by Bob Brown
“Anyway, this is mostly for Kyle. But I hope you all enjoy it.”
Jason signaled the steward, who pushed the switch to lower the seventy inch screen on the forward bulkhead of the salon cabin. He then dimmed the lights and started the DVD player. For the next twenty minutes, Jason and Kyle’s college years flashed by as a medley of soft vocals played in the background.
There wasn’t a dry eye onboard by the time the slideshow ended with Barbara Streisand singing ‘The Way We Were’.
Chapter 54
“Is this Jason Matthews, formerly from Tulsa Oklahoma, son of James and Mary Matthews?” asked the voice on the other end of the phone.
“Yes. Who is this?” asked Jason.
“Good morning. My name is Thompson McKenzie. I’m a partner with the law firm Beason, McKenzie, and Roy here in Tulsa.”
“What can I do for you,” asked Jason. The first thing that occurred to him was that Sam and Alex were sending their attorney after him. But Tulsa?
It was just after 10 AM on the Monday following the Friday night cruise on the bay. Jason had been reviewing city zoning regulations and minutes from past Planning Commission meetings in the office Kyle had provided him at Garrett Motors, searching for precedents to support the arguments that he and Kyle needed to make later in the week.
“Yes, I’m sorry, I’ll get right to the point, Mr. Matthews. I suspect I have some very good news for you. It seems that your parents established a Life Insurance Trust Fund the year after you were born, naming you as sole beneficiary. Our law firm was retained to act as Trustee.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand” said Jason. “Are you saying that my parents had life insurance policies? They never mentioned that to me.”
“Yes, Mr. Matthews, both of your parents had policies. And sizeable policies at that.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” insisted Jason. “My folks never had much of anything. They never bought anything they didn’t need, never took vacations, never even owned a new car. They couldn’t afford to send me to college. Why would they have had life insurance? Especially my mom? She never even worked a real job. How could they even have afforded it all those years?”
“I won’t presume to know how your parents thought, Mr. Matthews, or attempt to understand their motives. But this kind of thing happens more than you might expect. Sometimes parents just want to make sure that their children are taken care of in the event something happens.
“Mr. Matthews, I’ve seen cases in which parents live in virtual poverty for an entire lifetime just so they can make the payments on life insurance policies designed to protect the future for their children. I suspect that might be the case with your parents.”
“But why are you just contacting me now?” asked Jason. “Obviously, I didn’t know enough to contact you following their deaths in the tornado a year ago. But I suspect you had to know they’d been killed. Why are you just now calling me?”
“That’s a very good question, Mr. Matthews. You see, the thing is, the Trust that your parents established had a provision that, should anything happen to them, the insurance payout would be delayed until your thirtieth birthday. Again, this is something we see periodically.”
“But why is that?” Jason suspected he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear what the lawyer had to say.
“Let me give you an example, Mr. Matthews. Say a couple has a life insurance policy that becomes immediately payable when they die, and their only son is eighteen years old when that occurs. And say he takes the proceeds and spends it all on drugs, fast cars, and trips to Las Vegas. Whatever. The money’s gone, and most likely their child’s life is ruined. The point is, sometimes parents try to do what’s best for their children, even after they’re gone. Sometimes this means protecting them from themselves.”
“So you’re saying my parents didn’t want me to have access to the life insurance proceeds until I was thirty years old?” asked Jason.
“That’s correct. I assume they had their reasons. In fact, perhaps you may soon know their reasons.”
“Excuse me?” Jason didn’t understand.
“Mr. Matthews, as part of the Trust we managed for your parents all these years, we also have custody of a letter which was written in the days just after you graduated from high school. The letter is addressed to you. As part of executing the Trust agreement, I forwarded that letter to you via certified mail on the day of your thirtieth birthday. You should receive the letter in today’s mail.”
Jason was struggling to take it all in. He had so many questions he wished he could ask his parents. But of course that wasn’t possible. Perhaps the letter would have some answers. He hoped so. But he did have one more question.
“So, Mr. McKenzie, how much are we talking? What’s the value of my parents’ life insurance policies?”
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “Mr. Matthews, the policy face value is two million dollars. Each. But each policy also carried an accidental death rider, which provides for double the death benefit in the event of death by accident, including an act of God.
“Mr. Matthews, you’re looking at an insurance payout of eight million dollars.”
Jason was speechless.
“Mr. Matthews, are you still there?”
“Yes, sorry,” replied Jason. “I just can’t believe it. It doesn’t seem possible. And it hardly seems fair.”
“I can assure you, Mr. Matthews, that everything is in order. We are prepared to mail you a check by the end of the week. Or, if you prefer, we can wire the funds directly into your bank account. Just let us know.”
Jason obtained a phone number for Beason, McKenzie, and Roy and promised to call Mr. McKenzie in the next couple of days with a decision on the funds transfer. He thanked Mr. McKenzie for his assistance. Then just like that, the conversation was over.
And just like that, Jason was a multi-millionaire.
