Can Am Story Read online

  “I did think about it, but I haven’t got around to it yet somehow.” I admitted.

  “Gut … my name is Ad Bass. You know that. I have several companies, some are hobbies others are serious work. I am one of the 50 richest men in the USA and I am trying to clean up my act a little so that my children aren’t completely overwhelmed when the time comes.”

  I listened in surprise. What did he want me to do? Help him clean up his act? He must have enough advisors who would put it all in neat rows for him to just nod his head and it would be done. Wow! One of the richest Americans and I was sitting in front of him. Fantastic!

  “I am thinking of making you an offer. How would you feel about running a company? Owning it and really making a go of it?” I had to smile. Who hadn’t fantasized about that at some time in their life? Of course, it depended on what and where it was and … and …

  “Normally I would take someone out of university. I have a business university in my portfolio. But I thought that you have earnt a chance that Sandy Miller couldn’t give you. And I believe in your intuition and experience. What I don’t know is how ambitious you are.”

  Now I was excited. Sandy Miller had wanted me in the USA for a year to send me through all the car rental outlets in the whole of the USA. Sandy almost certainly hadn’t intended to send me back to sit on the rental counter in Europe after that. It would have been my chance to get a really good job and move upwards. And that is what this moment felt like. I felt as though I had a hundred grasshoppers in my belly.

  “I’d like to know exactly what we are talking about.” I said carefully.

  “Have I piqued your interest? I will tell you. A while ago, I bought a plane, then two more later. After 9/11 you could get slots easily and cheaply and I used them for a small airline. The airline is really small. Just three Boeing 737s. I have never had time to devote to it. My efforts to license the airline with the FAA have been exhausting and I don’t want to simply give them up. Selling them isn’t worth the work it would take. The market is fairly depressed and there are still a few slots in LAX, that you can easily get hold of. I think you would make something of my little airline if you took it over. That’s what I have thinking about since I met you. I don’t know what you would make out of it, but it would be more than it is today, that much is certain.“

  “Wow!” I blurted out and a hundred thoughts crowded into my head and my stomach churned. I felt utterly gob smacked. Would I move to L.A.? Where is the airline? What about my trip to London? What about my Greek island? How would I work? I didn’t have any papers … “That is an enormous honor and a brilliant chance for me. Of course, I have a million questions.”

  “I won’t be able to answer them all, Oliver. Doug is managing the firm at the moment, even though it isn’t his actual job. He will certainly be able to tell you everything that you want to know. For us now it is just important to know if you want it, if you have the confidence to do it and if you think you can carry it off. You don’t seem to be afraid of being out of your comfort zone as far as new places and new tasks.”

  “Can I sleep on it for a night, or do I have to give an answer now? I would like to talk to my family about it and think about what it means to me.”

  “What would decide you? What is making you hold back?” I almost got the impression that he was sulking, but I could have been wrong.

  “I would really like to say YES! I just think I need to think about it a while first. The impact that it will have on my life. I have friends; family … I had a sort of plan for summer and actually for winter too. Nothing set in stone though. I was looking forward to shopping and sightseeing, but not to a massive job that may well be a lot of fun.”

  Ad stood up and waved me towards the door. “I think I heard a YES in there. Call me tomorrow and confirm it again. Then we will speak again. Now let us join the ladies. They will be waiting for us, I’m sure.”

  I was distracted for the rest of the evening. My thoughts circulated around where I would live, what it would be like, my new colleagues, new tasks, and the condition of the airline. What would Aristo say when I couldn’t make it to London. What on earth would my mother say and did that mean Sifnos was off the cards completely?

  “Oli, are you alright?” Marie enquired.

  “You have no idea what I have got to tell you when we get back to the hotel.”

  We chatted a while longer and I noticed Ad watching me and secretly enjoying the confusion and commotion that his words had caused in my brain.

