Heavy Traffic Ch. 07

"I made sure the girls had dinner, but I waited to eat until hearing from you or Mickey. I'm starving and would love to have dinner with you. I'm just finishing up here handing out new clothes to the girls, so I can head up to the room and get cleaned up before you get here. Do you know where you want to go for dinner and what sort of dress would be appropriate?"

"Nothing fancy, just a family restaurant type of place if that's okay."

"That sounds perfect," said Amanda. "I'll go get ready and see you when you get here." Before he could answer, she added, "I've missed you Sean."

"The feeling is mutual, Mrs. Wallace. I'll see you in a few minutes. Bye."

Amanda was smiling so brightly that every adult in the meeting room noticed her reaction and many of the girls as well. Once she had confirmed with Geri that the agents were comfortable working with the church volunteers to get the girls back to their rooms and prepared for bed, she excused herself and headed upstairs to get ready for Sean's arrival.

Sean had to show his driver's license and room key to two Atlanta police officers and one additional I.C.E. Agent before being allowed into the hotel lobby. Chatting briefly with each officer he met to introduce himself and make certain that everyone understood the situation, Sean was satisfied that the exterior of the hotel was secure for the night. Entering the lobby and noticing that the clerk at the front desk was not serving another guest, Sean approached him with his own request.

"Good evening," Sean said. "Can you make certain that there is fresh coffee available all night for the agents watching the outside of the hotel?"

Dave Bingham glanced up from the computer screen on the counter and replied,"Coffee is generally only provided complimentary to our guests sir. However, I think your gesture is admirable, so I will speak to the guest who left her credit card on file for incidental charges to see if she would agree to pay for the coffee. After all, the agents are there protecting the girls she has taken responsibility for. I don't think she'll have any issue with your idea."

"Who is paying for any incidental charges?" asked Sean.

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot share that information with you. We take the privacy of our guests very seriously. Are you a guest here?"

"Yes I am, and I can appreciate your policy, but I must insist that if there are any charges related to the group of young ladies who registered this afternoon, their chaperones, or anything else in support of them - that I will cover them." Without waiting for a reply, Sean placed his debit card on the counter and slid it towards Bingham. "If you need something more than my word on that, use this."

"Sir, I really would need to check with the other guest..." Bingham stammered.

"If the guest in question is the beautiful young lady with the Australian accent, I'll explain things to her when I get up to our room. Had I been here instead of being detained in meetings, I could have handled it personally and saved her the trouble. In any event, please make certain that all charges levied against her credit card get removed immediately. Use my card if necessary." Sean tapped the card on the counter to draw Bingham's attention to it.

As Bingham picked up the card to inspect it, his eyes fell onto the name embossed on it and then immediately returned to Sean's face. "Sean Wallace?"

"That's right," said Sean. "And unless I'm mistaken, Mrs. Wallace is the other guest that you have been referring to. Is that right?"

Bingham quickly retrieved the accounting records from earlier and saw that the American Express card for Amanda Wallace had been used to secure the rooms and incidental charges that he had presented to her through Mrs. Adams. Bingham then checked the room registrations and confirmed that Sean and Amanda Wallace were indeed sharing room 301 together.

"You are correct Mr. Wallace. Would you like me to cancel out all the charges?"

"Don't do that because it would create an accounting headache at this point. Simply do as I asked and transfer the charges from her card to mine and keep it on file for any additional charges that may come up - such as for the coffee I requested a few minutes ago."

"Yes sir, I'll take care of it immediately." Bingham swiped Sean's debit card and began the accounting changes he had requested.

"Thanks," said Sean. "If there is anything else that the agents or the girls need, but especially if there are any further requests from Mrs. Wallace, I would appreciate it if you make certain that they are responded to promptly, professionally, and without delay. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course. I apologize to you for any misunderstanding, and I will apologize to Mrs. Wallace as well," said Bingham.

