Chapter 115

The server room had been an adventure unto itself.

Walt's father, Wayne, had come up to build the area where Mary's servers were housed. The group had planned to make a small room, about 8-foot-by-8-foot, at the back of the what-had-been-dubbed the "Study Hall," near the new bathrooms. That idea had not made it past the initial consultation with Wayne Carter.

"If you make it the size of a prison cell, it can never be anything but a closet," Wayne explained. "It can't be clear against the bathrooms because you'll never be able to get electricity to it and it would create a problem if you have plumbing issues. If this were my house, I would make it about a third of this total area. That way it can be called a bedroom or a library when you try to sell this place. It's going to need its own box because Mary has already told me she needs at least half a dozen high-grade outlets in there with internal circuit breakers to guard against power surges and it needs a circulated cooling system. You're looking at $5,000 either way and that's with you guys helping me with labor. If you make it big enough for a bedroom, it will add value to the property. If you make it the size of a broom closet, it won't."

So the study area had been trimmed by a third and Sean, Walt and Adam had spent two weekends framing in a room. Walt and Wayne had taken care of all the delicate work. After the paint dried, Allie spent every free minute of the following 10 days in the room. When she finished, there was a mural on the wall of a frozen tundra with a single red rose growing from the ice floe. Across the top read, 'Petal Technologies' – a play on Mary's last name, in smaller letters at the bottom, it read, 'A Division of Subarctic Enterprises, LLC'.

"I think the server room can stay here," Rachelle said. "Mary needs to have it close by in case something happens late at night. Plus, we've already gone to the effort of building the room and decorating it so nicely."

"Not to mention running a second electric line from the pole," Walt lamented. It took almost as long to get the power company to come out to run a line as it did for the rest of the work combined. It cost almost as much, too, considering it was accomplished in less than 3 hours. The only thing that took longer and cost more was getting the cable company out to run a dedicated line for an ultra-high-speed internet connections. But each was necessary to run a web outfit that was going to see the amount of traffic "Sweet Things" saw. Mary's explanation even made sense to Adam and the cost was relatively minor given the amount of money the site was producing.

Petal Technologies had cleared more than $2,000 in the first month the sites were open – and that was without the two biggest draws. The company would likely recoup its initial investment and start accruing a profit in less than eight months. Of course that didn't count the large sum of money PlayCo had added to the Subarctic coffers.

"Do we need to convene a meeting for this?" Sean asked. He was in the final month of his term as Subarctic's first director and he had, with only a couple of exceptions, enjoyed his time at the helm.

One glance around the room told him the answer. For as little as the county was asking for the lot, it would be stupid not to buy it.

"Then do what you must to acquire that lot, Celina," Sean said. "Walt, can you contact your Dad to see if he can put together some plans for us?"

"Do they need to be unique?" Walt wondered.

"Not as far as I'm concerned," Sean replied. "Anyone else think so?"

The group shook their heads collectively.

"Then we're covered already," Walt said. "Dad drew up a plan for a three-story building that was sectioned off into a dress shop on the bottom and two apartments above it. I think we can alter those and avoid hiring an architect. We should be able to put together I would guess 10-12 offices depending upon how we want to set them up. I can draw something and see what he thinks. The plans will have to come from him. I'm not licensed to do anything like that."

"Celina, when do you think we can have this together?" Shelly asked.

"I would guess you'll have the lot by July 1," she answered. "Maybe sooner, the commission meets every day. It's just a matter of them finding time to do it. I put the money in an escrow account already. I don't really foresee any difficulty although the price might be higher if one of the commissioners balks. How high can I go?"

Sean looked around the room for suggestions.

"It's zoned commercial," Walt said, sitting back and looking at the ceiling. "That makes it far more valuable than R1 or R2. I would say as high as $50,000."

"Really?" Adam asked. "That's a big jump from seventy-five hundred. I think for now, we tell them our best price is $15,000. That's double their investment. Plus they no longer have to worry about upkeep. There is a crew that comes every week to mow the grass. Speaking of which, I think we should contact the city or the county about Van Dover's lot. The grass is ridiculous. It's an eyesore and it is reducing our property value. Let's make that oily bastard pay to keep the property. That might lower the cost significantly."

"Do we still want it?" Rachelle asked.

Adam shrugged.

