I returned to my hotel with a lot to think about. Corey had shown me a picture of the ‘RV’ that he was going to travel around in. It wasn’t anything like the bog standard white ‘box on wheels’ that you see almost everywhere clogging up the roads.

I’d seen an RV park on the outskirts of the city when I took my little escape from ‘sin city’ that was full of these monstrosities. This vehicle was nothing like them. It was more like an expedition vehicle than anything else. The numerous large tyres lashed to the roof proved that.

Corey told me that it had started life as a US Army truck with six-wheel drive. He’d bought it at a US Army Surplus Auction more than a year earlier. He described with some glee how a team of engineers and mechanics had stripped it down to bare metal and lovingly rebuilt it to his specifications. He was especially proud of the new diesel engine that they’d installed. It ran on bio-diesel or used cooking oil. The extra-large fuel tanks underneath the chassis could take it more than 400 miles over rough terrain. Twin superchargers boosted the power to more than 900hp. Much of his glowing description was beyond me, but it looked like a true go-anywhere vehicle to me.

“Those who go off-grid go for a reason. Most of the time, it is to get away from places like this and people in general. Those places are hard to get to, but this thing can or will most of the time,” he’d said proudly.
“It is a bit like the old saying: if Cletus won’t come to the store, then the store must go to Cletus. Many of the companies we do business with base themselves at the construction site for the duration of the build simply to avoid long commutes. So we go to them and can help them face to face with their requirements.”

I didn’t doubt that claim, but I did wonder about the ride. Army vehicles are not renowned for their creature comforts. They are designed for ruggedness, not a soft, smooth ride.

The canvas top that these vehicles normally carried was long gone. In its place was, if the photos were anything to go by, a pretty luxurious six-berth home with a large wheeled trailer that housed the product displays and demonstration units. Heavy duty winches at the front and rear, plus a 'snorkel' type air intake and exhaust system, convinced me that Corey was right about his ability to take the product to the customer. Solar Panels covered much of the truck and trailer.

“There is always space for a third person?” said Corey.
“At the moment, it is just me and my driver-mechanic Tony. He maintained these vehicles in the Army.”

“What would I do?”

“Speak to the same people that I do. You can start by teaching us how best to demonstrate your device, and at the same time, you might get some ideas for future products from those conversations. From what Casey has told me about your existing operation, you appear to have the sort of adaptability that many larger companies simply do not have. Then, to have a team developing a new product all through the pandemic was, in my mind, brilliant, if not pure genius. So many of our suppliers just closed up shop, took the government money and laid off the staff, thus pocketing the money which was later forgiven. Talk about a fraud… but there you go. We kept our staff on the payroll using federal money, for which they were eternally thankful. We are in the process of paying off our PPE loans, hence the need to expand our product lines.”

“I see that you like to do things properly, but I do worry about your successor?”

Corey nodded his head, and after a few seconds, he said.

“My son has not proven himself one way or the other yet. Casey is not interested in taking over the business, but I know of someone who would do a great job.”

He smiled at me as he said that.

“No way, Corey. I’m sorry, but managing a small plant is tough going. The next six months are going to be tough for us if we don’t get all the requisite approvals to be able to sell our device both here and in Europe.”

“Then you need a viable product line in development. Spend a week with me, and you may get some ideas for the next knock ’em-dead product. How about it?”

“As long as you never, ever mention taking over from you to me or anyone?”

“I’m not talking about taking over from me next week. I think long-term. I think that I’ll be ready to hand over the reins of my company to someone I can trust in around five years. How about it?”

I shook my head.
“That is far too distant for me to consider at the moment. I have to worry about where the salary for my staff after the end of March is coming from.”

He sighed.
“I can see that your heart is with the people back home, so I agree. I had to at least try, didn’t I?”

He said the last part, smiling.

We ended the evening with a firm handshake.

I had until the end of the show to let him know about going on the trip.

Lying in bed that night, I wondered if he had a spy in my camp, so to speak. Then, I began to understand just how observant Casey had been during her time with us in November. She had picked up a few things and was intelligent enough to fill in a few of the missing blanks. Seeing her and Corey here made me understand that she was on his side at the moment.

