Chapter 19

Sandy looked across the table at us. “Um, I suppose we ought to go out with you and have a celebration of some kind.”

“We could do some kind of lunch, if you know some place, and don’t mind driving. We took a taxi from the airport to here, and we’ve an early flight in the morning out, so we’ll want to be back at our hotel fairly early.”

Len looked at Sandy. “I think we can do that. Let me go bring our car around.” She nodded, and he headed out. Sandy stood up and erased the white board, while I got our things gathered back up. We followed her to a side door, where Len pulled up with their car.

“I’m thinking Indian,” Len said. “There’s a nice place up in San Mateo. At this time of day, they shouldn’t be busy, and it’ll be a short trip from there for us to run you up to your hotel.”

“Thank you.” He opened the trunk, so I could load everything. We got into the back seat. Once we were in and Len was negotiating the streets to get us onto the highway, Sandy turned in the front seat a little.

“Do you mind if I ask the two of you a personal question?” Margie shook her head. “We don’t make a big deal of it, but Len and I have been married for four years now. I’m getting a vibe off the two of you that this is more than a professional relationship.”

“Good grief, I’d hope so,” Margie said. “Cal’s cousin is married to my sister. We’re not related like that, but keep in mind you’re only talking about, what, 55,000 people in the whole county?”

I nodded. “That’s something I noticed when we were riding in the taxi. It’s one thing to read about the number of people that live here, it’s another to see it. Hutchinson is, size wise, about the same as Palo Alto, including population. But Reno county is more than 1,250 square miles. So, a rough square with the Presidio at the north, along the coast down to Pescadero, then east to San Jose, back north to about San Ramon, and that’s including all of that.” I pointed at San Francisco Bay.

Len was nodding. “Actually, I get it. I grew up in Philadelphia, just outside there. But we had family in Harrisburg and Allentown, and obviously I’ve been to Gettysburg more than once. Once you get out of the city, you’ve got room.”

“Sorry, I’m from here, so this is just normal to me,” Sandy said.

We started with casual conversation while eating, but I shook Sandy up, with something she hadn’t considered. “Sandy, don’t just think small. By that, I’m talking consumer sized devices. If things take off like it looks like they’re going to, you’re going to have 20 million households in this country with a network device that’s ours. Sounds pretty impressive, doesn’t it?” She nodded, but her eyes narrowed, because she knew I was thinking of something else.

“That’s going to be a drop in the bucket. How many car assembly plants are here in the United States?” She shook her head. “For the sake of argument, let’s say there’s 25 of them. I’ll pick the one that Margie and I know most about, because her father is the General Manager of it, in Kansas City. It’s got about 3,000 people that work there, and probably 400 of those are office staff. Every one of those office people are going to have a computer on their desk. There’s probably going to be another 600 computers at different locations in the factory. Do you think that they’re going to need the same thing that the people in homes will? That’s, conservatively, 25,000 computers that’ll need to be networked, and that’s not counting their actual offices and other production facilities. Think about how many people work at the GM headquarters, the Ford Headquarters.”

“Now, Hutchinson has a very nice hospital, but it’s small. I’m friends with the daughter of one of the administrators. Between radiology, surgery units, billing, administration, and nursing, they’ll need about 200 computers. A larger hospital might need 1,000, or more. Let’s just say that you’re looking at an average of 500 computers, between the bigger ones and the smaller ones. There are 6,000 hospitals in the US. That’s 3 million computers needing network devices. Now, how many doctors’ offices are there? Here’s another one. We’re starting to get computers in our school. Right now, we’re going to have about 100. Again, we’re small. There are more than 13,000 high schools in this country. Figure another 3 million computers there, needing networking. Add in the 95,000 or so elementary and junior high schools. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The consumer market is going to be big, don’t get me wrong. But if you do this right, it’s going to be raining money out there for you. How many holes are in your bucket?”

She leaned back, running a hand through her hair, stunned. Len was a little puzzled, so he pulled out a piece of paper and started scribbling on it. He worked at it for a couple of minutes, then just put the paper back into his pocket, shaking his head. He looked up, across the table at me. “Are you sure you’re only 16? Because the numbers floating around in my head right now don’t match what anything any other 16-year-old I’ve ever met has even envisioned. And we’re at Stanford, there’s a LOT of smart people here. Hell, I thought I was smart, until about 3 minutes ago.”

