Lyza's Story: Book One of The Lane Trilogy. Vicki Inc. Andree

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      Lyza sipped her champagne as her eyes stared into the space between them. “I’d love to do about a hundred more deals like that one in Germany.”

      Leesa tilted her head. “What do you mean by that?”

      Lyza took a bite of her fish. “Oh, never mind. Let’s talk about your deal.”

      Their conversation went on all evening. They talked about their deals, the office, and shopping. Finally, the restaurant emptied, and the twins prepared to leave. After their two bottles of champagne, Lyza decided they should take a taxi back. Cook could send the butler to pick up the car in the morning. Once in the taxi, they leaned back on the seat and closed their eyes.

      “We should do a shopping trip,” Leesa suggested sleepily. “Let’s take the week off and go to Paris or New York and find something to wear to the benefit. I’ll cancel the Monday morning meeting. What do you think?”

      Lyza looked over at Leesa. “What a great idea. I’m all for it.”

      Then Lyza watched Leesa’s eyes reluctantly close again. Her rhythmic breathing deepened.

      “Okay, then—Paris,” Lyza whispered to herself.

      Chapter Three

      Chuck O’Malley dreamed of retiring early. It had become an obsession. My entire life revolves around this job. There’s got to be more to life. I’m sick of the meaningless everyday grind. I need a change. God, let me find something to be passionate about. I’m not a religious man, but I know you could help me if you wanted to. Everyone in the office had left, but Chuck worked late again. Exasperated, he threw his pen at the wall and shouted into the empty office, “I want a life!”

      The past two years, he had thought up scheme after scheme to get out of IBM and into the world. If I had the money, I would be gone in less than an instant. They were dreams. He never acted on any of them.

      His father had teased him when he was in high school. “You and your buddies don’t do anything but hang out at the computer lab. Don’t you know your classmates call you guys nerds? How are you going to meet girls? You should go out for football or track or something physical.”

      Chuck didn’t care about names. “Guess what, Dad? I like being a nerd. Those other kids waste time hanging out at the mall. Bits and bytes are far more interesting than giggly girls and airheaded cheerleaders.”

      His father scoffed. “Oh, yeah, bits and bytes. What on Earth does that mean?”

      Chuck tried to explain. “Computers speak bits and bytes. To get them to do something new and different, I have to speak bits and bytes, too. Think of it this way, Dad. You don’t have to be an electrician to enjoy toast from a toaster, but you have to know electronics to design a better toaster. Computers are going to do more and more over time. Do you remember when an office full of noisy typewriters meant they were doing a lot of business? I’ve seen it in old movies.”

      His father put down the newspaper he’d been reading. “I remember the IBM Selectric. I loved it because when you hit backspace, it would lift the error right off the page.”

      Chuck went on to prove his point. “Now no one hears typing in an office. If you did, you would know they were obsolete, and you wouldn’t want to do business with them. My teacher told me about that IBM Selectric. What used to be done mechanically is now done digitally. We all laughed when my teacher said that the IBM Selectric, like the pony express, enjoyed a short history.”

      Chuck’s father shrugged. “Okay, you may know the future like all teenagers, but life is more than bits and bytes.”

      When he got out of graduate school with a 4.0 average, Chuck landed a good job at IBM and ended up in Poughkeepsie, New York.

      His proud dad often bragged. “My son works for IBM. He’s really smart and I taught him everything he knows.”

      One day, a buck slip with a memo attached arrived at Chuck’s desk with an interesting message:

      IBM is opening a branch in Australia and is looking for fast track career-oriented men and women to jump-start IBM Australia. We need customer engineers, salesmen, managers, and system programmers. Contact Human Resources for more information.

      IBM needed people to train new programmers for the Australian offices. The pay was much more than he currently made, so Chuck filled out the necessary paperwork.

      Within the week, his manager called him to his office. “Chuck, you requested a transfer last week and I received the notice this morning. Pack your bags. You’re going to Australia.”

      Chuck was speechless. “I—I don’t know what to say.”

      His manager gave him a brilliant smile. “You don’t need to say anything. This is a great opportunity for you, and I know you’ll do an excellent job.”

      Still stunned, Chuck managed to choke out a few words. “I didn’t think it would go through.”

      His boss stuck out his hand. “Well, your application has been accepted, and you’ve got two weeks to check in with your new supervisor. Congratulations. We’re going to miss you.”

      Chuck regained his composure, straightened, and shook his hand. “Thank you, sir. I’ve enjoyed working for you.”

      He sold everything he couldn’t take on the plane and left for Sydney, Australia exactly ten days from that meeting.

      Flying into Sydney, Chuck found himself strongly attracted by the aerial view of the famous opera house. He found an apartment near the office and immersed himself in his work. In a few short years, he had trained enough eager programmers to ensure proper service for IBM accounts in Sydney and transferred to Brisbane.

      “O’Malley?” coworkers would say. “You can depend on him. He’s a dedicated and loyal IBMer. In fact, he borders on genius and uses his creativity to better the company. You can tell he loves it here.”

      Chuck loved his work, but little did they know that he longed to break out of the corporate world. He dreamed and schemed between projects. If I could find a way out of here, I would leave in a New York minute. It boils down to money. I can’t leave and still enjoy this income. He reconciled himself to the fact that he probably would stay right where he was and never get out of IBM.

      He decided to take night classes at the local university for a diversion. Desiring something foreign to programming and computers, he chose geology. He thought studying rocks would get him out into the countryside and force him to see more of Australia than the cities and tourist traps. He was right. He found himself out in the Australian bush… and he loved it. Then he met George.

      ***

      The Malibu Club events coordinator followed Lana Lane around the newest facility on Malibu Beach.

      “Mrs. Lane, you have exquisite taste. This is the most exclusive venue in the area.”

      Lana Lane’s nose went up. “Even so, it will be necessary to make a few small changes in the décor for the Save the Orchids benefit. The drapes need to be changed out from these royal blue linens to forest-green silks with imprints of palm trees and hanging СКАЧАТЬ