Chapter 29: Business

Back home at Ellen’s mansion, the SUV stopped in front of the main entrance.

Ed and Ellen exited the vehicle and walked inside holding hands.

“I’m sorry we had to cut the dinner short,” said Ed.

“Don’t worry about it. So we missed the dessert. I can order something here, perhaps.”

“I’m fine. Perhaps some hot chocolate?”

“Agreed.”

In the family room, Ellen ordered hot chocolate. Ed sat on the comfy sofa. Soon, Ellen sat beside him.

“How did it go with emptying your apartment?” asked Ellen.

“I have the essentials here. I boxed the other items and there’s the furniture.”

“If you’d like to complete moving out before the end of the month, would you like me to arrange a moving company to handle the remaining tasks? I can have everything moved to a storage room.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Just leave your keys with me. I’ll have my folks take care of it. They can also handle any other details.”

Ed took his keys and gave them to Ellen.

“Once it’s moved, I’ll show you where the storage room is. I expect it’ll take a day or two.”

Ed hugged Ellen. “I really appreciate all you’re doing for me.”

“I’m doing it for me as much as for you.”

The hot chocolate arrived. Ellen poured two mugs. They sat together, sipping their chocolate in a state of bliss.

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

His life had changed. Ed lost his job, and he’d moved into the mansion. It was a lot to absorb.

Ed got up and showered and dressed. Then he left in search of Ellen.

He discovered her in the family room, working on her laptop.

“Good morning, Ellen,” he said.

Ellen put her laptop aside and stood up and hugged Ed.

“Hello, sleepyhead! Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“We’ve an appointment with our attorney at ten this morning. He has an update for us.”

“Oh, good. I’m feeling out of sorts, without a job to go to.”

“I expect that’ll resolve itself soon. Do you want breakfast or just coffee?”

“I think coffee is enough.”

Ellen released Ed from the hug and poured him a coffee from an insulated jug.

“Here you go,” she said, handing him a mug of the precious liquid.

“Thank you, dear.”

They sat together on the sofa.

“Ed, I was searching online for haunted places. Seattle has a lot of them, especially near the Pike Place market. We could visit some of them,” said Ellen.

“While I don’t have a job, and if it pleases you, sure. We can investigate some haunted places together.”

“Awesome!” Ellen put her hand on his knee. She couldn’t hug him and risk spilling his coffee.

At ten am sharp, John Wright, Ellen’s attorney, arrived. They met in the boardroom.

The attorney took out a stack of documents from a large briefcase.

“Per your instructions, I’ve set up a new company. I’ll need you to sign the paperwork on this before we continue,” he said.

He passed documents to Ellen to sign with a pen. She signed them promptly and handed them back.

Then he passed documents to Ed. He also signed them and gave them back to the attorney.

“The new company is ninety percent owned by Morgan Industries and ten percent by Ed Tanner. You’re now directors of the company, with myself acting as secretary and corporate counsel.”

“Okay,” said Ed. He wasn’t entirely sure where this was heading.

“I approached the liquidators on behalf of our new company and made an offer to purchase Dysnatech assets. Specifically, we’re buying the rights to the software products, the servers, and the customer lists.”

“Are we responsible for paying Dysnatech employees their last paychecks?” asked Ed.

“No. The liquidators handle that.”

The attorney handed them another document to sign. Ellen signed it and passed it to Ed to sign. He signed it and handed it back to the attorney.

“That was authorization for me to act on your behalf on the purchase of Dysnatech assets. I’ll inform you once I complete the transaction,” he said.

“Ed, perhaps you can contact your former co-workers and get their contact information,” said Ellen.

“Actually, once we have their servers, we should have access to the HR records. I’ll pull a list of former employees.”

“Where will we put the servers?” asked Ed.

“I’ve arranged some space in a server room belonging to another Morgan Industries company. Their IT staff will provide us with VPN access.”

“Then we can work remotely?”

“Correct. Next, I have an appointment with the liquidators. I must bid you good day,” said the attorney. He returned the signed documents to his briefcase and left the room.

“Wow! He’s fast.”

