Computer Capers

by Dan Kelly

  It was a private club, but she figured she could sneak onto the course with no one being the wiser. She was thinking she could accidently slice a ball from an adjacent fairway onto his, apologize for interrupting his play and hopefully engage him in some conversation. Tania knows her way around a golf course and has no qualms about pulling this off, but she knows that she’s no Sherlock Holmes and doesn’t expect to uncover some damning clues. She just wants to be able to size the man up for herself, get a feel for the kind of man he is. She’d go with the flow with whatever happens after that.

  All she needed to do now was find some golf shoes, appropriate clothes and a set of clubs. Fortunately, the concierge at the hotel she, Barbara and Joel were staying at knew where she could get what she needed. He directed her to a sports equipment rental store only a few blocks from the hotel. Apparently, a lot of guests request this information.

  After getting what she would need for tomorrow and a burger and a diet coke at a Burger King, she paid a visit to Pinnacle Pharmaceuticals to see what she could find out there about Mr. Palmer. It was an interesting visit and she came away with a feeling that there may be more going on with the man than pharmaceuticals.

  After taking the elevator up to the 17th floor, she had stepped out into an amazing reception area. The décor was breathtaking to say the least. Highly polished mahogany floors covered with some of the most beautiful Persian rugs Tania has ever laid her eyes on, paintings on the walls that had to be collectors’ items, beautiful flora and fauna obviously arranged by someone that knew what they were doing, furniture that you would expect to find in the lobbies of the finest hotels, all of these things gelled perfectly to impress and please the visitor immeasurably. It was elegance personified.

  Approaching the receptionist with her friendliest smile she asked, “Would it be possible to speak with someone in your finance department please?”

  The receptionist, an attractive middle aged woman, responded with, “May I ask why?”

  “Of course. I represent an investment club and we’re considering investing a considerable amount of funds in Pinnacle Pharmaceuticals stock. I’ve been given due diligence responsibility and I have some questions that I would like to ask.”

  “Well, they’re really very busy right now. These power outages are really wreaking havoc on every one of our departments. Have you read our latest annual report? If not, I can give you one to look over. It may answer a lot of your questions.”

  “Thank you, but I’ve already reviewed it and questions have come up which the annual report doesn’t answer.”

  At that moment, a tall, handsome, Hispanic/Latin American appearing man entered the reception area through a door behind the receptionist sporting a head of wavy jet black hair Tania would die for. Glancing at Tania he said, “Please excuse the interruption. Mrs. Lindstrom, has Mr. Palmer called in yet this morning? His secretary is at that FDA conference in D.C. and with him being out of the office so much lately I’m having all kinds of trouble locating him and getting his approval for some very important items.”

  “No he hasn’t Mr. Ramirez. When he does I’ll tell him you need to talk with him.”

  “No don’t do that. Just put him on hold and come get me. Otherwise, he’ll forget all about me wanting to talk with him. I don’t know what he’s preoccupied with lately, but it must be very important to keep him away from the office so much.” Looking at Tania once more he said, “Again, please excuse the interruption.”

  As he turned and headed back to the door he just came through Mrs. Lindstrom said, “Mr. Ramirez, perhaps you could help this lady. She represents an investment club that is thinking about investing a considerable amount of money in our stock and she has some questions that she can’t find the answers to in our annual report.”

  Turning to Tania he asked, “Have you looked over our 10K. That will provide a lot more detail than the annual report and probably answer all of your questions.”

  “I requested one through our broker but it hadn’t arrived before I left Chicago to come here. Besides, I have some questions that I’m sure won’t be answered in any financial statement. Since I’m in town on other business, I thought I’d stop by to see if I could meet with someone in your finance department.”

  For a few seconds Mr. Ramirez just looked intently at Tania. She thought he was going to fluff her off with some lame excuse, but he surprised her with a big smile and said, “Well you’re in luck Ms. …….?”

  “Ms. Russo. Tania Russo.”

  “Well, Ms. Russo, you’re in luck because I,” bowing slightly as he finished his introduction, “Julio Ramirez, am the CFO of Pinnacle Pharmaceuticals and since I’m having difficulty getting ahold of my boss for his input, I have some time to answer your questions. Hopefully, I will do so to your satisfaction. Please, accompany me to my office.”

  As Tania walks with Mr. Ramirez back to his office she can’t believe her good luck. “The only thing better than this would be to run into Palmer himself.”

