Forever Yours
©2025 Elder Road Books - Lynnwood WA
Chapter 14: In Business
CHASTITY WAS READY and waiting when he picked her up for dinner Wednesday at six. They headed east to get away from the city a little.
“I signed a lease this morning,” Henry said. “Paid the security deposit and first month’s rent.”
“When do you move in?”
“We can move in the first of June,” Henry said happily.
“We? Henry! Is Carol coming back?” Chastity asked.
“Uh ... No ... The place has two large private suites. I thought you might like to move with me,” Henry said.
Chastity stared at him in silence for a long time.
“I hope you didn’t sign the lease with that expectation,” she said quietly. “I’m not your girlfriend, Henry. I won’t live with you.”
“I wasn’t thinking you would,” he backpedaled. “I signed the lease intending to sublet one suite. I just thought you might like to have a little more room is all. No big deal.”
“It is a big deal, Henry. My lifestyle is not compatible with sharing a house with anyone. It’s bad enough I had to tell you at all. Just be my friend. You take care of me, and when you need it, I take care of you,” she said.
“I won’t abuse you,” Henry said.
“Of course not. That doesn’t mean we can’t have sex once in a while. Like tonight.”
They drove on to a restaurant near the freeway and went in for a very good meal. Henry was quiet, trying to understand all there was to know about his friend. By the time they left the restaurant he decided he didn’t need to understand. All he needed to do was accept her and be there when she needed him. And when that included sex, it was a benefit.
The news of his new domicile was received by his partners enthusiastically.
“It’s more than an official address for the company,” Henry said when Luke and Isobel returned to town in mid-May. “There is actually space we can use as an office as long as there’s just us. I plan to install the server on the fourth floor and we can get a couple of desks up there. We don’t want to do too much. There’s no elevator, so let’s not stuff it full of crap. Just the basics. Besides, anyone who goes up there has to pass through the living room on the first floor and the second and third floor entries. I’ll need to make sure whoever my renter is understands the traffic pattern. The second floor will be off limits to anyone but my renter.”
“When can you get in?” Luke asked.
“The lease says June 1, but I talked to the developer this week and he said it was fine to move in over Memorial Day weekend. That’s the 29th, 30th, and 31st. That way I’ll be moved in and won’t interrupt class on Tuesday the first.”
“We’re only here for this weekend so we can get back to start summer classes,” Isobel said. “But we can come back to help move over Memorial Day, can’t we Luke?”
“Absolutely.”
“Your help will be welcome, but I don’t really have that much to move,” Henry said.
“You’re going to need to buy some furniture,” Chastity said. “Even if you take your bed from home, you don’t have any living room furniture, no dishes or cookware, and no place to eat. Also, the company needs to pay for office space. You say the fourth floor is about 450 square feet? Shared office spaces in town are going for about three dollars a square foot per month. That would be $1350 per month rental.”
“How did you happen to have that info at the top of your head?” Isobel asked.
“My office administration class this term included all kinds of information on what goes into having an office in the city,” Chastity answered. “I figured it would be important to the company sometime soon.”
“Mom and Dad have agreed to sponsor an attic shopping trip. If I can’t find it in their attic or basement, then we go to Goodwill,” Henry laughed.
“There’s a used furniture store over on Arlington,” Chastity said. “That’s where I got the things for my apartment. And I already picked up a fireproof safe at the office furniture store next to the convention center. They had lots of used office furniture. I’m sure we can get what we need without spending a ton.”
“Speaking of spending,” Luke said, “It’s time to spend a million dollars. Are you guys ready?”
“What?” Chastity gasped.
“We filed the incorporation papers this week. We now own a company called Open Cloak Design. We are going to transfer $1 million from PRPP LLC to Open Cloak Design in exchange for ten million shares of common stock at ten cents per share. That means 2.5 million shares for each of us. It also means we have a corporate bank account to meet these expenses.”
“Holy shit!” Henry said.