  It was well past 11 as we got up to leave. Ad and Gil were no longer youngsters. Ad walked us to the door and said: “As far as I know, that Jaguar belongs to the company. It would suit you, wouldn’t it? I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow.”

  As the driver drove us to the hotel, Marie was curious to know what had affected me so much. I told her brusquely that Ad had offered me a good job. I didn’t want to say more with the driver listening.

  I was a little dumbfounded when the driver asked what time he should be here in the morning as we got out. “Yes, Mr Bass said the car is yours to use until further notice. Give me a call, I will be here within half an hour if you need me.” He said as he passed me his card.

  Marie, unable to hold it in any longer burst forth with her inquisition in the elevator. Between her questions and my answers, I was able to bring a little order to my thoughts. It all felt so unreal!

  “Come on, Oli, what happened?”

  “Ad wants to sign an airline over to me. He said I should be suitable, and I should make a go of it.”

  “What? An airline? Like Lufthansa?”

  “No, the company only has three planes.”

  “And what exactly do you have to do?” She asked while she struggled with the key card in the lock that simply wasn’t opening. Finally we managed to get in and with relief I pulled my new shoes from my aching feet.

  “I have to make a something of the airline. But other than it owns three Boeing 737s and the Jag, I know nothing about it.”

  “And can you imagine doing that?” Marie enquired from the bathroom as she removed her makeup.

  “Yes and no. I think it’s too good to be true. I do think I have some good ideas. I think I could move here and live here quite easily. On the other hand, if you ask me what it will be like … it all seems so surreal.”

  “What’s stopping you?”

  I had to laugh. “Ad asked me exactly the same question. If the offer was so good, he must have been offended by my hesitant reaction. Mom … she sees me now so seldom. My friends … my friends on Sifnos. Aristo is waiting for me in London.”

  “Yes, well, if it is all above board, your mom can visit you. Aristo too. And I am sure that as an airline employee, you would be able to take a holiday now and then to fly to Greece. However, you should protect yourself in any case. You don’t want to buy a pig in a poke and find that the firm is weighed down by debts and on the brink of collapse.”

  “I have to know more about it”, I grumbled.

  “How did you two leave it? You have to ring him in the morning, don’t you? Call him now. You are going to do it anyway. I know you.”

  Marie was right. I found the card, called Ad up and told him I would do it and wanted to know all about the firm. We agreed to meet at 11 o’clock, the driver knew where it was. Then I jumped on the phone to the driver and asked him to be at the hotel at 10.30 to drive me into the office.

  “We might as well give our beautiful Cabrio back straight away then. You should drive a Mustang when I come to visit though.” Said Marie before we turned in.

  I awoke early and ready to start the day. I got up quietly, went onto the balcony and thought about what I should wear. Was today the first day in the rest of my life? Or was it just another in a different outfit? I liked the second option best. Shoes I had already, I just had to have a look into my things for something that could pass as ‘airliner’ wardrobe.

  Marie awoke beamed “And? Are you excited about g
etting into your new life?”

  “God yes! Above all I am totally committed to it, as long as it is above board. And I haven’t spoken to anybody about it apart from you.”

  “I think you should hear him out anyway. He is already rich. He is hardly likely to need to pull the wool over a tourist’s eyes. I’m going for a shower. You are itching to start the day, by the look of it.”

  The stores opened at ten. If we got there dead on that time, we could meet the driver there. I looked in the wardrobe again and decided I would as usual wear black pants with a black shirt. Simple and decent. I wasn’t into stress- shopping. That was my style and I wasn’t going to change it. Today Marie and I breakfasted at Starbucks. “Should I come Oli, or would you prefer to go alone?”

  I shrugged. “Why not? If we get into too much detail, you can always leave again. Thank goodness for the Wi-Fi here, I need to call mom. Think about it, Marie. I’ve nothing to hide.”

  I rang mom and told her the story. She thought it was both unbelievable and also fantastic, but she did warn me to take care. She wanted to know how it went.