"It's zoned R3," he said. "That means he could put a shack on there and rent it to hobos if he wanted to fuck with us. So yeah, I think so long as he's reasonable, we want it. We could bookend the block with a decent rental property on one end and an office complex on the other."

"Dad probably won't have time to do all that at once," Walt pointed out.

"It doesn't have to be done at once," Adam said. "Mostly, I just don't want Van Dover putting up some piece of crap and renting it out to the next dozen felons out of Lompoc. We also don't want a Christian fundamentalist or a family with children moving in there. Once the office complex starts to take shape, that lot does become more valuable."

"He's right," Sean said. "If we have the offices in place by this time next year, that lot's price will skyrocket, particularly if we own everything else on the block. I think if we make it a nuisance for Van Dover, he'll see the light. I've noticed no one has cut the grass or done anything with the back slope. That has to be considered a safety issue for the county. I think I'll call in the morning and ask the county to enforce that particular ordinance – after I call Van Dover to let him know about it. I'll give him a chance to tell me to go to hell."

"Tell him for a grand a month, I'll cut it when I do ours," Walt said with raised eyebrows. For a reason Adam couldn't fathom, Walt loved mowing the grass and he made it a point to do it once a week – even though it didn't need it. Adam was used to using a tractor for mowing so he couldn't understand why Walt set aside 90 minutes each week for pushing a blade mower back and forth. The mower wasn't even gasoline powered. To each his own, Adam decided.

"I'll bet he jumps right on that," Allie joked. "Celina, is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"As a group, no," she said. "But I need to borrow Adam for a bit."

"Make sure you change the sheets when you're done," Shelly remarked with a smirk that she had mastered over the previous three months.

Erin was stunned when the entire group from L.A. arrived in time for her graduation ceremony. The event was being conducted at the school's football stadium, so there was no problem with having so many people as guests. Mike even joined the group in caravanning 90 minutes northeast for the festivities.

Adam watched as the new graduates walked across the stage to accept their diplomas and reflected back on his last day in high school. His ceremony was in the gymnasium, but there were only 50 kids in his class so it didn't matter. Almost everyone in the county knew someone who was graduating. Adam was second in his class – courtesy of a B in keyboarding as a sophomore – but he was the only National Merit Scholar in the school's history. He remembered vividly the look of pride on his mother's face when his honor was announced. Never given to outward emotion, his Mom practically beamed when he strode across the stage to accept the plaque and his diploma.

Despite convention, which said the graduates immediately return to their seats, Adam had paused briefly and gave his Mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"This is your accomplishment, too," he said softly. His father had stood, given Adam a hearty hand shake and a clasp on the shoulder. That was his father's way of showing his pride. The memory brought a smile to Adam's face, something Shelly noticed immediately.

She caught his eye and gave him a smile and a wink. She figured he was remembering something about his time in high school and it was good to see that he was able to think back and recall something besides loss.

Nora was pleased that Erin had overcome so much to walk across the stage. There were times when she doubted her daughter would live long enough to see her graduation day, let along be one of the graduates. But she made it.

At least three of Erin's friends from L.A. had been back and forth to Broadmoor every weekend that Erin couldn't go there. Nora had seen her son more frequently since Erin returned from Spring Break than she had in the previous year. That was an added bonus to realizing her daughter was going to be OK. There was a mother's concern about what Erin might get into in Los Angeles, but it was fleeting. Even if Erin did start in the adult industry, it would still be better than the future she faced only 3 years earlier.

Besides, all the porn stars she had met had been really nice people. The large group of 18 people waiting for Erin to come through the gates at the conclusion of the ceremony drew a lot of stares. The graduates paraded out in alphabetical order, so Erin was near the end. A group of guys started to congregate near Nora's grouping, mostly because of all the hot, unknown females there. A bolder one walked up to Sarah, who was standing with Trinity and Karlie.

"Hey, you know, I can get you sexy beasts into a kicking party later," the guy said. Sarah was sure he passed for a stud at the high school. He seemed sure of himself and more than a little arrogant. She shot him a look that had turned men to mice before she laughed.

"What on God's green Earth would make you think for even a moment that people who look like us would even consider spending time with a bunch of limp-dick losers like you and your butt buddies?" she asked in a voice that cut through all the ancillary noise and could be heard by anyone within 50 feet. "Get real."

A host of other groups burst into laughter at the rebuke. Sarah had heard stories of how Erin had been treated and there wasn't a soul in this town aside from Nora Silverman that she wouldn't cut down to size.

