The Money Is Green (8 page)

Putting the car in gear, Janine looked into her side mirror as she merged into the airport traffic. “You’re welcome. How was your flight?”

Jason sighed as he fastened his seatbelt. “Long but uneventful,” he answered. “So, how did it go with Crystal since we last talked? Did things improve any between you two?”

She turned and looked at Jason with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Jason. I need to tell you about some things.”

She steered the car down the street and headed towards a Starbucks on her left. She parked the car in front of the coffee shop and they both walked in silence through the entrance. They found a small table by a window and sat down. Janine set her purse on the chair next to hers, put her elbows on the table, and put her chin in her folded hands. She stared straight ahead for a long moment and took a deep breath.

“Jason, I honestly tried and I tried hard, but it’s no use. I don’t think anyone has given me the silent treatment for three days like she has. I’ve tried, I really have, to engage her and to interact with her, but
she refuses to give me the time of day. As long as Crystal is going to be in your life, which she should be, I don’t see a future for us.”

Jason reached across the table and placed his hands over hers. “Please, Janine, don’t give up on me. I know things will get better. Crystal just needs some time to adjust to you being in my life. She’ll come around. I really appreciate you staying with her and I know she can be tough, but give me a day or two and I’ll have a chat with Crystal and explain to her what happened between me and her mother. I was hoping to avoid this talk to spare her feelings, but it no longer can be ignored.”

She threw her hands up in exasperation. “We’ve been dating for almost a year. How much longer do I put up with this? As long as your ex-wife keeps poisoning that young girl’s mind, I have no chance.”

Jason sighed. “Just give me a chance to talk to Crystal.”

Janine nodded. “Okay.”

They got back in the car and headed home. Jason stared ahead at the road in silence.

♦

Papers were spread out all over the kitchen table as Jason poured over the stack of documents. Cost breakdowns, solar panel cut sheets, cash flow projections, along with the latest bid proposal to Inter-Power for the Copper Mountain job were laid out in order of priority. Jason had his laptop open and was finishing up an email when the front door opened and Crystal walked in. Her green soccer uniform had a few grass stains across her chest, and her cleats made squeaking noises as she walked over the linoleum floor. Jason got up and gave her a hug, holding her for a minute. “How’re you doing, pumpkin? I missed you terribly.”

Crystal leaned away from him like he had just come from a gym workout and stunk. “I missed you too, Dad,” she said flatly.

He cleared some of his papers from the table and pointed to the seat next to him. “Come sit down and tell me about your week. How was school? Did you win your soccer game yesterday? What did I miss?”

She tossed her backpack at her feet and slid into the chair. She stared at him for a minute before answering in a monotone, “School was fine. We won the game yesterday and I had a goal, and Janine is a bitch and I can’t stand her.”

Jason sat back. “What’s wrong, Crystal? Why won’t you give her a chance? She’s a wonderful lady with a big heart and she cares about you very much. If you would take the time to get to know her, you two would get along famously.”

“Dad,” she said sternly, “I don’t need another mother, nor do I want one. Have you booked my flight to North Dakota? I really miss Mom and want to visit her.”

Jason tapped his fingers on the table and took a deep breath. “You’re not going to North Dakota. Your mom wants to fly out here and visit you in California instead.”

Crystal leapt up from her chair, her arms pressed firmly on her thighs. “What do you mean I’m not going to North Dakota? Mom said you’d try this because you’re too cheap to buy me a ticket. If I have to rob a 7-11 I’m going to find the money to get out of here.” She grabbed her backpack and stormed out of the kitchen.

Jason sat in stunned silence. Okay, time for me to tell her the truth. Janine is right, we can’t continue on like this. It’s time she understands what really happened between me and her mother. Jason got up and knocked softly on Crystal’s bedroom door. “Sweetie, can I come in? There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

N
INE

T
he white golf ball rolled slowly toward the putting machine sitting on the carpeted floor, hit the lip, and bounced into the indentation the size of the ball. A small piston, engaged once the ball rested in the slot, punched the ball fifteen feet back, and it came to rest where it started at the face of Brian Thompson’s putter. Brian was the same height as Jason, six foot two, but a few years older. His wavy dark hair had streaks of grey in it and was thinning at the top. His tanned face and arms gave him a healthy look, as if he spent a lot of time outdoors, which he did on the golf course, when he wasn’t working. He was the type of person who could light up a room with his smile, but when he was serious, people listened.

