Chapter 10

“Good morning, Mr. Wainwright, it’s Jeff Matthews.”

After the pleasantries were over, Jeff said, “Sir, I need to ask you something.”

“Well, first thing, Jeff. Again, would you please call me Frank? Everybody else does. I’m not that old,” he finished with a chuckle.

“Well, uh, thanks. Frank, my daughter’s sixteenth birthday is coming up in two weeks, and she has asked for something special.”

“What is it? A Ferrari?”

“No, thank goodness. Arlene wants to bring three of her friends out here for her birthday.”

“Is that all? A sixteen-year-old just asked for her friends? I assume they are in your old city?”

“Yeah, that’s right. And I was wondering...”

“Well, why don’t you call the pilot and send him to get them?” Frank asked with a grin in his voice.

“You mean, it’s okay?”

“Jeff, I told you to use the damn plane. I’m sure as hell paying that flight crew enough, whether they are sitting on their butts, or flying. If you were shuttling a football team back and forth, I would have to rein you in a little, but this is trivial. In case you haven’t noticed, we want to keep you happy. Call the pilot; he’ll set up the flight. Now, when is Arlene’s birthday?”

Jeff was impressed that Frank had remembered his daughter’s name. “It’s next Tuesday, the twentieth.”

“Okay. Tell her I said happy birthday, and I will get something to her.”

“Mr. Wainwright, you don’t have to do that.”

Frank just laughed and cut the connection.

Jeff looked at the phone before returning it to its charging cradle. Shit, I think I’m going to enjoy being rich.

“Arlene,” he yelled, “come here, please.”

Arlene was there in about one second flat. She had been eavesdropping just outside the open door and almost bowled Jeff over as he stood up.

Diana heard all the ruckus and looked in. “I assume that Mr. Wainwright said yes,” she said, laughing with them.

“More than that,” Jeff answered. “He acted as if he couldn’t imagine why I had bothered to call him instead of the pilot.”

“Now, can I call my friends and tell them?”

“No, Honey, we have to set it up with the flight crew. The jet might be reserved that day. And if it’s free, the crew will have to fly down, so we have to figure that in. I suppose you do want your friends to arrive here on your birthday, right?”

When Arlene acknowledged, he continued. “It will take them several hours to fly over, so I guess noon to pick up your friends...”

“Jeff,” Diana interrupted. “That’s not your problem. You tend to be a little on the anal retentive side on occasion. Just call the pilot and tell him when to pick up the girls. Let him figure out the rest of it. He does this for a living, remember?”

Jeff grinned. “Sorry,” he said. Turning to Arlene, he continued, “Get your friends on the phone and tell them. Have them talk with their parents, and set up a time for Diana and me to talk with them. Their parents, if they let them come, are going to want some assurances from us. But you start the ball rolling.”

“Oh, Daddy,” Arlene said, tears in her eyes. “I’m sooo happy. I love you so much.”

Jeff laughed. “Don’t get mushy, yet. Their parents may not think this is such a good idea. Count on at least one of them being a hard sell.”

If Arlene heard him, she didn’t acknowledge because she was already dialing the phone. Diana motioned for Jeff to come with her. When they were in the kitchen, she asked, “Now, what are we going to get our daughter for her to open?”

“But we’re bringing her friends out here for her birthday. I thought that was the present.”

“Jeff.”

I will never understand women.

“How about a credit card for a start? Now, what else can we get her?” Diana mused aloud.

Mention of the credit card got Jeff’s full attention.

There were two hard sales, not just one. In the end, the free company jet was the major selling point. None of the parents had any problem with their daughter flying but were concerned about, what Jeff considered to be obvious things. Would Jeff and Diana be at the airport to pick the kids up? (Yes.) Would they be supervised throughout the visit? (Certainly.) What should the girls bring? (A couple of weeks of clothes, etc.) And, oh yes, was he sure the plane trip was not costing him anything? It went on and on.

Finally, everything was arranged and all the parents seemed happy. Jeff told them Arlene would call back with the time to be at the airport. When the last conversation was over, Jeff sighed and went to get himself a coke. When he returned to call the pilot, Arlene had a four-way conversation going with her friends. How did kids learn to do that? He always had trouble setting up a multi-person call. After managing to get the house phone back, (cell phone reception was spotty in the mountains) he called the pilot to make the flight arrangements.

“No, problem,” Captain Madison said. “But wouldn’t Arlene like to pick her friends up? Why don’t we swing by Boulder, pick her up and go on to pick up the girls? Of course, she would have to be at the airport in the wee hours of the morning, but I’ll bet she would have a ball being there when the girls get on the plane. She could even surprise them if she wanted.”

“But, would that be appropriate? I mean, picking Arlene up first, would almost double your flight time? I don’t want to abuse my flight privileges.”

“Mr. Matthews. I hope I don’t get you aggravated at me for saying this, but here it is. Until you came on the scene, it was a rare event when we flew anyone that was not one of the top five in the company. Very rare, indeed. With you, though, Mr. Wainwright has made it clear to me that I was to treat you as if you were one of the top executives. After you called him this morning, he called me. He asked, shall we say, some very pressing questions about what I might have said to you about the use of the jet that would make you hesitant to use it.”

Jeff started to respond but didn’t get the chance. “I know Mr. Matthews, but Mr. Wainwright has dealings with people that always seem to want more; some of them are – well ... obnoxious to put it mildly. I felt that he thought I might have discouraged your use of the jet since you were tentative, or perhaps, courteous enough is a better expression, to give him a call and ask permission. I don’t know anything about your business with the company, but trust me, if you want to go to Hawaii to watch a ball game, and the plane isn’t reserved for any of the others; you’re on your way. You want to go get a hamburger in Seattle; call me. But please don’t ask Mr. Wainwright if it would be okay. Okay?”

Jeff chuckled. “I get your point. Sorry if I got you into a crack. What time should Arlene be at the airport,” he asked over the squealing of a teenager having a fit.

The next week went in a hurry, and Jeff made a big production about his back, but it was only for show, and everybody knew it. But they spent the better part of two days in the flower gardens. When Jeff told the story, he seemed to come up with twice as many holes as he actually dug, but still, there were a lot of holes.