Chapter 50: Building Momentum

“Paul!” Chrissy’s shout of excitement made me smile. I stood up and away from the Range Rover and watched her run down the sidewalk toward me. She was dressed casually, black diamond skin leggings and a loose Stanford sweatshirt, with her hair pulled back in a loose pony-tail, tucked under a red ball cap. Fittingly, she looked like a model, portraying a prototypical college coed.

Her hug pushed me back against the car.

“I’m so happy to see you,” she said before kissing my cheek.

“Ahem,” Nicole softly cleared her throat.

I chuckled, possibly the first un-forced chuckle in nearly a year.

“That’s Nicole’s way of telling us not to stand around on the street,” I said as Chrissy backed off a little. “What are you up to?” I asked as I took her hand and steered her toward her dorm entrance.

“I just finished working out after class. I’ve got some shoots this summer and need to stay in shape for them. What are you doing here? Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?

“I had some business with the University. I thought I’d drop in and check on you. I promised your Mom I would but have been a little remiss in checking up on you in person.”

Even her frown was cute. “You had others keeping tabs on me?”

I shrugged. “Not so much keeping tabs as checking in once in a while.”

She stepped back and put her hands on her hips. “You’ve had someone stalking me? That’s a big no-no, Paul.”

“Stalking is too strong a word. Like I said, I just had people making sure you were adjusting well to college life. It’s not like I reactivated the security detail I had to have when I went here.”

She frowned and then smiled. “Okay, I guess I’ll believe you, but I am going to make you pay for it.”

“Oh? How much is this going to cost me?” I asked only slightly tongue-in-cheek.

“Just time, Paul. I need an escort this evening.”

I genuinely laughed. “You’re a cover girl model. Surely you have guys pestering you all the time for a date. I’m way too old for you to show off, around here.”

“Hardly. Besides, the only cover’s I’ve been on have been in Australia, and, you only graduated ten years ago. You aren’t old!” She guided me toward a small seating area just inside the entryway. “Look, I really do need a favor, and you said I just needed to ask.”

We sat down, almost facing each other, knees touching, and she grabbed my hands again. Her skin was warm in my hands.

“I have two sororities trying to get me to rush in the fall. They both have parties tonight. I need to attend if I want to join either one, but we were told we have to bring a date. I think they want to see what sort of boys we can bring in. If you go with me, it will get them all off my back to date the jocks around here.”

“Is someone trying to force you?” I asked with genuine concern. I had avoided the Greek system while attending school but had seen and heard enough to know coercion was not always physical.

She shook her head. “It’s just the expectation. The Kappa’s, that’s Kappa Alpha Theta, expect you to only date jocks and leaders on campus. The Tri-Delts are more laid back, but I think both want me for my own little bit of fame as much as anything. The fact that they spring having to bring a date on us with only a day or two notice tells me something else is up.”

“Are you really interested in both houses?” I asked.

“I’ve got a couple of friends in both, but I’m not certain I want to join either. However, I want to make that decision, not have them make it for me.”

I nodded. I understood, or at least thought I did.

“Okay. How formal is it?” I asked.

“Really? Thank you! It’s dressy, but nor formal. I’ve got a little black dress from my last runway show. I planned on wearing that. Do you have a fresh shirt? You could lose the tie and be just fine.”

I smiled. “How about I run over to the house and see what’s there. We always kept some things here in case we had to stay over unexpectedly. I need to call home and make sure the kids know I’ll be away overnight.”

Her face fell a little. “I didn’t even think about them. How are they doing?”

“Ali is going like gang-busters. I have to be back tomorrow since we’re both soloing for our private pilot’s licenses.”

“What? That’s insane.”

I shook my head. “Not really. I’ll tell you more later. Jer is still a bit withdrawn. He has started drawing a lot more, sketching things around town and the house. I try to encourage him, but I don’t have much of an artistic eye.”

I glanced at my watch. “Now, how long until you need to make a grand appearance at these parties?”

Chrissy smiled. “They start at seven, but we’ll be fine if we get to the second one before nine.”

“Okay. Do you want me to come back and pick you up for dinner, or what?”

