A Thankful Blizzard Pt. 05

"Whoa!" I grunted as Barry took a corner, letting the back end slide around, drifting through the turn.

"She's a dream, huh?" He called over to me. I thought I was going to be sick. "Don't worry; we're almost there, Sonny!" He rounded another corner, drifting the Aston Martin to a sliding stop in front of a very plain looking office building. Wow... that was intense - and not an experience I'd want to repeat anytime soon.

My door opened, and I realized I must have been slightly dazed, as Barry cleared his throat, getting my attention.

"Sorry."

"Not to worry, Sonny. I'm sure you weren't expecting that," he chuckled. "You should have seen the look on your face! Wooo-heee!" He slapped his knee and then suddenly reverted to a very official demeanor. "Rose is waiting for you just inside, Mr. Goodman. She'll escort you up to meet with Mr. White."

I walked up to the building, noticing a small sign indicating it was the WFC corporate headquarters. It seemed Doug White didn't really throw his money around, except maybe on his fleet vehicles. I could only imagine what other cars the man might own.

Opening the door, I immediately spied a plump woman with her black hair in a bun. She stood up and walked from behind her desk over to me.

"You must be Paul Goodman." I nodded. "Please, right this way, Mr. Goodman." The woman (I assumed it was Rose) led me over to a bank of elevators, and pressed the call button. "You look slightly nervous, am I right?"

"Uh, just a little, Ma'am." I hoped I wasn't that transparent.

"Please, call me Rose." The first elevator dinged, its doors opening up. "Right this way, please." We stepped into the elevator. She pressed the button for the fifth floor. "Mr. White has a certain... intimidating aura about him, but I can assure you, he is a kind man. You've nothing to worry about."

Well, that made me feel a little bit better. When the elevator landed on 5 with a soft chime, the doors opened upon a thoroughly incongruous sight. I had been expecting paneling of some fancy rosewood, mahogany, oak, or other kind of expensive wood., I expected light fixtures of some fancy metal. I expected either sleek but functional modern office furniture or stuffy, conventional leather chairs set between huge solid wood desks and matching credenzas. What I saw was not at all what I expected.

Arrayed before me was a décor that would seem better suited to a John Wayne western than a corporate headquarters. Instead of desks, or cubicles, there were areas that looked like hubs, with walking space down the middle of them. They looked almost like kitchen islands, resembling a bar that might be found in an old saloon. Wooden planks lined the pathways along what looked like real grass and dust. The ceilings were vaulted, raised much higher than I had imagined they would be, letting in great swaths of sunlight. Along one wall hung longhorn skulls, wooden wheels, cast iron tools, and similar artifacts. The other three walls were glass. There were several people, each looking much the part of a corporate executive, except that they sported cowboy-style boots.

"Paul Goodman!" I turned, trying to find the source of the voice that called out my name. A man wearing a cowboy hat, a long-sleeve shirt, denim jeans, and cowboy boots, was waving to me. He strode over, extending his hand. I couldn't believe it; it was Doug White. When he visited me in the hospital he was wearing a well-tailored, conservative business suit. Every picture I'd seen of him showed him wearing typical business attire. I accepted his proffered hand, receiving a firm and solid (but not bone-crushing) handshake. "Welcome to my office!" His hands swept the expanse of the room. "Thank you for making it out here."

"Uh, the honor is mine, Sir."

"Oh, none of that 'Sir' stuff around me. It makes me feel old and stuffy. I grew up on a ranch, came of age as a rancher, and even though I got an MBA, I still like to cling to that ranching past. I'm just Doug up here, Paul." He started walking away, so I assumed he wanted me to follow him. I hustled to catch up, glancing over my shoulder and seeing that Rose had vanished, probably while I was standing there gawking at the unique room. I followed Doug over to a pair of wooden chairs that sat facing each other. He gestured to one and sat in the other. "So... I've heard some amazing accounts from my daughter about a daring rescue and how you threw yourself in front of a bullet to save her." He paused and watched me intently. Was I supposed to answer?

"Um, yes, Ss - Doug," I quickly corrected myself.

"What made you risk your life for Katherine?"

"I, uh..." Well, that question brought me to my love for his daughter much more quickly and straightforwardly than I had anticipated. I took a breath and decided it was now or never to tell him. "I fell in love with your daughter and I couldn't leave her behind or abandon her. And the bullet, well, I couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt in any way." He eyed me curiously as I said this, but made no direct response.

