Empire, Ch 23
The story below is gay male fiction. If you do not care for the subject matter or are too young please exit now. See Chapter One for Copyright information. John Tucker JETjt@aol.com
EMPIRE
Chapter Twenty-three
Thursday Afternoon, Ron and Matt’s home.
Matt stepped through the door that led from the 8-car garage into the kitchen of the main house. Mary and Parker were scurrying around working on preparation for Ron’s party on Saturday, and the guests that would soon be descending on the two brothers and their mates.
“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Parker,” Matt said as a reminder of the older couple’s newlywed status.
“Hi Mr. Matt,” Parker replied. “How was your day?”
“Good but busy,” Matt admitted. “I had interviews today for the Director of our ‘Arts Charity’. I had three finalist who were all great but who had such specialized backgrounds that I was at a loss as to whom to choose. Ron suggested that I hire all three, then hire an administrator for the whole shebang. Of course, I know of no such individual, so it looks like I’m right back to where I started.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure your way out sir,” Parker responded. “I know that Mr. Ron has a deep interest in the arts, but on a scale of one-to-ten in his book, I’d venture that it’s only a four or five.”
“You’re probably right Parker. Since I took it on though, it’s much higher in my book, at least for now.”
“Well, good luck sir. Can I get you some refreshments? A drink perhaps or a before-dinner snack?”
“Sure,” Matt accepted, “I’d like a martini. I’m going to go upstairs and change, then I’ll be back down. It should take me about 10 minutes. You can leave the martini on the bar in the family room.”
“It will be there,” Parker assured.
Minutes later Matt stepped out of the elevator after changing into some sweats in the Master Suite. After entering the family room and picking up his drink from the bar, Carl and Nathan entered the room from the kitchen, and seeing Matt sipping his drink, headed in his direction.
“Hi Matt,” Nathan said in greeting.
Matt looked at the two young men who were grinning like Cheshire cats.
“What’s up guys?” Matt asked.
“We’ve got a surprise for you,” Carl taunted.
“I like surprises,” Matt said smiling. “It must be a good one, from the looks on your faces.”
“We got our driver’s licenses,” Carl announced proudly.
“Congratulations!” Matt responded. “How did that happen? I mean, I’m sorry I wasn’t around more to help.”
“We got Parker to go with us on drives,” Nathan revealed. “At first we stayed on the property, but once he saw we knew what we were doing, he took us out on some outlying roads to practice. Finally, he took us out on 95 to get used to freeway driving. We also got a book and studied the driver’s manual. This morning he took us to DMV and we took the tests and passed.”
“That’s great! So what are your plans now?”
“We’d like to borrow the Jeep tonight if we could and go out on the town. We’ve been pretty much confined since we got here.”
“Sure, that would be fine,” Matt agreed. “There is a curfew on the strip for young people though. If you want to go there, you’ll have to go early.”
“We thought we’d go out for pizza, then take in a movie,” Carl reported. “We shouldn’t be too late.”
“We’d like to borrow the Jeep tomorrow too,” Nathan said. “We want to go over to the Community College and get the information on going to school.”
“Good,” Matt said. “You may want to go over to UNLV and check out their classes too. They have a much bigger selection of courses and majors than the Community College. You can go to either school, or take two years at the Community College then transfer your credits to UNLV.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Nathan responded. “We should look for jobs too. We’d like to get our own car.”
“Take care of the college stuff first,” Matt advised. “I’m sure we can see that you can get to wherever you want to go.”
“We’ll do that,” agreed Carl. “Maybe you can help us in selecting what we want to study.”
“I’d be happy to do what I can. Ron will be back tomorrow night. He may have some suggestions too.”
“We’ll get the stuff in the morning,” Nathan reported. “Parker has us commandeered to help in the afternoon getting things ready for Ron’s party.”
“Let’s go into the kitchen and check on how the plans are going,” Matt suggested.
“If you don’t mind,” Nathan asked, “we’d like to get ready for our date. It’s the first time we’ve really been out together alone.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Matt picked up his drink and walked into the kitchen finding Mary and Parker just going into the breakfast room with cups of coffee in their hands.
“Mind if I join you?” Matt asked.
“No Mr. Matt. We’d like that,” Parker answered.
Matt followed the older couple into the breakfast room where they all took seats at the large table. No sooner had they seated themselves than Dan entered the room.
“Join us Bro,” invited Matt, “We were just about to talk about the upcoming events.”