My last job at the old place had been to update the staff on what was happening. I gave them their redundancy letters. The money due to them had already been deposited into their bank accounts. Then I’d said,
“As you know, we are starting up shop next door. The production floor is nearly ready, but because of the holidays and whatnot, it won’t be ready for real work until the start of the third week in January. Enjoy some time with your families and get ready for some long days as we start to make the new devices. There will be hiccups, but if we are all prepared to work at ironing them out, we should be able to start serious production after two to three weeks of work.”

It was almost as if he knew that I was not needed back home for another week. I’d not discussed our manufacturing plans with Casey. All I could do was discuss it with my team in the morning.

I need not have worried about problems with the team. They all agreed that a little fact-finding would not do anyone any harm. They were all heading home via a variety of routes on Monday or Tuesday once the booth was packed up and could handle things in the new operation until I returned. All that remained was for me to take Tony to one side.

“I have a car that needs to be returned to Austin. It is a two-day drive, at least. Are you up for a drive? It is over a thousand miles, and that’s the short route…”

“What do I need to do when I get there?”

“You give the car back to the dealer I hired it from and collect some money from him. I sort of bought it on a sale or return basis. We do not need a car after the end of the show, so if we get a few hundred bucks back, then great.”

“You own it?”

“Not really. The title is still with the dealer, but given the meltdown that Southwest Airlines was having at the time, I had to think fast, and I needed to get here ASAP.

“What then? In Austin, I mean?”

“The dealer agreed to buy it back from me for $600. Buy a plane ticket back here and go home as normal.”

“Could I stop off at the Grand Canyon on the way there? It is one of the places on my bucket list, and as I’m going so close, it would be a shame to miss it.”

I smiled.
“Of course, you can, provided that you can re-arrange your flights.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“In that case, use whatever money you get back from the dealer to fund your little side trip and motels. The money we used to pay for this trip came from what Austin failed to let us invest, so it isn’t really our money, but unless they go over our closing books with a forensic accountant, they won’t find it. Debbie made sure of that. She was putting a little aside each month for the last two years.”

After lunch that day, I went in search of Corey and gave him the good news.

“Good. I knew that you’d come through. We plan to leave here at six on Monday morning.”

“Where are we going first?” I enquired almost without thinking.

“I know that I said the North West, but our first stop is at a place called Chama. It is close to the border between New Mexico and Colorado. A lot of off-gridders live in that area, so we are going to put on a little show for them at the Railroad Yard. From their yard webcam, it appears that they had a dump of snow last night. 3 ft fell in one go, but according to one of the guys at the Railroad, they’ll have the yard clear by late on Monday. We can park there overnight.”

I was none the wiser. I could visualise the map of the USA and knew that where we were going was quite a long way east of Vegas.

“Ok, I’ll drop by later in the week to get the details. I have to let my team know where I’m going at this critical point in our move to new premises.”

That was a lie but was close enough to the truth to be believable. That left the small problem of Casey.

She'd avoided our stand, but as long as there was the potential of a business deal with her father, I could not dodge the issue much longer.

I spent the day on the stand dealing with half a dozen potential business deals. They all depended upon the UL/CSA approval of our device. I added all the companies to the list of maybe prospects that I would forward to our lawyers back east.

“Not having those approvals is costing us, isn’t it?” asked Dave as another delegation left the stand in the late afternoon.

I managed a smile.
“In some ways, not at all. Would you want to see a new device and sign up to sell a whole load of them at a scrum like this?”

“If you put it that way, no, I would not unless there was some sort of cooling-off clause.”

“Good answer. When we get the approvals, then our lawyers can negotiate a deal with the most promising resellers in the various areas of the country. Our people back east estimate that UL approval will be done by the second week of February, and the Canadians will be signing their approval within a couple of weeks.”

“But where does that leave Casey’s father? I don’t quite get his business model.”

