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The Schuyler Fortune VI: A Throuple of Bums-12
"Matt, you aren't stupid."
That company never learned that treating workers well and focusing on them is the real key to success. I'd say they have some learning to do."
"You have it right, though; once you're a problem they can't handle, you're not their friend anymore." said Jack.
"Where will we live?"
"There's a campus for the institute that has brand-new residence halls with suites where we'll stay until we can find a place to live in the area. It's a bit of a commute to the swanky neighborhoods near Tyson's Corner and the Mall there."
"Will you be my boss?"
"Only in the bedroom. Don't forget, bud. I own your ass, lock, stock and little pink wrinkle. I haven't figured out the structure of the IT department yet. There's a lot of organization that's still in the planning mode right now."
"Would you mind if I fix your computer?" Matt started to giggle.
"Be my guest; there's a fuse in front that needs checking."
Connor Ruhl had not found a position yet. He wasn't hurting for money. He was allergic to debt and had saved most of his salary for the last ten years, living within a budget. He was aware of the power of compounded interest that worked against wealth. He had decided to avoid the pitfall and make his money work harder.
Connor found living simply easy since he didn't party, didn't drink alcohol, didn't smoke tobacco, didn't eat meat, didn't wear flashy clothes and didn't give his money away to political campaigns and churches. He lived in a simple apartment and rode his bicycle whenever he could. He didn't own a car, spent zero on gasoline and tires and car insurance, and used a VPN at McDonalds or the library to access the internet.
He wasn't in a hurry to get a new job. When Jack called him about a job clear across the country in Virginia, he was skeptical until he heard the salary and benefits package. Then he became neutral.
Jack then told him that the new Institute needed him. Connor hadn't felt needed in a long while. The feeling appealed to him and he couldn't believe that he heard himself agreeing to come out and take a look. He found his resume and emailed it to Jack. A few hours later, a Mr. Paulo Schuyler from the Schuyler fund in New York City called.
"Hello, this is Paulo Schuyler in New York. Is this Connor Ruhl?"
"This is he. How may I help you?"
"I'm calling in reference to a resume that Jack Sanders forwarded to me. I understand you're a Wharton man as am I. I'm doing the due diligence this trip around. Who should I call there for a recommendation?"
Connor gave him the name of his department chair and the school's telephone number.
"Do I have your permission to speak with your former employer in Hollywood?"
"Sure." Connor gave Paulo the contact information.
"Paulo, what exactly do you do in New York?"
"My cousin and I run the Schuyler trust. He is the beneficiary and I manage the funds. The trust..."
"I know. I studied the trust at Wharton. My senior paper listed a Loren Schuyler-Jones as the fund manager."
"Yeah, my dad retired a couple of years ago."
"How does your work relate to the job opening Jack spoke about?"
"My cousin, Joseph Schuyler, has donated the funds for a new Institute and we are looking for a CFO to manage it. If you decide to check it out, I'll let Joseph explain the nature of the Institute."
"I can tell you, however, that the fund has been capitalized with the first billion-dollar gift, the equity positions have been purchased, and I estimate that for each billion-dollar gift, those dividends and growth should produce perhaps one hundred million yearly for the budget of the Institute."
There was a long silence. "Why do they want to talk to me?"
"Jack Sanders recommended you and your background is what we need. You have Hollywood connections and you have finance credentials. You and I speak the same language. If we can make the job attractive, are you willing to visit and hear Joseph's story?"
"Sure, I'll visit."
"Good. We'll have the jet at Burbank at ten tomorrow morning. We call this jet 'Sweet Pea'...long story. Will that work for you?"
"I'll be at Burbank airport executive side at ten and ask for 'Sweet Pea'. Do I need a passport or ticket?"
"No, just an overnight bag and your driver's license or photo ID."
"Look forward to meeting you, Paulo."
"Likewise. Thank you for your time."
Connor eventually located a telephone number for Jack, called him and told him about the call from Paulo.
"Thank you for thinking of me, I hope. I'm flying to Dulles tomorrow in a plane called 'Sweet Pea' from Burbank. Will I see you there?"
"Yes, Joseph wanted me to be there too, but not to gang up on you. He just wants a transparent process so we all come up to speed at the same time. I think you'll find he's a bright guy."
