Chapter 66

For the next several months, things finally returned to normal. One thing about the earthquake, it was a huge shot in the arm for the local economy. The insurance money was letting people replace things that had been damaged in the earthquake, and all the construction jobs soon had the sluggish economy booming again.

Even we had made out well. We had a new entertainment center and a big screen TV thanks to the insurance. And the insurance paid off a lot of older damaged equipment from Orbit Computers, but almost nothing at the data center had been damaged as we had bolted everything to the floor.

And it was with a grin when we had dinner with Becky and Taylor, and she handed me a check for $20,000. I had given her a loan a while back when she was in danger of closing. She ran into a rough spot the year before, and it was either she ask for a loan, or take a penalty by cashing out one of her long term notes. Dee agreed that it was better we loan her the money, and the interest was about half of what her penalty would have been. And Becky was paying it back with interest. I gave her a hug and she thanked me for believing in her.

“Becky, I will always believe in you. And if you need help again, do not be afraid to ask for it. Besides, you are also the biggest retail seller for Gem, it would suck if you closed for that reason alone.” We all laughed, and it was a good time as we relaxed in the hot tub until it was time to head on home.

And thanks to Tina and Harve, we rented a Commander for a week. We flew first to Idaho, which took about two hours. It was amazing, even if it almost felt like your ass was dragging on the runway because we were so low to the ground.

I also saw what Harve loved about the plane, and we flew to Seattle, and San Francisco, both of us getting twin-engine experience. And the trip to Mexico with Mandy’s family was a lot of fun also. And it was even strange, as I could not help but get excited when I saw Linda in a bikini. I felt a bit ashamed when Mandy came up and sat in my lap as I relaxed at one of the beach cabanas, and she realized I was both watching Linda play in the surf, and had an erection.

But she just grinned at me and gave me a kiss. I know I was blushing, but she shook her head. “Pete, she was your lover for a long time, and she still has a hot body. There is nothing wrong with admiring her. Just remember that, and you belong to me alone and nobody else.” I smiled and kissed her, and admitted that seeing her like that had stirred some happy memories, but that is all they were now. Memories.

And it was with pride that a few months later, Mandy got her twin-engine rating. And the next week, I got my own. We even flew up to Seattle and spent a week with Harry. They had rented a warehouse near the airport, and he had really set up a great operation. They were now averaging three to four installs per day for each tech and were ahead of schedule. Boeing was pleased as punch and was already talking to Jeff about future purchases.

And the Internet businesses kept growing also. There was a new program out called Netscape, and it and the new World Wide Web was rapidly changing how things were. With a single program, you could easily go from site to site, download files, even see multiple pages on a site. And most of the companies were all over it, especially the porn ones. By the end of the year, most of them were starting to reduce the number of BBS lines they had, and renting more and more space on the new web page servers we were offering.

And we had a big party when Speedy Tech sold its tenth franchise. Mandy now had a staff of eight, and they were now taking up most of the area that had once been the data center. The only four we still had in this area were now local support and were back in the original building as most of the calls were automatically routed to Idaho. Mandy was now running national commercials for Gem, and most of Southern California for Speedy Tech.

Because of the earthquake, the planned presentation for “The Count” was canceled. So we ended up holding it up in Pocatello. And as had become the usual, Brad sold all the copies he had brought with him. And it was satisfying to see how much money my royalties were bringing in. Mandy and I were doing great in that, and the case at home now had multiple awards that we had both won. And at her suggestion, we were pooling the money together from this into an account that we would save for something we may buy someday.

That year we reversed our previous year. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my house, with all of the Carol family. Linda was still single, as was Rosie. But both hinted that they were dating, just not anybody seriously.

And for Christmas, we had it with my family in Idaho. We stayed over for New Years’, even spending three days skiing at Bogus again. We even celebrated the start of 1995 at a big party on the roof of the Hotel Boise. And on the way home, Mandy and I landed in Reno and spent a day at Tahoe.

I was talking with Blake about a change we had to do when the first call came in. We had removed two racks for BBS services, that business was starting to slow down and we needed more room for Internet servers. Bunny said I had a call, and when I answered it the man on the other end said he represented a group that wanted to buy my business. We talked for about 15 minutes, and when he said he wanted to meet with me, we set a date for him to come over. I went and told Mandy, and she asked me if they were serious. “Honestly, I have no idea. But we should at least hear them out I think.” She agreed, and we both went back to work.

Well, the guy arrived, with two others in suits. It seems they had been doing research into me and my company, but they had not quite expected what they had found. We showed them around, and one of them asked how I was handling tech support with only five people.

“Oh, that’s easy. Most of them are at our main call center in Idaho. I run another service up there also. They are the ones that handle the routine things, this is mostly calls that require more hands-on work with the servers or things they can not handle up there.”

Well, turns out they were serious. Serious enough to offer me $3 million dollars to buy me out. I looked at Mandy, and she shrugged. “OK, give me a written offer, and I will fly up and call a board meeting to consider your proposal.”

“Mr. Culver, we are offering you $3 million. Is that not enough?”

