Chapter 18: Conflict and Consequences

“So, Paul, are you working on anything new and exciting?” Richard asked as we settled into the hot tub. Snow was just starting to fall but the warmed flagstone melted it as soon as it touched the ground. The peaceful quiet of the mountain was a pleasant contrast to the chattering discussions taking place inside the house. We had both opted to escape as mothers and daughters reconciled and discussed the past.

“Nothing significant. I’ve got some long-term plans, but need some other foundational research to make some progress first.”

“Foundational research?”

“I need some better materials to work with. I sponsor about a half-dozen university research projects in the areas I need. How about you?” I knew from the security background check that he was a banker at his father’s family bank.

“Not much. We’re doing some real estate investing that has me pretty busy checking out properties.”

“What sort of properties?”

“Mostly upscale apartment complexes and condos. We finance the builders. We do a little land speculation as well, but try to keep our exposure to risk at a minimum.”

I nodded and then leaned my head back and let the hot water relax me.

“What made you pick Park City? From what Jeryl said, I would have thought you would build in Tahoe.”

“I thought about it, but really enjoyed the mountains here when I visited last year. We’ll be able to fly here in about the same time as driving to Tahoe, so there isn’t much difference for travel. It’s also easier for family and friends to fly into Salt Lake City.”

“Well it is definitely a nice place. I can’t believe it was built in less than six months.”

I laughed. “I paid for it, believe me.”

I heard a door open and turned to see a bevy of beautiful women hurry across the patio with towels in hand to join us.

“Brrr,” Jeryl said as she dropped her towel on a nearby chair and stepped into the hot tub by my side. “I’m glad the water is nice and hot or a girl could catch a cold.”

Kelly, Jordan, Jyl, Trisha, Karen and Olivia made similar comments as they squeezed in next to us.

“Paul,” Kelly said. “You might need a bigger hot tub.”

I laughed and splashed some water at her. “This one is sized for twelve. I think it will be plenty big enough.”

“I can make some more room for you, Kelly,” Jeryl said as she scooted onto my lap. “I like this seat better anyway.”

The other girls laughed and I noticed Trisha making a similar move onto Richard.

“How are the moms doing?” I asked.

“Great,” Jordan said. “It is kind of strange to find out I have three new cousins, though.”

“Enjoy it while you can,” Karen said. “From what we’ve heard about grandmother, we might be disowned all over again when she gets here.”

“No way,” Jyl said. “She can either gain three grandchildren or lose three. I’m tired of her attitude. The harangues I’ve had to listen to because my little sister had sex were the last straw.”

“Yeah,” Richard said. “If that is a problem, she won’t appreciate Trisha and me at all, let alone my promiscuous sisters.”

“Hey, we’re not promiscuous,” Olivia insisted. “But we are sensual and loving women. Mom raised us right.”

Richard snorted. “Like you gave her much of a choice. I remember a fourteen-year-old asking her big brother to buy condoms for her.”

Olivia blushed. “I just wanted to be prepared.”

We all laughed and conversation turned to college and then life in Chicago. By the time we were starting to wrinkle and ready to get out, everyone seemed happy and comfortable with their new family members.

“Dibs on the shower,” Jyl said as she hopped up and headed for the door.

“I’ll take the second one,” Kelly said as she stopped drying herself off and headed inside. The bathroom off the bunk room had two nicely appointed showers.

“I guess that means I get to share with you, Paul,” Jeryl said.

“It might be a tight squeeze,” I said. The shower in the office bathroom was the smallest in the house.

Jeryl gave me a hug. “I sure hope so,” she whispered in my ear.

It took almost forty minutes for everyone to get showered and dressed. We congregated in the great room and waited for the taxis that were scheduled to take us into town for dinner. Cynthia Morgan’s flight from Detroit had been delayed due to weather, so Sanford was planning on taking her directly to the restaurant for dinner. He had just called to let Alison know that the flight had landed.

Jeryl and I made sure everyone was situated in a taxi and on their way before climbing into the Range Rover along with Olivia and Kelly. Alison refused to let me drive or ride a taxi for some reason. I wasn’t going to argue, since I thought our ride was much more comfortable.