"See you tomorrow then."
Connor had been in private jets before but enjoyed the ride and the service. A helicopter transfer awaited him at Dulles and after a short ride it landed on a large piece of land with a runway, a heliport and a group of new buildings, nicely landscaped. There to greet him was Jack Sanders and two men he had not met, Joseph Schuyler and Paulo Schuyler. Jack introduced the two to Connor.
"You had breakfast on the plane?"
"Yes, a great ride over."
"Would you care to join us and talk over lunch?"
"I'm at your disposal."
Joseph began over lunch in the conference room.
"This project began in Oregon. Three gay men own a ranch there and their ranch was attacked at gunpoint by a group of white supremacists. Property was destroyed and a lesbian neighbor of theirs had the presence of mind and the foresight to have prepared for the homophobic violence so that no one was killed."
"The idea generated by that incident is that the nation needs an Institute for the Study and Prevention of Homophobic Violence, linked to an Ivy League university to provide research and recommendations based on evidence for law enforcement and Congress. We want a global community of scholars eventually and leaders who can formulate those recommendations."
"This campus has been built specifically for that purpose. The campus and its improvements are paid for. There is no debt. Paulo told you the yearly budget. He contacted Wharton and your previous employer and they both gave stellar recommendations for you."
"If you decide to take the position of CFO, Jack would be the CEO and I'd be the chairman of the board of the private Institute, not advertised to the public due to the nature of the work. The employee population of the campus at maximum along with visiting scholars could be as high as several hundred and as low as two hundred."
"Under board guidelines, you and the CEO would work together to direct their work, hire employees, produce guidelines and procedures and manage the budget."
"You and the CEO will have access to the Institute's own Gulfstream 650-ER, brand-new with its own pilot team and a Schuyler helicopter for trips to Washington D.C. and beyond as needed.
The transportation and purchase costs for the jet and helicopter will be borne from a different budget out of the Schuyler bank."
"Remaining campus projects include FAA approval for a tower with personnel on campus for which a private bill has been introduced in Congress as an 'experimental permanent' project and the electronic ILS and other gear essential for jet navigation.
Those funds will be funded separately as well."
"We expect that all funds will be kept to Schuyler bank accounts and transparent to board members, the CEO and obviously, the CFO."
"Salaries for the CEO and CFO are the same, one million dollars per year gross.
Benefits would include all medical costs, then all medical costs for a lifetime when vested after five years, a 401-K matched dollar for dollar beginning immediately, an attractive life insurance policy, full dental costs for your lifetime after vesting, and a new vehicle of your choice every year to replace last year's model."
"Also, adoption costs up to four children, tuition through college for up to four children, biological or adopted, medical costs for children through college for up to four total, conception on, biological or adopted, vacation reimbursement for three months per year, condo or home reimbursement up to $500,000 per year for lease costs or purchase or build, your decision."
"In addition, catered meals from a menu on campus, an office with its own bathroom and anteroom, computer provided since no personal computers get to visit campus for security reasons, and you get to keep any speaking engagement income."
"We provide housing for you and a partner on campus until you find a home of your own or if you prefer, for the duration of your employment. If you partner, we will consider hiring that partner."
"The limitations of the position include relative isolation from the outside business world and a blanket of privacy over information relating to the Schuyler name, wealth, and personal details."
"Paulo and I insist on total silence to partners, friends, acquaintances and the news media and especially the public about our own personal details."
"The only grounds for separation would include gross negligence, dishonesty, malfeasance, failure to perform, and revealing Schuyler data. Your personal life is your own to manage otherwise. We insist that the contract include a non-disclosure agreement, an arbitration clause and these would survive the employment agreement."
Joseph asked, "What do you think so far?"
"What level of guidance detail do you anticipate from the board in regard to the budget?" Connor went to the heart of things.
"We won't specify percentages or maximum or minimum expenditures. We will look at your proposed budget and probably apply an 80% shelf to allow for say, a negative 20% shortfall in income or you can include that calculation in your budget and note it for board approval. Paulo and you will need to work closely to keep track of income during the year both up and down from projections and report to the board each month."
