Chapter 13

It was still before dinner time when we made it back to campus. I walked over and knocked on Julie’s door. She opened it wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. “I didn’t think you knew where I lived or at least weren’t so lonely that you’d come knocking on my door.”

“If I had an open invitation, I’d stop by more often but the thought of rejection keeps me away.”

“It’s good to see you.” She stepped forward to give me a hug.

“It’s good to see and feel you. I wanted to see if you wanted to help out at a convention next weekend. Adam’s in town and we need some pretty booth babes to work. We’ll pay you a hundred pounds a day, cash and put you up at a hotel and feed you.”

“How many girls do you need? I’ll help you out.”

“I think they wanted four in total. You’re the second person I asked. I’ll need two or three more depending on the answer from the first. She had to ask her boss for the days off.”

“You know Sara and Nicole from rowing. Do you want to ask them?”

I hesitated and Julie asked, “What’s wrong with them? They’re both pretty girls.”

“They’re both pretty. I was just thinking about the rowing team knowing about the software company and what I do outside of school. But I guess the cat’s already out of the bag or so they say.”

“What do you mean?”

I gave her the story about my talk and special arrangement with the university and getting my degree. Her reply was, “Fuck! You screwed us both. I was keeping you at arms length because I didn’t want to be graduated and out of school for three years while dating a college kid. My sister is planning to find you and go to the same school. But from what you said, you’ll graduate before me.”

“I may go for my master’s degree.”

“Fuck you, fuck me. Let’s fuck. I need some cock. It’s been a while.”

For the next hour that’s what we did. Sara came walking in through the joining bathroom to see if Julie wanted to get some dinner. Julie was on top at the time and I was playing with her tits as she raised and lowered on my cock. Sara got an eyeful but I called out and stopped her as she turned to bolt back into her room.

“Give us a few minutes to finish and clean up and we will join you. See if Nicole wants to come along.”

Julie was wicked and slowed down but didn’t stop getting fucked. “We’ll make it quick. Third time’s a charm.”

We showered separately to speed things up and were soon all walking out of the building. We weren’t too far from the place where Maggie worked and so I offered to take them there.

Nicole said, “I’ve been there before. It’s nice and they have good food. Kind of expensive but if Nick’s paying I’m for it.”

Dinner was fun with a lot of joking around and comments about finding Julie and me in a compromising position. All three wanted to come to the convention and make some walking around money. After we ate dinner we were sitting and talking. I explained, “This weekend we’ll be showcasing our new software that helps to manage sales, inventory and order processing at restaurants, pubs and retail stores.”

From there I pointed out different things the employees were doing and what functions would be handled with the software. They were all paying attention and thought it was neat that we could come up with the program concept, design and build it.

Julie said, “Adam is wicked smart and a true geek but he is also really nice and fun to hang out with.”

“He’s also engaged so don’t tease him too much.” After that the evening wound down and they all wanted to know what to bring and what to wear. I told them to wear black dresses, comfortable but nice shoes and a smile. I told them that if they wanted to match, they could meet and hook up with Maggie for a shopping trip but only to buy what would be worn at the show.

Sara asked, “Does that include bras and panties?”

“If you’re going to model them for me then we may get those covered as well. If you’re going to hide them with the dress, then probably not.”

Julie spoke up. “We’re going shopping on Tuesday night. Tell your little tart to meet us at your place at 6:00. I need to pick up your credit card.”

“Sure. I’ll let her know.”

Monday I saw Maggie at the boathouse for our morning workout and she was allowed to miss work and a day of school. I mentioned shopping on Tuesday and she was happy to get something to wear. I asked Olivia but she said, “When Mom and Dad split up, I missed too much school and was told that I couldn’t miss any more. I could maybe help out on Saturday or Sunday but would have to drive up and back and someone would have to watch Tucker. I think I’ll skip it.”

