New Reality: Book One: Re-Birth

As I parked beside James’ Ram, two salesmen came from the showroom and approached my car, slowly walking around admiring it as I turned it off and got out. They immediately started asking questions I was accustomed to answering when I parked around ‘car guys’. After the obligatory look under the hood, the first asked me what he could help me find today, while the other turned to James to ask the same question.

James nodded toward me and replied, “Greg is here to look at a used Ram he saw on your website.”

The salesman who had spoken to me said he would head back inside while Mitch continued speaking to James, “Certainly, if you’ll follow me, we keep our used vehicles over on this side of the lot.” He turned and headed off. I glanced at Scott, and he knew my thoughts as we followed Mitch.

We came to the truck I was interested in, but Mitch continued walking, not noticing that we had stopped and were walking around the silver diesel pickup. James had already started offering his opinion when Mitch realized we hadn’t followed him to the older truck that was in much worse shape.

Mitch was on his way back to us but too far away to hear James say, “Before you decide on a vehicle, you need to decide who is actually buying it, Greg. If this is going to be owned by the company, I’m going to push for the purchase of a new vehicle. There are tax benefits along with the fact that you get the full warranty.”

I nodded for Scott to tell him what we had worked out. “Greg has already called his bank and is approved for a loan using his savings account as collateral, pending the outcome of the emancipation hearing. For today, he’s going to use his savings to pay cash; he will then lease the truck to G & S Enterprises, Inc., for the use of their President.”

James grinned at the twisted plan that gave us the best possible tax breaks and allowed us to purchase the vehicle before the hearing. His grin faded just a bit as Scott told him the other half of the plan. “I will do the same, borrowing against my accounts to guarantee a loan to purchase an SUV and leasing it back to G & S for the use of their Vice-President.”

After staring at Scott for a moment, James said, “We can talk about the SUV for you in a few weeks. Considering the limits on your license, I hope you agree?” Scott nodded, and James went on, “As to this purchase plan, who came up with it?”

Scott said, “I did, but Greg texted Charlie on his break at work and confirmed it is legal and a good idea. He called the bank for Greg to authorize the transfer to his checking account.”

James was still considering this when Mitch walked up and said, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were helping him with the money, so I assumed he wanted the less expensive truck.”

I saw Scott rolling his eyes, and I agreed, so I said, “Thanks for your time, Mitch, but I think I need to check some other trucks before I make up my mind.” I didn’t wait for an answer; I simply turned and headed for my car. Scott was at my side in seconds while behind us; we heard Mitch sputtering about how rude James’ kids were.

You could have heard a pin drop when James replied, “It is you, sir, who are rude and most certainly in the wrong career. You were told that Greg is the buyer, yet you continued to focus your conversation on me. You fail to ask him which truck he is interested in, and you insult him by implying that he can’t afford what he wants. I assure you that he can afford to purchase your entire dealership, and after today, I might encourage him to do just that, if only for the privilege of watching you clean out your desk. Have a good afternoon.”

I turned and said, “James, I’m not angry at Mitch. In fact, I feel sorry for him. He’s obviously never been taught how to handle a sale. If I do choose to purchase this dealership, I’ll see to it that the entire staff learns how to qualify a customer and learn their needs long before they waste time walking the lot. Or at the least, how to do it while walking the lot.”

James glanced at Mitch, who was now quite pale, and asked me, “Do you want me to look into the place?”

I shook my head and said, “For me? No. I have enough to deal with as it is, and someone,” I paused and glared at Scott, “has talked me into developing a damned sub-division. If you choose to buy it, I’ll warn you: if the owner is anything like his son, you’ll be dealing with a self-centered ass. Right now, I’m taking the Buick home. If you would be so kind, I would appreciate a ride to Sparks GMC/Cadillac.” I felt Scott take my hand and reconsidered. “Actually, meet us there in an hour if you would. I want to do some research.”