"If you choose not to hire a controller, we have a civilian board member who is an experienced controller and he could do some of that work for you via secure satellite connection from his home in Oregon."
"He will be here once a week visiting and once a month for the board meeting as well. You'll see him often, so I would recommend using his talents to ease your work load and gain the support of an additional board member."
"Does the board look to hire only gay employees?"
"No, we're not allowed to ask or require that. There won't be any litmus tests. There will be organizational security that is stringent for the purpose of protecting our private Institute's work and mission. More so than working for any Fortune 500 company I can name. I anticipate that there are right-wing crazies that would love to shove a monkey wrench into this project just like the left-wing nuts that seek to destroy things."
"We will make it abundantly clear that every employee respect and advance company goals, regardless of their gender preferences. The board will look carefully at hiring policies to make sure they are legal and non-discriminatory."
"I hope we can produce policies that encourage every employee to do their best work for the Institute."
"Would you like to stretch, take a break for a few minutes and take a tour? Let's all meet here in ten minutes."
The tour was accomplished, the CFO's office inspected, and Jack and Connor spoke for a few minutes prior to the helicopter trip back to the heliport in Washington, D.C.
"I hope the tour answered your questions about the job, Connor. I'd really like to work with you. We were friends at college and I've known you for a long time and respect your abilities. From my point of view this is a good fit for you and me both."
"What do you think?"
"I respect the mission certainly, I like the idea of us working together and the benefit package is better than good. From a personal standpoint, I need to sleep on it though."
"I'm single as you know and not looking for a partner right now. I'm wondering how easy or hard it will be for me to develop, um, relationships that matter on a long-lasting level."
"The campus is isolated for good reason and my work can't really be discussed like an electrician, say, can discuss his or her work with friends at the bar at night. Even though I don't have a personal life, I'm a little reluctant to give the opportunity the toss."
"I get that. I'm lucky to have a partner. He's much luckier than I, naturally. I hope you can resolve that no matter where you work, Connor."
"Thanks for understanding. I hear the Willard is a good place to stay in Washington, D.C."
"Yeah, the Trump hotel has slightly better reviews in general, but there are a ton of luxury hotels to choose in D.C. that fit better with my aims in life. I refuse to stay there."
That night at 8 p.m. in the lounge, they sat for dinner and discussed the day's events.
"I got to thinking, Connor, about your personal life. It isn't and won't be my business, so let me weigh in before you sign on, because it will never be mentioned, unless you bring it up after you sign on, if you decide to come aboard."
"I knew this tête-à-tête was coming, somehow..."
"Hey, my intentions are honorable, mostly. What I wanted to make sure you understood was that much or most of your work, if done with a campus laptop with an industrial-strength VPN complete with a kill switch with a Tor browser which can disguise your location and scramble your communications, can be done on the beach in Bali, Los Angeles or Toronto. You can do the work from Monaco or Paris."
"You have to make yourself present on campus often, but not daily and you can live wherever you like, as long as it's within some kind of commuting distance to a heliport."
"The campus could even furnish a Mosquito Xet for you to fly from your residence roof or garden to the campus. It's a great personal helicopter for short distance trips."
"That information might assuage your anxiety about isolation. There are guys in Palm Springs, in Oakland Park, in the Ozarks...who would count it a privilege to know you better. Somewhere out there is a guy who doesn't know you yet and is looking for the right guy...you. Let's hope his rents raised him right. No?"
Connor felt better after the talk and they each went to their suites, slept well, and ate breakfast in their rooms. Departure was set for ten a.m. from the hotel and 11 a.m. from Dulles.
The limousine took him to the heliport and a helicopter took him to Dulles in plenty of time for his trip back to Los Angeles.
On board Sweet Pea, he emailed Joseph, accepted the position pending contract, and copied Jack and Paulo, thanking them for a great trip. By return email a few minutes letter he received the digital contract to digitally sign, then copy, sign, get notarized, and return, keeping an additional copy.
"You're hired as of today, Connor, as far as payroll and benefits are concerned. We'll expect to see you here when you get here." Joseph was immensely pleased and said so in his email. Similar expressions of "yeah baby!" came from Jack and Paulo by text during the flight.
