34. Thirty-Four
Chase
“Hey, Carol. Thanks for pulling those listings.”
“No problem, Chase. Did you find anything you like?”
“Yes, I didn’t realize there were so many houses available in our area.”
“San Marco is a popular place.”
“Yeah, I love the neighborhood. Is there a service or anything that I could hire to take pictures of the backyards or a list of the backyard amenities? I’m looking for a home with a nice outdoor entertainment area.”
“I can type that into our search. You can be as specific as you want.”
I rattle off my wish list of what I’d like to see in the backyard.
“Anything else?”
“No, I already told you my requirements for the inside of the house.”
“While I don’t want to put the duplex up for sale yet if you hear of anyone who might be interested in buying it. Let me know.”
“Chase duplexes in your area are hard to come by. Many people like to live in one half and rent out the other. You won’t have any problems selling.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about talking to my wife and trying to convince her to move into a bigger house.”
Carol laughs, “Chase, that is not a problem I’ve ever run into. Most women want a larger home.”
“Yeah, I know. If you wouldn’t mind putting that list together and sending it to me. I’ll try to go through it over the next few days. Then maybe I’ll be ready to look at some of them.”
“Great. I’ll get started on that right away.”
As I hang up the phone, I think about the problem Val is having at Carlucci’s.
I take the stairs to Carson’s office. Suzanne isn’t at her desk, so I make my way into the office.
“Carson, do you have a few minutes?”
“Actually, I do. What’s up, Chase?”
“I wanted to talk to you about Val’s software.”
“Sure. Are you talking about the camera imaging software?”
“Yes, she just found out her major buyer backed out of the deal. The company sold cameras, and they were going to bundle the software as a package.”
“From what I’ve read and heard about the software, it sounds like something we’d be interested in.”
“I thought you might say that. I appreciate it, Carson. I wouldn’t normally mix personal with business, but this is a family business.”
“Yes, it is. If the software does what it promises, we could add it to our services and possibly include the cost as an upcharge to our existing customers.”
“Great. I’ll talk to Val. Thanks again.”
I arrive home early. I’m home before Val.
It sounded like Val was having a hectic day. So, I call in a food order to be delivered and then I get everything ready for Val to take a bubble bath.
I grin because I overheard one of the women bragging about how her husband surprised her with dinner and a bubble bath. She thought it was great. I hope Val feels the same way.
There was something else— Oh yeah, candles. I don’t know if I have any candles. I look in the cabinet and pull out two Christmas candles. They’re bright red and green, but I don’t think Val will mind. I place them around the sides of the tub and light them.
Yeah, that looks romantic. I get out the fluffiest towel we have and then lay out her robe. I get down a fluted glass and check to make sure there’s a bottle of white wine chilling in the fridge. What else?
She likes jazz music. I turn on the stereo and look at the time. She should be home any minute now. I go into the bathroom and finish filling up the tub. Now I just need the girl.
I hear the door open, and Val walks in. She looks tired.
“Hey, Babe. Let me take your briefcase. I know you had a bad day.”
“Yes, but it’s better now. I wanted to thank you for your help earlier.”
“Sure, do you want to relax in a bubble bath? I already ordered dinner.”
Val looks at the stereo and then gives me a smile. I see her dimples flash.
“You fixed me a bubble bath?”
“Yeah, I hope you like it.”
She walks into the bathroom and sees the filled tub with plenty of bubbles and the lighted candles.
“Thank you, Chase, this was so thoughtful.”
“Do you want to get undressed and get in the tub? I’ll leave you alone so you can just relax and listen to your favorite jazz music.”
I hear her get in the tub and give a big, relieved sigh.
I send a silent thank you to the woman in the breakroom for this idea.
I take in a small folded towel and place it behind her head. She gives me a tired smile in thanks.
Val closes her eyes and says, “This is heaven. Thank you, Chase.”
“No, thanks necessary. It’s my job as your husband.”
I see her give a soft smile without opening her eyes.
I go back into the living room and turn up the music, then I get the bottle of wine, pour it into the fluted glass, and carry it into the bathroom.
“Would you like a glass of white wine?”
“Sure.”
I hand her the glass, and she leans back with the fragrant bubbles all around her and takes a sip. “Mmmmm... this is perfect.”
I noticed she pulled her hair up into a claw clip on top of her head. But with the steam from the hot water, it dampens the curls that have escaped. Her face is flushed.
She looks beautiful sitting there in the candlelight, but then Val has always looked beautiful to me.
I turn and leave her alone in the bathroom to soak. Dinner should be here in about half an hour.
Later, I hear a knock at the door, the delivery guy with our dinner.
I take out the containers and set them on the table. Then I get a fluted glass for myself and the bottle of wine. I look up to see Val in her robe. Gone are the frown lines. Instead, she looks relaxed and has a smile on her face.
I hold the chair for her to sit down, and then I get us silverware.
She opens her container and says, “Sweet and Sour Chicken. Yum. What did you get?”
“Beef and broccoli.
That’s good, too. This was a nice surprise.”
“Thanks. Did you find out anything your uncle may be involved in?”
“Possibly. We have copies of his emails, which we could probably get in trouble for. I don’t know the law, but I don’t really care at this point. I just need to find out if he could hurt or be compromising Carlucci’s.”
“Did you have a backup for the camera company that backed out of the deal?”
“No, I have a few other ideas we might be able to try, but it would be so much easier to launch the software with a major buyer for instant sales and funding.”
“Val, I talked to Carson. Knight Security is interested in your software. He’d like to find out more about it. He thinks our clients will benefit from having the imaging software.”
“Chase, that’s wonderful! I know we could come to some type of agreement.”
“What would being a major buyer entail?”
“Upfront customers, or money and a contract guaranteeing future sales.”
“The final decision would be Carson’s as CEO, but he was very open to a deal and excited about the software’s potential. He mentioned adding it to our existing service plan and just charging an up fee per camera.”
“How many clients are we talking about?”
“We have thousands of clients. We’re based in Jacksonville, but we have clients all over the country. Some of them have hundreds of cameras. A small mall can have around four hundred cameras. Businesses usually have a camera at every entrance, plus other strategic places. Others have cameras along their entire perimeter.”
I look over at Val, and she has a stunned look on her face.
“What?”
Val looks at me and then starts to smile. “Chase, you’ve given me an idea. Can we set up a date soon to meet with your brother?”
“How about tomorrow?”