The Money Is Green (11 page)

Brian grunted. “There’s no mystery. If you treat them well, you’ll get good results. I mean, there are always a few people who are jerks and no matter what you do they won’t work out for your company.
But if you treat them like crap and take advantage of them at every turn, well, you’re going to get crappy work out of them and, in your case, crappy solar panels. As far as bidding goes, you can only put in your best effort and try to win the bid but be profitable at the same time. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve made a mistake.”

“That’s always how I’ve felt, but Mei Chen has other ideas.” Jason hit his ball and watched as it landed on the green, rolling fifteen feet past the pin. A single-engine airplane, its wheels lowered, flew over them on its way to the airport at the other side of the golf course. Jason shielded his eyes as he looked up at it. “She seems to think that work should be your life twenty-four hours a day. When she’s around, I have to sneak out of the office to pick up Crystal, as Mei has her own way of thinking when it comes to family and it seems very radical to me.”

“Really, how so?” Brian asked as he walked toward his ball a few yards ahead.

“It’s a long explanation, but let’s just say that in Chinese culture, children and spouses are best seen and not heard, and they too should be buried in either schoolwork or music practice at all times.”

Brian reached his ball and sized up his shot. He paused and asked, “Speaking of family, how’s the lovely girlfriend of yours, Janine? You and her should get together with me and have dinner. She’s a lot of fun and she is sure crazy about you.”

Jason waited for Brian to hit his ball before answering. “She’s doing fine. We’ve been having some issues lately, especially after she looked after Crystal when I was in China. Unfortunately, Crystal and Janine don’t get along.”

Brian put his hands on the top of the golf cart and leaned in, his brown eyes curious. “Really, someone doesn’t get along with Janine? She’s the sweetest, most easygoing person I know. Why wouldn’t Crystal like her?”

Sighing, Jason looked straight ahead. “Her mother feeds her with crazy ideas and stories about Janine. It’s not fair, even though Janine goes out of her way to get along with Crystal. I’ve tried telling her the truth about what really happened to our marriage, but I don’t think she believes me. Crystal has her own ideas on what happened to our marriage based upon her mother’s version of events, which are lies.”

Brian dropped his club and threw his hands in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Jason. What is wrong with you? Your wife had an affair and left you high and dry alone to raise a kid. Why can’t you explain that to Crystal so she’ll understand? Of course she’ll never like Janine if she thinks she stole her from her mother. Who would? Janine is a once-in-a-lifetime woman, Jason. She’s got model looks, she’s smart, has a good job, and really cares deeply about you.”

Throwing his golf club in the bag, he jumped into the cart. “Get this through your thick skull, Jason. Debbie is not coming back, and even if by some remote possibility she did, she’s not the same person you met, loved, and married. You need to let her go and move on with your life. Otherwise, you’re going to be a tortured soul and your daughter will end up being a psychological mess.”

Staring straight ahead, Jason drove the cart in silence. I know Brian is right and it’s the right thing to do, but it’s just so difficult to admit failure. I need to keep telling Crystal the truth. I’m sure she’ll confront her mother and then Debbie will deny it, if that hasn’t happened already. But Brian’s right. Crystal needs to understand the truth, and I’ll deal with the fallout from Debbie whenever it comes.

♦

Jason sat at his desk the next morning, a steaming cup of Starbucks coffee by his right hand. His attention was on an article about RayTech explaining that it had just landed a solar farm job out in Sonoma County worth around three million five hundred thousand dollars. The article went into detail about the history of RayTech in
that it was a start-up American company with help from a five-hundred-million-dollar government loan and that this project was one of the largest solar farm projects on the west coast. It was a flattering article and Jason found it amusing. This distinction of building the largest solar farm on the west coast is going to be short-lived, he thought. Copper Mountain is going to be a hundred times larger.

He glanced at his watch and switched his screen to an Excel spreadsheet he had been working on for the last week. I’ve got half an hour before my meeting with M. I think I’ll tweak this a bit and see where it takes me.

