to
meet like this, Sean. From now on we’re supposed to be strangers. Do you
understand?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Devinn smiled broadly. “Just take it easy for a
while.”
Thompson bid his goodbye with a sheepish grin. Waiting for
the cashier to ring-up his change, Devinn watched the engineer walk with an air
of uncertainty out of the restaurant. A minute later Thompson’s battered
Hyundai pulled into the traffic.
Behind the wheel of his Maserati GranTurismo, heading home
to his townhouse in the chic western hills overlooking the city, Devinn reached
for his cellular telephone. Perhaps he could resurrect those dinner plans,
after all.
15
“YOU HAVE SIMPLY got
to be tired of that old smokestack technology you’re working on,” Ralph Perry
said between sips of his wine.
Stuart’s business partner had left word with his secretary
that he wanted to meet with him, and was willing to layover his flight from the
west coast in order to make it happen. Stuart was exhausted and had no interest
in meeting for dinner, but with the crash investigation into its fifth week, he
did owe Perry an explanation.
“Not a matter of how tired I am,” Stuart replied. “It’s got
to be seen through.”
“Well.” Perry washed down a mouthful of South American
prawn with another sip of Riesling. “Even in this downturn, CLI’s business mix
is proving a winner. Take a look around the dining room—folks just aren’t
shelling out three-hundred bucks for dinner these days. Hell, I can’t remember
the last time a four-star restaurant gave me a table on such short notice. Yet
our Medical Group sales are up, Military a notch, Telecom down but stable. The
crunch is actually drawing outsource business to our new satellite services
unit. Good business mix—good strategy.” Perry looked Stuart in the eye. “We did
okay, you know that?”
Stuart certainly had to agree, although his partner now
more or less ran the business himself that the two of them built. As younger
men eager for risk, an old Strategic Defense Initiative contractor that hit
upon hard times had caught their attention. Perry had convinced his friend of
the opportunity to transfer the company’s laser technology from military to
medical markets. So they pooled their savings and borrowed creatively in order
to purchase and take control of the company. Each brought different skills to
the mix, Perry’s in marketing savvy and a knack for cutting lucrative
financing; Stuart’s in operations and his eye for hiring the right people. Seven
hard, lean years later they succeeded in turning Coherent Light Incorporated
into a small and prosperous group of businesses, exploiting synergies of medical
and military laser technologies, fiber optic telecommunications and, since
Stuart’s departure, Perry’s expansion into satellite telecommunications
services.
None of it had come without a heavy personal toll. Stuart’s
original twenty-two percent stake in the company had been shaved in half by his
divorce settlement. Related problems had contributed to Stuart’s three year
hiatus. For five months now Perry had steadily turned up the heat for Stuart’s
return, to which he agreed—contingent upon completion of Thanatech’s flight
test, which seemed at the time a suitable stepping off point.
“If it’s so good, why do you need me back?” Stuart asked.
“Believe me when I say that this project lusts for
you.”
What Stuart could not believe was that his partner had ignored
his revulsion to wading into yet another big government contract. “Remember the
story about the tar baby, you know, the guy drove his fist into the face of the
tar baby, and it just sort of stuck?”
“Ah, bullshit.” Perry rejected Stuart’s skepticism with a
wave. “We’ve positioned ourselves to ride an economic revolution—this is going
to be the biggest paradigm shift since the creation of the railroad. That may
sound like a cliché but I am not exaggerating. CLI isn’t at the
meet like this, Sean. From now on we’re supposed to be strangers. Do you
understand?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Devinn smiled broadly. “Just take it easy for a
while.”
Thompson bid his goodbye with a sheepish grin. Waiting for
the cashier to ring-up his change, Devinn watched the engineer walk with an air
of uncertainty out of the restaurant. A minute later Thompson’s battered
Hyundai pulled into the traffic.
Behind the wheel of his Maserati GranTurismo, heading home
to his townhouse in the chic western hills overlooking the city, Devinn reached
for his cellular telephone. Perhaps he could resurrect those dinner plans,
after all.
15
“YOU HAVE SIMPLY got
to be tired of that old smokestack technology you’re working on,” Ralph Perry
said between sips of his wine.
Stuart’s business partner had left word with his secretary
that he wanted to meet with him, and was willing to layover his flight from the
west coast in order to make it happen. Stuart was exhausted and had no interest
in meeting for dinner, but with the crash investigation into its fifth week, he
did owe Perry an explanation.
“Not a matter of how tired I am,” Stuart replied. “It’s got
to be seen through.”
“Well.” Perry washed down a mouthful of South American
prawn with another sip of Riesling. “Even in this downturn, CLI’s business mix
is proving a winner. Take a look around the dining room—folks just aren’t
shelling out three-hundred bucks for dinner these days. Hell, I can’t remember
the last time a four-star restaurant gave me a table on such short notice. Yet
our Medical Group sales are up, Military a notch, Telecom down but stable. The
crunch is actually drawing outsource business to our new satellite services
unit. Good business mix—good strategy.” Perry looked Stuart in the eye. “We did
okay, you know that?”
Stuart certainly had to agree, although his partner now
more or less ran the business himself that the two of them built. As younger
men eager for risk, an old Strategic Defense Initiative contractor that hit
upon hard times had caught their attention. Perry had convinced his friend of
the opportunity to transfer the company’s laser technology from military to
medical markets. So they pooled their savings and borrowed creatively in order
to purchase and take control of the company. Each brought different skills to
the mix, Perry’s in marketing savvy and a knack for cutting lucrative
financing; Stuart’s in operations and his eye for hiring the right people. Seven
hard, lean years later they succeeded in turning Coherent Light Incorporated
into a small and prosperous group of businesses, exploiting synergies of medical
and military laser technologies, fiber optic telecommunications and, since
Stuart’s departure, Perry’s expansion into satellite telecommunications
services.
None of it had come without a heavy personal toll. Stuart’s
original twenty-two percent stake in the company had been shaved in half by his
divorce settlement. Related problems had contributed to Stuart’s three year
hiatus. For five months now Perry had steadily turned up the heat for Stuart’s
return, to which he agreed—contingent upon completion of Thanatech’s flight
test, which seemed at the time a suitable stepping off point.
“If it’s so good, why do you need me back?” Stuart asked.
“Believe me when I say that this project lusts for
you.”
What Stuart could not believe was that his partner had ignored
his revulsion to wading into yet another big government contract. “Remember the
story about the tar baby, you know, the guy drove his fist into the face of the
tar baby, and it just sort of stuck?”
“Ah, bullshit.” Perry rejected Stuart’s skepticism with a
wave. “We’ve positioned ourselves to ride an economic revolution—this is going
to be the biggest paradigm shift since the creation of the railroad. That may
sound like a cliché but I am not exaggerating. CLI isn’t at the
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