Chapter 46

"I have a bit of a problem," Royce said to me.

"Oh what kind of problem?" I asked.

"I know how your memory is, so let me do a quick recap of our relationship," he said. He had obviously been practicing his speech. I read my files, while he talked. Between the two of them, I felt like I had a pretty good idea what there had and had not been between us.

"So what is it you need?" I asked without any emotions showing in my voice.

"I need my old job back. To be honest I need it at least on paper. It seems the old cop buddy of mine was working contract for the bank. When they found out he was hiring an ex-con they told him to get rid of me, or they would drop him. I guess he needed the business. Anyway I'm on the street, and without a job, I'm headed back inside."

"You know I'm still a lawyer, I can't make false representation to the court system. If I do that I can be disbarred. I doubt that I would ever get my license back." I said it again, I hoped, without any emotion.

"You can hire me to help with whatever you are planning now. You need a driver, if nothing else. That trike won't take you to Tryon, should you need to go," he suggested.

I had an idea at that point. As Royce said before, being brain damaged didn't make me stupid. "Royce if you can keep your mouth shut, and not ask too many questions, maybe we can help each other out."

"I assure you that if you help me out here, I can do that," he said.

"The idea just struck me, so we are going to need some time and effort to make it a reality. You are going to have to really work this time, not just entertain me." I said it to let him know, that I knew what we had done before.

"Whatever it takes," he said.

"One more thing, some of the things I will ask you to do might seem a little risky. We will have to be very careful, or you might wind up back inside anyway," I admitted.

"If that is the case, maybe I need to know more about it?" he said.

"Not till we get to the point that it becomes risky, at first it is just going to be a new business venture for me. Are you still living with your sister?" I asked.

"Yes I am," he said simply.

"Okay try to keep your overhead down. There is no telling what kind of income you are going to have for a while. I can't afford a dead loss, so we need to generate income in order to keep you employed," I said.

"How do you plan to do that?" he asked.

"You said it yourself, I can't ride my trike to Tryon. There have to other people who need things they can't handle themselves. We just need to make enough money to pay the expenses including your salary."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We are going into the pick up and delivery business. It shouldn't cost too much to get started. I already have a mini delivery vehicle which is doing me no good since I can't drive it. If you come into this, it has to be for the long haul. I am not going to make you a partner, since you walked out on me, but I will pay you a bonus. After we start making a profit, I will give you a percentage of it," I explained.

"Sure, I can go for that, how about a small salary. Just like you did for Sam, and a larger percentage of the profits?" he suggested.

"Since there are no profits, I will agree to that. $200 a week against 35% of the net profit to be paid monthly.

"I can live with that, if the figures are not carved in stone," he suggested.

"Fair enough, You know you are going to have to do all the real work. I'm more or less just the money person. I can give you a few startup ideas, then you are pretty much on your on with the day to day operation."

"I can do that," Royce said with a big smile.

"Then let's go buy a simple cell phone for the business first thing," I finished the soda before I followed him to his sister's car. "Why don't you get her to drop you at the office. I can give you the keys to the Cruiser now," I suggested. "Since you will be working from a cell phone where ever you happen to be, you can take the cruiser home with you."

"Sure she is home today. I can get her to drive me there now. I should be back here within the hour," he informed me.

"Good when you get back, we can buy the cell phone. I can make some calls. while you are gone." What I didn't tell him was that by picking up the Cruiser from the parking lot of the office, I would find out how noticeable the fermenting smell was. If he mentioned it, I would need to make other arrangements. If not, then I would just keep on with my plan as it was.

When he returned an hour later, I was well prepared for the rest of the day's activities, and even the next days. I had made a note on the schedule to meet with a car wrap company to design the cruiser signs. The meeting was set for the next day at 10AM.

"Royce this is what I want you to do. We are going to go buy a simple basic cellphone for the company. Then tomorrow we are going to design the signs for the cruiser. They will be the beginning of our advertising. We might get work from them immediately, so we need to set up the system now." I paused to give him a chance to respond.

"Knowing you, it is going to be a bullet proof system," he said.

"Pretty much," I agreed. "When the calls come in, you need to get them to commit. You are a smart guy, if I give you the estimator tools you can do the pricing. If you sell it, collect a check or credit card information, when you pick up the package. Take cash if you must, but we would prefer checks and credit cards. We are not going to front any money for pickups. If the item has been paid, then we will pick it up, and deliver it," I suggested.