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This story is intended to stand alone but it can also can be considered a prequel to 'Making a Big Splash in Belize'. The characters Robert and Katie are common to both.

Chapter 1

Katie Swift had wanted to be a doctor for as long as she could remember. Not that there was any rhyme or reason. She was not surrounded by family members who were doctors or even nurses. In fact, she was the first in her extended family to even enroll in a four year college, much less with a Pre-Med major. She had been told a thousand times that it couldn't be done. Nevertheless, she was an undergraduate freshman, on scholarship, at Fordham University in New York City.

The problem had never been intellect. She had always excelled academically. Her limitation was always financial. For as long as she could remember, her dad had worked third shift because it paid a few more dollars. Mom cleaned houses. There was a mortgage, the car was old, frequently being repaired. There were always credit card bills hanging over her parents, a fact she was very aware of.

Miss Campbell, her high school guidance counsellor, had started working with her in freshman year to help her with a reality check. Four years at an accredited college, followed by three years of medical school was enormously expensive. Probably more than half a million dollars, only a portion of which could possibly be offset by scholarships, if she was fortunate enough to get one. Student loan repayments would be an issue for years into her future.

With Miss Campbell guiding the way, Katie's school choices were winnowed down. Stanford, UCLA and West Coast undergraduate/medical schools got eliminated for the addition of travel expense. Harvard and Yale were eliminated on the basis of the gap between available aid and actual expense. Georgetown and George Washington were in the same boat. Columbia and NYU in New York were geographically closest to her upstate New York home, making the city a focal point. It was Miss Perry who suggested that she also consider other high-ranking schools in New York for the undergraduate degree. She explained that the less student loan debt Katie had as an undergraduate the more resources would be available for medical school where it was really needed.

Katie wasn't Catholic, so Fordham wasn't an obvious choice to her. Miss Campbell convinced her that Fordham had a really good endowment and a reputation for not automatically preferring Catholics for scholarship aid, so she went for it. When it came time for on-campus interviews, Fordham definitely moved up on her list. She liked the location and campus. She liked the people she met and there would be several New York City medical school options, including NYU and Weil-Cornell. Plus there was a good track record of acceptance from the Fordham Pre-Med program to various medical schools. So Fordham happened.

Although Katie was a pretty girl, she had not dated or socialized much. She made no bones about her disapproval of smoking, vaping, tattoos, drinking, or using recreational drugs; which disqualified almost all of the boys she knew in high school. There was one other factor. When Katie was being kind to herself, she described herself as 'skinny'. When she was less charitable she described herself as 'flat-chested - no boobs'. She liked her legs, which showed a runner's muscle tone, but not her bottom, which she thought was too much like a boy's.

Katie had a healthy curiosity about sex and certainly had participated in her share of girlfriend conversations on all the usual subjects. As a result, she knew that most of her friends had lost their virginity by the time they graduated from high school. She was ready for the experience, but not at all motivated by any of the boys she had ever met.

She sometimes went braless in high school, not for any sexual effect, but because "there was nothing that needed support". The boys in high school, as they usually do, mostly chased after the curvier girls. She found that it wasn't much different at Fordham.

Katie had done a great job of saving money, capped off with an award from a local service club for having the highest GPA in the graduating class. There had been literally dozens of babysitting and dog exercising jobs — the money systematically banked. And she had been frugal. But, in the few weeks that she had been in school, the money was already burning faster than she expected. She and Miss Campbell had settled on a strategy of not looking for a part time job in the first year. Now, it seemed like that strategy had to be revisited.

Babysitting in the city would not be as comfortable as it was back home. Dog-walking did not seem like the best choices in a city where she was a newbie. A notice was newly posted on the student center bulletin board presented another possible alternative. A local business, located on Park Avenue, was seeking part-time administrative help. "Position Available, Hours flexible, salary competitive". A non-informative email address was provided to send a resume. She took down the information and, after more thought, attached her resume and hit the 'send' button.

