Chapter 21: New Horizons

For the third time in a week, Kelly walked into our kitchen from the back porch carrying a bowl of cereal. She was dressed in a t-shirt that barely reached the top of her thighs.

“Good morning, guys. Can I borrow some milk, again?” she asked as she set the bowl on the counter, and opened the refrigerator. She bent at the waist, and gave me a good look at her black-panty covered ass.

I arched an eyebrow at Jeryl who just smirked back at me.

“Good morning, Paul ... urgh!” Matthew said as he walked into the kitchen, and froze when he saw Kelly’s ass wiggling at him.

Kelly straightened up as soon as she heard his voice and managed to smack her head on a shelf in the refrigerator.

“Ouch, shit, shit, shit!” She lifted a hand to rub her head, which lifted her shirt and showed her crotch to us. The front of the black panties had a red heart right above her pussy.

Matthew’s mocha skin got a shade darker as he turned around to keep from looking at Kelly. Jeryl laughed and pointed at the heart. Kelly looked down and then stepped close to the counter as her own blush deepened.

“Matthew, I’m sorry about that. I was just over here getting some milk. Maybe I better run back to my place and get dressed first.” She hurried out the door.

Matthew turned enough to watch her leave. He might have been embarrassed, but he still looked. Jeryl nudged me and smiled.

“So, Matthew, what’s on the plan for today?” I asked once Kelly was out of sight.

“You’re meeting with your new review committee. They’ve all reviewed the current batch of research proposals, and want to go over their recommendations with you this afternoon. I’ve got lunch arranged at the conference room in the Four Seasons.”

“That explains your suit, I guess.”

He was dressed in a sharp looking blue pinstripe suit with a maroon tie. Now that I knew what to look for, I noticed his slight blush.

“Candace suggested we both dress well for this first meeting.”

“Of course she did. It even makes sense. Most of these people will look at me as a snot-nosed undergrad if I don’t dress for the occasion. Just so you know, I really hate wearing a tie.”

“Oh, Paul,” Jeryl said. “You look so good in your suit though.” She had a twinkle in her eye and I smiled at her. She always wanted to help me out of my suit after I wore one!

“What about this morning?”

“You and Jeryl have a meeting with Lockheed and the Air Force in an hour. Then you need to finalize your course registration for the fall before heading over to the Four Seasons.”

“Shit. Are we going to have time? Registration is always a mess.”

“You’ve both got the courses you want. You just need to stop in and sign-off on your final schedule. I’ll pick up your books, later this week. We’ve got plenty of office supplies upstairs, so you should be ready for the semester when it starts, next week.”

“Man, where did the summer go?” I lamented. “Okay, I’d better go get dressed. Where is the meeting this morning?”

“At the office.”

“It’s done?” Jeryl asked. We had been waiting for the cleanup and renovation to be completed. Neither Jeryl nor Kelly had stopped by to check on progress. I had only seen it last week during a walk-through with the designer. We had changed the decor significantly as well as the internal office layout. Alison had also insisted on changes to the reception area to improve security.

“Yes, ma’am,” Matthew said. “Candace signed off on it, yesterday. I’ve got new keycards for you all. You’ll need to enter new PINs the first time you key into the office. It should only take a few minutes this morning, to do that.”

Jeryl got up and hurried upstairs with me to get dressed. Sanford was soon driving us down to the offices. Matthew was right that it only took a few minutes to have each of us create a new six-digit PIN at the reception area. The foyer to the offices looked bare with no one manning the reception desk. Sanford decided he would wait there for our guests.

Beyond the reception area, through a bulletproof frosted glass door, there was a long hallway. Before, we’d had an open office area. I knew from discussion with Alison and the contractor doing the work that all of the normal interior wall panels had been replaced with ones covered with one of our stronger coatings. No bombs or bullets would shred our walls again. The colors were lighter than they had been. Jeryl and I checked out our adjoining offices separated by a shared restroom and a small conference room. She glanced at the conference room, which could not be seen from outside our offices and smiled at me. I suspected we would see how good the sound insulation was soon.