"That's very gracious of you, but I'm sure that she would agree that apologies are not necessary as long as the girls and all other guests receive the service they deserve. Is there anything that I can do to support your efforts to provide the highest level of service?" Sean asked.

"No sir. Now that I understand the situation, we'll be on top of things from here on out. Thank you though." Bingham handed Sean's card back to him.

Sean took the card and then shook Bingham's hand before heading to the elevators. He was distracted by loud, joyful squeals coming from a room farther down the hall. He suspected that he knew the cause, but went to investigate whether his suspicions were correct. Upon reaching the open doors to the meeting room, he saw that the noise was in fact the cumulative excitement of twenty-five young girls and the adults present who were stoking their joyful exuberance.

Sean stood at the door for several minutes simply watching the girls as they compared various items of clothing and started gathering their own possessions together in preparation for returning to their rooms. Before the stampede to the rooms began, Sean retreated back to the elevators and rode alone up to the third floor as he read a text message from Kyle Mason informing Sean that he would be sending him detailed information on Tri-Star Partners tomorrow or the next day. Apparently, Kyle felt that there was more to the story than could be covered in a summary.

As he got closer to room 301 with the knowledge that he was thus getting closer to Amanda, Sean realized that his pulse was increasing with the anticipation of being in her presence once more. Upon opening the door to room 301, Sean was disappointed that Amanda wasn't there to greet him. Once he had completely entered the room he noticed that the door connecting this suite to room 303 was open, which surprised him since Mickey had departed for his cabin already. Walking over to the door between the rooms, he heard the shower running in room 303 and was just about to call out his presence when Amanda stuck her head around the bathroom door and smiled at him.

"I somehow sensed that you were here," she told him. "The air around me seemed to become charged suddenly, and somehow I just knew it was because you were near."

"Naw," teased Sean, although he felt the same sense of comforting energy when he was around her. "It's probably just the electrical storm outside creating static in here or something." Even as he said the words, Sean knew that if the time came when the sight of Amanda didn't make his own pulse evident to him, he would know that he was dead.

Dismissing the denial of his effect on her, Amanda said, "I thought that since Mickey wasn't coming back tonight that I would use her bedroom in case you wanted to shower or anything when you came back. I'll just be a few minutes more."

"If you can stand being around me," Sean said, "I would rather wait until we get back from dinner to take a shower. I'm starving right now."

"No worries. I'll be ready shortly and we can go."

Sean was too anxious to sit and rest. Pacing around his hotel room, he noticed nothing belonging to Amanda. Listening to the shower, Sean went to the adjoining door and examined Mickey's room. He wasn't interested in whether anything remained of Mickey's belongings, but he was curious to learn if Amanda may have placed any items in the room that would indicate her intentions relative to their sleeping arrangements for the night. Her computer was sitting on the desk across the room, and all the packages that Amanda had apparently purchased on her excursion were lined against one wall. The shapes of the bags led him to believe they contained clothing articles of one type or another, but whether they were for Amanda or the girls, was not obvious.

Knowing that Mickey would not be returning, had Amanda really made a decision to use her room instead of sharing one with Sean? There was no indication that Amanda had accepted his room as her own.

Hearing the shower turn off, Sean retreated back into his own room and tried to find something to busy himself with. He chose to sit at the table and review e-mails on his cell phone while waiting for Amanda to come out of the bathroom and join him. All of his senses were so tuned to anticipating Amanda that he didn't comprehend a single word he read in any of the e-mails that he reviewed.

When she stepped through the adjoining door into his room, it was like a sunrise to Sean. Her presence foretold of unknown promise while at the same time, dispelling the darkness that he felt when she wasn't with him. She had changed into a red cable-knit cotton sweater, khaki pants, and red loafers. Her hair was in a French braid and she wore clear lip gloss as her only make-up of note.

Amanda smiled at Sean, but made no move towards him as she said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I had hoped to be ready by the time you got here, but I was helping to get Mickey's stuff packed for the agent that she sent to pick it up."

