Chapter 7: To Earn a Living

Liam

I LEFT A HURRIED NOTE on Meredith’s office door and ran to catch Father as he got in the car. Dennis, my father’s driver, pulled away from Buxton House. I was going to work. Father had sprung this on me Sunday over brunch. I’d worked at the clothing factory some last summer and apparently Father thought it would build character if I put in a month this summer as well. Of course, only half days, but I definitely wasn’t used to hard manual labor.

“Liam, we’re going to Lincoln Arms this morning, not to the clothing factory. We’ve been managing the company for three years now and I want you to use your skills when you enter the company. Your grandmother is often bragging about your accomplishments at school. I’d like to see them in action.”

“What do you mean, Father?”

“I’m not assigning you a specific job on an assembly line or in an office. Your mother and I have had a feeling that something just isn’t right in the company since your grandfather passed away. I can’t put my finger on it. Even when I practice the same skills you learned in your time at Elenchus, I’m afraid my position inhibits real interactions. Lincoln Arms came into our possession three years ago at the passing of your grandfather. Neither your mother nor I are fully comfortable with it. I’d like you to not use more than your first name so the Cyning name doesn’t influence your conversations,” he said.

I was puzzled. This was a much different approach to learning the business than what he’d taken last summer. I was being cut loose to find out ... something. And in the arms company, not the clothing factory.

I knew my father had reservations regarding the Lincoln Arms and Munitions factory. He had other businesses as well—two years ago I’d worked in a food processing plant. But the arms factory had come into the family as part of my mother’s inheritance. It had taken father off his other pursuits. And still, he and Mother split the operation of the factory. He rose early and was at the office by eight o’clock. No hardship for me. But at one o’clock, Mother arrived at the office and Father went to check up on his other businesses. Usually, both got home around six.

“Have you any idea what is making you uncomfortable?” I asked.

“It could be nothing,” he responded. “I just get a feeling people are not being forthright about some things. I don’t know if it is in materials, craftsmanship, design, or even shipping. It could be something happening in the office. Your mother has also mentioned it and agreed to have you investigate. You can have free access to all parts of the office and factory.”

“Hmm. Perhaps I should have a cover. Why not make it what it really is? I’m William Thomas, a student working on a thesis project on the various aspects of how a business is run. That should allow me anywhere and people will know to answer questions.”

“Excellently done, son. We’ll take you to the HR office and get you a badge as a student intern.”

I had carte blanche access to every part of the company. I spent my first morning doing a survey of where each department was located and what it was responsible for. A very high overview was all I had time for. The operation was large and involved everything from sales and marketing to design to fabricating to testing to shipping. There were so many steps I could scarcely draft out a general organization structure. It was going to take the first week just to figure out what the chain of command was in the company. HR’s simplified org chart was only vaguely helpful, especially since it still had my grandfather’s name as the CEO. I wasn’t even certain how Mother and Father split their duties.

I had barely jumped in the car before Dennis pulled away from the factory and headed for Buxton House. Erich and I would have had a pleasant conversation in that time, but Dennis was quiet. At Buxton House, I stepped out of the car, gave Mother a kiss on the cheek as I handed her into the car, and watched them drive away. I sincerely hoped Meredith could help me organize some of this data.

I skipped up the stairs and paused at what I was told was her office door. I knocked. In a moment, she opened the door.

“Liam. I’m glad you’re back. Your note was not forthcoming,” she said. I sensed a slight rebuke and realized I should have been more detailed when I wrote it but I wasn’t yet sure what I was going to be doing.

“Yes, ah ... Meredith...” It still seemed just a bit casual to refer to her by her first name, but we’d been school mates before employer/employee. I hoped one day we would be friends. “I have a job.”

“A what?”

“A job. As in, I need to go to work each morning. It’s only for half a day, but it will be Monday through Friday. In fact, I’ve just returned and before we get busy, I’d really like to shower and change. Can you join me for lunch in thirty minutes?”

“Of course, Liam.” She wrinkled her nose. “You are carrying an interesting odor with you. Like machine oil.” I blushed and excused myself.

In the kitchen, I pulled sandwich makings out of the refrigerator. Cook was always careful to mark anything I was explicitly not to touch but otherwise left my noon meal to my own devising unless I requested something specific. I seldom did, but a hamburger sandwich was occasionally provided. Meredith poured iced tea and we sat at the table to make our own sandwiches.

“This is pretty casual,” I said. “I trust you’ve made your meal requests known.”

“I had a lovely chat with Cook. I’m not a picky eater and we had some common ground to discuss food on. In general, I eat whatever the staff is eating.”

“I just don’t want you to feel neglected. I’m beginning to see what an important part you will play in my life.”

“Like arranging your dates?”

“Meredith, please. I had no idea you were roommates with Hana. I never intended you to feel uncomfortable.” I blushed. I didn’t want to specifically state the reason she might be uncomfortable. I’d seen her in her nightclothes.

“I had no intention of being home when you brought Hana to the door. I had a rather unsuccessful date, myself,” she said. I was gobsmacked.

“You had a date?”

“Don’t sound so completely surprised, Liam. I have a life outside my employment.”