“Thanks Matt. I just came over from the new house. The owner’s suite building is finished. The furniture will arrive tomorrow, and we can move in as soon as we want.”
“How are the other buildings coming along?” Matt asked.
“The garage building should be finished tomorrow. There is only a little touch-up paint and the garage door openers to install. The garage apartment is not done, but we have no one to occupy it yet anyway.”
“How are you doing on staffing?”
“We have Dorothy’s daughter and her husband who have moved into Mary’s house at the compound, and we have a maid who will come in every day. Our chef from New York will be arriving in two weeks. We also have the landscapers working on the grounds, but it’s a hopeless task until the construction is done. The main building should be finished next week, and furnished the following one. The outside pool is ready for plaster, then water, and the landscaping of the planters in that center court is coming along. In two weeks we should have the main building and pool court ready to occupy. It will probably be two weeks beyond that when the guest wing is ready, and a couple of weeks after that when the recreation building is finished.”
“When are you physically going to move over there?” Matt asked.
"Right after the weekend unless Tyler wants to stay here until the main building is done. We talked about it and we’ve decided to make the decision when he and Ron get back from the east coast.”
“We’ll miss having you close,” Matt commented.
“We’ll miss being here too, but ‘life goes on,’ and we’re excited about having our own place. Don’t worry, you’ll see more of us than you want,” Dan laughed, “especially Jerry.”
“If I know those too it will be constant ‘sleep-overs’,” predicted Matt.
“The four of us will have to talk about that. We’ll probably want to restrict that during the school week.”
“I think so too. If the boys want to study together at either place, and maybe have dinner together at one place or the other, that’s okay with me, but I think that sleep-overs should be limited to weekends. As you say, we can talk about it next week and decide.”
Turning to Mary and Parker who had not joined into the conversation, Matt continued, “Mary, how are the preparations coming for the party?”
“We’ll be ready,” she commented. “The main party on Saturday is being catered, of course, but the Friday surprise dinner is all set. What time are Ron and Tyler expected in?”
“They should be here tomorrow by 5 o’clock. Dan and I will meet them at the airport, and will distract them for a while. We should be here by 6:30.”
“That’s cutting it pretty close,” Dan commented. “When are Bryan, Alan, their boys, and Bryan’s parents arriving?”
“They’ll be arriving about 5:30 and Jeffery and Robert will pick them up in the limo and bring them directly here. We only have to keep Dan and Tyler busy for an hour. It shouldn’t be too hard since Tyler is onto the whole scheme. The other out-of-town guests will be arriving during the evening and early Saturday morning, mostly on commercial flights. We have Jeffery and Robert and a couple of limo services scheduled to meet them.”
The phone began ringing, and Parker excused himself and walked to a small table where a portable phone was docked.
“Turner Residence,” he announced into the receiver.
Dan, Mary and Matt could only hear Parker’s end of the conversation, and looked over at him when he said in a voice filled with astonishment, “WHAT? Tell me what you found!”
The older man’s face was filled with wonder then brief sadness. Then the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile and his eyes overflowed with tears of happiness as he listened to the voice on the other end.
“That’s great!” he blubbered into the receiver. “I wish we had known of this when we were in Europe.”
“What’s going on?” Matt asked Mary in a hushed voice.
“I’m not sure,” she replied in the same lowered tone, “but I think that it’s news of Parker’s family.”
“His family?’ Matt asked, curiosity getting the best of him. “I didn’t know he had a family.”
“His family is from London, as you know. During World War II, when he was very young, his father and mother sent him and his younger brother to the countryside during the blitz. On the trip the train was derailed from the tracks being bombed, and he was injured and separated from his brother. Many people on the train were killed and he was hospitalized. They could never find the body of his brother but assumed that he’d died when the train caught fire. His parents searched but identification was never confirmed. Soon afterward both his parents were killed in the bombing of London, and Parker was sent to the United States after the war where his Aunt in New York raised him. When we returned to the U.S. after our honeymoon, we got a letter from an English couple we met in Naples. During a dinner with them there Parker told them about his English heritage. The letter from them hinted that Parker’s brother might still be alive. A month ago, after receiving the letter, Parker met with Wes Harper from Aztec-Turner Security and asked them to investigate. It was such a long shot that he never told anyone but me about it. That’s all I know, but I suspect that the call is from Wes.”
