Seer (8 page)

“What are you having?” I asked.

“Bloody Mary,” she replied. I was driving, so I stuck to tea.

She had made caramel rolls. She gave me one while she began cooking. I sat watching, and we talked about inconsequential things.

It was a lovely meal, and we retired to her living room when it was over. We sat and chatted for a couple of hours. I realized I really liked her. I guess I always sort of knew that, but away from work, when she was relaxed, she was deeply funny and a joy to be around.

Finally I said, “I’m sorry. I’m leaving in the morning, and I haven’t prepared yet.”

“Of course,” she replied. “That’s why I suggested breakfast instead of dinner.” She walked me to the door and pulled me into a hug, kissing my cheek. “Call me when you get back. And if you haven’t, give Elsa my number.”

“I did,” I said. “And your email.”

We hugged once more. It felt nice.

I spent the rest of Sunday getting a trim, packing for the trip, and then reviewing everything I could find out about Green Gulch software. I signed up for a demo account and dug out some old software. It took time to find
a program small enough to run inside the limitations of a demo account, but I tested their product.

I was pretty impressed with what I found.
Their web site could accept the source code for a program for either iPhone or Android and report possible issues you should check. I spent a couple of hours injecting problems and testing, and their software found the ones I injected and a few I hadn’t anticipated. It couldn’t find everything, but it found most of the issues I tested, things that let the software work but that might have led to problems down the road.

I was very impressed.

As the evening wore on, Chaos and Des began to bug me for affection. I finally realized they were right. I grabbed a book, propped myself up in bed, and read the book with a pair of cats pressed against me.

* * * *

Solange and Aubree picked me up very early Monday morning. Solange had emailed there would be a car collecting me, but I was surprised when it was Solange who rang my bell. We greeted with a handshake, and then the driver collected my bag for me. I retained possession of my computer.

“What is that?” Solange asked me as we headed for the car.

“Um. A computer.”

“That part I guessed. What type of computer.”

“This is an Apple household,” I said, gesturing with my thumb. “I run special software on my internal network that invades any Windows boxes with a virus that display a series of pop up windows that say, ‘You should have bought a Mac’.” Solange laughed. “The problem is that no one ever sees my pop ups because they’re lost behind all the malware pop ups those damned things always have.” She laughed again.

“You shouldn’t be so shy with your opinions, Sidney.”

“I know, but I’ve been around a few lawyers lately, and they hold their cards so close to their chest. I think it’s rubbing off.”

She laughed a third time. I decided it was a delightful laugh.

The car, it turned out, was a limo. I raised an eyebrow.

“It’s comfortable, it was available, and we can talk,” Solange said by way of explanation. The driver was busy with my bag, so it was Solange who held the door for me. I gave her a tip of my head, and when I climbed in, I found Aubree waiting. I took a seat facing her, and then Solange climbed in after me, sitting next to Aubree. A minute later, we were on the road, heading for the airport.

We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, then I said, “I don’t know if anyone has an agenda once we arrive. In case not, I made one.”

“I am in charge of the team,” Solange said, “But you are the head of our technical team.”

“Not Aubree?”

“No, although as we discussed, if she tells you to do something, you will do it.”

“Do you have a copy of your agenda?” Aubree asked. I dug into my computer bag and pulled out two copies. The two women reviewed them. “This is good,” Aubree declared.

“I presume this is going to start with some sort of meet and greet followed by something resembling a sales pitch,” I said. “I presume that will include a demo, probably done by either the company president or a salesman, and carefully crafted.
But will we break up into teams after that?”

“Yes,” Solange said. “They may attempt to drive the process from there.”

I smiled. “I’m hard to push around. I’m going to ask for a second demonstration driven by someone on the technology team.” Then I pulled out a computer stick drive. “And I have my own software to run it with.”

“Excellent,” Aubree said.

“Assuming I don’t get the tech guys until after lunch, I expect to make them show off for most of the afternoon. I want the entire technology crew there. I want to see how they interact.”

They both nodded. We discussed the rest of my agenda.

“Of course, all this may go out the window as soon as we get there,” I said. “But I wanted to start with something.”

I then told them what I’d discovered yesterday. We were still discussing that when we arrived at the airport. I wasn’t paying any attention at all, but we pulled up in front of a large hangar.
The large door was open, and inside I saw a gleaming aircraft. Ed had said we’d be flying by private jet. I thought it looked very sleek. I tried to act nonplussed, but I was impressed.

“Yours?” I asked Solange once we’d climbed out of the car. She nodded.

“Time is money,” she said, “and I don’t like dealing with security, changing planes, and missed connections.”

“You must travel a great deal.”

“If not me, then someone from my firm is always flying somewhere. They don’t make me money waiting around in the airport.” She gestured. “We’ll let Vincent manage the bags.” The three of us began walking to the side of the aircraft. We were halfway there when another car drove up.

As we drew closer, I cocked my head. “That’s going to fit ten of us plus a flight crew?”

“No,” she said. “Only the three of us plus Enzo, Bronson, Mr. Sutton, and Ms. Chandler. The others flew commercial last night.”

* * * *

It was an exceedingly comfortable flight, and I realized I could be easily spoiled. I sat facing Aubree, and we spent a portion of the flight getting to know each other better. Partway through, Solange climbed from her own seat and gestured to Aubree, the two of them switching. Solange sat down and smiled. She and I spent the remainder of the flight talking quietly on a variety of subjects. Solange was clearly well-read and educated, and spoke confidently on everything we discussed. It was quite refreshing, and I deeply enjoyed our conversation.

We were perhaps a half hour from landing when she said, “Sidney, while I did a deep interrogation last week, there were some topics I avoided.”

“It felt quite thorough.”

