I suppose it's a cliché, but I threw myself into work at Orient Pacific to help take my mind off Vannie. More accurately, I immersed myself in learning as much about the running of the business as I could. Mrs. Wong was an invaluable resource, but I really couldn't take all her time away from the day-to-day requirements of the company. I worked with the staff wherever possible, and then found some resource materials on my own. I was interested in the contracts we signed and how they were structured. It would give me a guide as to how we might handle new business.
I had taken a number of rudimentary business courses in college, but they were very general and not really suited to the particular needs of this company. When Winston Chen came on board, I would be able to work with him to understand the financials. We would both be in a learning mode. In the meantime, I was on my own. Mr. Yee Fung's health continued to deteriorate. I suspected he was not long for this world.
I asked Charlie to arrange a meeting with Ben Metzler. We hadn't met yet, and since there was a lot riding on his solar panel, I thought it was important. My sister was happy to oblige, and we agreed to get together on a Tuesday, the week after Vannie had returned home. It was a ten am meeting, and if it was convenient, we would have lunch at a nice restaurant near our office.
I also had begun to look for an apartment. Our office was on the edge of Chinatown, and there were a number of condos within a few blocks. I contacted a real estate agency, and they began a search. While I didn't faint when they showed me the price range of my rough specifications, it was far more than I had expected. Over eight hundred dollars a square foot was the minimum, it appeared.
When Tuesday rolled around, I went into the office early. I wanted to be prepared for my meeting with Ben. Plus, I had an appointment to see a potential condominium with my real estate agent early that afternoon. When Charlie and Ben arrived, I was in for a surprise. I suppose I had succumbed to all the old chestnuts about inventors and geniuses. I envisioned a somewhat disheveled man of medium build, unkempt hair, and abstract clothes, complete with pocket protector and horn-rim glasses.
When Charlie ushered Ben into my office, I wasn't sure just what to think. In front of me was a handsome, fairly tall, blonde-haired guy in a navy blazer, tan slacks, and a dark blue oxford shirt. There was no pocket protector in sight, and he didn't wear glasses. I glanced at Charlie and didn't miss the smirk on her face. She knew what I had been thinking, and she was enjoying my confusion.
The introductions were brief and we sat around the coffee table in an informal fashion.
"Ben, I'm sure Charlie has already told you how fascinated we are by your invention. It's an incredible advance in the field of power generation. What made you bring it to us?"
"Charlie can be very persuasive," he grinned. "She said she felt this company could find both manufacturing facilities and capital sources, both of which are essential to launch the project."
"Well, that's the intention all right. Is this ... product past the development or prototype stage?"
"Yes and no. It will never be past the development stage, I hope. The idea is to start here and continue to improve. On the other hand, what you saw with the demonstration Charlie gave was a working prototype. It has a fixed specification and fixed performance parameters."
"That's great. So, with the issuance of a Patent Pending authorization, we could go into production without too much worry about someone scooping us?"
"Yeah ... although I guess I'm a bit paranoid about how many people know about this. So far, there's no sign that anyone's picked up on what I'm doing."
I was surprised. "I didn't even think about security until just recently. We don't have any paperwork or samples, do we?"
"No. Nothing. Everything is locked away in my lab safe. I'm the only person that knows the formula to make it work, and even if someone got a module, they wouldn't be able to accurately analyze it. Like so many things, the real secret is in its simplicity. That's also the reason I'm confident that we can keep the cost down and make it universally affordable."
"Well, I can tell you, you have our undivided attention. Charlie's demonstration was enough to get that, and if the unit is as durable as she suggested, it can't help but be a winner."
Charlie hadn't said a word to this point, listening carefully to my questions and Ben's answers. All the while, they were sitting close to each other on the sofa, her arm entwined through his. Her eyes told the story. She worshipped this guy, and he was the reason for her change in direction. Our brief conversation had given me a feeling of confidence in Ben Metzler, along with a sense that this was a nice guy who wouldn't hurt my sister.
We talked some more about the timing of our project, and then set a date for another meeting in two weeks. At that point, Ben expected he would have the Patent Pending confirmation, and Winston Chen would have been on the job for a week. We could then begin to talk about finance and finding a manufacturer.
Ben and Charlie begged off lunch. They had their own plan and I suspected it didn't have anything to do with solar power. I picked up the phone and called my real estate agent to see if we could move up the viewing of the condo. Timmy "Top Value" Sung agreed, and I told him I would meet him at the tower at one pm. I was anxious to find something convenient and comfortable that would allow me to give back Jeannie and Mike their privacy. I was thinking I had overstayed my welcome, despite their protestations.
I had a sandwich and an ice tea at the deli just down the street from the office, then walked the three blocks to the building that housed the condominium. I arrived before my agent and looked around. The base of the building housed a nice looking restaurant, a barber shop, a convenience store, and a women's clothing boutique. I looked at the board in the lobby and noticed the first three floors were offices: lawyers, an optometrist, another import company, and some miscellaneous businesses. The upper nine floors were condos, with a penthouse at the top.
Timmy Sung met me in the lobby exactly at one and we proceeded up to the eleventh floor. There were only four units on each floor, two on each side of the elevator and stairwell. That meant only one adjoining wall for each unit. He opened the front door and led me inside. The unit was empty with no furniture. It didn't look like anyone had been here for some time.
"How many square feet, Timmy?"
"Uhm ... ten-forty."
"It's large enough," I said idly as I walked through the various rooms. Two bedrooms, a large living room, two full bathrooms, one of them an ensuite, decent size kitchen, small laundry and storage room, big windows looking north and east. It had all the necessities. The stainless steel appliances looked new. The walls were plain white, and it didn't look like anyone had ever painted them.
