“You’d taken your business as far as you could before you would start attracting attention, which would mean competition. It won’t be long until the larger wealth-management companies begin to copy us. You needed someone like me to take your idea national,” Grace said.
“What about the drone company?” I asked.
“They’re only in the beginning stages. Frankly, if you hadn’t brought me this idea, I would have passed. You must realize that I’m an old lady, and the technology isn’t something I’m familiar with,” she said and then looked at me askance. “You could’ve objected to the ‘old lady’ comment.”
“Don’t take it personally. After all, Phyllis seems old to me.”
“Fine,” she said and got back on topic. “When I had my people dig into it, we found this is an emerging technology that’s starting to insert itself into our lives. I foresee a lot of innovation will occur over the next few years. Not so long ago, the idea of a device that could be carried with you that connected you to the world was science fiction. Now, we have tablets and phones that do just that.”
“So, you think drones are the next tablet?” I asked.
“Maybe not on that scale, but we’ve only scratched the surface of all that they’ll do in the future. In ten years, people will wonder how they lived without them,” she predicted.
“Does that mean you expect Mr. Buchanan will help lead that change?” I asked.
“Probably not, but I wouldn’t bet against Dare being a key player. Right now, Mr. Buchanan is his best option to get started with the limitation you put on me. I could have sold this to a company tied to the military without a problem. We can all make a little money and see where it goes.
“Then again, it could fail. The key to failure is learning from it. Either way, Dare will have learned something important,” Grace shared.
“Quick question: if Carl isn’t the guy to lead the change, why not go with someone who can?” I asked.
“Because Carl Buchanan is the son of Brian Buchanan. I bet you’ve heard of BB Security Systems.”
“Aren’t they the guys who advertise wireless home security systems you can install yourself?” I asked.
“That’s the company.”
“Why didn’t we go directly to them instead?” I asked.
“Because that innovative system has them in court right now. It seems they took a meeting with someone, like this one with Dare, turned that person down, and then went back and reverse-engineered it to get their current product.”
“What’s to stop Carl from doing the same?”
“My involvement and money. Carl understands that my help is contingent on him treating Dare right. I also have the resources to go up against his father if and when we sell the drone idea to someone like his father’s company,” Grace said. That eased my mind.
“Did you want me to share in that risk?” I asked.
“Would you say Dare has a good idea that he’s passionate about?” Grace asked to bring the conversation back full circle.
“That would be an emphatic ‘yes.’ The kid is all about drones,” I said.
“In that case, you must ask yourself, do you
“I don’t even have to think about it.”
“When you can say that, then you put your money in and follow up to make sure the people you’re backing don’t lose it. That’s why you have me involved, if you hadn’t figured it out yet,” Grace said with a smile.
“You make a key point. If I gave Dare a blank check, he could burn through a lot of money without even trying. I don’t know Mr. Buchanan, but I do know you. Have your people talk to mine, and we’ll work it out.”
She laughed.
“You’re learning,” she said and became serious. “David, I like you. I want to talk to you about a few things before you leave this weekend. Why don’t the two of us have dinner tonight so we can do that?”
I agreed, and we had Phyllis bring in the NDAs. We joined everyone as Dare was showing off everything the drones could do.
“We need someone to act as an intruder,” Fritz said as he looked at me.
“I’ll be inside.”
I could tell when I wasn’t needed. While I was interested in the business opportunity, I certainly didn’t want a drone planted in the back of my head.
◊◊◊
After Dare agreed to work with Mr. Buchanan, I went for a run to absorb everything Grace had told me.
When I came back, I saw a sporty cherry-red two-door BMW parked in Brook’s drive with top-40 music blaring. Sitting in the front seat, with the driver’s window rolled down, was a girl with curly light-blond hair. Her arm hung out the window as she patted the side of the car to the song’s beat.
I smiled when I heard her singing with the music. I loved to people-watch when the person being watched thought they were hidden from the world. Right now, she imagined she was a rock star as she belted out the song, slightly off-key.
