Chapter 7

There were no non-stop flights from Orlando to London. A one-stop ten-hour flight with a change of planes was made tolerable by flying in first class. Jessie was good company and was interesting to talk to. Kevin did manage to catch a few hours of sleep during this nighttime flight.

The three days they spent in and around London enabled them to see all of the sites one sees in the news on television plus some sites that normally aren’t shown. Kevin had hired a tour guide who was very knowledgeable in taking them around London and its surrounding area. The guide told them tidbits of information that the normal tourist wouldn’t know or be told.

Jessie continued to be good company in more ways than one. She said she enjoyed this vacation and it was a pleasure for Kevin to be vacationing with her. The evenings and the time spent in bed of course were part of that enjoyment, but it wasn’t that they were having non-stop sex. It was more of them “meshing” together that made having Jessie as a companion great.

Touring Rome generally centered on seeing the St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican’s Museum, and the Sistine Chapel. They visited the Colosseum and took a side trip to Florence to see the statue of David. They were amazed by the talents of these artists both in painting and sculpturing. They agreed that hiring a tour guide was the only way to ensure that you saw all that Rome and the surrounding area had to offer.

On the flight home, they discussed other places in Europe that would be worth seeing. Switzerland and Northern Italy were said to be very scenic Jessie had heard people say.

Back in Orlando, Kevin stayed two days there before heading back to Austin. He told Jessie this was the best vacation he had ever had and it was largely because of her. The lovemaking they did was one thing, but mainly it was her personality that made it enjoyable. He said he would be in touch.

At the office, it was like Kevin had never left as everything was running fine. The auditor already had found a large discrepancy with one of the property management firms that resulted in their paying some funds back to KAR Enterprises. Paul was looking to find a different realty management firm for that large apartment complex in Dallas, Texas.

Ralph said Paul and he was kicking around the idea of purchasing the private Amber Lakes Country Club, mainly for its land. They thought they would partner with a home construction company to build houses on it. This club had two championship golf courses and was about a half-hour drive from the office. Kevin who enjoyed golfing, asked Ralph to keep him up to date on this purchase.

Kevin’s review of the reports on how his investment business was doing showed it was hitting on all cylinders. The investments, both in the stock market and in business types of properties were all generating sufficient amounts of income with most of it being reinvested. Even when Kevin’s patent expired and large amounts of leasing funds weren’t coming in, his business would survive and all of his co-workers would be employed. He couldn’t help but feel good about the success that he, a marginal college grad had achieved. He had to admit that it wasn’t college but it was his idea for extending the range of an EV was responsible for his success.

It was about one month later that Ralph told Kevin that the closing on the purchase of the Amber Lakes Country Club was scheduled for later that morning. With time on his hands, Kevin thought he would take a ride to the club to have lunch and look at the golf courses. He knew that he would like to play the two golf courses before they would disappear with the various types of housing that would be built there.

The main clubhouse was large and impressive. Kevin went into the combined lounge and dining room. He took a seat at the bar ordering a hamburger with fries and a bottle of beer. In eating his meal he looked around and noticed the few people that were there dining. At one table there was an older gray-haired man and a younger lady.

The hamburger and fries were tasty and the cold beer hit the spot. He planned after he was finished eating getting a golf cart and driving on the golf cart paths to see what the two golf courses looked like. He asked the bartender for the check and the bartender whose name tag said he was Larry, asked Kevin for his member number.

“I don’t have a member number. Here is my credit card.”

“I am sorry sir, but we don’t take cash or credit cards. This cost for this meal is applied to your member’s bill that you receive at month’s end. You are a member here aren’t you?”

When Kevin said he wasn’t, the bartender waved his hand at the young lady who was sitting with the older man. She stood and came to the bar, saying, “What is the problem?”

While Larry explained what was going on Kevin could see this older man who was sitting at the table receive a phone call.

“I am sorry sir, but we do not take cash or credit cards as Larry told you. This is a private club for members only. The cost of your meal is on us but I will ask you to leave,” she said.

Kevin tried to explain that he didn’t want charity and wanted to pay for the meal and was holding his credit card in his hand. It had become a habit of Kevin’s to pay for everything with a credit card and he only carried a little cash, but today, he had forgotten to carry any cash.

The older man who was sitting at the table now came to the bar and asked what was going on. This lady explained what was happening with Kevin not being a member.

The man took the credit card from Kevin’s hand and after looking at it said, “Are you “THE” Kevin Reeves of KAR Enterprises?”

“Yes, I am.”

Handing Kevin back his card this man turned to Larry and the lady and said, “This man is Kevin Reeves and while he is not a member of this club, the phone call I just received indicates he is now the owner of this club. This club has just been sold to KAR Enterprises. Mr. Reeves, will you join us at the table and have coffee with us or another beer?”

Kevin said he would and asked them to call him Kevin.

At the table, the man introduced himself as Clifford Keefe and said he was the club’s manager. The lady was Emily Wagner who was the assistant club manager. They both said rumors were going around that the club was up for sale but the actual sale today was a surprise.