Chapter 15 Chapter Fourteen

Studying in business school is an exciting new adventure.When Kate was at Cheltenham, studying was a chore, a necessity.This time it was completely different, and she learned something useful in every class.These will help her manage her own company in the future.Courses of study include accounting, business operations, international trade and business administration.David called her once a week to inquire about her studies. "I love it here," Kate told him. "It's exciting, David." There would come a day when she and David would work side by side, alone into the night.One night David would turn to her and say, "Kate, darling, I'm such a blind fool. Will you marry me?" and she would fall into David's arms immediately...

Yet she still has to wait.In the meantime, she still has a lot to learn.Kate made up her mind to concentrate on doing her homework well. Courses at the School of Business take two years to complete.After Kate graduated, she returned to Kripdrift in time for her twentieth birthday.David met her at the train station.Kate was so excited that she opened her arms and hugged him tightly. "Oh, David, I'm so glad to see you." He broke free quickly and said awkwardly, "It's great to meet you, Kate." His demeanor was a little unnatural, giving people an uncomfortable feeling.

"What happened to you?" "It's nothing. But it's probably inappropriate for a big girl to hug a man in full view." She looked at him for a while, "That's it, I promise I won't embarrass you again in the future." ※※※ As they drove home, David surreptitiously eyed Kate.She was a heart-warming beauty, simple-hearted and vulnerable.David was determined not to use this to his advantage. Kate moved into her new office in Kruger-Brent Ltd on Monday morning.She felt as if suddenly thrown into a strange world.There are idioms and languages ​​all by themselves.The company's organizational structure is dazzling: business offices, subsidiaries, regional departments, agency firms, and foreign branches, etc.The products that companies make or own are seemingly endless.There are also steel mills, dairy farms, a railroad and a sea line.And of course the old family fortune: diamonds, gold, zinc, platinum, and magnesium.These minerals are mined 24 hours a day, making the company's financial resources flood in.

that power. There's so much to do, it's almost overwhelming.Kate sat in David's office and listened to the decisions he made that affected thousands of people around the world.The managers of various departments made suggestions of one kind or another, but they were often dismissed by David. "Why did you do that? Are they incompetent?" Kate asked. "Of course they're competent, but that's not the problem," David explained. "Every manager sees his department as the center of the world, and that's what it should be. But someone has to see the big picture. Decide what's best for the company as a whole. Come on, let's go to lunch. I want you to meet someone."

David took Kate into the large dedicated dining room next door to her office, where a bony young man was waiting for them.He has a thin face and curious brown eyes. "This is Brad Rogers," David said. "Brad, meet your new boss, Kate McGregor." Brad Rogers held out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Miss McGregor." "Brad is our secret weapon," David said. "He knows Kruger-Brent as well as I do. If I go, don't worry, Brad is here." "If I go," a wave of fear washes over Kate.Of course David would never leave the company.Kate kept thinking about that phrase as she ate.After the meal was over, she didn't even know what she had eaten.

※※※ After lunch, they discussed South Africa. "We're going to be in trouble," David warned. "The government decided to impose a poll tax." "What on earth does that mean?" Kate asked. "That means that every member of a black, colored and Indian family pays £2 in tax, which is more than a month's wages." Kate thought of Banda, and her heart was filled with apprehension.Then the conversation turned to something else. ※※※ Kate is very happy with her new life.Every decision is a multi-million pound bet.Big business is a quiz, you have to dare to place bets, and you must be keen to know when to quit and when to persist.

"Business is also a kind of gambling," David said to Kate. "Gambling is a big deal, and your opponents are all experts. If you want to win, you have to be proficient in gambling and become a leader." This is exactly what Kate is determined to do.You have to study hard. ※※※ Apart from the servants, Kate was alone in that big house.She and David still had dinner together on Fridays, and it had become a formality.But when Kate invited him over on other nights, he always made excuses and said no.During working hours, they are often together.But at this moment David also seemed to have erected a barrier between them, a wall that Kate could not pass through.

※※※ On her twenty-first birthday, all of Kruger-Brent's shares were given to Kate.She now officially controls the entire company. "Let's have dinner together tonight and celebrate," she suggested to David. "I'm sorry, Kate, but I have a lot of work to do." Kate had dinner alone that night.She wondered why.Is it because of her, or because of David?He must be deaf, foolish, and blind if he didn't know how she felt for him by now, and that she had always loved him.She had to figure out a way. The company is negotiating a US ocean line. "How about you and Brad take a trip to New York and close the deal?" David suggested to Kate. "It'll be a workout for you, too."

