It was the beginning of October and a chill had settled into the air. The days were getting shorter and the sunsets were arriving earlier every day. The trees hadn't begun to change colors yet, this far south, although there were hints of it in little pockets. The state park was practically empty, except for two campers parked in adjacent camping spaces.
There was a small campfire burning in front of one of the campers. The wisp of smoke rose lazily in the air. Two people huddled around the fire pit with hands out seeking the warmth of the flames. The third joined them.
Dexter leaned over and picked up a small pot that was warming by the fire. He filled a mug containing hot chocolate mix with the hot water. He held up the pot to see if anyone else wanted some. Ed and Janet shook their heads in the negative.
Dexter replaced the pot before stirring his cup to dissolve the powder. He took a sip and sighed in satisfaction. He wrapped his hands around the cup enjoying the warmth.
Ed looked across the fire at Dexter with a grin and asked, "Where's your PA?"
"I gave her the day off," Dexter said.
"She's a feisty little thing," Ed said with a chuckle. "The first time I told her to interrupt your meeting, she told me that only God could do that, and he'd have to get through her first."
"Sorry about that," Dexter said with a grin.
"No, you're not," Janet said.
"You're right. I'm not. In fact, I'm proud of her."
"You should be. She didn't believe me when I said that I was God," Ed said.
Janet laughed.
"You weren't the first to try that," Dexter said.
"That I would believe," Ed said.
Dexter said, "She's got my time organized to the minute. She makes sure that I'm ready for every meeting. She's amazing. I don't know what I'd do without her."
"I'm halfway convinced that Amber would take a bullet for Dexter," Janet said.
Janet had watched Amber take to her job with a vengeance. Amber had total control over Dexter's schedule. She took notes at every meeting. She also kept a complete dossier on everyone who Dexter met with and would brief him before any meeting. She fielded telephone calls and monitored the emails intended for Dexter. There were times when Janet wondered when Amber ever got any rest.
While his secretary made travel arrangements, typed letters, and handled the office for him, Amber made sure that Dexter's needs came first. His secretary only dealt with Dexter as it pertained to Legacy Coffee Makers. Amber essentially coordinated Dexter's activities for the coffee maker company and his website company. To be honest, she also managed a bit of his personal time.
None of the three were drawing a salary from Legacy Coffee Markers. Dexter was still living off the income from the website. For that matter, Janet was living off the income from her investments. Ed wasn't actually working at the company on regular basis although he did facilitate the interactions with Daimler Plastics and did reach out to others for sales. They were owners and not employees. It made a difference in how they viewed the company.
Ed said, "I guess we should get this meeting underway."
Janet picked up a pad of paper and a pen to take notes. Her secretary would type up the notes later to form a quarterly report. She looked up and said, "I'm ready."
"Same here," Dexter said.
Ed said, "I just love idea of having a 'board' meeting in the 'woods'. There's just something 'punny' about it."
Dexter groaned. Janet tittered in amusement.
"How's product development going?" Ed asked looking at Dexter.
"It is right on schedule. We had a minor setback with UL certification for the five and ten cup coffee makers, but we eventually got through it. The single cup coffee maker had no problems. We'll be entering production on the single cup-er soon," Dexter answered.
That was just the summary of the situation. Dexter had put together a team of small and medium size firms that were desperately looking for work. Even Ed had been impressed when he met the people involved. There was real dedication to seeing the product succeed.
Dexter had made arrangements for the coffee makers to be assembled by a start-up factory in Detroit, Michigan. A group of unemployed auto workers took advantage of some tax incentives and the availability of a large number of buildings at near fire-sale rent to locate a business there. The high unemployment in the area helped them to fill the factory with workers. Knowing the men applying for jobs, they could pick and choose the best of the best. They were assembling all kinds of products there so that the final product could be labeled, 'Made in America.' The operation was running lean, but Dexter was confident that with their business thrown into the mix that it would thrive.
The heating elements for the various coffee pots were made by a firm located in Cleveland, Ohio. The owner of the firm had been ecstatic to get a new customer after having lost some of his business to Chinese firms. Dexter's initial plans weren't quite up to the level of demand they had previously, but it was enough to keep the firm busy so that they could see further opportunities for sales.
Dexter wasn't sure where the rest of the electronic parts were manufactured. He left the American distributor from whom he bought the parts with instructions to buy American where economically feasible. One day, Dexter wanted to be able to put a label on the coffeemaker to identify the total number of people who was involved in making it.
A glass company that had once made the glass portion of headlights for an automotive parts company made the coffee pot. The glass company was on the verge of bankruptcy when its customer was put out of business by having its product illegally reproduced by a firm in China. The owner was ten minutes from taking his life until Dexter approached him about producing coffee pots.
