The Money Is Green

by Mr Owen Sullivan

  Jason sat forward in his chair. “I thought you said that Earth-Sun was in the mix for this job. They’re also a Chinese company and the government subsidizes them. There’s not much difference in their manufacturing process than ours at Soltech.”

  Brian nodded. “That’s true, they’re a Chinese company and they’re in the running. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen what they’re proposing and they’re going to come in more than Soltech. But the difference between your two companies is that Earth-Sun is run by a British man named Andrew Dillon, and he’s been doing panel manufacturing for decades and is good at what he does. Earth-Sun puts out a great product because they pay attention to every part of the process, something Mei Chen has yet to learn.”

  Jason flipped through the pages of his proposal then peered up at Brian, trying to read his expression. This is bad news. I’m sure Mei Chen thought this was a done deal and was moving on to the Antelope Valley project. This is not going to be fun to explain to her. He looked down at the top sheet of his proposal. “Let me work on a couple things and finalize our price. I know I can make my proposal more competitive with Earth-Sun.”

  Brian shrugged. “Sure. If you want, I’ll give you a few more days. But I have to be honest: Earth-Sun’s proposal is going to be tough to get below, and the other issue you’ve got to convince me is the quality and warranty of your product.”

  Gathering up his papers, Jason stood up and they headed out the door. “I’ll see what I can put together to show we can deliver a quality product and still get my price a little lower. I haven’t told you this but Mei has been hinting to me that she wants to promote me to become more in charge of everything at Soltech.”

  Brian cocked his head. “Really? That would be good news. I think you’d help alleviate some of Soltech’s problems. When do you think this might happen?”

  Jason shrugged. “I’m not sure. She hasn’t put anything down on paper for me to look at, so who knows.”

  Brian threw his arm around Jason’s shoulder as they walked toward the exit. “Look, my friend, I’ll give you the final look, and if the gap between your proposal and Earth-Sun’s is large enough, I’ll rethink my position. Convince me Soltech’s panels will hold up in the long run. Let’s wander over to Patrick’s and toss down a few beers and forget about work for a little while.”

  Jason turned and smiled. “That sounds like a great idea.”

  ♦

  A few hours later, as Jason was driving toward his home, he dialed Mei Chen’s number. After the call went to voicemail, he started to leave a message.

  “Madam Chen, this is Jason. I just left Brian Thompson’s and we went over our proposal for the Copper Mountain job. I need you to call me because this job is definitely not guaranteed ours.”

  As he was driving, he checked his watch. I better hustle if I’m going to pick up Crystal from her soccer practice.

  Just when I thought things were falling into place for Soltech, I find out we have a lot of work to do if we’re going to get this job. And we’d better get it. I don’t think Mei will let Brian give this job away to another company without putting up a huge fight. This process is far from over.

  TEN

  The pool at the Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort spread out over an acre in size, and the crystal blue water shimmered in the afternoon sun. A huge water slide rose up out of one end, spiraling around a manmade foothill covered with exotic and colorful plants. A pair of peacocks patrolling the greenery stopped every so often to observe the hundreds of humans who ringed the pool as they sunbathed on white towel-covered lounge chairs. Brown-skinned servers in flowery Hawaiian shirts carried trays of margaritas, mai-tais, or coconut chichis to the sun worshipers. The clear water of the pool made an alluring respite from the hot afternoon sun.

  With the four-story hotel in the backdrop, the pool area opened up to the pristine beach where the surf crashed noisily as wave after wave descended on the beach. Seagulls strutted around the beach as if they owned it, looking boldly for an unsuspecting sunbather to leave some food unattended.

  Congressman Eugene Waters lay on a chair twenty feet from where the thatch-roofed cantina was positioned and from where all the libations being served were made. His servers didn’t have to go far to take care of his needs. A young Asian woman in a bright blue bikini sat next to him and slowly applied suntan lotion to his dark back, the white cream melting into his skin as she expertly worked it with deft fingers. He had peeled back the top of his brown and tan Tommy Hilfiger bathing suit to expose his lower back and moaned contently as she rubbed the lotion in harder.