Connor made an appointment with the CFOs of several large academic research foundations in the next few days. He wanted to know a lot more about academic communications and what universities were looking to accomplish by their ties to private institutes for their graduate students.
He talked to law enforcement agencies about information flow, their challenges and limitations and called his advisor at Wharton to tell him about his new position within the limits of what he could say about it, but particularly new budget management research in the last two years.
There wasn't a lot of new material, he was relieved to learn. Just due diligence, double checking everything, continuing his accustomed detailed approach to his work, making task lists on a computer, being reminded of daily tasks in chunks to check off.
One useful program similar to that available to Paulo used artificial intelligence to check on completion and submission of required government reports to the IRS and other federal and state agencies to maintain their charitable status among numerous other assigned tasks.
The program stored the required documents and the related responses from the agencies involved which acknowledged receipt. The program queried the agencies to obtain that receipt acknowledgement if not present.
Connor put his home and property up for sale. It sold promptly at a substantial profit. He shipped his bicycle to the campus along with his furniture and asked them to store it for his arrival.
He packed his clothing and personal belongings for the trip, called the scheduling secretary at the museum and arranged for a Gulfstream to pick him up. She told him that the new jet, Blueberry, was available on the day he specified and arranged a pickup time at Burbank.
One of Connor's favorite web sites was Zillow. He enjoyed picking through homes and found just as everywhere else asking prices varying in different neighborhoods. He soon found that northern Virginia real estate was overpriced for the crowded neighborhoods. Like LA. There wasn't the slightest possibility of a personal helicopter being allowed anywhere near those neighborhoods.
He looked at the campus map again and noted a five-acre spot at the southwest corner of the property away from the main entrance and wondered if a house or set of apartments could be built there. He made a mental note to talk to Joseph about it.
Jack and Connor spent their first week at the campus working in intensive three-hour bursts with exercise in between. They ran together alongside the nearly six-thousand-foot airstrip.
Their initial focus was mission, the second budget, the third HR/personnel, the fourth legal requirements and agency notifications, the fifth University affiliation goals and agreements.
The mission took the least amount of time. The budget was carved up roughly as 20% personnel, 10% insurance and utilities, 10% housing, 10% travel, zero taxes for the charitable organization, 10% capital expenditures, 5% each food, miscellaneous, IT, and for the academic program.
The remaining 20% would be the buffer for a year in which income might not meet projections per Joseph's warning. Any buffer received as income and not spent would be available to pro-rate as increased spending during the next year.
They decided to hire an HR manager before they hired anyone else. Jack wanted consistency from the beginning and made the HR hiring a priority. The right man, eagled-eyed, glasses, intelligent, eager, kind and firm for his age at thirty years took the job for the money, the perks and the mission.
His own brother had died from violence directed at his gender preference. The new HR director had two small children with a nanny since his wife had passed from leukemia a year ago. He commuted from Alexandria.
Mark White was a good dad, but his job was the break that gave him some respite and yet led him home every night to love on his two little ones.
He set to work using a variation, tailored to the campus mission, of an HR policy used at his last job.
Mark set about hiring after clearing priorities with Jack and Connor. By that time Connor had salary ranges and benefits set for the different employee categories totaling seventeen million dollars and had presented the initial plans to Joseph who appeared pleased and gave his OK for the board in advance.
The legal part was relatively easy. They contracted with the legal department of the Schuyler trust for services available twenty-four hours per day and got a great rate.
Documents soon came flowing to Jack and Connor to review and sign as the new executives of the corporation. Required governmental reports were filed and deadlines for the next set computerized as upcoming tasks.
University affiliation goals were tougher. Jack and Connor knew that the affiliation had to be productive and useful to the University as well as the campus mission and reconciling those took them to the Academic Dean's office in the criminal justice department.
Hours were spent hammering out which students with what supervision under what circumstances with what evaluations might happen at the campus and under whose authority the students operated.
More difficult were issues of student behavior and discipline on campus, who handled student complaints, how were quality issues resolved and at what level.
The Academic Dean, a busy man also, finally threw up his hands one day and simply told them he wasn't sure there was a precedent for this kind of interaction and suspended talks.
Jack and Connor communicated this to Joseph and asked for guidance.
Joseph listened and said to take a brief break from the talks.