After lunch, my first scheduled appointment showed up. It went very differently than expected. I thought the meetings would be laid back and casual. The first kid’s name was Will Burger and thought that I owed him something. He had an idea but couldn’t afford to launch it so I was supposed to pay for everything and then step back and let him rake in all the cash.

It was funny that when I asked him to stop talking so that we could sign an NDA, he got upset, because I interrupted him. I explained that I was just trying to protect him and his ideas and he finally settled down enough to sign it. His idea was to have a calendar on a computer.

The approach I was taking was as if I was interviewing them because the questions I was asking were ones that they should be asking themselves and should have answers for.

“Have you written the program? Can you show it to me?”

“I just have the idea at this point. Everyone keeps a calendar and in business even more so. I can sell you the idea for a million dollars and then you can pay me a royalty on each copy you sell.”

“So Will, you want me to pay you a million dollars for the word, ‘Calendar,’ and then you want me to design it, build it and sell it for you and then pay you for every copy I sell? Who would buy it and how much would they pay?”

“Everyone would want one and pay a hundred dollars for the privilege.”

“Why not just go down and pay a dollar for a paper calendar instead of spending almost $2,000 on a computer and $100 for the program to do the same thing?”

“Why do people pay you so much for a typewriter?”

“They don’t. They pay IBM and we get a royalty for our program. The program doesn’t just type; it finds errors in spelling and grammar. It saves the paper or letter so it can be retrieved and corrected if anything needs to be changed. Think about a fifty-page paper or a legal contract where the lawyers negotiate back and forth. There’s a benefit to not having to retype it each time. That takes a lot of time and time is money. Writing and reading on paper or on a computer doesn’t save any time. It would probably take longer to boot the computer and load the program.”

“You’d better not steal my idea.”

“We have an NDA, but saving data isn’t an idea. I could say the same thing for keeping a grocery list or a recipe for cookies. Having a place to write something down isn’t a program because it doesn’t do anything to the data except save it. If a calendar ever made it in the mainstream, there would have to be something else with it and would probably be given away as part of a larger office software package because almost any beginning programmer could write it in a day or two, even if they wanted fancy lettering or colors.”

“I thought you were here to help us, not tell us that our ideas suck.”

“I didn’t say that it sucked. I said there would have to be more to make people want to pay for it. I don’t think I would pay for it and I wouldn’t spend time trying to develop or sell it as a standalone product. If you want to code it out and show it to me, we can see if you can prove me wrong.”

“I’m not going to waste my time with you. You’re not the only software company in the world.”

As he walked out, I wasn’t sure which of us was more frustrated. The next meeting went much better. He wanted to talk about his game that he’d written in BASIC for his Apple III. There wasn’t enough speed there for a lot of graphics as I’d found out during the math program creation. His goal was to have more static pictures to tell a story and have the user make choices. It would be text based to keep the game moving faster. I told him that I liked the idea and asked about how he saw the marketing for the game, the price points, and his target audience. He had good answers for all the questions. I asked him about protecting the software so it couldn’t be copied.

That was a sticking point. “Making copies while protecting the copies isn’t easy. That was why I brought Adam in to help me. He scripted it and I know that we used to use an outside vendor to make the copies. Adam’s in town. I’ll ask him about it if you want to come back next week some time.”

We shook on it and he left. My last appointment of the day was a girl. She didn’t have an idea or product but just wanted to talk more about the business side of the industry. “Nick, I feel like we’re about to go from mainframes to personal computers like the Apples and Compaqs. The adults don’t really see it coming or see the value in it. The problem is that they control most of the money. I’m just trying to find my niche in the bigger picture.”

“I think you’re right. The problem is that nobody knows the timing of adoption. There are a lot of pieces out there that we’re just starting to put together. When we do that, we can show or demonstrate a solution to a problem and that’s easier to sell. The cost of fixing their problem is matched up against the cost of doing nothing.”

