Ross was able to get Tim's routine work done and out by Friday.
He went home, collapsed into bed with Kayley, and the couple spent the weekend in their town, and close to home.
"Kale, I would like if it is okay with you, to get out of here at a decent hour on Sunday, so I can get to OKC, have dinner, rest, and then see what's up? I had told the office that I would be away for the week, but you know that with you not with me, I wont do that. I will be home by the time you get home from school on Wednesday, so that even if I sleep over the third night on Tuesday, you only really lose me for two full days that you are home, okay?" Ross said.
Kayley kissed Ross. "Yes, Mister Marketing Student, that is fine"
Ross called Fritz. "Mister P, do you want us to have dinner Sunday night when I get there, or just make meetings on Monday? I do not want to interrupt your weekend, and yet I don t want to leave Kayley all day on Sunday. Thus, I will leave it your choice for dinner Sunday. What do you say?" Ross asked.
"Please make the flight not too late, like, you are in your hotel by seven to eight our time. Call me, and depending, we will either meet, or just talk on the phone then, and then go about Monday as it comes. I know that you want to leave very early Wednesday, so that really only gives us two full days" Fritz said.
"What I see that we have to do is this, I think. See if there is any way to find an alternate real estate project, or, figure out if and how big of an oil deal we want to do. We can do something more rapidly just to get something done, or, plan something larger, which will require more time. We will talk about it and see " Fritz said.
Ross got on the plane to OKC mid afternoon on Sunday. He landed, went to his hotel, called Fritz, and Fritz and Ross met for dinner. Steve was busy that Sunday with a family obligation, but of course would join Ross and Fritz for discussion at the office on Monday.
"Okay, Fritz. Bottom line, I was really thinking about it, if it is okay with you and Steve, considering how well we work together, I really think it unwise to beat ourselves up about something we cannot control like the zoning commission. It seems like we would be wasting time with lawsuits, appeals, hearings, and all of that, time we could spend much better by doing something that we know can make money. So, I have two thoughts. Small Oil and Gas deal of a size we agree on, maybe another development in an area we know they cant challenge it, or both?" Ross said.
"Welllll now that you mention it. I was talking to a guy who is a lawyer who specializes in zoning laws. I told this man that one of my equal business partners comes down to see us often, but lives in New York, and runs his own major firm. We can get a meeting with this man, throw the situation on the table, and see if we have any legal recourse. I'm just as ticked off as you are. I wanted us to do a housing or land deal to have some variety, and since you know Steve's specialization is land. We've all but taken away that from him with all of our oil and gas deals. All he is really doing is to assist and survey where to drill. " Fritz said.
"Okay, well, when you want, call this guy, and we talk to him while I'm here. We will be happy to make some cash from an oil deal, so that we dont beat ourselves up about something we cannot control" Ross said.
Ross went back to his hotel, and called Kayley. "Just about ready to call it a night. What goes on down there?" Kayley said.
"We are figuring out the size of an oil and gas deal, and also are working on what land and or building development to do if possible. Fritz knows my time limit. You know that I will not stay here any longer than I will be there when you get home from school on Wednesday. No office, or tricks, right to the apartment when my plane lands, will call office to check messages, and when you get home, I'm with you for that night for whatever, and I do mean whatever you want to do, okay, teacher?" Ross said.
"Ross, please just take care of yourself. I know that you, Fritz and Steve are discussing business down there, but also consider it a break from the office, and what just happened with Tim. His work is done for 30 days, you are away from the office, relax your brain" Kayley said.
Ross slept fairly well that night. The next day, Ross went to the office and met with first, Steve and Fritz. "Ross, the meeting with my lawyer friend is tomorrow. We will worry about that when it comes. For today, I suggest that the most productive way to spend our time is to plan an oil deal, try to see what size and how and when we can do it,. Also, we can tentatively discuss what else we might do, if the situation with talking to the lawyer does not pan out in our favor, to just have a tentative plan" Fritz said.
"Well, we discussed an oil deal. So , my question is this. It seems like a deal of ten is too little, and say, twenty five or thirty might be too large, and would take too long to put together. Would, fifteen to eighteen, with a maximum of twenty, be okay, so this way, we could do something decent, which does not take a long time to show to the investors, and get off the ground?" Ross proposed.
"That would be fine. Tell you what, let me go through my list of all the people we might approach, start calling, and see. Let's see if we can meet with any of them before you leave.. Or if not, set up a conference call with people even if you have to go back to New York" Fritz said.
Fritz spent that day calling potential investors. Fritz sent potential papers for investment size FedEx to these people, that would arrive Tuesday morning. The meeting with Fritz'z lawyer friend would last one to two hours for lunch around 1 pm Tuesday. Once that was over, they would be able to spend Ross's last less than 24 hours trying to approach O and G investors, and discussing any possible alternate land deals and sites.