Jason walked down the hall and immediately told Kyle. Then, while still in Kyle’s office, he called Karen and explained in detail the call from Thompson McKenzie and his new found wealth.
“Can you believe it?” was all Jason could say to Kyle after he hung up the phone.
“Pretty amazing,” replied Kyle. “So how do you feel about God’s plan now?” he teased.
“Not funny,” said Jason. But he laughed anyway. “You know as well as I do that this was totally unexpected, and certainly un-deserved. I did absolutely nothing to earn this. My parents sacrificed everything.”
“Sound familiar?” asked Kyle.
“What do you mean?” Jason had no idea what Kyle was talking about.
“John 3:16,” replied Kyle. God sacrificed his son so that you would be free of your sins. Your parents sacrificed their lives so that you would be free of your burdens.
“In both cases, you received something as a matter of grace. You didn’t earn it, didn’t deserve it, and likely don’t even understand it. But in both cases, it comes down to what you plan to do with it.
“I know it’s probably too soon,” Kyle added, “but do you have any thoughts at all about what you’ll do with the money?”
“Nope. I haven’t even had time to think about it,” replied Jason. “I’m way too young to just walk away from life and set up a lawn chair somewhere. It might be fun for awhile, but I suspect my conscience would get the better of me. Life like that would have no purpose.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” offered Kyle. “God is good.”
“Yes He is,” replied Jason. “Yes He is.”
But inside, Jason was still hurting. Indeed, God was good. But, unfortunately, His goodness didn’t seem to be spread around in equal measure. Jason would gladly have given away every penny of his eight million dollars to find a cure for his friend.
*****
Jason retrieved his mail from the mailbox at his condo and walked into the kitchen. He sliced open th
e oversized manila envelope with the certified mail sticker and took it into the living room. He sat down in his favorite recliner and emptied the contents into his hand.
It was just a simple, plain white envelope. No return address. No stamp. Just the word ‘Jason’ handwritten across the front. It was his mother’s handwriting. She had always been the secretary, clerk, and bookkeeper of the family. It was fitting that she would also be the correspondent.
Jason just stared at the envelope, not even sure he wanted to open it. As long as he held it, unopened, in his hands, he held a small piece of his parents. The contents of that envelope represented their thoughts, their feelings. In some small way, it meant they were still alive. As soon as he opened it and read what was inside, there would be nothing more he could get from them.
Slowly, Jason tore the end off the envelope and slipped the contents out. He laid the envelope on the coffee table and unfolded the single sheet of paper. As with the envelope, it was handwritten. About half a page. Jason began reading:
'Our Dear Jason:
‘That you are reading this means that you have been contacted by the attorneys managing our insurance Trust. It also means that your father and I are dead.
‘You are probably wondering why we carried such large life insurance policies and why we wanted to keep the money from you until you turned thirty. The answer is simple. Although we wanted to help ensure your success, we also wanted you first to experience the trials of achieving that success on your own. We wanted you to know first-hand the challenges, frustrations, and, ultimately, the satisfactions of succeeding. We wanted you to realize that you can do whatever you set your mind to doing.
‘It is now our fond hope and expectation that you will find some meaningful use for the money from the Trust. You have always made us proud. We know you always will.
‘Our love forever.'
The letter was signed by both of his parents. Jason read the letter three times, then folded it and put it back in the envelope. In a small way, he was disappointed. The letter contained no new revelations, nothing that Mr. McKenzie hadn’t already revealed or been able to deduce.
But there was one sentence that intrigued him: ‘It is now our fond hope and expectation that you will find some meaningful use for the money from the Trust.’ Not ‘we hope you have a wonderful life’ or ‘we hope you can now relax, travel the world, and see the sights’. His parents hoped and expected that he would find a ‘meaningful’ use for the money.
Jason would definitely have to pray about that.
Chapter 55
As he read through the online references to Commission decisions on zoning classifications the following morning, it suddenly occurred to Jason that he had never bothered to clean out his desk at Jagged Edge or claim the few personal effects he had left behind in his office. On the day he quit, he had simply grabbed the laptop off the desk and walked out the door.
So Jason called Jagged Edge and spoke with his old secretary about coming by to collect his belongings. It was a call he had been reluctant to make, since he assumed he would be considered an outcast among his peers.
But his secretary assured him quite pleasantly that the door to his office had remained closed since the day he left and that his personal belongings remained intact. She offered to have several boxes available later that morning when he arrived.
*****
As he exited the elevator and entered the Jagged Edge offices two hours later, Jason felt no stress, no anxiety. He had left on his terms, and he was returning with no regrets. He greeted his secretary cheerfully and thanked her for providing the boxes. Then he entered his old office and closed the door behind him.
‘She was right,’ thought Jason. Things looked pretty much the same. Right down to the plaque in the corner of the desk.
In the time since Kyle’s diagnosis and Sydney’s departure, Jason had come to terms with a life he now understood to be a complex, fragile series of events, played out in no apparent order over an un-determined period of time. He no longer doubted the presence of God in his life, and he had reconciled his thinking to accept that God must have a plan.
