Chapter 4

On the journey back into Edinburgh Andrew’s dad told him that Leslie, Julian and Mhairi had all called and that Andrew had to phone Leslie as soon as he was home. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if she was waiting for them at the house. Surprise, she went one better and her and Julian were at the house when he got home. He managed to say hi to his mum and was then dragged through to his room.

“We were in Germany yesterday and this morning. We just got back three hours ago. The government of North Rhine-Westphalia are considering making a huge purchase.”

Leslie looked like she was about to burst with excitement.

“Okay, how many?”

“They have committed to 100,000, potentially double that but there is a major problem.”

“£3.5m? Get out of here. Bloody hell. What is the problem?”

“They want to buy from a German company.”

Andrew seemed to be spending a lot of time sitting down and trying to process large financial problems.

“Okay, I suppose that makes sense. We set up the Isle of Man Company for stuff like this. Let’s get Mhairi working on starting a German company as well. Creighton will cry when we tell him but he’ll figure it out.”

Andrew’s solution to every business problem, get the lawyer and the accountant involved.

“No Andrew, they want to buy it from a proper German company. As a German state government they have to be seen to be buying German. They love the product but we have to license it to a German company to clinch the sale.”

Rarely was Andrew at a loss for words but he was tired, hungry and totally confused by this requirement.

“Let me get some dinner while I think about this. What do your two dads and Mhairi say?”

“Julian’s dad thinks that they have a buyer in mind. They want the product, but procurement want to buy German. One of the big German conglomerates probably.”

“Is an order of 200,000 copies realistic? That is way more than we ever thought we would sell. £7m, it just doesn’t seem likely. What’s that DM30m or something close to it?”

Leslie nodded.

“Dad thinks that 200,000 is the real number. This is the largest state government but if we sell to a German company then they could sell it to the other states. Dad said to sell it for £10m and a fiver a copy of any other sales.”

Andrew had stood up to go through and get some food but had to sit down again at that point. Julian jumped back in.

“Dad also said we should only sell a licence for them in Germany, nowhere else. The North Rhine-Westphalia government is a major feather in our cap and could lead to sales in France or Italy or wherever. We should find a bunch of guys like Dieter to handle the translation.”

Leslie could see Andrew was flagging.

“We will be back tomorrow and I’ll drive you down to get your car, but then we have to go and see Mhairi and figure this out. In some ways we are back to our usual stumbling block of having a product to sell and no one to sell it. But this time in Germany on top of everything else.”

It was good that Andrew was tired and he quickly fell into a dreamless sleep. The numbers that were being bandied about were fantastic, and fantastical, but the last 18 months tempered his excitement. He wondered how real this would all be when it came time for the Germans to spend the money. What he really needed was a swim but had to settle the next morning for a long hour and 20 minute run. He ate a huge breakfast just to remind his mother he was home and then Leslie and Julian turned up, in separate cars. The three of them were going to end up convoying it to Mhairi’s office. After picking up the car he never even got a chance to savour it, Leslie had them heading straight to the city centre.

As they drove in Andrew thought about the corporate structure they had created. After Julian learned of the Faith and how she was the reason Andrew and Leslie were working on the business, he spent a long time thinking about what he wanted to do with his share. He finally came to them one day and said that he was already doing better than he ever thought and that he wanted to be part of the solution as well. Cancer affects every family, nobody escapes its touch and he had relations who had suffered and died from the disease. So Julian proposed that 70% of the company be owned by a trust that would be the long term vehicle to fund the research and that the three of them retain 10% each personally. It capped the amount that any of them saw personally but it did give them some freedom and flexibility. Both Leslie and Andrew had hugged and thanked him at the time and so that was how it was laid out. At the top was the trust that owned 70% of Jullesand, with each of their three individual companies holding 10% of the shares. Leslie had given back the 10% in Andrew’s company when she set up her own. The old JA computer company was made inactive once they were sure there was no more income coming from ComputerCom. If they really sold the program to a German company then Creighton assured them they would only be taxed on the non-Trust portion. The Faith Campbell Medical Research Trust could suddenly have a huge amount to invest. It was daunting.

It went on for months and cutting a lot of meetings out and simplifying some of the details here is what ultimately happened. They sold the rights to the software to Siemens, the large German industrial conglomerate. Brian had been right, the North Rhine-Westphalia government had seen them as the preferred buyer from the outset. Jullesand sold the rights to the program in Germany for £9.6m and £3.50 per copy from every sale after the initial 200,000 at the North Rhine-Westphalia government. The deal closed and Jullesand received the money at the end of November. The three of them were personally millionaires or close to it, although when the tax man took his 50% that would change things. It was a milestone, and was the start of so many changes in their lives.