Much was going on,. More than usual. Even though Ross was away from New York, and the office, the wheels were spinning, and where would it all settle down?
Fritz's ;lawyer friend, it turned out, had a cancellation in his schedule. Thus, he was able to meet with Ross, Fritz and Steve for dinner at a reasonable hour on Monday night.
"Gentlemen. It is good to have this meeting. Ross, it is nice to meet you. " The lawyer said, shaking Ross's hand.
Then the men got down to business.
"Okay, well, Fritz, explained the problem you guys have. I understand that you want to build a housing development that is not very large. The problem is that you ate not just dealing with residents. The zoning commission could make your lives a living Hell with discussing approval for the projects, licensing, approving lawsuits against you guys or dragging things out with political jargon. You might win, but you might spend a lot of time, and a lot of money with me trying to deal with it for you. Unless you have your hearts set on building here. My advice. We file one challenge, if it is rejected by the courts, drop it and immediately walk away and dont fight it anymore. " The lawyer advised.
"Okay, tell you what, we wlll file the challenge, and then quietly look for another site in case the court throws the challenge out" Fritz said.
When dinner was over, Fritz could see Ross was fighting it.
"Ross, please, make an early flight and go back to New York,. We did a lot down here today. Any investor for an oil deal we can do via Zoom or conference call. There seems little reason to stress yourself out for something that we do all the time. I dont know exactly what it is, but, I know you did a lot of work up there with and for Tim before you left. It will, be better for you to sleep in your own bed as opposed to a hotel bed. The meeting with the lawyer was the most important agenda, and we did that. We can look at alternate sites on the computer , that will take a while anyway" Fritz said.
Ross smiled. "Thanks, my friend. Kayley will appreciate being home with me a day early. Many things did happen the week I got here, and without getting into details because of course I cannot since it involves another client, I can just say that Tim and me discussed many things before I came down here, and some were very stressful. I'm glad we made some progress" Ross said.
Ross went back to the hotel,. made a flight and called Kayley. It was 11 pm New York time. Kayley was half dozing,. "Sorry I woke you. I will be home tomorrow when you get home from school. The business is done. We signed or committed some investors to the new oil deal, met with a lawyer to file challenges, on the housing deal we wanted to do, and are searching for an alternative site. On a scale of 1 to 10, this visit was about a 6, and that is better than nothing. " Ross said,
"Okay, baby. Glad something worked out. Will see you tomorrow hopefully when I get home. When you know your flight, either call me in the morning or text me" Kayley said.
Ross was able to get an 8 am flight out of OKC. He would land in New York in the early afternoon New York Time. He planned to go straight home, and not even call the office. Ross had a lot going on down there, and did not want the wheels turning on anymore.
Ross's flight was on time. He landed in New York with changeovers, close to 2 pm New York Time.
Kayley arrived home close to 4, discarded her shoes, and went into the bedroom to see Ross napping . Kayley lightly kissed Ross , who was napping slightly. "Hi" Ross said weakly.
"My Baby is home. Was it a worthwhile trip?" Kayley said, curling up next to Ross.
"Kale, let's just say that I talk about the craze of RossShell. Except for Tim's lawsuit, which is in the hands of good attorneys to represent us. What went on this week in OKC, was about the craziest trip I've ever had down there. We talked to potential investors about the new oil deal to distract us, filed challenges and responses to the stop lawsuit on the housing development problem, and spent time looking for a new site in case we lose the challenge, which is 50-50. " Ross said.
"You know what I'm going to recommend for tomorrow. No one even knows you're home except me" Kayley said.
"Oh, I will go in, but I will tell a small fib and tell them I got home early in the morning instead of today or very late tonight, and will be in at noon. As you said, I dont punch a time clock anyway. I feel this trip more than anything for the first time in a long time. Let me take a shower. If you want, we can walk down the street for dinner. I want to get out of here and look across the table at my beautiful wife, " Ross said.,
Ross got up, and showered, as Kayley changed, and they walked to Main Street in town. Vic called Ross's cell phone, but Ross texted Vic back and said he was in a meeting, would be home early in the morning, and would be in around noon. Ross had earned some quiet time with his wife.
Kayley knew Ross was tired, but she also knew he pushed himself to finish his business to get home to her one day early as he did not want to be away, and also because of his physical condition.
Ross still worked his ass off, but, instead of working seemingly constantly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he was trying to squeeze in the most effort in less time.
As Ross and Kayley got into bed that night, one had to wonder.
Had Ross's personality changed, where he was trying to make more of a home -work balance, both for himself, and for Kayley?
They say one's personality can never really "change," but it can be "altered" with effort.
Ross seemed to be trying to do this, and it remained to be seen if he could.
