Chapter Twelve
Caroline McKenzie arrived at the evening reception for guest speakers in her flawless one piece sheath ivory white dress, one of her graduation gifts she picked for herself. Worn without a bra, elegantly sweeping across the curves of her body and a slanting cut that exposed her right leg as she took a step forward, there was no chance of ever letting a curious eye not have a second look at her. Her hair flowed to the side of her face in cascades of waves and rested on her bare shoulders. There were many occasions when Caroline had to be dressed to impress. This was the exception. She was going for more than leaving an impression. This was to entice and capture her target.
The hole-in-one specialist, Jack Reiner was immediately drawn to her. By some fortuitous coincidence, they both arrived at the reception at the same time. He wondered who it might be looking at her from the back. At the distance focusing on the one object of his interest, much like as he would concentrate on a flag pin hundreds of yards away. He studied everything he saw. He was determined to find out who and do what he did best. Swagger into her attention and make the irresistible offer no woman can turn down. None. That had been his experience.
Usain Bolt was born with a gift of lightning speed. Jack Reiner was created with a gift of lightening charm. The day he discovered he had that ability as a sophomore in high school, working odd jobs during the summers, servicing the needs of wealthy estates that needed their pools to be cleaned and yards maintained, was the day he was awakened to a new life. He still remembered the day. Sweaty as he was in the brutal heat, wiping off his forehead while pushing the lawn mower in one hand and accidentally peeking to discover a woman was staring at him. In nothing but panties and a bra. It was clear. A vision stuck in his memory he didn’t know what to do with for all his fascination and voracious consumption of images and videos that left nothing to the imagination.
It was a full stare down. Daring Jack to look away. What surprised him was that he didn’t flinch. It was almost second nature. He stared back and smiled. Then there was the signal. The curling index finger calling him inside, a full blown invitation. He had calmly turned off the mower and walked inside the house to be welcomed by a cold glass of water and a burningly hot body. He hadn’t looked back since. Addicted to the thrill. His summer odd job business had bloomed, and he would go on to approach everything about life with the same cultivation of opportunities to deploy his charm and sweep in to claim his prize. That same focus and drive to excel are what allowed him to get ace through college and pick on golf. The fitting individual sport to take advantage of his gift of mental toughness and physical attributes.
It was a shock to his system that he would see Caroline McKenzie in that gorgeous dress. Much more elegant and womanly than the girl he saw in the morning. He had looked at her body with a full appreciation of a man who had seen many women. What he saw in Caroline was the kind of natural beauty he rarely came across with any number of privileged women racing to do something about every aspect of their being. In the hope of correcting imperfection, destroying the feminine symmetry and harmony and rendering their body into a sorry expression of devolution. Those women he kept away from. Almost like a punishment, and he dropped them leaving them mad and obsessed with him.
“How beautiful,” Jack said, making his way towards Caroline expertly. Not drawing too much attention.
“Beautiful gathering, right?” Caroline said. She had thought long and hard about this moment. She had had the whole afternoon to think about it. The whole time she sat in her room and cried and planned and re-planned everything. Ella had wanted to meet, but Caroline had decided it wasn’t a good idea to sit around and gossip. She had many situations to address. It was at least good news that she got a message from Andre indicating he was out of jail. But then that left the possibility that there could be her own situation brewing in the background. She had temporarily shelved the Alex situation to be addressed another time. All she knew was she could count on him to care no matter what. How would she ever repay him back?
This time, her full and undivided focus was placed on Jack. From the dress to the confidence she knew she was going to have to step up to match his game. A professional athlete isn’t one to be easily rattled. Which, of course, meant she was going to have to be on her best behavior if she ever wanted more from the little encounter in the morning. In spite of all that happened, there was one thing that had been real and undeniable. She had a crush she couldn’t remove from her mind and body. For as long as she could remember.
“Current company included?” He asked.
Caroline turned around and looked at him top to bottom. He could have dropped in from an afternoon party at the Hamptons. Pastel colors all around. In between formal and semi-formal. Everything else about him was no different from what he was in the morning. In the contemplation, the image of all that she saw was real in her mind. It was as if she had x-ray vision and could look beneath the clothes. She completed her inspection with a glance around the room. They were in public space. Very public and intimate. She had to be careful.
