Chapter 32      

Chase was seeing red. If he’d been a bull, he would have stomped the ground underneath him and charged straight toward his mortal enemy, Maurie Wallins. As if the mess with Gopal hadn’t been bad enough, the man was now trying to steal one of their most critical teaming partners on the bid.

“Let me remind you, Douglas,” he told the president of their largest subcontractor, “that you committed to Quid-Atch’s bid over a year ago. We outlined a scope of work and a range of the possible level of effort—something you know I don’t usually do—in the teaming agreement.” Douglas Gadwershay, president of GreenSolutions, always drove a hard bargain, but he was pushing the limit this time.

“This isn’t personal, Chase,” Douglas said, tapping the massive table in the conference room they sometimes rented for business meetings like this at The Grand. “You know we work with both you and K-Barker depending on who we think is best positioned to win. We’re not dropping out of the bid to join Maurie’s team, but we have serious concerns about how things have been handled with Gopal. You know he worked for us in Brussels. He’s really upset about being caught in the middle between Quid-Atch and K-Barker.”

Chase wasn’t alone for this shit show—Evan, Rajan, and Darren, Quid-Atch’s VP of Operations, were also at the table—but he was running it. He let silence hang over the table for a moment while Darren reached for his water glass. Evan wasn’t normally present for this kind of meeting, but Chase had thought it best to bring the full complement of Quid-Atch’s executive team to show Douglas they meant business. Losing Gopal for this bid had been a blow. If GreenSolutions backed out, they’d lose the contract, no question.

“Gopal put himself in the middle when he signed a letter of commitment with K-Barker after committing to us beforehand,” he said. “Douglas, it’s not public yet, but as a gesture of good faith, we’ve offered Gopal a long-term contract with Quid-Atch, and he’s accepted. Evan felt he would be a good asset to us despite this incident.”

Douglas glanced at Evan. “I’m happy to hear that.”

Evan nodded in response.

“But let’s stick with the matter at hand,” Chase continued. “You’re asking for a greater share of this bid than we both agreed to months ago, and we just don’t have it to give. We have other subcontractors.”

“They aren’t as key as we are, Chase,” Douglas said, and he wasn’t wrong. “This is a competitive bid. I want our level of effort to reflect that.”

“Thirty percent more than reflects that, Douglas,” Chase said. “And you damn well know it.”

Douglas stared him down. “Maurie Wallins offered us forty percent recently, as I told you. Given your sudden leave of absence and Gopal’s departure from your bid, we’re not sure you have the edge to win.”

Because Maurie was playing dirty and going after the arrangements Chase and his team had worked so hard to put in place. “You’re trying to hold me hostage here, Douglas, and I don’t like it.”

But Chase couldn’t walk out. Douglas ran a highly respected company of technical consultants that excelled in areas in which Quid-Atch was weaker.

“We’re not saying we’re going to jump ship like Gopal did, Chase,” Douglas said through his perfect white teeth. “We only want to discuss amping up our role as a way of bolstering our collective chances to win this bid. Maurie is being more than aggressive this time. You need to have an answer for him. We think we’re that answer.”

Rajan released his breath slowly, audible enough for Chase to hear. Usually Rajan was the epitome of calm. He was the only person Chase knew who closed his office door and meditated for fifteen minutes during the work day. 

“You shouldn’t be discussing this bid with our rival, Douglas,” Chase said, “and you damn well know it.”

“We were talking about another project we have together with NATO,” Douglas said, lying to his face. “You know Maurie. It simply came up.”

Calling bullshit wouldn’t get them anywhere. They needed to come to an agreement that would work for both of them. Damn it all to hell. Douglas had them by the balls, and he knew it.

“You’ve had your say,” Chase said, “now I get to. Douglas, we do value what you and GreenSolutions bring to this bid and the rest of the projects we work on. None of us wants to damage our overall long-term working relationship, do we?”

Douglas shook his head. “Of course not, Chase. We never meant for you to think that.”