She frowned and glanced at the elevators. “Why don’t you call and say hi to Ali and Jer and I’ll grab my stuff to come with you. I can get cleaned up at your place, right?”

I nodded.

“Great!” she hopped up and kissed my cheek again. “I’ll be back in a jiff.”

I shook my head as she sauntered to the elevator. She put a little roll in her hips that caught the eye of everyone in the dorm lobby and then playfully glanced back over her shoulder and blew me a kiss. Her playful smile made me laugh. She had definitely blossomed since I first met her. Her playful maturity reminded me of mine and Jeryl’s younger days.

I found a quiet corner and called back to Utah. Both kids were still at their afterschool activities, so I left them a message, chatted with Mrs. Eccles for a few minutes. As soon as my call ended, my phone buzzed.

“This is Paul,” I said without bothering to look at the caller ID. Only people that needed my direct number had it.

“A little advanced planning is appreciated for the security detail, Paul,” Lila said. “I’m glad you’re getting out, but is a frat party really a smart move?” I could not tell from her tone if she was serious or not.

“It’s two sorority socials. It should be pretty low-key. Nobody knows I’m attending, since I didn’t know myself until a few minutes ago.”

Lila laughed. “I got you!” she said. “I think it’s a good idea for you to do something social for a change. You’ve been too cooped up for the past six months.”

“I guess I have. I didn’t even think about security. Nicole is with me, along with a driver whose name I didn’t catch. Is that enough for dinner and two parties?”

“Hardly. His name is James. He’s a contract driver out there. But you have more than that with you. Nicole can introduce you to a couple of folks. She’ll be at the parties with you along with some back-up nearby.”

“How do you put together a detail that quickly?” I asked.

“I just extended them. They were in place for your trip today to meet with the President of the University. They might have thought it was a milk run, but they are paid for a full day, so they’ll stay engaged. I’ll also let the FBI know.”

“FBI?”

“You’re a national asset, Paul. The government finally realized that. Sometimes it’s the Secret Service and sometimes it’s the FBI. We keep them informed of your general movements in the States.”

“On who’s fucking authority?”

“The President’s. You know, your sister’s boss. The way I heard it, was that every agent assigned should turn in their badges if something happened to you on U.S. soil. They’ve got a detail in Stanford for just when you visit out there.”

I sighed.

“I guess there’s nothing I can do about it,” I said. “At least they’re discreet.”

“Try to have a little fun, Paul. Just remember you’re going to be surrounded by stupid college kids, alcohol, and probably some recreational drugs. Keep your wits about you.”

“Yes, mother,” I said as I ended the call.

“Your mother, or mine?” Chrissy asked as she stopped next to me with a garment bag and small duffle.

“Lila,” I said. “I guess I didn’t think about some of the risks in going to a couple of college parties.”

Chrissy’s face fell. “Does that mean we...”

I held my hand up. “We’ll still go, but a few security folks will be around to make sure we’re safe. I hope that won’t put too much of a damper on the evening.”

Her smile returned. “Nicole is cool. She can pass for a college girl.”

We headed out. Chrissy cleaned up first while I made a couple of more calls. She looked very attractive wrapped in a towel as she asked me what I was wearing. I shrugged and pointed to the master bedroom closet. She examined a few shirts and jackets and then saw me staring at her.

“Go take a quick shower. I’ll lay something out that will look good next to me.”

That’s how I ended up in a Brooks Brothers blazer and shirt, chinos, and loafers. She handed me a Chopard watch with a leather band that matched the loafers. She was in a little black dress and red designer shoes. I’m sure Jeryl would have recognized them. I just commented on how lovely she looked.

“I would hope so.” she said with a smile. “I wore this outfit in Paris last fall. Now, where are we going for dinner? I’m a poor, starving college student.”

I laughed. “And a poor actress,” I said. “I made us reservations at Wolfgang’s, if that’s alright.”

“Wolfgang’s? I don’t think that’s a college place.”

“Hardly. It’s a rather exclusive steakhouse. Kelly introduced me to it when we first came out here. It doesn’t really advertise. They like to say that only people who should know about Wolfgang’s, know about Wolfgang’s.”