“It comes naturally to you, doesn’t it?” She asked, taking a sip from the red wine she picked out. Tasted good. She didn’t remember to check the vintage. Totally focused.
“An unfair advantage, I know. It is a hard life,” he smiled at her.
It was certainly an unfair advantage. Looking as handsome as he did. There was no chance any other man could compete with him. She imagined he could easily intimidate his opponents on the golf course. It wasn’t just that he was good looking. It was the confidence with which he carried it. As if he knew that you knew. A double knowledge. Dangerous.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have the honor of opening this evening’s gathering?” the Dean spoke. His voice was loud enough to project into a big hall.
“Impressive lung capacity, wouldn’t you say?” Jack leaned in and whispered into Caroline’s ear. She couldn’t resist laughing. With it a refreshing reminder of the experience in the morning. The talking to each other in close proximity.
“Let me first thank the committee for the outstanding job they did in inviting equally excellent guests to speak at this fabulous occasion.” The Dean continued.
“Do you wanna bet this man hasn’t had good sex all his life?” Jack whispered again.
Caroline looked at him, covering her mouth with the glass to hide her laughter and to plead for intervention.
“See how many superlatives he used in that one sentence. You don’t do that if you know what fabulous sex is like…” Jack wasn’t going to let up.
“It will certainly be remiss of me to not acknowledge the fantastic work our most impressive student chair, Caroline McKenzie, has done. Thank you, Caroline. I can speak for all in saying we have an awe-inspiring group of alumni and others worthy of distinction and merit here to share this moment with us.”
The longer the Dean spoke, the more it was apparent it was that he indeed made excessive use of superlatives. Everything was grand and impressive. Caroline realized what Jack was saying. Unless someone is exposed to the almost mystical element of satisfaction and bliss, there is no economy of praise.
“I told you,” Jack said to her again as they made their way to the dinner table. It looked like a boardroom table, in a private section of the restaurant.
Away from the mummers of the crowd, Jack held Caroline’s hand, preventing her from escaping as she planned. As if he read her mind. She knew it was dangerous to be close to him. Not in public. Not when everyone was staring at him. And by default, if she is that close to him... It was too late. He had her. She sat next to him. Around the table were the superlative Dean, two faculty member, four graduating seniors, and four guest speakers.
In looking around the table, Caroline met the furious glance of Mandy. How the two disliked each other. A stuck-up slut who didn’t know her place, Caroline thought. There was a deliciousness to the pleasure of knowing Mandy was fuming. It made up for the discomfort of being near Jack. The dinner was surprisingly enjoyable with each guest being showed with the kind of undivided attention that Caroline scoffed at. She wasn’t the one to be caught up in herd behavior.
The accomplishments were undoubtedly impressive. Chief Executive, Managing Director, bestselling author, and then there was Jack. The Jock among the group who could hold a serious conversation about the state of art and culture as well as the financial crash and emerging technological trends. Now that was impressive to Caroline. Surprise is the spice of life, she thought as she looked at him in awe while he mesmerized the group. Of course, it helped that he had just won a PGA Tour event scoring a course record round of 61 on the first day.
“I wanted to be fair to the guys,” he laughed responding to a question about why he didn’t sustain that level of performance in the subsequent three days of play. They all chuckled, as did Caroline.
“How is that you have so many hole-in-one’s on the tour?” The faculty member from the Business School asked. He was considered to be a guru in management efficiency.
“It is all about knowing what your target is, focusing on it like almost your life depends on it, and going after it. There is some kind of performance dimension one can access. The whole kinetic chain of movement of the body, when it is in sync with that kind of absolute focus, it is almost like drawing an arc with your hand. Holding the club, directing it from the up above, down towards the ball on the ground, lifting it up and tracking it all the way until it lands on the green and rolls into the cup. It is a magical experience.”
Caroline couldn’t help think he was speaking in code to her. The sequence of movements and the eventual goal were all in sync with the increasing temperature inside of her. She hadn’t felt this turned on by just the sound of words. Maybe it is because she knew about the game of golf. Maybe it was because their bodies were practically touching, with his hand slipping under the table and brushing her exposed leg.