“Good,” he said, putting his hands on his knees to ground his anger. “I will promise to do my best to increase your level of effort. I can’t give you a figure right now. You know how much things change as we work the budget. But you have my word. Are we good now? Because I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder tonight, wondering what you and Maurie are cooking up in the corner at the fundraiser.”

Douglas smiled at him, the kind that said he appreciated holding Chase’s balls and wouldn’t squeeze any more tonight. “You have nothing to worry about, Chase. When Maurie and I meet at the party, the only talk we’ll have is about our mutual enjoyment in golf.”

Chase ground his teeth and smiled. “Wonderful. Then let’s call this meeting to a close for now. Evan and I have some other business to see to before the fundraiser.”

“Of course,” Douglas said, rising. “See you there.”

As soon as the door was closed, Rajan shot out of his chair. “Dammit! I want to strangle Douglas. He’s always trying to re-negotiate and cut new deals.”

Chase rubbed his forehead, finally showing his tension. His head was pounding. “I hate it too, but you know they’re the best at what they do. That’s why we have to put up with them. Not all our partners are our bosom buddies. That’s government contracting for you.”

“I think I’m still in shock,” Evan said, standing up and putting his hands on his hips. “Is this how most of our partners are?”

“Not all of them, but yes, quite a few,” Chase said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You don’t usually see this side because you’re inventing. We work with partners who want and need to make money. It’s not a party all the time, but it’s the way the system works.”

“The system sucks,” Evan said, frowning. “Why are we doing this? I mean, maybe we shouldn’t go after government contracts anymore.”

Rajan turned his head sharply to look at Evan. “What?”

Darren set his water glass aside with a loud clack.

Chase leaned back, striving for calm. “Evan, that’s high-minded, but not practical. You create inventions with military and defense applications. You can only legally sell products like that through government contracting.”

“Right now, I’m questioning everything,” Evan said. “Hell, I didn’t want to tell you this because I knew it would raise your blood pressure, Chase, but Maurie waltzed into the ballroom earlier during setup and met Moira and Gary. He sweet-talked her and waxed poetic about being a fan of Arthur Hale’s work. Then he turned to Gary and all but offered him a job on the spot, making sure it was okay with me first, of course. What the hell else could I say but yes?”

So Maurie had already made an early move, and on Moira too. Gary was small potatoes as far as Chase was concerned, but it was still an affront, although nothing like what Maurie had pulled recently with Gopal and Douglas. 

“Is steam coming out my ears?” Chase asked, changing tacks.

Rajan nodded. “Yes. Mine?”

“Yep. We won’t even ask Darren how he’s feeling since we know.”

“I’m thinking of bringing back tarring and feathering,” Darren said, rubbing his forehead. “Especially if we have to bid Rajan in Gopal’s place.”

“I won’t have it!” Evan barked out. “Not after seeing the kind of filth he’d have to work with. He’s a genius, and they don’t deserve him.”

Rajan’s face rippled with shock. “Thank you for that, Evan, but I’ve told you both I am happy to serve the greater good of Quid-Atch.”

“GreenSolutions and this bid are not the greater good of Quid-Atch,” Evan said, raising his voice with each word. “I did not create this company to work like this. Jesus, no wonder your head exploded, Chase.”

“That was my concussion, Evan, but let’s not quibble. It’s always been like this. We have some great partners, ones who do a good job for us and honor our agreements, but issues like Douglas or Gopal are a dime a dozen.” He wasn’t going to mention any of the assholes they worked with after they won the government contracts. Evan was acting volatile enough.

“But people like Maurie and Douglas threaten our competitive edge, and they suck up the wellness and happiness of the people I care about. That’s you, Chase, and Rajan and Darren.”

“We know what we’re dealing with,” Chase said. It sickened him to think about it, but he’d been dealing with situations like this one for nearly a decade. It was the part that made everything seem worthless. “This will pass. We’ll put forward the best bid possible and keep doing what we do.”