  “Ah, Amy,” he said to her, his eyes closed behind a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses. “You do this so well. I wish I could pack you in my suitcase and bring you home with me.”

  The woman leaned over and, giggling, spoke into his ear. “I would like that very much. Why don’t you do that for me, Eugene? I could take care of you every day the way you like.”

  The congressman smiled at that thought. That would make for interesting dinner conversation if the wife ever found out. He turned to his left, where his aide, John Clayton, sat next to him in a similar chair, reading a Tom Clancy novel. He wore a floppy straw hat, and his skin was slightly pink from the sunburn he’d received after sitting out unprotected on the first day of the trip. Now, although he had applied sunscreen all over his exposed skin, he hadn’t rubbed it in very well and looked half red and half white.

  What a find John was, Waters thought as he watched him sitting there, absorbed in his book. I always thought UC Davis grads were just smart nerds who went on to be veterinarians. Who knew this guy would turn out to be such a tough, bare knuckles political junkie. He has no problem doing my dirty work and will go to the end of the Earth to protect me. He leaned over and slapped John playfully on the thigh.

  John set his book down and looked over. With his big brown eyes, youthful face, and curly unkempt hair flowing out from the hat, he looked like he should be in a high school chemistry lab rather than a posh resort off the Indian Ocean.

  “Why don’t you have a mai-tai with me, young man?” Waters asked, his white teeth showing through his engaging smile. He leaned up on his elbows and waved his arm in an arc around the pool area. “Look at all this incredible talent out here and you’ve got your face buried in a book! I now truly believe in the saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink!”

  John pulled his sunglasses down to the bridge of his nose and looked around the enormous pool. He turned back to Waters and smiled. “There’s also a saying about what would the dog do if he caught the car? I’m content to live through you vicariously. You manage to squeeze enough out of life for the both of us.”

  Waters laughed as he reached around and patted Amy’s bottom. She giggled and slapped him. “Yes, I guess I do manage to have a good time. Hey, Amy, could you give me and John a moment to talk over some business?”

  She smiled demurely and stood up. “Of course. I need to get a few items from the hotel store anyway.” She picked up her flowery cover-up and headed toward the hotel.

  Waters watched her intently as she sashayed away. He shook his head and smiled. “I never get tired of that view.” He got up on an elbow and turned to John. “Have you checked to see if the funds Mei Chen promised me have hit the campaign account? I’ve got to get that contract with Wo Sung taken care of by next Thursday.”

  John looked puzzled. “Wo Sung? I think I remember him, but refresh my memory.”

  “You met him with me about six months ago when we had dinner at the Golden Palace in Chinatown.” Waters turned on his back and shaded his eyes with his hand. “He was the middle-aged bald guy with the thin moustache. He had two tough-looking guys with him who sat in the corner facing the door. You asked me who he was and I told you that he was the head of Fung Chi, the largest Chinese gang in San Francisco.”

  “Ah, yeah,” John said, nodding his head. “I remember him now. I thought you said he was bad news and we should stay clear of
him. What are you doing with him?”

  “Well, he is bad news, but I’ve changed my mind about doing business with him,” Waters answered as he scanned around the pool area. “He needs me to make some introductions to our Mexican contacts. He’s got guns he wants to ship to Mexico, but he doesn’t have a source to unload them to. I can provide that source, and he’ll pay me millions for my help. I’ve also come up with a way to get the guns to Mexico.”

  A frown came over John’s face. “We need to be careful how this goes down and make sure you have all your tracks covered. Remember, one of your main political platforms other than the green energy is gun control. You’ve pushed for, and gotten passed, the strongest anti-gun legislation in the country, and your constituents love you for that.”

