Chapter 13

The next couple of months were hectic to say the least. We picked up two large contracts at Luke Air Force base and several smaller contracts in Phoenix. Brenda was working full time in the office and Peggy described her as our office manager. By the end of two months I don't know how we ever got along without her.

The extra contracts were stretching us a bit thin and I spent a good deal of my time arraigning a line of credit in case the money was slow coming in. Anyone that has ever had to apply for a line of credit knows how much time and paper is involved. As it turned out, we never had to touch the line of credit. As I said before, you either paid on time or you got a call from Peggy.

About that same time a paving contractor that owed me a lot of money for an office and shop building combination that I had built him. After repeated calls to get him to pay me, we set up a meeting in my office. I found out that the contractor had had a falling out with his partner a couple of years earlier and had bought the partner out. That had left him short of cash and he began to get deeper into debt. The business was being run well enough but the buyout had seriously hampered his ability to finance his new work until the progress payments started coming in. As a consequence he had to take out loans to get work and the interest was eating him alive. It was only a matter of time before they would padlock his office and auction everything off at pennies on the dollar.

When the contractor told me that if he could walk away from the business debt-free he'd ran away and never look back, the wheels started turning and I asked him if he was serious. He assured me that he was. I asked if he would let me see his books. I told him that I might have a way for him to get his wish.

I told Peggy what I was thinking and for the next few days we were in the office of the paving company. It was as the contractor had said. His problem was that he lacked working capital. He had the contracts. He had the specialized equipment to do the jobs and he had the employees. The debts were substantial but they were manageable if you didn't have to pay exorbitant interest rates.

"What do you have in mind?" Peggy asked when we were alone, "I don't think that we should take all of our money and buy this company."

"What I'm thinking is that we assume the debt of the company and take over the company's assets. The owner wants to get out debt free. If this goes to auction I doubt that he'll get enough to pay all of his debts. I don't know anything about running a paving company but he does. I'm thinking that if we assume the debts and assets and keep him on at a very good salary to manage the company we could make a go of it. On a straight sale the company is worth more than the debt. On a fire sale it will be broken up and sold piecemeal. We'll put someone that we can trust in here to keep an eye on things and the company can continue to do business with their old customers. The advantage to them is that we have cash and our reputation."

Peggy thought for a minute, "I can probably afford to spend one day a week here but we'll need someone here to watch out for our interests."

"Do you think that Brenda can keep an eye on things and report back to us?"

Peggy smiled, "Sure. She has the office experience and they already have a book keeper there. We just have to make sure that the business is run right. I think that you and I both know enough about construction to make this profitable."

That's how I came to own a paving company. We installed Brenda in the office as the COO. She cried when I handed her the business cards with her title on them. Although she had never had an important position as this, she really took to the business. If I told you she didn't make mistakes I would be lying. She kept in such close touch with us so that any mistakes were fairly easy to correct. She cried again when we insisted that she get a SUV for her company car.

After we acquired the paving company it was at least two months before we could all get home at a decent time in the evening. Usually I would be the last one in and I would usually find the two of them with their heads together giggling. They would stop and look at me sheepishly when I walked in. I knew something was going on but I wasn't sure what it was.

One night Brenda said that she was going to go to the movies. This was odd for Brenda. She had never gone anywhere except work unless it was with us. Peggy and I would be alone for a while though so I figured that it would be a treat for the two of us.

Peggy flitted about fixing us something to eat and it was clear that she had something on her mind. If she was any happier I would have had her committed. After we ate she told me that she wanted to go in the hot tub for a while.

We shed our clothes next to the hot tub and climbed in. Peggy had brought a shaker of Martinis out with her and I relaxed and leaned back and let the hot water wash away the tensions of the day.

"Damon, I need to talk with you," hearing that I tensed, "You know that I can never give you any children. I think that having a child would be great for us and I really want a child. I don't think that I would be comfortable adopting a child though."

I moved closer to her, "Peggy, don't go tearing yourself up."

She put her fingers over my lips, "Let me finish. Brenda and I have been talking. She's agreed to have our child for us if you will agree with that."