Of course, all of the plastic parts were manufactured by Daimler Plastics. Ed Daimler had banged on the table in the boardroom and said, "Do it." The current crop of executives scurried around to make sure it got done. A future as a door greeter, forced to wear a pink tutu, was the punishment for anyone foolish enough to argue. No one even wanted to speculate what would happen if someone lied. The fear was only at the top level. Promises of performance bonuses energized the lower levels of the company.
They'd had a trial run of a hundred units of each product six months earlier. Those units were used in testing, certification, and distributed to a handful of users. Dexter had been impressed with the products. It felt funny to hold the product in his hands, knowing that he had a part in its existence. Software couldn't be touched. He had always missed that small moment of validation that came from physically holding the product.
Janet said, "I've been using one of the one cup prototypes for a while now. I love it."
"We used one in the camper all summer. It's just a sturdy rugged little machine," Ed said.
"Any problems with it?" Dexter asked.
"We forgot to stow it one day. It fell off the counter and rolled around in the camper for an entire day while we drove from one campground to the next. We plugged that sucker in and it worked like a charm," Ed said.
"That's good to know," Dexter said.
He was a little worried about the twenty-year in-store replacement policy they were going to offer. Hearing that it could take a beating under less than controlled circumstances made him feel better.
Ed said, "I have to say that the five and ten cup coffee makers are plain simple machines. It is hard to see a difference between ours and a dozen other brands out there on the market."
"Have you used yours much?" Dexter asked.
"We've used the five cup machine around the house. It's good, but nothing too remarkable about it," Ed said.
Janet said, "We've been using the ten cup maker at the company. They've put a lot of coffee through it. It still brews just as good as when we got it."
"That's a good sign, I guess," Dexter said.
He had read the test results on the two coffee makers. The test results had been very positive. They had held up to passing water containing toxic levels of minerals. That allowed them to see the effects of long-term buildup of minerals in the tubing of the coffee maker. He didn't doubt the machines would easily last twenty years under even hard usage. Enough parts were replaceable that even abuse wouldn't be a problem.
"Every office in our building has a five or ten cup machine. We haven't gotten any complaints yet," Janet said.
"Are we in agreement that the products are good?" Ed asked.
"Yes," Dexter said.
"I think so," Janet replied.
While the five and ten cup coffeemakers were good, she was really impressed with the styling on the single cup machine. It was a good-looking machine. Malcolm was proud of it and had given his grandfather one of the first machines off the production line. His name was imprinted on the side in cursive writing.
Ed asked, "So when will we have our first full production run of single cup machines?"
"Two months," Dexter answered. "We'll start small with a batch of fifty thousand coffee makers. The assembly plant can quickly scale up to larger production runs with a couple of weeks warning."
"Good," Ed said.
"How are we doing with respect to money?" Ed asked.
Janet said, "We're on budget. Our biggest expenses so far have been payroll."
Ed asked, "Is there any problem paying for the first production run?"
"No problem," Janet said. She reached into a briefcase that was on the ground next to her and pulled out a stack of papers. "I've got the report here."
She handed a copy to Dexter and another to Ed. Dexter glanced through the report knowing the numbers that would be in it. They still had a lot of their initial investment intact and a line of credit that would see them through any financial emergency.
"How about paying for a double run?" Ed asked.
"We have the money available for them. We'll need some income soon," Janet said.
Dexter bit his bottom lip while thinking about it. Finally, he said, "Money might not be a problem, but I'll have to see if our suppliers would have any difficulties in delivering parts."
"I need a hundred thousand of the one cup coffee makers," Ed said with a broad grin on his face.
"Why?" Dexter asked.
"I made a sale to a hotel chain," Ed said.
"You made the sale to the Hinton Hotel chain?" Dexter asked with his eyes widening.
"You bet. Closed the deal last night," Ed said with a grin.
Dexter felt like a huge weight had lifted off his chest. He had been worried that they would create the best coffeemakers on the market, and no one would buy them.
"What's that mean?" Janet asked.
"It means that we've sold a quarter of a million units with delivery spread out over a two year period," Ed answered.
Janet said, "Excellent."
Dexter couldn't agree more. He had wanted to work up to five percent of the annual coffeemaker market in the first two years. That would require them to produce 750,000 units a year and would represent about twenty-five million dollars a year in retail sales. This initial sale would make it much easier to hit their target numbers.
"What about the five and ten cup machines? Do we have any orders for them?" Dexter asked.
"I've got orders for a hundred thousand machines of each size with one of the larger 'big box' stores," Ed answered.
"That's a start," Dexter said.
"Wait until we start advertising. I've got a feeling that we aren't going to be able to produce enough machines over the next two years," Ed said.
That actually worried Dexter more than not getting enough sales. He was afraid that the company would grow too large, too quickly. For one, he was afraid that the assembly company wouldn't be able to handle the demand. It was also possible that the initial growth would make the inevitable decline in sales once the market stabilized, a serious problem.
