Chapter 14: The Firm Finds a New Home

I awoke about 7:30, called down for breakfast and collapsed on the sofa awaiting its arrival. Ten minutes later Bridget arrived with the food. As she stepped inside, she looked around, smiling at the sight of my shoes, purse, new black dress and panties scattered roughly in a line from the front door to the bedroom. "Either you were very tired when you returned or you brought back someone who was extremely impatient," she laughed.

"No, I arrived alone but it was quite late and I was tired," I responded.

"Ah, I see. And how did your meeting with Marianne go?" she asked innocently enough, but I thought I detected a suppressed smile.

"Just fine," I replied. "We had a lovely dinner together in her apartment and watched TV for an hour or so. Then she gave me a tour of the new exercise facility. I believe Kevin had a hand in setting that up, didn't he?"

"I think I remember him saying something about installing some new equipment," she said, this time unable to suppress her grin. "Did you get to try the exercise bikes Alex? I understand they are really state-of-the-art machines."

"Why would I try out a bicycle? What could be so special about that?" I asked innocently.

"Oh, a little bird whispered something about it in my ear," she grinned, her Irish eyes sparkling with amusement.

Shit, I was busted! "You've been talking to Marianne, Haven't you?" I grumbled.

"Well, she called me at home this morning looking for Kevin, but he'd already left, so we chatted a moment," she said. After a short pause she continued, "She was telling me about how much you both enjoyed your bike ride together last evening."

Suddenly Lynne broke in saying, "Oh, you went on a bike ride through the countryside last evening Alex? How lovely!"

I looked up in surprise and saw that Ellen and Lynne, alerted by the aroma of fresh coffee, had entered unnoticed and apparently overheard the end of Bridget's inquisition. Lynne was now standing there with a wide smile on her face, expectantly waiting for me to expand on the snippet of conversation she'd overheard.

I knew when I was beaten, so I broke down and told them all about the exercise room and the magical bicycles it featured. When I'd finished I asked Bridget, "I suppose she also told you about the vicar's daughter?"

"What about the vicar's daughter dear?" Lynne asked.

"That's a story for after breakfast!"

For once, Richard didn't show up. I guessed he must have overslept or his car had broken down. We ate our usual breakfast in relative silence for a change but Bridget had no sooner collected the plates than Lynne demanded to hear all about the vicar's daughter. I broke down and related a condensed version of the story. When I had finished, Bridget laughed, "You mean to tell me old Jason finally got himself a cherry! And a vicar's daughter to boot!"

The meeting broke up shortly after that, as Lynne and Ellen had appointments to get their hair and nails done. In the sudden silence following their departure, I was at first irritated at Marianne for telling things I would rather have kept to myself, then I realized that among the circle of friends that I'd accumulated since arriving in London, there were no secrets... and I also realized that I'd not have it any other way.

Richard called at eleven saying he would pick me up in thirty minutes for a quick lunch, followed by a tour of the facility. As we entered the pub for lunch we found Ellen sitting alone in a corner booth. She waved us over and we joined her.

"What a surprise, of all the eating places in London, what are the chances that we would just happen to walk into the same pub," I smiled at her.

"Not really a surprise," Ellen replied. "Richard called earlier and said I should meet you both here if I wanted a tour of the building he's found. I've ordered fish and chips, want to share them with me?"

"No... You do know, of course, they don't actually wrap them in newspaper any more," I answered.

Richard roared with laughter; Ellen just looked confused.

When Richard finally caught his breath he told Ellen about our first meal out with Kevin and Bridget and how I had been disgusted because the fish and chips weren't wrapped in newspaper as they were in the movies. Ellen, of course, was immensely amused at my naivety but I still failed to see the humor in it.

Still grumbling, I ordered the house daily special, Shepard's Pie. "I hate to tell you this Alex, but it really isn't made from dead Shepards you know," Richard quipped.

Again they both laughed and again I was not amused. However, since they were making fools of themselves to the point of attracting the attention of the other patrons, I merely smiled and limited my response to a sharp kick to Richard's shin under the table.

The Shepard's Pie was excellent and I finished it to the last crumb while Ellen and Richard shared a double order of fish and chips, served on a disgusting china plate.

Leaving the pub, I looked around for Richard's Jag, Land Rover or Aston-Martin. Seeing none of them, I asked Richard if he was traveling by cab today. He answered, "No dear, it's only a few hundred yards, and it's such a lovely day I left my car at the facility and walked here."

Looking around at the neighborhood, which was mostly residential with a few small shops sprinkled about here and there, it seemed highly unlikely there would be a commercial facility in this neighborhood large enough for our needs. However, he must know what he was talking about, so I followed them to the first intersection where we found ourselves at a large park. It seemed to cover about four or five acres, with groves of large trees separated by broad manicured green lawns. I also noticed several fairly large modern one-story brick buildings. Somewhat perplexed, I followed Richard and Ellen another hundred yards before they turned up a curving concrete walk winding its way into the green space.

"Richard, I admit it's a lovely day for a stroll in the park but don't we have an appointment to inspect some commercial property in a few minutes," I asked.

"Of course we do, it's just round the next bend," he replied.

"But this isn't an industrial area, it's a damn park. You must have gotten confused," I chided him.

"Oh ye of little faith," he laughed as we rounded a curve in the walkway, which skirted a grove of stately oaks, and were confronted by a beautiful long, low, brick and chrome building, its wide mirrored windows, which extended across the entire front, glistening in the sun.

"How in the world did you ever find this," I exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"That's what you pay me for, Alex. Surely you don't keep me around for my sparkling wit and unsurpassed sexual prowess alone," he laughed. I felt an overpowering urge to kick him in the shins again but restrained myself.