There were no answers to her questions. She was looking at things the right way and I encouraged her to keep searching for her spot. The next day was more of the same and I was in my dorm room by 4pm. Maggie stopped by and was nervous to meet the other girls.

“Just don’t let them bother you. Julie likes to pick on the younger people. You’re the same age as me and a year older than her sister. Don’t take her shit. I’m going to give you my card to pay for everything and if you want to stop for some food or drinks use it there as well. Anything you buy will need to be modeled for me. If you stop by a sex shop you can buy toys but again, I get to watch.”

“You’re such a pervert. But if I see a sex shop, I’ll let them know the rules. My guess is that they’ll reach into their own wallets for that.”

Julie showed up and said the others were out in the car. I asked about driving up to the convention and she said that Sara could drive but that I should pitch in for gas. That saved me renting a car so I was happy to pay for the gas. I patted Maggie on the ass and wished her luck. Julie pouted until I patted her ass as well.

It wasn’t long after that I was in bed. I felt good in the morning and when I made it to the boathouse, Maggie seemed to be in a good mood as she handed me my card back. “Those girls are crazy. Julie knows how to spend money. Whenever I complained she said not to worry about it.”

“Did you get something sexy?”

“We all did. I don’t think Julie or I would mind modeling but the other two were having second thoughts about their new undies.”

“Are you riding up with them or with Andy and I?”

“We have a game tonight and I was excused from practice the rest of the week. I can ride with you.”

“Maybe I’ll come over and watch the match. What time does it start?”

“After school about 4pm.”

“I may be a few minutes late but I’ll try to make it.”

That afternoon, I met with Emily. I gave her the day passes that I’d snagged from Tim and she showed me her outline and the main areas of her program flow chart. She focused on making it like a cashiers station to ring up orders. She missed a lot on the inventory side but mentioned something called a barcode to speed up entering orders. I made her explain how it worked and I told her that I might steal the idea from her.

“It isn’t my technology but it’s out there. You can use it if you want.”

“If I do, I’ll give you credit and a gift of some sort.”

“That would be nice but you don’t have to.”

“Come up early and spend the day. If you can stop by the booth around 10am, I can show you around and hopefully it’ll be busy, but not too busy.”

“I’m bringing my roommate, Dr Zurcher and his wife.”

“Susan, that will be nice. You’re my guest so walk around and see as much or as little as you want. Stock up on the giveaways.”

“I’ll plan to stop by at 10am.”

Both Maggie and Olivia were doing well with their workouts. They were gaining some muscles and tone. After my class and meetings, I went to watch them and they won in straight games. Maggie’s serve was the best on both teams with a nice curve that made it hard to judge location and get into a good position to return it. Olivia did a great job passing and setting. I sat with her mom and dad as we cheered for the team.

After the game, Olivia asked if she could talk to me. We sat in the stands off by ourselves. “Nick, today is the end of our agreement. It wasn’t really what I expected but I think that both of us being busy made it less in your face. I did a lot of thinking about what I want for myself. I’m not my mom. I’ve set some goals for myself physically, educationally and in my relationships with others. I don’t think that I want to be under your control anymore but would love to be your friend.”

“You’ve done well. Taking care of Tucker has proven that you can be responsible if you set your mind to it. Your six pack abs show that you have the self-control and drive to meet your goals. I haven’t seen your grades but I’m proud of you. I want you to think of yourself as someone that is precious and not something cheap to be given away without something valuable in return.”

“That’s something that I’ve learned. I have a guy that’s asked me out and I think I’ll say yes but it will come with limits. I’m the one in control of me. He only gets what I’m willing to give him and what he’s earned from me in trust and friendship. Thanks for the education. I’ll never forget it.”

After getting a hug, she skipped off to catch up with her friends. I kind of felt like I got dumped but I hadn’t done a very good job of making her a priority in my life. I think I got what I deserved.

A few calls were made to make sure everything was lined up, everyone had a ride and knew where to go. We were going to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 5:30. Adam was also going to meet us there. The ride up with Maggie and Andy was easy. I did mention to both of them that there had been a lot of money spent to set everything up and that we were all there to work.