“It means we’re really in business. The corporate address will be your new row house,” Luke said. “I move that this meeting now be opened as the first meeting of the board of directors of Open Cloak Design.”
“Hell, yeah!” Henry said. Chastity and Isobel both nodded, almost too choked up to speak.
“Let the record show the first meeting has convened,” Luke said.
“What record?” Chastity asked.
“Hmm. All in favor of Chastity as Corporate Secretary say yes,” Luke said.
“Yes!” they all agreed. Chastity’s vote was a little weaker than the others but she nodded.
“Madam Secretary, please record the minutes of the first meeting of the board,” Luke said.
“I move Luke Riordan be elected Chairman of the Board and CEO,” Henry said. These motions were really formalities as the group had talked frequently over the past year about the role each of them would play. But it was exciting to act as if they were just launching. And really, they were.
They continued with Isobel elected Treasurer and Henry being confirmed as Vice-Chair and Chief Technology Officer.
“In our first acts,” Luke said, “we need to budget the setup of the office, projected expense for any positions we need to fill, and the acquisition of Henry’s other patents.”
“There went that million,” Isobel said.
“Luke and I talked, and with your approval, we think we have a plan that will work,” Henry said. “We need the cash in the bank for operating expenses over the coming year. And we all need to draw an introductory salary. Not enough to live high, but enough to help with individual expenses.”
“We really mean introductory,” Luke said. “We’re proposing a year one salary for each of us at $1,000 per month. We are all working like hell to get this launched. It doesn’t really make a difference what role we are filling; we all need to cover a few of our expenses.”
“That’s great for us,” Chastity said, “but you can’t expect Henry to surrender all the work he’s done for a grand. That is really not fair.”
“No, but his patents and software are a capital acquisition,” Luke continued. “It’s why we established the price per share for the founders at ten cents a share. Henry should receive $100,000 for each of the five patents, including the one that was filed in January and hasn’t issued yet and the one we’ve already licensed to the security company. The $100,000 will be payable in a stock exchange at $ .10 per share. In other words, Henry will receive another five million shares. This isn’t set in concrete, so we can have an open discussion before we vote on it.”
“I’m still a little uncomfortable with the amount,” Henry said. “Thank you for your faith in what I’ve developed, but they aren’t all worth the same amount. Plus, we owe—or I owe—ten percent of the sale to Don Harvey, who has filed everything and deferred payment until the company is established. I just think that five million shares would give me a fifty percent interest in the company and that doesn’t recognize how much you all have contributed.”
“You’re worth it,” Chastity said, reaching over to pat Henry’s shoulder.
“I agree in principle that you are worth it, but I’d rather the three of us have the ability to outvote Henry if we feel something is really off the rails,” Isobel said. “I’d suggest a $75,000 purchase for each patent for a total of four million shares.”
“Henry? Does that feel good or like we’re taking advantage of you?” Luke asked.
“I don’t think you are taking enough advantage of me. Here’s what I’m thinking: The $75k is good, but I already sold one of the patents to the LLC. So, that should put another 750,000 shares in joint ownership by the LLC, in case we decide we want to buy something else. Um ... I think that comes out to 3.25 million shares for me, and an extra 750,000 shares in our LLC pool.”
“You’ve always been generous, Henry,” Chastity said. “I vote we approve this proposal.”
“I agree,” Isobel said.
“As an equal partner, I vote yes,” Henry said.
“I’ll ask the secretary to write up the agreement as a proper motion approved unanimously by the board,” Luke said.
The four friends and partners sat at the table in Luke’s dining room and talked about the other aspects of the business. Eventually, they resolved the budget, and agreed they would be back together in two weeks to help Henry move. Chastity would go shopping for office furniture and arrange to have it delivered on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
“Hen-ry,” Chastity sang softly when they were in the car to take her home. “I just came into a windfall and really want to celebrate.”
“What kind of windfall, Chas?” Henry teased.
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