He went home, collapsed into bed with Kayley, and the couple spent the weekend in their town, and close to home.
"Kale, I would like if it is okay with you, to get out of here at a decent hour on Sunday, so I can get to OKC, have dinner, rest, and then see what's up? I had told the office that I would be away for the week, but you know that with you not with me, I wont do that. I will be home by the time you get home from school on Wednesday, so that even if I sleep over the third night on Tuesday, you only really lose me for two full days that you are home, okay?" Ross said.
Kayley kissed Ross. "Yes, Mister Marketing Student, that is fine"
Ross called Fritz. "Mister P, do you want us to have dinner Sunday night when I get there, or just make meetings on Monday? I do not want to interrupt your weekend, and yet I don t want to leave Kayley all day on Sunday. Thus, I will leave it your choice for dinner Sunday. What do you say?" Ross asked.
"Please make the flight not too late, like, you are in your hotel by seven to eight our time. Call me, and depending, we will either meet, or just talk on the phone then, and then go about Monday as it comes. I know that you want to leave very early Wednesday, so that really only gives us two full days" Fritz said.
"What I see that we have to do is this, I think. See if there is any way to find an alternate real estate project, or, figure out if and how big of an oil deal we want to do. We can do something more rapidly just to get something done, or, plan something larger, which will require more time. We will talk about it and see " Fritz said.
Ross got on the plane to OKC mid afternoon on Sunday. He landed, went to his hotel, called Fritz, and Fritz and Ross met for dinner. Steve was busy that Sunday with a family obligation, but of course would join Ross and Fritz for discussion at the office on Monday.
"Okay, Fritz. Bottom line, I was really thinking about it, if it is okay with you and Steve, considering how well we work together, I really think it unwise to beat ourselves up about something we cannot control like the zoning commission. It seems like we would be wasting time with lawsuits, appeals, hearings, and all of that, time we could spend much better by doing something that we know can make money. So, I have two thoughts. Small Oil and Gas deal of a size we agree on, maybe another development in an area we know they cant challenge it, or both?" Ross said.
"Welllll now that you mention it. I was talking to a guy who is a lawyer who specializes in zoning laws. I told this man that one of my equal business partners comes down to see us often, but lives in New York, and runs his own major firm. We can get a meeting with this man, throw the situation on the table, and see if we have any legal recourse. I'm just as ticked off as you are. I wanted us to do a housing or land deal to have some variety, and since you know Steve's specialization is land. We've all but taken away that from him with all of our oil and gas deals. All he is really doing is to assist and survey where to drill. " Fritz said.
"Okay, well, when you want, call this guy, and we talk to him while I'm here. We will be happy to make some cash from an oil deal, so that we dont beat ourselves up about something we cannot control" Ross said.
Ross went back to his hotel, and called Kayley. "Just about ready to call it a night. What goes on down there?" Kayley said.
"We are figuring out the size of an oil and gas deal, and also are working on what land and or building development to do if possible. Fritz knows my time limit. You know that I will not stay here any longer than I will be there when you get home from school on Wednesday. No office, or tricks, right to the apartment when my plane lands, will call office to check messages, and when you get home, I'm with you for that night for whatever, and I do mean whatever you want to do, okay, teacher?" Ross said.
"Ross, please just take care of yourself. I know that you, Fritz and Steve are discussing business down there, but also consider it a break from the office, and what just happened with Tim. His work is done for 30 days, you are away from the office, relax your brain" Kayley said.
Ross slept fairly well that night. The next day, Ross went to the office and met with first, Steve and Fritz. "Ross, the meeting with my lawyer friend is tomorrow. We will worry about that when it comes. For today, I suggest that the most productive way to spend our time is to plan an oil deal, try to see what size and how and when we can do it,. Also, we can tentatively discuss what else we might do, if the situation with talking to the lawyer does not pan out in our favor, to just have a tentative plan" Fritz said.
"Well, we discussed an oil deal. So , my question is this. It seems like a deal of ten is too little, and say, twenty five or thirty might be too large, and would take too long to put together. Would, fifteen to eighteen, with a maximum of twenty, be okay, so this way, we could do something decent, which does not take a long time to show to the investors, and get off the ground?" Ross proposed.
"That would be fine. Tell you what, let me go through my list of all the people we might approach, start calling, and see. Let's see if we can meet with any of them before you leave.. Or if not, set up a conference call with people even if you have to go back to New York" Fritz said.
Fritz spent that day calling potential investors. Fritz sent potential papers for investment size FedEx to these people, that would arrive Tuesday morning. The meeting with Fritz'z lawyer friend would last one to two hours for lunch around 1 pm Tuesday. Once that was over, they would be able to spend Ross's last less than 24 hours trying to approach O and G investors, and discussing any possible alternate land deals and sites.