Twenty minutes later, we were efficiently escorted to our private table in the storied establishment. The rich leather booth provided both comfort and privacy. Many significant deals had been worked out in the booths of Wolfgang’s. I had chosen them, so we could have a little privacy and avoid the publicity dinner together would probably create at a less discrete establishment.

We ordered, let the waiter know we needed to be out the door by seven-fifteen, and then smiled at one another.

“So, what brought you to Stanford, really?” Chrissy asked.

“I was meeting with the President of the University and the board of trustees.”

“About?” she asked with a smile. “It would be much easier if you just told me. That way I won’t have to try to tease it out of you with my womanly wiles.”

“I didn’t think you had ‘womanly wiles’ to wield on me,” I said, returning her smile.

She blushed and fluttered her eyes.

“So, what really brought you to Stanford today?” she asked again.

“An endowment. I’m funding a new building and curriculum combining fashion, design and technology.”

“Like what Jeryl started in Sydney?” she asked excitedly.

I nodded.

“They’ll break ground on it after the semester and should have the grand opening before you graduate.”

“That’s so cool. I’ve been leaning that direction on my individualized degree program. I want to marry technology and design, like Jeryl started doing.”

I was surprised to not feel the hole in my heart at the mention of Jeryl. That absence had its own, unique pain. Something must have shown on my face.

“I’m sorry, Paul. You probably miss her more than I can imagine. She was a friend and inspiration to me. She was so much more to you. I’m sorry for comparing myself to her.”

I saw the tears in her eyes and reached across the small table to pat her hand in comfort.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Chrissy. She thought just as highly of you. We can both miss her in our own ways.”

The waiter returned with our salads, giving us a needed interruption. By the time we each had taken a few bites of our salads, we had both regained our composure.

“So, what else are you up to?” Chrissy asked.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on Astra Station’s construction and doing some design work on the lunar base.”

“Everyone in the school of engineering is talking about that. They’re all speculating on what the next mission will be. You’ve kept your plans quiet.”

“I decided to keep things a little closer to the vest while the political situation was unsettled. Now that it looks like we’re getting back to a more even keel in the world, I’ll have Billy start releasing a few more updates on our progress.”

She nodded. “I saw you on the news last week, delivering humanitarian aid to North Korea. That video surprised me. I don’t think I would be helping them after what they did.”

I remembered the images of the strikes against North Korea.

“The people didn’t do anything to me. The leadership did. Once the U.N. forces removed the regime, I thought it was important to address some of the causes their leadership was trying to hide from. There was pretty widespread famine that the political leadership feared would spark a revolution. Having an external enemy gave them reason to suppress any dissent. I wanted to ensure those same people received some relief and more than simple words of intent once the military strikes were over.”

“Well,” she said as she speared a tomato on her salad, “you’ve got a bigger heart than I would have.”

Our conversation flowed easily through dinner. She told me about her classes and her plans for the next year.

“That’s one thing I did want to ask you about,” I said as I handed the waiter my credit card. “I’ll be heading down to Australia in a few weeks. Would you like to hop a ride?”

“When?” My classes finish in two weeks.

“The kids finish school at the end of the month. I was going to go down then and let them have some fun on the beach at Learmonth while I finish supervising mission preparations.”

“I’ve got to be out of the dorms the day after classes end. Could you put me up until we go?” she asked.

“Certainly. Do you want to stay out here or visit us in Utah? If you’re anxious to get home, I can arrange a ticket as well.”

“No, I’d rather focus on toning up and saying ‘hi’ to Ali and Jer. But I don’t want to hang around Stanford for two weeks when most of my friends will be gone. How would I get to Utah?”

I waved away her concern and signed the check. “We’ll have to coordinate, but I’m back out to the office here about once a week now. Just let me know the dates, and I’ll arrange to fly over, and you can fly back with me. Ali and Jer will be excited to see you.”

James drove us to the first sorority house. We had switched cars for the evening, riding in one of the new Mercedes with special security modifications rather than the Range Rover. Heads turned as we pulled up. I hopped out and came around to open the door and hand Chrissy out of the car.