James nodded, and as Scott and I were getting into my car, Mitch was falling all over himself, trying to apologize to James. As we drove out, Scott couldn’t hold back the laughter. When we pulled into Sparks’ lot, I parked directly in front of the showroom window and then led Scott inside to test my theory.

As we entered, an older man about Scott’s size walked up to us with a genuine smile, offering his hand and saying, “Welcome to Sparks, I’m Robert. How can I assist you gentlemen today?”

“I’m Greg Fowler, and this is my partner, Scott. We’re in the market for a pickup, and I noticed the bright blue one out by the highway as I drove by earlier, could we take a look at it?”

Robert called a young man over and asked him to ‘fetch the keys’, then turned back to us and asked, “Will this be used for work, or is it just a second vehicle?”

“It will be used for business, although I don’t know how much actual work it will see.”

Nodding, he asked, “And what kind of monthly budget were you aiming for? I hope you’re not planning on trading in that beautiful old Buick. I assume you have some money set aside for a downpayment?”

I smiled, knowing why he was asking these questions, so I said, “My mother passed away a few years ago, and I have most of the life insurance still in the bank. I don’t know how much I’m willing to part with, but we can see how that works out once I find the right truck. And no, I’m not parting with my baby.”

Robert smiled as he said, “Good to hear because I doubt we could give you what it’s really worth. If you had wanted to trade it, I would have suggested you take it to an auction.” With a grin, he added, “Although I might be tempted to make my own offer for it.”

The teen returned and handed a set of keys to Robert, who led us out the door and toward the truck as he described it. “This one’s a 2015 that just came in on Thursday, so there may still be plastic on the floors and such, I hope you can look past that. It’s a Sierra 1500 Denali. If you’ve been doing your research, I’ll assume you know what that means. If you don’t, I’m happy to go into more detail.”

“I don’t know all the details, but I know that’s GMC’s top trim level, so it’s probably loaded?” I asked.

Robert nodded as he unlocked the doors with the electronic fob, “You are correct, Greg. This one does not have the towing package, but we have a few that do if you need it. The other thing you should consider is the engine; this one has the 5.3L V-8, which won’t do as well on gas as the 4.3L V-6. We have several with the V-6, but if you’re in love with the color, we could probably get one in within a week.”

As I climbed into the driver’s seat, Robert suggested Scott get in the passenger seat so he could see and hear as he pointed out and talked about the features of the truck. He asked me to turn the key on but not start the truck. Once things powered up, he demonstrated the power seat on my side and encouraged Scott to try the other one. He pointed out the display screen and talked about the various apps that were compatible with the system, as well as the built-in navigation. He then asked if I would like to take it for a drive. When I said yes, he asked for my driver’s license so he could make a copy of it while apologizing for having to ask, saying it was policy. When I handed it to him, he frowned.

“I’m sorry, Greg, but we’re not allowed to let anyone under the age of eighteen drive our vehicles. It’s not us; it’s our insurance. If you like, I can take you two for a ride so you can at least see for yourself how it rides.”

I smiled and said, “I understand, and yes, if you don’t mind, I think I’d like to see how it rides.”

Twenty minutes later, Robert had parked beside my Riviera, and we were at his desk talking price. When I made him a cash offer, he looked at me and asked, “You don’t need to ask your parents?”

As if planned, James walked up and asked, “Did you pay for it yet?”

Robert looked up, and I understood the look on his face as he said, “Mr. Warnick, is this your son?”

James laughed and said, “No, Robert, that is my son,” pointing at Scott. “Greg is my—"

“Son-in-law.” I said as I ignored James.

“What did he offer, Robert?”

“Three thousand under sticker, out the door,” Robert replied, “but of course, you can do whatever you want.”

Before James could reply, I asked, “Would you have accepted that offer, Robert?”

“Technically, I can’t accept any offers, but after trying to get you to come up a bit, I’m sure the sales manager would have accepted this. I doubt he would go much further, though.”

I turned to James and glared, saying, “You could have told me.”

