Chapter 105: New Deal

Thursday, June 10, 1971

“There he is,” Vickie said as Roger and I entered the Dining Car. “Let’s ask him.”

“Ask me what?” I replied, stopping at their table. Vickie and Adriana were seated across from Deedee and Abby.

“They want to ask us questions about you, but we didn’t know if you would be okay with it,” Vickie said.

“No gifts, talents, or abilities,” I thought to Vickie. “And nothing before I woke up.”

“Aw-w-w, that don’t leave much,” she whined.

“You can always talk about all the different ways I could punish you later!” I reminded her.

Her eyes widened and she smiled really big.

“Yeah-h-h, I guess I could tell them how good you are!” she replied dreamily.

I rolled my eyes and hurried to catch up with Roger who had already taken a seat in a booth that Karla had prepared for me and my three guests. Roger looked at the two empty place settings and felt a pang of guilt.

“I see now why you always let your wife handle her punishments,” I said. “You’re just a big softy.”

“Yeah, I was never very good at doling out the discipline. I always depended on Janelle to do it. That’s why it was so hard to ... wait a minute! How did you know that?” Roger asked, surprised.

“I told you, I’m an empath. I can sense your emotions and any thoughts or memories that are connected to those feelings,” I explained again. “When you were thinking of what you thought you had to do, you also remembered about rarely having to discipline Jessica when she was growing up.”

“That’s amazing, Michael. I can see how you are going to be a formidable negotiator in the future. What am I saying? You negotiated a hell of a concession with me for a two-week design delivery,” Roger said, then he sighed. “I still don’t think we can do it.”

“I don’t expect you to,” I told him. “I never did.”

“Huh? I don’t understand. We shook on it,” he exclaimed.

“I know,” I told him. “But I was monitoring Steve and Jessica’s thoughts throughout the process. As well as yours. I realized what they were doing, but I also saw your confidence in their judgment and abilities. That was their biggest mistake. They didn’t appreciate your faith in them.”

“So you set them up?” he asked.

“Let’s say that I gave them enough rope,” I said smiling at him.

Karla brought our dinner then, so I took the opportunity to introduce her to Roger. After she left, I continued.

“What they did, they did out of ignorance and immaturity. Not out of maliciousness. They’re young, and they have worked and studied for years to be able to harness and utilize their artistic and creative talents, and forgot to hone the most important art, the art of dealing with people,” I explained.

“I guess you’re right,” Roger said. “I assumed that because I did it every day, and she saw me do it, that she just sort of picked it up. And I was so busy being proud of her creative skills, I forgot to teach her about handling clients. You can bet I’m going to correct that oversight with all our employees, just as soon as I get back to Knoxville.”

“I’m sure it will help your firm be even more successful,” I told him.

“Yeah,” he sighed again. “But I still don’t know what to do with them.”

“Roger, would you like to know why I decided to go with your firm in the first place?” I asked him.

“Sure. If you’ll tell me how to get your business back while you’re at it,” he said with a tortured grin.

“I do believe you are under the mistaken impression that I am releasing you from our contract. I will remind you that verbal contracts are considered binding when made in five-star restaurants!” I said with a laugh.

Roger gave a brief, forced chuckle, unsure how serious I was.

“Roger, I chose your firm because I immediately sensed that you were an honest man,” I explained. “A man who really believed that integrity was more than just a word in the dictionary between ‘integrate’ and ‘interrogate’. In a nutshell, I trusted you. Still do.”

“But Michael, there’s no way we can deliver on your timeline,” he admitted, painfully.

“And as I said, I never intended you to. So we simply need to tweak the terms a little. I’m still in a hurry, but I also want it done right,” I told him.

“You know? You seem to have been a step ahead of me throughout this whole process. So why do I get the feeling that you already have a plan, and you’re just about to let me in on it?” Roger asked, as he began to see what was really happening.

“I don’t know ... maybe you’re empathic?” I ventured, with a grin.

Roger laughed a big, relieved guffaw.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s this plan and how much is it going to cost me?” he chuckled as he asked.

So I filled him in on my idea. When I got to the part about Twin Springs and my expansion plans, he became very serious.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the idea,” he finally said.

“If she’s got the talent you say she does, I’m sure she can do it,” I said. “But it’s your call.”

Roger was silent, thinking my proposal through, so I slid out of the booth, taking our empty plates and glasses with me.

In the galley, I asked Kip, “Have we got any decent whisky in here? I’m about to sign a two million dollar deal, and I’d like to offer my guest a toast.”

“How about some Johnnie Walker Black?” he replied, hesitantly.

“Since I’m sure it doesn’t belong to me, make sure I reimburse somebody for it,” I told him.

“Thanks, Boss!” Kip said with relief. “Glasses?”

“Two,” I told him. “And thanks.”

I returned to the booth, setting the bottle and glasses on the table in front of Roger.

“Are you old enough to have that?” Roger asked.

“What do you think?” I replied. “Do we have a deal?”

“You may be right,” Roger sighed. “A week at a clothing optional ranch might do her some good. It’s obvious that she is not as mature as I thought she was. She was always so studious; I think I may have mistaken that for maturity. Heck, I was the same way. In college, my nickname was ‘The Worm’ because I was such a bookworm. Everyone was always coming to me for help with their projects and homework. And come to think of it, it was Luther who brought in most of the business when we first started.”