“Honestly, I don’t think so. But you have to realize, I’m not the only owner. This is a family-owned company, and any such decision requires the approval of the entire family. But I mean what I say, give me a written offer and I will fly up there and ask them. But to be honest, I don’t think that’s enough. We are already getting close to bringing in a million dollars a year, and expect to pass that next year. You and I both know this industry is growing, and why would we walk away at this point, for the amount of money that I could make in less than four years?”

We shook hands, and I called Dee and told her about the offer and that we needed to have a board meeting in the next few days. The next day a courier delivered the official offer, and now it was $3.5 million. Mandy and I by now kept bags in the office, so we grabbed them and headed to the airport. I filed the flight plan as she did the pre-flight, and soon we were on our way.

That night after dinner, I handed around the offer and everybody read through it. And I was not surprised when Dave was the first to shake his head no. Dee and Kim had their notepads out and were talking quietly as they were going over numbers. Finally, Dee gave a price, and everybody voted on it. And the next morning I called and told them our counter-offer.

$25 million. I swear I could almost hear his jaw hitting his desk, and we had set up a speaker in the other room so everybody could listen in without it being obvious. He said that was crazy, my business was not worth anywhere near that much money.

“Look, my CFO went over our financial reports, and I actually underestimated our growth. We actually passed the $1 million a year mark at the start of the year, and are approaching 1.5 million. And she estimates that by this time next year we will be over two million per year. In fact, we have already been considering how to handle this expansion, as we are already starting to outgrow our current facility. Also, my CFO pointed out to me that your initial offer is a joke. The value of the current facility alone is well over $1 million, almost three million including all of the equipment, not counting the business itself. So thank you for your offer, but no thank you.” I then very politely thanked him again, then hung up.

And they all started applauding, even David yelling that I would make a great cattle seller. “Pete, you may not realize it yet, but you got him! They were trying to low-ball you, hoping you would see the dollar signs and jump at their initial offer without thinking. That was a fair offer, if you were on the verge of bankruptcy and just wanted to sell out fast for what you had in it. I think they do not really know how wide your operation is, they were only looking at that one company. Hell boy, I would turn down an offer like that for Hainji net, and it is nowhere near as big as Orbit is.”

Mandy and I were getting ready to have dad take us to the airport when I got a callback. $10 million dollars. And I calmly said the same thing, as I was still in Idaho I would call together the board, and call back with their response.

And as the board was still in the big house, that did not take long. So I called back and repeated our counter, of $25 million. By this time, it was getting late so Mandy and I decided to stay up there for the night.

The next morning we were having breakfast with Kim and Jeff when they called back again, $15 million. Even I was shocked a bit, but I said I would bring it up with the board and call them back. Mandy kissed my cheek and ran out the door to run up the hill as Kim called her parents.

A quick meeting later, and I called them back. $20 million, and we keep the cargo truck. The last was actually from Uncle Dave, and it even surprised the guy on the phone. “Pete, you are the fisherman, and he is the salmon dangling on the hook now. At this point, he is well hooked, but that hook is not set deep so he might wiggle off. You just came down for the first time, but actually threw in something almost so silly I bet he can hardly believe it. In fact, they are probably all meeting right now. Confused as hell, wondering why in the hell you want to keep a truck. Mark my words, I bet that truck, in the end is going to be worth over a million dollars.”

And fuck all if Uncle David was not right! An hour later we got the next call, $17.5 million, and they keep the truck. I hung up, shaking my head in disbelief. “OK, here is their newest offer. Seventeen million, five hundred thousand. And they keep the truck.”

Uncle David stood up, slapped his hand on the top of the dining table, and shouted out “SOLD!” We all laughed, and after a show of hands from everybody, and we were grinning and agreed. I then turned to Mandy, and took her hands in mine. “Mandy, I know you are not a part of the board, but I am not making this decision without your input. What do you think?”

“Peter Culver, if you do not take that offer, you are an idiot. Sell it!” Everybody laughed, and I hugged her as I agreed with the rest. I called back and accepted the offer. They said they would start the paperwork, and we should be able to close the deal in about a week.

I turned to David and asked him how he knew about the truck. “Well, I was right in that asking for that confused the hell out of them. I bet they are now wondering what in the hell is so important about that truck, that you would insist it be set aside in the purchase. If I have to bet, they are probably thinking the truck is something really special, and worth over a million dollars by itself. I would love to see the look on their faces when they realize it is just a regular box truck, worth maybe ten thousand at most.”

And with that, the next board meeting started. Dee and Kim had their pads out still and were asking me what we should do with the money. That discussion took until late in the evening, but finally, everybody was in agreement. We also took care of several other items that we had been considering.

First off, Speedy Tech was to be broken off officially from Orbit Computers, into a separate company. And we all agreed that unless he turned it down, Abe would be the CEO. Orbit Computers would be consolidated, with Julie as the CEO.

And all assets would be consolidated into the family holding company. With me as CEO. I grinned, as with these decisions, I was largely out of a job. Of course, I was out of a job with over $7 million, in addition to the money I already had in the bank.