  Mr. Ramirez’s office was also very impressive. Its appointments reflected the achievements of the company and the esteem of its occupant. The enormous ebony desk, the luxurious black leather furniture, the deep piled dark chocolate carpeting, the beautiful paintings hanging on the walls, the eye catching accessories scattered around the office and the complete lack of florescent lighting all melded together very nicely to project the image that Pinnacle Pharmaceuticals was at the pinnacle of success.

  Pointing to one of the rich leather chairs in front of his desk Mr. Ramirez said, “Please have a seat Ms. Russo and tell me about your investment club. How many members are in it and what’s the size of your club’s portfolio?”

  “There are 27 of us and after 10 years we’ve grown our portfolio to just over $2.3 million dollars.

  “Hell, if you’re going to lie, you might as well make it a whopper.”

  “That’s very impressive. What’s your club’s overall approach to investing in the stock market?”

  “Since our average age is 38 years, we’re fairly aggressive and are always looking for growth stock. About 10 percent of our portfolio is invested in blue chip securities where there is a consistent dividend history. These funds go into more speculative investments.”

  “Well I’m glad you’ve enjoyed such success. Fire away with your questions and I’ll do my very best to answer them.”

  Pulling a note pad out of her purse she began with, “My questions don’t involve the financial aspects of Pinnacle Pharmaceuticals Mr. Ramirez. They pertain to the education, employment background, skill sets, experience and accomplishments of the C level officers of the company, as well as the board of directors, and their plans for the company going forward.”

  “Wow, you definitely believe in checking out the nature of the water before you jump in don’t you? Well, they are very good, very pertinent questions for anyone to ask if they are considering a major investment in a company, so I’ll tell you everything I know about these people and if there is something I can’t answer I’ll find someone who can. Fair enough?”

  “That would be a big help to me, Mr. Ramirez.”

  “Okay, where should I start?”

  “How about with your elusive boss Mr. Palmer? It’s always nice to start at the top.”

  With a chuckle he responded with, “The top man it is.”

  An hour and a half later Tania had the lowdown on all of the key executives of the company, most of which she couldn’t care less about. However, what she picked up on Palmer made the time well spent.

  About a year ago, Mr. Palmer began to become quite concerned about what was happening in the

  “land of the free”. He began to develop strong feelings that the fabric of the American way of life was beginning to show dangerous holes created by the moths of corruption that have an insatiable appetite for eroding the political, economic and social aspects of our daily lives to the benefit of no one but themselves. He has stated on more than one occasion in bo
ard meetings that he could no longer sit on the sidelines and hope that things would get better, that he had to do something.

  He began to be away from the office for extended periods of time which is completely out of character for him as he’s a micro-manager of the highest order. Apparently, he’s become determined to do whatever he can to stop the deterioration of the American dream.

  When Tania left Ramirez’s office she was convinced that she was on to something and was eagerly looking forward to her “chance encounter” with the “concerned” Mr. Palmer.

  When she got back to the hotel she called Joel’s room to let him know what she had picked up, but he wasn’t there so she ordered an early dinner from room service and hit the sack.

  Chapter 15

  -Atlantic City-

  Most of Collette’s day has been spent scouting the area. She has never been to Atlantic City before, doing all of her gambling which isn’t much in Las Vegas and Reno, so she’s been getting the lay of the land by cruising the boardwalk and other areas to find out where all of the casinos are located.

  She’s found out that there are 11 of them, all unique in their own way and not very far from each other. The kaleidoscope of colors flashing and glaring coupled with the cacophony of sounds emanating from and pervading everywhere creates the desired aura of excitement, but it really isn’t her kind of scene. She’d much prefer sitting on a beach somewhere with a good book and a great tasting glass of chardonnay, but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do. Working for Sentry has made her adept at adapting to her surroundings without feeling forced to adopt any of it.

  She’s staying at the Borgata Resort & Spa at Renaissance Pointe in Atlantic City and it’s very luxurious, but she hasn’t had any time yet to look it over because she’s been driving around checking things out. Since the Borgata is the newest and largest hotel and casino in Atlantic City, she figures she’s got a better than even chance of running into Ronald Baltzinger here than any place else. The man’s a gambler and the Borgata offers 145 gaming tables and 3,650 slot machines for those who like to tempt lady luck.

  At 5:30 in the afternoon, she has made brief visits to all of the casinos and selected the ones she thinks would be the most likely ones for Baltzinger to want to spend some time in, so she heads back to the Borgata to freshen up, order a Chinese chicken salad from room service and change into something that will get the attention of a 63 year old bachelor.