“His company sells to specialist developers and end users. He does not run a retail store operation, unlike most of those who have signed up for a call-back once we get the approvals. His operation is more like a specialist wholesaler. He has a lot of builders who use him as the go-to guy when a customer wants something different from what the main high street stores stock. Thinks about what the likes of B&Q and Homebase sell. Then go online, and you will soon see many other suppliers of the same sort of thing but different enough to make a difference. I know that seems out of place for a simple thermostat, but those guys at the coal face don’t want to be faffing around over simple stuff. With more and more devices going subscription only, we decided early on to go a different way. These off-grinders are going a different way. I don’t see any conflict, but that is for the lawyers to argue over. This is all new to us. With the old company, after their takeover of us, we had to sell everything to the people in Austin, which protected us from end-user sales. Now, it is up to us to sort out sales deals both here and back home. Corey’s operation seems to be a very good fit for us at this stage of the game. We have all seen the interest in our prototype app. Not needing a server or a cloud system to work is our unique selling point.”

I smiled and said,
“Here endeth my sermon for the week.”

Everyone laughed, but I could tell there was some underlying nervousness amongst my team. That was natural. These next few months would make or break us as a company.

We had a plan for the UK and European markets that was ready to go once we had the safety certificates all sorted out. Because our device was not directly powered by 240V or 120V, the risks of electrocution were minimal, but we still needed the approvals.

At the end of the day, I left the team to clear up and went in search of Casey. I had to face her directly and at least try to get our relationship sorted out one way or the other.

The problem was that she was nowhere to be found. Her brother had no idea where she’d gone. As far as he knew, she’d gone to lunch and had not returned. That left me at a loose end, so I headed for the bar and a pre-dinner beer.

I’d hardly set foot in the hotel bar when I saw her sitting in a booth with a man I’d seen earlier in the day when he’d come to the stand. I racked my mind for his name. Then it came to me. Nathaniel Jackson the 3rd. He was only memorable because of his Harvard class ring, which he made sure that I knew all about within a minute of starting to talk to me. He talked a mixture of platitudes and promised you the earth. Dave had taken his card, and after five minutes, he’d given me the ‘cut it now’ sign. He was another bullshitter/snake oil salesman.

I looked at him again. The class ring was missing. I wondered if it was like his tan, fake. I decided to interrupt.

“Ah, there you are, Casey. I wondered where you had gone?”

Nathaniel looked at me as if I didn’t exist. That was confirmed when he said,
“Casey darling, do you know this loser?”

“I do know him, and we are in business together. So, if you don’t mind, get lost!”

Nathaniel gave me a really dirty look and left without further argument. I slid into the booth where he had been sitting.

A smiling Casey said,
“Thanks for rescuing me. I was not happy to see him in the show earlier. Then he followed me to Lunch, and I have been dodging him ever since.”

“He came by the stand earlier. Nothing but bullshit came out of his mouth.”

“Let me guess… He was promising the earth and that joining up with him would bring untold riches?”

I nodded my head.
“Pretty close. He had a Harvard class ring on earlier. I saw that it was missing when I saw you two together.”

Casey laughed.
“That’s because he was kicked out for cheating. I guess that the ring belonged to his Pa, who did graduate in 1984.”

“A faker then?”

“More like a grifter who is out to make a fast buck and to hell with who he hurts in the process, so thanks again for seeing him off.”

I looked at Casey for several seconds before saying,
“Are we more than business partners?”

Almost immediately, I regretted asking an open-ended question like that.

“I tried to talk to you about what went wrong, but you gave me the brush off… and for good reason, although I didn’t quite grasp why that was at the time.”

“And? Things are different now?”

Casey smiled.
“The ear-bending that I received from my Pa the other night was enough to make me think things through.”

She looked down at her now empty glass for several seconds before saying,
“I screwed up big time, didn’t I? For that, I am sorry. Trying to run before I could walk is the story of my life. I would like to try again if you will let me?”

Then she looked up and smiled.
At that moment, I could have been putty in her hands, but I spied her brother entering the bar. On his arm was a very ‘plastic’ blonde. I could tell, even at this distance, that she was not a natural GG busted woman.

“Your brother has arrived with some very fake arm candy. If you want to duck out and meet me outside the entrance to the Casino in a few minutes, then now is your chance.”

She mouthed ‘thank you’ and slid out of the booth and headed for the other exit to the bar.

I sat there for almost four long minutes before I followed her. Casey’s brother had disappeared. I looked for him in the hotel reception but could not see him.

I walked over to the entrance to the Casino and could not see Casey. I went inside the Casino and saw her brother over by the craps table. The blonde was at his side, egging him on. I guessed that Casey had gone somewhere, but where?