He told them he had 'a feeling' that they would hear from the Academic Dean again. Joseph's interview with the president of the University and the chairman of the University board went rather well.
Joseph reminded them that the ongoing piece of the University budget from the Schuyler trust was a revocable trust and as beneficiary of the trust, his review for renewal was upcoming.
"By the way, I hear that the Academic Dean has suspended talks with my little project in Virginia. I hope something can be worked out to bring those talks alive again and come to some agreement on fruitful cooperation there."
"There's no other University that we are talking to and I don't want to start those talks over again. Time is of the essence for both of us."
The call from the Academic Dean came the next day with an offer to work out whatever details were left to finish the cooperative agreement.
Jack and Connor never knew for sure just how that happened.
At the close of talks, the University controlled standards, discipline, conduct. and quality of research subject to direct feedback from the campus CEO to the Academic Dean's office.
The campus provided computers, study space, living space, food, and a stipend to graduate students with bonuses for quality metrics determined by the Academic Dean's office.
The Academic Dean would weigh in on the campus' choice of a visiting scholar in residence with no veto power.
The University insisted that any students that wanted to enroll could do so, regardless of age, gender preference or opinions about the issues involved. The campus insisted that known agitators or white supremacists would be accepted but monitored by security very carefully.
That delicate part was concluded.
Training of employees was the next piece of work. The hired supervisors met with the newly hired campus manager and planned work policies and procedures, made videos for training and began to present them to new workers.
The first video was an introduction to the campus and its work.
The workers signed non-disclosure forms before viewing the video and were informed that due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the work that friendly but rather intrusive surveillance of their work would occur.
Those uncomfortable with that were given the opportunity to find other work. None did. The wages and benefits surpassed the area's average by a wide margin.
The second video was job-specific. The locations of supplies, the methods of doing tasks the correct way the first time, expectations for work product output, 'how to' sections for various jobs from cook to dishwasher to maid to secretary to maintenance to plumbing to electrical to hangar attendant to librarian to IT were all on separate videos for employees to view and review as needed.
Job schedules were set up after consulting with the employees and their other home and/or work needs. Most were full-time workers; a few were part-time. Most were day employees, but all shifts had a few employees working.
All employees were paid from the first day of training. The first actual day of work, other than the kitchen employees and maids was June 1 and the number of employees on and off campus ramped up to full complement quickly.
The payroll company paid wages every week as a direct deposit or on to a debit card as per employee preference.
The first graduate students were oriented on September 10 in the library with the IT techs present and under Jack's partner, computer manager Matt Roberson's watchful eyes. They were given passwords, user names, and a brief security lecture. They were advised that they would not be doing 'scut' work. If data needed to be placed in a database, there were employees for that work.
They were free to present their plans for databases which catalogued studies in the field, and other relevant needed information to the academic computer manager, also present, but they were forbidden to enter games, possess USB sticks on campus, off-site backups, or portable backup systems. The rule was that what happens on campus stayed on campus and what was said or done on campus stayed on campus. No exceptions.
No discussion of their work to friends, family, partners or strangers was warranted or desired. They were warned that opposition to their work existed among violent people and if they were concerned about a threat, that a Schuyler security detail could be assigned to them off campus at their request.
The students were oriented to the Residence hall and cafeteria and exercise facilities. They were given a check for their first month stipend on the first day, a pleasant surprise to each.
The first two weeks were an intense organizational effort by the graduate students, gathering published studies, presenting the work load to the campus staff who then digitized them for easy search and retrieval, holding conferences to establish direction and analyzing the effort ahead.
They brainstormed the problem of abnormal and unwanted behaviors.
Behaviors were learned ordinarily from parents, experiences, peers, media, and teachers. This list was shared with each other's laptops to Notes on their laptops. They were vaguely aware that the supercomputer was mining and storing thousands of journal articles in many academic disciplines to form a database on research using keywords and output from centers studying related issues.
Behaviors, they opined and shared in a list on their network, could be modified by education, immersion, punishment (rarely successful it seemed), group and individual therapies, behavior therapy, cognitive work and other means.
Sometimes behaviors could not be changed and individuals who could not change needed to be separated from society for their own good and society's good. Other countries' experiments with corporal punishment such as caning were reviewed but rejected initially.