Lockheed and the Air Force arrived five minutes before our meeting was scheduled to begin. We were all introduced and poured coffee, while Sanford closed the door and we got down to business.

“Victor, thanks for coming to us this time,” I said by way of opening.

“It’s nice to have a change of scenery,” he said. “Paul, we need to know the status of your production ramp-up.”

“We’ve purchased property and have begun construction. Our plan looks solid to be able to begin production by February.”

“Of course, scaling the process to produce higher volume is going to drive up our costs --and the price-- as a result,” Jeryl added.

John Hampton, the Air Force major who was the program manager for Lockheed’s contract on the project frowned. “How much?”

Jeryl smiled. “Not too much. Given the estimated demand and the cost we’re incurring to meet your timeline, we’re going to need to raise the price five percent. That will be $73.50 a gram.”

The major punched numbers into his calculator. “That’s an increase of almost two hundred thousand per aircraft!”

I glanced at Jeryl and shrugged. We had discussed our approach and gotten Candace’s agreement. “You can always purchase elsewhere,” I said.

The man sputtered, “You know we can’t, unless you’re willing to sell your process to us.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think your program can afford that.”

Victor smiled at the major and then decided to avoid that entire discussion. “Any chance you can accelerate your timeline?”

“Matthew, what do you think?”

The former staff sergeant frowned and replied, “I can call our builders, but they said there was not much float in their schedule.”

“And there you have it, gentlemen,” I said. “Victor, when we spoke in July, you said I’d have ten months to ramp up production. I’m trying to get it done in eight, and you still want it sooner?”

Victor had the grace to look down at the table.

The major looked around the room for a moment before he said, “Our project has to give up some of the material for a competing effort. We’re trying to make up the schedule impact that not having two aircraft to test with will cause.”

“Well, I don’t see how we can build any faster,” I said.

“Paul?” Jeryl interjected. “What about the original lab? They could make some, couldn’t they?”

It was a good idea, but I replied, “Maybe. They might be able to produce ten or twenty kilos a month. But, and this is a big ‘but,’ doing production in a lab is going to have some serious security risks. We won’t have nearly the control we have at our own buildings.”

“How much risk?” the major asked.

“Too much. Besides, shifting the lab to production would stop almost all the research efforts there. I’m not willing to let your problems impact them that much.”

We kicked around a few other ideas before ending the meeting.

“I’ll keep thinking about it, but I don’t know what we can do,” I finally concluded as Victor and the major stood to leave.

“I guess that’s all we can ask,” Victor said.

We ushered them out and then headed over to campus to sign-off on our registration. It was surprisingly painless compared to the prior two years, at least for me. Pursuing a double engineering major had taken agreement, and signatures, from both departments as I doubled up classes and took a higher than encouraged course load. This year, Matthew had evidently gotten the signatures from the faculty members that I needed, ahead of time. I was starting to see the wisdom of having an executive assistant.

By the time we arrived at The Four Seasons, for lunch and our all-afternoon meeting, I was doubly glad. The six academics we had selected immediately approached me, and thanked me for the first class flight and accommodations for the meeting. We all settled in for a long afternoon of research proposals. I was surprised at how organized things were. By the time cocktail hour rolled around, we were done and fourteen grants had been approved. Matthew and Candace were hosting dinner for the advisors, tonight.

“Wow,” I said as we climbed into the car to head home. “I was not certain about hiring an assistant, but I have to say that he has earned his pay this week, already.”

Jeryl reached out and squeezed my hand. “I’m glad you see mine and Kelly’s wisdom. We both need to delegate more, so we can focus on what’s most important. Besides, I’m pretty sure Matthew thinks Kelly is cute.”

I laughed and gave her a kiss. I thought she was right in that regard, as well.

I was surprised at the crowd outside the lecture hall. Normally, there were a handful of people waiting for the next class, but today the hall was crowded and most of them did not look like students.

“Paul Taylor, what do you think about the FBI arrest in Montana, today?” A woman asked as she shoved a microphone in my face. A few of my classmates pushed past me while glaring at the news crew.