He continued to gaze at me for a few seconds. I couldn't read the man. I grew uncomfortable, wondering what he was thinking. He cleared his throat and spoke words that surprised me.

"How'd you fall in love with her?" Again, he was inscrutable, showing no outward signs of any kind of emotion.

"I first found your daughter -"

"You can use her name, you know," he interrupted me.

"Right. I first found Kat on the side of the road just about a half hour's drive out of the town where I lived. She was wearing a skirt and tank-top, something you don't wear in the Colorado mountains in November. I offered her a ride, at least to get her out of the cold and to the next town so she could call someone to get her. She warmed up in my car and explained she lived in Phoenix. I was headed here to spend Thanksgiving with my parents anyway, so I offered to give her a ride. We stopped for breakfast, seeing how she hadn't eaten since she was kidnapped the day before, but the blizzard moved in faster than anyone anticipated. A waitress suggested we get to shelter and ride the storm out. We were snowed in for four days, and we got to know each other. I was attracted to Kat right from the get-go but I fell in love with her in that cabin. After the blizzard ended and we were no longer snowbound, we came down the mountains and into Phoenix, and then we arrived at your house, only to be accosted by who we believed to be the FBI but, as you know, it was a gang of goons in the employ of Edmond McMahon. When they dumped me in the desert, I knew I had to find Kat and rescue her." During my little speech and recitation of the events, Doug had leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

"Did you learn she was my daughter before or after you fell in love?"

"After."

"You almost have your Ph.D." It was a statement, not a question.

"Uh, yes, Doug, I do. I just have to defend my thesis before my committee and wait for the next graduation convocation."

"And you've written some pretty impressive articles." What was he getting at?

"Yes..."

"What do you plan on doing now?" This entire time, Doug White had kept a straight face, showing no emotion - no anger, no happiness, nothing. I told myself to remember never ever to play poker with him.

"Pardon?" I wasn't sure I completely understood him.

"With my daughter. You are living with her now and you stayed in the FBI's protection together, correct?" Shit... she probably hadn't told him she was pregnant. But, I did have a question to ask him, and I thought this was probably the best time to ask it.

"Yes. Doug... And I have a serious question to ask you." I paused. He simply nodded, so I continued. "I have, as I've said, fallen deeply in love with your daughter, Katherine Marie White. She has shown me things I never thought possible - most particularly, a confidence and resourcefulness within myself that I never recognized I had. With that confidence, I wish to ask you for your blessings before I ask her to marry me." My heart thumped in my chest. I had said it. I watched him carefully. The man continued to show absolutely no emotion: he just stared back at me. After several seconds had passed without a word, I saw his jaw muscles twitch once, twice, then he sighed.

"Paul... I knew this day was coming at some point." He rose from his chair, walked a few paces away, and was gazing out the window. "Every generation of Whites had a male. I wasn't the first to have a girl, but I am the first not to produce a male heir. The White family tradition goes back eight generations now, of father passing the ranch down to his son. I was prepared to pass the ranch, which has now become this corporation, down to my daughter, but the family tradition doesn't have as strong a hold over her as me, and she's had different plans." He sighed heavily again. "I probably pushed her too hard, and ended up driving her away from me. I've only ever wanted her to be happy, and I was too damn stubborn with my pride of tradition to notice she wouldn't be happy unless she could be the artist she always dreamed of being - and has the talent to be. When I got news she had been kidnapped, I was furious and, honestly, scared. Petrified. Pants-wetting terrified. My little girl was getting caught up in a feud she had no part in and wanted no part of. I knew Edmond was trouble, but I didn't think he was that evil or that dangerous. He and his father tried kidnapping before, so I shouldn't have grown complacent and I shouldn't have been surprised.

"Anyway, Paul. I've had an extensive background check conducted on you, a full history of your school work, job history - the works." My eyebrows rose. "Yeah, I'm a bit overprotective. I assumed, ever since I heard her voicemail, that she had fallen for you, so I wanted to do my research. I read your papers. I'm fascinated by your discoveries. Come with me, if you would." He started walking toward the elevators, so I rose from my chair and followed him. Had he answered my question? Was there something I had to prove to him first?

We reached the elevators and descended two levels to the third floor. When the doors opened, I was met with normal looking offices.

