either. Not for as long as it took to launch his latest turbine design worldwide.