  Waters nodded, smiling the whole time. “I’m well aware of my legislation. San Francisco and all of California should be thanking me for the strictest gun laws in the nation.” He reached over and took a sip of his mai-tai through a straw, pulling out the red umbrella and setting it aside. He raised it up at the bartender, who nodded his acknowledgement.

  He continued. “But here’s how I justify this. These guns are going to end up in Mexico with one of the cartels. I don’t know which one, as Wo has never told me and I don’t want to know, but they won’t end up in the US.” A smiling young server showed up and handed him his drink. Waters took a long pull from the straw and then raised his glass to the young assistant. “You don’t know what you’re missing, John. These are scrumptious. Where was I? Oh yeah, the guns. Look, the more guns that go out of the United States the better. If the Mexicans want to kill each other in droves, I say more power to them.”

  “I get that,” John said flatly. “But if it ever got out you were helping a gun-running operation, your career as a politician would be over. I just want you to be careful.”

  “Of course I am. Why do you think we’re down here in Bali?” He nodded in the direction Amy had wandered off to. “Strictly for pleasure?” He lifted his head up and laughed. “Of course not. This is partial business.” His face turned serious and he spoke in a hushed tone. “We have a golf outing tomorrow with one of my Mexican contacts, Juan Villa. He’s flying in from Mexico City. Both parties need each other and I’ll be setting up the introductions.” He winked at John. “For a reasonable fee of course.”

  John nodded. “Of course.” He put his hat down on the stamped concrete where his chair sat. “I think I’m ready to cool off. This heat is intense.”

  Amy wandered back over, a small package in her hand. “Are you going to go in the water John? Is it okay if I join you?” she asked, her high-pitched voice soft and innocent. “I’m burning up too.”

  Waters sat up in his chair, his drink not far from his mouth. “I think I’ll go sit over in the cabana and get out of the sun. I’ve had enough for today.” He put on the white terrycloth robe he’d hung over the chair and wandered over to the covered bar. He checked his phone as he walked and saw he had a missed call from Mei Chen. I wonder what she wants. Finding a seat at the bar next to a middle-aged couple who were nursing a pair of margaritas, he sat himself down. The couple next to him had their back to him, and he checked carefully around the bar before dialing Mei’s number.

  He heard her familiar voice answer. “Hello, Congressman Waters, how is Bali? Have you found your surroundings satisfactory?”

  Waters looked over at Amy, who was sitting on the edge of the pool, her feet dangling in the water as she talked to John. Waters smiled a wicked smile. “You’re good, Mei. This girl is even better than the others. I don’t know how you do it, but keep it up. The room is great also. I think you picked the best suite in the hotel, and I thank you.”

  “You know I only want the best for you, Congressman,” she cooed into the phone.

  “Mei, don’t be so formal. I’ve told you to call me Eugene. I get enough formality back in D.C. Well, I called as I was wondering if you had any good news for me. Did Soltech win that Copper Mountain job in Nevada? That will be a lot of solar panels going in up there.”

  “There will be approximately one million nine hundred thousand solar panels placed on that job, but as we speak, the contract has not been let out.” She paused for a few seconds. “Your call to me is rather timely. I need some help with, uh,” she paused, “one of the other bidders on this job.”

  Waters’s eyes widened and he took a long sip. “What would you like me to do? I can’t get involved in the bidding process. It’s a private company and I have no authority to place myself in the middle of it.”

  “I don’t want you to do anything regarding the bidding process. My main competitor is another Chinese company named Earth-Sun, run by Andrew Dillon. By all accounts, as Andrew Dillon goes, so goes the company. It’s a one-man band.”

  “I see,” Waters said, nodding. “And if Mr. Dillon isn’t around to run the company, Earth-Sun doesn’t compete. And if Earth-Sun doesn’t compete, Soltech gets the Copper Mountain job.”

  Mei coughed into the phone. “Excuse me. Yes, it’s something like that. Do you think you can help me out?”

