Chapter 36

The rest of the weekend at the beach was fun. From time-to-time, we all broke away for some quiet loving. In between, we had a pool tournament and played cards. Karen and I did a jigsaw puzzle and on Sunday morning, we played tennis. Jill and Doug left after lunch and took the time to share contact information with the girls. Jill mentioned that if they lived close to the strip club in Tampa and that they may need to plan another outing.

Doug said, "If you go to strip clubs for bachelor parties, then you're having fun and sowing your wild oats. If you go every week then you're just a pervert with too much money and not enough brains."

Jill asked, "What do you mean?"

Doug asked, "Britt, when we went to the club, how much did that night cost you?"

"Well if you include the limo, the cover charges, the drinks, and the liquor store, around eight hundred dollars. If you include the dances, the total came to around three grand."

Doug looked at Jill and said, "We're trying to pay off our debt not increase it. What we can do is invite Paul and Marion over and you two can take turns dancing for each other and us. In addition, I'll buy steaks and champagne and end-up saving twenty-nine hundred dollars."

We all laughed and then Doug looked at Karen and said, "Just so you know, you two would be welcome as well."

Jill said, "There's my big stud muffin. I need to keep an eye on you."

Doug and Jill left to drive back to Orlando. Almost immediately, I said to the 'newlyweds', "I need to fly out of Tampa. Let me drive you home, so you can get your car and drive back."

Karen said, "We'll take our clothes home. If they've finished our place, then we can spend time setting up our house. If not, then we'll move the bags to the car and come back here for a few days."

I gave her my grandfather's number and said, "If you ever want to use the place just give him a call. If someone else has it booked, you may know them, and as you can see, there might be an empty room or two. If that doesn't' work, feel free to just call Beth, because she knows everything."

We drove to their place, and after doing a walk-through, they thought it looked finished. I got hugs and kisses before driving to the airport and flying back to Washington. When I arrived at the house, I walked in to see Shawna in the living room, looking as if her dog had just died. When I asked her how she was doing, she said that she and Jim were having problems and that she was in a bad mood. At that point, I just sat down with her and held her hand.

"I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how it feels, since I spent the weekend with two married couples. While I was with them, I wanted to say, 'why me, ' but I made myself be happy for them instead. Believe me when I tell you that I wanted to feel happy for you because you were happy with Jim, but now I'm sorry that you aren't happy. If you don't mind, I'll just shut up now, because I've totally confused myself."

This made her at least smile, so she leaned over and kissed my cheek. She said, "Look at the bright side. If he and I officially break up and it looks like we might, then you and I will be free to fuck all we want again. I really miss that big old cock of yours, and I don't remember yelling Jim's name even once."

"Please understand that what I want most is your happiness, whether I get your sweet pussy or not."

"What a lovable man you are. Some of the congressmen were asking about you last week. I think that you're making some great new friends. That will come in handy if we need their ear in the future."

"Some are people who I'd want to become friends with. I try not to take too much of their money playing cards, but they seem to get mad only when they think that I'm letting them win. It isn't much, but it isn't chump change either."

"What about Sophie? She asked where you were this past week."

"I should have her over the house if you break up with Jim. That just might become a lot of fun."

"I don't want to even know what you're talking about."

"I'm sorry about you and Jim. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

"We have a light day tomorrow. Jim and I are going out to dinner and figure out what it is we want and what we're going to do. Once we figure all that out, I'll let you know."

I hugged her and then took my bags upstairs to my room, and unpacked. Jill had done my dirty laundry at the condo, and as a joke, had even ironed my boxers. After I finished putting it all away, I went to bed.

In the morning, after I did my workout, I realized that I was behind on my reading, so I sat down and read a couple of papers, but then decided to go over to the club.

The library at the club had all the papers that I read and a few more requested by some of the members. I had made sure that they didn't throw any of them away, so I could go back and read any that I missed. I had a large coffee and settled in to catch up on some reading.

As I was reading, Mark Anderson, a lobbyist for the banking industry, interrupted me. He said, "Good morning Britt." I put down the Wall Street Journal and said hello back to him.

