Chapter 25

It was six o'clock when Kathy and Ken got off the plane in Los Angeles. All their clothes and equipment was either being stored at Kapalua or packed up by the girls and shipped home. They were among the first passengers off the plane and through security. Since there was no baggage, they were ready to go. Kathy saw Fred standing off to the side and ran to him.

When she went to give him a kiss, he just held her arms and said, "Let me look at you!" Then he shook his head and said, "I didn't think it was possible, Mrs. Carlson, but you are even more beautiful than Ali!"

"Thank you, Mr. Clark," she replied formally. That's very kind of you to say.

He grinned — a very rare occurrence for Fred Clark — and said, "Kathy, you're a dream!"

She kissed him on the lips and let her love flow.

When she eased away, he sounded out of breath as he said, "That's not fair! My God! I still have to drive you home." Then with the warmest smile Kathy had ever seen he said, "Kathy, I feel intoxicated by your love. That was the sweetest, most loving kiss I could possibly imagine."

Kathy then introduced Ken who had been standing nearby, just watching. When she did, Fred said, "Mr. Carlson, you are a very lucky man to have the love of this woman. And sir, I can tell you that to Kathy Carlson, the sun rises and sets in you. From what I have heard, sir, you are deserving of her love, and that makes you both incredibly rare and incredibly fortunate."

"Mr. Clark..."

Looking upset, he said, "Oh, no! It's Fred, sir."

"Kathy has told me about you, Fred," Ken said with a grin. "And if you insist on calling me Mr. Carlson, I insist on calling you Mr. Clark." Then sticking out his hand, Ken said, "Fred, I'm delighted to meet you at long last. Kathy says you're the warmest, most thoughtful person alive, and that's plenty good enough for me!"

Fred blushed bright red at Kathy's compliment but shook hands firmly with Ken and led them to the car.

As he held the door open he said, "Kathy, I don't go for those fruit concoctions they serve on the Islands. Since you and Ken are now back in civilization, you'll have to make do with dry martinis on the ride home."

"Oh, pooh! You're no fun, Fred," Kathy said, but then kissed him and said, "I can hardly wait."

When they were clear of the airport, they headed north on the San Diego Freeway. Ken had made drinks for the two of them, and they were snuggled together on the back seat just enjoying them when he realized that Fred had made a strange turn. When he asked, Ken merely replied that there were a couple of other minor changes. The Carlsons were quite confused when Fred stopped at the security gate of a swank townhouse development and then drove on through.

As they passed, Kathy saw the small logo of Pacific Properties, leaned forward and said, "Fred Clark, what is going on? I thought you were taking us home?"

"It's just a few more feet," Fred temporized. Then he pulled into the driveway of a townhouse and stopped. Opening the door he said with a grin, "Ali was concerned about the time it takes you to commute. This is about equidistant between the office and UCLA Law School — it shouldn't take more than thirty minutes to get to either place." Then he held out two keys and said, "These are your keys. I think you'll find everything in place."

She just shook her head and led the way with Ken following. Fred wasted no time in putting the car in reverse and heading out. Unlocking the front door, they saw the most magnificently furnished town house they could imagine. Going into the kitchen which was equipped with all the gourmet appliances imaginable, they found a long note and two sets of keys.

The note from Ali said that they couldn't get Ken's car to move, so with the greatest apologies they hoped he could make do. They went on through and found a dining area, a study, two bedrooms, two baths and a large living room, all spectacularly furnished. In addition there was an exercise room on the second floor in space originally designed to be a third bedroom.

In her note Ali had claimed that she had to do it because, while Ginger was getting lots of practice in wardrobe selection, Judy was getting a workout getting the girls in shape and certainly Kathy herself was doing a great deal with her cooking, poor Sandy wasn't able to do a thing with her interior-design and decorating skills. There was a small postscript: "It's all paid for."

Ken and Kathy agreed that it was the most marvelous home either could ever imagine. Then Ken looked at his wife, picked her up in his arms and carried her up to the master bedroom.

While still in his arms, she pulled off the bedspread and then pulled back the covers. In spite of her size, Ken was able to hold her in just one arm while he used his other hand to undress her and then lay her on the bed. In a moment he was naked and in bed beside her. Although it was eight o'clock, it was only five in Hawaii. After hours of lovemaking during which Ken took her every way, they got up and Kathy used her kitchen for the first time.

They agreed, when they were cuddled in bed that night, that it was a perfect end to a perfect honeymoon.