When I got off the elevator, Adam was there and was giving Julie a hug. I guess we were all arriving at the same time. After introductions, Adam led us over to get our badges and name tags to show we had access as vendors. Then he took us to the booth. When I saw it, I was impressed. A full bar, kitchen and dining area was set up in the very center of the convention hall. You could see in from all sides but there were only two openings to enter and exit.

If you picture an English pub that is what it looked like. Adam handed them each a small pad and pen. He took them through how to run the hostess stand. He said, “We should have someone here just to enter the data but you’ll be responsible for seating the guests and answering questions. So we’re going to spend the next few hours going over what we think the questions will be and what the answers are.”

There were others present going through the ‘class’ with the people I brought including Andy. There were brochures scattered around. I saw Tim and asked about it.

“With all the donations of furnishings and merchandise, if someone asks about it we need to be able to give them the information.

“We have the hostess stand at the entrance. I think it would be good to have all the brochures in one place at the exit. That way everyone knows where to look for everything and it isn’t hide and seek around the restaurant. We can also keep the boxes of brochures nearby for restocking. We can have a person there to keep them stocked, help them find what they need and keep people from slipping in the back door.”

“We can find some kind of racks somewhere to set that up. Let’s go and get it done.”

The day before the start of any big show had plenty of workers setting up booths and getting the things people needed from carpet to electricity and everything in between. We had a few display racks brought to the booth and we started to load it up with all the brochures. When we were done, it looked good and I looked over to see Rodney teaching the class.

Tim said, “You’ve seen all the technology before. If someone has a question about a recipe or light fixture you can call someone over that knows the answers. Do you want a beer? We should make sure the taps work. I’m sure all the students and teachers will want one soon.”

“Sure,” was all I had to say. We went over schedules and made sure everyone was assigned times to be on duty and times to take a break. The four girls were going to be the ones bringing new guests in and seating them. There would be wait staff and sales people inside to take care of the customers.

After the class was over, they all came over to the bar. Tim said, “Here’s the schedule. Know when you should be here and make sure that you’re here. If you’re on break you can go rest, go get something away from the booth or you can walk around and see what else is going on at the show. Since this is a show where we’re going for new customers that we’re bringing to the door, we’ll be paying your regular pay plus a 5% commission on all orders written while we’re here. Once the doors close you go back to regular pay and commissions.”

A cheer went up from the people standing around the bar. There weren’t any more questions so we all went back to the hotel and went to bed since we were going to meet for breakfast before the show. Julie and Maggie were on one shift and Nicole and Sara were going to take the second shift. The exhibit hall was open for eight hours and they were going to alternate two on and two off.

Everyone was in place when the doors opened and the hall started to fill with people. I told Tim that I was going to work the line out front to try to identify the right people. Like when we were at the curriculum fair with the math software, I started to talk to people. I would ask why they were at the show, what size and kind of restaurant they worked for and what their position was. If they just wanted to come in but weren’t a good prospect, I would tell the girls to send them to the bar. If they had the right profile, they were sent to a table and given the royal treatment with someone to point out the systems and how they worked. Highlight the features and benefits. One of the brothers, Tim or Adam would also try to stop by and thank them for stopping by. Some of the bigger guys I offered them a reservation time or made sure there was a sales person to help them out once they were inside.

At 10:00 things were getting busy and by the time they changed shifts again at noon, it was busy with a line forming. All the seats were full at the bar. Sara and Nicole stayed a little late by almost forty minutes before they took off for their break. At 2:00 people had heard about the pub and even other vendors wanted to come in and take a look. The salesmen that left late weren’t back and we needed people.

The restaurant was full but it was set up to move them through rather quickly. I made a decision and Julie took over out in the walkway and Maggie and I would take some customers in and show them around as a group. One guy didn’t seem right but he said that he was from a mom and pop place in Munich. I put him with Maggie and took the guy that was from a fifty-store chain of bakeries and coffee shops.

