Michael or Mac Ep. 10

"Jay, how's it going, my man?" I say. Shit, where did that come from? Not cool.

"Mac, good to see you," He replies, laughing.

"Where's that beautiful girl of yours?" I ask, expecting to see the two of them.

"Isabel is at work; I thought it would surprise her when you walk in," James says as his eyes look behind me. "Talking of beautiful girlfriends, Emma, it's a pleasure to meet you." He smoothly adds. Emma pushes past me and jumps into James's arms.

"Wow, you're bigger in real life, James," Emma says. Should I be jealous here? She turns to me. "Baby, this guy is solid," then she squeezes his bicep. I'm unsure, but I relax when I see he's as uncomfortable with compliments as I am.

"Great, shall we get going," James says. I think he's uncomfortable with the attention of a woman who's not Isabel. I like this guy more and more.

A large guy in a white shirt shows us a side exit to avoid the crowds. James tries to take Emma's case, but she gives him a try-it-buster look, and Jay backs off. Emma and I wheel our suitcases across a road. We must hurry or get run over; they are driving on the wrong side. We follow James into a parking lot. He walks toward an Audi and pops the trunk for us. Taking both Emma and my suitcases, he lifts them in and slams the trunk shut.

Driving into the city centre is strange. Everything looks so different. James points out the remains of the old city walls that existed way before America was discovered. Talking to Jay in person is as easy as on WhatsApp and Skype. I liked James from the first time we spoke because he talked to me as an equal. He's got this quiet confidence but isn't full of himself. He then warns us that our arrival will be a surprise to everyone other than Edward. Maybe I should take that last statement back.

We park outside a new-looking building and walk in, and the shocked look on the lady behind the desk greets us. I can see that Jay is enjoying himself as he talks to her.

"Lidia, can you ring Edward and tell him I'm back, and can I have the book to sign our clients in, please," James says.

I look at some of the buildings pictured around the wall. I recognize some of them, but then I see one of ours and call Emma to show her.

"Hello, Edward. James has told me to tell you he is back," the lady says, giving me a smile when I look in her direction. I hear a door open and someone coming down the stairs. Edward walks in, smiling and offering his hand.

"Mr. Carter," Edward says as he gets close and shakes my hand.

"Hello, Edward. It's good to meet you finally, but Mac is fine," I say in return. "This is my Girlfriend, Emma," I say, turning toward her.

"Pleasure to meet the girl behind the song," Edward says. "Shall we?" Edward indicates towards the stairs.

We start walking, and James stops Emma. "Edward, I'm just going to go and get Isabel," he says.

Edwards turns and looks at him. "James, you have a bit of a mean streak. You realize she will have a heart attack." He smiles, takes Emma by the hand, and they disappear in a different direction. "Don't worry, she couldn't be in safer hands," Edward says to me.

"I'm not worried, Edward. Amused at James's games, maybe."

"He is like a child with a new toy," Edward says as he leads me up a sweeping staircase. We walk into a large room with many chairs around a central table. "This is our monthly meeting room. I would normally take you to the boardroom, but I think you will want to see James's latest design, and the setup here has a lot better clarity." Edward explains. "Please, take a seat. Can I get you a drink? Coffee, tea, water, there's orange juice in the fridge?"

"Orange juice would be good," I reply.

"Jay tells me you're here to play Glastonbury. What's it like to perform in front of such a crowd?"

"This will be my largest audience, but if the Miley Cyrus concert I played at is anything to go by, it will be quite an experience. I'm choosing things that will stay with me for life," I say.

"I saw the Miley concert online. The Queen record "Bohemian Rapsody" sticks out. The atmosphere sounds electric," Edward says. He might be quite old, but this guy is quite cool.

We hear sounds of people talking and laughing coming along the corridor.

"There they are," Edward says. "Did you ask Natasha to join us?" He asks James when he appears at the door.

"Do we need the legals in on this?" I ask, thinking this was meant to be more of a social visit.

"Not for anything that we show you, but Natasha is my Olivia, and she will be able to go over what we see as hurdles for your planning application," Edward says. This should be interesting, another Olivia.

As James sets his laptop up, a guy walks in who must be a member of their team. "You were within a half of one percent," he says. Ah, he's been doing the double-checks on James's new design.