Margie laughed. “Been there, done that. He has a tendency to do that to you. I have my MBA. I also have bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and sociology.”

Sandy quietly said, “I’m seeing an infrastructure in my head right now, just for that simple 100 computer plan you’re talking about, with them probably ... damn, each computer will need a network card, then you’re looking at ... one main room, at least 8 ... no, 14 would be better ... devices to route the signals, switches with some capability of their own, then scale that up and ... good lord.” She looked down. “I’m ... oh, my God, I am so...” She blushed red.

Margie really laughed then. “Like I said, been there, done that. Len, I think we’re done here, and if you’d like, we can take a taxi from here.”

Sandy shook her head. Len was looking a little lost, but I understood. I quickly got up and paid the check, getting a receipt. With me away from the table, Sandy whispered in Len’s ear what her problem was. He stood up and helped her up, then Margie provided a little cover so we could get to their car. Margie and Sandy got into the back seat, with Len turning up the fan a bit.

“I cannot believe that ... I ... that...”

“Sandy. Two things. One, mother, world class biologist, so involuntary responses to sudden stimuli were part of my education years ago. Two, four girlfriends that I am sexually active with, and they all know each other, and are well aware of it. Margie told you she was being conservative with $50 million in profits. I could easily see profits in 10 years being four times that, on more than one billion in sales. Annually. That’s why I’m willing to risk ten million, right now. You have the idea, I have the money, and in case you need it, I can help with technical knowledge. If you didn’t get excited at the thought of having a hundred forty million in income for yourselves, I’d wonder what was wrong with you.”

Margie spoke up, “Len, we’re at the Marriott. I think that’s it, up here on the right.”

Len pulled up in front. The doorman came up to his side. “Checking in, sir?”

“They are. Let me get their bags out of the trunk.” He turned the car off, went around and unlocked the trunk. Margie gave Sandy a kiss on the cheek in the back seat, then got out. Sandy slid across the seat, moving to the front. She stopped me, looked me in the eyes, then just shook her head. The doorman had a cart for our bags, so Margie and I didn’t have to carry anything. Len shut the trunk, then held his hand out to us. “Thank you. Thank you both.” He turned to the front, then stopped, stepping back to me. “Cal, if it’s none of my business, just tell me. But ... you’re talking about just our company being worth billions, with us as multimillionaires. Where will you be, at that point, since it sounds like you’re already there?”

“Helping a lot more people. Once you’re at the first billion, the rest of it almost doesn’t matter. I really wasn’t kidding, earlier. I’m earning more than ten grand per day, just in simple interest. And Len, I’m going to make one suggestion, for you personally. If you think I’m crude with this, I apologize. Take that woman of yours home and eat her out for at least a half a dozen orgasms, then fuck her until neither one of you can walk. I guarantee you that right now, that’s exactly what she needs.”

He opened his mouth, like he was going to say something, then closed it, shook his head, and smiled at me. “I’ll take that under advisement. I just hope we can make it home.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem with big cities. You can’t just pull off onto an empty road and run into the cornfield.” He shook my hand again.

I turned. Margie was waiting patiently with the bellman for me to finish. Once she saw I was done, she told him, “Front desk, please. We have reservations for tonight here.”

He led us inside. The lady behind the counter asked if she could help us. “Yes, we have reservations here for tonight. Here’s the reservation number. What time does the restaurant open in the morning, we have an early flight out?”

“We have early breakfasts, as well as complimentary shuttle service to the airport from here, leaving every 15 minutes. Ah, here we are, you’re in suite 1004. That’s a King Executive suite, bay view. Is there anything else we can help you with?”

“No, thank you.” The clerk handed our room keys to the bellhop, who led us to the elevator further back in the hotel. He pointed out where the lounge and restaurant were while waiting for the elevator. Once we got to the floor, he led us to the room, which was down one wing. He unlocked the door, wheeled our luggage in and placed it on the racks, and then asked if there was anything else. Margie told him no, then gave him a $10 tip.

