Chương 82: Book 3 - Chapter 12 B

In June the family took a vacation to Fountainhead. We were enjoying the swimming pool and the sun.

"Ray, this place is beautiful," Mom told my Dad.

"It really is, Dad," I agreed, admiring the remodel work he had organized.

"The pool with the big window is neat!" Mattie agreed.

"Well the pool window was already here but we did remodel the bar," Dad said. Mom leaned over and kissed him.

"You did a very good job. I've been thinking, if I can't go with Johnny on his next trip, I could possibly go with you on yours."

"That would be very nice. We had fun when we went to New Hampshire. You were a big help as well." I turned to Grandpa who was enjoying a lounger and a drink under an umbrella.

"Whatever designer you hired for this job, keep them. They managed to modernize and keep the mid-century-modern vibe. I'm really impressed."

"I sent it out to a couple different firms. One had a god-awful 'Miami Vice' knockoff theme."

"Send me a copy of the company information, I'll want them to do my own place like this in a few years." Grandma turned her focus from where Mattie was doing cannonballs into the pool, to me, "Speaking of your own place, I believe you promised me you would find me a Frank Lloyd Wright house."

"I did," I admitted. Mom perked up, as she hadn't heard about this. Grandma continued, "I really love being able to see you and Mattie nearly every day. I'm enjoying room service at the hotel, and Joe's 30-second commute means he's always home for dinner. I'm not so sure I want to live somewhere else anymore." She looked at Grandpa and me. I could see the worry on her face.

"Do we need to move out? Does the hotel need the rooms?"

"No, we are fine," I assured her.

"In fact, if Aunt Joan wants to move herself and her kids here from Illinois there's plenty of room," I told her, getting wide eyed surprise from my parents.

"Oh, that sounds marvelous. She hasn't been sure what to do since her divorce."

"Would you consider a Frank Lloyd Wright vacation home?" I asked her.

"That would be a very lovely compromise, where?"

"On an island, in a lake, in New York."

"Is that where that house you showed me is?"

"Not exactly. The picture I showed you was for a design never built at that location. We will have to go to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to get the plans completed. But it was designed by him for that spot."

"Well that explains why I couldn't find the house you showed me. I thought maybe it was in Tulsa, but it didn't look anything like the picture. Then I got a picture book of houses but I still couldn't find it."

"I did say it was a surprise Grandma," I said with a smile.

"I'm so excited," she said.

"I'm going to go call Joan and let her know she can move into the hotel too!" We all watched her eagerly scurry off to call Joan. Later Grandpa came and got me to ask about the house.

"It's a heart-shaped island in a lake in New York," I told him.

"Is it going to be expensive?"

"I promise to never tell Grandma you asked that question," I said pointedly.

"The house is her dream, and the least we can do is make that dream happen." He took a big breath, and smiled.

"Okay, so what will it take to make her dream come true."

"There's an existing structure, a guesthouse, designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. The big expansive building that was originally planned was never built because the guy that commissioned the work didn't want to pay for what it would cost to build."

"So, expensive," he commented again. I nodded in agreement.

"The preliminary drawings still exist. Unfortunately, if we take them to anyone but the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, they'll sue us for calling it a Frank Lloyd Wright house. It'll be a bit of struggle to convince them that a Frank Lloyd Wright house can be properly engineered, watertight, and have modern conveniences, like central heating and cooling."

"What's so great about this house?" he asked, wondering if it was worth the trouble.

"Frank himself bragged it was going to be his greatest home yet, even better than Fallingwater."

"The waterfall house? I took your Grandma there many years ago on a vacation. I think that's why she wants a Frank Lloyd Wright house."

"It really is the perfect vacation home for us: good security, surrounded by a lake, plenty of room, and even a spot for a helicopter pad so we can drop right in." Just before my birthday at the lake, I knocked on my parents' hotel room door.

"Yes, John?" Dad asked as he opened the door, finding me there.

"Can I talk with you and Mom?" I asked nervously.

"Sure, come in."

"What's going on?" my Mom asked, looking up from the book she was reading on the couch in the suite. I sat in the chair across from her, and Dad settled in next to her, both watching me intently.

"I need to talk to you both. It is really important, and I hope you can hear me out."

"We're listening, go ahead," my Dad said encouragingly. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"I'm going to be ten years old in a few days. I've got success, recognition, a ton of money and unfortunately a life that's going to keep pulling me away from Tulsa. That is just going to keep happening. I can't move every company I'm involved in here just so I'll be close at home. It was fortunate that Axis Productions moved the headquarters here, but even then I don't do much there.

"I really appreciate the patience you showed when I took off for Ukraine with only a short phone call to warn you. I really don't want to file for emancipation, you're my parents, and you're great. You have been so supportive in every way.

"The problem is that if I were to move out to California to be closer to General Atomics where most of my work is right now, even with a house of my own, Social Services would sweep in and stick me in a foster home. It's been okay, because I've been staying at a hotel for only a week or two at a time, and I've had Matt as my adult supervision, but I really need to be spending more time there.

"What do you think? You guys seem to have a pretty happy life here, and I see myself coming back here a lot, especially since Axis will be here and a few new companies will be here too.

"I know you wouldn't be happy in California, and I don't plan to be there permanently. I don't want to feel like I'm making you move all the time, following me around. I thought maybe since you didn't need to be in Tulsa any more for my university education, you guys could move back to Hoyt if you wanted. It wouldn't take much to install an airstrip and Dad could fly to whatever hotel he needed to be at and build a home office there too."

