3. Games people play.
The next morning started slowly. Fiona gave me that "doe-eyed' look.
"Eat me out Petey, and make me come again" she asked smiling sweetly. "Then we had better get up: the day is passing."
I obliged. Was I ever lucky!
We had brunch, like a couple of weeks ago, then the rest of the day we did the tourist thing. In the evening we saw a West End show, light and fluffy, and eminently forgettable. At one point Fiona asked me if I had a dinner jacket and I replied yes. She said she asked because we have been invited to a Christmas Formal at her hospital. What she meant to say was that she had been asked and I was assumed to be willing if suitably attired.
My tuxedo was an inheritance from Mum's older brother. He was a policeman, a big man at 6' 3," so Mum had it taken in for me and I had used it at Bristol U for the formals there. Nothing flashy but it was serviceable, and people only looked at the women's outfits anyway.
The day passed most enjoyably. The kitbag was not mentioned again, and when I got home there were messages. The important one was from Alastair telling me a meeting had been set up for Wednesday morning and could I prepare a 15-20 minute Power Point presentation, without details.
I could say that I sent a lot of time preparing for the Wednesday meeting, but I didn't. I simply listed 4 ideas I had developed to varying degrees plus the patent already shared with Bristol U and Glaxo Smith Klein. The meeting was at the National Cancer Institute and I set off early so I could have a coffee beforehand.
Alastair was there when I arrived and Starbucks was nearby; where are they not? We found the conference room with 20 minutes to spare and I synced my computer with the projector. Soon a woman and eight men sat down and we all introduced ourselves with our affiliations. Alastair gave me a brief introduction and I gave my talk. There were lots of questions, most of which I could answer, some I couldn't for various reasons and some Alastair cut off.
Alastair and I left for a sandwich lunch agreeing to meet back in 2h.
"Peter, I have been offered a named chair at Stanford in Palo Alto, California, starting in the late Spring or early Summer," Alastair stated as we ate our sandwiches. "It has been in the works almost since I left Bristol. I would like you to come with me, in fact your agreement may make the difference to whether I go or not. This group are going to make you an offer which I feel sure you will accept, and it could set you up for life."
"I've been talking with the group for 3 weeks now. They all want 'in' on your ideas and first choice at licensing your patents. There were more companies interested but for practical reasons we narrowed the group to four: GSK, Novartis, Merck and J and J. Big Pharma is so competitive as you know, companies concentrate on specific areas and your ideas overlap many disciplines. But the major point is that they all recognize your unique ideas and your unique methods for testing. They will explain the details of their offer to you this afternoon."
We returned to the conference room.
There was only one speaker of the 4 people present after lunch. Dr Jos van Osterlin of Merck summarized the offer: my scientific directorship, the stand-alone building, my salary, budget, staffing, Alastair's involvement, progress reports and a wealth of details. All areas were open to discussion including start date. Would 2 months be long enough to make decisions and, if positive, some of the details?
"Dr Banks and I will need some time to discuss the overall plan and the details but this proposal is very much in line with the ideas we discussed separately" said Alastair, raising his eyebrows questioning me.
I smiled and nodded back. We rose and shook hands. The industry people left and Alastair and I sat back down.
Alastair opened the conversation, "Well, what do you think Pete, can you handle it?"
I replied, still thinking "No problem with the science side Alastair and obviously the sponsors are OK with it too. But it's the admin that I'm not familiar with: presumably we - I - can hire someone to do that?"
"Otherwise it's a fabulous opportunity. And before we go on, thank you so much for all the arranging you've done. Obviously nothing would have happened without you directing traffic."
"I wasn't alone in this Peter. You remember I mentioned Jack Muir to Prof at your exam? He and I are old mates and he knows both the science side and patents. He also has contacts all over the world so together we drafted a somewhat cryptic message to several Pharma companies. Their response was immediate and positive: they all wanted in. The rest was in the details. And it's not completely altruistic: I get to benefit by 10% of what you get, and Merck plus J and J helped me land the chair at Palo Alto. A win-win situation."
"Two other points before we head home Peter. The first is that GSK have an apartment a few blocks from the Royal Marsden. It is currently unoccupied and after you sign you should get a memo offering it to you until you leave for Stanford, free of course. The second is your salary. Nobody mentioned it at the meeting but the word is it will be around 350. Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars that is, minus my ten percent. So with what I make as chair plus your 10% we will be making about the same. How does that sound?"
"I have to stay seated Alastair, before I fall down," I replied. "That's a fantastic offer and of course I will accept it. But what should I do next? I suppose I should just sit back and wait for the paperwork to catch up with me."
"Good thought! Go out for a beer and relax!" He laughed and we parted company.
I called Jeff Mitchell to go for a beer. It was time I caught up with him for a chat about his experiments. I had been busy with my own work but Jeff was always ready for a drink, especially if I was buying. I got to the pub before Jeff and had time to make a few notes: I needed to find a lawyer who was not part of Big Pharma, must talk to Mum and Dad (and sister Sandra). Question: who can I tell about Stanford? Answer: nobody, not even Fiona, at least for a long time - months.
My routine was now established. I worked in the lab till late most evening and occasionally had a beer with Jeff. His experiments were interesting and I could often help with suggestions. He had some idea of my work but I was cautious in what I said. These evenings Fiona was busy with her clinical course.
At one point I was giving a research seminar and at the end a visitor asked a probing question which implied he knew more of my work that I expected. I began to explain when I caught sight of Alastair in the audience waving his hand across his throat: stop! It was clear to Alastair where the questions were leading and later he told me that the questioner worked for a generic drug manufacturer. Once again my naivety was showing. I must be more careful.
The weekends were almost all with Fiona, with occasional games of rugby. I didn't play often enough to secure a slot in an upper team and I was disillusioned with the kind of coarse rugby at the lower levels. I had to make do with a couple of games of squash, at 45 minutes, during the week rather than the 3h for rugby.
Life with Fiona was great. A week after the Pharma meeting I turned up at her apartment when Elspeth and Duncan were away, and we had dinner at the Italian place two blocks away. As we walked back to her place she told me she had a surprise for me.
"Go on to the bedroom" she asked. "I'll be a couple of minutes."
She returned wearing her house coat and fresh makeup. She walked over to the clothes cupboard, turning to me with a big smile and holding Lady Margaret's bag of tricks.
"Remember these?" she asked. "I've been dying to ask you to play with me. Aunt Maggie was very discrete but she did say that you know how to use them and I've always wondered about the D/s scene. Can we, please? Pretty please?"
"Do you know what you are asking?" I replied. "There is pain involved and a lot of trust. Do you trust me that much? Have you read about this lifestyle at all?"
