FIRSTBORN EXCERPT (Chapters 1 - 5)

Chapter 1

The woman knew the time had come to give birth. There had been a gentle flushing of what seemed like water from her body, and she had begun to feel mild contractions. The man was by her side ready to help in any way.

This was new to both of them. They had seen the start of new life many times among the creatures. They had watched the lioness lay on her side and, with little effort, bear three little cubs. Some of the creatures had birthed standing. All the newborns had been covered in what appeared to be some type of coating. They were prepared with warm water. She felt the contractions growing more powerful, but there was only the mildest discomfort. She decided to lay down, it seemed more comfortable.

It had taken nine cycles of the moon. Now they knew. Time had varied so much among the creatures.

The strength of the contractions grew, but she felt nothing that she would consider to be pain. And then she could feel the child moving from her womb, through the birth canal. Another contraction and another and the child was out. The man gently scooped up the little life and brought it to the arms of its mother. The child didn’t make a sound, but it was alert, looking into the eyes of the woman. She looked the child over carefully, a beautiful little boy. Both the man and the woman smiled. Their first child and he was perfect.

Chapter 2

The board room of Comtec International was perhaps one of the most elegant rooms of its kind in the world. Everything was the best money could buy. The décor was deep mahogany and rich Italian leather, completely in contrast to the ‘glitziness’ of everything else about the company.

Comtec International was a leader in the communications industry, specializing in the design of hardware that could keep up with the never ending new demands being made. People needed to communicate faster and clearer. No matter how fast it could be done today, tomorrow it needed to be faster. Comtec was a primary provider of communications satellites, and last year they had grossed over seven billion dollars.

The President and Chairman of the Board of Comtec was Adam Adamson. He was an unusual man, to say the least. He had come to Comtec only eight years earlier. He had an impressive resume that indicated that he, at one time or another, had headed up no fewer than five major corporations. Interestingly, he never stayed more than five to seven years at any of them. More interesting than that was what he seemed to accomplish at each of his previous positions. The statistics were quite remarkable. Each time he came to a corporation his entry was as the President and Chairman of the Board. Not one of his past positions listed on his resume showed a lower entry level. Without fail every corporation he went to work for prospered beyond their wildest expectations. And each time he left, it seemed to be simply due to a desire on his part to move on to something else.

Now Adam Adamson sat in this board room rich with mahogany and leather. The boardroom table was over thirty feet long. Its top was black polished marble, over two inches thick. Around the table sat twenty-four men and women who made up the management of Comtec. They were all capable and hard working people dedicated to their jobs. Some had been with Comtec before this new president, some were hired after his arrival. All were in awe of him.

He was obviously brilliant. He seemed to reason on matters at lightening speed, but he was not intolerant of everyone else taking longer to reach the same conclusions. He had made changes in the way the company was run. He encouraged everyone to use their imagination. He challenged his employees to try new things, even if there was a chance of failure. He taught them not to be afraid of failure, but to recognize it as a valuable learning tool. And he assured them that there would be no penalty for failure. There would only be a penalty for failing to try new things.

He had spent much of his first few years working with the research and development people, and almost over night he had helped them overcome major problems that they were having in their development of new technology. Somehow things just seemed to go more smoothly when he was spending time with the engineers and scientists. He had a knack for getting more out of them than they had ever been able to produce before. He helped them reason in new directions, and in the last six years Comtec had patented several designs and technological procedures that not only put them at the top of the game in producing satellites, but was earning them almost a billion dollars a year in royalties from other manufacturers.

This was the weekly meeting where they would sit together and discuss various projects. Problems, solutions, successes, and failures were all discussed with no sense of fear. Everyone agreed that the typical cutthroat atmosphere of most corporations was gone almost immediately after Adam came on board. No one missed it.

As the corporate sales had gone up so had the profits. And Comtec was very quick to share the wealth. The average salaries of the management team had tripled in the last eight years as had the average salary of the non-management employees. Benefits had improved as well. Vacations were increased, profit sharing plans were instituted that were unmatched in the industry (or in any industry for that matter). It had become a commonly repeated phrase that if you came to work for Comtec, stayed twenty years and took advantage of their profit sharing plan, you would be a millionaire even if your job was in the janitorial department. If you were management or research it only took ten years.

Of course Adam had only been there eight years, but no one at Comtec could even imagine leaving. There was not a single unhappy employee. Even Juan Hernandez considered himself the luckiest man on earth. He was discovered by Adam on a trip to New York to meet with a company they were considering as a supplier for certain electronic parts. He could close his eyes and remember the day as if it were yesterday, even though it had been almost seven years ago.

Chapter 3

He had been doing the landscaping work at Nextronic for about ten years. They had a beautiful ten story glass building in a high tech industrial park in upstate New York. Juan Hernandez was a hard working man who took pride in what he did, and he did it well.