We were mingling in the private room I had booked with cocktails or soft drinks in hand when Cynthia Morgan finally arrived. I watched her through the window as she tried to tip Sanford, who waved it off with aplomb as he handed her down from the car and took her to the door of the restaurant.

She was regal in bearing as the hostess escorted her into our room. Everyone fell silent as she entered. I hurried over to play the dutiful host. Jeryl seemed to have slipped out of the room with her aunt.

“Mrs. Morgan, thank you for coming. I’m sorry your flight was delayed and you didn’t have time to freshen up before dinner. Can I get you a drink?”

She pulled her gaze from Janet and Richard and finally focused on me with a hint of panic in her eyes. “Who is that?” Helen had told me that Richard was almost the spitting image of his father.

I stepped closer to her and moved to help her take off her coat as people shifted around to greet her. “I think you know who it is. If you are ready to forgive a few people, I think you’ll find they are anxious to meet you.”

I stepped back with her coat and motioned to Janet. Richard approached with his aunt, looking nervous for the first time since I had met him.

“Mother,” Janet said with steel in her voice. “I’d like to introduce you to your grandson, Richard.”

Cynthia’s hand went to her mouth as Janet continued. “He’s here with his sisters, Karen and Olivia.”

Cynthia’s wide eyes blinked as she stood in stunned silence.

Janet pursed her lips. I had seen the same look of displeasure in her eyes once during school when a student talked back to her. It was not a pleasant look. “Paul located them along with my sister.” Helen stepped back into the room with Jeryl by her side.

Helen stepped around her mother and looked at the smaller woman with tears in her eyes. “Mother, I’m sorry I disappointed you so, but I hope you can soften your heart and embrace your grandchildren.”

Cynthia seemed to wilt. It was only Helen’s quick hug that kept her from slumping to the ground. Tears flowed from mother and daughters as Janet joined the hug. Jeryl grabbed my arm and pulled me away as Richard stepped around them to close the door to the private room. It took a few minutes for the ladies to regain their composure, but finally Cynthia was able to accept a hug from her new grandchildren. By the time Trisha was introduced, Cynthia’s reserved nature was almost restored.

We moved to sit down and soon were having almost normal dinner conversation. Jeryl joined Jim, Mom, Kelly and me near one end of the long table while Cynthia, Helen, Janet and Jerry were at the opposite end.

“That went much better than I expected,” Jeryl said in a whisper as soup was served.

I nodded. “Now I just wonder if she’ll soften toward us.”

“I hope so, but I’m not counting on it.”

“Me either.”

Dinner was elegant and refined, but I think Mrs. Eccles would have made more flavorful fare. With the single long table, we were a little cut off from conversation about the reunion. Instead, we talked with Kelly about the offices near Stanford and what sort of space she should look for next week.

It wasn’t until dessert was served that we were pulled back into the fuller conversation. Helen stood and waited for everyone to quiet down.

“I know Thanksgiving is a couple of days away yet, but I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for coming out here this week and letting us start to put the past behind us. I want to thank my loving children for their support now and always, my sister for forgiving me for abandoning her, and my mother for agreeing to set aside our long history of differences.”

“Hear, hear,” Jim said as he raised his wine glass to Helen at the other end of the table. Everyone joined in and then took a sip of their drinks.

“Finally, I want to especially thank a very generous and loving young man who made this all possible. Paul, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Everyone turned their gaze to me and toasted me as I sat blushing. Jeryl leaned over and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

Helen sat down and Janet stood up. She had tears in her eyes. “Paul, I want to echo my sister’s thoughts and feelings. I know I have wronged you in both deed and thought. I apologize for those deeds. I hope you can forgive me someday. Thank you for believing enough in family and my daughter to bring us all together here.” Janet toasted me in the awkward silence and then sat as Cynthia stood.

“To my daughters and grandchildren, I apologize. I wish I could explain myself, but I’m not sure even I understand what was going through my mind all those years ago. Perhaps I’m just a silly old lady now, but once I was a loving wife and mother. I’m sorry I pushed part of my family away and risked alienating the rest of it over relationships that were probably none of my business. In my defense, I always wanted the best for all of you.” She looked at each of her grandchildren before continuing.

