WHERE ENDS MEET

CHAPTERTHREE

Anna headed for coffee with Benjamin Goldstein. He was a longtime friend of her father. They had started as college friends and had both found themselves in the pharmaceutical profession. Her father going all out and starting his company to develop drugs while Ben had chosen the safe route and worked for Silver Pharma. He had started as a pharmacist working on trial drugs and rose through the ranks in his thirty years there. Now he sat at the board. Benjamin was as good a scientist in the laboratory as he was an asset in the board room. He knew what drugs to boost and what trials were worth pursuing. His research and recommendations had etched a name for silver pharma with trial cancer drugs as they now had the most success rates of all pharmaceutical companies with cancer drugs. Their drugs were looking up and for this, Bart Kennedy valued his input.

Having Ben in such an influential position at silver pharma was the in Anna needed to push her deal through. All she had to do was have a Husband and Bart would consider the offer. Ben sat at the window seat of the café, his seat was backing the door, he didn’t see Anna when she walked in. “Morning Ben”. Anna said giving him a kiss on the cheek. A smile crossed Bart’s aging face. He had a warm smile across his freckled aging face. He had always been one of Anna’s favorite uncles. Gracing family Christmas parties and birthdays. He always had a gift and warm smile for her. That was when Anna was a child and saw her father as her knight in shining armor. Ben was one of the few things that remained even after her fall out with her father.

“How are you holding up Anna?” “The company is as strong stringing along as it can. How’s Bart and his misogyny, nothing deflating his ego lately?” “For all Bart’s faults, He’s still a good businessman and you know that hun”. “You mean a mad man in this twenty first century who doesn’t do business with women who aren’t married. Only a mad man turns down deals for that”. “You still need him and his business if Dune is to turn around, if your father had heeded me eight years ago, you wouldn’t be left to clean this mess”. Ben had been the first to propose this deal to her father when it became apparent eight years ago that the company’s financials were going under. It would have been easier having a man at the helm of affairs to see this deal go smoothly. “How’s Barbra and the boys” “They’re doing good, they’ve both decided on going to Stanford”. “You must be proud then, going to your Alma Mater” “Well they’re carving their own part, I can only be there to support them”. Anna was done making small talks and they both knew that. “Have you made up your mind on what you’re going to do?” “I’m currently in search of a husband” Bart stopped his coffee cup halfway to his mouth, he looked at her with a bewildered look. He had known Anna all her life to know her tone wasn’t one of jesting. “What do you mean you are in search of a husband?” “I might have hated my father when he died, but I have worked long and hard for the past seven years and I’m not willing to let it all go to waste. If Silver Pharma is the only one throwing the life raft and a husband is the only condition attached, I am willing to provide myself a husband”. “You do not mean what your saying, a company is not worth you marrying some rando Anna. Look maybe it’s just time to move on and count your losses. This has been a long time coming” “Move on to what Ben?, Dune has been my life, I went to business school just to run Dune and now I’m expected to give up like that? People get married everyday and divorce, what would make mine any different?” “And who are you going to marry?” Ben said with a look of exasperation on his face. “This is New York, I’m sure finding a husband wouldn’t be so hard”. “You do know that Bart wouldn’t be so easily fooled, you can’t be seen getting married simply because you want a deal with him. I can get your deal through to him and put a good word for you, but you damn well know Bart runs that board and what he says goes”. “I’m not dumb Ben, I know what I’m doing. You of all people know I’m not doing this without thinking every detail through, the marriage will be just in time so as not to be suspicious and yet enough to save the company before the year end”. Ben leaned back on his chair and stared intently. She was dead serious, and he could see it on her face. For someone who hated her father, she sure had his stubbornness down to her bones, and it showed more evidently now. Getting a marriage license was as easy as anything and announcing a marriage wouldn’t cost anything either. What worried him was the pit she was willing to fall into for dune. As someone who had experienced the horrors of her parents’ marriage, he wished nothing more than to see her happily married if she was to get married. Getting married to save dune was crazy. nna was as intelligent as her father. Another thing she inherited from him, she could find herself excelling at anything she chose if only she could see the bigger picture and let go of Dune while she could. Ben took another sip of his now tepid coffee as he stared at Anna; he knew a rough ride was to come but he had no choice than to stick by her now.