  Waters ordered another drink. Hmm, he thought. This might be very lucrative. That bidding process is going to end soon, so she’s going to need help fast. He looked around the cabana and then spoke softly. “Of course I can’t personally help you, Mei, but I might be able to put you in touch with someone who can. I assume you’re going to need someone soon, correct?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “The next few days to be exact.”

  Waters hesitated and then stated matter-of-factly, “That type of quickness is going to be expensive.”

  “How expensive?” she asked.

  Waters did some quick calculations and swallowed hard. “It will be two million for the introduction and another two million for the job.”

  There was no hesitation. “Done. I’ll email you the details and information you’ll need. I’ll wire one half to your offshore account in the morning and the balance when the job’s done.” The line clicked dead.

  The bartender came over and wiped a water spill in front of him. “Give me a shot of Patron,” Waters said, smiling. “It’s time to celebrate.”

  ELEVEN

  Crystal gave an extra umph to the door when she slammed it, rattling it the in the process. She pushed aside her backpack sitting on the bed with the white comforter and two pink and mint-green pillows. Above the off-white headboard, a poster of Beyoncé was pinned to the wall while across from the bed, another poster of the group One Direction was pinned next to two shelves of soccer trophies. She lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, placing her hands behind her head.

  Well, that was an interesting conversation. Why does Dad have to act like an ass all the time? All he seems to have time for is his job and his stupid girlfriend. And now he’s making up lies about Mom. Like she would really have an affair behind his back. She reached over, picked up her cellphone from the nightstand, and dialed it. She recognized her mother’s voice when she answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mom, it’s Crystal. I just got finished talking to Dad and he’s not going to pay for my airfare to Fargo. I think he’s just being cheap.”

  There was a pause on the other line. “I’m sorry to hear that, baby doll. I was looking forward to spending some quality time with you. I don’t know why he acts like he does, because he could easily afford the ticket.”

  Crystal sat up and crossed her legs under her. “Can you buy the tickets, Mom? I’ve checked and they’re only four hundred fifty dollars round trip.”

  “Oh, I wish I could, baby, but right now I’m struggling to make ends meet. I’m planning to come out to the Bay Area in August. We can spend some time together then.”

  Crystal rolled her eyes and fell back on the bed. “That’s, like, in three months. How could you be struggling financially, Mom? I overheard you and Dad talking about a big check you received from the sale of the house about six months ago.”

  He
r mother’s voice grew stern. “Crystal, don’t question me about money. You don’t know what I’m doing here in North Dakota or what’s involved in surviving in a new town. I’m doing the best that I can. Besides, I’ve already told you I’ll be coming out in August to see you.”

  Crystal rolled a strand of hair in her index finger. Yeah, you’ll come out here but you’ll visit all your old friends going wine tasting in Napa and I’ll be lucky if I see you for a few hours. Maybe Dad was telling the truth. Probably not. She sighed. “I really want to get away from here, Mom. Every weekend Dad brings Janine around and it’s all I can do to keep from vomiting. I wish she would go away and stay away.”

  “I don’t like her any more than you do, Crystal. It was my marriage she ruined, remember?”

  “I remember.”

  “Well, there’s nothing I can do about her now. Your dad made some poor choices, and eventually they will come back and bite him in the butt. In the meantime, you need to bide your time, get good grades, and in a couple of years you can be off to college. Your dad and his stupid girlfriend will be in your rearview mirror.”

  “Okay, thanks. I love you, Mom.”

  “Bye, Crystal, I love you.”

  She clutched the phone for a second. How can Mom not afford four hundred fifty dollars? Somehow she didn’t seem that broken up over the fact I wasn’t coming back there to stay with her. If Dad was telling the truth…

  A soft knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts. “Yes?”

  The door opened and her dad stuck his head in the door. “I put a pizza in the oven and it should be ready in fifteen minutes.”

  Crystal started to dial her phone. “I’m not hungry. Please shut the door.”

  He stood in the doorway for a second. He then stepped back, closing the door softly.

  A young man’s voice answered the phone. “Hello?”