Chương 51: Book 3 - Chapter 2 A

The next day, after breakfast, Matt, Jennifer and I climbed into the van, driven by a hotel employee for an airport run. At the airport, we boarded a Cessna 208 configured for six passengers and cargo. It was a quick, bumpy flight to the small Addison airport north of Dallas. From there, I proceeded to a meeting at Heartland Software. After getting settled around the conference table, Blake Sanders, CEO of Heartland and my business partner, introduced the other members in the room, including Tim.

He then continued, "Dr Cook, congratulations, are you bringing us new software, or something else?" I pulled the rolling office chair a bit closer to the table.

"Glad to be back here, Blake, and congratulations on your success over the past year. I'm here because I want to run an idea past you. What do you think of merging with another software company or two?"

"I don't know, we are successful enough now that we don't need to do so. What are you thinking?" Blake asked.

"I'm thinking I'll buy twenty-five percent of two other companies. We'll split the software categories up between them: programming systems and utilities stay here at Heartland, one company takes action games and the third does educational software. Each company gets twenty-five percent of the new company."

"I'd want to keep Civilization here, it is the flagship for Open Pascal. Why does this merging of software companies make sense?" Blake asked.

"We can keep strategy games here," I agreed.

"It makes sense if the three companies offload production, sales, distribution and marketing to one centralized management. It makes the three companies more profitable, and able to better focus on making products."

"I see the business logic. Who are you thinking of going to?"

"Brøderbund and Sierra On-line," Jennifer answered for me.

"Why two computer game companies?" Tim asked, still unsure.

"We don't compete with them," I told him.

"Sierra does adventure games. Brøderbund has an action game company that they can't make a profit from, plus a new edutainment game that's going to be a big hit. Brøderbund has been trying to attract outside investment, most people only know it as the Printshop company. With the merger, they won't need outside investment to grow. Sierra would actively welcome offloading marketing and production. They're happiest creating adventure games. I think I can convince them both," I explained.

"What do you want to call the new company?" Blake asked.

"BHS works for me," I said, after a brief pause.

"I certainly don't want to call it Cook Software."

"And the existing owners would all have a place in the board of this BHS Company?" Blake asked.

"Yes, Jennifer here would still vote my shares on the board," I answered. Jennifer took the opportunity to add her thoughts.

"The best benefit of the deal for Sierra Online is that they get first use of John's software programming updates. Sierra has a problem right now because they wrote King's Quest for the IBM PCjr, and it's not compatible with the new IBM PC/AT, so they are having to go back and rewrite it. It is extra difficult because while it's a great game, IBM didn't sell many PCjrs."

"I'm willing to consider it. Go see if they're interested and get back to me," Blake offered.

"It would be nice to have some help from you with our competition with Borland and Turbo Pascal," Tim added.

"We are matching them on price, but our product is better. You haven't updated the software in nearly a year, they will catch up."

"I brought updates," I told Tim, generating smiles of relief and anticipation around the room. Blake looked thoughtful.

"I've recently been thinking that a magazine would be good for the company. It could be somewhere to advertise all three divisions." I smiled, and considered his idea.

"There isn't a combination PC/Mac magazine yet. Perhaps something that considers hardware for both, plus software. We can emphasize when software is available on both platforms, include articles on writing for both and even articles on learning to program," I suggested.

"I like that idea, when do you plan on meeting with the others?" Tim asked.

"Sometime soon, it depends on when I can get to California."

"Okay," Blake said, "Let's review our current status and the updates you brought." When we broke for lunch, a small crowd gathered. They were eager to congratulate the new Dr Cook, as well as enjoy the catered meal. After lunch at Heartland I went with Jennifer to her home office in Dallas. There, I met with her bosses for the first time.

"Welcome, Dr Cook. Have you gotten tired of people calling you that yet?" the distinguished man asked me. Jennifer made introductions.

"This is George Malley, my boss. He's a senior partner here at Sterling, Malley & Associates."

"I'm not tired of it yet but you can call me John," I said, shaking his hand firmly.

"Great, we're happy you came by, why don't we head into my office, where it's a bit cozier," George said. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. His office was backed with a wall of windows, looking south away from the central conglomeration of similar towers found in Dallas. The room was heavily decorated in a subtle Texas motif, a polished longhorn bull in bronze took pride of place on a shelf.

We settled down into two couches facing each other in the room, and George Malley raised an eyebrow when Jennifer chose to sit next to me, instead of him.

"I've been thrilled with Jennifer's work," I began.

"She's become indispensable to me, and the support from the office here in Dallas has been extra appreciated."

"We were wondering how the relationship was going. She's closed deals worth more this year than most of the other partners, much less any associates." An older woman stuck her head in.

"Sorry I'm late, I was stuck on a call with a client." Jennifer rose and hugged the woman.

