I held up my hands. "Not me. I'm just saying that I bet you one hundred bucks the big boss has a new venture and he is trying to convince his protege to go along. It just makes sense."
Otto studied me for a moment. "You're right; it does make sense. But what about you? Not going to be seeing much of Ms. Nichols anymore."
I nodded. "You'll miss her too."
"So, you're okay with walking away from all of this? And her?" Otto asked.
"As if I have a say in any of it. All I know is I can't complain. I made my money, and now I have the perfect excuse to run off and enjoy it," I said.
Otto shook his head. "You're not going far. You're waiting here to see where she's going."
"No," I said, more to convince myself. "I'm happy for her if it's what she wants."
"The minute a man thinks he knows what a woman wants, he's in trouble," Otto said. Voices raised to shouting in the conference room and Otto excused himself to check it out.
Berger slipped by him and came over to whack me on the back again. "Couldn't have orchestrated this whole thing better if you'd tried," he said.
"You don't seem too upset by the whole thing," I said. In the conference room, Otto was directing the junior executives to sit down and calm down.
Berger shrugged. "I could use a vacation. See if that yacht's sea-worthy."
"So, that's it? You're done working?" I asked.
"Come on, tell me that wasn't what you had in mind. I mean, you jumped on Tasha's project at the last minute, made billions, and now your job is gone, leaving you free to enjoy your fortune. Tell me you didn't plan that." Berger blocked my path.
"How could I have planned it?" I asked. "I'm not the one with the big boss' ear."
Berger glanced towards Stan's office. "You're right, but I know that Tasha didn't see this coming. She doesn't have much of a poker face."
I smiled at that, hoping Tasha's tells would help me in the future. "Well, I might be a good gambler, but I didn't know any of this was coming."
"Doesn't stop you from being the big winner, I guess." Berger laughed but didn't move. "So, what do you have planned next?"
"You mean for the next five minutes? Because I just found out about all this. How would I already have a plan?" I glanced at Stan's door, but it was still closed. "I'm here to get all the details and find out what other people think first."
Berger snorted. "Or you're waiting for your lady luck to make the first move."
That off-handed comment hit home. I had been waiting for Tasha to make the first move, some hint that she hadn't gotten me out of her system. I forced myself to shrug it off, but I couldn't take my eyes off Stan's office door.
"That's all in the past. There's a big, wide open future ahead now," I said. "Maybe I'll start my own business."
The idea fell flat because as I said it, I hated the idea of being busy without seeing Tasha. She was the one with the business brain and all the organization. I imagined she'd already outlined an entire plan for herself and would come out of Stan's office with a whole new life ahead of her. One I would not be part of.
"Well, I think before I take that big boat to sea, I'm going to head up to wine country and in
vest in some choice vintages," Berger said. "Of course, it would make more sense to go to France first and really refine my pallet before facing those cowboy vintners in Napa."
"Need the right supplies for your sea voyage?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Berger laughed. "Exactly. I should probably cruise the top restaurants from here to New York and see if I can't poach the perfect personal chef too. Whaddya say? Dinner at French Laundry?"
I checked my watch. "I guess there's still time for you to buy a private plane. Or does your yacht have a helicopter pad?"
"Remember the stage? That's a helicopter pad." Berger eyed me. "Though I didn't see much of you during the show. Where'd you go?"
"I was taste-testing your rye collection. Sadly lacking," I told him.
"Well, let's see you compete." Berger's hands broke free and waved around as he got excited. "You know, my yacht is like a floating mansion. You should get one, and we can cruise the world. Just think of the parties we could have. With both of us, we could take over entire islands."