Laura's Big Win

by Michelle Tschantre'

  “There can be no greater feeling of love and belonging than I have right now; I have more happiness than I have seen in years, and I owe it to this woman, who I love very much, and to all of you who have made this possible. Is there a man here who could be happier? I believe not. I thank you.”

  With those words, things slowly wound down, with the newlyweds retiring to the motor home for their first married evening, where a small package from Wendy’s Works remained to be opened for a trial run. It had been a memorable day in every respect, but more was to come in the next few weeks.

  The next afternoon, with Laura and Ryan helping a bit, Alice and Vinnie packed her required “take along” belongings into the coach, said their farewells, and virtually sailed off into the sunset with the big cruiser. Waving goodbye, Dennis called out: “Hey, Alice, where ya goin’?”

  “With him, Dennis, with him,” and the big coach glided away, for the moment.

  Chapter 19 – A Step Closer

  At their usual workday morning meeting, Laura and Ryan finally got around to discussing exactly when they would like to be married. The excitement of the previous Saturday’s events with Alice and Vincent had made them realize more acutely they were losing precious time in their own lives. Working on his morning neck massage, Laura decided to bring up the subject, ready or not.

  “I know we’ve talked about a lot of things, but we never did quite get around to deciding when we’ll be married. You know” as she wrapped both arms around him “I don’t want to let the big one slip the hook. You’re not thinking of bolting, are you?”

  “Nope, not a bit. In fact” swinging around in his chair while still managing to hold on to both her hands “I’m not so sure who caught who. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about that myself, and I think you’re right. After seeing those two lovebirds Saturday, it’s as happy as I’ve ever seen Alice. He’s a heck of a guy and I’m sure they’ll have a great time between the two of them.. Sort of puts to rest all those ad’s for ED drugs for middle aged men; he’s a real poster child for virility in late life, isn’t he?”

  “True, but how’s that related to our setting a date? Feeling weak these days, or just threatened?”

  “I’m aging more every day, and the thought of going off on our honeymoon with a cane or a walker just doesn’t seem right. So, I think we need to pick up the pace, okay?”

  It had now become more banter than conversation, but the two of them enjoyed the repartee and the closeness it brought as they understood each other even more. Arms intertwined, Ryan finally got specific.

  “You know we’re heading for the holiday season, Thanksgiving, Christmas, all those festivities. I was thinking maybe we go for it on the Saturday between Christmas and New Years Day, mid-afternoon, reception and dinner to follow. To tell the truth, I don’t want to wait any longer than that for a number of reasons, my own personal desire to be married to you being number one on the list. I don’t want you to make a break for it when you regain your senses. How about it? You willing, or are the feet getting chilly now that I’m getting serious?”

  “Not a chance; you’re not getting away that easy, Big Guy. That’s what Cindy calls you, the ‘Big Guy. How ya doin’ with the Big Guy? Makin’ any progress with the Big Guy?’ She just went nuts when I told her we were engaged. We have to invite her, okay?”

  “She’s in, but you didn’t tell me if the date is good. Better hurry. I’m thinking about going to Wendy’s and see if any of those models are still around.”

  “Yes, yes, yes; that Saturday is fine. I still have tons to do, but if you’re threatening to go to Wendy’s and look around, guess I’d better hurry. By the way, when Alice and I ran there the other day, I did a little shopping myself; you’ll see. So, how do we tell people the date; grand announcement?”

  “Grand announcement. I’ll do that; you get a move on with the invitations. Marcia can help.”

  “But Marcia…”

  “I know, I know; Marcia is supposed to be doing company business, but this involves two officers of the company; what could be more company business than that? Besides, if you tell her she’s invited, she’ll do anything. In the meantime, I need to go see Roger about our annual meeting with staff. Maybe we need to set it up a little this year. Probably wouldn’t hurt to get it clear before the holiday pace sets in and takes up all our time partying. Okay?”

