Echoes of Titanic Read Online Free PDF Page A

shaking Kelsey’s hand as he welcomed her into Brennan & Tate’s prestigious “Quarter Club.” Turning to the audience, he explained the significance of this honor, that it meant she had brought in twenty-five million dollars’ worth of business to the firm. That earned another round of applause, during which Walter’s EA, Yanni, came up on stage and handed him a small plaque, which he would then present to Kelsey.
    How very Academy Awards of them , she thought wryly. All this moment needs to make it complete is an evening gown for Yanni and an orchestra to cut off my acceptance speech .
    â€œOn second thought,” Walter said, still holding the plaque, “if you folks will indulge me for a moment, I think there’s an even better way to do this.” With that, he gestured toward the front row and said, “Lou? Would you do the honors?”
    â€œAbsolutely,” the man replied, rising and quickly bounding up the steps to the stage.
    Kelsey grinned as he came, thrilled to see her old colleague and friend Lou Strahan. She hadn’t noticed him before, but she couldn’t be happier to be sharing the stage with him now.
    Once Lou reached them, Walter handed him the plaque and then put an arm around his shoulders and spoke into the microphone.
    â€œMany of you may know Louis Strahan, a former vice president here at Brennan & Tate and now the owner and CEO of the very successful Strahan Realty Trust.”
    Kelsey saw a number of heads nodding in the audience, and someone called out, “Way to go, Lou!” to a smattering of applause.
    â€œAnyway,” Walter continued, clearing his throat, “there’s something about Lou you may not know, but it’s the reason I’ve asked him to come up here and present this award to Kelsey on our behalf.” Glancing at Lou and then at Kelsey, Walter said, “Five years ago, not long after I came to this firm, Kelsey made her very first investment on behalf of Brennan & Tate. That investment went to Lou to provide start-up money for his new company. As that was the first deal she brokered on her own, and it ended up being such a profitable one for all involved, I thought it appropriate that he be the one to present her with this award today.”
    With that, Walter took a few steps back and Lou moved to the microphone. Even before he spoke, Kelsey was smiling in anticipation. The man was a real character, intense and driven but also brutally honest and wickedly funny. She’d missed working with him but was pleased he’d done so well out on his own—and that she’d had a hand in helping him get started.
    â€œI won’t say much,” Lou told the audience with just a tinge of his old Brooklyn accent coming through, “because I know you folks would rather hear from a beautiful young woman than a long-winded old man.”
    Some of the audience members chuckled, and after a beat Kelsey realized why. Lou wasn’t talking about himself. His comment had been intended as a dig toward Walter, who was older than him by a good fifteen years and did tend to get a little long-winded. She stifled a smile and made a point of not looking Walter’s way.
    â€œJust let me say,” Lou continued, “that I remember well the first day Kelsey started working at Brennan & Tate. I already knew her and liked her, of course, from various functions Nolan had brought her to over the years. But this was different. Now she was going to be a coworker . The boss’s daughter . Can you imagine?”
    More smiles, more chuckles.
    â€œKelsey, I don’t mind telling you, the guys in my division took bets that first day on how long it would take before you’d go crying to Daddy over something.”
    The audience laughed. She smiled, rolling her eyes.
    â€œOf course, this being an investment firm and me being a smart investor, I didn’t like the odds.” His expression grew serious as he leaned