With a small shrug, I left the Casino and went out of the hotel. Almost immediately, I smelt her perfume. I turned to find her smiling at me.

“I saw your brother in the Casino. If I was a betting man, he’s going to lose big in one way or another. That woman seems like a Femme Fatale to me.”

“Yeah, he almost ran right into me, but I ducked out of sight and hoped that you would come out here.”

“Well, here I am, and I need something to eat and drink, preferably well away from the strip. There are far too many people around who are after a story to make a quick buck.”

Casey smiled back at me.
“I know of a bar in North Vegas that serves pretty decent food and beer. Shall we go?”

“Yeah, and we’d better make it soon, as that jerk from the Bar has just spotted us and is heading our way.”

Casey turned to see ‘the jerk’.
“Let’s get out of here right now.”

We jumped into one of the lines of yellow cabs that were waiting outside the hotel for a fare. Casey gave the driver the name of a bar, and the driver took off.

“Thank you for taking me to this place,” I said as we paid the bill a couple of hours later.
“Getting away from the Strip and everything to do with the show was just what both we needed.”

Casey smiled.
“I’m glad that you like the place. I discovered it during a hen weekend when I was in my first year at Harvard. We stayed just down the street after the organiser messed up the hotel booking. The girls dunked that person into the fountain outside one of the hotels on the strip and moved there. I didn’t have the funds to be able to do that, so I slummed it here.”

“That kinda sucks. It wasn’t right for your friends to leave you here.”

“It sucked even more when I was blamed for the mix-up when we got back east. I had to actually file suit against the person who fucked up before they grew some balls and admitted that I had nothing to do with the booking. Then, I got hauled up before the dean and charged with bringing the school into disrepute. The father of the girl who fucked up contributed a million dollars to the alumni fund to make it all go away for her.”

“How did you get out of that?”

Casey smiled.
“I had the email from her giving details of the bookings. I showed it to the dean and said, ‘Shall I add you to the case for defaming me?’. This law school has taught me to have irrefutable evidence before making a case. I’ve shown you the evidence which will make my case no matter how much money the other side has.”

“Ouch!”

“They caved in and paid my fees for the remainder of my time at the school. I also received a written apology.”

“What happened to the one who messed up?”

“The last time I heard of her was that she was working on a Cruise Ship out of Miami as an entertainer. Her Pa’s money was not enough to save her from failing her exams… twice.”

The time that we'd been in the bar had given us time to talk things through about us and our stop-start relationship. It had been hard going, and both of us had a lot to think about.

“Where do we go from here?” I asked after a cab had taken us back to the hotel.

“We finish the show, I go home, and you spend a week with my Da.”

“I meant after that!”

“Could I come over to you? I know that you will be busy with the plant, but if we can live together for a few weeks without going mad at each other, then we might have a chance of making a go at it.”

“What will you do while I’m at work?”

“I am a complete idiot about what makes your bit of the world tick. From my short time there, it is very different from anything I know. If we are to be a couple, then I need to at least have some understanding of the area. I’ll also look at possible jobs. I know that I need a different visa to get a job, but there is no harm in looking, is there?”

“January and February are hardly the most welcoming of months in Lancashire. Grey skies and damp weather are the norm, I’m afraid.”

Casey smiled at me.

“Isn’t it good that I experience the dark days of winter upfront? If I end up working for you, that is?”

“True, but you can only stay for a short period on a tourist visa.”

“Three months, or I think that was what the guy at Heathrow told me the last time.”

“Ok, what then?”

Casey looked at me and smiled.
“We get married. If we can survive for two months together in your small home, then I think that we can make a go of it. Don’t you?”

I wasn’t so sure.
“Look, Casey…”

She took my hands in hers.
“Lucas, I know that you are reluctant after your last failure to take the plunge again. Add to that our strong characters… that’s why I’d like to try living together for at least a couple of months.”

I smiled at her.
“That wasn’t what I was going to talk about.”

“Oh, that other thing.”

“Yes, that other thing.”