One student recommended work be done to interview those with extreme views to see if certain variables popped up in conversation which would be recorded by video and audio and analyzed by supercomputer to identify stress points that might indicate a person's recognition of a disconnect in their own thinking or a familiar repetition of a phrase with no emotion that might identify a sociopath or psychopath.
All of this brought up discussion of mental illness as an initiating cause for attitudes and behaviors and the possibility of a psychiatric interview advanced, but confidentiality concerns turned out to be a problem there. This discussion was a beginning. Many more were held.
Each student with their advisor at the University planned their project and brought it to the campus. Soon the campus was humming and Connor's initial thoughts about isolation returned. He was living comfortably in the Residence hall and had no obvious complaint, but he was bored stiff.
He spoke with Joseph one day about the small five-acre plot of land in the southwest corner and was surprised to hear that if he wanted it, it was his for the taking.
They would build an access to the security road which he could then drive on to the main gate.
"If you stay with us for 10 years, then leave at any time after that, we will reimburse you for any improvements or buildings on the land to you or your estate."
"Keep track of every receipt. If you leave, the land returns to the campus, however. I'll have the trust send you the papers for you to sign. Thank you for all of your hard work, Connor."
As delighted as he was about the 'loan' of the land and the opportunity to design and build his own home, he wasn't sure he wanted to live by himself even though he could afford all the house staff he needed.
What he really wanted was a partner whom he could love.
He remembered that Jack had promised three months of vacation or even more if he wanted it and that he could work from afar as long as he showed for board meetings and showed his face on campus regularly.
He asked Jack the next day if he might borrow Blueberry, the new Gulfstream 650-ER for the campus, to visit the British Isles. He would send the jet back after his arrival in London and send for it when he was ready to come home or fly commercial.
His plan was to get a national rail pass for Britain and Europe. He took a campus laptop with a top-notch VPN and a Tor Browser with him after talking to the IT people.
The security on the laptop was very strong and the solid-state drives had all sensitive data encrypted.
He arranged the trip with the scheduling secretary, allowing the pilot team to prepare, and left by helicopter to Dulles to meet Blueberry since the tower and electronic runway navigation aids had not been installed yet and the weather wasn't perfect.
The flight to London was wonderful and the flight attendant and chef gave fabulous service and meals. He arrived rested with a small suitcase and a backpack for his laptop and iPhone and chargers. He had previously gone on line to purchase his rail passes and had them sent express to him at the campus.
He called his cell service and had them turn on his global service and reviewed the access numbers. He also purchased a satellite wireless router he had seen advertised which claimed to connect in many countries automatically to the internet from anywhere.
On the way to London he studied the British rail system and decided to take the overnight train to Scotland from London as soon as he could get a reservation.
It took four days while he checked his laptop daily for work projects (none yet) and watched the news (not exciting), toured the British exchange (interesting)and visited in London with an old friend of his mentor at Wharton.
While enjoying tea and biscuits, the friend invited him to a reception at the Savoy that evening for drinks and a low-key reception for a minor Royal and some financial friends from the City. Connor told him he would pass on the alcohol but was a tonic and lime fan.
His concierge rustled up the needed clothing and on Savile Row a tailor worked to get it to fit passably. That wasn't cheap.
The reception was a star-studded, red carpet event and his arrival was punctuated by flashing camera lights. He thought the paparazzi had mistaken him for a star. Once inside, he sidled over to his friend who began to introduce him to his friends as a trusted friend and financial genius working for the Schuyler family.
A crowd of people gathered around to be introduced to Connor Ruhl, financial genius in the penumbra of the richest man in the world.
As the hands reached to shake his, he offered a bright smile and a "How do you do? I'm pleased to make your acquaintance..." along with his handshake until a guy swung into his field of view who surprised him, shocked him actually.
He'd seen pictures of Michelangelo's 'The David'. This guy was smaller, life-size, but built like the David though with blonde hair and blue eyes and short trimmed hair, not the curls on 'The David'.
Connor considered the difference and fainted gracefully away.
"Step back everyone. Connor has had a long day and needs to catch his breath. He's fine." His eyes opened to see 'The David' looking into his eyes and damn near fainted again.