Adam turned and saw the kid's face turn red. He wasn't sure if it was embarrassment – which he suspected – or anger. He decided there was no reason to take a chance. He moved over as quickly as he could. Adam stood about 5 inches taller than the guy and was probably 40 or 50 pounds heavier. He was wearing a shirt and tie but he was still an imposing figure. Walt was right beside him in covering the 20 feet.

"Is there a problem?" Adam asked.

Sarah turned to Adam and smiled her best smile.

"This thing thought the ladies from this group might like to go to a party with him," Sarah said in a voice that dripped with incredulousness.

"Oh, well, I guess I can understand your statement then," he said turning to the boy. "So, why on God's green Earth would you think something like that? I mean, seriously, dude, you better spend some time in A Ball before you try stepping up to the plate in the Majors."

The kid's look changed from anger to confusion.

"He is saying that you might be a big deal with the uni-brow fucktards in this little shithole, but if you ever leave here, you'll find out that any woman with a brain will see you for the arrogant prick you really are," Trinity explained, as though she was talking to a slow-witted child. Hell, she might have been for all Adam knew.

It was then that Erin showed up, a tall, pimply faced boy in tow. The first boy's face dropped when the group of hot girls treated Erin Silverman like she had just cured cancer. The dork that was with Erin even got a few kisses on the cheek during introductions. Meanwhile, Tripp Carruthers, captain of the football team, was completely ignored. The group of friends he returned to was dumbfounded. Tripp never struck out and he certainly had never had anyone put him down like that before.

Erin introduced the kid with her as "her only true friend in Broadmoor." His name was Dave Dilts and, well, he looked like a Dave Dilts. He was probably 6-1 or 6-2 but weighed about 120 pounds. His clothing was ill-fitting and he wore thick glasses. He also mumbled a lot but Adam could forgive him for that. The girls all looked like two million bucks that night.

"He wanted to be introduced to Mary," Erin said. "He couldn't believe that I'm friends with her."

Adam worried that the poor boy was going to get down and kiss Mary's feet. Thanks to a few well-placed leaks, the creator of Polar Power was a legend with tech geeks everywhere. Dave Dilts certainly fit into that category. Adam was pleased to see that Dave relaxed some when he started speaking nerd with Mary.

"I can't believe I'm meeting Mary Rose," Dave said, shaking his head and smiling. Adam noticed he also had braces to go with his birth-control glasses. This kid had better hope to make a lot of money if he ever wanted to get laid.

"Nice to meet you, Dave," Mary said politely. "I didn't realize my fame had spread. I've been tied up on a lot of projects and I haven't had time to check my press clippings."

She laughed to show she was joking, although Dave didn't seem to get it.

"You're famous!" he said. "My God, you have the computer world split down the middle. Half of the group is royally pissed at you for making it harder for them to get stuff. The other half is amazed that you put together something that has eluded even the best programmer for a decade. I would love to see your source code sometime."

Shelly nudged Walt.

"That's your girl he's hitting on," she whispered. "'I would love to see your source code sometime'? If that isn't a geek come-on, I don't know what is. You watch. Adam will be using that line next."

Walt laughed and shook his head.

"The source code went to PlayCo with the patent application," Mary explained. "But the general idea is pretty simple. I think that is why some of the other's missed it. It was a simple solution that didn't require 10,000 lines of code and an A.I. to run."

Dave laughed – although no one else did. The only A.I. Adam knew was a retired NBA point guard.

Dave kept on for almost 10 more minutes, peppering Mary with questions – and completely ignoring the multitude of hot girls around him – before his mother came to drag him off. He made sure to secure Mary's e-mail address before he left though.

"Cyber-stalker," Shelly whispered to Walt. "You watch. This is the start of something really kinky. It all starts with showing your source code. After that, who knows?"

"Will you behave?" Mary said. "Your whispers aren't as soft as you think."

Shelly stuck her tongue out at Mary.

There was no graduation party for Erin Silverman. She hadn't been invited to any and she wouldn't have gone if she had been. For the past two years, Erin existed almost in a bubble.

No one was surprised that she planned to come to L.A. immediately. Nor was anyone surprised that she was already packed and had her belongings in a trailer ready to go.

The only real surprise was that Nora planned to scout Los Angeles over the next few weeks for work and she hoped to move closer to her children by the end of summer.