James let out a belly laugh and said, “And miss the look on your face? Never!” He looked up at Scott and said, "And don’t think I don’t see you looking at that Terrain. Go look closer, and we’ll talk.”

Scott got up and went over to a red Terrain Denali sitting in the showroom. James looked at Robert and said, “Greg is the buyer, but for several reasons, I think it best we just mark that one sold and wait. He should be back in on Friday as an emancipated minor, and you can do the paperwork then.” Looking over his shoulder, he sighed and added, “And I guess mark that one sold as well. I’ll do the paperwork on it on Friday as well. Write it up at two thousand over so you get your commission. Do the paperwork in the name of David Scott Warnick, my address.”

Robert was nodding, acknowledging James’ instructions, when I asked, “Why did you spend so much time with two teenagers? It’s unlikely many our age could pay for that truck.”

Robert smiled as he said, “You’re right, Greg and most salesmen would have ignored you or told you to come back with your parents. Doing it my way, I made a sale. And if you were typical boys your age, I’m willing to risk that you’ll remember today and come back to me when you can afford the truck. I’m not in the business of selling one car or truck, I’m in the business of getting you to come to me for the next twenty years.”

I glanced up to see a huge smile on James’ face. I stood and shook Robert’s hand, thanking him for his help, then went to look at Scott’s SUV. He was running his hand over the leather seats as I leaned in to look. “I bet Dad pushes back about my buying this.”

I smiled and decided to let him sweat it, saying, “Well, I have to wait until after the hearing on Friday for the truck. You can just keep riding with me.”

He looked at me and groaned, “Kinda defeats the point of me having a license, doesn’t it.”

We drove to my house, then walked over to Scott’s. My mouth started watering the second we opened the door. Scott sniffed and smiled as he pulled me up the stairs to undress. Ten minutes later, we were sitting at the dinner table enjoying an amazing venison roast with carrots, onions, and tiny potatoes.

I had just taken my first bite when James asked, “You used a different name for the company this afternoon. Is it settled, or are you still playing with it, testing how they sound?”

Scott said, “After we actually said GSF a few times, it started to sound off if that makes sense? We started playing with a few other names, and none of them sounded right.”

“I remembered another company that combined the last names, then used the initials, so we tried FowlerWarnick Enterprises, but that makes FWE, and I immediately imagined that comedian saying ‘fwee Wiwwie’.” Donna giggled. “We tried GregScott but thought someone might mock that with ‘Great Scott’. We settled on G & S Enterprises, Inc., and we can shorten it in logos as simply GSE, or GSE, Inc., we haven’t decided.”

James nodded as Donna said, “I like it. It sounds like a Mercedes SUV model.”

Scott almost choked on his food, and I was still laughing when James said, “I like it, Greg, much better than GSF. That sounded like a food conglomerate to me, but I didn’t want to criticize until you thought it through. Should I call Mike?”

I shook my head. “Scott called him on the drive home. We had to ask him to draw up the leases for the vehicles.”

“Did he like it?”

“He told me it opened us up to liability. He said he’ll do whatever we want, but he really thinks the safest route is for the business to buy them and write off the cost. The only drawback is we’ll have to pay taxes on the value of our personal use. Still cheaper than getting pulled into a messy lawsuit if we have an accident.” Scott replied.

James nodded and said, “There’s an easy solution to that, though I doubt you’ll want to do it while you’re still in high school.” We looked at him, curious. “Put ‘GSE, Inc’ on the doors. You’d still have to claim some personal use, but with them being mobile billboards, you can claim advertising.”

Scott added, “And we can always say that we’re always on the lookout for properties, so anytime we drive somewhere, it’s on business.”

I thought as I took another bite of the roast, swallowed, and said, “I don’t know about the advertising thing, but I do agree with the liability issue. I guess you should let Robert know I won’t be picking up the truck until next week. Maybe later if the judge has an issue with the petition.”

James slipped up by saying, “They’re not going anywhere, Greg.”