  “Okay. Kiss me enough to last until…..mmff.”

  “Enough?”

  “No, never, I’ll be back for more. Guess I really should do something for the company now. See you, love you.”

  “Love you too”

  “I forgot; one more thing. Remember when you told me the headhunters would call, and I didn’t believe you. You were right; I shouldn’t have doubted. Anyway, I’m not going anywhere, so don’t get your hopes up on escaping me.”

  “I’ll refrain from the obvious, but really, it makes sense. Myself aside for the moment, Windmere is fortunate you’re here; we want to keep you.”

  “So, how about you? Do you want to keep me?”

  “Sure, if you want to be a kept woman. I have some things in mind on how you can earn your keep.”

  “I’ll bet you do. Now go back into your den. No…..wait…..replay. It didn’t last long enough.” Ryan complied, willingly, but had a lot to do in the next few hours.

  Ryan made the short trip to Roger’s office, greeted him, and settled into a chair. It had been the custom at Windmere to combine the annual employee/stockholder meeting with a non-designated holiday event. The nature of the company staff was such that there was an assortment of religious beliefs, races, colors, creeds, ethnic background, nationality, and a little of everything else. So, it was a general meeting, non-descript in name, although everyone knew it was “The Christmas Party,” with a festive air. This year would just be a little more festive. Ryan outlined his plan to Roger; set up the meeting date to the coming Saturday, and suggested they let everyone know as soon as possible, then turn the staff loose on the preparations. Roger was enthusiastic from the beginning, setting the “can do” tone in his response.

  “We need a staff meeting with everyone here right now to get this in place. I had sort of been aiming toward three or four weeks from now, but you’re right; we always seem to get caught in a holiday time crunch of some sort. How about I rally the troops for a brief sitdown to get the basics in line?”

  “Sorry to drop this on you at such a short notice. We just sort of decided we need to get on with our lives and, well, Alice and Vincent made us a little jealous I think; maybe that was what we needed. Anyway, think we can swing it? Your call.”

  “Marcia, can you do an all call for a meeting in the kitchen at 9:30 this morning…..just people already here…..great. Thanks…..Now, you were saying? Gotta tell you, I have always loved being here and being a part of things, but since Laura has been here, the place has its life back, and so, by the way, do you my friend. I’ve seen you watching her; you might fool her, but I know why you want to get married so soon. Little backed up on the testosterone are we?”

  “Not that it’s any of your damned business, but, maybe a little backed up. You think that’s a problem?”

  “Not from what I can see. I don’t blame you. I was your age once, although it’s getting harder all the time to remember that far back. Anyway, what else do we need to talk about?”

  “Can we get Cal to have the private accountants send us a statement, to date plus year end forecast? I haven’t looked in a while and I want to see if we have some wiggle room to maybe give some bonus money out this year. Work for you?”

  “You’re the boss.”

  “Shhh. Only about a dozen people actually know that, and for now, that’s enough. I haven’t discussed it with Laura yet; time just didn’t seem right; but, I’ll get that far soon enough. There were just a lot more important things to handle first, like convincing her to marry me. Strangely, I think maybe that was her idea and it just finally soaked into my thick skull. This
whole thing has been like it’s orchestrated or something; things seem to fall into place. I mean, that episode with the Duesey; who did the kids see? I’m sure they saw someone; it wouldn’t occur to them to make up a story like that. Guess we’ll never know. Anyway, let’s see if Cal can get a hard copy, then meet back here maybe this afternoon and see where we are.”

  “Works for me. By the way, my daughter said she saw Alice and Laura in Wendy’s the other day. I think they were shopping for Alice, but from what she told me Laura was looking at, you better start your vitamins now.”

  “Lecherous old man!”

  “Stallion!”