  Since she is slightly taller than Baltzinger, she decides her footwear should be something with a low heel and she’ll go from there. After several tries, she comes up with an ensemble that she feels gives her decent odds to kick the lungs and heart of the old boy into high gear. Black will be the color for the evening. Black slacks, a black silk off the shoulder long sleeved blouse trimmed with lace, a thin black leather belt and an eye catching onyx, diamonds and gold necklace that rests just above her cleavage will be her weapons of choice for the evening.

  Collette is a very pretty lady in anything she might wear, but putting her movie star body with its thick shoulder length wavy red hair and emerald green eyes into an outfit like this is guaranteed to have heads turning and eyes staring everywhere she goes.

  Checking herself out in the mirror, thoughts of her father bring a smile. “If Dad were here now, he would approve. It complies with his dress code for the female of the species. ‘The neckline should be low enough, the hem line high enough and the fit tight enough to show that you’re a

  woman, but in the same order high enough, low enough and loose enough to show that you’re a lady.’

  “Okay girl, it’s time to boogie.!”

  Heading for the casino, she figures she’ll spend a few hours roaming around the gaming areas, moving in a somewhat hap hazard fashion from the black jack area, to the roulette wheels and then onto the crap tables, occasionally trying her luck, appearing to be looking for a table where she would fit in with the people, but always moving on.

  She’s not a good poker player. A five year old would know when she’s bluffing and she’s never learned how to play some of the games like baccarat, so she’ll avoid those sections. If she doesn’t spot old Ronnie boy during that time, she’ll visit one of the other casinos. It could be a long evening.

  Walking into the casino, she can’t help but notice the admiring glances she’s getting from the men and women she’s passing by. One guy sitting at one of the $100 black jack tables does more than glance. She wouldn’t have given him a second look but for the unusual timbre of his voice which was in the deepest nether regions of the bass register, so deep that she found herself looking for things to start vibrating. However, when she took a second look she couldn’t believe her eyes or her good luck. It was Ronald Baltzinger staring appraisingly at her and as she approached the table he stood up and offered her his seat.

  “Please, please, please let you be lady luck come to change my dire fortunes. This dealer is showing this old man no pity.”

  As she took the offered seat she responded with, “I gather you’re on a roll, all downhill.”

  “That’s my predicament. The trouble with this hill is it keeps getting steeper and doesn’t appear to have any bottom.”

  “You know, many steep hills have turn offs for run-away vehicles. You know the kind, the ones that gradually level off so the car or truck can roll to a stop. Maybe you should consider taking one of those for a while until you can get your wheels back on track.”

  “You know, what you said kind of makes sense. Wheels, track, it’s funny you should use those words. For me they’re quite appropriate as I’m a railroad man. I kid you not as Jack Parr use to say.”

  “Who?”

  “Never mind, it’s a generation thing. I’m a superstitious cuss and don’t believe in coincidences. I’m beginning to think you might be a lucky lady for me. Please don’t think I’m in the habit of asking beautiful women whom I’ve never met or to whom I’ve not been properly introduced to have dinner with me, but I haven’t had dinner yet and would very much like you join me as my guest and then we can return to the tables to see if my luck has improved?”

  “Thank you for the invitation, but I’ve already eaten dinner. However, you could buy me a Cosmopolitan martini and I could sip on that while you eat and we get to know each other a little better.”

  “That would be terrific! By the way, my name is Ron Baltzinger. What’s yours?”

  “Collette, Collette Cummins”

  “Well, Collette, may our meeting be a prelude to an enjoyable evening. I’m ready for the feed bag. Are you ready for that martini?”

  “I can taste it already.”

  “Boy, things couldn’t have gone any better if I had written the script myself. Dad wouldn’t like the way I let myself be picked up so easily though.”

  While Collette sipped her martini, she watched Baltzinger put away a bowl of tomato bisque soup, a 16 oz. rib eye, cooked medium rare in a marinade with an aroma that had Collette’s mouth salivating, a huge scoop of garlic mashed potatoes smothered in gravy and a mountain of sweet corn covered with lots of butter and salt. He finished up with a slice of apple pie that could have choked a horse and a 5 oz. snifter of King Louis the 13th cognac, known as the king of cognacs with a king sized price of thousands of dollars per bottle. When the waiter asked him if he wanted to make his dessert pie alamode, he shook his head and said, “I better not. I’m trying to watch my weight.”

  Collette couldn’t believe her ears and try as she might to control her reaction she couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing, spilling the remaining few sips of her martini on the fine linen table cloth. “I’m sorry, but where do you put all the food? I could’ve gotten at least three meals out of what you consumed tonight.”

  “No need to apologize. I’ve always had a good appetite and a metabolism that lets me get away with it if I don’t go overboard, overboard for me that is. I know my limitations and stay within them.”