Sean remained focused on his cell phone in an effort to hide his disappointment when he replied, "No problem. Do you need help moving anymore of your things into her room?"

Amanda had lost her smile, but she tried to keep her voice pleasant, "I think I've got everything. Are you ready to go to dinner?"

Rising from his chair and placing his cell phone into his pocket, Sean said, "Sure," as he walked to the door and held it open for her. Amanda stepped out and waited for Sean before taking up position beside him as they walked down the corridor. She resisted the urge to take Sean's hand as they walked side by side to the elevator, and the effort nearly brought tears to her eyes.

It took all of his self-restraint, but Sean respected the distance that Amanda apparently wanted to maintain between them, deciding that his fears of her being committed to someone else were probably true. He contemplated how he would be able to keep his side of their conversation during dinner up-beat at the same time that he felt the ache in his chest beginning to grow like a fever preparing to consume him.

The lobby of the hotel was empty as they walked through it and out into the parking lot. The rain had ended temporarily, with the clouds allowing brief glimpses of stars as they drifted past in the nighttime skies. Sean led Amanda to his car and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in and immediately slid over to open Sean's door for him from the inside. By the time Sean had settled behind the wheel, Amanda had her seat belt fastened and was waiting patiently for Sean to pull out of the parking spot.

Speaking the first words from either of them since leaving the room, Amanda asked, "Where did you decide on for dinner?"

"I noticed a steak house a couple of exits down the freeway that I thought you might like to try." Sean was proud that his voice sounded normal - to his own ears at least.

Amanda simply said "Okay," and then decided to find a safe topic of conversation. She began to tell Sean about her excursion with Samuel, including the fiasco at the American Express office, her shopping at the White Spot Uniform store, and the details about getting all of the purchases back to the hotel. While she told him about the volunteers and how Samuel and his wife had jumped in to help out with the girls and their plans for tomorrow, Sean noticed that she avoided mentioning her conversation with Bryce Pierre or the charges at the hotel that she had covered.

Amanda was so focused on limiting the topics of her conversation that she didn't notice the name of the steak house until they had walked in and were greeted by the hostess, a tall attractive black girl with the whitest teeth Amanda had ever seen.

"Good evening. Welcome to Outback Steakhouse."

She turned to Sean, smiled and said, "Very clever Mr. Wallace."

Sean just smiled back at her and requested a booth as far away from the bar as possible. The various sporting events on the TV's were being watched by about a half dozen young men drinking beers and boisterously commenting on the games. Sean noticed how each of the men stared at Amanda as they followed the hostess to their table. Sean didn't know how his conversation with Amanda would go, but he wanted them to be able to hear each other while they had it.

Amanda took a seat in the booth, with Sean seating on the bench across from her. The hostess asked if they would like to order drinks to start with. Sean indicated that Amanda should go first as he checked a text message that had just come up on his cell phone.

"Do you carry 'Foster's'?" she asked.

"Of course," said the hostess with a giggle. "Everyone tries to order Foster's by using an Australian accent, but I must say that yours is the best I've heard."

"I'm grateful," said Amanda, "Since I'm actually from Australia."

"How wonderful. Welcome to America."

"Thank you," said Amanda.

Sean ordered Johnny Walker Black and soda as he put his cell phone back into his pocket.

"Oh that sounds even better," said Amanda. "Could I change my order to the same?"

"Of course," said the hostess. She left to fill their orders.

Sean smiled at Amanda and said, "Beer and wine are recreational, but Scotch is therapeutic."

"Another message from Mickey?" Amanda asked after she stopped laughing.

"No, that was Karen letting me know she made it home okay."

"I've been meaning to ask you where Karen fits in. You said that she flew in to discuss business with you, but I thought you hadn't planned on getting back to business until this morning. The timing is confusing for me," said Amanda.

"Karen isn't involved with Wallace Enterprises. She is sort of the Chief Research Officer for a company I own that is totally separate from all my other businesses."