Kate hoped that David would go with her, but her strong self-esteem did not allow her to say such a thing.She could do without him.In addition, she has not been to the United States and would like to see it. ※※※ The shipping contract was signed very smoothly. "When you get there," David said to her, "you should walk around and see the country." Kate and Brad visited subsidiaries in Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York.Kate was pleasantly surprised by the size and vitality of America.The climax of the trip was a visit to Duck Harbor, Maine, on a charming little island called Poro Island in Pinoscote Bay.An artist named Charles Dana Gibson invited her to dinner at his home.There were twelve people at the dinner party, all of whom, except Kate, had their own homes on the island.

"This place has a very interesting history," Gibson told Kate. "Many years ago, residents had to take a small seagoing ship from Boston to come here. After the boat docked, they had to take a horse-drawn carriage to get home." "How many people live on this island?" Kate asked. "About fifty families. Did you see that lighthouse when the ferry docked?" "I see." "There lived a keeper and his dog in the lighthouse. When a ship passed by, the dog would come out and ring the bell." Kate laughed. "You're joking." "No, miss, the funny thing is that the dog is so deaf that he has to put his ear to the bell to see if it vibrates."

Kate smiled, "It sounds like your island is quite interesting." "You spend the night here and go out tomorrow morning. I think it's worth it." Kate said on a whim: "Why not?" She spent the night at the Poro Island Hotel, the only hotel on the island.Early the next morning, she hired a carriage, driven by a local, and left the central area of ​​Dark Harbor, where there was a department store, a hardware store, and a small restaurant.A few minutes later, their carriage drove into a beautiful wood.Kate noticed that there were no signs on the winding paths and no names on the mailboxes.She asked the guide: "Without signs, don't people get lost?" "No, the people on the island know this place well." Kate glanced at him, "So that's it." ※※※ At the lower end of the island they passed a cemetery. "Will you please stop?" Kate demanded. She got off the carriage and walked towards the ancient cemetery.She wandered among the tombstones, watching carefully. "Job Pendleton, died January 25, 1794, at the age of 47." The inscription reads: "I fell asleep under the stele: God blessed my long sleep." "Jenny, wife of Thomas Pendleton, died February 25, 1802, at the age of forty-seven." Here are the ghosts of another century, from ages long gone. "Captain William Hatch, drowned in Long Island Sound, October 1866, at the age of 30." The inscription reads: "Crossed the Ocean of Life through the storm." Kate stayed there for a long time, enjoying the peace and quiet.At last she got back into the carriage and drove on. "How's it going here in winter?" Kate asked. "It's cold, the bay used to be frozen. People from the mainland come to the island on sledges. Now of course, we have ferries." They round a bend.Below, on the water's edge, was a beautiful, white-paneled two-story building.It was surrounded by delphiniums, wild roses, and poppies; the shutters on the eight front windows were painted green; beside the double doors there were white benches and six pots of geraniums.It looks like something out of a fairy tale. "Who is the owner of this house?" "That's old Draper's house. Mrs. Draper died a few months ago." "Who lives there now?" "I don't think anyone lives there." "Do you know if this house is for sale?" The guide looked at Kate and said, "If it's for sale, maybe someone's son on the island will buy it. The islanders don't like foreigners." To Kate, that was a misnomer. An hour later, she found a real estate lawyer. "It's about the Drayburn house," said Kate. "Is it for sale?" The lawyer pouted, "Well, yes, no." "What's the meaning?" "It's for sale, but several people have expressed an interest in buying." Must be an old resident of the island, Kate thought. "Did they make an offer?" "Not yet, but—" "I'll make an offer right now," Kate said. He said a little arrogantly: "That is a very expensive house." "Make an offer." "Fifty thousand dollars." "Okay, let's go take a look." Inside the house was even more charming than Kate had expected.The well-decorated living room is very spacious, and through the glass wall, you can see the sea.On one side of the living room is a large ballroom.On the other side is the living room, with fruitwood wainscoting that shows signs of age and an oversized fireplace.There is also a library and a sizeable kitchen.The kitchen contained an iron stove and a pine table.Next to it is the pantry and laundry room.Downstairs are the servants' six quarters and a bathroom.Upstairs there is a set of large bedrooms and four smaller bedrooms.The house is much bigger than Kate expected.Yet she thought to herself: When David and I have kids, we'll need this many rooms.The courtyard surrounding the house extends to a private jetty in the bay. Kate turned to the lawyer. "I bought it." She decided to call it Pine Ridge Residence. She couldn't wait to get back to Kripdrift, and she was going to break the news to David.On the way back to South Africa, Kate was filled with ecstasy and excitement.The Duck Harbor house was a sign and a symbol of her and David's marriage.She knew he would love the house as much as she did. ※※※ On the afternoon Kate and Brad returned to Cripdrift, she hurried to David's office.He is sitting at his desk and working.Kate's heart pounded when she saw him.Then she realized how much she missed him. David stood up, "Kate, welcome back!" Before she could speak, he said, "I want you to be the first to know that I'm getting married."