Part 1- The Beginning
It began in early March and Bob Collins was sitting alone at a table in the middle of the large meeting room nursing a single malt scotch on a Saturday night. His eyes wandered around the room noticing various people. He knew most of them having been to many of these meetings before. The industry he worked in had semi-annual meetings usually in Dallas because of its central location. Somewhere between 100-150 people usually showed up for a few meetings and some socializing. The meetings gave everyone a chance to check what the competition was doing, make a few new contacts, find vendors, and otherwise tell a lot of lies to each other.
In his early days with the company, he had enjoyed the meetings. Later he went because his boss asked him to. The fact was that Bob would always do what Mr. Jay Crimini asked him to do. His loyalty to the man was well-known in the industry. Several companies had tried to hire him away only to be met with a "you-have-got-to-be-kidding" stare in return. No one tried to ask him anymore.
It wasn't so much that the others didn't offer him more money; they always did and often it was a lot more than Bob was currently making. Although they didn't know it, Bob Collins wasn't really motivated by money. He was motivated by his work and he was motivated by loyalty. Without talking or thinking about these motivations very much, Bob wore these issues like a closely fitted sweater every day. He was content. The other side issue that kept him in Dallas was that he had no desire to leave Texas and more specifically the Dallas area.
So he sat in another meeting since Mr. Crimini hadn't been able to attend. That concerned Bob because Crimini was 68 years old and he sensed that his health might be deteriorating. If Bob had a concern it was what he might do if Crimini died or sold the company. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go looking for another job or if he wanted to work for high pressure, MBA-led company that seemed to dominate most of his industry. In fact, there were only a few old style companies still left: family-owned, owner-operated, and stable companies like Crimini.
Quietly, Bob had begun simplifying his life. He had saved some money and still had the insurance settlement from his wife's death, so he knew that he could survive quite a while without having another job; but he knew that he needed to find satisfying work to keep his mind sharp. There was only so much he could do with the little 20 acre farm he had bought about an hour or so south of Dallas. He had spent three years fixing the house up and starting a garden. His didn't want the responsibility of raising animals at least at this time. To date, the only person in Dallas who even knew about this place as Mr. Crimini. He had met a few folks in the nearby town on the weekends he spent there, which had become almost every weekend. But they knew little about him except that he was a part-timer.
In short, Bob was content if not exhilarated by his life, his work, and his avocation. At that moment, Bob was unaware that his life was about to take an unexpected turn that would totally change his life in just under a year. This change began that night at the meeting when he noticed a very attractive young lady walking purposefully toward him. She was about 5'5" and in the 120 lbs range. He noticed that her body was well proportioned and that she knew how to select and wear clothing that enhanced that body, not in a slutty way but in a confident, almost elegant way. He had seen her mingling during the evening but did not recognize her. He was also aware that almost every important man in the room had spent some time with her and that the horny vultures had paid their respects also. But now she was walking across the room directly towards him carrying two drinks, one clear and one the color of scotch. Bob thought that if she tried to sit with him, he would be polite and talk to her briefly, and then make excuses and leave.
Sure enough, she walked straight to him, stopped, and delivered an award-winning smile directly at him before she spoke. "Would you pull the chair out for me, please? My hands are sort of full." Bob stood and pulled the chair out as she put the two drinks on the table and then sat down. Bob helped scoot the chair to the table like the gentleman that he always was.
As he sat down, the already confused Bob could only reach for the drink she had brought and found that it was a single malt scotch.
"So where are you taking me for a drink when this thing is over which should be about 30 minutes from now?" The beautiful smiling face asked in a perfectly natural way.
"I guess that I wasn't aware that I would be taking you somewhere so I hadn't planned anything." Bob struggled awkwardly. "And can I ask, why would you want to have a drink with me?"
"There are several reasons why. The first ones have to do with the fact that you are the only man here who hasn't hit on me tonight, you are the only man who hasn't ogled my breasts tonight, and because I told all of those guys who were hitting on me that I had a date with you after the meeting. Those are the three current reasons why you are taking me out. Oh and just for the record, they are real, C-cup, and very sensitive. In fact, everything about me is real as you will discover when the time is right."
Bob sat silently for a moment trying to digest what was going on. Finally he decided to respond with something that he felt was awfully lame. "Now that that is out of the way, may I ask what your name is?"
"Oh yes that; I forgot my manners. I am Jolynn Cremona. I graduated with an MBA from SMU but I live and work in St. Louis."
"Ah, you work for Cremona Brothers."
"Yes, and you are Bob Collins and you work for Crimini."
Bob now put his guard up a little. Crimini did a lot of work with Cremona. He now suspected that this whirlwind introduction was a softening up exercise to get him to do something for Cremona. But he wasn't sure what it could be. There hadn't been any rumors or hints that their relationship was in trouble or that there was a major new product in the wings. He decided to play along and see if he could discover what was going on here.
"Since your name is Cremona, I assume that you are related to one or both of the Cremona Brothers."
"Both actually, one is my father, the other is my uncle."
"I see."
"Probably not, but that is OK for now. It's only been twenty minutes but I am so bored with this meeting and so ready for you to take me out of here, let's blow this dump. Have you decided where we are going yet?"
"Well there is a bar across the street........."
"Not another boring hotel bar. I want you to take me to that special place you would take someone special to. The place where you are most comfortable, is quiet but has some light music, and we can talk."
"Oh, that place." Bob's mind whirled as he tried to think of a place like that.
"Don't burn out your brain cells."
"It's just that I haven't had anyone special to take anywhere special for a very long time so I don't have a list of those kinds of places right on the top of my head. There is a place I've only been to for lunch that I think is open late. As far as I know it fits all of your requirements."
"Then that is where you will take me. I don't have a purse, so finish your drink and lead me out of here."
There was only a drop left in his glass, so Bob finished it and stood to pull her chair out for her. As she was standing, he said, "I assume that since you want some place quiet, we have some business to discuss?"
"You could call it that, I guess. We'll probably talk a little about business. The main thing is that I think we need to start getting to know each other since you will be marrying me probably in about a year." She took his arm, leaned close to him, and led him toward the door. With no conscious awareness of where he was or why, Bob dutifully followed her lead as he tried to process what she had just said.
When they reached the sidewalk in front of the hotel, he stopped her and asked the expected question, "Would you repeat that?"
"You heard me perfectly well or you wouldn't have that struck-by-lightning look all over you face."
"Then perhaps you should tell me why I am going to marry you."
"Because you will want to. So tonight, we are starting the process of getting from hello to I want to marry you. Now do you understand?"
"Yes, that makes perfect sense." Although Bob still had no clue what was going on.