  The staff meeting in the kitchen was somewhat raucous but good spirited. Everyone dealt with the early date in their own way, quickly adapting their time frames to fit the shortened schedule. Roger suggested they notify their “travelers” as quickly as possible, and make the meeting optional because of the short time frame. He also suggested as an incentive, that Windmere provide a breakfast for the morning meeting. The actual meeting, he anticipated, would take less than hour, but suggested they leave time for informal discussions. Doris would be there to bake iced cinnamon rolls, on the theory that if her baking could melt the minds of a couple of crotchety old auto parts execs, they could do anything. Doris agreed, but countered that they should also have an omelet line since Henry needed Christmas money to buy things for her and only Fernando was really qualified to make a Spanish omelet anyway. Roger was an easy sell, with fond remembrances of Fernando’s culinary skills. Daycare would be provided if needed. The meeting would start at 9:00 AM, after everyone was well fed, coffeed, pottied, and so on. Spouses were included as usual. Pagers, cell phones, land lines, and data lines were hot for the next hour to get the information out, while Laura sat back a bit and again watched in amazement at how this team could function like a greased rocket when the need arose. One thing for sure, she felt more at home here than she had felt at any other place in her adult life, with the sole exception of her own parent’s home; even there, she realized that being in Ryan’s consciousness was more important than her physical surroundings.

  By mid-afternoon, the numbers were hand delivered to Cal and he went to meet with Roger and Ryan. Although the general accounts and daily operating funds were accessible to everyone who needed them, the capital and major operating accounts were maintained by a CPA firm in Conyerville. Ryan had hired them back when the operation was starting out and he and Mary didn’t have the time to do bookkeeping. As Windmere developed and the accounts grew in size, the accountants did less and less of the daily work, functioning more as financial advisors handling major transactions as properties were acquired and the business spread its wings. Only they knew exactly who the stock holders were, and since the company was privately held, no one else had access, even Laura and her growing IT operation. What mattered was that the operation was on solid footing; the chief accountant was tasked to watch trends in operations, and to flag anything he believed to be significant, much as Laura was doing with the daily operations. If there was a difference in operation, it was only that they had far fewer, but much larger, accounts to watch over.

  Taking a seat, Cal handed out the copies of the annotated operating statement, along with the year end predictions. As a long term employee with an excellent track record, his opinion was highly respected, as was his discretion with information. The three sat back and quickly scanned the numbers. Their chief accountant had sensed what they needed and delivered the information in blocks: money in, money out, what’s left over at the end. He did take time to separate the various operations Windmere conducted, such as held and operated properties, properties operated for other owners, their procurement operation, and more recently, Information Technology services provided on a membership basis. Roger was the first able to speak after reading the numbers.

  “Ryan, elope. Marry that girl right now; lock her in her office, do something so she can’t get away. Do you see those numbers on the IT operation? And that’s for only part of a year; can you imagine a whole year at that rate?

  “Ryan, I agree with Roger. Watch those headhunters. This is a whole field we’ve never been in before, and it’s looking great. I can’t say that I know much about it, but I do know what she’s done for my end of the operation is wonderful. We were sort of plodding along like everyone else, getting things done, moving the numbers around. Now I can negotiate on-line with multiple sources, send everything to one file I can watch build on the second screen, place my order, send break-bulk shipping orders, and never break a sweat. While the other guys are looking for something to write on, I’m done and off to the next thing. No one I ever talked to has heard of using two monitors at the same time to make things easier and certainly faster. She said it’s something she learned from taking a basic CAD system class one summer, told our IT system suppliers what she wanted, and, viola, here we are.”

  “Damn. What can I say? I mean, I know she’s got brain power; I just never…..well, you know. I’m as floored as you are. I’m almost afraid to tell her; hard telling what it would cost us. Suddenly Cinderella could run the whole place; well, maybe not the whole place, but a couple of major wings anyway. I really don’t know where to go from here. Should I tell her?” It was one of the very few times in his life Ryan Williams was unsure.