“I don’t know about it,” I said as I tried to get clear of the throng.

The reporter followed me. I saw another three reporters hustling up behind her. I tried to remain casual as I pushed a button on my watch and then pulled out the stem, then pushed it back. I knew Sanford was less than ten minutes away. I slowly moved toward the door at the far end of the hall.

The reporter persisted, “The FBI arrested a man in Montana on suspicion of murder related to the bomb at your offices in July. They released a statement that the critical tip was received after you funded a reward for information leading to the arrest.”

I smiled and pushed through the door. “If they think my offer of a reward had something to do with the arrest, then I am happy. Other than that, I have no comment.”

Another recorder was pushed toward me. “Was your offer of a reward an indictment of the FBI?”

I kept my mouth shut, and looked down the street, hoping to see a Range Rover coming.

“Were you targeted because of the work you do for the airline industry and government?”

I saw a black car at the far corner, and stepped closer to the street.

“Do you believe your technologies are helping the world?”

“Do you feel safer knowing this arrest has been made?”

I shook my head and waved my hand at the Land Rover. It decelerated quickly to stop next to me. I heard the electric locks click pulled open the door and quickly climbed into the front seat. One over-zealous reporter nearly lost his hand and tape recorder as I jerked the door shut. Sanford pulled away before I had my seatbelt on.

“Was that the emergency?” he asked as he took the corner and steered away from campus.

“Yes. They ambushed me outside of class. I wasn’t sure what was going on, and decided to alert you before things went sideways.”

“Good. You did the right thing. If you aren’t sure what is happening and there might be risk, you are supposed to alert us.”

I wanted to roll my eyes. Every one of Alison’s operatives had said the same thing to Jeryl and me repeatedly over the past few months.

“I was glad you got there as quickly as you did. I was about ready to head for campus security.”

Before he could reply, the radio crackled, “Romeo-one, status?”

I smiled. Security had taken to calling the Range Rovers ‘Romeo,’ with a number designator. Whichever car I was in was designated Romeo-One, just like any airplane the president was in was designated Air Force One. Jeryl liked to tease me about being Romeo-One in the bedroom as well.

Sanford picked up the handset and said, “Romeo-one in transit. All clear.”

“Do you want to go back to the house, Paul?”

“No. Let’s go to the office. Kelly or Jeryl probably need to make a press release. Evidently the FBI arrested someone, today, in connection with the bombing. That’s mostly what the reporters were asking about.”

Sanford nodded and took the next right toward Sand Hill Road and made a brief announcement on the radio. Soon we were at the office, where another news van was parked. Matthew was out front by the curb to open the car door and escort me inside as more ridiculous questions were shouted at me.

“Thanks, Matthew,” I said.

The Marine smiled at me. “Just one of the things you pay me for. Kelly has a statement drafted for you upstairs. The FBI called the office right after they made their arrest. When we saw the van here, we figured you would be in the clear at school.”

“Someone must have figured out what classes I have. What a pain in the ass!”

We used our security badges to enter the office after smiling at Sherry, our new receptionist. She was a petite blonde with a perky smile and blue eyes. She had started shortly after the school semester began. She was answering the phone continually as we walked by.

Rose Feldman -- Kelly and Candace’s new secretary -- was waiting inside with Kelly hovering by her desk as she typed on her computer.

Kelly glanced up, smiled and said, “How does this sound? PT Innovations congratulates the FBI on their arrest this morning related to the bombing of our offices in July. If our establishment of a reward for information leading to an arrest of the person responsible for this cowardly attack played any part in today’s actions, then we are thankful that we were able to assist. However, we believe the professionalism of the agents investigating these events is what will lead to a conviction. We are hopeful that today’s actions will prevent additional violence against businesses or individuals.”

I read over it on the computer screen and then nodded. “It’s good enough. Let’s get it out to the press so poor Sherry can take a breath between phone calls. Has it been like that long?”

Rose chuckled. “We made the PBX send all calls out there, just so we could hear ourselves think. It only really started to get maddening about thirty minutes ago. I guess it took that long for people to put things together after the FBI press briefing this morning.”

