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Power couple

He's a corporate real estate agent. She's a marketing manager. And their first date was to a funeral.

TAMPA - Rick Narkiewicz set himself some mighty high goals as a kid.

"I knew I wanted to be somebody great since the seventh grade," he said. "I've always had an insatiable appetite to excel."

Marrying marketing pro Megan Whelan, a Gaither High School graduate, sent the power broker over the top.

"We're both overachievers," Narkiewicz said, "but I'm a little intense. Megan's more patient and much nicer.

"She chills me out," he said.

In their new marriage, they have role models to follow: Their parents' marriages are "the success record we honor," Whelan said. In August, her parents, Terri and Michael Whelan of Lutz, will mark 36 years. His parents, Joseph and Sally Narkiewicz of Cheval, will celebrate 40.

The young couple have always been achievers.

At 24, Narkiewicz went to work for CB Richard Ellis, the world's largest corporate real estate firm, as one of the company's youngest hires. Now the senior associate juggles 15 deals at a time, including five or six multimillion-dollar leases of industrial, manufacturing and distribution sites.

In November 1999, at age 25, Narkiewicz was listed in the Tampa Bay Business Journal's first "40 Under 40" class of business leaders.

Whelan is poised for success, too.

Two years ago, she and Narkiewicz both made the Journal's "30 Under 30" list of up-and-comers.

Within a week of receiving Whelan's resume, Outback Steakhouse hired her in June 1996, just a month after she graduated from Florida State University. Now a senior advertising and marketing manager, she promotes Outback restaurants in six Southern states. She recently oversaw the company's Web site redesign and built partnerships with the Weather Channel and other television networks.

A former softball star voted "most athletic" by her Gaither High Class of 1992, Whelan puts her energy into Junior League projects and Outback-sponsored fundraisers for the Boys & Girls Club and Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Narkiewicz met his match in Whelan, he said. "She's ambitious, competitive and independent, like me.

"And just as stubborn," he added.

The 30-year-olds detoured off the fast track just long enough to fall in love. They married at St. Lawrence Catholic Church on June 4.

Narkiewicz enlisted in the Army after graduating from New Port Richey's Ridgewood High in 1992. Afterward, he landed a modeling contract. His claim to fame: posing on a surfboard in business attire to launch Microsoft's "surfing the Web" campaign. That helped pay some bills until he graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1996.

Tenacity plus military training may have saved his life on May 5, 1999, when he was stabbed eight times by a robber in a downtown Tampa parking garage. He kept calm and applied what he knew about first aid.

He fought off depression by talking to civic groups about staying safe.

By odd coincidence, football had a role the first three times the couple spoke to each other. A mutual friend introduced them at a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game in the fall of 2002. Whelan thought her friend had an eye on Narkiewicz.

A couple of months later, they recognized each other at a flag football game. She subbed for one of his teammates, but they did more running than chatting.

The third sighting was a celebration at Whiskey Park SoHo after the Bucs-Philadelphia Eagles playoff game in January 2003.

He finally asked her out - to a funeral for an old friend of his.

"Tough sell for a first date," he said, noting her caring nature and compassion that day.

"It seemed to mean a lot to him that I was there," Whelan said.

On Valentine's Day, she met Sally and Joseph Narkiewicz, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association. Their son let them know: She was the one.

With their busy schedules, dates involved business dinners and corporate events. Taking time for a rigorous trip to Costa Rica, the workaholics learned they made great traveling partners. Soon after, Narkiewicz discovered bride magazines at Whelan's house.

"They were hidden but not well enough," he said, admitting he had been thinking about where to propose.

He considered their upcoming trip to a private island in the Florida Keys in August 2004.

"Not epic enough for me," he said.

Narkiewicz pretended the vacation to the Keys was on, even e-mailing Whelan the hotel and excursion confirmations. Pack your passport, he told her, because they would be in international waters.

Simultaneously, he booked an oceanfront suite at a five-star resort in Cabo San Lucas.

At the airport, Whelan headed to the airline kiosk to check in.

"I tried to stop her," Narkiewicz said, "but there's her stubbornness."

He made sure she only saw the first leg of their tickets - to Houston - and kept her guessing about the final destination. She was sure they were going back to Costa Rica.

At 6 the next morning, they walked down to the beach. Narkiewicz found the perfect spot and put his camera on a tripod and set the timer. He captured the proposal, the sunrise over the sea of Cortez and Whelan's emotional acceptance.

- To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com