Tipping Point Ch. 09

I was about to double the size of my business, and the projected income was enough to stagger me. I was having trouble accepting that this had all happened in such a short period of time. Perhaps Seth's analogy of it being like an '80's dot-com business wasn't so far out. I just had to hope that it wouldn't burn out like the dot-com's did. It think Seth and Sue had more confidence in me than I did. It only took me twenty-five years to become an overnight success.

In the meantime, we had taken on some additional staff. I now had a full-time accountant, and a young intern who was responsible for scheduling our service calls. It took a lot of the time-consuming work off the field techs' hands, and they were grateful for it. The techs still had the say about when and where, but the details were handled by our assistant in Charlotte. Once we had ironed out the bugs, it worked very well. My lessons learned from the F & C fiasco had made sure of that.

Speaking of Faraday and Crosse, there was a rumor going around that they were for sale. No surprise, really. They had continued to be in decline over the past two years, and I wondered if anyone would be interested in buying them. So imagine my surprise when I got a call from Jonas Faraday himself.

"Hello, Stanley," came the friendly, clear voice. The old man had always called me Stanley. Amazingly, his voice was strong, never giving a hint of his ninety-plus years.

"Mr. Faraday. Good to hear from you, sir."

"You don't need to call me sir, Stanley. We've know each other too long, and to you I'm Jonas."

"Thank you, Jonas. That's a great honor. How are you keeping?"

"Amazingly well, considering," he chuckled. "Well enough that I can follow the exploits of my former star employee."

"Oh ... well ... I don't know about star," I mumbled.

"Nonsense! You were the glue that kept what was left of Faraday and Crosse in business. That's why I called. I've been keeping an eye on you since you left and went on your own. I have a proposition that I want to discuss with you," he said firmly.

"Uh ... what kind of proposition?"

"I'm sure you've heard the rumors about F & C being for sale. Well ... they're not true. I am looking for a responsible investor that can bring the business back to life. I've found one likely candidate, and I'm hoping you can be another. Does that interest you?"

"Uh ... well ... I don't know. I've just bought out Dave Thomas, so I'm not sure what I'd be able to contribute ... financially."

"Don't worry about financing. That's the easy part. The real question is ... do you think you can restore F & C to something resembling its former place in the market?"

"Whew ... that's a tall order. I really don't know. I suppose it's possible, but ... there are a lot of questions to be asked first."

"Of course ... of course. I expect that. Could you make yourself available to meet with me next week in Cincinnati to discuss the possibility in more detail? You'd need a full day."

"I suppose so. I think I could clear Wednesday, if that's okay? But, I'd like to talk about it with my fiancée. It will affect her too."

"That will be fine, Stanley. I'm looking forward to seeing you again. I'm sure you'll find your time well spent."

We signed off, and I sat back in my office chair, my head spinning from the old man's suggestion. Me? An owner of Faraday and Crosse? It was crazy on the surface of it ... but ... what was the harm in listening? I picked up the phone and called Sue.

"Hi ... what brings you to call me at the office," she answered cheerily.

"I just had the strangest phone call. You won't believe who it was, or what it was about."

"Try me," she giggled.

"Well, how's this for weird? It was Jonas Faraday, and he wants to talk to me about taking over F & C with an ownership position."

"Yeah ... so what's strange about that?" Her voice was laced with mirth. She knew! How the hell did she know?

"This isn't a big surprise, is it?" I said in a somewhat accusatory tone.

"Don't get all upset, dear. You kept a secret from me about my promotion. I was asked to do the same," she explained.

"Oh ... so ... Byron's involved?"

"Yes. Up to his eyeballs. Faraday called him for a reference. He'd heard about what you did with the Helmvac. Apparently, that's all over the industry. You're famous, Stan. And, I guess Byron praised you to the sky, so I suppose it's no surprise the old man called you."

"And, you're not upset about it?"

"Hell no! I knew you wouldn't do anything without talking to me about it. This is something special, Stan. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You want to listen very carefully to this. Promise me you will?" She was deadly serious now. Better yet, she was encouraging me to explore the opportunity. We could deal with the implications later.

"Yeah ... sure. He wants to meet me next Wednesday in Cincinnati. I guess I'll call him back and tell him I'll be there."

"You do that, sweetheart. We'll talk about it tonight when I'm home. I'm excited for you, Stan. I'll see you later," she said.

I was surprised, if not amazed. She was really encouraging me to look at this as a big opportunity. I needed to sit back and think about what it would take to get F & C back on the rails. It wasn't just about the product, it was going to be about the people. I could quickly think of who didn't fit with what I wanted to do with the business. Most of them were in the management team.

But the real question was what would become of Copely Services? If F & C was restored as a manufacturer, how could I maintain a business that serviced competitive machines? That wouldn't work. On top of that, F & C had fallen behind in technology. It would take quite a big investment to bring them back up to competitive status. How much, I had no idea. There was a lot to think about.

When Sue got home late that afternoon, I was greeted with one of her patented kisses. "How's my superstar lover?" she asked.

"Oh ... I've graduated to superstar status, have I?" She sure knew how to make me feel special.

"Always were, always will be," she cooed. "Now, there are some other people who think you're a superstar too."

"I hope they realize I'm just a beginner at this business thing. I feel like this is too much, too soon. It makes me nervous."

"I know, sweetheart, but you don't have to do anything but listen. You know you can count on Seth and Carmen for advice. Byron too, for that matter. I know you well enough that you won't jump unless you're convinced it makes sense."

"Damn, woman, you've got a lot of confidence in me."

"Yes I have. It's what makes you special, lover. I knew it the first time I met you. When you walked out on that floor to my machine, I knew inside a minute that you could get it fixed. Better than that, you showed me what was wrong, and how to fix it myself. I've never forgotten that."

"No ... I guess you haven't," I smiled.

"Are you excited about this opportunity?"

"I'm trying not to be. I'm trying to keep a clear head so that I don't make a mistake. It's hard. To own my own business has been a big shot in the arm these last two years. I'm really enjoying the challenge. And ... I've been lucky. I've found Dody and Curtis, and they're great. Everything keeps turning up aces. Best of all ... I found you, the Ace of Hearts."

We held each other, kissing now and then, reminding ourselves of just how fortunate we were. My life ... our life ... was so completely different than it had been. It wasn't any wonder that I slept well ... so peacefully at night.

My thanks to ErikThread and DaveT for their editing and technical expertise. Any errors are mine alone.