He sat down and asked, "Do you have a minute to talk?"

I said, "I'm reading last Wednesday's Journal. If there was anything that was time critical, I think I already missed it."

"I know that you're with the trucking company, but for some reason, I keep hearing about you in the banking industry. Can you tell me what that's all about?"

I sat back in my club chair and thought for a minute. I said, "Mark, I'll tell you what you want to know, but before I do, can you tell me what you heard about me and from whom?"

He said, "When I was talking to Fred White over at Freedom Bank, he asked if I knew you. After that, I was talking to the guys at Wells Fargo and Shering Bank, and both asked if I knew you. I think they know about the club, but it all seems like a coincidence, and I don't believe in coincidences. I thought that you were a consultant and quasi-lobbyist."

"Mark, I'm willing to tell you the truth because I like you, but that's a tough thing to say in this town. So, I'll also ask you and trust you not to tell this to anyone else."

"I don't have anything to tell anyone or any reason to. I'll keep your secret."

"Mark, I have ownership or partial ownership in a few companies that work together in an overall corporate structure. We created Freedom Bank to help the employees of Freedom Trucking with direct deposit payroll, savings, checking, home loans, and other banking needs. Freedom Trucking has a payroll of over one hundred and fifty billion dollars a year. Once we set up and had the bank running, then we made it available to the public. The overhead is very low and it has become very profitable."

"What I've heard is that other banks are scrambling to catch up to the services that you're offering. Free checking, direct deposits, interest on checking accounts, and the free ATM services are services that all the customers seem to like."

"We also have many large customers in the trucking business that we talk to and can make a referral if they want their employees to get the same great services. I let Fred run the bank, but from time-to-time, I have meetings with him about the overall direction of the bank and the services that his customers may want."

"Tell me about those other two banks where you're doing business?"

"When we started the trucking company, we knew that to take away business from the other trucking companies, we'd need to figure out a better way of doing business. The biggest savings came from specially designed trucks for each route. To accomplish this, we had to buy a truck manufacturing company, and build a lot of trucks. We also needed to have a line of credit for payroll.

"For round numbers, lets suppose that we have about a million trucks with each one driving a mile a minute or a million miles a minute. We charge on average a dollar a mile. That means that we're billing one million dollars a minute, twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. That's ten billion a week or forty billion a month. If we send out a bill at the end of the week and give them thirty days to pay, then we're looking at six to seven weeks for us to receive payment from the time we pick up a load.

"We pay our employees every week with a direct deposit to their checking account that becomes immediately cleared funds, ready for them to spend. At just under three billion a week in payroll, times seven weeks, that's twenty billion that we have paid our employees before we start collecting the seventy plus billion in accounts receivable. This doesn't account for all of the other expenses. To support this, we have a line of credit with both Shering and Wells Fargo."

"Those are big numbers. I'm surprised that Wells Fargo and Shering are willing to fund you since you're stealing their customers."

"We're stealing everyone's customers. We're also paying those banks five percent interest on the borrowed funds. Five percent of seventy billion is just under three hundred million dollars a month. That helps with the pain of lost customers"

"I represent all the banks, but I know that Fred is a happy guy and the rest aren't too happy. Most have deep enough pockets to offer the services that Fred does but it would kill their profit margin. He's making a nice profit, but since the rest of them have way too much overhead and bureaucracy, it's impossible for them to give away the services as he does."

"I'm not here to make everyone money, just the companies I represent."

"What others do you represent?"

"I have a stake in the trucking company, the bank, the truck manufacturer; there's the insurance company and a travel agency. I also have part ownership in a company in the oil and gas business, a large stake in the railroad and a refinery. There's a restaurant chain that I have a part of and a block of a hundred rental house as well."

"I thought that when I first met you, that you were just a kid who knew someone in the trucking company and you were riding that relationship. I've spoken to a lot of people since then, and whenever your name comes up, they always follow it with positive comments. From talking to you now, I see that you have a strong grasp on everything that's going on in all the businesses you spoke about."

