by Robin Roseau
"I wish I could take them all in," Michaela said. "But Zoe and Portia are a far better fit for Ember, and beginning next year, I hope they take in one or two more of our new students."
"But no pressure?"
"Of course not," Michaela said. "Would I pressure you?"
"Yes," all three of us replied.
Michaela hung her head. "I'm shocked you would say such a thing."
"You prefer we lie to you, Alpha?" Hadley asked. "That would make such a poor policy, don't you think?"
"Speaking of your daughter," Michaela asked. "How is Ava?"
"She met a boy, she tells me."
"In Boston?" Hadley nodded. Michaela sighed. "And here I hoped she would return to us."
"Have no fears," Hadley said. "You must know that Ava is the dominant one in that relationship. She assures me they'll be moving here, if he has permission to join our pack."
"Well, that's all right then," Michaela replied.
"So," said Hadley. "I heard you received a lovely proposal."
"I did," I said, grinning. I flashed my ring, receiving proper oohs and ahs.
"Rings aren't a wolf custom," Hadley said. "She did this in deference to your race."
"I-" I paused. "I didn't know that. She didn't have to do that."
"She wanted to," Michaela explained. "She thought perhaps the symbol would be important to you."
"What is the wolf custom?"
"Marriage and a ceremony, but there is no exchange of this nature," Hadley explained. "But then, mated wolves share a scent, and I suppose in a way, that is a more enduring mark than jewelry."
"Can you tell I am mated from my scent?"
She nodded. "For you, it would wear off, but she refreshes the scent. You really carry her mated scent, and technically, anyone she handled as closely as she handles you would carry the same scent. But of course, she doesn't treat anyone else so intimately."
"What about Ember? They hug, and I've seen Ember intentionally rubbing against each of us."
"Ah. That is the child I smell," Hadley said. "Do I need to be less delicate in exactly what she is doing to refresh her scent on you, Zoe?"
I immediately began to blush, causing the three of them to laugh.
"I think she figured it out," Michaela said.
"There is a possessive nature in what your foster child does," Hadley said. "But of course, it is a different nature of possession. I can also smell Michaela upon you, although that was when we hugged upon our greeting. Sitting here, I can not make out her scent on you over her scent directly from her."
I shook my head. "So much you can learn?"
She nodded.
"Don't try to play poker with them," Michaela said.
"They can tell what I have by my scent?"
"It becomes a tell like any other tell," Michaela replied. "Even I have one I haven't been able to get rid of, but I have tricks to lie with it." She sighed. "No one will play poker with me."
"She wins," Michele said. "On the other hand, I would happily engage in other types of card games, one in which no money exchanged hands."
"I could find room in my schedule a few times a month," Hadley said. "For cards or perhaps movie night."
All three of them looked pointedly at me.
"You want to come to my movie nights?" I said.
"I've been hinting for months," Michaela said. I hadn't noticed. "Was I too subtle?"
"Months? Yes, you were too subtle."
She sighed. "So you didn't notice when I asked what movies you were seeing last Friday?"
"I thought that was idle curiosity. I'm sorry. You really want to come?"
"Of course I do," she said with a grin. "Everyone wants to come."
"Well, I knew the kids were vying for invitations," I replied.
"And where is my invitation?" Michele asked.
"And mine," Hadley added.
I looked between them and sighed. "You know, I came up with the idea on the spur of the moment for Monique. She needed a little help understanding how dating works." I told the story, omitting the more personal parts.
"But we're getting cozy on room," I complained.
Michaela laughed. "Zoe, have you noticed how comfortable we are with each other? Even I am comfortable in a crowded pile. Touch is comfort."
"You guys really want to come to movie night?"
"Well, actually," said Hadley, "what we want is a friendship with you. And friends invite each other to their events."
"Hadley, you weren't supposed to be so blunt," Michaela complained.
"Oh please," the woman replied. "You're the one for subtle, such as pushing your mate into a frozen lake. I am far more direct."
"She pushed Lara into a frozen lake, and you say you're more direct than that?" I asked.
"Perhaps I was making a point," Hadley replied with a smile.
"Well," I said, "You're all welcome to come. It's every Friday unless there is a conflict. We have dinner and pick movies from Netflix."
"More of your tofu?" Hadley asked.
I smiled. "They seem to like my cheese bread. No one has asked how it is I'm able to eat cheese."
Michele laughed.
"Portia and Ember dress up whatever I make so it is more palatable for wolves, or sometimes we order pizza."
"Now, about cards," Hadley said. "I believe I would like to host a little gathering once a month, the same night as these card games to which I, too, am never invited. We can start our own club."
"Ooh," said Michaela, rubbing her hands. "Elisabeth is going to hate that. Excellent!"
"Why will Elisabeth care?"
"Because she hates letting me go into town without a proper guard, and she has a hard time believing a proper guard excludes her. And, of course, that night is one of her night's off each month."
"She's not here today."