Brian was still leaning over the putter when the ball returned, and with an unlit cigar in his mouth, he gave a tug to his light grey slacks and struck the ball back toward the plastic device.

Jason, sitting at an overstuffed chair in front of Brian’s desk, watched the ball roll straight into the plastic cup. “You should be on tour, Brian,” he teased. “Those are money putts.”

Brian straightened up and rested the putter against the wall as the ball shot back. He sat down behind his expansive walnut desk. He
winked at Jason and chomped down on his cigar. “In my dreams, I could be on tour. So, let’s see what you’ve brought me.”

Scooting his chair up closer to the desk, Jason reached into the briefcase and pulled out a stack of bound documents. He handed one set to Brian and kept the other for himself. Leafing through it, he stopped and looked up. “If you go to page eight, Brian, that’s the amount of the bid. Behind that page are the corresponding documentation and back-up data to support the bid. If you look on page twenty-seven, I’ve done an analysis that shows you the price of the system and the corresponding tax credits you get from the federal government and the effective reduction in cost to the system.”

He paused to let Brian catch up to where he was in the bid packet.

Jason continued. “When all the tax breaks and credits are taken into consideration, the system will pay for itself in five point three years. Your internal rate of return is close to ten percent.”

Brian studied the numbers, picked up a pencil, and wrote some notes on a legal pad. He reached out and started punching numbers on the calculator sitting on the desk. After about ten minutes, he looked up and smiled. “I’m impressed, Jason. I think your numbers are very accurate and competitive. I also like the way you’ve shown me how the project will pencil out for my investors. I’ll have to take your word that the internal rate of return is what you say it is, as this calculator doesn’t do that calculation, but I’m sure you’re close.”

Jason smiled and closed the document. “Have you secured the lease from BLM for the land yet? I heard the Power Purchase Agreement was almost ready for a signature.”

Leaning back in his chair, Brian nodded. “The lease was signed a few weeks ago. Dealing with the Department of the Interior is a pain in the ass. Even though we’ve got Congressman Waters pushing for us, it was like pulling teeth. I’ve warned Mei to make sure everything she does is legitimate and aboveboard. I don’t know Congressman Waters very well, so I want to be sure we do everything according to the law.”

“I’ve met the congressman myself,” Jason said as he nodded in agreement. “He’s an interesting guy.”

Brian raised his eyebrows. “I’ll say he’s an interesting guy. He’s the biggest proponent of the renewable energy movement and even runs around in one of those hybrid Priuses. But then he hops on Mei Chen’s jets and flies all over the world spewing tons of carbon monoxide all over the atmosphere.” He grunted. “I think his carbon footprint is as large as Bigfoot’s. So much for a being an advocate for clean air.”

“Yeah, I find that kind of ironic,” Jason said, stifling a laugh. “There are a lot of politicians on the green bandwagon that do the exact opposite in their personal lives.” He held up his document. “Back to this. Does this mean we’ve won the bid?”

“Not exactly,” Brian answered. “I know you’re aware of my relationship with Mei Chen and her involvement with Inter-Power. But I have other investors that I have a fiduciary duty to protect. I have to make sure I can get the best deal for everyone. The proposal you’ve put together for Soltech is impressive, but I still have to look at what the other companies bid for the job.”

He got up and walked to the window overlooking the parking lot. A man was pushing a mower across a vast green lawn in the front of the building. “I need to warn you about Mei Chen. She’s a very aggressive woman and will do anything to get her way.” He turned and gave Jason a look full of unspoken implications. “Anything.”

Jason shifted in the chair. “Why are you telling me this, Brian? Is there something she’s doing that’s unethical or illegal? I’m not interested in ruining my reputation or going to jail.”

“Soltech’s solar panels are some of the most cheaply made panels in the world, primarily because of the Chinese government subsidies. But they aren’t the best solar panels out in the market, so I have to weigh that into the equation. The reason they’re not the best is because Mei cuts corners in the manufacturing process.”