The next morning, I called Julie and Bunny and gave them a list of people to have in my office at noon. Mandy and I then drove to the data center, and after hugging Sing we asked if we could meet with her for a moment. We went into her office, and I then told her the news that we were selling Orbit Communications. She looked stunned and asked what that would mean for her.

“Well, a few things. Do not worry about your job, we are only selling Orbit, not Hainji. Also, as one of my early staff, when we close the deal, we are giving you a check for $100,000. We never could have done this without you, you have more than earned it.” Sing almost staggered into her chair.

“A hundred thousand dollars?” she said, almost in a whisper, and Mandy went and hugged her. “Yes, and thank you. As Pete said, we could never have done this without you. If you want to go back to LA, we can make sure you stay with Orbit. But we really want you to stay here with us.”

“Oh hell no, I’m staying right here!” We all laughed, and we told her to talk to everybody that had come up the year before. We would move them back to LA if they wanted to return, and they could stay with Orbit. Or they could stay in Idaho.

I was not surprised when they all decided to stay.

Mandy and I flew home early the next morning, and after picking up lunch made it to the office just before noon. Everybody we had asked for was waiting there. Blake, Bunny, Sue, Julie, Norm, Abe, Eve, even Jack. Mandy pulled a bottle of wine she always kept in a fridge in her office and poured everybody a drink.

“OK, I know that by now you are all aware, I have been in talks with a group of investors to sell the business. Well, last night we came to an agreement. It will take a week or so, but we are selling Or’bit Communications. The final price is $17,500,000.” Everybody cheered, and we all raised our glasses in a toast. “OK, now on to other things. There are still things to be worked out, like what to do with the BBS services. I’m going to insist that they guarantee that for at least five years, or it is not included in the sale. If they refuse to take it, we may move that to Or’Bit Computers. So, Julie, you may be taking that on, we will have to see what the rest of the negotiations say.”

She nodded and said they would have to rent the space next to them, but they could handle it.

“OK, now of course this deal will come with offers to stay on. But none of you are slaves. You are welcome to stay here as they take over, or come up with us to Idaho. My family and I had a long meeting last night, and here are the things we decided.”

I could tell I floored them when I promoted Julie and Abe to their new positions and said that other than a raise and more benefits, things would largely remain the same. “Julie, Abe, remember this. You are indeed the SEO of your respective companies, but you still answer to the board, and the Corporate CEO which is me. But for your own operations, you are now in charge of anything that is not handled at the top level. Oh, and each of you is part of my original staff. I never could have done this without each and every one of you. Once we finally get the check in hand, each of you is going to get a check for $100,000. In recognition of all the work and dedication you have shown and as a thank you. Everybody else is getting checks also, but of lesser amounts. We already told this to Sing, and she looked about as shocked as you all do.”

A lot of hugs and kisses were exchanged then, and a shocked Bunny asked if that was for her and Blake, or combined. I went over and took both of her hands in mine and looked right into her eyes. “Bunny, you get a hundred thousand dollars, and Blake gets a hundred thousand dollars. What, do you think that just because you are his wife, I value you any less? You were here at me at Orbit Communications since the day I opened it. Right by my side, helping me in more ways than I could ever say. Of course that is each, don’t be as silly as your namesake.”

Blake roared in laughter as did everybody else, and Bunny threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tight. Mandy came and hugged her also with me, as she cried on my shoulder. “You did not have to even hire me, I’m only here because of Blake.”

“No, you are here because of you. Just like Julie, you ran a lot of this here, and have from the very beginning. I hired you because of Blake, yes. But I needed you, and all the work you have done has proven that. You all should think about what you want to do in the next week. Do you stay here, or do you come with us to Idaho? For the Orbit Computer people, that should be obvious, you all stay. For the Orbit Communications people, you have options. Stay here with the new owners, or we can bring you to Idaho with Hainji Net, or Gem Computers. The choice is all yours.”

Mandy and I went home a bit later, and we talked as I was cooking the steaks. I asked her what she wanted, and she smiled at me. “Peter Culver, I know you want to go back home to Idaho. I will say that wherever you go, I will go. You are finally free, do it. I say we move to Idaho, and put LA behind us.” I hugged her tight and we kissed, and I whispered into her ear how much I loved her.

The next day, however, it was work as usual. And at just after noon, a courier arrived. I called Mandy, Bunny, Sue, and Blake into the office, and after Mandy faxed a copy of the offer to Dee, we sat down and went over it. And as I suspected, all they wanted was the Internet part. But they were offering to guarantee employment for all the staff for a minimum of six months, at their current pay. An hour later we were all on the phone with the board, and they agreed it was a fair proposal. I gave them my one stipulation, and they agreed to let me handle that on my own. They approved any resolution we came to.

I called back and asked them about the BBS part. And was not surprised when they were almost dismissive of that. I then told them my requirement, either to guarantee to keep it running as it was for a period of two years, or to let us keep that part of the business as well as the name. And an hour later, we got their response. They would send us an amendment, stating we could keep the name and the BBS part, and it could remain on the premises for no more than 90 days.