There were many times over the following months and even years where the three of them would gaze off into the distance and think about the work the they did over that year, and the years before as well. All three of them were integral to getting the company to the point of being a success. What Andrew was struck with was how focus and commitment had allowed them to be in the right place at the right time. Their one advantage during that time was they had a cheap, ready solution. It worked and it solved an immediate problem for the buyer, often the most important problem being justifying the money spent previously on the computer hardware in the first place. They had good right now, not perfect in two years. Every single one of the programs was superseded within five years, often two years and in the case of the VisiCalc templates probably within 12 months. But they served a purpose at the time.

All of that was to come. Mhairi had always advised them well and Julian’s dad had been tactful in his dealings with her. Andrew knew from talking to Julian that his dad thought she was a first rate lawyer and so all three of them had immense faith in Mhairi Connelly. They were also good for her, allowing her to be successful within her firm. This deal got her into the partnership at Drummonds at the end of the year. But as mentioned, this was all to come. That Saturday was the first day of meetings and there were many more. But the first snowball rolled down the hill that week.

When Andrew got home at 4.30 the day just got better and better, Suzanne was on the phone and she was lonely. It turned out Suzanne’s parents had taken Vanessa out for the afternoon and had called and told her they had decided to go and see a show. As Andrew drove over to Suzanne’s house in his new car he smiled to himself. Having the car allowed them to take advantage of these situations. Andrew parked the car down the street and walked quickly to her house.

The smile and body-moulding hug from Suzanne at the door whetted Andrew’s appetite and he chased her all the way to her bedroom. The romance was utterly lacking as they stripped as quickly as possible. Andrew’s only pause was to pull the condoms from his wallet. After they had both come orally, to take the edge off, Andrew wrapped up and sat on the end of the bed. Suzanne straddled him and they could look at each other as they sat there coupled together. Andrew kissed his friend with tenderness and passion.

“I seem to recall the last time I was here, someone teased me just as I was leaving. She was such a bad girl, no knickers on and looking devastatingly sexy as well.”

Suzanne picked up his cue immediately. She dipped her head, peeked out from under her eyelashes and bit her bottom lip. Andrew was sure his cock got harder, fucking hell Suzanne was radiating sexual energy. She could feel the impact she had on him, and they smiled at each other. Andrew stood up and turned round before lowering Suzanne onto the bed, lifting her legs so her ankles were on his shoulders. Then he grabbed the front of her thighs and pulled her into an ‘el’ shape in preparation for a hard fuck. Suzanne? She squeezed her tits together and started goading him.

They fucked hard for two hours, taking pleasure from each other. They would lie talking to each other while recovering but it was always just an appetiser for the next course. Like Allison before her, Suzanne came to enjoy lying on top of him, there was an intimacy to the position that appealed to Andrew and he loved it when she lay like that. Best of all the position leant itself to the peeking up at him, biting her lip move which she knew he loved. She really would have to be careful with that at school.

Suzanne had continued with her swimming all summer, she had been better at daily attendance than Andrew. The result was a beautiful fit woman, with wide hips and a big bust but it was all toned. She had definition in her stomach and arms, while her bum had this soft fleshiness over some tight muscles, goodness her arse was spectacular. Andrew hadn’t done the mirror trick with her since their memorable first night and so pulled her chair over to in front of the wardrobe then beckoned her over. She bounced up off her bed and was already draped over her chair waiting for him by the time he got the condom rolled on. She wiggled her arse and Andrew took the hint, stepped over to her and speared her hard. They both groaned as he started pounding away. Andrew was definitely an arse man, there could be no doubt. Andrew held onto her hips and Suzanne grabbed the chair and they were fucking like it was an Olympic sport. Then he let go her hips and grabbed the back of the chair, Suzanne interlinking their fingers. Andrew was bent over her back and could whisper to her.

“You don’t even need to look at the mirror, do you? You know you are hot, you can feel how hot I think you are.”

Her fingers squeezed his in response.

“I love how there is strength in your body, your arse is magnificent, so firm and unyielding yet with just enough padding to emphasise your femininity. Every time you peek out at me biting your bottom lip, this is what I want to do to you.”

Suzanne looked over her shoulder and did exactly as Andrew had mentioned but added one word.

“Harder.”

Andrew had to change position again to get sufficient purchase to fulfil her request. It was a race to the finish as he held Suzanne at the hips fucking her as hard as he could. When he finally came there was barely anything left, she had fucked him dry. They went and lay down on the bed to catch their breath. It was Suzanne who spoke first.

“I could feel every inch of you in me Andrew as you talked. I love it when you whisper to me like that. When you talk like that I realise the power of my body. I don’t know that you can ever casually fuck someone Andrew, there is a hunger to you that comes through. When you talk about how hot you think I am there is no doubt. And the mirror idea was genius, which when I think about it, makes sense.”

She giggled at her own joke.