Much was going on,. More than usual. Even though Ross was away from New York, and the office, the wheels were spinning, and where would it all settle down?
Fritz's ;lawyer friend, it turned out, had a cancellation in his schedule. Thus, he was able to meet with Ross, Fritz and Steve for dinner at a reasonable hour on Monday night.
"Gentlemen. It is good to have this meeting. Ross, it is nice to meet you. " The lawyer said, shaking Ross's hand.
Then the men got down to business.
"Okay, well, Fritz, explained the problem you guys have. I understand that you want to build a housing development that is not very large. The problem is that you ate not just dealing with residents. The zoning commission could make your lives a living Hell with discussing approval for the projects, licensing, approving lawsuits against you guys or dragging things out with political jargon. You might win, but you might spend a lot of time, and a lot of money with me trying to deal with it for you. Unless you have your hearts set on building here. My advice. We file one challenge, if it is rejected by the courts, drop it and immediately walk away and dont fight it anymore. " The lawyer advised.
"Okay, tell you what, we wlll file the challenge, and then quietly look for another site in case the court throws the challenge out" Fritz said.
When dinner was over, Fritz could see Ross was fighting it.
"Ross, please, make an early flight and go back to New York,. We did a lot down here today. Any investor for an oil deal we can do via Zoom or conference call. There seems little reason to stress yourself out for something that we do all the time. I dont know exactly what it is, but, I know you did a lot of work up there with and for Tim before you left. It will, be better for you to sleep in your own bed as opposed to a hotel bed. The meeting with the lawyer was the most important agenda, and we did that. We can look at alternate sites on the computer , that will take a while anyway" Fritz said.
Ross smiled. "Thanks, my friend. Kayley will appreciate being home with me a day early. Many things did happen the week I got here, and without getting into details because of course I cannot since it involves another client, I can just say that Tim and me discussed many things before I came down here, and some were very stressful. I'm glad we made some progress" Ross said.
Ross went back to the hotel,. made a flight and called Kayley. It was 11 pm New York time. Kayley was half dozing,. "Sorry I woke you. I will be home tomorrow when you get home from school. The business is done. We signed or committed some investors to the new oil deal, met with a lawyer to file challenges, on the housing deal we wanted to do, and are searching for an alternative site. On a scale of 1 to 10, this visit was about a 6, and that is better than nothing. " Ross said,
"Okay, baby. Glad something worked out. Will see you tomorrow hopefully when I get home. When you know your flight, either call me in the morning or text me" Kayley said.
Ross was able to get an 8 am flight out of OKC. He would land in New York in the early afternoon New York Time. He planned to go straight home, and not even call the office. Ross had a lot going on down there, and did not want the wheels turning on anymore.
Ross's flight was on time. He landed in New York with changeovers, close to 2 pm New York Time.
Kayley arrived home close to 4, discarded her shoes, and went into the bedroom to see Ross napping . Kayley lightly kissed Ross , who was napping slightly. "Hi" Ross said weakly.
"My Baby is home. Was it a worthwhile trip?" Kayley said, curling up next to Ross.
"Kale, let's just say that I talk about the craze of RossShell. Except for Tim's lawsuit, which is in the hands of good attorneys to represent us. What went on this week in OKC, was about the craziest trip I've ever had down there. We talked to potential investors about the new oil deal to distract us, filed challenges and responses to the stop lawsuit on the housing development problem, and spent time looking for a new site in case we lose the challenge, which is 50-50. " Ross said.
"You know what I'm going to recommend for tomorrow. No one even knows you're home except me" Kayley said.
"Oh, I will go in, but I will tell a small fib and tell them I got home early in the morning instead of today or very late tonight, and will be in at noon. As you said, I dont punch a time clock anyway. I feel this trip more than anything for the first time in a long time. Let me take a shower. If you want, we can walk down the street for dinner. I want to get out of here and look across the table at my beautiful wife, " Ross said.,
Ross got up, and showered, as Kayley changed, and they walked to Main Street in town. Vic called Ross's cell phone, but Ross texted Vic back and said he was in a meeting, would be home early in the morning, and would be in around noon. Ross had earned some quiet time with his wife.
Kayley knew Ross was tired, but she also knew he pushed himself to finish his business to get home to her one day early as he did not want to be away, and also because of his physical condition.
Ross still worked his ass off, but, instead of working seemingly constantly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he was trying to squeeze in the most effort in less time.
As Ross and Kayley got into bed that night, one had to wonder.
Had Ross's personality changed, where he was trying to make more of a home -work balance, both for himself, and for Kayley?
They say one's personality can never really "change," but it can be "altered" with effort.
Ross seemed to be trying to do this, and it remained to be seen if he could.