Two days later she received an invitation from someone named Robert DeLeon to schedule an interview at the offices of 'DeLeon Asset Management' located on Park Avenue. The address checked out as a prime business location. A Google search of DeLeon Asset Management was inconclusive. There was a DeLeon law firm and a DeLeon real estate firm, neither on Park Avenue. 'Robert' did not match up with either. 'Flexible hours, salary competitive' was still ambiguous. In the end, she decided to go ahead and schedule an appointment, choosing 2:00 PM on Friday as first choice. The appointment was confirmed in short order.

Friday morning proved to be a sunny, comfortable, October day. Katie let her roommate Doris know that she would be interviewing for a part-time job with a firm on Park Avenue. "Wish me luck."

"Wow! That's exciting! What do they do?"

"That's the crazy thing. I don't know. Google is no help."

"Interesting. Are they legit?"

"That's the 64 dollar question. The address on Park Avenue is primo. But there is no information on the firm that I can find."

"Wow! So interesting! Do you think it's the CIA or something?"

"I don't think the CIA would be advertising for part-time help. Who knows?"

"Well, keep me posted."

"Will do."

*****

When Katie arrived at the address she presented her ID to the uniformed security officer in the lobby. He checked a computer screen, apparently found her name and returned the ID to her.

"Twelfth floor, Suite 1250. Have a nice day."

Suite 1250 was at the end of a long hallway. A bronze plaque next to the door contained only a single word, "DeLeon". She tried the door but found it locked. She pushed the door buzzer. The man who answered looked Mediterranean, tall, slender and somewhat older. Katie wasn't good at guessing ages, but guessed early to mid 30s. He was wearing an open-collared dress shirt with an embroidered DeL on the pocket. She thought she noticed a twinkle in his warm brown eyes.

"Katie? Hello, I am Robert. Thank you for coming. Please come in."

Katie quickly decided that there was something special about this man. Poise, elegance, grace of motion. She made a quick discreet glance at his left hand, smiling when she saw there was no ring.

The office was small but nicely appointed. An open area had a secretarial desk, a small sofa in a reception area, as well as filing cabinets. Conference room windows faced downtown with a beautiful view of the city. The remaining space was a corner office with windows not only facing downtown but also a second wall of windows facing the East River. The corner office was very nicely furnished, with a large desk, several comfortable-looking leather side chairs and a matching sofa.

Robert led the way into the corner office, inviting Katie to be seated in one of the leather chairs. Once inside she noticed several paintings, apparently originals. A side table displayed an abstract sculpture.

"As you can see, this is a small office, but we really do not need a lot of space. For several years there were only two of us. It is seldom that we have meetings with clients here, but when it happens, we need to have appropriate circumstances. As you can see, the building and this office are quite secure."

"Katie, your resume is quite impressive. May I tell you a little about DeLeon so that you can determine your possible interest in working with me?"

Katie was trying to take everything in, staring at Robert as he was speaking.

"Oh! Please do."

"My company provides a service to wealthy individuals by managing their equity investments. We have a relatively small number of clients and we use proprietary strategies to increase portfolio value. In fact, if the portfolio does not increase in value over a defined period, usually a year, we don't get paid. When we do get paid, it is a very small percentage of the increase in value."

"Isn't that what the Wall Street firms do?"

"That is what what they want the public to think. In fact, Wall Street makes most of their money by

trading

— buying and selling — rather than real investing. Most people are impatient, looking for instant gratification, not a disciplined strategy, so they are always looking for what's hot and trendy. They convince their clients that smart investors make more money faster than others so they give the illusion that they know where the "smart money" is going. The truth is that you can't outsmart the market.

"This is interesting, but a little scary. I really know nothing about finance or Wall Street. Am I the right person to help you?"

Robert smiled. "In addition to reading your very impressive resume, I googled you. I read the article about you in your hometown newspaper. First in your family to attend college, highest GPA in the graduating class, motivated, smart. I would rather help mold your brain than deal with someone who thinks they already know it all. I also know you are ambitious and hard working. I read about you promoting your 'dog-running' business to finance your college education"

Katie blushed, but was very pleased. "May I ask about your education and background?"