  “Ok mom is done. I just have to sort out Aristo now. What I would really like to do is bring him here.”

  “Oli, do you think that is a good idea?”

  “I would feel better if he was here.”

  “And I think you see something in him that he isn’t. He is not your lover.”

  “But he is my Brain-twin.”

  “I am not going there. I think there is more to it than you are admitting.” Marie implied that I thought more of Aristo than just the little brother that I had never had. And of course, he could be. Aristo was an unbelievably good-looking guy and twenty years younger than me. However, we were just on a mutual wavelength and apart from the fact that I was not the sporty type, no-one noticed the difference in ages. Well perhaps when you looked at my wrinkles – I can’t judge that. But I did like to have him around and when a gay guy is continually in the company of a younger, fitter guy, people will speculate. I did too, now and then. If Aristo had been gay, I would have snapped him up straight away. But he wasn’t, and I respected that.

  We paid and went. The Jag stood in front of the hotel and the driver was waiting for us and enjoying the sunlight beside it. The journey to the office was shorter than yesterday and we were soon there in front of the main offices of JB Homes, a tidy, corner office block, with blue, mirrored windows about ten stories high. Towering above the other, mostly two story, buildings in the vicinity, it gave you a strong sense of the eighties. It didn’t inspire fear, but did look like a regular, professional building.

  After giving my name to the reception we were guided to the elevator and up to the 15th story, and into a conference room where Ad sat with four men at a long, oval, wooden conference table on black leather chairs. The light from the front of the building fell onto a long dresser with pictures of houses above it.

  I wasn’t sure how I was feeling. On the one hand it felt a bit like an interview and on the other, I had no reason to worry, I was, after all, officially a tourist. But naturally I didn’t feel that relaxed. I had the feeling that this was going to be the opportunity of a lifetime.

  Ad introduced everyone. There were two lawyers, an assistant and Douglas, who Ad had mentioned before. He was a money man, an accountant and was looking after the airline at the moment.

  “Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” Everything was ready, everyone at the large table had a pile of documents in front of them. I sat next to Ad and the lawyer began.

  “Oliver, Californian American Airlines has been an independent company since 2013. At the moment it is just breaking even. That is to say there is a small profit, but it is negligible. It consists of a fleet of three Boeing 737-800 airplanes and flies in the middle price range to Dallas, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, Sacramento and Houston. You will find the figures in the papers in front of you. Douglas is acting director presently. The company is based on the sixth floor for the time being. There are – Douglas, how many? Four employees? Yes, four members of staff, who look after technology, booking, sales and customer relations. A lot of tasks are outsourced to JB Homes as we have a bigger infrastructure, which the smaller company can’t yet afford. We host the website, the advertising, the accounting and so on. It has a turnover of about 3.8 Million Dollars. There are no branches. The planes are leased.”

  Ad looked at me with a certain triumph in his eyes awaiting my acknowledgement. I sat quite still for a moment but knew that something was expected of me. “Where’s the catch?” I directed my question at Ad.

  “The catch, Oliver. The catch is that we won’t be able to move forwards in this condition. Of course, we can’t. You can’t do a lot with 3.8 Million. You need at least 30 Million to lease another plane. At least as security. We could provide you with the security for that, if needed. To do this you will need some sort of concept of how to manage the airline. Maybe three planes are enough for you and you don’t want to expand? Maybe you are thinking of competing for American Airlines or even Delta’s place in the industry? You have to have a vision and a concept then we can work out where we are going from here. So you see, I am making you a serious offer. What do you think?”

  “To be honest I am bowled over. I would like to know more about the company. I want to meet the staff and fly incognito at least once so that I know what I am dealing with.”

  Ad patted me on the shoulder. “Good man! You can’t take the figures with you, and you will meet the staff later. I think we should have a private chat now in my office. The rest of you can take a half hour break.”