Twenty minutes later, he saved his work and gathered the paperwork stacked neatly on the corner of his desk. When he got to Mei Chen’s office, he stuck his head in the doorway and rapped softly on the doorframe. Mei was standing in the corner of her office looking out the corner windows at the parking lot below the building. Her cellphone was in her ear and she spoke rapidly in Chinese. She half-turned and acknowledged Jason, indicating he sit in the chair before her desk.

As Jason sat down, he did a double take of Mei. Wow, he thought. She’s really dolled herself up today. He tried not to stare at the stylish beige business outfit that fit her curvy body snuggly or the low cut white blouse that exposed her smooth white cleavage. A slit in the dress portion of the suit ran up past her thigh. I wonder who she’s trying to impress today, he thought. Maybe she’s going to try to close the Copper Mountain job with Brian Thompson in person. Any man would be hard pressed not to be influenced by her!

She hung up and tossed her phone onto a leather couch. “Are you ready to get going on the largest solar farm ever?”

Jason’s eyes grew wide. “Did we get the Copper Mountain bid? I thought it wasn’t closing until the day after tomorrow. What happened to Earth-Sun’s bid? We beat them out?”

Mei grinned and held her hands out. “Hold on, Jason, you have a lot of questions. First off, technically the bid opening doesn’t happen
until the day after tomorrow, so we officially don’t have the project, but I’m almost positive it’s ours. You did an excellent job putting together the proposal.”

“Thank you,” Jason said, watching her as she strutted around the office. “But what about Earth-Sun and Andrew Dillon? According to Brian Thompson, their bid was going to be tough to beat.”

Waving her hands dismissively, she turned her back and stared out the window. “I heard they were having some management problems over there and they’re making some personnel changes. There’s a rumor that their bid might be being withdrawn.” She looked back at him over her shoulder slyly. “Besides, I’m meeting with Brian Thompson this evening for dinner.” She grinned at him. “I’m sure it will be a long evening and very productive. I will have his assurance by today that our bid will be the winner.”

Jason sat in silence, taking in what she had just said. Earth-Sun is going to pull their bid? After all the work and money they spent putting it together? This is going to be a couple-hundred-million-dollar contract, not something you casually walk away from. Something is not adding up.

Mei stood across from him, her arms crossed, an inquisitive look on her face. “Well?”

“I’m sorry, Mei,” Jason stammered. “I didn’t hear your question.”

“I like what you’ve done here. I asked you before about this, but I want to make it official. I want to put you in charge of this company in North America, to be its president. I want you to take over everything, specifically the Copper Mountain project.” She walked over next to him.

He looked up at her and cleared his throat. “I’m flattered you think that highly of me, Mei. Do you need an answer from me immediately?”

A look of consternation came across her face. “No, I don’t need it right at this minute, but I need it soon. Of course, this position would come with an increase in compensation for you, of which you’ll find
I will be very generous. In addition, I will arrange for some profit sharing.” She turned and paced behind him. “Of course, the position will require more travel for you, so that must be factored into your decision.”

Jason looked her in the eyes. “That’s why I would like to talk it over with my daughter and my girlfriend. It’s tough on her when I’m away.”

Mei turned and stared at him. “You know my position you Americans take on parenting. Neither my daughter nor my husband would ever have anything to say about such a decision and would respect whatever I decided.”

“I respect the way you raise your daughter, Mei,” Jason said defensively, “but my daughter is different from yours. Our culture is different from yours. It isn’t to say ours is a better way, just that we’re different.”

“Yes, I realize our cultures are different, but look at what a mess American youth are.” She let out a big sigh. “Either way, talk to your family and let me know your decision. You are about to get really busy in a week or so.” She waved her hand at him. “You can go now.”

Jason gathered his file folder, stood, and returned to his desk. His mind raced. Why aren’t I jumping for joy? I should have accepted that job on the spot. I’ll be running one of the largest solar panel manufacturing companies in the world. It’s one of the most prestigious jobs in the industry. What’s wrong with me? But I’ve been here before. I had a hundred employees three years ago when I owned my electric company and it almost destroyed me when I had to let them all go. All of their lives were ruined because I couldn’t keep my company up and running. What happens if Soltech fails under my watch? I’ll have to go through the same agony of dismissing hundreds of workers again. Do I want that on my plate?