“Chrissy!” an attractive co-ed in a black skirt and colorful blouse called as we walked up the sidewalk.

“Betsy,” Chrissy said. “Thanks for inviting me.” They did what I thought of as the Hollywood hug and fake kisses on the cheeks before turning to me.

“Betsy, this is my good friend, Paul. Paul, this is Betsy, the rush chairwoman at Kappa Alpha Theta.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Betsy,” I said.

Betsy gave Chrissy and appraising look. “You’ve not mentioned knowing Paul Taylor before, Chrissy. You’ve been holding out on me.”

Chrissy smiled. “As I said, we’re good friends. Paul’s one of the reasons I chose Stanford for school. His wife was the person that got me into modeling as well. I owe them so much.”

I shook my head. “You owe nothing,” I said.

“Well,” Betsy said, “You need to go inside and mingle. It’s just social right now, but a DJ will be starting in a little bit. I need to man the door for a while but will catch up with you later.”

We went inside, and Chrissy held onto my arm as we faced a throng of people. The men and boys ogled her curves and beauty. I hoped no one took notice of me. That hope was dashed, but not how I expected it.

“Dude,” a large, boy-faced man said to me as Chrissy chatted with a couple of the sorority sisters nearby. “Don’t you think you’re a little old to be chasing her?” he asked with a tip of his head toward Chrissy.

“I’m not chasing her, she just invited me along tonight,” I said.

“So, you won’t mind if I put a move on her?” he asked.

“It’s a free country,” I replied.

He grinned and stepped around me. I wondered how this would play out.

“Chrissy, you’re looking as fine as ever,” he said with a leer at her cleavage.

“Jack, you’re sounding as inane as ever,” she replied as she rolled her eyes as she turned to check on me.

“Why don’t you ditch the old dude and let me show you a good time?” he asked, oblivious to her body language.

I was surprised when she reached out and patted his cheek with almost tenderness.

“Jack, you may be a star on the baseball field here, but I don’t think you can compete with Paul, so why don’t you just give it a rest for once.”

He glanced my way, confused.

“What’s he got?”

Chrissy laughed. I could tell it was forced, but it still quieted the crowd near us.

“He’s got his own fleet of rockets, several hit television shows, an orbital habitat, a Nobel prize, and more fucking money than most countries. How’s that for starters?”

I had been enjoying a relatively low profile until then. She moved back to my side and took my arm possessively.

“I think the Tri-Deltas are having a party tonight as well,” she said loudly enough to turn a few more heads. “Let’s go see if they have a few more gentlemen attending.”

Chrissy took my arm and turned us toward the door. I waited until we were back in the car to ask if she really wanted to leave or not.

She laughed. “If I join a sorority, it’s more likely to be the Tri-Deltas anyway. I’ve got more friends there. Kappa Alpha Theta always felt a little more snotty and fake to me. They want me, I don’t necessarily want them.”

I shook my head. Oh, to be young again.

“I’m sorry, Paul, but we just can’t get it over the line,” Sheryl said. “I really think a face-to-face meeting with you would get it done.”

Sheryl had been the obvious choice of my former PA’s and current executives to become PT Innovations COO as Jeryl’s replacement. She had stepped into the head of manufacturing after Matthew’s death, and done that along with the CEO role of DigiNet. She had performed so well, it was easy to forget all she did.

Donna had taken on the joint responsibilities of CEO and COO at DigiNet while Sheryl took over the contractual and deal making responsibilities for our main company. She hired a new VP of manufacturing but watched them pretty closely. It had taken nearly six months to settle into a normal working relationship with her as COO. I had remained focused on orbital aspects of the business as she took on the more regular business aspects.

“What seems to be the sticking point? It’s usually pretty easy to give money for research. Has anyone talked to Dr. Perdew directly?”

Dr. John Perdew was doing seminal work in density functional theory. His research and mathematical constructs had been instrumental in my own research in my first life. He was close to twenty years into his teaching career at Tulane. I wanted to tap into his keen insight and work with him. Usually, funding a specific research project was enough to make that happen. Endowing a research chair was a step beyond that. We had expressed willingness to do either or both but seemed to have hit a roadblock with the university.