The side conversation was interrupted by Parker’s exclamation,” A nephew? In New York? What’s his name? …This is unbelievable! ….Just a minute, let me get a pencil and paper.”
Parker disappeared into the kitchen and soon returned with a note pad and pen. Picking up the phone again, he said, “Go ahead.” He began to write furiously as the information was being relayed. “I’ll call him right away! Thank you so much Wes. Send me the bill. I’ll gladly pay it. Goodbye.” Parker hung up the phone then wiped his eyes.
“Good news?” Matt asked.
“Yes! It’s news of my brother,” Parker replied with mixed emotions.
“Mary just told us about your early life in England,” Matt revealed.
“They found my brother, or at least his family. My brother died two years ago, but a wife and a son survive him. The son is now 26 and is in New York. I’m going to call him, then I’ll call my sister-in-law in England.”
“If the son wants to come to Las Vegas, we have two aircraft leaving New York tomorrow,” Matt offered. “It would be best if he came with Ron and Tyler. There’s plenty of room on that plane. If he can make it, I’ll call Ron and we’ll arrange it.”
“Thanks Matt. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go into Ron’s office to make the call. Mary, would you like to come with me? We can use the speaker phone in there.”
“Of course Honey,” Mary agreed. “I’m so happy for you.”
Mary rose from the table and followed her husband from the room.
“I’ll be damned!” Matt exclaimed to Dan after Mary and Parker had exited.
“Can you believe that?” Dan said in wonder. “Wow!”
“I can’t wait to hear what Parker finds out. Let’s go into the family room and have another drink while we wait. Afterward, I’ll call Ron and then we can take Parker, Mary, and the two younger boys out to dinner. I’m sure Mary will be too excited to cook.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dan said as he pushed his chair away from the table.
20 minutes later.
Parker and Mary entered the Family Room. Matt and Dan were seated at the bar as the older couple joined them.
“I talked to my nephew. His name is George Bowles,” Parker reported.
“Can he come to Las Vegas?” asked Matt.
“Yes, he’s in New York job hunting. He’s really on a tourist visa, but is pounding the pavement hoping to move to the U.S. He was astonished at my call and was going to call his mother Camilla as soon as we hung up. He suggested that I call her tomorrow, since it’s in the middle of the night in England.”
“Did he know anything about his father?” Dan asked.
“He said that he had been told that his father was adopted and that he’d been told that his father’s natural family had all been killed in the war. He told me briefly about his father and his wife and a little about his own background. He’s an executive with Sotheby’s and asked for a transfer to New York. His request was denied, so he decided to look for another job in New York. They don’t know about it, of course. They think that he’s only on vacation. He said he’d like to come to Las Vegas. He said he’d look around here to see if he can find a suitable job. If not, he won’t stay long but go back to New York and continue his search there.”
“Isn’t Sotheby’s the auction house that deals in fine art?” Dan asked.
“Yes,” Parker responded. “Though he doesn’t work in the auction part of the business. He manages their London business operation.”
The light bulb came on in Matt’s head and a smile crossed his lips. “If you’ll give me his information,” Matt offered, “I’ll ask Ron or Tyler to contact him so that he can come back with them. Also Dan and I were just talking. With all the excitement and preparation for Ron’s party, we’d like to take you with us out to dinner.”
“I’d like that,” Mary said accepting for them both. “It’s been a busy day.”
“And a wonderful one to boot,” Parker agreed.”
“Great! We’ll round up Jerry and Ronnie. Nathan and Carl won’t be joining us. They are going out to eat and to a movie on a ‘date.’ Matt said with a wink. “Why don’t we meet in the kitchen in 45 minutes. Do you have any preferences where we eat?”
“I’d like to go to Ferraro’s,” Mary said. “They have great Italian food.”
“Ask the chef, and you’ll never go wrong,” Matt observed with a smile.
* * *
Ron and Matt’s master suite, 15 minutes later.
"Hi Babe,” Ron said when he heard Ron answer his cellular phone.
“Hey Matt! This is a surprise. I didn’t expect to hear from you until later.”
“I’m gonna be busy later,” Matt kidded. “I have a hot date!”
“Oh? Something I should know about?” Ron asked.
“Not really, Dan and I are taking the Parkers, Ronnie and Jerry out to dinner?”
“What are Nathan and Carl doing, or shouldn’t I be asking?” Ron queried with a laugh.
“They both got their driver’s licenses today. They’re going out to dinner by themselves and then a movie. A hot date!” Matt chuckled.