"I'm very happy at the Mayo," Mom said.

"I've finished my degree and plan to open a music conservatory. I've been working with the Tulsa Performing Arts Center to identify staff, students and a location. Your Grandpa just bought the building next door and the parking garage. There will be a new space for my conservatory and his new company offices."

"I've been thinking about selling the ranch in Hoyt," Dad said.

"I love it here and I love what I'm doing. I really enjoy bringing these old buildings back to life. The Ambassador in LA is going to have to be a full reconstruction, there is no other way to make it earthquake-resistant. I don't need to be in California for that as I am not going to be really involved. That's new construction that will look original. I'm mostly supervising restorations. Right now that is at the hotels in Oklahoma, Texas and Illinois.

"I've got my eyes on some other properties like old office buildings that really need a face-lift. Our company is getting a great reputation for the kind of historical preservation and complete modernization we seem to be specializing in.

"I understand what you are asking, and I can see you don't really want to get emancipated. But regardless, we support you if you really think it is necessary," he finished.

"Thank you," I said, tears in my eyes. Dad stood picking me up in a big hug. Mom joined him, tears on her face, and they squeezed me tight.

"You'll always be our son and we'll always support you. Just don't be gone too long at a time and always come home to visit," Mom requested.

"I promise, Mom. You can still come visit me anytime."

"I'll tell you a secret," she said.

"I hate flying. It's much better if you come visit me."

"Okay, I promise." Later that evening, when I was back in my own hotel room, I called Jennifer.

"Jen, it's me."

"Are you okay, John?" she asked, hearing the change in my voice. I sighed.

"Tough day today. I talked to Mom and Dad about emancipation."

"Oh," she said softly, "How did it go."

"They agreed, but even though it is necessary it still hurts."

"I'm sure it hurts you too."

"Yeah, it does. Get Cook Island Investments to close on that La Jolla house, and get the paperwork started on the emancipation."

"Understood, the emancipation will take a few months. I'll be hiring a specialist lawyer to handle it for you," she warned.

"That's fine. It just has to be done before California Social Services decides they need to rescue me from my beach-front mansion."

"That place is going to need staff to keep it up."

"Find a company to hire, someone reliable and with a good reputation for privacy."

"My team here will get it started in the morning, and done as quick as we can. Is there anything else?" she asked.

"No, that's it. Thanks Jen, you're the best."

"You're welcome, John. Have a good night." After a successful July Fourth birthday at the resort and firing off fireworks at the lake we headed back to Tulsa. After being back a few days, I met with Jennifer and her team.

"Wow, there's a lot of you."

"Remember, they actually all work for you," she said.

"Hello, boss!" they all greeted in unison with smiles. I smiled at Jennifer.

"Sounds like you had them practice that," I told her. She smiled back.

"It was Matt's idea."

"So how many employees do I have?"

"Here? There are fourteen."

"They are the people you hired because cloning didn't work?" I teased.

"That's right. I'm still short a few people, so if you figure out cloning let me know."

"That works out then, because I'm going to be spending a lot of time in California. I need people here to keep on top of everything while I'm gone."

"I was thinking the same thing, do I need to send some of them to California?"

"To do what?" I asked.

"Be your assistant or to communicate what you need back to this office?"

"I don't think so, but I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to be making some changes with the emancipation coming up." She pulled out her notepad and looked up at me, pen ready.

"Okay, give it to me, I'm ready."

"Security is going to be fully handled by the company we hired for the family, and Matt will be getting promoted."

"I am?" he asked.

"You are. You are now my personal assistant. When I need to be in two places at the same time, you'll be in one of them for me."

"What about the rest of the time?" he asked.

"Right next to me or managing the home office. You know better than anyone else what I'm up to and what plans I'm working on."

"Thanks, boss," he said.

"Does it come with a raise?"

"Sure, I'll double your salary. If you need extra help managing the home office in California, talk to Jennifer. Apparently I've got staff she can assign to the job." He gave a little cheer, and Jennifer rolled her eyes at him, "What else is changing?"

"LTV."

"What's LTV?" she asked.

"LTV Corporation is going to file for bankruptcy in a couple of days. I want as much of it as you can get."

"You want to buy the company?" she asked.

"No, they have sixty-six divisions, many of which have nothing to do with the steel industry. I only want some of them."

"Big bankruptcies can take months, if not years," she warned.

"Wave cash at the judge, and the creditors. I want the entire LTV Aerospace and Defense division. I must have AM General, but try to get everything else related to it." She made a note, and someone in the office asked, "How do you know it's going to file for bankruptcy?"

"Hi! Introduce yourself," I told the young man who had asked the question.

"I'm Thomas Franks. I am on the financial planning and accounting team."

"Nice to meet you, Thomas. Generally it is best to not ask how I know things. In this case, everybody important has already figured out that the company has to do something. What will surprise everybody is that it will be the biggest bankruptcy in US history."

"But how do you know that?" he asked, trailing off at the end, then blushed.

"I guess I'm not supposed to ask that."

"Very good, Thomas. Any other questions are fine, though." Jennifer gave him a look and he stayed quiet.

"I think for now, Thomas's questions can wait. What's next?" she asked. So we continued to make plans for my move to California.