Chapter 15

Ed stopped at the hotel where Kim had reserved a room for him. Even as he checked in, he wondered why she had insisted on staying at a hotel. Normally, they just slept under the stars. This whole trip seemed to be a little different than any of the others. After dropping off his clothes, he went on to the mine to meet up with her.

It was a nice fifteen-minute drive to the mine. The wide-open landscape helped settle his nerves. Pulling up to the mine, he looked at the rough scar cut into the mountain. This was a poorly run operation. He grimaced as he thought about how they were destroying the area with their mine.

As he got out of the car, Kim hurried over to him and stopped a few paces away. As a young man came over, she extended a hand and said, “Welcome, Dr. Biggers.”

Surprised by the unexpected formal greeting, Ed looked at the fear written on her face. He glanced at the young man and recognized the slightly jealous look the man was giving him. Ed took her hand and said, “Hello, Kim. How’s the survey going?”

Relaxing a little, Kim answered, “I’ve finished the preliminary survey. This place is a mess.”

Nodding his head, Ed said, “I could tell just by looking at that horrible scar over there. Let me guess, mining by dynamite.”

“Yes,” replied Kim. She glanced over that young man with her.

Ed noticed and asked, “And who might you be?”

“Matt Henderson,” replied the young man as he forcefully extended his hand.

Shaking the hand, Ed asked, “I take it you are Kim’s boyfriend.”

Suspicious of the interest Ed was giving him, Matt replied, “That’s right.”

Nodding as he figured out the dynamics of the situation, Ed chose what would be a simpler topic. He asked, “Are you a geologist?”

Matt said, “No. I run a restaurant in Phoenix.”

“Oh,” replied Ed. The discussion fell flat at that point.

Walking over to the mine, Ed looked at the chaos that was there. Large chunks of rock were spread all over the ground. He could see where heavy equipment was used to move the boulders to a rock crusher. Looking away in disgust, he said, “I don’t need to see anymore. Let’s go to the hotel and examine your preliminary survey.”

Kim nodded and led her boyfriend off to her car. Ed returned to his car and drove back to the hotel. As he drove, he thought about what he had just witnessed. It appeared that his relationship with Kim was going to experience some major changes. It would have been nice to have a little warning, but it explained her insistence on staying in a hotel room.

At the hotel, Ed went into the lobby and sat down to wait for Kim and her boyfriend to arrive. His feelings weren’t exactly hurt, but he had wished that she had given him a little warning. It was actually past time for Kim to get a real boyfriend and he was happy that she had found someone. A hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Kim and Matt standing in front of him. Collecting himself, he said, “Let’s go over this in the dining room.”

The waitress led them to a very large table in the corner of the restaurant. Ed ordered iced teas for everyone. While the waitress was getting the iced tea, Kim spread out the survey map on which she had marked various aspects of the mine. Looking over the map, Ed saw that the mine was at the highest yield spot. Looking up at Kim, he said, “They’re working at the best spot already.”

Nodding, Kim said, “I know. They claim that their yields are low.”

Looking over the data, Ed shook his head at the numbers. The ore was relatively low-grade, but they should have been able to make a profit off it. Ed said, “The problem requires a mining specialist rather than a geologist or mineralogist.”

Surprised at his statement, Kim asked, “Are you serious?”

Laughing, Ed said, “You saw that mess they consider to be a mine. Half of the rocks they are throwing into the grinders aren’t ore.”

Amazed, Kim said, “You saw all of that from that one look around?”

“Of course. You’ve seen well-run operations. Believe me, that one isn’t one,” answered Ed.

“So what are you suggesting?” asked Kim.

Ed answered, “We bill them for the time put in so far, recommend that they hire a mining specialist, and get out.”

Matt looked at Ed and asked, “Are you crazy? You can get a lot more money out of them.”

Staring Matt in the eye, Ed answered, “I have integrity.”

Matt replied, “You’ll never get rich that way.”

Kim sat back biting her lower lip. Her boyfriend had embarrassed her and she worried about how Ed might react. Reaching into his pocket, Ed pulled out his IRS identification and laid it on the table. He said, “Before you say anything else, I suggest you look at that.”

Matt picked up the holder and flipped it open. His face paled as he looked at the IRS identification. Looking up at Ed, he said, “Are you trying to scare me?”

Shaking his head, Ed said, “No, just warning you that you should be careful what you say and do in my presence.”

Slipping the identification into his pocket, Ed continued the discussion by concentrating on the problem at hand. “We can’t help them with the real problem. Would you like to perform the final presentation or would you like me to do it?”

Kim thought about it for a moment and then said, “You had probably do it. They’ll believe you.”

Nodding, Ed said, “Okay. Call them and let them know that I’ll be there in the morning around nine.”

Kim stepped away from the table to make the call. While she was gone, Ed continued to look over the survey, double-checking to make sure that he hadn’t missed anything. Matt watched him work with a frown on his face. Satisfied that he hadn’t missed anything, Ed folded the map and set it aside. Sitting back he looked at Matt. After a few minutes, Ed asked, “What are your plans now that Kim has the next few days off?”

Matt snapped, “That’s not really any of your business.”

“I’m just trying to make conversation,” replied Ed.

They sat quietly until Kim returned to the table. The conversation was forced and only touched upon superficial topics. Matt was surly the entire time, Kim was tense, and Ed was disgusted by it all. When Matt went to the bathroom, Kim apologized, “I’m sorry, Ed. He isn’t normally like this. I don’t know what is the matter.”

Ed shrugged it off and replied, “I think he’s a little jealous.”

Matt overheard his comment on returning to the table and said, “I’m not jealous of you. You’re nothing. I’m a millionaire and I earned it myself.”