She smiled. “I asked little about your personal life. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Are you agreeing to the same sorts of questions?”

“You live alone?” she asked.

“Just me and the cats.”

“How many?”

“Two. Chaos and Des — short for Destruction.”

She laughed. “Good names for cats. What are they like?” We talked about the cats for a minute or two. I learned she had no pets, but she seemed interested in mine. Then she asked, “What does your boyfriend think of the cats? Do they like him?”

I studied her for several seconds. She waited patiently. I decided not to answer directly. Instead, I said, “That’s an interesting question. I think there is a lesson in it for me.”

“Oh?”

“We have already ascertained you are better at drawing information from someone than I am.”

“Perhaps.”

“There are several obvious pieces of information you could be seeking.”

“I only asked if your boyfriend likes your cats.”

“Yes, but we both know I don’t have a boyfriend.”

She smiled softly.

“Or if we didn’t, then you aren’t remotely as perceptive as I know you are.”

She inclined her head for a moment.

“The next level of information you could have been seeking was whether I was willing to tell you that, but I think even that is simpler than you were after.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” she replied.

“Beyond that, I can only make guesses.”

“What
sort of guesses have occurred to you?”

“You may have wanted to see how gracefully I handled the question. There are subtleties along those lines, but it’s all part of wondering how I’d handle it.” She nodded once. “You may have really been simply asking about girlfriends. Or perhaps you wanted to see if I would realize it wasn’t at all a simple question.” I paused. “Perhaps you wanted to see if I would realize that and treat it subtly, which I clearly haven’t, or been more obvious.” I paused. “I’m not usually subtle.”

“Did you have more guesses?”

“No. Are you going to ask me more questions to help me come to an accurate conclusion?”

“Perhaps you would prefer if I were direct.” When I nodded, she said, “It was everything you identified.”

“Did I disappoint you?”

“No, of course not. I would have been subtle, but there is nothing wrong with direct. It can be refreshing.” She smiled. “Will you answer the question I really asked?”

“No current girlfriends. The occasional date.” Then I smiled. “And what does your girlfriend think of your jet-setting ways.”

She laughed. “No current girlfriends. The occasional date.” She smiled. “And now there are the other obvious questions.”

“I have high standards,” I said. “I’m not sure I live up to my own standards.
”

“Oh?”

“Intelligence is critical,” I replied.

“It is not hard to find intelligent women. They are everywhere.”

“Confident, comfortable with her body, takes care of herself.”

“Keep going.”

“Sexy.”

“Yes, yes. Get to the heart of it, Sidney.”

“Someone not too much like me, but with enough in common we can spend hours talking. Someone who wants to try new things, but isn’t foolish about it. Someone who won’t resent my job. Someone who doesn’t do the same job, but understands mine, at least at some level. Someone who understands that running my own business means she doesn’t always come first, but someone worth making sure she comes first most of the time. Someone with her own life, but who will make room for me, and not just for a while.”

She cocked her head. “I believe that last statement was the most important one.”

I looked away and nodded. “Well, both sides of that. In past relationships, either I’m settling, or one or the other of us begins to neglect the relationship.”

I turned back. “And you. Do you neglect your relationships so that you may focus on business?”

“Not when the woman is worth a relationship in the first place,” she said.

“Then why are you single?”

“My last major relationship ended when we discovered we were a little too alike,” Solange explained. “That was a while ago, and I just haven’t gotten serious with anyone since. If I meet the right woman, she’d find herself at the center of my attention. I can be very intense.”

“Do you drive them away?”

“I’ve done that more than once.” She didn’t offer details, and I didn’t ask.

“So, I have shared what I look for. Will you do the same?”

“My list isn’t that different from yours, Sidney.”

That was when the captain announced we would be landing in just a few more minutes. Solange and I didn’t have time to pursue the conversation any further. But I was left wondering if she intentionally waited to initiate that conversation so that it couldn’t last too long. Did she plan that far ahead? I decided she easily could have.

I also wondered whether she had been flirting with me. Was she as interested in me as I was in her?

* * * *

The Green Gulch headquarters were not directly in Salt Lake City. Instead, they had an amazing office in the hills west of the city. As we pulled up in front of the squat building, I turned to Aubree. “Expensive.”

“Not that bad, actually,” she said. “It’s about as costly as office space in some of the more expensive metropolitan areas. That makes it high for Salt Lake City, but not unreasonably so. It’s not opulent inside. It’s just a good location
and very much in keeping for a firm with the name Green Gulch.”

I had to agree with that last part.

Inside, we were expected. There was no receptionist, but we were noticed immediately, and a minute later, we were introduced to Monty Stanton, the president and owner of Green Gulch. He was full of smiles for us. He led us to a conference room.

“Lunch will be catered in about a half hour,” he said. “We have time for you to meet everyone.”

We didn’t meet everyone. We met Bertram Everest, the Vice President of Marketing and Sales; Kent Schmitt was the Chief Technology Officer; Blain Falkner was the Chief Financial Officer; and Eileen No Last Name Offered was Monty’s executive assistant.

“If you need anything while you’re here,” Monty said, putting an arm around Eileen, “Eileen will see to it.”
We would learn that Eileen was one of two women in the entire office. I didn’t like seeing the patronizing way Monty treated Eileen.

I’d been impressed with their technology, but so far I was unimpressed by the diversity of the company. But it wasn’t my place to judge.

Solange handled things from our side. She introduced all of us, then she asked Monty more about the company. I learned that the VP of Marketing and Sales had a single inside sales person. I thought that was an extremely light sales effort. The CFO had one employee. The technology department was of a proper size for such a small company with two tech support guys who doubled as quality assurance, six developers building the product, and two phone developers.