"How's that going?" Dexter asked.
"I saw a markup of the advertising campaign. It is very impressive, but I don't think our product will be a hard sell. I've been talking to a lot of people this summer and everyone says the same thing, there isn't a decent coffee maker on the market. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't end up with a quarter of the home market," Ed said.
That worried Dexter.
He said, "I estimate that we'll only be able to produce about a quarter million units of each product line per year for the first couple of years. It sounds like a lot, but that constitutes just five percent of the market."
"We can let price control demand," Ed said.
"I don't like that," Dexter said.
He felt that a lot of companies employed that strategy and always felt like he was being used. There was something dirty about knowing he was paying ten dollars extra just because the market would pay it.
Janet said, "I agree with Dexter. People know when you are gouging them on the price."
Ed said, "The alternative is for stores to have an empty spot where our product belongs."
Dexter said, "Then we limit the initial market. Start with the east coast, expand to the west coast, and then move into the middle of the country."
"That's not a bad idea," Ed said after thinking about it.
"Let's do it that way," Janet said.
"Great," Dexter said.
"I guess we're in agreement," Ed said. "Are there any other issues?"
Dexter said, "Our engineers have essentially worked themselves out of the job we hired them for."
"What do you mean?" Janet asked.
"Oh, that's bad," Ed said picking up on the consequences of what Dexter was saying immediately.
Dexter said," We hired them to design a product. Now, we've got a product. From now on, it will be a matter of small incremental improvements to it. That isn't a full time job."
"Oh," Janet said. "That is bad."
"I'm transitioning them to production management, but they may not be too happy about that," Dexter said.
"Are they liable to quit?" Janet asked.
"I don't know. It will be interesting to see how they react to going to the assembly plant to watch the process. I figure that the next improvement to the product is going to be in simplifying the assembly process," Dexter said.
"It would be great if we can cut down our costs there," Ed said.
Dexter said, "We don't have time lines on releases of future versions of the coffee makers. We'll only introduce changes when it makes sense. It doesn't make sense to introduce changes that aren't really needed just to introduce changes."
"We're all agreed on that," Ed said.
Dexter said, "I'll explain to our guys that our engineering emphasis is on quality improvement. I hope they'll accept that."
"I don't see why not. Their names are on their products," Ed said.
Janet said, "I never realized how important that was until I saw them look at the first few machines coming off the assembly line. There was no mistaking the pride on their faces when they looked at their names, in clear script, on the sides of those machines."
"It's all about pride. You'd be surprised how people respond when you let them take pride in their work," Dexter said.
"We've got some very proud people working for us," Janet said.
Dexter said, "Now we have to reward them with shares in the company."
"How many?" Janet asked.
She felt like she was giving up control over the company by giving away shares in it. It surprised her by the kinds of feelings that invoked. In a way, she was rather embarrassed by her reaction.
"A thousand shares," Ed said.
"Fifteen hundred," Dexter said.
Janet asked, "That much?"
"Yes. We want them to be owners, not just feel like owners. There's a difference, and they'll know it," Dexter said. "We'll give the other employees a hundred shares."
"That seems reasonable," Ed said.
"I guess," Janet said. That gave the employees a total of stock that represented about half the amount of stock that she held in the company.
"What's the matter?" Dexter asked.
"I just feel like we're giving up too much control," Janet said.
Dexter replied, "That's the whole point. We don't want to have to dictate from above. We want people who are interested in the company's well being to be driving the innovations, the cost savings, and the process improvements. There's no way that you or I can spend the time and energy to improve all of those areas. For one, we're too far removed from the problems. For another, I'm not that creative."
"I didn't think about that," Janet said.
"Our company is about as big as we're going to get. We will continue to contract out assembly. We'll continue to buy our parts from our suppliers. The accounting firm can continue to handle payroll and taxes. We'll only be adding a handful more employees. Right now, our only real gap is a salesperson and someone to deal with customer support," Dexter said.
"Just a few more employees?" Janet asked.
She looked over at her report. Her mind projected the numbers forward over the next few years taking that into account. They were going to be making money hand over fist.
Dexter said, "That's right. We've got our three products. Our engineers will stay around to improve them over time. We've got secretaries and a purchasing agent. We'll hire someone to manage the daily business, but it isn't going to be that demanding of a job."
"I thought we'd be employing hundreds of employees," Janet said.
Dexter smiled. "We will. It's just that only a few of them will work at our company. The assembly company will have to hire a number of people, so will Daimler Plastics. There's no reason that we have to manage them."
Ed frowned. "It may not be that simple."
"Why not? We're going to be producing those coffee makers for the next twenty years. Why would we introduce a product to compete with our own product? Why would we want to expand into other areas?" Dexter asked.