"Certainly. I have a law degree and am licensed to practice in New York State. I am also FINRA credentialed, although I do not offer my services to the general public."

"Why did your former assistant leave?"

"She had worked for me for 10 years, going back to the time when I was practicing on Wall Street. Her husband is not in good health and they have decided to retire, moving to Arizona. To be honest with you, she was supposedly a 'full-time' employee. We both knew it was not a 'full-time' job, but she had been very helpful and loyal when I was just starting out. So I paid her 'full-time'. Now, with someone as bright as you are, and having refined my process, I think 20 hours a week would be ample".

Katie did the math. She was hoping for at least 10 hours a week, at $15 per hour. Twenty hours would produce $300 gross a week. Even after taxes she would net more than $200 a week for day to day expenses — and, maybe, even adding to savings. She thought that this was really promising.

"Of course, I understand that there will be times when you will have exams or papers to write. So the concept is that as far as I am concerned, other than year-end, time is flexible. It is more important that the record keeping be kept up generally than on any specific schedule. The critical time is the end of the year, and that is only 2 months away."

"How many clients do you have?"

"There are about 20 different families or organizations that I deal with, but several have multiple accounts. One family might have a husband/wife survivorship account, plus an account for each of several children, plus an account for grandchildren. Each account is separately managed and accounted for."

"In total, what is the value of all of the accounts that you manage?"

"In round numbers, just about a half billion dollars."

"Billion with a 'b'? So if the stock market goes up in a given year and your clients show a 10% gain in their portfolios, you take a percentage of $50 million dollars as your fee?"

"There are refinements, but that is the basic concept, not forgetting that if there is no appreciation, or a negative number, DeLeon is paid nothing."

"Mr. DeLeon, I am intimidated by the magnitude of your work. It is very interesting but more than a little overwhelming."

"First, I am Robert. Not Mr. DeLeon. Second, I completely understand where you are coming from. To your credit, your questions have been insightful and on target. I believe you would do very well. Indeed, you might find that the insights that you gather here will serve you well personally in the future."

Katie smiled. "Does that mean I will get the recipe for your 'secret sauce'?"

"I am fully confident that not only will you figure it out, you will come back and ask me "What else? This is too simple."

"Robert, do most of your clients live here on Park Avenue?"

"No. A few do. But this is where my clients expect to find someone like me. So I am here."

"Do you live on Park Avenue?"

"No. I usually commute using the Tram to Roosevelt Island — right over there — pointing across the East River."

"The Tram? Wow! That's on my list to do while I am here in the City. Do you live there with your wife?"

"I am divorced, and live alone. It's an easy commute for me. I walk a couple of blocks, ride the Tram, then walk a couple more blocks and I'm home. In bad weather I can take the 'F' train or an Uber if I need to."

"I have a thousand questions, but I recognize that you may only want to answer them if you hire me. What else can I tell you about me?"

"Katie, I don't think you could have been more impressive. There is only one issue that I see. And it is not a flaw in you in any way. It's me. I think the best thing to do would be for me not to offer you a job but to get on the phone and call some of my clients and find you a job with one of them. If I could easily do that, I would at least have hope that you might forgive me for not offering you this job, and maybe agree to go to dinner with me. I know myself. I don't think that if you worked here I would be capable of keeping my hands off you. I am simply too attracted to you."

Katie had tears in her eyes. "The answer is "No! I do not want your help in getting a job! And you would not be forgiven for not allowing me to work here with you. I am going to be a doctor. I have 4 years of undergraduate work, 3 years of medical school and then a residency in front of me. I am at least 10 years from even thinking about marriage. I am happy that you find me attractive. But if I can't be here, with you, I will find my own way without your help, thank you!"

Robert got out of his chair and walked around the desk, standing next to Katie. There was a distinct bulge in his trousers. "Well, I see that you weren't lying about being attracted to me. I am not offended. I don't really see myself as sexy so, in some ways, it's nice to know that you do. I also don't see you as a man who would force himself on a woman. If I said 'No' I sense that you would respect that. In the end, shouldn't I have the right to decide whether your touch would offend me?"