He thanked her, then once he was out the door, and it was closed and locked, Margie attacked me. I was pretty much expecting it, as even with the fan blowing in the car, I could smell arousal from both she and Sandy. I simply picked her up with her arms wrapped around my neck, kissing her, and carried her into the bedroom. Gently laying her on the bed, while continuing to kiss her, I pulled her skirt up and began rubbing her through her soaked panties and pantyhose. She bucked a couple of times, having a quick cum.

“Get those pants off and fuck me, mister billionaire!”

I chuckled, carefully unbuttoning her blouse, then pulled the cups of her bra down, so I could tongue and lick her nipples. She was rubbing her hands through my hair, still in the throes of passion. I used my free hand to undo her skirt, while she kicked off her shoes. I moved down, grabbing her hose and panties at the waist, pulling them down. While I was doing that, she raised up a little, reaching behind her to unfasten her bra, slipping her blouse off as well.

I looked down at her, on the bed, pubic hair moist, her eyes burning with desire for me. It only took me about two seconds to get fully undressed myself, then I had her legs high in the air, my cock sliding into her sopping pussy, her nipples pressing into my flesh. She was in massive cum mode then, her velvet channel of flesh rippling and squeezing on my cock as I continued to ride her. After she’d had at least half a dozen, I could feel my balls ready.

“It’s a good thing you’re already pregnant, my love, because I’d make you that way right now!” With that, I filled her with my seed. She gave a silent scream, her eyes rolled up, and she passed out. I stayed where I was for several seconds, just making sure that she was still breathing. Getting off and out of her, I went to the bathroom. I turned on the shower, so it’d be warm, then got two washrags and a bath towel. I got one of the washrags wet, wiped myself off, then went back. I carefully lifted her up, sliding the towel under her, to soak up what had been leaking out. Then I started wiping her off, trying to make sure I didn’t hit her clit.

“I didn’t think it was possible to love you more than I already did. I was wrong.”

“You feel up to getting showered off? I’ve got the water running.”

“If you help me. I don’t know if I can stand on my own.”

I picked her up, with the towel in place, and carried her into the bathroom. The shower stall was oversized, so we both fit inside easily. I let her just luxuriate under the water for a bit, then I opened one of the small bottles of shampoo and started washing her hair.

“You know, there’s nothing to make a woman feel more loved than this, do you?”

“Funny, I thought that’s what I was just doing out there.”

“No, that’s lust. This is caring, sensual, and the sharing of two souls.” She turned in my arms, her face glowing. “I wish the others were with us. They told me before we left that we could consider this trip our one-night honeymoon.” At the look on my face, she laughed.

“Every girl is supposed to have dreams about her perfect wedding, her Prince Charming that comes along and carries her away on his magnificent steed. Well, I never did. Then I met you, and you really ARE my Prince Charming. I share you with my three younger sisters, but you’re the answer to all my prayers, all my dreams come true.” She pulled me down to her, kissing me again.

We finished our shower, dried off, then she led me to the windows. “Just look at it, Cal. It’s beautiful from up here.”

“It’s beautiful, right here, just looking at you, my love.”

“Watch that charm, you’ll have me out of my panties in no time.”

I reached down, opened the front of her robe. “Hey, you’re not wearing any!”

“See, it worked! But, and you’ll think I’m terrible, I’d like to go check out their pool and their Jacuzzi tub. This is a brand-new hotel, and it’s supposed to have the latest.”

“Um, swimsuit?”

“Got that covered, for both of us.” She went into the room with our luggage and pulled out her bikini and my trunks, as well as slippers. I put mine on, then some slippers. She did the same. We put our robes back on over them, got the room key and went down. This was my first experience with a whirlpool tub.

Margie started giggling, sitting next to me. The jets were making the water bubble, and it turns out she was getting hit, right on her clit, by one of the jets. “I wonder if we’d get kicked out, if I pulled your trunks down right now, and slid you inside me?”

“While I doubt it, you might consider that while water is slippery, you’re considerably more lubricated inside. You ever rub your hand along your arm while it’s wet?”

She frowned. “Damn. I’m horny again, too.”