Ed asked, "How about an iced tea maker?"
"An iced tea maker?" Dexter asked stunned by the suggestion.
"Sure. It is basically a coffeemaker, but it brews tea," Ed said.
"I hadn't thought about that," Dexter said with a frown. "We could hire an engineer to add that product. It wouldn't bloat the workforce that much. Maybe one engineer and another secretary."
Ed said, "I agree that we need to keep the number of employees low, but that doesn't mean that we can't look to the future."
"What will we be doing?" Janet asked.
"We'll be making coffeemakers," Dexter answered.
"No. I meant the three of us," Janet asked.
She had basically been working nearly full time in getting the company up to speed. Most of it had been spent putting the business processes in place. She coordinated activities between the accounting firm and the company accountant. She knew that Dexter had been putting in long hours as well. Of course, most of his work had been tracking schedules, monitoring the agreements with the providers, and basically serving as final decision maker on technical decisions.
Ed said, "I'm going to be camping with my wife during the summer."
Dexter said, "I'll continue to work part time on my website and come in one or two days a week to see how things are progressing with the coffee makers."
"That's it?" Janet asked.
"Why would we want to do more, once things stabilize at the company? Now that we've got the business going, we can hand the day-to-day operations to others. It's on to the next challenge," Ed said.
Janet said, "You didn't do that with your plastics company."
"That's because things at the plastic company were much more dynamic. We were continually coming up with new plastics and setting up manufacturing lines for a variety of new customers and new product lines for existing customers. I had thousands of employees. Managing that was a full time job," Ed said.
Janet said, "It just doesn't seem right."
"It's not going to happen tomorrow. There are still a lot of things that we have to do before we can reach that point. We're talking about a year or two down the line," Dexter said.
Ed said, "Maybe not that long."
"I'm kind of disappointed," Janet said.
She was having a hard time identifying why this conversation was upsetting her so much. It dawned on her that she had enjoyed working with Dexter on a daily basis. The relationship between the two of them had really improved to where there had been a mention or two of getting remarried.
She knew that part of that was Amber's influence. Amber scheduled two lunches a week for her and Dexter. Those lunches had started out as primarily discussions about business, but over time they had become much more personal. Dexter was again doing engineering and had become much happier as a result. That had allowed him to relax with Janet.
They also had weekly dates. Their kisses had become much more passionate as time went by. It was almost like they were in high school again with awkward fumbling about in the car at the end of the date. Even the kids commented that it was kind of strange that they parked in the driveway for so long before she came in the house.
They still hadn't made love although there were the occasional sessions that included fondling of private parts that led to orgasm. She was more than ready to go the next step. She was just waiting for Dexter to make the move.
Dexter asked, "Why are you disappointed?"
"I don't know," Janet answered. "I guess that I kind of expected to be more involved over time."
Ed said, "That's the part about having money that people don't really get. You make an investment in a business, but you can't tie yourself only to that business."
"That doesn't make sense," Janet said.
Ed said, "You're going to make a lot of money as a result of this company. The question is, what are you going to do with that money? You can't really put it back into the company, because, quite frankly, it isn't going to need it. You'll need to put it into something else."
"I guess you're right," Janet said.
She didn't see herself as being all that rich. Maybe it was following Charlie's advice about not changing her lifestyle as a result of the money. She did realize that once their stocks started paying dividends, that she would be getting back many times the amount she invested in the company.
Ed asked, "Are there any other points of business?"
Janet said, "I think we might want to have Charlie come in and talk to all our people about managing their money."
"That's not a bad idea," Dexter said.
"Why?" Ed asked.
"They are going to be getting a sudden influx of money, once the stocks start paying dividends. It would be horrible if they got into financial trouble because they couldn't deal with it," Janet said.
"That's a good point," Ed said.
Ed appreciated how much time and effort Dexter and Janet spent making sure that the employees were happy. They did things to improve moral. This included surprise picnics in the summer where they shut down the office and went to a park for hamburgers. It was a tight integrated group that had emerged as a result of those efforts.
Ed asked, "Is there anything else?"
"No," Dexter said.
"Not that I can think of," Janet said.
"I call this here meeting to an end. It's time to pass out the marshmallows," Ed said.
The bit about the marshmallows was a joke. They didn't have any there.
Dexter said, "There's a steak house not too far from here. What do you say we go there for dinner around six."
"It's only four. What will we do until then?" Janet asked.
Dexter looked over at his camper and then back at Janet. She was staying at a local hotel.
"I was thinking of taking a nap," Dexter said.
"A nap?"
"Want to join me?" Dexter asked.
Ed grinned. His wife was waiting for him in his camper.
"Sure," Janet said, turning bright red.
Edited By TeNderLoin