"Serena, Portia, Eric, and Rory." Michaela pointed towards the enforcers, hovering around in the shadows, so to speak. "It's really quite excessive. What do you suppose the chances are she'll let me free with fewer than that?"
"Zero," Michele said. "You know what a subversive Hadley is."
"Not to mention me," I added.
"We can pick a different night," Hadley said.
"Oh no," Michaela said. "Poker night is the perfect night."
"Should we keep it intimate with just the four of us, or should we broaden the invitation?"
"There are a lot of good games for four," Michaela said. "But perhaps two tables of four wouldn't strain your house."
"Well then, if you bring your spouses, and I acquire a date or a friend, then we have eight," Hadley declared.
"Donald won't be comfortable," Michele said. "But he'll love movie night," she added.
"Well then, Alpha, if you bring Lara, and Zoe brings Portia, and we invite the lovely Angel and Scarlett, we have four enforcers whose company we enjoy," Hadley said. "Although perhaps you wished to make your sister-in-law more uncomfortable." She grinned at Michaela.
We discussed details, and soon we had a plan.
"As long as we're filling our social calendars," Michele said, "in the past, Donald and I have declined, but Michaela, if we are invited for future paintball games, we would love to come."
"You're always welcome, Michele. Why the change of heart?"
"Because now I won't be the only human."
"Is that what has kept you away?"
Michele nodded. "Maybe it was silly, but if Zoe can play, then perhaps I am able, as well."
"How about you, Hadley?"
"No, thank you," Hadley said. "I do not wish anyone to get used to the idea of shooting lawyers."
We laughed, although in time, Hadley would also begin attending paintball events.
Conversation flowed around the table some more. I waited for a lull then said, "There's something I'd like to talk about. This might not be the right group, but I thought I could start here. I'd love to hear what you think."
"Go ahead, Zoe," Michaela said
.
I explained about the idea Elisabeth had for a renewable energy power company. The three of them conferred for a moment, then Hadley asked, "Michaela, what is the expected ROI for your tower in Bayfield?"
"We think it will take fifteen years to pay for itself," Michaela answered.
"That seems faster than the industry average."
"We don't have to pay for the land, and we're not financing the funding."
They talked back and forth about the money for a while, leaving me behind in the conversation. Finally Hadley turned to me. "Do you understand?"
"You lost me," I admitted.
"This would not be a good investment. There are better ways to make money."
"No, there are faster ways to make money. I would question whether helping to save the world from catastrophic climate change can be beaten by any other activity any of us can do."
They stilled, then Michele said, "Spoken like a true activist, and I, for one, would not care to argue against her position."
"No one should invest because they want a profit," I said. "They should invest to help reduce their carbon footprint, and because if all of us do our part, we don't have to wait for government to solve this. Further, if we start now, we can begin generating electricity now. I have little faith there will continue to be drops in wind turbine prices, but solar panels will continue to become less expensive."
"And we will have bought too early."
"I disagree. We'll know more about what we're doing, and we'll have experience before everyone and his brother jumps on the bandwagon. And humanity should have gotten serious about this problem back in 1970."
Hadley cocked her head. "Elisabeth's original idea was for you to spend less time on GreEN and take the bulls by the horn, so to speak. Find work that pays better and use the money to create this company."
"Yes."
"And from that, the idea quickly expands to a discussion of investors."
"It doesn't have to," I said. "But there's too much I don't know."
"Like what?"
"Where to put them," I said. "I don't own any land, and land is expensive."
Michaela smiled. "That problem is easily solved. What else?"
"I need expertise. But we have ways we can cut corners. We can build our own panels from solar cells. It is labor intensive, but if I learned how, I could do it. I can find the time."
"And you need to sell this electricity somehow," Hadley pointed out. "Michaela has experience with that."
"Lara set that up," Michaela said.
"Actually, Lara's attorney set that up," Hadley said. "Zoe, I will do all your legal work, excepting litigation, for a five percent equity position in your new company. I would expect to serve on your board of directors."
"I don't have a clue what that means."
"Then you require an education," she said. She spent several minutes explaining what she had meant. I thought I understood when she was done, but I wasn't sure if five percent was fair.
"The pack will provide a location to place your solar cells," Michaela said, "for a ten percent equity position. I will invest modestly to help finance a trial run. And I want a position on the board."
"Well, I don't have time to serve on the board, but I would invest, modestly," Michele said.
"Where are you going to place her panels, Alpha?" Hadley asked.
"The roof of the school," Michaela answered immediately. "And of course, there will be classes for the kids. If we fill the available space on the school, we can use space at the airfield."
"Of course," Hadley said.
"In fact, that's how we could begin the trial and keep our costs down. We can get the pack to teach the kids a hands-on class in solar energy." She turned to me. "What would it cost to build a panel?"
"I'm not sure. In round numbers? Under a hundred dollars. But then there's the wiring, installation, a grid tie inverter, and monitoring equipment."
The three of them looked at me. "Have we answered your question as to whether we think you should do this?"