“Paul, I’d like to also apologize to you. I treated you poorly from the first time I met you and risked my youngest granddaughter’s happiness trying to prove you were not suitable for her. You proved me wrong at every turn. I won’t say I like how modern relationships seem to be carried on, but it is clear that you love Jeryl deeply enough to face any obstacle for her. You may never be good enough in my mind, but I can’t believe she will ever find someone better. Please, forgive my behavior and continue to love my granddaughter.”

Tears were on her cheeks as she looked down the table at Jeryl and me. I stood up and picked up Mom’s wine glass. Water seemed inappropriate. I raised the glass in toast to the far end of the table. “Mrs. Morgan, there was never anything in your power to prevent me loving your granddaughter. I accept your and Mrs. Salaway’s apologies and everyone’s thanks.” I took a sip of the wine before returning the glass to my mother. “I feel blessed that our families could come together. I’m glad that some of the money I’ve earned with my family’s support can be put to such good use and I hope everyone will feel free to relax and get to know each other better, as families should, over the next few days. Thanks for coming.”

Everyone applauded as I sat back down. Jeryl wasted no time giving me a sound kiss on the lips as Jordan and Jyl teased her about chasing a sugar daddy. Soon, we were on our way back up to the house.

“Thank you again for making this all possible, Paul,” Helen said as we sat at the kitchen counter enjoying a quiet breakfast. I had left Jeryl in bed as I did an abbreviated morning workout and was surprised to see anyone else up when I came up to the kitchen. Helen had been sitting quietly with a cup of coffee when I joined her.

“Believe me, it was my pleasure. I was surprised at how well things went last night.”

Helen gave me a sad smile. “Mother’s pride was her biggest enemy. Once we took the first step, she could let her own pride go and forgive me. I’ve seen it hundreds of times in my practice.”

“I’m not sure I would be as forgiving if I were in your shoes.”

She arched an eyebrow at me. “Really? You would let your mother drive you away, or Jeryl’s mother?”

“No, but I’m not sure I could make the first move either.”

“But you did. You brought us all together. Just because the move is not a direct or verbal apology, doesn’t mean it is not the first move in a long series of adjustment and forgiveness.”

“I just hope it has a lasting effect.”

Helen laughed. “Oh it will. After you went downstairs last night, Janet, Mother and I stayed up and chatted some more. We heard Jeryl or someone go into the office during a lull in the conversation. If Cynthia and Janet were not reconciled to the reality of your two’s love, there would have been fireworks.”

I blushed. “Well, I’m glad they only heard footsteps and a door.”

Helen laughed again. “Yes, I believe you have very good sound insulation in this house, lucky for you.”

I refilled her coffee after I took our plates and put them in the dishwasher.

“So what are you ladies going to get up to today?” I asked.

“We might go into town and see the sights. Maybe do a little shopping before the party tonight. How about you kids?”

“I have a couple of calls to make this morning according to Kelly and then we may go check out the slopes downtown.”

“Olivia would probably enjoy going with you. She picked up skiing her freshman year in school and has enjoyed it ever since. Karen and Richard will probably give it a pass.”

“Well, once the lazybones are all up, we’ll see who wants to go.” I glanced at the wall clock. “I guess now is as good a time as any to return a couple of phone calls. I’ll see you later.”

In the office, Jeryl was up and out, probably waking the others in the bunk room. We had worn ourselves out last night but fallen asleep with a promise of skiing today. I grabbed the note pad Kelly had given me last night with two numbers to call. The first was an international call. I had wondered how long it would take before Land Rover called me about the conversions we had started doing and selling to security firms around the world.

“Good evening, Mr. Taylor,” a lightly accented voice said as the connection was made through his secretary.

“It’s early morning here, Lord Harold, but thank you for the sentiment.” Kelly’s note had indicated that Harold Thompson was entitled to the title of Lord in the British peerage, so I had decided to flatter him. It was also one of the reasons Kelly had insisted that I return his call personally. We did not yet have an agreement for licensing with Land Rover.