“He has not been in any of the meetings we’ve held so far. Honestly, if he was, I don’t know that I would understand him if he started getting technical. I need either you or Hunter in those conversations.”

I sighed and looked at my calendar. Tamara was nearly pulling her hair out as my schedule seemed more hectic than usual. I had Allen down at Learmonth overseeing the final checks for the lunar mission until I got down there at the end of the month. We were working globally to get generator production schedules smoothed out again, along with work to re-start the stealth compound production and DoD auctions.

“Okay, let me see if I can move one meeting and I might be able to make it down there on Thursday or Friday. I’ll have Tamara confirm once I know. Let them know that if the meeting time is inconvenient for them, I’ll be going back to Johns Hopkins or Virginia Tech. That should let them know they are only hanging by a thread.”

“I will. Do you need Candace or me in the meeting?”

“Since you’ve been dealing with them, you should both be there. I’ll hop over to Stanford, pick you up, and then be on our way. I’ll let you know details by the end of the day.”

“Thanks, Paul. I’m sorry I couldn’t get this done without bothering you.”

“It’s hardly your fault. Take a look at everything else so we know what support you’ll need over the next two months. The GOT makes it easier to get back and forth, but I’d rather not have to be hopping all over the world once I head down to Learmonth.”

“Understood. Thanks,” she said.

I ended the call and then briefed Tamara of yet another change in my schedule.

“Well, we can pick up Chrissy when you get Sheryl and Candace,” she said. “That will be one less loose end to keep track of.”

“As long as she doesn’t mind a visit to Atlanta and New Orleans,” I said. “Let her know what’s going on with regard to travel. If she would rather, we can just send the GS-3 for her and get her back to Utah. Hell, we can get her a seat on the Frisco-Sydney hop with Qantas if she would prefer.”

Tamara had a little smirk but nodded. “I’ll give her the option, but I think I know her preference.”

A day later, Chrissy, Candace, and Sheryl were waiting at the airport when we landed. Our turn-around time at Stanford was less than thirty minutes and then we were hopping across the country to Atlanta.

“You’re looking very chic, Chrissy,” Tamara commented as we leveled out for the mid-section of our flight.

Chrissy was wearing a perfectly tailored charcoal suit with a cream blouse. She looked more suited for business than I did. As far as that went, all three ladies looked more dressed for meetings than I did. I was in what would pass for business casual in most firms; chinos, a blue shirt and blazer with comfortable loafers.

“Are you trying to say I should dress in a suit again, Tamara?”

Sheryl shook her head. “If she is, I’d disagree. We’re meeting with executives at Delta. They’ll be dressed in suits. You dressed more casually will put them off-guard. That will demonstrate who has the power in the meeting more than anything. They are looking for something from us, not the other way around.”

“What do they want?” Chrissy asked.

“A deal like we did with Qantas,” I said. “They want me to expand my piloting staff to let them lease some GOTs for long-haul global routes.”

“Wow. I guess I’ll wait while you guys have that meeting,” she said.

“No need. It’s not like it’s that big a secret, what they want. We’ll just say you’re a summer intern if they ask.”

Tamara and Sheryl nodded.

“Okay, Sheryl, what is our thinking on this deal?” I asked.

“We’ve got thirty crews trained and staffed for Qantas, but some of the more senior pilots are also in the running for more orbital work as we build out Astra Station. Two years from now, when the station is fully operational, we’ll need more orbital crews if we ramp up research and tourism flights.”

“How many more?”

Tamara jumped in. “If we figure a flight a day, we would want six crews for operations and another six on stand-by.”

“Why so many?” Chrissy asked.

“Notionally, a craft would go to orbit every third day,” Tamara replied. “We would double the crews to allow for illness, vacations, and such so the flight crew would be going every sixth trip. Since we want training redundancies and what-not, we would then have six other crews doing rotational work and generally available. It might turn out that we have four crews on for a week and then on the ground for three weeks, depending on training and operational needs.”

“Long answer, short,” I said, “We need the scheduling flexibility so are planning for that. So, if we let Delta buy ten routes from us, we would boost the crews for terrestrial routes to sixty and then pick our twelve orbital crews from them over the next two years.”