Edward turns to him. "What from?" Edward seems not to be as involved as I thought. James is better than I imagined.

"James's original calculation, Edward," the tech guy replies. Is that good?

"Wow, good job, James," Edward says. That answers that question.

"Right, Mac, if you don't mind. I will finish all the business now, so we're not rushed." James says, turning to me.

I nod and reply, "No problem, James," Everyone takes a seat around the table, and the screen on the wall comes to life. Emma sits forward; she takes a huge interest in anything related to me.

"Right, I won't go into the full design because that might change again in the summer." He says and then looks at Emma, who must have looked confused. "When I come to the States next month, I will survey the building and compare it to the plans. Very often, things are altered but have not been recorded. A new beam in the wrong place can play havoc on air-conditioning vents or sewage pipes." Emma mouths a thank you, and he continues. "We got your core samples back, and it's what we expected. The building is set on a mixture of shale and clay. Bedrock, though, varies between forty-two and fifty feet down. What I have proposed, and the tech guys have just confirmed, is that we sink pylons inside each pillar in the main building and repeat into the car park. They will sit on the bedrock and stabilize us to dig down for the underground car park. Normally, we would give a twenty-five percent buffer, but my calculations see a thirty-five percent safety buffer. With us sitting on bedrock, we can then reduce the size and weight of the footing; today's building costs will give you a seventy percent saving on the foundation. So, the idea is to drill down through each main pillar in the building. Before each drilling, we will dig out under that pillar so all material waste can be removed from below. Any question?" James asks as he finishes.

"You said there is a saving. Where does that come from?" I ask.

"We originally designed for a worst-case scenario, but because our foundation is no longer floating, we can reduce the thickness of the floor at the bottom. In this case, we have gone from two two-meter foundations to a one-and-a-half meter. This makes a lot of difference. I believe the cost of drilling would be less than the cost of excavation."

"Wow," is all I can say. "Do we know what causes the subsidence?"

"Yes, and again, you have been lucky. A small waterway has developed under the eastern part, but we believe we can channel that through. The plus side is that we can help the local authority by digging up the road before it collapses."

"Why is that a plus?" Emma asks.

"It gives us better access and makes our life a lot easier. We also score points with the authorities because that waterway will make a huge sinkhole one day. The alternative would be to dig under the main entrance from the parking area going through the existing foundation. That would be an extra eighty yards in your money."

"Oh," Emma says, smiling. "Have you got the new run through there? With the end of term and his trips to France, Mac hasn't had time to show me yet."

"I believe I saw you with Keira Knightly," Isabel says, nudging me.

"Yeah, we met on the Jimmy Falon show, and she said she would be my date for the film's premiere."

"We're going to London after to hang out with Adele after Glastonbury," Emma says. "You two are coming back with us next week, right?"

"Yes," Isabel says. "I'm looking forward to meeting Olivia," she adds.

"Oh, I love Olivia," Emma adds.

James coughs to get our attention. "Are you ready to watch the run-through? Mac, you might be interested in what I've done to the bottom two levels," he says. I nod; now he's interested me more in seeing what he's done. As he starts his computer simulation, silence spreads across the room, and we walk through the rotating doors at the front into the large reception area. I lean forward level with Emma. The entrance is now furnished with people sitting or standing, and shit, he's even put in the photos of past CEOs. I hear Emma gasp as she recognizes it from her trip. We then glide down a wide corridor toward the main auditorium. I am a little excited; I have asked him to make it more like something you would find in a university lecturing hall but to take up to five hundred people seated. The idea is that it doesn't matter if there are five or five hundred people. The place can accommodate, and people can hear just as well at the back or the front.

I take a deep breath as the main doors open. It's Emma that breaks the silence and says, "Wow."

"Wow, is right, Baby. Nice one, Jay, and you can still close it off from the main building?" I ask, now more infused.

"Yes, none of your original specs have changed," he says. As we get to the upper floors, the image is paused. "This is another thing you wouldn't have seen, Mac. I have done different layouts for each sector and will need to know what look you want or whether the individual sectors of C&W can choose. I got a lot of helpful feedback from several of your family members that helped me understand what people need." James explains and then continues, and I lean forward again as we walk around the offices. Some areas are more open, and others have a more sectional look. "A lot of this will also depend on the survey. Most foreseeable problems should affect the upper two floors."

