Bill took Ben to a lovely two story home in the suburbs of Austin. As they pulled into the driveway a boy and girl charged out of the front door and rushed up to the car. Ben smiled seeing the kids. “Twins?” he asked as they exited the truck.
The man nodded. “This is my son David and my daughter Emma. Kids, this is Ben.” he introduced the 10 year olds clinging to his legs. “Up there on the porch is my lovely wife Melissa.”
Ben nodded to the kids and waved at the woman and they all moved inside.
“Supper is in ten minutes. Go get cleaned up! Ben you can use the bathroom in the hall if you’d like to freshen up.” Melissa said. She was a good foot shorter than her husband but sturdy of body. The smile on her face seemed a permanent fixture.
Ben washed his hands and face in the little bathroom and met the family in the dining room.
“What would you like to drink with your meal, Ben?” Bill asked.
“Water please.” he said.
“Sure. We have beer if you’d like one.” Bill offered.
“I don’t drink anymore.” Ben explained.
“Ah! Sorry.” Bill said and nodded. He filled Ben’s glass from the water cooler in the corner.
Melissa entered the room carrying a large platter of fried chicken. On the table already were steaming bowls of mash potatoes, corn, greens, and biscuits and gravy.
The family sat down and said grace. Melissa did the honors and mentioned Ben’s presence as their special guest which made him smile.
The kids were super excited to have a guest and Ben enjoyed getting them to smile and giggle. The food was excellent and Ben told them stories about the deep winter snows they sometimes got back home.
Finally dinner was over and the kids were off like a shot to get in some last minute playing before bed.
Ben, Bill, and Melissa retired to the seats out on wide front porch and enjoyed the cooler air of the evening.
“Mel honey, Ben did me a real favor today. He talked me up to the boss and old Jacob is looking at me like he’s just discovered treasure in his backyard.” Bill exclaimed and Melissa turned her brilliant smile on their guest.
“Like I told your husband, nothing I said was less than the absolute truth. Your husband runs a tight ship, has a great and loyal team, and knows his stuff. He can easily rise to the challenge. It looked like Mr. Sturn was ready for some help too.” Ben said.
“What happened?” Melissa asked.
“It’s his son again. This time he was arrested in Las Vegas for beating up a prostitute.” Bill growled.
“That man frightens me. I never liked going to your company parties when he was working there.” Melissa shuddered. “Maybe this time he’ll go to jail!”
“Not if his dad keeps bailing him out and hiring big time lawyers to win the cases on technicalities.” Bill griped.
“Let’s talk about something nicer. You’re really good with kids, Ben! Do you have any of your own?” Melissa asked.
Ben smiled and realized that question no longer hurt like it used to. “No, but I’m living with a woman who has a 1 years old who calls me ‘dada’. That feels… good!”
Melissa and Bill were all smiles. They chatted about homey stuff and Ben admitted to being a home renovation junky. Bill too and they swapped stories. It was a very pleasant end to the day. Bill drove Ben back to his hotel and promised to meet him for breakfast the next day.
Ben called Tina and caught up. Apparently Daphne and the twins hosted the Beaumont’s that evening and Trish joined them. Ben worried about the stories Trish might share with Ashley. Tina finished with news that Ashley’s husband had finally called her and would be arriving the following evening but more likely the day after.
Ben told Tina that he expected to be home the following evening. This made Tina very happy. Ben hung up with a big grin on his face. It would be good to be home.
Ben woke up feeling exhausted. He couldn’t recall his dreams but he felt a lingering anxiety. He really wanted to just go home but he still had some business to attend to. He got ready and packed his stuff back into his suitcase. Taking his suitcase and briefcase he went down to the restaurant and met Bill.
The man picked up on Ben’s mood immediately so they had a quick breakfast and headed in to the lab. The test had completed and the results were perfect. No issues with any of the loads they threw at it. The test bench was shut down and the prototype was removed from the assembly. Ben and Bill did an inspection and there was no sign of wear or damage. Ben packed up the unit in his bubble wrap and put it in the duffle bag which he strapped to the suitcase.
Bill had asked if they’d be able to keep the prototype but Ben was clear that it would be returning with him.
Next they headed over to the office tower to meet with the boss. They went up to the boardroom once more and met Jacob and two of his in-house council. There were only two amendments they wanted in the contract. The corporation named in the license was to be Sturn Manufacturing and only Bill Freeny was to be specifically named. The new corporate entity Sturn Manufacturing had be set up overnight and Bill was being given the title of its CEO. The new business had purchased the building and equipment from Sturn Enterprises and was not legally tied to the parent company. Bill was stunned and delighted. Ben was curious but knew better to than to ask. He smelled a lawsuit somewhere in the background. A lawsuit the new corporation was being set up to avoid financial entanglement with. Maybe the trouble in Houston office?
“What do you need to start selling these units?” Jacob asked.
“We’ll want to get some made and install them in the new refinery so we can demonstrate a real live scenario and see the performance improvements. We have the test bench result and they’re excellent but they’re also dry facts. Seeing the product in actual use is far more impressive. Once we have that we market them online and at as many appropriate tradeshows as we can get to. We will also spread the word on the online engineering forums to generate the word of mouth. There will be global demand for these so we’d better look into the logistics and distribution channels.” Bill rattled off the top of his head. Jacob had a huge grin on his face and Bill stopped to smile back.
Signatures were made and hands were shaken. Ben was given his copies of the document and he placed them in his briefcase. He pulled out a memory stick and a manila file folder containing printed schematics for the component. Bill reviewed the paper work and confirmed the contents of the memory stick on his tablet.
They were done. Jacob let him know that the corporate jet was fueled and ready to take him home. They shook hands once more and Bill walked him down to the lobby and into the electric cart. He drove Ben back to the airstrip and unloaded his luggage. Bill gave Ben a surprise hug as he was so overwhelmed with the changes that the past few days had made to his life. Ben smiled and patted his back. He liked Bill but he was aching to go home.
Ben climbed back into the jet. He strapped in and a short time later they were shooting down the runway for the journey back home. He tilted the seat back and rested his eyes. The pilot’s gentle prods to his shoulder woke him at his destination. He thanked the man, exited with his bags and made his way back to his truck.