  Ad stood and walked out. I followed. Once in his office he shut the door. “I see wonder and doubt, Oliver.” I sat in one of the two grey chairs front of his imposing cherry wood desk. Ad perched on the edge.

  “Of course, I have doubts, any sane man would have.”

  “Oliver, have you got any ideas yet?”

  “Oh yes, I can imagine how I would like it to be. I would like the airline to grow big but grow in style too. With good seats, good food and with reasonable pricing. I don’t want a cheap airline, but not an expensive one either. You should get the impression that you are looked after. That’s what I am thinking at the moment.”

  “I knew we would get along. And the ‘but’?

  “You said it yourself, you can’t do a lot with 3 million. I will have to work out how to bring that to fruition. I still have to know a lot more about it. I am still an air industry newcomer and a holiday maker.”

  “Oliver, here’s what I suggest: You get a year’s salary as a starting bonus and then again at the end of the year. You buy the company from me at 3.8 Million Dollar and take over its commitments. You get the 3.8 Million from me and you just walk into the company. That sorts out the requirements of your green-card that you will need. The airline also has a couple of real estate assets that I am going to have to sign over to JB Homes. You should have a look at one, it’s in Hollywood. I was going to make that the house of the CEO. If you like it, I may well leave it in the firm. There is another in Venice, an office block that needs a bit of TLC. That was going to be the headquarters. You should have a look at that too. And there are two Mercedes Sprinter vans and the Jaguar. Jose the driver isn’t in the inventory and I’ll need him myself, Oliver. Do you think you will manage on $200,000? For the first year? Will that get you settled here?”

  “Will that get me settled here?” I laughed. I had never earnt so much!

  “Ok, good. $300,000 but no more. You are here to work! I suggest you give us a few signatures and your documents, so that we can get moving on the legalities. I will get the keys to the real estate sent up and you can have a look at it all. I will book a flight to Las Vegas for you and Marie on Friday to fly incognito. Tomorrow you can sit down with Doug and go through all the details. Is it a deal?”

  “And you don’t want anything from me? No payment?” I was completely overwhelmed, and my hands were damp. Had I had the
wool pulled over my eyes?

  “Make me proud and make my dream a reality. That’s my payment.” I looked out of the window and thought hard. I didn’t have to invest anything myself. If it failed, I could say I had tried. I took a deep breath and answered.

  “I have better things to do than throw away chances like that. We have a deal!”

  We shook hands then went out into the corridor. Ad said I should go in, he would follow in a moment.

  Marie was chatting to the lawyers. Doug and the assistant had gone already.

  “And? Did you sign?”, asked Marie.

  “We shook hands. I think I’ll have a mountain of signatures to give away in the coming days.” I got out my wallet and pushed my passport, driver’s license and credit card over the table to the lawyers.

  “And we have a little program of our own. We can give the car back today, then we’ll go out to Venice and Hollywood. Tomorrow I have to be here the whole day and then we fly incognito to Las Vegas.”

  “Oh lovely! That sounds great. I’ll go shopping tomorrow then.” Marie said.

  An assistant was called in and took my documents, which had been thoroughly examined.

  We looked out of the window and waited for Ad. I was really excited. If Daniel only knew what was happening here. I had once created an online firm with my pal Daniel and ran a simulated airline for years. It was bound to be different in real life! It still seemed very unreal to me.

  Ad came in with his secretary and said the first thing to do was to get an assistant. That was important. If I wanted, I could have a few applications from HR tomorrow.

  The secretary handed me a bag of keys.

  “Those are the keys for Venice and Hollywood. And this one here is the key of the company car.”

  Ah, ok, that’s how quick it is to get rid of a chauffeur, I smiled inwardly at my own arrogance. I really did get a mountain of paperwork to sign: private health care insurance; car insurance; letters of attorney for the lawyers; application papers for the authorities; banks; insurances; charter papers for the company all of which I should read through in my own time. A blackberry; a security card for the JB Homes building; a company credit card, … and the list went on.