“What’s the occasion with taking the Parkers out to dinner, not that they don’t deserve it?”
“It’s been an exciting day,” Matt began. He then told Ron about Parker’s call, then his early childhood, some of which Ron already knew, and then continued on about Parker finding out about his brother and family. He concluded with the information about George Bowles, and the trip to Las Vegas.”
“Amazing, Babe,” Ron said. “You did the right thing. I’ll call him as soon as we get done with our phone conversation. Did you decide on the Director of the Arts project?”
“No,” replied Matt, “I got thinking about what you said so I put them off one more day. Then Parker told me about George Bowles. He is the operations director for Sotheby’s in London and is in New York looking for a job. I thought we might consider him for the administrator’s job at the Arts project. You’ll be able to interview him on the plane and give me your impression whether or not he could be what we’re looking for. If so, I think we’ll hire him and the other three. You’ll be busy making money, although I didn’t do too bad today myself.”
“Sure, I can do that,” Ron responded. “In fact I’ll call him and, if he’s close to the Plaza, invite him over for a drink. Maybe I can get a feel tonight, so to speak.”
“You better keep your hands to yourself,” Matt replied with a giggle.
“Don’t worry I’ll ask Tyler to come along too. That way you won’t have to worry. So tell me what did you do to make money today?”
“I countered on the offer for the Davis property. I offered it for $200 million even. They took the bait, and the sales contract will be delivered to the office in the morning.”
“Good for you!” Ron congratulated his mate. “$20 million for one day ain’t bad!”
“I can tell you that my heart was in my throat because I didn’t clear it with you first.”
“I trust your instincts Babe. Even if the sale had fallen through, I wouldn’t have been upset. The property would still be there. As it turned out we’ll be able to carry the Arts project overhead for about 10 years with the extra money. I’m proud of you.”
“You should be more proud of your dad,” Matt responded. “He had the foresight to buy the land years ago.”
“That’s not the only thing he bought,” Ron revealed. “There are four or five additional pieces out there that he acquired. Some are smaller and some are bigger than the piece we’re selling.”
“I noticed them on our asset statement,” Matt stated. “I just never took the time to look them up.”
“I haven’t looked at them myself in two or three years,” admitted Ron. “I guess we should take the time to do that soon.”
“Yep. Good idea. “Hey, I need to get ready for dinner. Give me a call later if you have a drink with George.”
“I’ll do that Babe. Give my best to Dan and especially the Parkers. Tell the boys I miss ‘em and will see them tomorrow evening. Have a good dinner.”
“Thanks Ron. I love you. I’ll be glad when you’re home.”
“Me too Babe. I’ll probably talk to you later. G’night.”
“Night Ron.”
* * *
An hour later in New York at the Plaza’s main bar.
Tyler and Ron were nursing their scotch and waters, conversing about the New York offices’ operations, when an absolutely gorgeous man who appeared a bit younger than either of them approached.
“Mr. Turner?”
“Yes?” both Ron and Tyler answered together then laughed. “I’m Ron Turner. This is my brother Tyler. You’re George Bowles, I presume,” Ron said as he stood and offered his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” George answered as he shook Ron’s hand and then Tyler’s.
“Won’t you join us?” invited Ron.
“Thanks,” George answered as both men lowered themselves into chairs. “I was surprised by your call. It seems I had just spoken to my Uncle George a short while before, then talked my mother for a few minutes, and was just stepping out of the shower when you called.”
“Lucky shower,” Tyler said softly.
“I’m not sure what you meant by that, but I will agree that today luck seems to be on my side.”
“It seems that it’s on Parker’s too,” Ron responded.
“Parker?”
‘Yes. We call your Uncle George, “Parker”. He works for us in our house, keeping us on the straight and narrow. He’s like family, especially to me. He worked for my father before me too. He’s a great guy.”
“Tell me about him,” George asked.
Ron began the story of his association with Parker and finally about his marriage to Mary and their trip to the Mediterranean on their honeymoon.
The waiter arrived at their table and took their order for drinks.
“Pardon me for asking,” George said. “It sounds to me like you’re quite wealthy.”
“The answer is yes,” Ron answered quickly. “I guess we should let it all out of the bag since we’ve opened up our personal lives. …Our boyfriends are gay.”
Tyler laughed out loud at Ron’s method of revelation.
“You’re gay?” George asked with a slightly surprised expression on his face.