At eight-thirty the next morning, Kathy was exiting the Alliance studio complex in her BMW. She realized that she got a near-erotic thrill from driving it and today giggled to herself at the juxtaposition of her appearance and the car. She was wearing well-broken-in, skin-tight Levi's along with a work shirt with the sleeves ripped off, Ginger's attire the day she met her. However, her ragged jeans were resting on the finest upholstery leather money could buy. The thought caused her to giggle again as she headed toward the office.

This morning Kathy was on top of the world. Henry Hall had just finished restyling her hair and she was utterly delighted with its appearance. Now there seemed to be far more blonde than brown and the color mix was very attractive.

Moreover, Henry had made her feel very good when she complained about her very-ordinary appearance. He just looked at her and asked in what way could her appearance possibly be improved. Since she had no answer, she actually felt good about her appearance for the first time in her entire life.

When she entered the office it was after nine o'clock. This time Kathy was prepared, and vowed that she would not be the butt of someone's joke, so she was surprised at Judy's reaction. On the one hand, she jumped to her feet with a beautiful smile on her face and ran around the desk to greet her. On the other hand, she was greeted as Mrs. Carlson.

Kathy stood still and raised an eyebrow at Judy who only shrugged and said, "But that's the way I'm supposed to greet a partner, Kathy. You know that."

"Partner? What's this 'partner' shit?" Kathy asked with the skepticism heavy in her voice.

"It was quite an accomplishment and quite a tribute to you, Kath," Judy replied. "You are the first non-lawyer in California — in modern times, at least — to be allowed to be a full partner of a law firm." Sticking her hand out, she said, "Let me be the first to congratulate you!"

She gripped Kathy's hand firmly and then took her in her arms and gave her a loving kiss. When they separated Judy whispered, "It couldn't happen to a nicer guy or a better person than you, Katherine Carlson!" Moving away she said, "By the way, two of your clients are waiting for you in your office." Then lowering her voice to a whisper she added, "It's next to Ali's."

The morning was not progressing in anything like the way that Kathy anticipated but she went through the door into the office area. The whole area had been redone in the few weeks she had been away. As Judy had said, there on the wall at the office next to Ali's was an engraved brass plate reading, Katherine Carlson, and below it in much smaller letters, the word Partner.

When Kathy walked in, Jim Duffy and Mike Higgins jumped to their feet and took turns taking her into their arms and kissing her. After they did, they stepped back and just looked at her.

Jim was the first to speak, saying, "Kathy, I didn't think it was possible, but you've done it. When I first met you, I thought you were the most beautiful girl in the world. I didn't believe you could possibly look any better. But today you do! You are utterly spectacular! Never in my life have I seen a woman look so happy or so beautiful.

"I've heard from Hank Wellington, and I'm delighted that things worked out so well ... And congratulations to the winner of the LPGA Kapalua Open! ... And to the woman who has done more to build Kapalua's business than anyone else in the last ten years." With that he reached into his pocked and gave her a check. It was made out to her personally for $100,000!

She went behind her desk and picked up the phone to buzz Ali. As she waited, she looked around and realized her office was the same size and layout as Ginger's. The furnishings were the same beautiful — and very expensive — leather.

When Ali picked up her phone, before Kathy could say a word, Ali said, "I don't have the foggiest idea what you should do with the check. On the other hand, I have more than enough money of my own to worry about. It's your problem — you figure it out. Why in hell do you think we elected you a partner, anyway?" With that Ali abruptly hung up leaving Kathy looking at a dead instrument without having been able to say a single word.

Putting the receiver back, she came back from behind the desk and took a seat in a side chair while Jim and Mike sat down on the sofa. After Mike complimented her, as well, she looked at them and decided there was something definitely on their minds so she asked them.

Jim Duffy was the more garrulous of the two, anyway, and served as the spokesman. He said, "Kathy, it all started the morning you left for Kapalua. You know that Clifford & Jamison has been retained by Pacific Construction — all the Pacific companies, actually — to act for us in all contract matters except those involving Higgins Construction.

"Mike and I talked about it and it seemed to be a pretty dumb arrangement. The way we thought to solve it is to do what we probably should have done years ago. You see, I'm a pretty good salesman and promoter while Mike is the very best construction manager in the business. Anyway, we decided to merge Pacific and Higgins on an equal-shares basis. Will you do that for us? The new company is going to be Pacific/Higgins Construction, Properties, or whatever. What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea!" she exclaimed. Then she got her notebook and asked a series of questions. On some points they had immediate answers, while others were obviously matters that had never occurred to them. Kathy helped them think through the positions by explaining the pros and cons of the alternatives. Finally she had all her answers and said, "Now if you two can keep out of trouble for about fifteen minutes, I'll see what I can do."