“No, we don’t,” Evan said, his voice more emphatic than usual. “We won’t have to go through this if we offer something no one else can sell.”

Jesus, Boy Wonder was spinning tales all over. “One invention won’t keep the company afloat, Evan,” Chase told him. “We sell technical expertise and services to our country and our allies around the world. You don’t get revolutionary ideas fast enough to bring in the capital we need to remain solvent.”

“I’ve gone through our past financials,” Evan said, shocking him. “When I do invent something new, the invention raises our corporate finances by thirty percent.”

“In the past, yes,” Chase said cautiously. “But we’ve expanded. We might reach a net gain of twenty-five percent with MAL-77, but I’m not betting the farm on it.”

“What if we start working in a field that few companies are working in. One that’s vital to the world’s market?”

“What field?”

The smile Evan gave made him sit up a little straighter in his chair.

“Alternate energy.”

Rajan’s eyes turned feverish, and Darren leaned forward in his seat. 

“All right,” Chase said. “You have our attention. Do you want to walk us through what you’re thinking?”

Evan glanced at his watch. “I’d love to. Let me grab my co-presenter.”

That had Chase standing up. He had more than an idea? “Evan—”

“Trust me, Chase,” Evan told him. “And you can trust our mystery guest too.”

He opened the door, and in walked J.T. Merriam. Chase sat back down, partly out of shock, as the two men shook hands. Evan introduced Rajan and Darren to him and then J.T. walked over and gave Chase a firm handshake, looking him square in the eye.

“It’s good to see you again,” J.T. said.

“I can’t say it’s not a surprise to see you,” Chase said, cocking a brow at Evan. “I thought you two met in Denver about some property.”

“We did,” Evan said, “but J.T. had this other idea he’d been tugging on and thought it might interest me.”

Chase didn’t appreciate hearing Evan had been making plans behind his back for the better part of a month with a man he barely knew. “I heard you resigned from your position at Merriam Oil & Gas and were planning on building an art museum in your spare time.”

J.T. flashed him a genuine smile. “You’re well informed.”

“It seems a little odd to me that you might be an advocate of alternate energy, being a Merriam and all.” Chase crossed his arms. “Your family swims in oil and gas.”

J.T. nodded. “True, but it’s a dwindling pool. It’s not a renewable energy source, and the cost keeps rising. It’s time to look for new energy solutions, ones more efficient, cleaner, and less political than the current ones. Evan thinks he can help with that.”

Time to get down to brass tacks, Chase thought. “And what are you planning on offering to this effort, J.T.?”

The man held out his arms. “What I have in abundance. Money. Loads of it.”

“J.T. wants to invest five hundred million dollars into this new venture, Chase.” Evan put his hand on J.T.’s shoulder. “I would run the R&D. Rajan would be my right arm. There would be no government contracting. We would be like Apple. We would sell our products on the open market.”

Holy shit, he was talking about closing down Quid-Atch, the company Chase had spent every waking moment striving to grow for the past ten years. “And what products would that be?” he asked cautiously, glancing at Darren, whose eyes had narrowed considerably.

“How about renewable batteries for homes as well as energy solutions for cities around the world? Smaller, more practical and affordable solutions using solar and wind power?”

Chase fought Evan’s excitement. This vision would be a huge sea change. It was just like Evan to forget he already helmed another fully operational company with layer upon layer of responsibility. One that couldn’t just be left by the wayside or transformed into whatever vision he’d formed overnight.

Evan unbuttoned his jacket. “All we need is a man with an incredible reputation, experience with making start-ups successful, and tested sales ability. This is going to happen in Dare Valley, by the way. J.T. thinks his great-great grandfather, Emmits Merriam, would want to have the company here, where he began to share his larger vision of the world through the university. That works for me since I’ve also made my home here.”

Chase found he was holding his breath. Was Evan talking about creating a brand new company or altering Quid-Atch’s corporate mission? “And do you have someone in mind for this position?”

Evan put his arm around J.T. and gave Chase a conspiratorial grin.

“You.”