Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kieran
Bali had seen some difficult times since the start of the new millennium. But not even terrorist threats or natural disasters could keep the tourists away. Kieran had to agree with Laurie’s description of the small province of Indonesia, that Bali was an island paradise. Lush green paddy fields with a backdrop of verdant mountains contrasted with perfect beaches of white sands and azure sea, lined by tall coconut trees. Hindu pagodas and temples constructed from local stone, now moss-covered and age-worn, blended naturally into the horizon when driving from one location to another, as though they had been grown organically rather than built.
Since their talk, Kieran had given himself over to Bali’s magical spell. However much he hadn’t felt some of them, his words had worked their charm. Kennedy’s guard had dropped and he’d relaxed back into the holiday. They sunbathed in the nearby sandy cove on the morning of their penultimate day, two short flights of steps down from the villa. They’d lain together, the four of them, savouring the cloudless day in companionable silence, until Steph and Laurie cried off because of the intense midday heat.
“Fancy a dip?” asked Kieran, leaning up on one elbow.
Kennedy’s body glistened deliciously with coconut sun oil, applied earlier by Kieran. That morning Kennedy was wearing only a pair of stylish shades and tight black-and-gold briefs. At Kieran’s words, he turned his head and yawned, stretching out his arms.
“Mmmm. Could do.”
“Skinny dip?”
Kennedy sat up, then brought his knees to his hairy chest and raised his sunglasses.
“I think you’ll find nude bathing’s illegal in Bali.”
“Who’s going to know? Come on, old man,” said Kieran, dropping his scarlet Speedos and standing naked. “Live dangerously for once in your life.”
“You think I don’t live dangerously?”
“Yep,” said Kieran, running into the sea. “Last one in’s a sissy.”
“Too late for that.” Kennedy laughed, stepping out of his briefs and tossing his shades onto the towel.
Within seconds he joined Kieran in the sea, both immersed past waist-height, splashing each other and laughing like school kids. Kieran really enjoyed the rare moments when Kennedy let his guard down, even though he knew that later on things would return to his usual formality. Taking advantage of the situation, Kieran did what he’d been wanting to do all morning and wrapped his arms around Kennedy’s neck and his legs around Kennedy’s waist. Without asking permission or even checking Kennedy’s reaction, he brought their mouths together in a salty kiss, feeling Kennedy’s arms tighten around him. For a full five minutes, they remained that way, with Kennedy twirling them slowly around in a circle in the cool waters.
“See,” said Kieran, pulling his mouth away. “Nobody’s going to know whether we’re wearing cozzies or not.”
“But they might, if we start having sex in the sea.”
“However much the thought of that makes me hard, maybe we should save it for the bedroom.”
“I can live with that,” said Kennedy, grinning, pushing away from Kieran and swimming a few strokes on his back. “Let’s just enjoy the freedom of being in the ocean.”
“For one more day, at least.”
Kieran hadn’t meant the remark to spoil the moment, but Kennedy’s smile dissolved. Kieran immediately dived beneath the water and came up next to Kennedy.
“Hey, old man, can I give you a suggestion?” asked Kieran, shaking the water from his hair. “It’s a kind of take-it-or-leave-it piece of advice.”
“Go on,” said Kennedy.
“I understand why you couldn’t tell us everything about your meeting in LA, except that you’re no longer going for an acquisition. But reading between the lines, it sounds as though you might be considering a merger?”
“No comment.”
Kieran laughed and twisted onto his back to match Kennedy.
“Fair enough. But just in case you are, during my master’s we looked at contemporary businesses, and one of the specialist areas I studied in depth is successful mergers, identifying the key elements that helped to make them work—particularly where companies are geographically challenged or where there are clear organizational cultural differences. One key differentiator concerns pre-merger integration. Kind of getting to know how each other’s business works. One simple but successful way of doing that is to consider swapping one or two key talents for a period of time—pre- and post-merger—for them to gain insights into how the new company operates, to explain how their own company does the same, and then figure out the best way for the two to work together going forward. Of course, you’d also have to consider the needs of the individual. Do you maybe have any key members of staff who might have family connections in LA?”
The slowly spreading smile transforming Kennedy’s face was better than the stunning landscape.
“You’re dangerous, Kieran West.”
“You have no idea.”