Scott froze with his fork halfway to his mouth and stared at James, who, realizing his mistake, just sighed and nodded, adding, “Your mother and I were going to buy you a car when you got your license. You boys came up with this plan, and it actually makes sense for the business to provide one for each of you, so we’ve decided to write each of you a check to cover the cost of the vehicles. You can then deposit them into the business account and call that your initial investment.”

Now, I was sitting next to Scott, frozen in a similar pose. When I finally found my voice, I said, “I don’t know what to say. I would argue, but I respect you too much,” I turned to Donna, “and I know better than to argue with a mother.” Donna laughed. “You’ve already done too much for me, but I’ll just say thank you, and I’ll shut up.”

“Wise move, son. I learned long ago not to argue with Donna once her mind is made up.”

That earned James a pouting glare from his wife as Scott said, “Thanks, Dad. I can’t wait for you to see it, Mom, you’ll love it; oh, and thanks to you, too!” He paused, then turned to his dad and said, “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or spoiled, but… um…”

James laughed and said, “I’ll order one in the same blue as Greg’s truck tomorrow. If there’s not one built already, it’ll take about six weeks.”

Scott pumped his fist as he jumped up and ran to hug his dad. I got up and started to clear the table, then paused and, on impulse, gave Donna a kiss on the cheek, then gave James a hug. James headed for his office while Scott helped me clear the table, put the leftovers away, and load the dishwasher. Donna sat and watched us, then asked me where her son was. I was still laughing at Scott’s whine when we joined James in his office.

James looked up from his desk as we walked in. “What can I do for you boys?”

Scott glanced at the desk and asked, “Do you want something to drink while we talk, James?”

Getting a nod, Scott headed back to the kitchen. When he returned, he handed James his mug and handed me a plastic cup of wine. I took a sip and asked, “If you have a few minutes, we have a few random things we’d like to get your input on.” James sat back, so I asked, “Should we get separate phones for business use? To develop the farm, where do we start? Do we find a builder or excavator or what? Who do we line up first?”

“If you were older, I would say it doesn’t matter about the phones, but I would recommend you get phones specifically for business. That way, you can make the voicemail greeting professional while keeping yours more your style. The other advantage is that you can keep things quiet from those at school if you choose to.”

Scott said, “Then we’ll go get two phones tomorrow. We can add them to our plan, and once we have things set up, we can open an account under GSE and transfer the numbers.”

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Scott, but slow down. Use yours for now; it should only be a week or two, and things will be less complicated. Even after Greg is emancipated, opening some types of accounts will be difficult. He’ll have to provide a copy of the court order to banks, vendors, contractors, and several other places.” Scott nodded, and then James looked at me, asking, “Knowing what I do of Charlie, I assume he’s already started on your credit history?”

“Yes. I’m an authorized user on two of his cards. The last time we talked, I had an excellent rating.”

“That will help you, but you’ll also need to establish credit in the name of GSE.”

“I already thought of that, Dad, er, James,” Scott replied. “We’re going to open accounts in four or five local banks, using the money you’ve provided for the renovations and repairs. We’ll apply for loans from those same banks, using the money as collateral, as we need. We’ll also get a small limit secured credit card for GSE, using it for gas and small expenses, to be paid off each month.”

James couldn’t hide his pride as he said, “Very good, Scott. I was going to suggest exactly that. Now, about this development. I would start with a visit to your office tomorrow and meeting your staff. I believe one or two of them still hold a license as an agent, possibly even a broker. If they do, have them contact the owners and find out if they’ll even sell the farm. If not, all your planning is a waste of time.”

Scott and I looked at each other, thoroughly embarrassed at having overlooked such an obvious issue. Turning back to James, I asked, “Will they know who I am? Or think I’m just some kid playing a prank?”

“They know I’m buying the place, I’ll call the manager first thing in the morning, explain the plans, and arrange an appointment.”

“Speaking of appointments, I should call David Jackson before it gets too late. Excuse me a second,” I said as I stood and picked up my phone.