“Yes, well, thank you for calling me back so promptly. I appreciate you taking time out of your holiday plans for this call.”

“Think nothing of it. What can I do for you and Land Rover today?”

“Straight to the point. I like that. We wanted to see if you were interested in selling us your conversion kit plans and possibly partnering on manufacturing a line of Range Rovers specifically for security services.”

It was what I expected.

“Well, I’m always interested in partnering with successful firms.”

“Good to hear, young man. Would it be possible to arrange a meeting to discuss details and terms? We’ve had some of our boffins looking over your modified Range Rovers that you’ve resold recently and are very interested in talking further.”

“I think we can arrange a meeting. Which side of the pond would you like to meet on?”

“We’ll come to you, of course. We understand how busy you are with still being in school.”

“Well, I have some time off over the holidays. Perhaps we could meet then.” I flipped open the calendar on my desk and looked at when school got out for Christmas break. “I’m free from the sixteenth of December until the third of January.”

“Things are pretty quiet over here during the holidays. Any chance we could have a preliminary discussion before then? Maybe meet in New York or Chicago?”

“Chicago would be excellent, if we schedule for Friday evening through Sunday.”

“How about I fly over next weekend? We can meet and decide if further discussions are warranted.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan. I recommend the Hilton downtown and will arrange meeting rooms there for us as well as accommodation if you’ll let me know how many people will be in your party.”

“Oh, I’ll handle this myself along with a couple of our engineers and one solicitor. So, four rooms, if you please.”

“I’ll have the arrangements made and send your office the details.”

We finished the call with another exchange of pleasantries and I jotted notes down on the tablet by his contact information.

The next call was to Ford. I was surprised that they insisted on me calling them back personally.

“Banister,” the gruff voice on the other end of the phone said after a short wait on hold.

“Mr. Banister, this is Paul Taylor returning you call.”

“Ah, Mr. Taylor, thank you for getting back to me this week.” His voice had softened some immediately.

“What can I do for Ford this morning?”

“We’d like to talk to you about the Range Rover conversions you’re building and selling and see if we can possibly do something similar but built here in America.”

I smiled. “Funny you should be calling on that. I just had a call with Land Rover for a similar discussion. They seem interested in doing a line for security work.”

“Well, we’re interested in something a little bit bigger. We’ve got some pretty bright engineers who have been playing around with your coating on pre-formed body parts. They think we can make a unibody vehicle out of it, but wanted to meet with you before we move to building a prototype.”

A unibody car eliminated the traditional ladder-type frame used in most cars. It made the body part of the actual structure instead of just a protective covering.

“That’s interesting.”

“It is. It gives us both greater safety in the vehicle and cheaper manufacturing processes. What we aren’t sure of, is if we can apply your coating to the entire unibody or are going to need to do it as sub-assemblies.”

I thought about it for a moment. “That’s a good question. We might have to do a little research to determine that. The electrical field will align the coating perpendicular to the metal, but in a complex shape you might get misalignment and lose strength. Also, we’ll want to account for crumble regions to collapse in a crash, otherwise, it would be too rigid and strong. It could be a pretty tricky challenge.”

“That sounds similar to what my engineers said. That’s why they want to talk to you. Since our deal has a pretty hefty consulting fee for your time, it landed on my desk to make it happen. Any chance we can schedule a visit?”

I looked at the calendar and saw my Christmas break evaporating. I shook my head. I had taken most of the fall off from business, so I guess this was the price I had to pay.

“I can fly up to Detroit on the 17th for the weekend and a couple of days. Can you make something in that timeframe work?”

“How about the twentieth through the twenty-second? I imagine you’ll want a little time off over Christmas.”

I jotted down the dates. “That will work. If we need a follow-up meeting, we can set something up in January.”

“Okay. I’ll mail out details to your office today. Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly. Have a happy Thanksgiving.”