"To ensure that I continue with profitable businesses, I read a lot. Every day I read two or three newspapers. If I miss them, then I read back issues to catch up. I look for consistent trends, inconsistent articles, things that can hurt us or things that can help us. After that, I organize it all in my head and then I send comments to the board of directors. In addition, I also read the reports from all the companies to see how things look from the inside out. By doing this, I try to see problems and find solutions, and I try to find opportunities and use them to our advantage. I've other tools that I can use to predict activities as well."

"Like what?"

"Freedom Trucking is totally automated. If you're sending a truckload of frozen French fries from the plant in Boise to the McDonald's distribution center in Orlando, I can tell you the time it left and guesstimate where it is within two miles at any point in between. I can tell you exactly how much fuel we used and so on."

"OK."

"We have been up and running long enough now, so as we move forward, we can track trends. If they shipped ten trucks on that route six months ago and then nine the next month and the last three months have been seven, eight and seven you may wonder if it's seasonal or if everyone likes the new cheaper prices at Taco Bell. We ship cars, cans, coffins, and coffee. After a few years, we will have the trends for seasons in our records and then we can invest or divest in companies as we see trends shift. We're profitable now and as of a few months ago, have enough liquidity that we haven't needed our lines of credit. That means we save a billion in interest a year. We have investors that we'll need to pay off or buy out under the contracts. With the extra cash we'll have in the bank, Fred will be able to help well-run companies by extending to them the same lines of credit that we needed. If a company is trending the other way, we can work with them, but also protect the bank by tightening cash available, so they don't spend our money to avoid the inevitable."

"That's amazing. It's almost like taking a test with the answer key sitting next to you. I don't see where there's anything illegal unless there's a non-disclosure or privacy statement."

"There's a privacy statement that specifically allows us to share information with our sister companies. This has also allowed us to introduce companies that can help each other. Through mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships we have seen mediocre companies thrive, and become much more profitable and valuable than the sum of the parts. We have been given stock of up to ten percent of the company for brokering the deals."

"I never thought of half of the things you're doing."

"I wish you'd keep it to yourself, but there isn't much anyone can do. It's all legal, and we've disclosed it all. It's all for the good of our customers. We just benefit as well."

"I'm glad that Fred and Freedom bank are part of our Bankers Association. If not, then I'm sure that I'd find the need to lobby against him. I can't lobby against a bank or their actions without a vote of the board and there would sure have to exist a better reason than that they're smarter and doing better for their customers."

"That's what continues to save us. Whenever anyone attacks what we're doing, we can point to the customer and ask if they're better off now or before."

"It isn't even close. Is there a way to invest in your company? I know that the bank isn't publicly traded."

"There are a few venture capitalists, some lines of credit, and a few individual investors of which I'm the smallest one."

"How much did they let you in with? Maybe I can scrape something up."

"I only had a hundred million, but I also came to the table with the ideas. There was another investor with a hundred and fifty million, but he put together all the financing. Everyone else was a billion or more."

"Oh, that's too bad. I was thinking a hundred thousand. I do well at this job, but not that well."

"As a friend I'm sorry to hear that. As a partial bank owner, I'm glad to hear it."

We both laughed at that. We went on to discuss other things, but from time to time I'd catch him looking off into space as he digested the discussion we had and tried to follow new paths in his mind, trying to make sense of it all. After our discussion, we had lunch together and I had to smile as two senators asked if they could join us. I knew them from around the club and I said, "Only if you promise not to talk business, I'm trying to enjoy my meal." Everyone laughed at having the shoe on the other foot, so we had an enjoyable lunch talking about sports, and summer vacation plans.

After lunch, I went back and continued to catch up on my reading. I felt good about the direction we were heading and the pace at which we were achieving our goals. I had my new briefcase with me, and after I caught up on the news, I went down to the private area and pulled out some company reports. To read these, I needed fewer people around to look over my shoulder. I was reading through the manufacturing report and about the new plant that we were building outside of Chattanooga. The location was good because Tennessee did not have a state income tax, and we could take advantage of hiring employees from Alabama and Georgia as well.