“Where’s Jeryl?” Kelly asked.

I glanced at my watch. “She has back-to-back classes this afternoon. She’s got another forty minutes before she’ll head home.”

“Do we need to pick her up?”

“Probably not a bad idea. I’ll go with Sanford and get her.”

“No,” Kelly said. “Send Matthew. He won’t draw a crowd like you might. You’ve tried to keep a low profile on campus, but people will still recognize you, especially if the press is hanging out.”

“Okay, that makes sense. Matthew, can you pick her up and get her back to the house?”

“Can do,” he said.

I headed into my office and pulled out my class notes. I had an hour or so of homework to do and decided to hit it while the lecture was still fresh in my mind. The VLSI Design course was one that definitely held my interest this semester. It was totally new area of study for me, and I found it both challenging and rewarding. I dived into the assignment and tried to put the press out of mind.

“Ready to call it a day?” Kelly asked from my doorway some time later.

I looked up and realized it had started to get dark out. I glanced down at the problem I had just finished working through and then stood up and stretched.

“Yes, I think I am. I got ‘in the zone’ doing this problem set. I didn’t think we’d be here this late,” I added as I started shoving my papers into my satchel.

“You looked busy and I had some things to finish up. Matthew picked up Jeryl. She’s at the house. We’ve been tasked to stop for Chinese on the way home. I’ve already called in the order.”

“Okay.” I picked up the soft-sided briefcase after fastening its two buckles. “Am I driving?”

Kelly stuck her tongue out at me. “Like I trust you with my car,” she said with a smile.

“Hey, I drove it first,” I teased.

“But I drive it better!”

We laughed together and headed out. I was happy to see the news van was gone as we walked outside. Soon we were headed to our favorite take-out joint.

Jeryl was happy to see us. Sanford made a brief appearance to make sure we were all right before retreating down to his rooms with the security monitors. Jeryl, Kelly and I settled in around the kitchen table.

“So, did you tell him?” Jeryl asked after filling her plate with fried rice and beef and broccoli.

I looked at Kelly.

“Not yet. I thought I’d let him eat in peace,” she said with a little smile.

“No chance of that now. What’s up?”

Jeryl was almost bouncing in her seat and smiling as Kelly reached for the fried rice. I grabbed the container and held it hostage.

“Alright. Before all the hoopla started today, we got a different press inquiry. Business Insider wants to interview you.”

“Why?”

“Come on, Paul,” Jeryl said. “You are doing what you set out to do, changing the world. People are starting to notice. Your patent portfolio is used in some manner in just about every car being made today. You consult with GE, Boeing, Gulfstream, and Rolls-Royce engines, just to name a few. The research you have funded is driving a technology explosion here in the valley and across the country. And you’re just over twenty-one years old.”

“You forgot that I have a hot girlfriend and evil step-sister in that description.”

“Hey! I’m not evil,” Kelly protested.

“Only in the mornings,” I teased back.

Kelly stuck her tongue out again and then grabbed the fried rice from me. I picked up some of the steamed dumplings and waited.

“So when are they coming?” Jeryl finally asked.

“They want to do it Friday afternoon. Matthew is making the arrangements.”

I frowned. “Don’t you think I should agree first?”

“You’ll agree. Jeryl already decided. I think she is right.”

I sat back in my chair. “You two decided, did you?”

Jeryl frowned, but nodded. “We made a deal. You do the interview, and I’ll provide the reward.”

“Oh really? What reward?”

“I will do anything you want for a whole weekend, if you agree to the interview.”

“You’ll do most anything I ask of you anyway,” I said with what I hoped looked like an evil leer. “Why do you think I should do this?”

“So I can brag.”

“Brag?”

She was blushing now. “They’re going to list you on their most eligible bachelor issue.”

Alex Henderson was the person sent out to interview me. We had made idle chitchat for thirty minutes or so in the small conference room between Jeryl and my offices before he pulled out the small tape recorder and set it on the table between us.

“So, Paul, Business Insider has estimated your net worth between $100 and $500 million. Are we close?”