Sean saw their waitress returning to the table, so he said, "I'll explain it to you after we order."

After receiving their drinks and placing their orders, Sean continued, "When I turned 18, I inherited the trust funds which both of my grandfathers had established for me. I had no immediate need for the money because my father was still paying for my education and supporting me, so it just sat in the bank collecting interest. When I had been in the Corp for a few years, I met a guy who used to be in the Air Force who had started a company focused on biomedical research involving neurotoxins. He had originally developed them for military applications, but found several medical and commercial applications for them as well. Anyway, a couple of years later when he was about to get discharged from the Air Force, he was asked to take a role within the government that would have presented him with a conflict where his company was concerned, so I bought it from him."

"Okay," said Amanda, "but why keep it separate from the rest of Wallace Enterprises?"

"Two reasons. First, the nature of the company's business was too divergent from the rest of our operations for it to fit in any logical organizational structure. With the government contracts being such a major part of this other company's business, my father felt that the hoops we would have to jump through with the rest of the companies if we brought this new one in would be too burdensome. Secondly, because of the public disclosure requirements faced by any company doing business with the government, I actually created a couple of 'shell' corporations to hide the fact that I was the owner of the company. Integrating it into Wallace Enterprises would have defeated those efforts."

"So Karen works for this other company that you own?"

"In a fashion. Karen received her doctorate from M.I.T. Before she married Kyle, Karen worked for the government as a Director within the Department of Science and Technology at the CIA. One of her projects there had just received approval for implementation when she resigned to marry Kyle, so the government was looking for a facility to continue her research and my company came to their attention. Karen is getting things set up so that her day-to-day involvement won't be necessary after the baby is born. The company is based in the panhandle of Florida, which is one of the reasons why I have been 'hibernating' at the cabin. Karen and I could meet while she was there without either of us having to drive more than a couple of hours."

Amanda had several questions that she wanted to ask about this other company, but she had more immediate concerns where Sean was concerned. She had to know if they had the future together that she sensed they did.

Amanda and Sean looked at each other in silence for a moment, both sensing that the other had something to say. Amanda took the initiative by asking, "Sean, why did you neglect your company for all these months? We both know that you didn't go into hibernation because of a broken heart."

"No," agreed Sean. "The situation with Kimberly just made it easier and helped me decide on the time to step away rather than being the reason for it. I guess I just needed to get my head and my heart around how I could make Wallace Enterprises my company rather than merely running the company that my parents had built. Don't get me wrong; I am proud of what my parents created and will never do anything to dishonor them or their visions for the company, but I knew that if I was to derive the same passion from the company as my parents, that I had to put my own soul into it, and I had to do some soul searching to determine what exactly that might entail."

"What did you discover?" asked Amanda.

"My mark on the company will be in how we embrace our corporate and social responsibilities in everything we do. For example, I have plans mandating that anyone in the company with marketing responsibilities as part of their job will be expected to volunteer a minimum number of hours each year writing grant requests for select non-profits. Wallace Enterprises cannot and should not fund every worthy cause, but we can help the right groups with their fund raising efforts through the volunteer work of our employee talent. I also have the basis for a plan where every one of our retail operations will donate an amount equal to the sales tax from every purchase to charities with tie-ins to their specific business focus. Wilderness Outfitters is a recreational equipment retail operation, so they will be responsible for donations to the Special Olympics, and other organizations providing adaptive access to outdoor activities to the physically or mentally disabled. That's just an example."

"I would love to hear more about these ideas, Sean. They sound like they would match my own objectives for how I want Wallace Holdings to act in our daily business. Will you share them with me in greater detail some time?"

Sean had known that Amanda would understand and appreciate his vision, but hearing the worship in her voice took his own away, so he just nodded to her in response.

Amanda smiled at him and asked, "How was the rest of your day?"

Sean thought about his words before responding, "Confusing."