The run-through ends with us exiting the building again, and everyone gets up to stretch or make themselves a drink. I get up and walk over to James. The guy is incredible; he seems to have made my dream a reality and improved it. "Once you've done the survey, how long until we get a final design?" I ask.

"I won't promise, but you should get the final spec to present to planning before I leave. A lot of the run-through is easily changed to suit, and the final plan should be on your desk long before you start in the new year." James replies.

Emma walks up to James. "Why so many plans?" She asks.

"The first plans will give the planning committee the information they need to grant permission. The final plan will have everything on, from wiring to where the toilets are. Planning doesn't need to see that; that will be down to the building inspector."

"Thanks, Jay; you always seem to tell me in a way I understand," Emma says, smiling at him.

"I think it's time for us to take a trip down the road for dinner," Edward says.

"Oh, that sounds great," Emma enthuses.

"Jay, when we're done, would you like to come to Glastonbury with us?"

James looks over at Isabel, and she pleads with her eyes for him to agree. "We don't have to travel to Cambridge until Sunday," he finally says.

"No problem. We can get you both back here after the gig; it's not much of a detour from London," I say, pleased they are coming.

He nods in acceptance of his fate, and there's an instant squeal from Emma and Isabel, which we both find funny and laugh.

We walk down the sidewalk, heading toward an Italian restaurant. It's strange to be in a country that is closely related to my own but so different. We approach a very authentic-looking Italian restaurant. I look into Emma's eyes, and she is looking very contented.

James leans into me just before we walk in. "This must be about the fifth time I've eaten here in the last couple of weeks." We walk through the door into a fantastic old style Italian restaurant. There's only a handful of people in there, but I guess the owners are waiting for us.

"It looks very authentic," Emma says. We sit next to James and Isabel, with the others sitting opposite. Emma leans forward. "Isabel, are we going to meet Sam today?"

Isabel looks to James for an answer. "Don't look at me," he says. He then looks around Emma and looks at me. "Do you want to see if she and Hannah can come with us to Glastonbury?"

Emma now turns to look at me expectantly. "Sure, I think we both want to meet Sam, but only tell her you are going to a concert; don't tell her who with and where," I say. One of the things Emma and I had discussed was we wanted to meet Sam. James and Isabel have told us about what she gets up to, and I think we need to see it to believe it.

James fishes in his pocket for his phone, and once unlocked, he finds Sam's contact details and rings her. Everyone's eyes at the table are on him. She answers on the second ring. "Hello, Munchkin, we've got a chance to go to a concert tonight. Want in?" He says.

Emma and I look at each other as if to say, "Christ, he does call her Munchkin."

Sam must have asked if her girlfriend, Hannah, is included in the invite because Jay answers, "Of course, we wouldn't leave her out." James adds, "We don't leave for Cambridge until Sunday, so you'll have Saturday to recover," to seal the deal.

There's a pause; I guess Sam is asking Hannah. She must have asked who Jay is going to see because he answers.

"It's someone who does covers, but he's very good. Isabel wants to go, and she won't go if you don't." Oh, nice touch. Guilt her into coming, but I suppose he isn't lying. There's another pause as James listens to whatever happens at the other end.

"We should be back by three-thirty and out by four-thirty. Don't forget we've got the keys to the house tomorrow afternoon. Dad's coming down to check everything is covered," James suddenly says.

It sounds like she said yes. Emma and I smile at each other; we will get to meet Sam.

Natasha, who's sitting opposite, says. "You all seem very pally. What gives?" I can see the similarities with Olivia.

"Since Jay won the competition, I have talked with Emma and Jay with Mac. We will be staying with them at Mac's ranch in West Virginia and have become good friends." Isabel says to her boss. As she says this, Isabel glances our way, and we nod in agreement. "When we are there, we will use our spare time to hang out and have a bit of a working holiday," she adds.

I'm having a great time. It has been a perfect distraction to take my mind off this evening's performance, and our meals are over far too quickly. As we make our way back, I feel relaxed as we walk back up the hill.

