Chapter 3

The first thing Monday morning Thad called Ron and said he would accept his offer. He indicated he would give his two weeks’ notice and then would be at the office. Thad printed out the resignation letter he had composed over the weekend, signed it and put it in an envelope he handed to Brad Dillard. Brad read the letter and thanked him for his work here and wished him good luck. There was no effort on Brad’s part to ask why or try to stop Thad from leaving. Thad thought it was a very short exit interview.

The word had spread about Thad leaving the firm and many people wished him luck. They said they would miss him and ask him where he was going. He did his best to answer their questions and said he wouldn’t be a stranger. Cal Wrens was assigned to take over Thad’s files. Thad brief Cal on each file as to what was happening and what his intentions were for its disposition.

On Friday Thad phoned Sally Dodge who was a realtor in Lake Lancer that Ron had recommended. Thad’s lease on his furnished apartment was coming up for renewal and thought he would like to live closer to the office at Lake Lancer instead of doing the forty-five-minute drive. He introduced himself to Sally and said he was coming there Saturday and would like to see some properties although he wasn’t sure if he wanted to buy or rent.

Sally said she wasn’t working Saturday but her daughter Kelly was and she could show Thad the available properties. She suggested that since the office is open for a half-day on Saturdays, Thad come to her office at eleven-thirty.

Thad was there at the agreed time. He was greeted by Kelly who was about his age and attractive. She had long blond hair, a nice figure, and seemed like a pleasant person. His first impression of her was to wonder what kind of a lover she would be which is his usual thought whenever he sees a good-looking woman.

Kelly asked him some questions about what he was looking for as well as how much he was prepared to spend. In hearing his answers she went to her listing book and pulled out a few saying she will show him the area and what is available.

Kelly drove her Mercedes first around the lake pointing out her parent’s home along with three listings located by the lake that were priced at much more than Thad wanted to spend. She commented that she thought these properties were overpriced. They passed by what looked like a relatively new six-story condo building which units were in Thad’s price range but she said there presently were no listings

“When there is a listing it turns into a bidding war as there is a list of people who want to purchase a unit here. For example, we have a client who is a very wealthy hedge fund manager. He told us he wants to purchase the next unit that is listed for sale as a graduation gift for his daughter who is graduating from nursing school. He told us to make him the highest bidder on the next listing.”

“I have a small house that just came on the market that could interest you. The husband of the couple who owned the house was transferred by his employer to work in a Central American country. This is a two-year assignment and maybe longer if they like it. He is a civil engineer and was working for the highway department which he found to be boring. Both of them wanted to see the world. His employer now is a multi-national engineering company who has projects all over the world. The transfer company his employer used to facilitate the move presently owns the home. The owner of this house before this couple was Mark Andrews the author. He had set it up like a bachelor pad which he was at the time. The house comes furnished and is what is called a turnkey.”

The house was a small two-bedroom home but Thad was impressed by the open floor plan interior. The dark wood floors and the large flat-screen television mounted over the fireplace were nice touches. The asking price was in Thad’s ballpark. Thad told Kelly he liked the house and asked her to make an offer to the relocating company of sixteen percent less than what they were asking. Thad was aware of how this company operated in what they paid in purchasing properties and what they asked for in listing for sale those properties Thad told Kelly to tell this company that he was debating between two properties and if his offer wasn’t accepted he was going to be bidding on another property. Thad had dealt with this company before and knew they negotiated and were anxious to get real estate they had purchased off their books.

Monday at work Kelly phoned him. She said she was surprised that his offer was accepted. As soon as they closed on the property he could move in. She was recommending a mortgage broker but Thad told her he had a mortgage broker he dealt with and also an insurance agent. If she would email him a list of the utility firms and their phone numbers that he needed to contact he would appreciate it. Thad made the calls to the mortgage broker and title company asking them to put a rush on it.

Friday morning he received a call that everything was done and the closing would be Saturday morning at ten.

After work on Friday, there was a little goodbye and good-luck party for Thad. Most of the people in the office attended this gathering except for Brad Dillard, Scott Connelly, and Loren Collier. Thad thanked the people there for their good wishes. That Loren didn’t show up concerned him but maybe it was for the best that she didn’t.

Thad found a substitute to take his place for his golfing Saturday telling his golfing buddies he was attending a closing and would be dropping out of being a regular Saturday golfer. Maybe he would be a sub when there was a need.

The closing went as expected with there being no problems. He spent the weekend moving into his new home. It took him three trips with his SUV to make the move with the balance of his time used to do the unpacking and putting the items away. He did spend some time looking around the house and becoming familiar with what was there. The necessary phone calls to the various utilities were made along with making a mental note to hire a lawn care service and a weekly house cleaning service. He made a list of food and other items he needed and then went to the store to purchase those items.

Ron welcomed Thad Monday and introduced him to the staff and then to Carley. Carley was not the warmest of people. She sat him down and started to go over the files she was handling. While her personality in Thad’s opinion could use some improvement, he had had to admit she was a highly organized person and was up to date on all of her files. The only thing that bothered him was the evaluations she had made on two bodily injury files on which she was presently negotiating settlements. There were three other bodily injury files that she was awaiting the special damages to be sent in which were the medical reports, bills, and lost wages incurred because of an automobile accident. This orientation continued through the week and into the next week.

On Tuesday afternoon Ron told Thad to dress casually tomorrow as they would be doing some barbequing. Ron said he would explain more tomorrow.

The next day at about ten Ron told Thad they needed to be going. In the backroom of the office, Ron took a large cooler along with some barbequing tools and an apron. After putting these items in the car Ron drove to the food store and loaded more items that were already boxed and waiting for him. A case of soda cans was placed in the cooler and a bag of ice poured over them. No money was exchanged because Ron said the food store was aware of who to bill for these items.

On the drive to the city park by the lake Ron explained that every Wednesday, Doug the local fishing guide, takes some kids from the hospital that are being treated there for various medical problems fishing on a large pontoon boat. At noon Doug brings the boat to the park where the kids enjoy the hot dogs and hamburgers Ron is going to grill. Ron was the cook when Doug first started doing this and Doug was doing this trip with the kids once a month. John Wilkinsing, the internet billionaire saw what was happening and wanted Doug to do this once a week. John pays for all the supplies and pays Doug’s his normal guiding fee when he does this.

Because of the increased frequency of these fishing trips Ron doesn’t have the time to do this cooking weekly. Retiree Bill Gordon is now the primary cook but if for some reason Bill can’t make it like today, Larry Carson, Ron and now Thad will be the backups. There will also be some people from the town who come to the park to help.

Ron parked the car and they quickly unloaded it. Thad watched what was happening because he could be doing this one day. Ron put charcoal briquettes in the two grills and after putting some starter on them he ignited it. Three ladies from the town came to help. After wiping down the picnic benches they put out the condiments and other essentials. About five minutes before noon Thad could see the large pontoon boat heading for them and noticed Ron putting on the hamburgers and quarter-pound hot dogs on the grill.