Jason sat forward in his chair. “I thought you said that Earth-Sun was in the mix for this job. They’re also a Chinese company and the government subsidizes them. There’s not much difference in their manufacturing process than ours at Soltech.”

Brian nodded. “That’s true, they’re a Chinese company and they’re in the running. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen what they’re proposing and they’re going to come in more than Soltech. But the difference between your two companies is that Earth-Sun is run by a British man named Andrew Dillon, and he’s been doing panel manufacturing for decades and is good at what he does. Earth-Sun puts out a great product because they pay attention to every part of the process, something Mei Chen has yet to learn.”

Jason flipped through the pages of his proposal then peered up at Brian, trying to read his expression. This is bad news. I’m sure Mei Chen thought this was a done deal and was moving on to the Antelope Valley project. This is not going to be fun to explain to her. He looked down at the top sheet of his proposal. “Let me work on a couple things and finalize our price. I know I can make my proposal more competitive with Earth-Sun.”

Brian shrugged. “Sure. If you want, I’ll give you a few more days. But I have to be honest: Earth-Sun’s proposal is going to be tough to get below, and the other issue you’ve got to convince me is the quality and warranty of your product.”

Gathering up his papers, Jason stood up and they headed out the door. “I’ll see what I can put together to show we can deliver a quality product and still get my price a little lower. I haven’t told you this but Mei has been hinting to me that she wants to promote me to become more in charge of everything at Soltech.”

Brian cocked his head. “Really? That would be good news. I think you’d help alleviate some of Soltech’s problems. When do you think this might happen?”

Jason shrugged. “I’m not sure. She hasn’t put anything down on paper for me to look at, so who knows.”

Brian threw his arm around Jason’s shoulder as they walked toward the exit. “Look, my friend, I’ll give you the final look, and if the gap between your proposal and Earth-Sun’s is large enough, I’ll rethink my position. Convince me Soltech’s panels will hold up in the long run. Let’s wander over to Patrick’s and toss down a few beers and forget about work for a little while.”

Jason turned and smiled. “That sounds like a great idea.”

♦

A few hours later, as Jason was driving toward his home, he dialed Mei Chen’s number. After the call went to voicemail, he started to leave a message.

“Madam Chen, this is Jason. I just left Brian Thompson’s and we went over our proposal for the Copper Mountain job. I need you to call me because this job is definitely not guaranteed ours.”

As he was driving, he checked his watch. I better hustle if I’m going to pick up Crystal from her soccer practice.

Just when I thought things were falling into place for Soltech, I find out we have a lot of work to do if we’re going to get this job. And we’d better get it. I don’t think Mei will let Brian give this job away to another company without putting up a huge fight. This process is far from over.

T
EN

T
he pool at the Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort spread out over an acre in size, and the crystal blue water shimmered in the afternoon sun. A huge water slide rose up out of one end, spiraling around a manmade foothill covered with exotic and colorful plants. A pair of peacocks patrolling the greenery stopped every so often to observe the hundreds of humans who ringed the pool as they sunbathed on white towel-covered lounge chairs. Brown-skinned servers in flowery Hawaiian shirts carried trays of margaritas, mai-tais, or coconut chichis to the sun worshipers. The clear water of the pool made an alluring respite from the hot afternoon sun.

With the four-story hotel in the backdrop, the pool area opened up to the pristine beach where the surf crashed noisily as wave after wave descended on the beach. Seagulls strutted around the beach as if they owned it, looking boldly for an unsuspecting sunbather to leave some food unattended.

Congressman Eugene Waters lay on a chair twenty feet from where the thatch-roofed cantina was positioned and from where all the libations being served were made. His servers didn’t have to go far to take care of his needs. A young Asian woman in a bright blue bikini
sat next to him and slowly applied suntan lotion to his dark back, the white cream melting into his skin as she expertly worked it with deft fingers. He had peeled back the top of his brown and tan Tommy Hilfiger bathing suit to expose his lower back and moaned contently as she rubbed the lotion in harder.