Laura's Big Win (28 page)

With that Laura started for her office,
only glancing back long enough to see that indeed there were two
persons following her like the herd follows the Judas goat, at the
direction of their respective CEO’s. Taking a deep breath, she
realized she was into it now, but at the same time, felt the
confidence rising in her that she knew how to do this and had the
situation well in hand and under control. Once in her office, she
opened the wall screen that ran wireless from her desktop, and
started into her solution. The two IT persons had remained
speechless thus far, wondering that they had been dragged into this
and how they were going to save themselves. Both took seats and
waited for the play to begin.

“Gentlemen, first of all, let me say
this is going to work whether you like it or not. Not only that,
but you can be the shining stars coming out of this if you throw in
with me and solve this thing, or I will solve it by myself, do the
presentation, and sink your ships. What will it be? In or
out?”

Neither man had any idea where this was
going, but they were in it, and clearly this woman was not
threatened by them, or evidently anything else. Both agreed to
follow her lead.

“Okay, here’s what we are going to do.
We are going to build, in thirty minutes, a system of cross
referral between these two companies that will not only wrap up a
sale but make things as easy for the customer as we can. We will
need to access your files giving us the geographic location of each
store, we will build an access path between your inventories, and
we will show your bosses how they can both make money. And don’t
look at me that way; I do this sort of thing all the time. Windmere
clears thousands of orders through hundreds of vendors on a daily
basis, providing the quickest or most economical service, and
usually both at the same time. Hold on to your seats gentlemen.
Marcia is here with your laptops; they’re wireless but communicate
only to the network here at Windmere and are encryption secure. Our
server is more than powerful enough to hold your files. Please
access the files we need and load them into our server while I work
on the merging part of the software. We can do this. And by the
way, Doris, Mrs. Cook, always holds some sticky buns in reserve in
the kitchen, although you may need a drink more than food by the
time we’re done. Start your engines.”

Both gentlemen were awed at the data
intake speed of the Windmere server. Although their company systems
were modern in all respects, they did not have Laura’s connections
in the computer world and had only what was available to the
public. The server at Windmere was a loaner, not on the market yet,
still somewhat experimental, an absolute voracious demon at
crunching numbers, and able to suck in data like an oceangoing
whirlpool. The two companies information bases were accessed and
poured in data while Laura constructed the information bridge. The
finer details needed some additional input from the IT persons that
was easier to extract from their brains than the gigabites of
stored information. Laura was well into the programming by the time
the data transfer had been completed.

“Okay gentlemen. I need to know a
little something. First of all, do you use a consistent markup on
everything you sell, or are there at least groups of things to
which different markup’s are applied.”

Mr. Green Shirt replied first:
“Categories, groups of things. We sell some really big ticket items
we don’t mark up very much, and a lot of little things we simply
double the price on because the traffic will stand it. We may get
two dollars for a blister pack of license plate fasteners we paid
$.37 for from the supplier, but we can’t mark up a $1500 rebuilt
transmission like that or it would cost over eight grand. So, yes,
but the pricing isn’t random; it’s done in five
categories.”

Mr. Blue Shirt agreed, and confirmed
they used a very similar strategy at their company. Both men agreed
the mark-up’s were comparable and little would be lost if the two
schedules were averaged across the board.

“Okay. So we plug that in. Now, one of
you check his inventory in the data bank for something you don’t
have in stock, anything at all, except that it does have to be in
stock at the other company and in reasonable proximity. Okay? I’ll
give you a moment to do that, and make it good, That’s going to be
your selling point.”

Both men fell to the task and quickly
came up with an expensive engine overhaul kit worth nearly $1200
because of the high performance parts it contained. Both companies
carried it, but only one had it in stock. The final price with
markup was calculated, and the profit margin noted.

“Okay, gentlemen, here’s how this is
going to work. Watch well because you get to do it next and we’re
down to five minutes.” And with that Laura quickly ran through the
program she had developed, sent it back to the mainframe for
storage, and herded them back into the great room, their reluctance
fading as they realized they had a good product to sell their
bosses.

Once back in the great room, Laura
found things to be more congenial, at least on the surface. The
sugar and tea had done their work, and the competitors retook their
seats for the show. The lawyers, skilled at deal making, could not
believe this person had solved this problem in thirty minutes.
Laura fired up the flat screen and called for the main frame to
send the video stream there so all could see, then pointed to the
two IT reps and twirled her finger in the air, the traditional
signal to “get on with it”. Armed with their wireless laptops, the
two reps traded taking the lead, using the transmission rebuild kit
as an example of how things would work. The key element Laura had
added was the ability for each vendor to get something out of the
deal, based on a percentage of the profit level. Windmere played
it’s usual strange effect on the two reps, and before long, they
were adding to the program as they went along. One came up with the
idea of the supplying store meeting the customer on the curb with
their parts in hand, where it was reasonable to do so, sort of a
reward to the customer for having stayed with them and making the
extra drive. The other suggested that if they did not use this
system and let the customer drive down the road uncommitted, they
might well drive into a competitors store, and both partners would
lose the sale. In return, his counterpart pointed out that getting
the customer to commit in the form of cash was as good as any other
sale, even if the part wasn’t really there. Strange to say, the
positive atmosphere spilled over into the room, and as the screen
flashed the progress of the presentation through all the numbers
involved, others joined the commentary with even more ideas on how
things could be done together. Half an hour later, when the two
CEO’s rose and shook hands over a done deal, spontaneous applause
broke out. Laura was relieved that what she had started had worked
out so well, and not in the least concerned that the two IT men
were, in general, getting the credit. Windmere would profit in the
long run; she was so elated she squeezed down hard on the hand
holding hers, and with a start realized her hand was indeed in
someone else’s very familiar feeling hand. Ryan had come into the
room as things were picking up speed but had stayed more behind her
than alongside so he didn’t disturb the drama; once it was done, he
had simply touched her hand and she slid hers into his as though it
had always belonged there, without even knowing she had done so. In
fact, Laura was so excited at that moment she wondered later why
that event felt so great, yet some other acts that should have been
greater, were not.