"I was hoping you were here today." Turning to me, Jennifer said, "This is Mirabelle Stirling, our founding partner." I stood to shake her hand.

"Ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"I heard the young Doctor was going to be here, so I made sure I was in the office today," Mirabelle said, and sat happily next to George Malley. Mirabelle asked George, "So what did I miss?"

"I was just complimenting Jennifer for her excellent work and the incredible help she's been," I summarized.

"Wonderful," Mirabelle said, "and Jennifer, how has it been working for such a go-getter?"

"Exhausting," Jennifer chuckled.

"I never know what new thing he's going to throw at me next."

"You've caught each one like a pro," I complimented.

"Excellent. Now, what can the firm do to make things better?" Mirabelle asked.

"The firm here in Dallas has been incredibly helpful," I explained.

"Jennifer has called on all your resources as needed, but she's a bit shorthanded all by herself in Tulsa. What are the chances you can open a small office there and get her some assistants?" George gave a slight frown.

"That's certainly something we will discuss. It's not something that can be decided immediately. If it was a more senior member of our staff, then perhaps it would be easier to arrange." I saw where he was leading. I wouldn't accept anyone but Jennifer.

"Jennifer is my trusted confidant and I'm not particularly interested in developing a close working relationship with someone new. I started off with a firm across the street in Tulsa because they were close and convenient. I quickly realized that they were not going to be long term, as they were limited in what they could do for me."

"It is important to find someone you trust to handle business dealings," Mirabelle said. Then she directed a comment at George.

"Perhaps it's time we consider if the excellent work Jennifer has been doing is sufficient for a promotion."

"Again, something to be discussed later," George said, then seeing my face, continued, "and we will certainly discuss it soon."

"Good, I'm especially excited about your patent team here in Dallas. I hope they are ready to hit the ground running."

"They are ready," George confirmed.

"He's serious about being ready," Jennifer warned.

"John had fourteen patents granted in the last year, and still another two dozen or so still pending."

"Who did that work?" Mirabelle asked.

"Tulsa University, because I was a University student, and Tulsa University gets partial ownership of my patents while I was a student." I explained.

"And now, you have graduated, so they have no claim, and you need someone else to do the work," Mirabelle finished.

"Exactly," I agreed. George changed the subject.

"I couldn't reach you the other day, were you out of town?"

"Sorry," Jennifer said.

"I got your message, but didn't get back from Corning until early yesterday."

"Jennifer did an amazing job at Corning."

"Oh?" asked Mirabelle, "I haven't heard about that yet." Jennifer proudly explained.

"I made a deal using the patents John has for graphene flakes, and the water filtration felt, including the related production process patents for ten percent of the company, plus an ongoing royalty."

"Graphene felt?" Mirabelle asked. I pulled a sample of carbon felt from my pocket and handed it to her.

"It's a remarkably strong material, with a range of properties that shift depending on how it's manufactured."

"It's very lightweight," she commented.

"That particular version is a ground-breaking water filter," Jennifer said.

"Fascinating," Mirabelle said, handing it to George.

"I heard something about using it for distilling whiskey?" George asked, as he rubbed the dark black material between his fingers.

"Distillation removes alcohol from water, the alcohol boils off first, which is then condensed back to liquid."

"I'm familiar with the process," George said, with a smile.

"You can pour any liquid through that filter and only water will come out the other side, leaving behind everything else, including flavor. You can keep that if you'd like to try it out."

"Thank you, I'll definitely try it," George agreed. Returning the same day on a different plane from the closer Love Field in Dallas to the Riverside Airport in Tulsa, Jennifer vibrated with a mixture of elation and apprehension on the flight home.

"I can't believe you dropped the whole 'what are the chances you can open a small office' line. And then! Then, you tell them I need a promotion! What were you thinking?" she demanded.

"I was thinking that Mirabelle is ready to fully retire, and she wants another woman as a partner in the firm before she does."

"What? But she only comes in a couple days a month, she loves her firm, why would she give that up?"

"Eight grandkids? That's the story she will spin, anyway. Really, she knows that George wants her gone so he can be completely in charge."

"He does like being the boss," she agreed.

"And you want to be partner before you turn thirty," I reminded her. She let out a low growl then turned to the stewardess, her voice tight, "Can I have a coffee please, cream and sugar."

"I'll have the same," Matt said. The stewardess looked at me.

"Dr Pepper please," I requested.

"Doctor for the Doctor," Matt chuckled.

"You'll grow out of that joke eventually, but it will take an unfortunately long amount of time," I told him. I received my drink first, the simple 'pop' of the can top the only preparation needed. The hour-long flight felt shorter on the larger plane, as Matt and I played Go Fish. I watched Jennifer spend the rest of the flight either stewing or reading the large pile of papers that she was taking back from the office. We got home just in time for dinner.