James waved for me to sit as he said, “Put it on speaker, if you don’t mind, Greg. I’d like to hear his reaction.”

I nodded and hit the speaker button as Jake answered the Jackson’s house phone.

 “Hello, Jackson residence; this is Jake.”

“Hey, Jake, it’s Greg. Is your dad busy?”

“Hey buddy, what happened? I stopped by your work, and they said you quit.”

I hadn’t expected one of the twins to answer the phone, and I mentally slapped myself for not being prepared. I thought quickly and said, “Scott’s dad made me an offer I really couldn’t refuse.” I immediately regretted my choice of words.

“What is he, a mafia boss or something?”

Rolling my eyes, I said, “No, he’s a successful businessman. Listen, I’ll explain it all next week, OK? I really need to talk with your dad, though; is he busy?”

Jake sounded offended as he told me to hang on, but what could I do? I needed to tell him about this, but I needed to do it in person, and I needed to gather the guys and tell them all together. I was thinking about how to tell them when Mr. Jackson picked up the phone.

“Hey, Greg. Jakey tells me you wanted to talk with me. What’s up?”

“Hello, Mr. Jackson. I was hoping you had an hour or two free tomorrow for Scott and me to stop by and discuss some business.”

“Well, my day is pretty full, but if you don’t mind an early morning, you could drop by the office around eight. I usually spend that hour reviewing bids and future projects. Can I ask what this is about? Or is it best left for a face-to-face meeting?”

Considering how much to reveal tonight, I took a risk, “I hope I don’t offend you by saying that our conversation is confidential. I’ll tell the twins when the time is right, but I ask that you deflect their questions. That said, I want to ask you to serve on the board of directors of my business. I also have some projects I need your input, well, more like your guidance with.”

There was a long silence, then he said, “I’ll clear my nine o’clock, but still come over at eight. If this were any of my sons’ other friends, I would think this was a prank, but I know you, Greg. I’m intrigued. You’ll have my full attention, and I’ll give you my answer about the board seat when we’re done talking. Fair enough?”

“I can ask no more than that, Mr. Jackson, and thank you.”

“If we’re going to work together, you might as well call me David. Calling me Mr. might make me see you as my sons’ buddy and not a businessman.”

“Thank you, David. We’ll see you at eight. Should we bring coffee and donuts?”

David laughed, saying, “I’ll have both already set up, Greg. Is there anything else?”

“Nothing that can’t wait, thank you again. Have a great evening.”

Disconnecting the call, I looked up to see James nodding. “Very nice job, Greg. I hope you’ll forgive me for listening, but I wanted to be here in case he balked at talking to you. If he had, I could have stepped in to assure him of your sincerity.”

“That would have been counterproductive, James,” Scott said. “We have to win people over on our own. If you’re backing us up, they’ll always come to you for confirmation of our instructions.”

James sat back and replied, “If I were speaking as the father of his boyfriend, I would agree with you, Scott; if I’m speaking as the chairman of the board of GSE, that puts it into an entirely different light.”

Scott raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, considering the words. As he did, I said, “I see your point, James, and you’re right. I hadn’t considered that either, and if I’m honest, I had mixed feelings about you being on the call. I’m glad you pointed that out, thanks.”

“Greg, let’s get this out of the way now. I will not second guess you, nor will I overrule your decisions. I will not hold your hand, but I will watch over your shoulder and offer my opinions, and I will step in when my interference will benefit you.”

Nodding, I said, “Let’s call it guidance, not interference.” I smiled and continued, “Now you know our schedule, so when you call the office, you know not to set up our meeting before lunch.”

With nothing more needing to be discussed, Scott and I headed to his room. We considered staying here but decided that the privacy of my empty house was too tempting. Of course, we justified that decision by adding the fact that I didn’t have my running clothes here. After dressing and letting Donna know where we would be, we headed to my house and another night together in my bed. I could get used to that.