But Jason had now accepted that, no matter how hard he tried, he would likely never fully understand what that plan was. The best he could do was honor God with how he lived and seek His guidance through prayer and worship. The rest would just have to take care of itself.
There was a knock on the office door as Jason closed up the last of the three small boxes that represented his career at Jagged Edge.
“Come in,” he shouted back over his shoulder, as he taped the box shut and set it on top of the desk with the others.
“Hi, Jason.” Jason recognized the voice of Michael even before he turned around.
“Hey, Michael,” Jason replied, holding out his hand as he turned to greet one of the few Account Managers who had managed to hang on throughout the regime of Sam and Alex Kent.
“Mind if we come in?” Michael asked, as he pushed inside. Jason was about to inquire as to the ‘we’ part of the question when he saw that Michael’s entrance was followed closely by Tricia.
“Please do,” said Jason. “How have you two been?”
Jason actually liked Michael and Tricia. They had been at Jagged Edge when he first got there, were still there now. They were obviously survivors in a tough, take-no-prisoners business. When he had first been in competition with them, Jason found them to be tough and resilient. He suspected it was those qualities which had enabled them to keep their jobs as long as they had.
But once Jason had been promoted to the Account Manager position, he also found Michael and Tricia to be intelligent, conscientious, and customer-focused. More importantly, he found that each seemed to have a moral compass that swung pretty much in the same direction as his, which made him admire them all the more. It also made him wonder how they had stayed at Jagged Edge as long as they had.
“We’re both fine,” Tricia replied in answer to his question. “Mind if I close the door?”
It was a rhetorical question. Tricia had already shut the door behind her and was extending her hand to Jason.
“Nope,” Jason said as he shook hands with both of his former employees. “What can I do for you?”
Michael and Tricia traded glances. Michael took the lead.
“First, we want you to know that we both think you got a raw deal. We are proud to have worked for you. At least when you were here we knew things wouldn’t get too out-of-hand. Since you left, things have taken a serious turn for the worse.”
Jason let Michael finish, but he was quick to set the record straight. “You do know that I quit, right?”
“Yes, we understand that,” replied Tricia. “But we also know it was because of the changes that Sam, Alex, and Jack were planning to make, the changes you warned us about before you left. And we’ve heard bits and pieces of what you told them on the day you quit.”
Michael jumped in. “At some point, just about everyone in the office has fantasized about telling Sam and Alex what you had the courage to tell them. Turns out, you became a bit of a legend here the day you quit.”
That would explain the cordial reception from the secretary.
“Look,” said Michael, “Tricia and I have some things we’d like to talk to you about. But we don’t feel comfortable doing so here in the office. Is there someplace we could go? I promise we won’t take much of your time, but there are some things I think you probably should know.”
Jason’s interest was suddenly piqued. What could Michael and Tricia possibly have to say that couldn’t be said behind a closed door? He looked at his watch. It was just after noon. He didn’t have anything he had to do until 3 PM, when he and Kyle were scheduled to meet to discuss their plans for the Planning Commission meeting the following day.
“Sure, I know just the place,” replied Jason.
They each grabbed a box and headed for the elevator.<
br />
*****
Ten minutes later, Jason, Michael and Tricia were seated around a wobbly, graffiti-carved table at Bernie’s. Jason had ordered a round of beers.
“Here’s what we know,” began Michael. “For starters, Sam, Alex, and Jack are in trouble. Even though most of what we hear is second-hand, we can tell just by watching them that they’re worried.”
“Worried about what?” asked Jason.
Tricia jumped in before Michael could answer. “Word is, the FTC has been making inquiries. We’re not sure why, but whatever it is has got the three of them talking behind closed doors almost daily. And they’re not talking about account management. In fact, there has been very little talk about account management since you left.”
It was Michael’s turn again. “That’s the other thing,” he offered. Something you said before you left must have rained on their parade, because they’ve put the brakes on chasing new clients. It’s like they no longer know who their customers are or how to go about getting new ones. The Account Manager meetings aren’t happening. The whole routine in the office is off. Everyone can feel it.”
Jason saw Michael and Tricia share another glance, and there was a subtle nod from Michael.
“There’s one more thing,” said Tricia. “There’s a rumor floating around that Sam and Alex might be trying to unload Jagged Edge.”
“You mean sell it?” asked Jason as the beers arrived.
“That’s what we’re hearing,” Tricia replied. “Remember, we’re not getting any of this directly from Sam, Alex, or Jack. But there have been some random people in the office the last couple of days. You know, the kind of people you might expect to see if there was an audit going on.”
“The kind of audit that might be done as the first step to putting a business up for sale,” Michael added.
Jason found all of this interesting, and he appreciated that Michael and Tricia wanted to share it with him. But he wasn’t sure exactly why. He had, after all, walked away from Jagged Edge.
“So why are you telling me all this?” Jason asked. Then he quickly added, “Look, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me. I’m just not sure why.”