We took a booth and they ordered drinks and food. Both came back rather quickly since we knew what was being ordered and we were able to anticipate by starting what had been ordered in advance. As they ate and drank we pointed out the different systems in place for inventory, order management and service targets with built in timers. Afterwards we showed them the kitchen and record keeping. They were both interested in the system.

I told Dieter, who was with Maggie, “I don’t think this will be a good investment for you.”

“Nick, you’re a poor salesman. Why don’t you want to sell me your order system?”

“Because it’s designed for chains with multiple locations or one huge place. If you come from just a mom and pop place, you can see there were twenty steaks before dinner and six after. I think you would be wasting your money to invest in something designed to crunch big numbers and look for trends. It would be like a vegetarian ordering something with meat in it. You would say something to keep them from making a mistake.”

He sat back. He looked at me and then to Maggie. “I can appreciate that. If I tell people who I am, I’m normally treated in a way that leaves me feeling like I’m being taken advantage of. We’re a family owned business, but we have the largest Brau haus in Munchen and have many others in the city and around the country. On a single day during Oktoberfest, we may serve five to ten thousand people. We close the street and put out tables and tents. We can use this system. I’ll need enough for fifty restaurants about this size and ten for something about triple this size and then a set up for fifty wait stations that connect to ten bars and three kitchens.”

Doing quick math in my head I said, “That will run about a half million before we talk about the big place. That one alone could be another two-fifty. Then we have all the printers, cables, installation and training. You’ll need to switch over your tickets for ordering. I would say a million and a quarter to get everything up and running.”

“Does that include the ongoing costs?”

“No, that will get you up and running. What kind of volume does the big one do when it isn’t Oktoberfest?”

“It’s still busy but only about 10% of the volume.”

“By paying monthly you can get any equipment replaced if it breaks and upgraded as new software is released. I’m already working on a faster way to input orders. It will also cover all the printer ink and paper tickets and printer paper. For the equivalent of about sixty-five stores it would run about $32,500 a month.”

“Sign me up. I’ve never seen anything run so smoothly and be able to track usage against income.”

The guy from the coffee shop chain said, “Sign me up too. I want the ongoing upgrades. We don’t do that kind of volume but I can see us saving at least this amount in man hours.”

I took two order forms and wrote Maggie’s name in the salesperson line. I asked the men to start filling out their information and slipped out and grabbed Adam and Rodney. I pointed them to the booth and said, “There are two good deals up there that Maggie’s closing. I need someone to check the pricing. I quoted one guy a million and a quarter up front and thirty-five grand a month the other I’m thinking is a hundred to start and twenty a month. I could be ripping them off or losing our shirts. I want it to be fair and correct. I’ll go find someone else to bother.”

“Good job Nick. It was a good thing that Maggie stayed around to help out. The three salesmen that were late all just got an ass chewing instead of a commission on these sales.”

Walking over to the booth, I introduced Rodney and Adam to the two men and went over to help Andy close another good but smaller deal. At the end of the day, the taps were flowing until the event coordinators made us shut it down and then it was all about cleaning and restocking. We were all exhausted as we sat in the bar at the hotel. Maggie sat next to me and held onto my arm. I leaned over and asked, “Are you okay?”

“You put me down as the salesperson. With the monthly fees the total came in at just over two point one million dollars for the first year. Adam said that it would be a nice commission. Do you know how much 5% of two point one million is?”

“Maggie, I study math and computers in college. 5% would be $105k. That’s a good day. I wish my feet didn’t hurt so much. I didn’t get a break except when I sat with you. I’ll give you another ten pounds if you give me a foot massage.”

“Is this for real? That’s a lot of money. It would take my mom over four years to make that much.”

