Chapter 28: Unemployed

The next morning, Ed awoke in the plush bedroom at Ellen’s mansion.

As his wits returned to him, he recalled last night they went to a gathering in Snoqualmie. As it was late, he’d agreed to stay over.

Ed got up and showered. Everything remained unchanged from his previous visit.

Soon, Ed dressed and wandered downstairs to the family room.

“Good morning, Ed!” said Ellen. Her smile was radiant. He could drown in that smile.

Ed walked over to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup.

“Good morning, dear. You’re cheerful today.”

“I’m happy to see you. The last morning you woke up here, you snuck out without saying goodbye.”

“I’m sorry about that. When I see you, it’s very hard to leave.”

“Perhaps you don’t have to. You could move out of your apartment and live here.”

This made Ed pause. He stared at her.

Ed left his coffee behind, forgotten. He sat down beside her and they held hands.

“Is that what you really want? You could find someone much better.”

“I know what I want, and I’m looking at him. You saved my life. Without you, I’d be dead, and I wouldn’t have any of this.”

“I saved you because it was the correct action. Letting you die wasn’t an option. I expect nothing for my efforts, except that you live your life.”

“I know. You’re a decent man.”

Ed remembered his coffee. He’d left it on the table.

“It’s too early to make important decisions. Besides, I need to have my coffee.”

They let go of each other. Ellen laughed as Ed fetched his coffee and sat down.

“What are your parameters?” he asked.

“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“So, I move in here. Can I keep my job?”

“No parameters, dear. You can keep your job, that’s fine. If you want to be a medicine man, it’s fine with me. If you want to work with the CIA, that’s also fine.”

“You know about the CIA?” he asked.

“Duh! You’re pursued by Russian agents. You have meetings with Noah Johnson, the Seattle branch head. I don’t know how that started, but they treat you as a valued asset.”

“Yeah. Conner Price was a former CIA agent. He got me involved. Actually, I haven’t seen him recently.”

“My security detail checked your background. It’s normal when their principal is getting close to someone. You passed,” she said.

“Wow!”

“So, why not go to work? Tonight, you can bring back some essentials and you can decide about your apartment later.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you for not making this awkward.”

“Making you feel awkward is the last thing I want.”

“Of course, dear.”

She laughed and kissed him.

Ed found his car parked outside the mansion. He drove off for work, passing the main gate and waving at the guard as he passed.

Surprisingly, almost all the lights along his route were green. His commute was even faster than from his apartment. Ed decided he’d check the map to see which was closest when he had time.

Once again, Ed found an ideal parking spot. It was near the building and under a streetlight. He exited his car and walked up the steps to his workplace.

Blake Hill and several others stood outside the entrance.

“What’s happening?” asked Ed.

“We’ve been locked out. Dysnatech is no more,” said Blake.

“Crap!”

Ed walked up to the door. It had a note taped to it.

“We’re to return Friday with any company property. Then we get our last paycheck,” said Blake. “That smarts.”

His other co-workers hung around for a while and gradually left. Ed stepped back and looked at the building he’d worked in for years. He couldn’t believe it was over.

Ed noticed someone looking out of the window of the corner office. The gray, translucent features were obviously a ghost.

When asked later, he couldn’t recall why he did it, but Ed waved at the ghost. He gestured for it to come downstairs and outside.

The ghost looked at him, confused. So Ed repeated the waving and gestures.

The ghost floated through the glass and descended to the ground.

“Hello, Mr. Prejean,” said Ed. Arthur Prejean was the owner and CEO of Dysnatech.

Fortunately, the other co-workers had departed, or they’d see him talking to thin air.

“Mr. Tanner, what are you doing outside? Why aren’t you in your cubicle?” he asked.

Ed realized Mr. Prejean was unaware of what was going on.

“Do you realize you’re dead?”

“I guess I am. It must have happened recently. I can’t recall the details.”

“Please follow me and see the sign on the front door.”

Ed walked over and the ghost floated to the entrance door. The ghost read the notice.

“What!! They can’t do this!”

“Do what? Close Dysnatech? It appears they did. And who’s they?” asked Ed.

“It’s my damned kids. They inherit Dysnatech on my death. I had stipulated they were to keep it going.”

Ed took out his phone and took a picture of the notice. It had a phone number for the commercial liquidators.

“You must have died recently. We were open yesterday.”

“Yes. How come you can see me?”

“Do you remember when I got mugged? After I recovered, I found I could see and hear ghosts.”

“That explains it. So what can we do now?”

“Well, you can’t do much, Sir. You’re dead. I need to find a new job.”

“Would you help me get this business re-opened? We’ve got customers and employees who depend on us.”

“I don’t know, Sir. I have to go talk with my partner. Will you be available if I need to talk to you?”

“I’ll be here. I have nowhere else to go...”

“Very good. I’ll see you later, Sir.”

Ed returned to his car and drove back to Ellen’s mansion.

Ed drove up to the front gate and the security guard waved him through. Soon, he pulled up outside the main entrance.

Ed exited his car and went inside. He walked to the family room. Ellen sat on their usual sofa reading documents.

“Hello, Ed. You’re back early,” said Ellen.

“I’m sorry, am I interrupting you?” Ed was clearly flustered.

“No, not at all. Please sit down and tell me what’s up?”

Ed sat down. Ellen turned to face him, with her full attention.

“They closed Dysnatech. I lost my job!”

Ellen reached out and held him in a hug. “That sucks.”

“There’s more. I met the ghost of the late owner and CEO. He was livid that his kids closed down his company as soon as he died.”

“He didn’t have a will? You can put stipulations to keep the business running.”

“I think he did, but his kids brought in the liquidators already. Ellen, he asked for my help to save his business.”

“Is that your preference? Do you want to return to your job?”

“We’ve got a hot product. There’re customers and employees that depend on the business.”

“Would you like me to help you? I know people,” she asked.

“You’d do that for me?”

“Absolutely I would. You’re very important to me.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Ellen made a call.

“Ed, one of my attorneys is going to be here within an hour. Make notes in preparation. I’ll order more coffee.”

Ed found a pad and pen while Ellen picked up a phone.

“It’ll be lunch soon, so I ordered some food as well.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“We’ll get through this.”

“Together.”

“Yes. One for all...”

Ed hugged her. He didn’t know what he’d have done without her.

Within an hour, John Wright, Ellen’s attorney, arrived. Ellen and Ed met him in the boardroom. This room was new to Ed.

The room had a long wooden table, surrounded by fancy leather chairs.

Ellen sat at the head of the table, with Ed beside her. John sat on the other side.

“Thank you for coming out today. I’ll let Ed explain the situation,” said Ellen.

John took out a yellow legal size pad and an expensive-looking pen. He looked up at Ed.

“Until today, I worked at Dysnatech. The principal owner and CEO has recently died, and his kids closed his business.”

“Can I get the address of Dysnatech?” asked John.

Ed handed him a business card. “This should suffice.”

“Thank you. Please continue.”

“Dysnatech has a viable software product. They have customers with a residual income stream. They have employees that have lost their jobs.”

“What is your goal?” asked John.

“I’d like to resume the business,” said Ed.

“Do you have contact information for the company handling the liquidation?”

“Yes, I do.” Ed pulled out his phone and displayed the image of the note from the front door. He handed it to John, who wrote the number on his pad.

“Do you have the name of the late principal owner and CEO?”

“Yes. His name was Arthur Prejean.”