“Don’t you mean still?” I laughed when she splashed me a little. “In all seriousness, I’d like the four of you to figure out what we’re going to do over Christmas. This is going to sound pretty biased, but I’ve seen a bit of the world now, and I’m not that impressed with big cities. Switzerland was pretty, but New York had an odor to it. And this?” I spread my arms. “It’s a culture that doesn’t understand. They’re cramming so many people into such a small area, it can’t be good.”

Another couple had come into the spa with us, and heard the last bit of what I’d said. “I take it that you’re not from a large city, young man,” the man said.

“No, not at all. We’re from Kansas, actually, little town called Hutchinson.”

“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” he said. “Sorry, but I sort of know what you’re feeling. I grew up in Oklahoma, where you could see the horizon, if there wasn’t an oil rig in the way. Problem is, there just ain’t that much in those small towns.” He and the woman he was with got into the tub. “Ah, now that does help with my back.”

“You need to be careful with that, hon. That’s why I had them book us in here, since this place has this big whirlpool.”

“And I thank you and the studio for that, Donna. So, what brings you kids from Kansas to the big city?”

“Business, which is done now. We fly out tomorrow. And you, Sir?” I asked.

“See, that’s what I like about rural people. We grew up being polite. A bit like you, I had a meeting with a producer, then we flew up here. I got a gig in town for the rest of the week and into the weekend.”

“You’re in entertainment, then?”

He laughed. “Son, you must be the only person under the age of 20 that hasn’t seen ‘Gremlins’. I’m Hoyt Axton, this is my wife, Donna.”

“My pleasure, sir. I’m Cal Lewis, this is my CFO, Margaret Miller.”

Donna said, “Your CFO? How old are you, 17?”

“16.”

“How many 16-year old’s need a Chief Financial Officer?” she asked.

“Hang on a minute,” Hoyt said. “You said Hutchinson, Kansas, didn’t you? You’re that star quarterback of their team, the one that stood around for the last 4 minutes of that game, so as to not run the score up on the other team. And then donated a whole piss pot of money to the Marines’ Toys for Tots program.” I nodded. “I was in the Navy, back in the early 60’s, before we got into Vietnam. You’re doing a good thing for our boys. I know we’re right in Hanoi Jane’s backyard, but you keep on supporting the troops, Son.”

“Don’t worry, I will. And as far as I know, I’m the only 16-year-old that needs one. But I’m probably the only 16-year-old that has a financial portfolio like I control.”

“Huh. I know some folks from back home that have a chunk of money. I mean, hell, I have enough to keep me satisfied, even if I don’t have too many songs and such that I’ve sung out there. I mostly write ‘em for other folks. Just like my Mama; she’s the one that wrote Heartbreak Hotel for the King.”

Margie knew I wouldn’t get the cultural reference, so she said, “Wow! Elvis Presley? Really?”

“Yep, young lady. He did a couple of mine, too, before he died. If the two of you are free later tonight, I could see if I could get you into my show.”

“I appreciate that, but this is a short trip for us. We left home in the middle of the night so we could fly out here this morning; we’ve an early flight tomorrow for a business meeting up the coast, then we fly home tomorrow evening so I can get back to school on Thursday. We came down here just to relax some, before going up and grabbing some sleep so we’ll be refreshed tomorrow.”

“That sounds like some of my concert venues and trips when I was younger. It seemed like I’d get done singing, load up on the bus, sleep on the bus, show up at the next town and take a shower, then go perform again. After a while, you have no idea where you are, or what you’re doing.”

“Well, if you ever find yourself in Wichita or Kansas City, you’re welcome to come visit. I think we can even set up a performance or two if you want. Or, if you’d just like to spend some time relaxing in wide open spaces where you can take the time to breathe, we have plenty of those, too.”

Donna looked at her husband, then at us. “That sounds almost too good to be true. We head back to Nashville in a month or so, we may take you up on that.”

Margie laughed. “If you’re in the bus, be prepared for miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. We had to go to Stanford this morning. Cal’s used to the big city traffic where you get slowed down because there’s a combine ahead of you, not 500 cars all going the same way at the same time. Just a second, I did bring my wallet with me, in case we needed to grab something to eat.” She turned, getting halfway out of the tub. Both Hoyt and Donna got a really good look at how nice her ass looked in her bikini.

“Here you go, this is my business card.”