We settle in, and to my surprise, Isabel stands to do the legal side of the presentation. I guess she has done a lot of work on it with Olivia on this. It takes another hour to go through the possible pitfalls, and then we stop for a drink. I must admit, I am impressed.

We're talking to everyone in the room when Edward suggests, "Jay, why don't you and Isabel shoot off and go collect Sam. I'll look after our guests until you get back, and you can then leave together."

James and Isabel get their things together and make a quick exit. While they are gone, Edward gives us the ten cents tour and introduces us to some of the workers that have come into work. Apparently, like some of our workers, Edward doesn't expect his workers in unless there's a problem or it's their monthly meeting.

Emma mentions that it would be funny if we wear disguises when we walk out to the taxi when James returns.

We couldn't get a lot on short notice. One of the guys ran into the city centre and returned with joke glasses, a fake nose, a curly wig, and glasses for Emma.

We see the taxi pull up through the reception window. James had messaged he was on his way. We watch him get out of the taxi and run in. As he walks into reception, he has to double-take us in our disguises. "What's with the get-up," he says, beaming.

"Too much?" Emma says. "It's only until we get into the taxi," she adds.

We look at each other as Jay shakes his head. "You two are playing with a fireball. Sam is going to freak." At least he finds it funny. Edward has come down to say his goodbyes. We shake hands, and he wishes me luck.

After signing us out, James comes back to talk to his boss. "We will be in just before we leave next week," he says.

"So, how did you do on your finals?" Emma asks.

"Didn't he tell you? James here was top of his class." Edward is looking so proud of Jay. Jay is so like me and turns bright red. He pats Edward on his back, then turns to us and nods towards the door.

"Well done, Jay," I have to add. I must admit, I'm proud of my friend and put my arm around him and pull him in.

We walk out the front door and then run for the taxi. All the girls are in the back seat as we get in the front row. I glance at a confused-looking Sam. She doesn't look comfortable. I sit looking forward and wait for Jay to make the introduction.

Jay taps the driver on the shoulder to let him know we are ready. He then turns to Sam. "Okay, Munchkin?" He asks with a knowing smile.

"Fine, Jay," she replies, not sounding happy. Again, both Emma and I face forward, letting James have his bit of fun with Sam.

Finally, he's had his fill of pulling her strings and turns to us. "Guys, would you like to introduce yourselves to Sam?" He says.

We both turn around to look at Sam. What a sight we must have looked. We remove our disguise, and I say, "Hello, Sam. I'm Mac, and this beautiful woman is my girlfriend, Emma. It's a pleasure to meet you finally."

I can see why Jay did that now because the look on both Sam's and Hannah's faces is worth the flight over alone.

Isabel puts her arm around Sam. "Sam, Mac has invited us to watch him perform this evening," she says.

"Yeah, but aren't you performing tonight at Glastonbury? I've set Mum's set-top box to record you." Sam finally gets out.

"Yeah, we're on our way to the airport. We will fly in by helicopter and then perform. We will then get you back in plenty of time for your trip up to Cambridge." Then I have a thought. "Hey Jay, could Emma and I come to your graduation?"

"Unfortunately, Mac, we've already exceeded our allotted amount of people," James replies.

It was an off-the-wall idea, and although it would have been great to go, I know it was too late to ask. "Just a thought. So, we drop you off and then fly down to London and spend a few days with Adele." I have to say, although I think I would have preferred Cambridge.

"Name dropper," James fires back, smiling.

To which I have to laugh. "Yeah, it still sticks in my throat when Miley rings, and I have to turn to whoever I'm talking to and take the call," I say as a joke. Jay rolls his eyes in reaction. My liking of this guy grows the more time we spend together.

We reach the small city airport and return to the place we first walked in and met Jay. I go over and get a bottle of water from the refreshments. Sam walks up next to me and smiles up at me, not knowing what to say. I look around and walk over to sit next to Jay.

We look towards our girlfriends, and it seems like Emma is getting on as well with Isabel as I am with Jay. For the first time, I look at Isabel. She is a beautiful woman and holds herself well. I'm surprised Jay hasn't popped the question, so I lean in. "When ya gonna put a ring on it?" Oh shit, all that was missing from that was the hand rotation and the 'Uh uh oh's.' Beyoncé has a lot to answer for.