“Every time I stood in front of the mirror during term three I never saw me, I felt you, I felt your lust. For someone who is a maths geek you sure know how to work the human mind. This is my body and I want to keep it the way it is. I am never going to be eight stone like Tanvi, but she is never going to have tits like me. When you talk about the power in my body but with that covering of femininity, it goes right through me. I feel better physically, I feel ten times better mentally. You fucked me in front of the mirror when I was a big, fat girl. You fucked me while breaking the hold that the mirror had on me. I think about the last three years and you have had a profound impact on my life.”

Her voice caught and he held her tight.

“I study hard without being reminded or guilted by you. It is a habit now and I know that I have options in my life because of that. But you were there every day, we barely talked but the support was there if I needed it and the discipline of going to the library became ingrained. Same with swimming. No way would I ever think of going swimming in the shape that I was in without you there. You never said anything and we hardly speak while we are in the water but your reassuring presence was always there. I am smarter and healthier because of the example that you set and the unspoken support that you give me. I think you should know that. I also know of no person, let alone a man, who deflects praise and turns it back on the other person like you do. You try to never take credit for the change in people, you always say something like ‘it was always in there, you just needed to find it’ or something like that. We joke after practice sometime about how you always push the credit back to us. But we all recognise it, it is the thing that is most unusual about you.”

Andrew didn’t know what to say so kissed her. It was a kiss of love, not happily ever after love, but love for a wonderful woman who knew him better than almost anyone. It was a feeling he would never forget.

“Wow, I should say nice things about you more often.”

They laughed together. It seemed they were always laughing together. Suzanne had no idea when her parents were returning so they had to be conscious of the time. They took turns showering and then tidied up her room and disposed of the evidence. Suzanne dressed casually once Andrew had helped dry her, without too many wandering hands moments.

“Did I tell you that I have been driving Mum crazy for the last two weeks? Nothing fits me anymore, I have had to go shopping for a total new wardrobe, from bras and knickers to shirts, skirts, jeans, everything. All the exercise has changed my shape and so everything is new. It has been like Christmas in August. Mum grumbles at me but I know that she is pleased.”

“I know what you mean, Mum used to be the same with me. The Monday and Tuesday before term starts were the annual complain about how much Andrew has grown days, although I think now that I have wheels I will get my uniform myself. No need to drag her and Scott into the city. I seem to have finally stopped growing which even I am grateful for. I stand out as it is and I saw this one guy at the University College open day in London who must have been at least 6’8”. I don’t want to go through life as a giraffe. I think I might actually get through the year with the same shirts and trousers as I started. I have grown 15 inches in just over three years. I was 5’2” when I got out of hospital and 88lbs, and now I am 6’5” and 208lbs. I sometimes wonder if the radiation and chemo had an impact on me that way. The weight is mainly exercise and lots of eating but the height is totally out of whack with the rest of the family. Dad is barely 6’1” and he is taller than everyone else.”

As ever Andrew punctuated his summation with a shrug. He kissed Suzanne goodbye at the door.

“See you on Thursday.”

They had cut the timing close. Andrew was driving down the hill and there at the intersection were the rest of the Jenners. Five more minutes and he would have been caught.

The following months were full of phone calls, Andrew thought he had never heard from his friends so much. Leslie, Julian and him spoke most days even if there was really nothing to talk about. Until the sale was finally resolved in November it was a time of uncertainty. The amount of money was too much for it not to be. But the call the following morning was unrelated to the company, it was Ara. She sounded like a different person, relaxed and bubbly. The summer had got away from them and with school starting in three days Andrew was not going to get a chance to see her before she returned to Edinburgh for university. As he listened to her bubbling away, full of warmth, he guessed this was the real Ara. Once she escaped from the pressures of her immediate family there was this smart and funny woman bursting to get out. She was very interested that he had spent two weeks working at the Strachans. Clearly, he didn’t come across as a gentleman farmer! Ara knew about the cancer so Andrew explained that Harry had taken a chance on him that summer three years ago and that he had no reason not to continue to help him. She understood but found it fascinating that he could get a herd of dairy cows milked without assistance. The cows needed little help, they were positively Pavlovian. It was as he had explained to June, when the gate was opened they walked into the milking shed and most of them wandered straight to a stall, there were a few that you had to prod but it was definitely not like dealing with the sheep and the lambs. It was good to talk to her.

And then it was time for school. As Andrew had predicted his mother took advantage of him having his own car to not bother spending time with him. Despite Rowan also having a school uniform it allowed his mother to spend two days with Rowan. The difference in treatment, the different in time spent, the sheer difference in interest in their lives was ever more noticeable. And even if she was there he would be paying for the uniform himself. At present neither of his parents had any idea that there was a potential significant sale of their software. Julian’s dad and Brian Campbell were intimately involved in the discussions over the deal; Andrew’s parents didn’t know.