Hoyt shook his head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, young lady, but you don’t look like any financial advisor I’ve ever seen before.”

She laughed. “It helps that I got my MBA when I was 22, from Wharton. Set me up so I can manage things, when I ended up running into this guy. Now, who knows where we’ll end up? Other than back upstairs in a few minutes, I’m about ready to drop now.”

“It’s been our pleasure, meeting both of you,” I said, standing to help Margie up and into her robe. “Good luck with your performances tonight, Hoyt, Donna.”

We headed to the restaurant. “We need ... a chef’s salad, with ranch dressing, a double cheeseburger with fries, and a couple of cans of Coke, delivered to Suite 1004, please,”, Margie told the waitress there. “We’re obviously not dressed to eat here.”

“Of course, Ma’am. There will be a small additional charge for the room service. It should be up in about 15 minutes.”

“Thank you.” We went back up to the room. Rather than play around, Margie quickly took another shower, then was out when the food arrived. We ate, then I took a shower. Margie actually was tired, I suspected from the stress. When I came out of the shower, she was already in bed. I crawled in with her.

She wasn’t wearing a nightgown, so the touch of her skin on mine felt so good. Her eyes were crinkled in delight. “My love, I wouldn’t trade what we have at home for anything in the world. That I’m carrying your baby inside me makes me feel like I’m the luckiest woman in the world. Earlier, I was so excited from what we had accomplished, I was so turned on from your power and strength, it was incredible feeling you inside me. Now, can you just make love to me?”

“Of course, my dear.” I began kissing her, gently, then began doing as she asked.

There were tears in her eyes when we were done. She saw the look of concern on my face. “These are tears of happiness, Cal. To me, I think to my sisters as well, the rings we wear of yours are our wedding rings. You’re our husband. We can never have a conventional relationship, and I don’t want one. But I do so love that we have this time alone now. Maybe I’m just being a little hormonal because I’m pregnant, but I feel much closer to you now than I ever have.” She then had an attack of the giggles. “Wow, listen to me. I haven’t even known you for two full weeks, and I’m talking like we’ve been together for months or even years.”

“I think maybe we have been, we just didn’t know it.” I rolled off of her, getting up and turning the shower back on. “Come on, we need another shower.” I got the water going, then picked her up and carried her into the shower again. While I was washing her off, I said, “I had this discussion with Harry and Beth, before, and you weren’t there when the girls and I first touched minds together. Our minds are powered by energy. Matter and energy are interchangeable, obviously. On my planet, we could ... measure ... the energy when a person died, and actually had instruments sensitive enough to detect that energy leaving the body. I know some religions here call them souls.”

She turned and was facing me, her eyes probing mine deeply, while I talked with the water hitting us. “That energy, and you can call the loose consciousness a soul if you like, sometimes enters an inanimate object, most of the time it seems to just wander the universe. Our connection ... I suspect that we were together before. I have no idea how, and we may never know. But you’re right. About us, about how I feel about you, about all of us.”

The tears running down her face were because I understood what she was thinking and feeling about our relationship.

We dried off and went back to bed again, this time to sleep until early in the morning. Our alarm went off at 4 in the morning. We got ready and were downstairs by 4:30. She got coffee and a bagel, I had cereal. We were checked out and waiting for the shuttle, then were at the airport well in advance of our flight. This was just over a two hour flight.

Margie was shivering a little when we got to baggage recovery. It was a different kind of weather than she was used to for this time of year. While it wasn’t raining, the wind coming from the west had the moisture from Elliot Bay in it. At 51 degrees, her clothing choice had to make an immediate change. While it’d been 52 when we left Kansas City, that was at 6 in the morning, and it was still getting into the 70’s during the day. San Francisco had been in the mid-60’s, with a high of 70 yesterday.

“So much for the dress and hose routine today. It’s pants suits for me. I’ll be back out of the restroom in a little bit.” While she was in changing, I found her a nice windbreaker style jacket to wear as well. I was waiting back outside the restroom when she came out in her new outfit. “Bless you. I was afraid I was going to be too cold. I’m definitely starting to feel some of the initial, minor hormone changes. My tits hurt.”

“I can’t do much about that, other than promise to keep you covered in my ... oh, wait, can’t do that, and let it dry. They’d never move again.”