“When the time is right, I’ll be there for you. I had a long talk with Mom over the holidays. She knows about my impulsiveness and how to tell me not to be an idiot. I got a real talking too. I know that I tried to rush things before and… I will try to curb my enthusiasm in future. You have my permission to bawl me out if I get to… what is the word I heard on that first day in your plant… Ah, yes, uppity. If I get too uppity, then you can tell me off.”

I didn’t know what to say, so Casey continued.

“I knew after that first day that I’d met my match, at least as far as business goes. You were so prepared for anything I might throw at you. Then you gave me direction for when I came back here and faced my bosses. I was letting you order me around, and I didn’t mind it one bit, but it was business. I need to be the same in my personal life. All the time on that flight home after my return, I castigated myself for screwing up so badly with those shoes. I will never… or at least hope to never repeat that absolute disaster for me.”

It was the first time in my life that a woman had ever opened up like that to me. I felt slightly unnerved but pleased that it wasn’t all my fault that we’d had that bust-up.

“Are you willing to take a risk with this woman who is deeply in love with you?”

This time, she didn’t wait for an invitation. She kissed me, and it was a long one.

When we broke apart, we heard some clapping from behind us. It was my team.

“You guys should get a room!” said Dave.
“And make an honest woman of her before we go home!”

That caused a lot of laughter.

I looked Casey in the eyes.
“Shall we?”

“You mean get hitched?”

“This is the perfect place to do it in a hurry. Why not?”

[The following Monday, 2 pm, Las Vegas]

“Do you, Casey Sienna Burbank, take Lucas Richard Beatty to be your lawful wedded husband?”

We were all gathered in one of the many 'Wedding Chapels' that offer quickie ceremonies to visitors to 'Sin City'. Casey's Mom had flown in the previous afternoon and made sure that she was dressed in her very own white dress. It was a bit short, but there was no time to get it altered. OTOH, it did expose her shapely ankles and those towering heels that she'd worn on the day that she came into my life. I did insist that at least one of us wore heels to get married. If I couldn’t, then… It didn’t take much persuasion.

Our honeymoon was to spend a week travelling with Corey's truck with us in a rented Jeep. We'd declined the offer to stay on the truck and were able to find semi-decent lodging every night. We were both surprised to find that we hadn't argued over anything other than which side of the bed to sleep on in that first week. The business side of things went well, which was a bonus. Casey and I managed a week together without rowing or one of us trying to take control of the other. We both knew that there was a long way to go. Our short honeymoon period had gone well, but the jury was out on how long it would last.

At the end of the week, Casey and I left Corey to continue his sales trip. We’d made it to Southern Oregon. We returned the Jeep to the rental company in a place called ‘Bend’. Then, we took the California Zephyr Amtrak service north to Seattle as a way of doing something different. Besides, the suspension of the Jeep left a lot to be desired. After a night in Seattle, we flew to Boston, where I spent a few days with Casey's family.

On my last full day in the USA, we went shopping at a mall. At first, I was not aware of what Casey was doing. Then I twigged.
“Darling, are you trying to buy a dress for me?”

“You got me there. Yes. Can’t I buy the person I love a nice pretty dress as a going away present?”
She had me there.
“As long as you don’t broadcast that, it is for me.”
She kissed me right in the middle of the mall.

The watertight contract that I’d had drawn up what seemed ages ago now came in useful. The job offer it contained also had a salary that exceeded the limits laid down by our useless government for spouses and visas. I had a copy emailed to us, and Casey signed on the dotted line. I was now not only her husband but her boss. She would be handling the marketing of our products, leaving me free to run the factory.

I left Casey in Boston to sort out her visa and returned to the grey skies of January in Lancashire. I had to hope that I was not stopped in Customs. I’d have to explain who the dress was for, and I’m hopeless at lying where Casey was involved. If that is what love is, then I’m all for it.

My company had not been for sale, but the jury was out on my own sale to Casey.

[the end]
[authors note]
I you that you the reader found this alternative to the 'made for TV, christmas romance thing' entertaining and different. They don't all have to take place in a small town with snow and all that stuff. Come on Hollywood, think outside the box for a change. You can provide some escapism yet have the tale set in real life. Here, the failure of Southwest Airlines computer system happened while I was writing this. Perfect! Better than a snowstorm.

Thanks for reading my musings and for all the comments on this and other tales.

Samantha