“You’re in the ballpark,” I said with a smile. “Since we’re a private company, we don’t like to disclose too much information.”

“But you do disclose your investments in several start-ups you’ve backed, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“So you’ve invested at least $200 million in various ventures over the past two years. And you’re only twenty-one?”

I nodded.

“I’ve got to say, that is a hell of an accomplishment. Are you trying to become the youngest self-made billionaire in history?”

“No. I’m not pursuing making a fortune for the sake of fame or fortune. I’m funding research and start-ups to help make our world a better place.”

“Sounds pretty altruistic. Does that mean you’re going to give your money away?”

“No, I don’t think so,” I said with a chuckle. “I do make some charitable contributions, but I’m not giving it all away.”

“I didn’t think you would. So, we have some standard questions we like to get answers for from everyone, but then I have a few more for you, since you are by far the youngest person on our list this year.”

“Shoot.”

“What should a girl, or lady, do to attract your attention?”

“You’ve met my girlfriend, right?” I waved toward Jeryl’s office. I knew they had chatted a bit as I finished up a phone call.

He nodded.

“Describe her and you’ll have your answer.”

“So, smart?”

“Very.”

“Athletic?”

“Yes.”

“What else?”

“Jeryl is smart and has common sense. She thinks for herself and isn’t afraid to tell me I’m wrong. She’s athletic. She loves to ski, but has also taken up running and some martial arts. She has a wicked sense of humor and loves to surprise me. By the way, I’m not looking to replace her.”

Alex smiled and jotted something in his notebook. “I’ll make sure we add our standard comment that you are in a relationship.”

“So what else interests you? Cars are obvious. I understand you’re doing some work on jet engines and airplanes, and you still have a deal with Nike?”

“Yes. Most of the things I started in high school are more or less running themselves. I’ve been focused on school most recently.”

“But still consulting on the side?”

“Yes. That and reviewing research we fund as well as some targeted investments and acquisition.”

“Acquisitions? I haven’t seen much press about those.”

“Most of them have been private acquisitions. If we see a technology with merit, we’ll become silent partners or purchase the firm outright. We also invest in start-ups here in the Valley.”

“What about your own research?”

“Well, I have to be careful. If I do something at school, Stanford would own the rights to it. That’s one reason I haven’t directly done much for the past couple of years.”

“What are the other reasons?”

I laughed. “I’m trying to complete two engineering degrees at the same time, in the four years at school. Mechanical and Electrical Engineering degrees have tough courses, even if you’re only doing one degree.”

“That’s pretty ambitious. What about business courses?”

“Actually, that’s what Jeryl is focusing on. She’s pursuing a degree in accounting.”

“So how do you feel about the recent news that the FBI captured the person responsible for sending you a bomb?”

“I’m glad they’ve gotten a crazy person off the street so he can’t harm anyone again.”

“You think he’s crazy?”

“I’m not a psychiatrist, so I can’t really say. I can’t understand his motives or viewpoint, so it is crazy to me.”

“Based on what has been released so far, he seemed to be targeting airlines and technology in general. Do you think others will agree with him that technology is de-humanizing us?”

I looked at him for a minute. His face was guileless, but I suspected he was finally getting into the real reason he wanted to interview me. I shook my head.

“I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and belief right up until they use those beliefs to justify harming or intimidating others. This person could have written and protested all day long, and I would have supported his right to do so. As soon as he resorted to violence, and killed an innocent woman who never did anything to him, he deserves to be dealt with in the harshest manner possible.”

“So you disagree that technology is damaging society?”

“People define societies; things don’t. Technology is mostly about things. How people treat technology and use it to impact society is what builds or damages us.”

“What do you mean?”

“We are in the midst of the computer revolution. It will change how people interact. In and of itself, it is neither good nor bad. It is just a fact that our interaction models are changing. Now, if people don’t want to use computers, that is their choice. But instead of respecting everyone’s choice, some people start ascribing ‘evil’ or ‘goodness’ to others just because they choose to use a computer. That is when society is damaged. Instead of judging the actions, they judge the tools.”