“I think you won today. How does it
feel to know you can take on the world and beat it out of the
starting gate, around the track, and cross the finish line without
even being out of breath?”

“Oh, I’m out of breath alright; I was
more than a little scared when this started out. These guys just
needed to think outside their own narrow corners a bit, and you
probably saw what happened; once they got started with a good idea,
they jumped on big time, and the others had to come along or be
left out entirely. It worked, and even if it hadn’t, at least they
were talking again.”

“I think it’s a special day. You stood
up, and were not only counted, you did the counting. You do
realized we may have to pay you more, now that our competition will
be calling. No, don’t look at me like that. This is a cutthroat
business; once the word gets out how great you are, not to mention
how great you look and your killer body, hell, we’ll have to beat
them off with a stick.”

“Stop already. You know I’m not going
anywhere, but I do feel like celebrating. Suggestions?”

“Yes. See if the kids can do a
sleepover with Marie’s kids tonight. It’s early enough to arrange
that if you can work it out. You know, just in case we get in late;
wouldn’t want to wake them unnecessarily. If you do that, I’ll see
if there’s any place we can get some franks and beans for supper,
maybe find something entertaining for later. Yell when ready; I
need to clean up just a bit. Say we head out about six; the
afternoon is pretty well gone already. We could drop the kids on
our way to the hamburger stand. Okay?”

“Okay by me. I’ll make the call. If
they can’t stay there, Alice loves to have them over and maybe I
can prevail on her in her romantic reverie. I do hope that guy
shows up for her. See you at six.”

And so another business week closed
out, but not all the surprises had been revealed. For Laura, life
was still unfolding. She hurried to the cottage to let the kids
know what was taking place, and to tidy herself up a bit before the
evening’s activities. Tidy up may not have been accurate
considering the lengths she went to in getting ready, but after
all, this was her man whether he knew it or not, and she had
decided to go after him make or break. After all, she thought, I’m
already in my thirties; time is going to run out on me. Little did
she know the most important part of her day was just
beginning.

Chapter 16 – Engaging
Conduct

Six PM arrived in due time. Ryan
arrived at the cottage to pick her up, with his usual shop worn and
somewhat tired sedan. Alice already had the kids in tow and would
take them to Marie’s later in the evening. Laura was comfortable
with the car since she knew what it had meant to him in the past,
and she knew that some day he would be able to let go of it just as
he had let go of some of his sadness. Ryan commented on how great
she looked, especially after her day in the trenches, and again
praised her ability to stand on her own and run the
show.

“I called the hotdog stand; they’re
fresh out of brats, so that’s out. Maybe I can find some other
place milady would find suitable. I know: how about I just take you
somewhere unannounced and surprise you. Okay?”

“Okay. I learned some time ago you are
very trustworthy, or I wouldn’t be in here on a darkened road, with
night coming on, and my kids not here to protect me. Is it
safe?”

“Probably. Anyway, I’m driving, and I
think this will work out well for us. I do believe today was a
special day for you, really. You got out in front and lead the
pack, proved you can do the job, and that you can hold your own in
a crowd. You, in fact, are a fully functional and very capably
independent adult female. So there. And what I said about the
competition, it’s very true. You’ll get the headhunter calls, count
on it. Part of it is because you are, simply put, really great at
what you do.. You proved that today and word gets out. Secondly,
companies are desperate for female executives, preferably good
ones, and you most certainly qualify there. And the rest of that
stuff about you being very sexy with a great body and all that,
well, that’s just my opinion, but I have a feeling it’s shared by
any guy who sees you.”

“You do go on some. What makes you
think I’m ‘sexy’ or whatever. Flatterer!!”

“Nope. Just reality. Remember those
times in the pool with your kids when you thought I was out
jogging? Well I was, but I jogged past the pool a lot of times just
to take a look. I think I put in a couple extra miles those days.
Anyway, we’re about there. This okay with you?”

Laura had not been paying attention to
where they were in Conyerville, but quickly recognized the country
club where Windmere held a company membership. They used it on
occasion when the big house simply could not hold enough persons
for an event. The club was well used by its patrons, tonight being
no exception, but Ryan and Laura were escorted past the waiting
line, through the main dining room, and into a small room at the
back Laura had never noticed on their earlier visits. Ryan tended
to be less than formal on most occasions, but they had dined here
several times over the past few months on special events, always in
the main dining room, and frequently to the envious stares of
eligible females in the dining room. Still, Laura had not seen this
room, and was well pleased, if a little puzzled, by what she saw.
The room was not large at all, and held a single table in the
center, with only two chairs placed across from each other. The
recessed lighting and soft drapes gave the whole room an almost
hazy, rosy look, while the small vase and lit candles on the table
contributed a bit of color to the atmosphere as well as a pleasing
scent. The maître’s de seated Laura, while Ryan settled himself in
the other chair and reached for the contents of the wine
bucket.