Chapter 11

November 4, 2025

“Sean, I have a Mr. Kirkwood on line two. Shall I transfer him?” Asked Mrs. Talbot, Sean’s fifty-something year old personal assistant.

“Yes, thank-you.” Sean answered.

“Hello, this is Mr. Mallory, how can I help you Mr. Kirkwood.”

“Sean, I would like to invite you to a business lunch, just you and me, this afternoon, say about 1:00. Is that a good time for you? If not, when would be a better time? I know you are a busy man these days.”

“I think I can arrange that. Where would you like to meet?”

“I’ll have my driver pick you up, and drive you to The Cattle Company Steakhouse”

“All right, I’ll be ready.”

This much was true; he was a very busy person these days. The wedding was scheduled for Saturday. Finally, after six months of planning, everything was coming together. Sometimes he wished he’d just asked Brooke to elope and be done with it. But, he knew there were too many people that would require an explanation. He had been putting in 12 hour days, six days a week since he took over and he was looking forward to the honeymoon, simply because of the vacation it would offer. This lunch with Mr. Kirkwood was a good excuse to get out of the office.

“Mrs. Talbot, I’ll be out of the office this afternoon I have a lunch appointment with Mr. Kirkwood.” He needed the rest of the afternoon off so he could get fitted for his tuxedo; he would be wearing on Saturday. He kept thinking one more day and I’ll be with her forever, nothing will else matters, just her.

He got to the front of the office building and was met by Mr. Kirkwood’s driver. The driver came to a stop, and opened the door for him. Sean got into the back seat and was met by Mr. Kirkwood. “Good- afternoon Sean. How is everything coming with the wedding plans? All right I hope. Are you getting nervous?”

Sean answered, “Everything is coming together smoothly, and that no, I’m not getting cold feet, but yes, I am just a little nervous.”

“Well said,” Kirkwood responded, “There isn’t a groom in the history of man that hasn’t felt the same way. Now then, how about going to lunch? Driver, to the restaurant please.” Kirkwood bellowed.

Sean thought to himself during the drive across town. I wonder what this is all about; certainly it’s not just about Saturday. There is another angle here I just know it. He continued to think. Mr. Kirkwood never let his guard down for a second.

They arrived at the restaurant, and were shown to their table. They ordered drinks from the bar and then ordered lunch. The meal was going well, and just before dessert, Mr. Kirkwood made an announcement that would change Sean’s life forever.

“I’ve decided to tell you what it is I am giving you for a wedding present.” Kirkwood announced.

You don’t need to do that I can wait another day, besides as far as I am concerned you have given me the best gift in the world, your daughter. She is all I could ever want sir. Sean replied honesty. “I love her more than I could ever love anyone else.

Well, I am going to tell what your present is anyhow; I am going to buy Whitten Inc. from you, I am going to pay for the deal in stock with a small cash incentive plus assume your company’s debt.

“Excuse me!” Sean said, nearly choking on some water that he’d been drinking. “I thought I just heard you say, you were going to purchase my company.”

“Yes, I did say that”

“Sorry I have to inform you Whitten Inc. is not for sale, now or ever.” Sean replied coldly.

“I think you are misjudging me.” Kirkwood answered cautiously. “I aim to merge the two companies. The reason I am offering stock instead of cash is because I can then choose you as my successor with little or no trouble from the board of directors. After all you already own a 10 percent block of LDC stock. That, plus the amount of stock that would come from the sale of your company would make you the largest shareholder of the largest company in the world. That alone should virtually guarantee you to be the new CEO and President. I would be able retire from the day to day running of the company, but could remain on as Chairman of the Board Emeritus. Of course you realize by marrying my daughter you will also be jointly inheriting Brooke’s part of my estate. And eventually you would have control of the entire company. I personally own 30 percent of Lunar Development Corp. That would be left to Brooke and you. The sale of your company would give you another 10 -15 percent block of stock. That would give you 50-55 percent of the largest company on the planet. I sure you can understand what that would be worth in terms of dollars and cents young man”

Sean was stunned into silence. He sat there looking at Mr. Kirkwood, unable to say a word. Then his wits slowly returned to him. “Are you trying to tell me that, you are buying me out in an attempt to hand over LDC to me?”

“In a sense yes, but that is not the entire reason”

“What then is the entire reason this offer, you’re not known for your generosity, and believe me this is very generous. I have only one question what if I refuse?”

“Why would you refuse? As you already stated it is a very generous offer. In fact so generous you’ll be a very wealthy man.”

“I’m already a very wealthy man and a very lucky one, very few men get to own their own company and command their own destiny, and of course your daughter makes me feel like the luckiest man on the planet. However, getting back to this offer, I can not just give you an answer. I would need to talk to the board, they would need to vote, then the shareholders would have to approve of such a move, surely you realize that, and as I stated Whitten Inc. is not for sale. I need a better reason to sell than money.”

“All right the truth of the matter is I must retire for health reasons, I wanted to have someone with vision and fire to take my place. I want to have someone like you, strong willed and headstrong, determined to be the best at what they do, to run LDC. I remember when you worked for me and how much you volunteered to take on every assignment that no one else wanted you would have been a vice president before you were forty, if you stayed with us. But fate decided to thrust greatness upon you sooner. So again fate is knocking at your door. Answer that knock and step through to the other side, or will you ignore the chance, to choose the course of your life, whatever direction it leads you in?”