Jeryl wandered into the office as I finished jotting down some notes. She was fresh out of the shower and dressed in tight ski-pants and an ivory sweater. She looked at the tablet in front of me and shook her head. “Why are you working? I thought this fall was going to be a break for you.”

“It has been. But now it seems a few people want some of my time over the holiday break.” I explained my first two calls. I pointed to the last name and number Kelly had given me. “Now comes the fun call.”

Jeryl frowned, and then grabbed the chair on the other side of the partner’s desk and pulled out a pad of paper and pen to make notes as she motioned me to get dialing.

A few minutes later, I heard a familiar voice pick up the phone. “Special Agent Johnson.”

“Good morning, Special Agent Johnson. This is Paul Taylor returning your call. How can I help the FBI today?”

“We need to move this facility into a secured environment,” General Haverston insisted for what seemed like the tenth time of the day.

“Under what legal principles?” Jim asked.

We had flown down to Austin two weekends after Thanksgiving and finished a half-day tour of our production facilities for the general, Special Agent Johnson, and a half-dozen Air Force and Pentagon officials. Two of them were reviewing our materials audit processes in addition to the security audit they had insisted on.

“Something this sensitive has to be protected.”

“It is being protected, as we’ve shown you today,” I insisted. “In fact, I would venture to say it is more secure here than on a military base.”

The general scowled at me. “You don’t know anything about the security we would put in place.”

I was tempted to tell him about the procedures I had learned a lifetime ago for the protection of nuclear weapons, but decided on a different tack instead. “So you would guarantee two-person integrity for the process as well as material delivery? You would have an outside audit every month for both access and material controls? You wouldn’t rotate your guards to new assignments where they would blab what we were making?”

“Well, no on the guards. We would have to rotate them naturally.”

“Then you’re introducing a security risk that does not exist today,” Alison stated in her clipped British accent. “We have very tight physical security. We control access to the manufacturing process as well as the raw and finished materials. Spreading knowledge of either serves no security purpose.”

“Besides which,” Jim said. “You have yet to tell me the legal basis for your demand. We are selling materials to a contractor with the U.S. government. You have no cause to pierce privity. We gave you this tour as a courtesy and in compliance with our contract with Lockheed. Until you can show just legal cause for relocating our operations, I believe we will have to decline.”

The general started to speak but Jim raised a hand to stop him.

“Additionally, if you force action we will invoke our cancellation for cause section of our contract with Lockheed. Once that contract is canceled, we can sell to anyone on the open market. Rather than make the people that know the process targets to international espionage, we would publish the process and the detailed characteristics of the material to remove any incentives for violence to our principal researchers.”

“That’s treason,” the general shouted as he stood and slapped the table we were seated around.

Jim looked up at the thickset man impassively. “No, General. That is a promise to secure our own safety. Moving our manufacturing actually increases the risk to Paul and his researchers as we have explained. Until such time as we have probable cause to believe this facility has been compromised, we are safer keeping things here.”

The general opened and closed his mouth for a moment, obviously trying to reign in his anger. I did not think he was used to people talking back to him. Finally, he found his words. “We’ll see about this. I’ll be briefing the Secretary of Defense on Monday. Don’t be surprised to be presented with an executive order classifying this operation, regardless of your contract with Lockheed.”

Jim smiled. “I suggest you review Section Four, paragraphs A through H in our contract before you make that recommendation, General. You won’t like the outcome.”

Jim, Candace, and Kelly had spent considerable time on the termination section of the contract to protect both my ideas and my privacy and security. It had been a major sticking point on the contract negotiations.

“I’ve always wanted to argue a case before the Supreme Court. If you force Lockheed into breach with an executive order, that will be the venue to resolve the issue.” Jim’s demeanor was as stony as I had ever seen it.

The general stared at him for a moment and then turned and left. Several of his entourage followed, but Special Agent Johnson stayed behind. Once the door closed, he actually smiled.

“I told the general it was not a good idea to confront you like that.”

“Isn’t he your boss?” I asked.

“No. I finished my rotation with the DOD. I’m back in the field office officially now. I told him your security here was tight, but he didn’t want to listen.”