"This is the White Family Corporation research and development department. I've had my R&D crew here trying to find ways of conducting our businesses that will cause the least possible damage to the land, especially with water usage, and will cut down on emissions of particulate contamination. After all, if we help contribute to mucking up the very thing that makes our businesses grow, I'd think that'd be a very asinine and foolish mistake. Well, all of these researchers work a solid 40 hours a week, sometimes more, each, and between all of them, since they started researching this two years ago, they haven't found a system that can yield even a respectable fraction of the efficiency of the method you outline in your papers. Paul, my Vice President of R&D has been offered a tenured position as chair of the chemistry department at Arizona State. She's going to accept ASU's generous offer, and I'm planning to appoint an interim direction of R&D to keep the plates spinning. When you complete all the requirements for your Ph.D., I'd like you to take the permanent position of R&D Director here in my company. After a year, you'll get promoted to Vice President of R&D and after that - well, we'll just have to see what happens." Doug had finished and was looking at me expectantly with his hands on his hips. "What do you say, Paul: will you make a future for yourself here in our company?"

I was flabbergasted. Ask a CEO for his daughter's hand in marriage and get a counter-proposal to head up a department in his company? Was that what had just happened? I couldn't believe the opportunity he had just presented. But what about my question? I decided to answer him with a question of my own.

"Does this correlate to my earlier question in any form?"

"No, they have no bearing on one another."

"Then yes, I gladly accept your offer."

"Good, I'll have Rose print out a contract for you before you leave today." Was he changing the subject, avoiding my question?

"Doug, about my ques-"

"I really look forward to working with you and having you direct R&D within - "

"Doug, with all due respect, as the father of the woman I love, please answer my damned question." He stopped and for the first time his face darkened. A frown appeared and he almost glowered. Had I overstepped?

He sighed heavily and spoke in a quiet voice. "As her father, I wish I could tell you no, a feeling I'm sure you'll feel at some point if you ever have a daughter. But..." He sighed again. "I like your attitude. I like your grit - going after the things you really want. I don't know if Katherine told you much about how this company is run, but, based on what I know of you already, I'm thinking that with hard work and the right grooming, you could become a future chairman and chief executive officer of WFC. Welcome to the White family, Son." A smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he grasped my hand, pulling me in to clap me on the shoulder. "Oooh, so sorry! Was that the shoulder where you got shot?" I must have winced more than I thought I had.

"Yes, but it didn't hurt that bad," I lied. Holy mother of God, that fucking stung! I pressed forward, trying not to show my pain. "And thank you, Doug. I'm not even sure what to say to everything..."

"Well, one step at a time. You guys plan your marriage and let me know if there's anything I can do."

"That I will. Thank you again."

"No, Paul, thank you. You saved my daughter. That's more than any man could ever ask for in life."

As I walked away from Doug, I couldn't believe what had just happened. Not only had I received his blessings in marrying Kat, but he had given me a guaranteed position as R&D Director and had even suggested he was considering grooming me to be his replacement some day! Holy fuck, wait until Kat heard this! The excitement of the whole situation almost made me forget the sting and ache my shoulder felt after he had clapped it so hard.

******

The paperwork for the contract hadn't taken as long as I thought it would, and I was out the door within fifteen minutes of ending my conversation with Doug. Barry was waiting. This time, though, he was standing next to a pristine Corvette. It looked like one of the classic Stingray versions, but I wasn't that well versed in cars to know for sure.

"Alright, hop on in, Sonny!" Barry was grinning ear to ear, as he shut the door for me. When he climbed into the driver's seat, he glanced over at me. "I take it you're gonna hang on tight this time, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Damn, another ride in a powerful car with this maniac driver?

A short time later, with my blood pumping in my ears from the adrenaline rush, Barry opened my door in front of Kat's apartment.

"See ya later, kid!" Had they told him already? Probably. He seemed to know quite a bit about the company.

"Thanks, Barry!" He climbed back into the Corvette and sped off down the street. I headed back up to Kat's apartment.

As I opened the door with my key, Kat greeted me with an anxious look on her face.

"How'd it go, Paul?"

"Well..." I paused. I picked her up off the ground and spun her around. "After I get my Ph.D., your dad is making me the next R&D Director of the company."

"What!?" Kat's eyes were wider than I had ever seen them. "What did you do to impress him that much??"