“No, just our boyfriends,” Ron replied with a twinkle in his eye.
“Cut it out Bro,” Tyler interjected, then turning to George continued, “Yes, we’re gay, and so are our mates, and so are our sons.”
“Blimey!” George exclaimed. “I’m overwhelmed.”
“Too much information,” Ron said softly to his brother.
“No, It’s alright,” George declared. “It’s just that I’ve been here for a week and I was beginning to think that the trip to New York was going to be a bust. Then today I got the call from my Uncle George, then talked to my Mom in London, and now I’m with you guys. Not only are you breathtakingly handsome, but also you’re wealthy, and have families. It’s just a lot all at once.”
“I’m sure that’s true,” Ron responded. “We’re just regular guys though. We put our pants on one-leg-at-a-time just like you do. Besides, you’re no slouch yourself in the looks department!”
“I’ve been told that often enough,” admitted George, “but I’ve never put much stock in it.”
“You can believe it,” Tyler assured their guest. “There are few guys that can hold a candle to you in the looks department.”
“Tell us about yourself,” Ron asked. “There’s a special reason that we’re interested, one that’s beyond your being Parker’s nephew.”
“Oh? Would you mind telling me? You’re not white slavers are you?” George laughed.
“I like this guy,” Ron said to Tyler. “He’s got a sense of humor. My kind of guy!”
“Lord help us,” Tyler answered with a laugh.
“I’ll tell you later,” Ron responded to George’s questioning look. “First we’d like to get to know you.”
At that time the waiter returned to their table with the drink order, then departed after Ron charged the cost to his room.
George began his story, with the tale of his father.
“When my father was barely more than an infant, he was with a bunch of other children being taken to the country during World War II, the train hit some track that had been damaged by German bombs and was derailed. Many people, including many children were killed or injured. Da was saved, practically uninjured, and taken to the home of some country gentry by the name of Bowles. It was pandemonium and in all the chaos and destruction all his identification had been lost. Somehow, I’ve discovered now, he was separated from his brother, and presumed dead since the car he was riding in was destroyed by fire. Even though the Bowles tried to find his parents they were unsuccessful. I found out from George that they were killed in an air raid, less than a week after the train accident. At any rate, he was adopted by the Bowles, my Grandparents, and given a good education. He married my mother Camilla in the mid-sixties but they waited for a few years before I was born. My father ran the estate of the Bowles after the elder Bowles died, and they lived there all their lives. Da died two years ago of a heart attack, but my mother still lives there. The Bowles middle son runs the estate now.”
“After I was born, I did the private boarding school bit, like most of the sons of the landed gentry, and ultimately went to Cambridge for University, graduating with a degree in business, and a minor in Art. I had no interest in the estate which had fallen on hard times, so when offered a job with Sotheby’s, I took it and have been there now for 4 years. Last year I was promoted to Office Manager, taking care of all the administrative operations of the firm. It’s been a challenge, but it’s as far as I’ll ever be allowed to go with them. There are two Sotheby heirs that are now involved, and the firm is pretty closely held. They pay me well, especially by English standards, but somehow I’ve always been interested in America. This year I decided to vacation in New York to see if my dreams were well founded and whether or not I could find suitable employment.”
“It couldn’t have happened at a better time,” Ron commented. “Tyler and I and our mates have decided to promote the arts as one of our philanthropic efforts. We’re looking for a new Executive Director for our Arts Foundation. Matt, my partner, who’s conducting the search, asked me to speak with you and first, see if you’d be qualified, and second, if so, whether or not you’d be interested in applying for the job. I believe you’re qualified, now for the second question.”
“I am interested in talking about it. I must admit that even though I minored in art, and have a deep interest in art history, my strengths are really in administration.”
“We are currently interviewing for the position,” Ron revealed. “Matt, my partner, has narrowed the search down to three. They are each experts in their own field. One is an expert in music, one in visual art and sculpture, and one in the performing arts, that is the theater. Matt is beside himself trying to decide between the three men. None of them are administrators though. As an alternate, we thought about hiring all three, then hiring an Executive Director, who’s job it would be to run the foundation, and to manage the three experts with their acquisitions and funding requests.”
“Three experts?” George asked. “How much money are you talking about investing?”