He looked deeply into her eyes, then reached out his hand and tousled her hair.

"Are you offering me...the position?"

"Only if this is what you really want."

"I am not offended that you touched me. Yes, I want this. And if you would like to have dinner with me tonight, the answer is 'Yes'. I like that you want to touch me."

"And I would like it if it ever happened that you wanted to touch me."

Without hesitation Katie stood up in front of Robert. She put her hand on the side of his face, her finger tips in his hair. But she did not simply touch his hair. She let hand remain on his face and neck.

"Do you see that not only am I not offended, I welcome the opportunity to touch you?"

In another micro-second Katie's lips were touching Robert's. "I think the record should show that I kissed you first".

"I can certainly agree. Are there any other 'firsts' that I should know about?"

"I think this is just the beginning of a long conversation, but it's a conversation I want to have with you. I know that I said I would have dinner with you tonight. But now I think we are in a slightly different place. Can I ask for a slight modification?"

"What would you like?"

"Could we have dinner together on Roosevelt Island after a ride on the tram?"

"That is doable!" Robert took Katie into his arms and gave her a long, slow and sensuous kiss, his arms holding her tightly against him.

"That kiss ended too soon!"

"Well, that kiss ended but I have a sense that the kissing is just getting started."

"I like the sound of that! After dinner would I get to see your apartment?"

"Also very doable."

"When would I go back to Fordham?"

"That would be completely up to you. At the end of the evening I could call an Uber and get you back to Fordham. Or, if you wanted, you could go back in the morning. Or even Monday morning. I would not want you to miss a class."

"Do you have a guest bedroom?"

"Yes, and if that is what you wanted, you would be perfectly secure. It would not be my first choice."

Katie thought for a moment. "Maybe I should go back to the dorm and pack a bag."

"That's silly. You don't have to go all the way back to the Bronx. We can leave now and buy what you need in one of the shops on 5th Avenue."

Katie blushed, "I can't. I didn't bring enough money. Besides, I don't shop on 5th Avenue. I am a K-Mart shopper, maybe the Gap on a special occasion."

"I wasn't intending for you to pay. These will be my clothes...just a coincidence that the clothes will be in your sizes. Besides, we will need to stop in a drug store as well."

Katie giggled, then blushed again. "You won't need protection. I went to the clinic about a month ago and got a prescription for birth control pills just in case. I fibbed and said I had a boyfriend that I was getting serious about. The truth is that I wanted to be ready when the right time came. I have been looking for you ever since. I just didn't know who you were or where to find you."

Robert laughed. "I think we will stop at the drug store anyway. To pick up things like a toothbrush, the shampoo and conditioner you like, maybe some face cream or body lotion, tampons, a hair brush ...you know, girly things that you might want to have available in my apartment."

Now it was Katie's turn to laugh. "See, you are already teaching me. Connecting with a Man 101. Have the right stuff where and when you need it. You are a keeper! I do need to let my roommate know that I am not coming back to the dorm tonight. I know she would be worried."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"Good question. What do you think?"

"Full disclosure would probably not be wise. How about telling her that you got the job and are going to make a quick trip home for some clothes more suitable to your new office job."

"Great idea! I will text her now." After a few moments, Katie smiled and closed her phone. "She congratulated me, everything is cool. I told her I would be back in time for class on Monday."

"Ready to shop?"

"Absolutely."

Chapter 2

They walked to Saks, stopping at a drug store along the way. Katie filled a small basket with shampoo, conditioner and miscellaneous toiletries. Robert disappeared for a moment, then added scented candles and massage oil to the basket. Katie grinned broadly.

Saks was not busy. When a female sales clerk approached, Robert took over. "My colleague will need a couple of casual skirts, slacks, a couple of pairs of shorts, a blouse or two and casual tops. She will pick the colors. Also, a robe and personal accessories. Possibly slippers and sandals. Can you help us?"