He leaned back and rested his feet up on his desk. What is Mei Chen up to? She’s way too confident in Soltech getting the Copper
Mountain job. But if she can convince Brian Thompson at Inter-Power that we’re the company to do the job, more power to her.

Before I talk to Crystal, I need some advice, he thought as he sat back in his chair. This is going to be an intense job, with a lot of responsibility tied to it. Is this something I’m capable of tackling? He picked up his cellphone and dialed.

Brian Thompson answered it on the second ring. “Don’t tell me you want a rematch of our golf game. After the pounding I gave you, you’re a real glutton for punishment.”

Jason laughed. “No, I don’t want a rematch with you, at least not yet anyway. But I promise I’ll be coming back to you for the twenty bucks. No, I wanted to pick your brain for a second.”

“Oh, so you want some serious advice. Well, fire away. I’ll go ahead and start the fee meter.”

“I just left Mei Chen’s office and, confidentially, she offered me the position of President of Soltech. I would be in charge of the whole North American operations. If I consent to take it, I know I’ll be at Mei’s beck and call. It will require me to travel extensively all year, although she’s going to give me a hefty raise and some sort of profit sharing deal. That part I like, but the rest scares me. What are your thoughts?”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “I don’t see what your concerns are. You will obviously be well-compensated. You’ll be able to travel the world checking out every new green energy idea that comes along. You’ll be on top of your field and will have a ton of your company’s money to spend to keep on top. What about this scares you? You should be dancing in the street.”

“I think, deep down, Mei Chen scares me,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “Sometimes I don’t think she’s in tune with what goes on in the real world. Because of the position she and her husband hold in China, I don’t get the sense that she sees things the way normal people do.”

“What makes you say that?’ Brian asked. “She may do things different because we have different laws and different ways of running a business, but the bottom line is that she provides a product and the market decides if they want to buy her product. So far, it seems the market is happy to buy her products.”

Jason sighed. “There’s more to this, but I’m not sure I can put my finger on it. It’s a feeling in my gut that she’s off somehow and I’m going to be tied at the hip to her.”

“Well, my suggestion is speak to Crystal and Janine and then sleep on your decision. Personally, I don’t see how you can lose, but I’m not you. I’m happy for you though. Congratulations!”

“Thanks, Brian. I appreciate your advice. I’ll let you know what I decide.” Jason started to type a letter on his keyboard, his phone cradled in his ear. “Hey, I understand that you and Mei are meeting this evening regarding our bid. She seemed pretty confident that Soltech was going to win the bid for Copper Mountain.”

“Really?” Brian exclaimed. “My understanding of our meeting was it was just an early dinner, strictly social.” He paused for a second. “Oh, that Mei. She never lets any opportunity to advance her cause escape. Thanks for the heads up. It’s going to be an interesting dinner.”

“Yeah, I can only imagine. See you, Brian.” As he hung up, a text came through from Janine.

Want to meet for a drink after work?

Pausing for a second, he texted back,
let’s meet at Josh’s Pub at 5:30
.

A smiley face with an
ok
came back in response. Brian is right, he thought. Janine is one of a kind, and I truly love her. I need to show her just how I feel.

He picked up a picture of Crystal, her smiling face staring at the camera as she posed in her high school uniform, a soccer ball under her arm. Oh, Crystal, what am I going to do with you? If I take this position, I’m going to be away from you for long periods of time.
Where will I put you when I’m gone? If I take this job, will you think I don’t care?

Setting the picture down, he focused on another picture sitting next to it. It was photo of himself, Crystal, three years younger, and his wife Debbie, all smiling in front of Snow White’s Castle in Disneyland. I wish I could turn back the clock and fix our marriage. Now that I’ll be getting back on my feet and making the kind of money that kept Debbie in the lifestyle she was used to, our family life could be more stable. But not anymore with Debbie, and probably never.