Kim tried to let Matt know that he should be quiet by waving at him. Even as he continued to speak, she interjected, “Matt, Ed is rather wealthy.”

Making a dismissive gesture with his hand, Matt said, “Bah! He’s a hick. Look at him. He’s dressed in old blue jeans, worn work shirt, cowboy boots, and an old hat.”

Shaking his head, Ed burst out laughing at the characterization of him. The guy really believed what he said. Hitting his thigh with an open palm, Ed said, “That’s a good one.”

Matt sneered, “Look at yourself in the mirror.”

Ed leaned forward and looked Matt directly in the eye. When Matt immediately looked away, Ed said, “I came out here expecting to be digging in the dirt. I’m not going to wear a suit and tie to do that. However, that’s not really an excuse for the reason why I wear what I wear. I like blue jeans, work shirts, boots, and my cowboy hat. I dress for me.”

“Well, you look and act like a hick. Sitting here drinking iced tea; give me a break. Show some class and drink wine.”

Kim interrupted and said, “Matt, you don’t really know who he is.”

Taking a sip of his iced tea, Ed wondered what to do about the evening. The situation was truly uncomfortable and he didn’t want to spend the rest of evening around Matt. Still, this was a work meal. He asked, “Are you guys up for dinner?”

Trying to salvage the situation, Kim smiled and said, “Yes, that would be lovely.”

Matt grunted and absently opened the menu. After a quick glance down the menu, he said, “There’s nothing good to eat here.”

Looking over the menu, Ed couldn’t decide between the steak and the chicken. The major problem was that both of them were served with broccoli. Maybe he could get the chef to make a substitution. Looking over at Matt, Ed asked, “Who’s the chef at your place?”

Matt said, “Not that you’d know who he is, but his name is Jim Ritter.”

Laughing at the memory of the medieval party that they had several years ago, Ed said, “I know Jim. He is into that whole medieval theme stuff.”

Shaking his head, Matt said, “I don’t think so.”

Ed nodded and said, “Yes. We had a party a couple of years ago and he was one of the guests.”

“He’s the best chef in the state,” replied Matt. He added, “That isn’t the kind of thing that the best chef in the state does.”

“Oh,” said Ed nodding his head. He decided this guy was just a pretentious asshole and let the subject drop.

Kim said, “Actually, Ed’s Chef, Marguerite, is the fourth best private cook in the world.”

Matt looked at Kim as though she had just said that she loved to kiss frogs. Dismissing her statement, he said, “Oh, come on.”

Ed corrected him. “It’s true. She came in fourth in the International Private Chefs culinary competition that was held in New York this year.”

Matt said, “Now you’re lying to me.”

“Believe as you wish. I’m sure if you talk to Jim, he’ll tell you that Marguerite is a great chef,” replied Ed.

Deciding to prove his point, Matt pulled out a cell phone and dialed his restaurant in Phoenix. After a minute, he was talking to Jim. As the conversation progressed, Matt paled and looked over at Ed. Ed reached out a hand and Matt put the phone in it. Holding the phone to his ear, he said, “Hello, Jim. This is Ed.”

Jim gushed, “Hi, Ed. You know, we still talk about that night at your house. You guys really know how to throw a party.”

Laughing, Ed replied, “Thanks. We might do that again sometime.”

“Hey, tell Marguerite that I send her my congratulations on her amazing performance in New York.”

Still laughing, Ed said, “I’ll tell her. She and Bob may be getting married soon. We’re going to send her on an around the world trip to the twenty best restaurants in the world.”

“Wow, that’s a nice present.”

Ed said, “She’s going to be gone for about three months.”

There was a silence at the other end of the phone and then Jim said, “I could lend you my assistant chef for that time if Marguerite will spend a little time training him.”

Ed said, “That would be nice, Jim. I’ll mention it to the rest of the family.”

Jim said, “I’ve got orders backing up. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

As Ed handed the phone back to Matt, he said, “Jim offered to lend us his assistant chef while Marguerite is on her honeymoon.”

Smiling at Ed, Kim said, “I’m sure he’ll enjoy that.”

“I hope he knows how to dance. Marguerite always dances in the kitchen when she’s cooking.”

Confused with the sudden turn of events, Matt tried to follow the conversation. Jim had said that Ed’s chef was the best in the country. He looked over at Ed and wondered how this cowboy ended up with such a good chef. It was beyond him to understand that they had allowed her to become a great chef by following her passion for cooking. Matt asked, “How can you afford a chef like that?”

Ed said, “Oh, she’s part of our household staff. The reason I was so late today was that we hired two new staff members this morning.”

The waitress came to the table and asked, “So what can I get for you this evening?”

Kim said, “I’ll have the Caesar Salad.”

Matt glanced down at the menu and said, “I’ll try your prime rib.”

Ed asked, “Have you got any vegetables other than broccoli?”

The waitress looked around for a second and then said, “I think we have some mixed vegetables.”

Smiling at the chance to avoid the dreaded restaurant broccoli, Ed said, “I’ll go with the steak cooked medium well, mixed vegetables, and baked potato with extra butter and no sour cream.”

As Ed was ordering, Matt was still thinking about the fact that Ed was actually wealthy. He knew there had to be some way to tap into that wealth. He asked, “So how much are you worth?”

The question made Ed wonder if he should know. It was hard to say how much the stock in the family was worth. He brought in about two hundred thousand a year consulting and another hundred thousand for his associate scientist position. Add the rent for his house and the other properties he had purchased with his earnings, it corresponded to about half a million a year. Ed answered, “I would guess that I bring in about half a million a year. Of course, that doesn’t include the family accounts that I have. I have no idea exactly how much I have.”