“That makes sense,” Chrissy said and then blushed. “I mean, I understand. I’m not trying to judge your guys’ business acumen. I’m just a college student, after all.”

We all smiled.

“Chrissy,” Sheryl said, “If you spend much time around us, you’ll learn that Paul insists we all speak our mind and ask smart questions. When you don’t understand things, that is the time to ask a question and keep asking until you do understand.”

Tamara nodded. “We even had TV shows trying to make that point,” she added with a smile.

“It’s kind of amazing that you guys are planning for two years from now. I’m lucky to be planning for three months in the future.”

“Taking the long view is important. It’s also one of the hardest things to teach,” I said.

Chrissy nodded and then sat back in her seat. I could see she was thinking hard. We continued discussing options and things we would get from a deal with Delta beyond their funding our crew expansion plans.

By the time we landed at Hartsfield in Atlanta, we were on the same page in terms of what we wanted out of the negotiations. I got to play the ‘bad-cop’ for a change but knew it would not be much of a stretch. I hated posturing and politics.

Sheryl’s assertion that my more casual dress would put them off was spot on. The negotiation team of all men in business suits and power ties did seem to be at a loss when we entered the room; three sharp-dressed women and a man in a blazer. Leo Mullin, the CEO seemed to be the only one able to stop staring at Chrissy as introductions were made.

I kept my smile to myself and settled into the meeting. A glance at the agenda told me we needed to put them further off-guard.

“It looks like the agenda has changed,” I said as we sat down. The printed agenda at each place around the large conference table had too much time allocated to background of Delta.

Leo looked concerned and glanced at his corporate counsel. “What’s changed?” he asked the man.

“We thought it would be good to provide a bit more background and context for Mr. Taylor since he has not been involved in the discussions to date,” the man replied.

“I’m fully briefed by Sheryl on the task and expectations for this meeting,” I said. “You want us to lease GOT capacity, operational crews, and maintenance to you in a similar manner to the arrangement we have with Qantas. Nothing here reflects the fact that Qantas had government backing and concessions they could bring to the table that Delta can’t. Posturing on your history and size does not alter that fact.”

The chief negotiator from Delta frowned, as did the CEO.

“So what sort of concessions beyond price would be an enticement?” Leo asked.

“What do you have to offer? Frankly, I’m not certain I want to expand my flight operations arm right now. We have plenty keeping us busy as it is.”

“What about jobs in Savannah?” one man asked. “Gulfstream’s production book for the GOT is nearly empty. Don’t you want your partner to keep the capability fresh?”

I shrugged. “They are ramping up production of the new GS-4, so have plenty of work before them. In fact, I believe you are one of the biggest customers for that new airplane.”

The GS-4 was the size of a regional jet, but with significantly longer and faster legs. It would let airlines serve domestic and short international routes much more efficiently and in a more cost-effective manner. Boeing was moving forward with a mid- to long-haul solution as well. Both relied heavily on my materials portfolios.

“We know your business interests in Asia and Europe could benefit from better, faster travel,” Leo said. “We have tentative approval for routes from our hub in Salt Lake City to Beijing, Singapore, Dublin, Barcelona, and Zurich. We could service those routes with existing long-haul aircraft, but then your staff would hardly reap any benefits of faster travel.”

I nodded. It was an interesting proposal. If nothing else, our security team would appreciate the convenience.

“So, you’re offering guaranteed seats on those routes for us?”

“Within reason. A standard GOT carries sixty in comfort. We think you could reconfigure to handle more. If we can arrange the cabin to handle eighty-four or more, we would reserve two seats until 24 hours prior to travel and could cover four seats with four days’ notice.”

I nodded. “That could be a start. What else did you have in mind?”

The Delta team exchanged looks.

“The other routes we have planned would be based out of Atlanta. We’re looking at South America and Africa routes with possible links to either Amsterdam or London. We believe we can tie into locations Qantas is serving and create a global network of GOT routes. We would be interested in creating a GOT alliance with them.”

“Another interesting idea. I can see that being worthwhile, but I’m not sure how it helps my company.”

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