Chapter 14

Andy stopped by later to talk about all the sales. “Dad was really happy. He thanked me for getting him into this and thinks that it will be bigger profits on a percentage basis. He and Adam are going to work through the delivery and maintenance.”

“Yeah, Adam knows people that can help with that. I’m sure it will all get figured out. You and I just need to finish school.”

“Says the guy set up to finish in a year or two.”

“I’ve worked hard my whole life to do well at school, explore and work at side ventures. A couple have paid off.”

“You’ve done well and done it on your own. I’m still just another part of my dad’s business.”

“Andy, your dad wouldn’t have this business if it wasn’t for you. You wouldn’t have it without me. I wouldn’t have it without Adam and he without me. We got into our first big deal because of Tiffany and her dad. The next one was an introduction from my father. It’s the way the world works. We all need each other and help each other. If you want to, now would be a good time to talk to your dad.

“You could drop out of school to run it and ask for a 50% stake. It was your idea and your contacts. Your dad paid a lot of money to get it going but it should be profitable soon and he can pull out his original investment and you can run it on the income it produces.”

“He’ll want me to get an education but I’ll give him a call and talk about it.”

“Andy, one of the biggest secrets in life is that you will always be treated like a child until you stand up and show that you’re a man. I don’t mean that you have to be rude or disrespectful at all but at some point a kid has to stand up to the parent and say, I have my own ideas, my own income, my own set of morals and ethics that I’m choosing to live under. Until that time comes, the parent will always look at you and treat you like a child.”

He sat and thought about it for a while. “I don’t really have my own money to live yet but I have the rest. I can always get a job but like you said, I’m not trying to be disowned but just respected for who I am.”

“I went through the same thing when I was fourteen, so you aren’t too far behind. But I grew up in a different world and with different parents. I think my mom pushed me and dad just stayed out of the way. I get a lot of support from her both because she loves me as a parent but also she wants to make sure that she did the right thing in the way I was raised.”

“My parents have four kids and we’re all different. There are a few variables as to how kids will turn out and when they will grow up. I’ll go and call my dad. I want to have him think about this before he and Adam get together and start making too many plans.”

My week got busy as I did my workouts in the morning, my class and office time until 3:00 then rowing with the team in the afternoon. Olivia and Maggie continued to show up in the mornings and worked hard at getting into prime shape. My rowing was coming along well and we looked to have a good core group of guys that worked together well. Ethan was the captain but I was again put in the stroke position. Nicole was between my legs as the coxswain for the men’s 8s.

The office time turned out to be fun as I finished my homework and studying quickly and then worked on the book. I was completing about a chapter a week with good reviews from those that were reading it. My advisory work made me feel like a psychiatrist. I would sit there and ask them questions that they needed to answer for themselves before they could take their work to the next level or prove that it was worth doing at all.

“Who would use this program? How often would they use it? How will it benefit them? Will it save time or money? How much over what time frame?” I was teaching them how to build business cases, cost benefit analysis, and feasibility studies. Most had good ideas for smaller markets but needed a lot of time to build out what they were designing. Some figured out that they would spend a thousand hours to build something that may return them a few thousand dollars. They normally found something else to work on.

There was one guy, Jason, that had an idea about rearranging stored data to save space on a device or disc. I had to ask a lot of questions to even get what he was saying. I knew that the operating system that was being developed and sold may be able to use such a technology. I asked Jason, “I like the concept and have some contacts that can probably use it as part of other programs that are being created. What do you want to do with it?”

“I want to sell it.”

“You want to sell it completely, cash in your pocket or you want to get some money when or if it’s used?”

“I could probably make more if I sell it by the piece but I need some cash for my school. How much do you think it’s worth?”

“I could offer you £5k or £10k, today or call Adam and see if he wants to do a study and figure out a more accurate number?”

“You’d give me £10,000 just for an idea?”

“And the designs, copyrights and non-compete, meaning you can’t build something similar and sell it to someone else. We would own the intellectual property.”

“That sounds like a good deal.”

“I think you’d do better by waiting but it’s your call?”

“I’ll take the ten thousand pounds.”

“I said, five to ten but I think you could do better by waiting so I’ll do the deal.”

“Do you have cash so I don’t have to wait for a check to clear?”

“I’m going to write up a contract with a description of the software. It will be you swearing that the product is original from your head and you haven’t shared it or sold it to someone else. Then we have the non-compete in this area of software and then a contract to sell it to me. I’ll write you a check and then you can sign the back and I’ll give you cash for the check. This will prove that you were paid and accepted the payment. We also need your NINO number for taxes. Make sure you keep enough aside to pay your taxes when they’re due.”

“I will.”

After printing out the documents, I left them for him to look over while I ran back to the dorm to get in the safe and get out some cash. While I was there, I called Adam and told him what I was doing.

“It does what?”

“He calls it defragmenting data. Basically rearrange it to store it in the most efficient manner.”