“At present we have about $120 million set aside as start-up funding. I realize that that amount will not go a long way, if we go three directions at once. It is really a trust that generates about $30 million a year. I’m guessing that our annual administrative expenses would be around $2 million a year. That would leave about $28 million for programs and acquisitions. I should mention that the foundation will be in Las Vegas, and we expect to erect several buildings over time to house our art enterprises.”
“I can say again that I’m more than interested, though I’m not committing at the moment. I hate to get down to the nitty gritty, but how much does the position pay?”
“That’s not fixed in stone, but it looks like we’ll be paying our experts something in the neighborhood of $200,000 a year. We’d pay a bit more for an Executive Director, though not too much more as to not denigrate our experts. I’d say $225,000 a year plus fringe benefits. That’s around 140,000 pounds sterling.
“That’s handsome indeed,” George admitted. “What kind of fringe benefits do you offer?”
“First, we’ll lease a car for you. In your case probably a Jaguar sedan, if that suits you.”
“I’d like that,” George said with interest.
“Second, we don’t have a government healthcare system in this country, but we have private health insurance. In our companies, its 100% of anything you need and you can choose your own physician. We also have vacation leave and sick leave where you get paid while you’re gone. Vacation is two weeks after one year, three weeks after three years, and four weeks after 5 years. Sick leave is two weeks a year. We have a program to buy back unused vacation, with some conditions, and if you leave our employment, we buy back unused vacation at 100% and unused sick leave at 50%. There is more detail, including the opportunity for profit sharing in our business ventures, but that’s the gist of it.”
“I must say sir, that the package is most generous. I’m much more than casually interested. I’d like to give you a conditional ‘yes’ if you’re offering me the job, but I’d like to wait until I meet the experts you’re interested in and job conditions.”
“You’ll want to meet Matt too,” Tyler said. “He’s in charge of the Arts Trust.”
“Yes, of course,” George responded. “Are you sure that you can afford all of this?”
“I’ll just give you a glimpse for your comfort level,” Ron answered. “Our combined personal net worth is nearly a billion-and-a-half U.S. dollars. The net worth of our fully funded charitable trusts, of which the Arts Trust is part, is over a billion. The returns on our investments exceed 25% at present. Those investments generate around $375 million in personal returns and $250 million per year for our charitable interests. Most of our charitable funds have been directed toward social work thus far. The venture into the Arts is something new. Over the next 10 years, we’d like to see our investments in the Arts Trust grow to around a billion dollars. That will generate around $200 million a year for the program and $50 million for further growth.”
“How do you see your funds for the arts being spent?” George asked.
“We’re interested not only in physical things, but people things too,” replied Ron. “We’re interested in a balanced program. We hope to acquire artwork, as well as promote performances in both the musical and theater arts areas. We also wish to sponsor artists in their education and the pursuit of their art. It will be up to you, with the aid of your staff and experts to come up with a program for our approval. It will be a real challenge for you, just as the successful operation of our businesses will be for us.”
“I’m very excited at the prospects,” George replied. “My answer is an almost certain affirmative, unless there is a ‘fly in the ointment,’ so to speak.”
“I guess there is only one more thing to reveal then,” George said with some misgivings.
“Are you going to tell us that you’re gay?” Tyler asked.
“Mmmmm, ….yes.”
“Not a problem,” Ron answered. “I’m glad you told us though. It’s not important but just nice to know. We have both gay and straight people working for us. It’s truly wonderful to see how it really works in an ideal situation. Do you have a boyfriend or mate?”
“No, not yet. I’m far from a virgin, but I haven’t found anyone that I’d care to have a long-term relationship with yet.
“Well then I guess that’s all for now,” Ron concluded as he stood. “We’ll pick you up at your hotel at noon. We can talk more on the plane.”
“Thank Ron, Tyler,” George said with a smile.
“You’re welcome. Goodbye,” both Ron and Tyler said together as their guest departed.
15 minutes later.
“Hi Babe,” Ron said to the answering voice of his life partner.
“Hi back. I didn’t expect to hear from you again tonight,” Matt admitted. “Did you meet with George Bowles?”
“Yes, I think you’ve got yourself an Executive Director,” Ron reported.
“Great,” Matt said with relief. “Should I go ahead and hire the others?”
“George would like to meet them first and to meet you. Why don’t you set up a meeting tomorrow night. Maybe a little reception or something at our place.”
Matt thought of Ron’s party with over 200 expected guests. “Sure babe,” he responded with a grin. “I’m sure we can put a little something together in a hurry.”
* * * * *