Her computer was set up behind the desk and had her comfortable typing chair in front of it. Sitting down, she called up her word-processing software and her fingers began to fly over the keys. When she finished, she reread the document on the screen, then activated the laser printer to print three copies. Smiling to herself, she first loaded it with the firm's contract bond paper.

Returning to the men she gave them each a copy and sat down again in the side chair with her copy and a pen, prepared to make notes on revisions.

Jim and Mike carefully read over their copies of the document. As they did, Kathy studied them and decided that they both looked significantly younger than they had only four weeks earlier. Moreover, they both seemed to be much happier — the overtone of sadness she had seen before in them was gone. What happened was a replay of the events at the club. When they finished reading, each took out his pen, signed his copy, exchanged copies and signed the other's.

Without a word, Kathy passed over her copy which they each signed while she witnessed their signatures on the other two.

When the signing was complete, Jim looked at his watch and said to Mike, "See! I told you she was a quick study. This time it only took thirty minutes end-to-end." Kathy grinned and reminded him that this time she didn't have to drive back and forth to the office. Then the two men stood up, gripped hands, and then took each other in a bear hug.

Then they each kissed Kathy again and thanked her. This time she was prepared. The kiss she gave each of them was loaded with goodness and the purest love.

Finally, Mike said, "Jim, I told you so! Our attorney is an angel come down to earth. Have you ever had a kiss like that in your life?"

Jim agreed that he had not, but then asked if they could get a drink to celebrate.

Kathy grinned and called Joan Frederick, explaining what her clients wanted. While Joan was on her way in, Kathy buzzed Ali and asked her to come in, too.

When she did, Kathy quickly explained what she had been asked to do and then gave her a copy of the contract to read. Ali sat down in the other side chair and read it through carefully, then read it a second time, and then a third. Finally she just put it down on the table and looked at Kathy attentively. In spite of her earlier vow, she was now nervous, and asked Ali what she thought of it.

With her face still passive Ali replied, "It's perfect. Why do you ask? Isn't it supposed to be?" Then she looked at her watch and said, "About thirty minutes?" Kathy nodded. "End to end?" Again Kathy nodded. "How much?" Ali asked.

"How much what?" Kathy asked looking puzzled.

"Turkey," Ali replied caustically, "it may have escaped your notice, but you have just effected a billion-dollar merger. What do we get?"

Kathy was now genuinely flustered and replied, "But Ali, they're clients and we're on retainer ... Do you mean... ? We're supposed to charge... ? Extra?"

Jim and Mike cracked up with laughter. Then Jim said, "Mike, I'll split it with you, okay?" His new partner nodded and they each took out their checkbooks and wrote checks for $5 million. They tore them out and flipped them across the coffee table in Kathy's direction.

When she picked them up and saw the amounts she almost fainted. Then she stammered, "Ali, these are two checks for $5 million apiece. My God! What do I do?"

Looking up at the ceiling, Ali appeared to be doing some mental arithmetic. Finally she grimaced, then nodded and said, "Oh what the hell! I guess we should deposit them. It's pretty cheap, but at a billing rate of $20 million an hour ... I guess we can live."

Then she jumped to her feet and went to where Kathy was sitting. Kathy got up and Ali took her in her arms and gave her the most loving kiss Kathy could ever remember. Now Ali's attitude changed completely as she said, "I told the Bar Association and the California Supreme Court that you would be an asset to any law firm as a partner. Boy! I didn't know the half of it, did I? Darling, that was as masterful a job as I have ever seen or heard of. It covers absolutely everything! As I said earlier, it's perfect!" She stayed and had a drink with them to celebrate the formation of their new company.

Meanwhile, in the lobby two young women were waiting. Although they had been sitting together on the sofa when Kathy came in, she had not noticed them. When they saw her, the girls were scared by her natural beauty. They were Kimberly Moyer and Kristin Callahan, the two girls Jim and Mike had found in the whorehouse the night before Kathy left. The two were very good friends and had come along that morning with Jim and Mike. Although they knew that there was some business to transact first, the instant they saw Kathy they were scared.