“If it works, it will be worth a few million.”

“I have a deal for ten grand.”

“Nick, if it was you, would you feel ripped off?”

“I offered to wait until after we can test it and give him a better offer. He wants something right now. I’m getting cash out of the safe.”

“Cash? I gave you all the forms and told you to write a check.”

“He’s reviewing the forms now and I’m getting the cash to trade him for the endorsed check. I listen to you sometimes.”

“I didn’t think you would screw someone on purpose. I remember Todd back at school. The same thing happened.”

“A bird in the hand.”

“You can lead a horse to water.”

“I’ll send off what I have after I close the deal.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

Jason signed all the forms and endorsed the check. I took all of the documentation and the disc with his program code and made copies of everything before sending the originals to Sam and copies to Adam. I kept a copy as well in the safe until they had everything. As Jason took the envelope with the cash and a copy of all the documents, I told him, “I was serious when I said that you could have done better if you’d let us test it for a while first. When you get ready to go to work, I want you to call this number. Ask for Adam and tell him about this transaction. If it’s up and running we may need help to make it better and would pay you well to help us.”

“I think that’s a fair deal.” He left with Adam’s card, ten thousand pounds and a big smile.

A week later, Adam wanted to have Jason fly to Boston. I had to track him down through the department secretary. I was waiting as he came out of class. He saw me and walked over. “I already spent most of it. You can’t have any back.”

“Are you graduating soon?”

“One more term, why?”

“Adam liked what he saw. Are you willing to fly to Boston for a meeting?”

“I want my degree. But I can fly over for a long weekend or between terms.”

“If I know Adam, he’ll want both but will pay you for your time and all your travel expenses.”

“Sounds good. Would I have to move to America?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I gave you Adam’s card. Call him collect. He’s five hours behind so call after noon.”

“I’ll call him now.”

“Let me know if you need anything.” After getting my room number, he went to call Adam.

The next day the big rumor around the computer science department was Jason. The amount he was paid for his idea then followed up by a trip to the US and a big bonus to work on his own ideas. I had to call Adam.

“Nick, I spoke to Bill and this will help a lot and solve some of the problems they were running into. I’m going to try to make up for some of the money he let slip away. If you want to come with him, you can write a chapter in your book about playing well with others and how your programs need to integrate with other software programs or it’s like people talking different languages.”

“I’ll be there in another week or so, you can tell me what I missed.”

“I’ll see you in Vegas.”

As Adam hung up, I thought about the business in Europe and that I needed to meet with Sam and Victoria before I left for the states. March was passing by which was good because I hated to row in the freezing temperatures. We did row a lot on the ergs but at least once or twice a week we were bundled up in sweats, hats and gloves to brave the weather.

When the term finished up in mid March, I was ready to take a week and head to the states for the food and beverage show in Vegas. After my morning workout with the girls and some others from the team, and Tucker, I stopped to talk to coach Radcliff.

“Coach, I wanted to remind you that I have to go to the states for the next ten days or so for work and a conference.”

“I remember but the timing sucks. We have the race in three weeks and I want you in the boat. I’ll talk to Ethan.”

“Coach, I can’t row for a living so a name on a trophy or in the paper will just make me a part of history the day after the race. What I’m doing for work is saving businesses money, giving people jobs, and helping the economy. If you don’t think I’ve earned a spot in the boat, then put someone else in the boat. If you think that my workouts have been consistent and I could do a better job than my replacement then put me in the boat. Take a vote of the team. I don’t want this on me if we win or lose, if I’m in or out.”

“You’re in the boat, but I’ll have a talk with the team to make sure they aren’t going to have any problems. Last year’s loss wasn’t fun. You’ve done the work, just the timing of your trip could have been better.”

He wished me luck at the show and we said goodbye. I finished my last test and office hours on Thursday and handed in my completed first draft of the textbook a week earlier to Dr. Zurcher. There would be six weeks between terms but it was the heart of rowing season so I would be on campus or traveling with the team.

Andy drove me to London Thursday night and would be flying with me to the states on Monday. Friday, I met with Sam and he didn’t have much that I was doing wrong or could do better. Jason wasn’t the only person that I’d made a deal with during the term. Sam and I reviewed the work and talked a little about how our European and US divisions could and couldn’t work together without breaking laws or owing money in taxes.

After that, I met with Victoria. We’d spoken on the phone a week earlier and she said that she’d think about the offer. “Nick, I’ve thought about the offer to work for you directly and I’m still not sure.”

“Vic, I can tell you what to do but that is for our personal lives not our work lives. What’s holding you back?”

“I think I like having the company there to check on me and make sure it’s done right. I don’t want to let you down.”

“Let’s just say that your company pays you $20 an hour.”

“I wish.”