“Maggie. Julie stood in the hall and directed traffic and if the salesmen wouldn’t have been late getting back you may not have had the opportunity. Don’t talk about it or you will sound like you’re bragging and any or all of them could be mad that it wasn’t them. You just have to decide if you’re going to college or going into sales after high school.”

“Sales it is. I won’t say anything to anyone. Let’s finish our drinks and I’ll give you a foot massage.”

When we walked into my suite she said, “Look at this room. It must cost a fortune.”

“We paid you 5%, that leaves 95% for the cost of the equipment and the owners to split up. I can afford it.”

We gave each other foot massages and then rubbed each other in different ways. It was late when she slipped into the room she was sharing with Julie.

Saturday they all traded schedules and I met with Sara and Nicole for breakfast. Nicole said, “I was just looking to make some extra cash and get out of my room for a couple days. I’ve learned a lot and had a good time so far. It’s hard work but the time flies.”

“You both did very well yesterday. I appreciate you all helping each other.”

Sara said, “I noticed that you, Adam, Tim and his brothers all worked straight through. I expected to as well but was glad for some breaks. I’ll try to help out some more today.”

When breakfast was over, they got up to go take care of a few things in their room before heading over. I was just sipping my coffee and enjoying some quiet time when I heard some people sit down behind me. I recognized the voices over the high backed both. It was the salesmen that took the long break.

After listening to them order, I heard one say, “I love my job. Whether it’s liquor or this software, we’re the only game in town. I just sit back and take orders. I made enough yesterday to buy a new car. The old man got a little pissy when we were late getting back but I wanted another beer at lunch and it took a while to drink. Not much that he can do.”

One of the other guys said, “Yeah, I hope today is as good as yesterday. It’s like taking candy from a baby.”

Their attitude was starting to piss me off so I downed the rest of my coffee and paid the bill. I walked off and never looked back. When I got to the show, I asked Tim and Andy to take a walk. “Tim, I was having a nice breakfast this morning until your sales guys sat down behind me and started bragging to each other about how easy sales were and having an extra drink at lunch takes time and the old man was just going to have to deal with it because he made enough yesterday to buy a new car.”

He stopped walking and looked at me and then Andy. “What should we do?” He asked Andy.

“It kind of puts us in a bind. If we’re as busy today as we were yesterday, we’ll need them to talk to customers. If we let the tail wag the dog they’ll feel entitled and walk all over us. I think that the 5% bonus was yesterday only and rotating shifts can turn into rotating breaks that they can take one at a time for an hour only. Seven hours a day isn’t too much to ask.”

Tim actually smiled, “That’s a diplomatic way of testing them. Nick, what do you want to do about the girls you brought in? Rodney’s cooks and wait staff had more than enough to take care of the food and service.”

Sara said that they planned to help each other more today and take less breaks because it would make it easier for all of them. They can probably all sell too if you want. When Maggie found out how much she made yesterday she was really nervous. I don’t even know what she needs to do to get the commissions.”

“Adam brought that up last night. We pay the commissions when the invoices are paid so we can sign her up as an employee. She’ll get checks as the invoices get paid.”

“She’ll graduate in a few months and would like to get into sales. She’s very friendly and cares about the customers.”

“We can give her a shot. She had the largest sale of the day.

The exhibit hall wasn’t open yet but the team was there. Tim stood up and said, “You all did great yesterday. The kitchen staff and servers kept up and did an amazing service. Keep up the good work. Sales and the hostess stand got behind a few times but overall we did well. We’re going to make a few changes to the schedule and we’ll work all day with a break for lunch that you will take alone to keep as many people to help with customers as we can.”

“The 5% bonus that we had yesterday will be replaced by a contest today to see who can sell the most. A one week paid vacation for two people to New York City is the prize.”

It was a nice prize but getting big checks for nothing wasn’t going to be repeated. There was some grumbling but there wasn’t much they could do. I went and found a phone and told Julie and Maggie the new plan. They both agreed that it was the right thing to do and were both there a few minutes after the hall opened.