I was looking at the costs and timetable. It looked like we were paying more than normal, but found the timetable had also pushed up. Doug's dad told me once that three things exist in the building equation that everyone wants. They were low-cost, high quality and a quick speed of completion. He said that you could pick any two that you wanted, but you can't pick all three. In this case, we picked fast completion and high quality because our business model and associated goal was not the lowest cost. We needed those two and the time savings would pay for the added cost in just a short time.

Around five, a few senators came into the private bar. I'm not sure if they wanted privacy or the better food and liquor brands available. I recognized a few of them including one I knew, a senator from Tennessee, Howard Baker. He sat down and asked how I was doing. He had a glass of fine 12-year-old scotch in his hand.

I said, "I'm doing well Senator. How is everything in my adopted home state?"

"Tennessee is doing well. I see that you've broken ground on the truck factory in Chattanooga and have set up your home office in Nashville. I wish you had something up in the Tri-Cities area or Oneida. That's where I'm from."

"We have to do what makes the best business sense for the company. I know the Tri-Cities close to Virginia and West Virginia but the population is smaller. We haul a lot of chemicals for Eastman Chemical. That is about all we can do right now. Georgia and Alabama both wanted the truck factory so you should be happy that we put the factory in your state. You can even say that you helped since we spoke about it before we made the decision."

"Britt, I appreciate you taking care of getting the factory in Tennessee. I know there isn't much that would make sense up in the Tri-Cities area. I was just giving you shit."

"I know but I was told by my PR firm that I needed to be nice and not tell all you senators that you were dumb as dirt. So I was giving you my best talk out of my ass impression."

"You did real well. This is some good scotch. It gives me a reason to come over and talk with the senators that are as dumb as dirt."

"No need to name, names. We know who they are."

"No we don't. Whenever I'm on the road, I see your trucks. It seems to me that everywhere I go I see them. It's amazing how fast they popped up and took over the roadways."

"Faster, safer, cheaper, better paying jobs, better home-life, and better benefits, and the list continues on and on. I'm not sure why anyone would want to use any other trucking company."

"Since we're just shooting the shit, there was a little bird that stopped by, and told me that there's a petition that's making its way around the house about a certain trucking monopoly. It says that you don't play fair and take away jobs. I'm not sure if it has any traction, but I wanted you to know about it."

"That's very interesting. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll make sure that the scotch gets better in here. To be honest, I don't understand what they're thinking. In every way, what we're doing is better for everyone except the middlemen freight brokers and the old school truckers, who sent their drivers out for weeks without a way to see their families. They ate crap in greasy spoons and lived in a box smaller than a prison cell when they weren't driving longer than legal, driving their thirtieth straight hour to meet some deadline. They just kept hoping that they could keep their eyes open long enough to get there, before they killed a family of five on their way to Disney World."

"Don't get mad, Britt. It's all just politics. There's some other senator that wants a truck plant in their state or that wants some buddy of theirs to get a settlement for you forcing him out of business."

When the discussion ended, I thanked him for his time and information. I excused myself for a minute, went to find Gary, asked him to get a bottle of Ardmore twenty-five year old scotch out of the wine cellar, and put it on the table next to Senator Baker.

After I finished that, I went to the rest room and washed my hands, and then stopped and made a call to Annie. She told me that she'd just walked in the door, so I told her that I'd be at her office at eight in the morning. To make that meeting, she'd need to move what she had on her schedule. If she couldn't, then I could meet her at six or seven AM. She said that eight would be workable.

When I walked back to the table, I found a very happy senator with a fresh half-filled glass next to him. "What do you have there?"

"I'm not sure, it just showed up."

"Well you must've done something right."

"I was just helping out a friend."

"Thank you very much."

"What are you going to do?"

"Not sure yet, but I have a meeting scheduled for eight tomorrow morning to figure that out. I have some ideas, but it will probably cost me around twenty million, if my figuring is correct."