“I told you, that’s my best attorney,” said Ellen.

“Yes.”

“We don’t have to re-hire everybody. You’ll need a sales team to contact all the former clients of Dysnatech. I expect they’ll be relieved to learn the product will continue.”

“Understood.”

“You’ll need customer service and R&D staff. I’ll provide the IT, accounting, and HR functions.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll also provide a senior management team. So, we won’t be re-hiring the former management.”

“Understood.”

“Once the senior management are in place, you can return to your software development role. You can work remotely from here.”

“That’s amazing!”

Ellen hugged Ed.

“It’s what you wanted.”

“Yes, it is. Thank you so much.”

“Let’s have lunch,” she said.

After a delicious lunch, Ellen took Ed on a tour of the mansion.

“All this is available to you. There’s a gymnasium, a heated indoor pool, and a sauna. There’s a library, stocked with lots of books,” said Ellen.

“It’s amazing.”

“Now you’re here, I get to share it all with you!”

Just then, two ghosts arrived.

“Ellen, we have company.”

“Hello, Ed. You’ve met Arthur Prejean,” said Conner.

“Hello, Mr. Prejean.”

“Delightful house. You didn’t get this on your salary,” said Mr. Prejean with a chuckle.

“No, Sir. This is Ellen Morgan, the owner of this estate.”

The ghost looked at Ellen, although she couldn’t see or hear him.

“Welcome, Mr. Prejean,” said Ellen.

“Can she see us?” he asked.

“No, Sir. But she knows I can see you. She trusts my ability.”

“Very good. Any news of Dysnatech?”

“We created a new company, and we’re buying the assets of Dysnatech. Then we’ll re-hire some staff and let the customers know we’re back.”

“That’s something. If you have questions, or you need any advice from me, I’ll be glad to help.”

“Thank you, Sir. I’ll keep that in mind. It’s currently in the hands of the lawyers.”

“Understood. Conner has been showing me around. I know where to find you, and I’ll return to check in with you later.”

“Please do that. I expect it’ll be a few days before I have any more news,” said Ed.

Mr. Prejean nodded. The two ghosts left through the wall.

Ed turned to Ellen. “They’ve gone.”

“Let’s return to the family room and plan our next project.”

Back in the family room, Ellen ordered more coffee, while Ed called his former co-worker.

“Blake, it’s Ed.”

“Ed! How are you doing? Did you find any work yet?”

“Not quite. Can we talk now?” asked Ed.

“Sure.”

“I’ve learned that another company is picking up the products and the customers of the former Dysnatech. We might get a job with them soon.”

“That’s awesome! I haven’t updated my resume yet, and it sucks to look for a job at my age.”

“Do you have the contact info for any other former co-workers? If this starts up, It’ll be good to hit the ground running. The new company might not hire everyone.”

“Sure, I’ll make a list. Can I tell anyone about this?”

“Not yet. As soon as I know more, I’ll call you.”

“Okay, Ed. Thanks!”

The call ended. Ellen sat beside Ed and handed him a coffee.

“Thank you. I just called Blake.”

“Did it go okay?”

“Yes. He’s a keeper, and I expect he knows others.”

“We’ll need some sales people too,” said Ellen.

“As a developer, I didn’t socialize with the salespeople.”

“I’m sure John will have the employee list.”

“Yes. So, what is our next project?”

“There’s a bar near to Pike Place Market that claims to be haunted. They claim to have ghosts from the 1930s. We could go there today,” she said.

“Okay. And if I find a ghost there?”

“You can talk to them. We’ll play it from there.”

“Agreed.”

Ellen picked up her phone and called her security detail.

About five minutes later, Ed and Ellen walked out hand in hand.

Ed and Ellen rode in the back seat of the SUV.

Within half an hour, they pulled up outside a bar near Pike Place Market.

One security guard stepped out and opened the door for them to exit the vehicle.

“So this is it?” asked Ed.

“Yes. Can you see any ghosts outside?”

“No.”

“Okay, let’s go inside.”

Ed and Ellen and the security guard walked inside the bar. A waitress escorted them to a table and took their drink order.