“If they are paying you $20 they are charging us $60 to cover overhead and profit. That’s fine for a one or two week audit but if you look at all year long, I could hire a team of people to do the same work for what I pay your firm. If you want them on retainer to ask questions or check something you can but I doubt you would. We have enough in the account to pay your salary for many years. If that’s a concern, we can put it in a separate payroll account.”

“Will there be enough work for me or will you find me obsolete in six months?”

“I don’t know. My guess is that there will be more than enough work for you and those that you hire or we hire. The one thing that I know about business is that it pays to hire the right people for the job. If you can run the whole thing you’ll be president. If not, you will be CFO. If you can’t make the big decisions, you will be an accountant. We’ll find a place where you’re happy and productive.”

“How big do you think you’ll get?”

“The company is small but grows every day. I would love to have others doing most of the work and us just collecting royalties but that’s all about contracts, audits and fees. That sounds like a job for a great accountant that I can trust. We’ve done some things to build some trust between us, haven’t we, Honey?”

“Yes, Sir. We have.”

“What’s the average pay here in England?”

“For men it’s about four pounds an hour. Women get about two and a half pounds an hour.”

“So would fifteen be enough to tempt you away from where you work now?”

“You should have said that a long time ago. Yes, Sir. I’ll come to work for you. I’ll need to give notice.”

“I’ll talk to Adam and Sam to make sure we have the right contracts in place. I’ll put in a guarantee for salary and length of employment. As long as there isn’t a reason to fire you there is no risk on your part.”

“Can’t you always find a reason to fire someone?”

“For cause would have to be a real reason like you stealing money, working for someone else without permission or selling or giving away company secrets. Having a long lunch or showing up late will just get you spankings, not a pink slip.”

“I may have to show up late on a regular basis.”

“You have to find us a nicer office and something we can grow into. Maybe buy a building and then we can rent out the floors we don’t need. As we grow we can skip renewing the leases for the space we need. Maybe put an apartment in the building in case Adam comes to town or I need a place to spank you properly.”

“You’re making me wet, Sir.”

“Veronica. I’m fine playing our games but I take my work very seriously just like you do. Your employment isn’t based on us playing together. It’s based on you doing a good job. If you want to play we can. If you change your mind, it won’t hurt you at work. We’re the same people but one side of our relationship doesn’t change the other. Except that I’m the boss in both, until you tell me otherwise.”

“I understand. Thank you. Are you really going to pay me that much?”

“Yes, but to whom much is given, much is expected.”

“Yes, Sir.”

We took some time to write down some of the things she would be responsible for, like finding a building, reviewing contracts to make sure we were delivering what was required and getting paid what we were owed. When we were done, I asked, “Is there anything else?”

“Can you take me to the club, my place or your hotel and use me?”

“That can be arranged. Why don’t you take me to your place? I don’t want to get kicked out of the hotel for noise. I don’t care what your neighbors think.”

“I’ll try to be quiet. If not then so be it.”

Honey, got a few spankings and showed me her collection of toys. Her little two bedroom house was far enough from the neighbors that no police came knocking on the door. I didn’t stay the night but had to walk a couple blocks to a road where I could find a cab.

Saturday, I slept in and then went out for a long run around the city. It was still cool, and the weather was nice. I did my push-ups and sit-ups back in my room before showering and figuring that I had no plans until my flight on Monday. Andy wouldn’t mind if I bothered him but he didn’t often get to spend time with his family so I didn’t call him. Victoria came to mind but she was now an employee, I would let her make the first step in jumping back in bed.

As I was contemplating my plans, my stomach growled and reminded me that food was needed. It was just past 1:00 after showering and getting dressed. I walked a couple blocks to a local pub and sat down at the bar. I ordered a beer and some fish and chips.

There was a woman sitting two stools down from me. A few years older and from the looks of the bar in front of her at least two drinks of either scotch or whiskey. It reminded me of Anita and although things had turned out well with her and her family. I didn’t have the time or the ambition to take on another project. Her wedding ring was in stark contrast to the inviting smile she gave me.

I’m not sure if I was maturing or just not in the mood for more drama but I returned her, ‘hello,’ and then finished my lunch and was soon on my way. I could either stay in London and find a book or some trouble, or I could fly to the States early or stop in and see my parents.

The parents were my first thought but I would only be there for a day and it would be last minute. Mom and Dad would drop everything to accommodate me and I didn’t want to be a bother because I was bored. The same thoughts applied to Adam or any others in the Boston or New York area. Back at the hotel, I called the airlines and asked if they could get me on an earlier flight.

“Mr. Duke. We have three seats open in first class for the flight that leaves in three hours and we can connect you from JFK to Vegas with a two hour layover.”

“I’ll take it.”

“There will be a $50 change fee.”

“Okay.”

She booked me on the flight and I packed my bags. I called Andy and told him to call me when he got to his room in Vegas after explaining that I would be going out early. He wanted to ask a bunch of questions but I didn’t have time. I made it to Heathrow in plenty of time and went into the first class lounge before the flight.