"Yes," I said. "But now I'm really confused."
"Well, I am going to make a proposal," Michaela said. "You are going to be busy between now and when your house is built. You are teaching photography classes, designing a house, planning a wedding, building the house, getting married, perhaps going on a honeymoon, being a new foster mother, and still settling into the pack. And so my suggestion is that we assemble a plan for what you would like to do. If you wish to take advantage of the various offers made today, then we could target fall term of next year to begin your trial run."
I stared at her. "I could have panels installed next fall?"
"Yes, for a small trial."
"I want to do it," I said. "But I don't know if the offers are fair."
"It would depend on the details," Michaela said. "Five percent of what? Ten percent of what? When you start accepting investors, how will those original numbers degrade. You see?"
"No, but I'll take your word for it."
"Zoe," said Michele, "let's you and I do lunch sometime in a week or two. I can explain all this, and you'll be free to tell me you think Hadley is asking for too much."
"I wouldn't say that," I said. "I don't know whether Hadley's offer is fair or not. I don't really understand it all."
"Well, we'll talk about that," she replied.
"Oh, pshaw," Hadley said. "It's all about stock. Let us say that your company issues ten million shares of stock. I want five percent, or fifty thousand shares. The pack gets ten percent, or a hundred thousand shares. We would agree that, as the founder, you would get some amount strictly for having the idea, and with the understanding you would be doing a great amount of work for no money. Let's call it another hundred thousand shares."
"Wait. I only get ten percent of my own company?"
"Well, so far, you we've only given away 250-thousand shares, and you have 100-thousand of them. So you actually own forty percent."
"But I'm going to do a lot more work than you are."
"Not necessarily," Hadley said. "But we are only trying to explain the principles. So let's use these numbers."
"All right."
"After that, you will accept investors. The pack will invest. The three of us will. You'll put money in. I bet Lara, Elisabeth, and half the members of the council invest. You sell the remaining shares at one dollar per share, raising 750-thousand dollars."
I stared at her.
"Now, you started with nothing but an idea, but you own ten percent of a company that suddenly is worth at least 750-thousand. Or maybe a little more than ten percent, as we agreed you would be buying stock, too."
"I understand. I hadn't thought it would be that big."
"It doesn't pay to think small," she said. "So those are one set of numbers. Let's say that you don't want to start that big. Let us say you don't wish other investors, and you're only going to build as fast as you can finance this yourself. We start with the same numbers, and you find 10-thousand to invest. I am going to do a great deal of legal work for only five hundred dollars worth of equity."
"Oh. That's not fair to you."
"No. Let's use another set of figures. Let us say we aren't going to write a million shares, but ten million. I get a half million; you get a million; the pack gets a million. You own forty percent so far, I own twenty percent, and the pack owns forty percent. Now you start selling, but you only sell 750-thousand, because that's all you can sell. I'm not sure about the math, but the investors are kind of screwed, because they put in a lot of money but didn't get a very good equity position."
"And you are over-compensated for your work," I point out.
"Exactly," she said. "Here's what I expect. I expect we'll pick some target investment goal. Let's use that million shares I stated earlier. We do that over a period of several years. You build a modest solar farm with that, and then you reinvest all the profits, growing the business. We prove it's a good investment, but at some point we want to gr
ow faster than we can with reinvestment. So you then write more stock and continue to sell it. Now, instead of a five percent investment, I might drop down to three percent, unless I buy some of that stock. But you know what?"
"What?"
"That's fair, because most of my work happened at the beginning."
"What about me?" I said. "If I'm still working for it, shouldn't I get more stock?"
She smiled. "Good. Yes. I would envision we would also have stock options as part of your compensation, and I would also insist you get paid, at least once the company grew to a certain size. You could choose to take some of your compensation as stock, but you would have to pay taxes on it."
"I think my head hurts. What if we just want to stay small? No investors except me."
"Well then, we'd come up with different numbers, but if you're talking that small, the amount of legal work is minor. We wouldn't need to negotiate with a power company. You could sell the power to the school for whatever they currently pay for electricity."
"But Zoe," said Michaela. "Don't you want to do more than that? Isn't that what GreEN is all about?"
"I could sell shares through GreEN!"
"No, you couldn't, unless we produce a public company," Hadley said. "That's another big ball of wax."
"I will not allow investment from outside the pack," Michaela said. "I'm sorry, Zoe, but that just creates a mess. What if your investors want to visit our facilities? We can't have people traipsing through."
"Oh."
"If you ever want to go down that route, you can form a separate company and find land somewhere else for your solar panels," Michaela said. "Frankly, I think we can get more than enough investment for you for a long time."
"If you even want outside investors," Hadley said.
"Would people really invest under those terms?" I asked. "As you said, it's a poor investment, financially speaking. The reason to do it is so that you can help."
"We all said we'd invest," Michaela said. "Not heavily, not at first. I don't want to give you a lot of money until you solve the problems that having less money create for you."