  The three fell silent for a moment. Their operations to date had been very successful, but this new line was generating profits beyond anything they had encountered, and with virtually no investment in physical plant assets. It was a pleasant dilemma, but a dilemma none the less; the whole of the IT operation rested on the well shaped shoulders of one Laura Nessing, soon to be Mrs. Ryan Williams. If anything happened to her, things could go very wrong and very quickly. How much should they tell her about all this, and would it make a difference in their relationship? Cal broke the silence.

  “Ryan, the obvious aside for a moment, why do you stay here, really? There’s a ton of companies out there who would pay you megabucks just to sit in their boardroom now and then, and you wouldn’t have to deal with day to day operations. Frankly, you have enough money in the bank for several people, you could play golf every day, run when you want, go deep sea fishing, whatever. Why do you stay, and Roger, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be retired. Me, I have a growing family to feed and house, but beside that, why do I show up here every day? Any ideas?”

  “I don’t know about Roger, but I pretty well started this place and grew with it and just kept going as it expanded. But, I see what you mean; I’ve never thought about it that way. I guess it’s because this is what I do, what I truly like to do. You’re right about the money, and I want for very little really. I do this because I want to see if I can, and it’s not just me. You two aren’t exactly starving either, and we have hundreds if not thousands of people better off today because they work for Windmere. So, maybe that’s part of the reward too. This whole thing with Laura, it’s crazy when you think about it. I mean, she really is Cinderella in a lot of ways. Push come to shove, you two need to know I’d take a pass on this place before I’d lose her; that’s how deep it goes. But what about you Roger? You’re being rather silent all of a sudden.”

  “And with good reason. What we’re talking about, it’s Maslow, isn’t it? I mean, there I was, retired, plenty of money to live on, solid future doing nothing, but that was it, doing nothing that counted toward what, a lower golf score? What’s that worth besides a little bragging? Here, I can direct traffic, take on a challenge. Hell, just the divorce hearing with Harry was worth coming to work for, and besides that, I got paid to do it. Fellas, it doesn’t get any better than that, having fun doing what you love to do, and getting paid for it. I see what you mean, Ryan; it isn’t about just the money, and since Laura’s been here, that has become less important all the while it has been growing like a weed. You’re right; there’s craziness afoot, but I love it. Is that where you were going Cal?”

  “It is. Sure, I need a job, and wi
th this place as a reference, I’ve had my share of calls, but there’s something about this place today that is more like a living organism than ever before. Maybe we tend to think in terms of physical plant, and not the people who really are the organization. Maybe we need to change that. I think you need to at least let her know how big a part of this place she has become; that would only be fair, marriage or not. My guess is, she’s into the program like we are; she’d stay anyway, and besides, Ryan, I don’t think she’s going to let go of you. So, I think you need to bring her up to speed; after all, in a month or so, unless you’re holding out on us, she’s gonna be the boss lady in more ways than one.”

  “You’re right. She’s earned a right to the information, and speaking of that, we will have no pre-nup. I can see where that could be necessary for some people, but I know this woman and she knows me; the subject never came up, nor will it if I have anything to say about it. Okay, I’ll handle bringing her up to speed. Now, what about a bonus fund for ‘deserving personnel’. Looks like the kitty is about overflowing. Thoughts on that subject?”

  The three of them massaged the information a bit, looking at their capital needs for the next year, estimated cost of property acquisition, an annual stock dividend, and other things in the big picture of the operation. At the end of the discussion, subtracting out all the designated funds, there was still a sizeable amount of revenue coming in beyond the company’s needs. Based on their experience, there was no one good way to award the bonus money, so in the end result they developed a formula with a minimum level so even short term employees would benefit, while the others would be fairly rewarded. They agreed there would be no discussion of percentages or things like that, just an announcement that the checks would be a little fatter in two weeks. Ryan agreed to talk to Laura about the success of her IT operations and what it had meant to the company bottom line, and the other two started moving things along toward the Saturday meeting.