“Yes, of course. I didn’t mean to imply ... I’m sorry. First, I find out that my date is your roommate and then that you were also on a date. And I’m sorry you had an unsuccessful date. Truly.”

“You are so sweet at times, Liam. How about your date? Did you have a good time?” she asked.

“Yes, yes. I did. Quite a good time. A little surprising. Quite fun. Quite.”

“Liam? What?”

“You know, it’s not that I want a steady girlfriend, but I would like to know a girl is interested enough in me to see me a second time.”

“I know.” She reached across the table and laid a hand on mine. Then quickly withdrew it. “Believe it or not, it has not been that long since my first date. I was certain no boy would want to date the redhead with the flaring temper.”

“You’ve not impressed me with a flaring temper since that time eight years ago,” I chuckled. She had flattened my nose with that right hook. I deserved it.

“I hope I’ve learned a bit about self-control since then. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to punch you sometimes,” she laughed. I adored the sound of her laughter. I began to relax.

“Well, perhaps you can give me some dating tips. I still feel like such a rube whenever I speak to a single woman. I stutter all over myself. I was so surprised ... Did you know that at the festival, Hana actually suggested that I should ask her out? I would never have ... I just said okay.”

“We’re doing a pretty good job having conversations. And from what I could tell, once the ice was broken, you did fine with Hana. She seems to have enjoyed herself.” We ate our sandwiches quietly for a few minutes.

“It wasn’t ... I didn’t ... I am so embarrassed.”

“Why, Liam. It was me sitting in my pajamas that you saw.”

“I’m terribly sorry about that. I didn’t mean to. Honestly.”

“I know that. Don’t think about it again. What has you embarrassed?”

“I never expected my first kiss to be quite like that,” I said. My face felt hot and I squeezed my eyes shut. “It took me by surprise.” Meredith sat there looking at me with her mouth slightly open, as if she were about to take a bite of her sandwich.

“I had no idea. Liam ... There are many kinds of kisses. It surprises me that was your first, but even so, it should be something you remember fondly. Don’t be embarrassed about it. My first kiss was certainly something less exciting than Hana Ito!”

“Meredith!” I laughed. Still, she’d broken my momentary embarrassment and we were able to go to the library and discuss my project at Lincoln Arms and brainstorm some ideas on how to approach the process. Working with Meredith and a chalkboard, we were able to map out a series of questions, a path through the company, and a basic outline of how I could approach the whole project. I was amazed at how much clarity Meredith added to my own thinking. I was very glad to have her as an assistant.

“Meredith, do you ride?” I asked over dinner. We’d simply gone to the kitchen when Erich told us Cook was ready for us. I hadn’t even thought to ask whether we could eat in the kitchen. Cook had a casual meal set out for us.

“Horses? I’ve had lessons and have proper attire.”

“I was wondering if we might take a ride tomorrow afternoon. We could recap my day’s investigation as we enjoy the out-of-doors. I feel like I’ve been neglecting my horse this summer and it’s such glorious weather,” I said. I barely had time for a three-mile run in the morning now that Father and I were leaving for work at seven-thirty.

“That sounds lovely. I’ll run home in the morning to pick up my things. Oh. I don’t have my own horse.”

“We have several in the stables. I’ll call out to Ray after dinner and ask him to prepare a suitable ride. Yes! I definitely need a ride to clear my head after a morning at the shop.”

“I’ll be delighted, Liam.”

“May I assist you?” I offered my cupped hands for Meredith’s knee and gave her a boost into the saddle. Then I began adjusting her irons. She looked like an accomplished horsewoman in her riding clothes. “Ray says this mare is gentle but lively enough to keep up with Sim. Her name is Skydancer. We just call her Sky.”

“Is that the same horse you got on your birthday so long ago?”

“Yes, Persimmon,” I said. “I considered changing his name to Nosebleed, but thought better of it.”

“Well, he is rather red, isn’t he?” We laughed and headed for the woodland trail, my faithful dog Leonard padding along with us. “I love Dancer’s white socks. She’s so elegant.” I noticed Meredith had already changed the mare’s name to suit herself. I hoped we’d ride often.

“Sometimes I just need to drift in the wilderness for a while,” I sighed. “Not that this is really wilderness. I like to run and get a few miles in each morning early, but running is not really peaceful. Not that I don’t think a lot while I’m running, but there is so much to do to keep pace, watch the path, and keep arms and legs moving. When I’m on Sim, I don’t even need to guide him if I’m really absorbed. He knows the trails and will carry me while I’m lost in thought.”

“I think that’s lovely. I hope you are getting time in to ride often enough.”

“I admit it has been a little touch and go. You know, having a personal assistant is a great deal of work,” I laughed.

“Oh? And how am I so difficult?”

“It’s not really anything about you. It’s that I’m a teen and I was saddled with an assistant I had no idea what to do with. I felt like I needed to think up things for you to do or spend my time discussing them all the time. Otherwise you would become bored and it would be my fault.”

“I’m able to stay busy, even when you are ‘at work.’ Did you know that Erich brought me all your school papers yesterday for me to sort and organize into files?”