“Really?” Alison asked with an arched eyebrow. “Would that be the explanation for the three attempts at the keypad on Dr. Wilkerson’s key card last week?”

Special Agent Johnson blushed. “I didn’t think that looked like the doctor in the video surveillance tapes.”

“Shit. We didn’t see any records of video being installed.”

“Special Agent Johnson, is that a confession of attempted felony breaking and entering?” Jim asked.

“Uhm, no. We did pull public records to help assess the security of this installation, nothing more.” We all knew he was lying.

Alison smirked at him. “If you want a complete briefing on our security, I suggest you call Lockheed and ask them to arrange it. Even if you had guessed his key code, you would not have made it past the timed lock on the inner door. In fact, you would have been trapped in there until the morning when staff arrived.”

Special Agent Johnson paled. An FBI agent caught in the conduct of a felony would face a lot of questions. “Perhaps I should request that full review with Lockheed if there is continued interest in your security,” he said finally.

He sighed and then looked at me. “In the meantime, I’m the bearer of some bad news for you, Paul. Some of the powers that be would prefer that you not travel to England over the holidays.”

“What?” Jim asked.

“We know you are in talks with Land Rover. The general has raised a stink about national security. If you try to fly out on a commercial airline, you’ll be turned back for ‘your own safety’.”

“You’re kidding me.” I said flatly.

He shook his head. “Your techniques and knowledge are highly sensitive even if they are not officially classified. You hold a Top Secret clearance now. With that, there are some well-documented legal restrictions on travel outside the country.”

“It’s England, for Christ sake,” Jim said.

Special Agent Johnson raised his hands. “I’m just the messenger. If the general had his way, no one would have mentioned it until you were at the airport and turned back.”

“The prick.”

“No need for that, Paul, even if it is the truth.”

“Why don’t we just see if they can meet us here again?” Jeryl asked as I paced back and forth in my office. I had been happy to see her when we got home from Austin, but was still too keyed up after telling her about the visit to actually relax with her.

“We could, but it’s the principle of the thing that pisses me off. I’ve done everything I can to do the right thing by our government and this is how I’m treated. It’s not fair.”

“Since when has that stopped you?” Jeryl asked coldly. “It wasn’t fair what my family put us through or the FBI put you through last year, or when you got hurt in football. Every time you’re faced with something that’s ‘not fair’, you turn it to your advantage. How is this any different?”

I stopped my pacing and looked at her.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why my temper is so frayed. I guess part of it is that I had to make that stupid trip and miss your birthday.” I stepped closer and gave her a hug and kiss. “How can I make it up to you?”

“Well, the business cards with my new title on them were nice,” she said with a smile. “Now, if you could just figure out a way to make love to me in London on New Year’s Eve, I might forgive you for missing my eighteenth birthday.”

“What about your ski trip? I thought you wanted to go with your sisters and Mom and dad.”

“I’d rather be with you. In London.”

I held her and thought about it. “Do you want to go to Detroit with me before Christmas?”

“Why?” She had caught my tone of voice.

“It’s only a three or four-hour drive from Detroit to Toronto. You don’t have to show a passport at the Canadian border. If we fly in and out of Toronto, we could still go to London.”

“Won’t you get into trouble for that?”

“What can they do? Pull my security clearance? At this point I’d be glad for that. What will your parents say if you don’t go skiing?”

She hugged me. “I’ll probably get some disappointed looks, but Aunt Helen and Olivia are going so I’ll probably be forgotten anyway. I’m more worried about causing trouble for you.”

“Well, I think a few nights at the Savoy would be a perfect belated birthday gift for you, kitten. And for that, I’m willing to take the risk if you are.”

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Sanford asked as we passed over the Canadian border on our drive to Toronto.

“Probably not, but I refuse to be a prisoner in my own country.” Jeryl squeezed my hand and gave me her wonderful, shy smile.

“Miss Wilson is not going to be happy,” he said.

To read this story you need a Registration + Premier Membership
If you have an account, then please Log In or Register (Why register?)

Support the author's future writing by purchasing this book from Bookapy

A New Past (The Complete Trilogy)

Charlie Foxtrot

$26.99