She smiled. “Come on, let’s go find a taxi.”

There was a surprise waiting outside. A shuttle bus was parked in the loading zone, with the Microsoft sign on it. The driver was standing outside the bus, talking to one of the baggage handlers. He saw me eyeing his bus, and the way we were dressed. “You folks headed to the campus?”

“Yes, actually, we are. We were going to find a taxi, I have an appointment there at 10 this morning.”

“Hop in. See you in a bit, George. I’m Andy. We run one or two shuttles all day to the airport, saves the employees on cab fare. I didn’t have any new hires on my list until later today.” He pulled the door closed, took a radio microphone from the dash, and said, “Bus two to dispatch, bringing two from Sea-Tac to campus.” There was a quick confirmation.

“We’re not new hires, Andy. We’ve got a meeting scheduled with Mister Gates.”

“Well, that works, too. Thanks for letting me know, that tells me which building to take you to, then.” He picked up the microphone again. “Bus two to dispatch, changing destination to Building 111. Two with a 10 AM appointment with Number One.” The confirmation of that was quick as well.

“You look like you’re not used to this weather.”

I laughed. “We left Kansas City yesterday, it was about the same temperature, but getting warm. It was mild in San Francisco and Stanford yesterday. Now, it’s cold. We get cold in Kansas, but I don’t think either of us thought about the shock of the change.”

“I see it all the time, especially when we get someone from the south, or the southwest. At least you get real winters in Kansas City. It’ll be like this until, oh, March or so, then it’ll start to warm up. It hit 90 one day this past July, but we average in the mid 70’s.”

“That’d be nice. It was over a hundred last month for more than a week.”

“And here we are.” He pulled up in front of an office building. There was a security guard standing at the curb, waiting for us.

“Good morning, folks. I’m Steve, with Microsoft Security. Would the two of you please be so kind as to show me your ID?”

I pulled out my wallet, taking my drivers’ license out, and passing it to him. Margie did the same with hers. He looked at them, then at us, then handed them back. “Thank you. I apologize, but we do occasionally get people who say they have an appointment with Number One that really don’t. The two of you were expected, and it’s actually better that you came out here with Andy, anyway. If you’d follow me?”

He led us into the building, where a receptionist was waiting. She had Visitor’s Badges all ready for us. Another young woman was waiting as well. “Thank you, Steve. Hi, I’m Marcia Kaufman, one of Mister Gates’ assistants. As you’re a little early, we’ve a room for you to wait in. There’s refreshments in there, if you’d please follow me?”

She led us down a hallway, into a moderately sized conference room. There was a table on one end with a carafe of coffee, a pitcher of water, and a small platter of pastries. “There are restrooms available right across the hall if either of you need them. Is there anything else that you need?”

I looked around the room. “Marcia, could you get us a white board, some markers, and if you have one available, a stand alone PC with at least 40MB of HD space and a floppy drive, that’s not hooked up to a network, that also has an RS-232 DE-9 connector or a UART.”

She blinked in surprise. “Oh. Certainly. Give me a few minutes.” She hurried out the door.

Margie laughed. “I think Marcia just found out you’re not what she was thinking.” She got up and got another cup of coffee. “Oh, this is good coffee. It must be fresh ground.” She took a small plate and got a couple of pastries. I was busy with getting the second part of our two day demonstration ready.

After a couple of minutes, there was a knock on the door, and a man walked in. “Marcia said you wanted a white board in here?” I nodded. “Is over here, at the end, fine?”

“Yes, thank you.” He moved the board into place, then left. There was a complete set of markers and a couple of erasers for it. I went over to the white board. “How much should I put up to begin with?”

“Do the CaLe and CEDEM side of things, anyway. You can add Cisco during the meeting,” Margie advised.

I drew a square, labeled CaLe, Inc. From that, I drew a line to another square, for CEDEM Financial. I put four lines running from that. One line went to fixed assets, one to stock investments, one to liquid assets, and I left the fourth box empty. I’d just finished that when there was another knock on the door. Marcia was back, with another man pushing a rolling cart with a PC and monitor on it. The man plugged the power strip on the cart into the wall. Marcia pushed the power buttons, and both the PC and monitor came on. She nodded, so the man left.