“Take this man the FBI arrested. He was against technology, but still used mass-produced notebooks and pens to write his beliefs out. He used technology to give himself the power over life and death. He traveled from Chicago to Montana via car or airplane, not by walking. If he was so anti-technology, why did he still buy clothes from a store, and pencils and paper, and use unnatural explosives to try and draw attention? It was not his belief that was evil, it was his actions. And those hypocritical actions cost a woman her life.”

“What about the environmentalist and people that argue we are damaging the environment?”

“Bring specifics. I don’t doubt that man is impacting the environment, but we also have to recognize that man is part of that environment as well. Stopping progress is not the answer. I love the outdoors. I want to protect the environment as much as anyone. I donate to the Sierra Club and several environmental groups. But as soon as one of them goes out to spike a tree and risk injury to a lumberjack who is just doing their job, I’ll withdraw my support.”

“But what if their other efforts are not being successful?”

“Are you arguing that when a society doesn’t agree with an individual or group, that those people can ignore the rules of society to go their own way?”

“No, but we are a democracy.”

“And they hold the minority view. If they can argue effectively and win people over, their view becomes the majority view and change happens. If they can’t, they are destined to lose in our society.”

Alex sat back and took a breath. “Okay. So you support many environmental efforts. What else to you believe in?”

“I believe in a lot of things. I believe in individual equality. I believe in the innate freedoms of man.”

“And how do you support those?”

“On a case-by-case basis,” I said with a grin.

“Hey, cutie,” Jeryl said as she joined me in the student union for lunch.

“Right back at you, darling. What’s got you in such a good mood?”

“Must be my loving boyfriend,” She said.

I could tell there was more to this. “Did you have a good class?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. Do you realize that for our final project, we have to complete a full business case study on the development of a go-to-market strategy for a new product? Guess which product I picked?”

She had a twinkle in her eye.

“Something to do with cars?” I guessed.

“Nope. Think about the boom in sportswear,” she said with a grin.

“You didn’t!”

She laughed. “I couldn’t help myself when I saw Diamond Skin as one of the products for the case study. I don’t think the professor knows who I am. It’s going to be fun.”

“Just remember you said that when your prof totally disagrees with your assumptions or decisions.”

She laughed and then went to the counter to grab a sandwich. She came back with a cute, platinum blonde girl in tow.

“Paul, this is Lila from my marketing class. Lila, this is Paul, my boyfriend.”

Lila was an inch shorter than Jeryl, probably about 5’ 6”. She had short platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a red USMC sweatshirt that hid any curves. I stood up and shook her offered hand.

“It’s good to meet you. Jeryl mentioned she had a boyfriend when I tried to get her to come to a party next week.” She looked me up and down. “From the looks of you, you could hold your own with the guys that will be there. You guys should both come.”

I grabbed an extra chair and made room for her to join us at our table. “What party is that?”

“It’s the Navy-Marine Corps party at the NROTC unit here on campus. I’m on a Marine scholarship.” She plucked at the gold lettering on her sweatshirt for emphasis.

“Sounds like fun. Do you want to go, hon?” I asked Jeryl.

“Sure. After some of the stories you told about Matthew and your trip to Austin, I think I need some more exposure to these Navy and Marine types.”

Lila raised an eyebrow at me.

“Matthew is a former Staff Sergeant who we work with. I met a retired Master Chief and a Marine Captain and listened to a bunch of sea-stories from them.”

Lila nodded in understanding, then turned to Jeryl.

“Hey, you looked pretty excited about the case study we got assigned today. Do you want to work on it together?”

Jeryl laughed. “Sure, but only if you got Diamond Skin as well.”

“I did. I love their stuff from Nike. I’ve got like six shirts from them and a pair of running shorts and pants as well.”

“I didn’t know they made shorts and pants,” I said.

“They’re great. I hear football players swear by them. I like them when it gets a little colder. I’ve worn them out in the field under my camo a few times too. I wear the shorts under my gi for karate. I don’t have a lot of padding, so I like the extra protection they give.”

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