As we approached the main entrance, a distinguished looking gentleman in a conservative double-breasted gray business suit, who Richard addressed as Mr. Howell, opened the door. After briefly introducing Ellen and myself, he said, "Well then, shall we take the grand tour?"

Passing through the front entrance, we found ourselves in a beautiful lobby area with a horseshoe-shaped security/reception desk complete with an expensive high-backed leather swivel chair, telephones and what appeared to be radio communications equipment. Scattered about the well lit room were several matching leather sofas and club chairs with mahogany coffee and lamp tables. The plush dove gray carpet was spotless and smelled brand new.

"Has this area been recently been refurbished?" I asked Mr. Howell.

"No, Ms. Goodman," he replied. "It's just recently been completed."

"Do you mean this building has never been occupied?" I asked in astonishment.

"No, as a matter of fact it hasn't, it was recently constructed to the specifications supplied by an old established family-owned business. Unfortunately, less than a month prior to its completion, the family experienced some financial difficulties and changed their plans. This left the bank owning the building. The directors decided the only way to recoup their investment was to complete the construction and then either lease or sell it. You will notice that it is completely appointed and equipped with everything one would need to move in and setup operations. Shall we tour the executive suite first?"

Leading us through a heavy mahogany door at the back of the lobby, we found ourselves in a corridor extending across the entire width of the building. Several doors were located on one side, apparently leading to offices facing the front of the building. On the other side of the corridor were doors leading to administrative work areas. The doors were complete with signage, such as C.E.O., C.F.O., Director of Operations, Human Resources Director, Chief of Logistics and so on.

"Of course, all of the office designations were specified in the original building plans and can easily be changed to meet your own needs," Mr. Howell explained.

A shriek of excitement was heard from Ellen as she opened the door to the office marked "Human Resources Director".

"My God, Alex... Just look at this!" Ellen exclaimed as she disappeared inside. I followed and found her seated behind a massive walnut desk, swiveling slowly back and forth with a dreamy smile on her lips. "Install a cot and I'll not even need to find an apartment... I'll just live here!"

In addition to the desk, the office was completely furnished with visitor chairs, a small conference table, file cabinets, a tiny cloak closet and even a small, enclosed kitchenette complete with a sink, a miniature refrigerator, microwave oven and a cooking unit. Through an open inner door I noticed a small but well-appointed lavatory. The entire front wall of the office was floor-to-ceiling tinted glass.

"I think this should serve you quite adequately, Ellen," I commented.

"Adequately? This is plusher than the Queen's parlor!" she squealed, spinning the high-backed executive chair in a complete circle.

Rejoining Richard, we accompanied Mr. Howell through the rest of the suite, noting that all the offices were similarly well appointed.

Passing through a heavy double door, we entered the administrative area. This contained offices for all the department managers and their staffs. Still further back we discovered a fully equipped employee's gym and, across the hall, a modern cafeteria.

"Well, it looks as though Bridget's in luck," I commented. "I'm satisfied, Richard. If the price is right I'm ready to sign the lease right now."

"I'm sure you will find both the price and the terms equally satisfactory, Ms Goodman," Mr. Howell assured me. "The bank has found itself with a rather large investment in a very slow commercial estate market. I think you can convince them to accept lease or lease-to-purchase payments only slightly more than the interest payments on the amount they have already invested."

"Great, draw up a contract and I'll sign it as soon as our solicitors have approved it... shall we say the middle of next week?" I asked.

"That would be most acceptable, Ms. Goodman. If you will just sign this letter of intent, you can be on your way then. I'm sure a lady of your status must be very busy," he said, handing me a standard Letter of Intent form.

"Wait a second," Richard interjected. "You haven't even seen the production area yet."

"I'll trust your judgment on that, Richard," I protested. "I have no experience in that area."

"Nonsense," he exclaimed. "If you are committing this amount of money, you should at least see what you are getting for it."

"Oh well then, lead on McDuff," I muttered grumpily. I knew he was right but I was still irritated.

We then proceeded further into the building, passing the cafeteria and through wide, sound proofed double doors to the assembly and warehousing area, a series of cavernous rooms with tall metal shelving running from roof to floor, large wooden work tables and a great deal of equipment I didn't recognize.

"This is all very lovely I'm sure, but I won't attempt to convince anyone that I understand a thing about what it all is used for Richard," I grumbled. "Can we go now and let Mr. Howell get back to work?"

"Just one more small thing, Alex," he said, leading us back to a huge steel roll-up door, over which was the sign "Loading Dock". Stepping to the side of the door, he pressed a wall-mounted switch and the door rumbled noisily upward.

As the door was opening, I turned to Richard and said archly, "Good Lord Richard, if I wasn't interested in the assembly areas, why the hell would I want to inspect a loading dock?"

Richard stood silently until the massive door locked open, then took my arm and led me outside onto the dock itself. I noticed it had a very nice view of a tarmac parking area and lush greenery beyond, but why he wanted me to inspect a lorry parking area escaped me.

I started to turn back to him when I caught a flash of brilliant metallic blue out of the corner of my eye. There, sitting on the far end of the raised wooden dock, was the most beautiful machine I'd ever seen!

It was a new sports convertible with a huge red-satin bow attached to its low rakish hood, nearly blocking the windshield. The car was similar in shape to Richard's black Aston-Martin, except his was a hardtop and not nearly as sleek. The sun caught its icy powder-blue polished skin, causing it to glitter in the sunlight like a sleek blue-white diamond.

"What the hell is this?" I demanded. "Does this go with the building also?"

"No, this is your new corporate vehicle, Alex," Richard replied. "Actually it's Aston-Martin's latest DB9 Volante model. I thought as long as you were going to be with us for an extended period you should have personal transportation befitting your exalted status. And, by the way, Bill agreed."