“I am honored by your flattery, but even if I could just make the decision myself, I’m not qualified to run LDC.”

“Why not you already run a corporation yourself. Why wouldn’t you be qualified for a bigger corporation?”

“However, we still have not got to the central issue of why and more importantly why me, I am sure there are many within your company who meet your approval, and criteria, to run LDC. I want your assurance that this is not just because I’m marrying your daughter, because if it is, I’ll not even think of selling. I also don’t want to be a lackey. I am not a ‘yes man’. If I agree to this, and can convince the board and shareholders, that this is a good deal, I will. But I am to run the combined company. I expect complete control over day to day operations and complete independence from you as well. I get to run the show the way I see fit. It’s that or no deal, understand?”

Mr. Kirkwood laughed, then said, “See what I mean fire, spirit, exactly what the job needs you haven’t even taken over yet and you’re giving orders I love it. You have a deal young man.”

After lunch Sean had a million things to do, the least of which was worry about what had just happened with Mr. Kirkwood. The first Item on the list was getting fitted for his tuxedo. He called the office and asked for his driver to meet him at the restaurant, and take him to The Tux Shop on Main Street. Although its name seemed plain, the shop was very upscale. Sean just stared out the window of the limo. He still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the proposal set forth by Mr. Kirkwood, although on its face, it appeared to be a genuine offer for a merger. He sat there thinking of any other reason for the offer then what was offered. He couldn’t come up with one. That was almost as troubling as the offer itself, surely Mr. Kirkwood had hand picked a successor in the past. If not, why. If so, who was no longer in Chester’s good graces, and more to the point now was going to become a new enemy?

That was a new concept for Sean; enemies were not something he was used to looking for. He may not have a host of friends in his life, but he really never thought as though there may people who hated him, that is until he took over Whitten’s company. That is the first time he found out there were people who hated him. That is when he found out he had enemies. Mostly they were kooks, they mailed threatening letters, they called and hung up, minor things. Then there were the protesters, they thought that that living on the moon was immoral, and used the meteor, as proof of God’s displeasure, he was going to destroy the “Loonies”, a term they used because of Lunar Estates, the name of the Colony. The protesters mostly were non-violent, but they could get rowdy. They protested him because he was a supplier to LDC and he was a board member.

That was another issue. This seemed very ill timed, the meteor, which was known worldwide was going to destroy that colony, unless some one could come up with a plan to stop it. That would become his headache now if he took control of the company. He still remembered the absolute shock he felt when he learned for the first time about the meteor; he couldn’t eat for three days he was so shook by it. The real problems began when the media got involved with it. They turned it into the “Doomsday Meteor” and ran a month long report on the cataclysmic results, most of which were based on marginal scientific study and a lot of Hollywood hype. They gave predictions of so-called “safe zones” areas where it would be livable after the strike. He didn’t put a lot of faith into those “safe zones”, but he had looked at some real estate in the some of those areas, of course the prices were skyrocketing. The median price for a medium sized house with a small yard was $1,250,000. This was only ten times its actual worth. And the bigger the house and the bigger the yard the bigger the multiple, he personally saw a house that in any other location, would maybe have an asking price of 300,000 tops, it was going for 6,250,000.

Sean finally brought his attention back to the car only to discover that they were very near their destination. The car pulled up to the Tux Shop and Sean got out and went in to get fitted for his tux. You can find adventure in many different forms. Sean found one in getting fitted for a tux. He liked being rich; people went out of their way to make sure you were satisfied with the service, the fit, and the pampering that the average person did not receive. The adventure took an hour and a half to complete, but it was well worth the time. The tuxedo was a perfect fit and it was styled after the Robber Barons of the late 19th century, complete with tails and top hat. On Sean, the look worked incredibly well.

After finishing his fitting, Sean went shopping for the perfect wedding present for Brooke. After several shops, and countless ideas, the perfect gift revealed itself to Sean. There in a pet store was a kitten. It looked like a little white fluff ball. It had soulful blue eyes that seemed to ask, “Would you please, take me home with you?” Sean went into the store and purchased him immediately.

He put the kitten into a newly purchased pet carrier and put him into the car. Then brought him home to his apartment. He was ready for tomorrow, and for the rest of his life, as long as it included Brooke Kirkwood. It was getting dark, so he decided to call it a night and go to bed.

The Alarm clock screamed out its alert, Sean awoke with a jolt. He looked at the time; it was 5:30 AM, and in his tired state, he had forgotten to change it, so he got up. At least he would avoid the old cliché of the groom being late to the church. He never understood how anybody could be late for a wedding, if they were really in love. It seemed an ill omen for the rest of the marriage. He showered and shaved and then logged onto the newspaper for the early edition of the Houston Dispatch, and the New York Times, to get caught up with current news. He double-checked the reservations and repacked his suitcases, and then got breakfast.

He decided to call Brooke and say good morning, he usually called her from his office before his day got hectic. When he called she said it was bad luck for the groom to contact the bride before the wedding ceremony, he said that was superstitious and besides it was bad luck to see the bride not talk to her on the phone. That’s when he remembered, Brooke really wasn’t a morning person. She told him she loved him very much, but she was very busy and that she needed to get back to getting ready; and then said she’d see him at the church.