"Something. I can't tell you just yet." I had an idea forming in my mind, and I needed to act quickly. "Kat, I'll explain more real soon, I promise, I just need to do something really quick."

"Um... ok..." Kat was looking positively perplexed.

"I'll be right back; I just need to get something." I kissed her again and was out the door. The details came together quickly and I knew just what to do. I did some calling around and asking a few questions. I made a few purchases, called in a few favors, and arrived back at Kat's apartment in under a half hour.

"Ok, what's up, Paul?" Kat was watching me move around the apartment rapidly.

"Pack some clothes, Kat. Enough for about, oh, four or five days."

"Wh... why? What's going on? Are we in trouble?" Kat chased after me, asking.

"No, nothing's wrong. Can you trust me?" I stopped and held her hands in mine, looking into her eyes.

"Of course, I'm just curious as hell what you are doing."

"You'll see." I hoped I sounded cryptic and as inscrutable as her dad. She shook her head and set about packing.

"God, you sound just like my father." She was grinning, so I supposed that wasn't a bad comparison. At least it suggested I had been completely unreadable in my plans.

We left shortly thereafter, in my Explorer. She was staring at me, watching me closely.

"Ok, can you tell me now?"

"I'll tell you what happened at your dad's offices."

"Ok, start there." Kat listened intently to my story - only I left out a few details about the marriage and him welcoming me to the family, and the little detail about potentially becoming the next CEO, too.

We continued chatting as I drove North past Flagstaff and back into the mountains.

"Paul, this is the road we took coming out of the mountains... where are we going?"

"The cabin," I answered simply.

"What? Why there?"

"I thought we could get away and have some time to ourselves." I hoped she didn't catch on to my plans. "Like a celebration of us becoming parents soon."

"Aww, that sounds nice! Like a miniature vacation?" It appeared I succeeded in keeping her unaware of my true motives.

*****

Just after night had fallen, the snowflakes had gotten much fatter, splattering themselves against the windshield, dancing in the headlights. I was extremely lucky. I had originally planned on just arriving at the cabins and staying for a few days, but it appeared that there was one of those late spring mountain snowstorms inbound for the area. We had just pulled into Aspen View Cabins. Max stepped outside just after we arrived and walked us down to the cabin - the same one we had stayed in when we were stuck just a few months ago. His beard looked the same - as if it belonged on some kind of naval ship's rope riggings, rather than on his face.

"Here you kids go. Paul, you do know there's another bli-" Max started to say.

"Thanks, Max! We'll let you know if we need anything!" He walked away shaking his head.

Kat and I quickly carried our few things inside the cabin. Everything looked the same as it had, except for a neatly wrapped package on the table. I grabbed it and handed it to her. Kat sat on the couch, holding the package and gazing at it.

"Ok, Kat, I think I can maybe explain what we're doing up here." I began, sitting next to her. "But first, I want you to open that."

"What is it?" She examined the package and began to tear into it. "I thought you said we were having a little vacation. A getaway." She gasped as the package opened. Inside was a shirt with the word 'PRECIOUS' on the front - an exact replica of the one she had to throw out of the window when we were being chased. She turned to me with a huge smile.

"Oh my god! Paul, it's the same shirt! How..."

"I called ahead and asked that store owner, Monty, if he had that shirt still in stock. It turned out he did - his last one - so I asked him to wrap it and get it to Max. And here it is, just for you." She held the shirt against her body. Her stomach had a slight bump to it, the beginnings of her pregnancy starting to show.

"Thank you, Paul!" Kat leaned over and kissed me. "Is that the whole surprise of coming up here?"

"Yes. Well, no, only partially." I grabbed one of her hands. "I wanted to come back here because this place is so special and perfect. When you mentioned how you liked that shirt, I just had to get it replaced. And I wanted this one to have some special memories attached to it as well." I paused for a moment, taking a huge breath. Here goes. "You know, I found you just before Thanksgiving. And while we were here, snowed in, I never imagined I'd fall in love with you, let alone how deeply I've fallen for you." She smiled warmly at my words. "But here we are. I'm so head over heels in love with you - I couldn't imagine my life without you in it now. Since it was here I first discovered I loved you, I figured this would be the perfect place. And..." I paused, pulling out a portable weather radio. I flicked it on, letting it play out the local weather warning, indicating a blizzard was moving in and would dump a lot of snow in the area. "I figured now was the perfect time, since we'll likely be snowed in for a few days, again."