The Nextronic property always looked a cut above every other building in the industrial park. Not that any of them looked bad, but Nextronic always looked a little better. The grass was greener, thicker, and free of weeds. The shrubs were always perfectly trimmed. The flowers were beautiful, and there were flowers in bloom from very early spring until late fall. It was obvious to everyone that Nextronic had something extra. They had Juan Hernandez.

As the limousine pulled into the Nextronic driveway, Adam could not help but notice the landscaping. He had just started to discuss a new building project with his people back home. He intended to build what would be a small campus consisting of several buildings. There would be spacious park-like grounds for the employees to enjoy, and he knew that it would take a landscaping team to create and maintain what he had in mind. As he stepped out of the car at the entrance to the building he spoke quietly to the driver, asking him to find out who oversaw the landscaping. He told the driver that he would like to talk with whomever was in charge of their landscaping before he left.

His meeting with Nextronic lasted twenty minutes. His meeting with Juan lasted three hours. He had found the people at Nextronic to be all he had hoped for. They had a top quality product and were willing to offer very competitive pricing. Adam quickly recognized the quality of their product, and he let them know that they were Comtec’s new supplier. For Nextronic it meant an additional ten million in sales annually. The management of Nextronic would have given Adam anything he asked for, so when he asked them to give their gardener the afternoon off they didn’t hesitate. But as the limousine pulled out with Juan Hernandez in the back seat with Adam Adamson, the President and CEO of Comtec, they certainly scratched their heads.

It was a full stretch limousine that allowed Juan Hernandez to sit across from Adam. Juan remembered how surreal it all seemed, him in his dirty work clothes sitting with a man he didn’t know, dressed in what Juan supposed was a suit costing several thousand dollars. He remembered thinking it was strange that the limo had pulled away from Nextronic without a word being spoken to the driver. He wondered how the man knew where to go. Of course, he also wondered where he was going and why. But what stood out in his memory the most was how this obviously wealthy man made him feel instantly comfortable.

Adam had immediately reached out his hand and he had done it with such confidence that Juan was compelled to reach out and shake it. He didn’t even stop to think that his hands were dirty from the work he had been doing. He knew that this man didn’t care that his hands were dirty.

“Hi. My name is Adam Adamson. What’s yours?”
“Juan Hernandez.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Hernandez. Would it be all right with you if I call you Juan?”
Juan was not used to receiving this degree of courtesy. “Sure” he replied.
“That’s great. Please call me Adam.” Juan nodded.
“How about a cold drink? I have water, club soda or iced tea.”
At first Juan said “No, thank you”, but Adam pressed on the basis of it being a hot afternoon. Juan accepted a glass of ice water.
“Juan, I have to tell you that I am very impressed with your work at Nextronic.”
Juan felt a little sense of excitement. Surely this very successful man didn’t invite him for a ride in his limousine just to complement him on his work. “Thank you, Adam. I do enjoy my work.”
“Tell me about yourself, Juan. Are you married? Do you have any children?”

For almost two hours they drove and talked. Juan found this man unusually easy to talk to. And he was sincerely interested in what Juan had to say. He sensed an intelligence in the man’s thinking and reasoning that he had never seen before. He found Adam to be immensely likable.

They talked about Juan’s family, his children, his hopes for his children to have much more than he ever had. His oldest son was a very bright seventh grader, and Juan hoped that one day he would go to college.

Adam told Juan a little about Comtec. He explained in a basic sense what it was that Comtec did. They developed communications satellites. Business was very good. They were about to undertake a massive building program and the end result was going to be a beautiful campus for all of the employees at Comtec. He emphasized the word beautiful and told Juan that this was where he came in; the ‘beautiful’ part. He asked if Juan would consider moving his family out to California. He told him about the area around Comtec.

Juan considered the offer for several minutes with neither man speaking.
“Of course, I will have to discuss it with my wife and children.”
Adam nodded. “Of course.”
“I imagine it would be expensive to move all the way across the country.”
Adam smiled. Juan was no fool. “Comtec will take care of all your expenses to relocate. We’ll provide the financing for any home you find that you like. You’ll start as head groundskeeper at an annual salary of one hundred thousand dollars.”

Juan became dizzy. His head started to spin. It reminded him of the one time as a high school student that he had gone out with some friends and gotten drunk. The spinning he had experienced then he was experiencing now. He tried desperately to keep control of himself. He wanted to laugh and yet at the same time he wanted to cry. He knew this man was not someone who was just toying with him. This man, in just a few hours, had managed to present him with a change in life he thought he could only dream of.

Juan had always been a religious man. He believed in God and prayed to God all the time. He never really expected God to answer him. He never really expected God to do something for him.

He finally looked Adam in the face, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. As he spoke one escaped from his left eye and ran down his cheek. Juan made no effort to hide it or wipe it away.

“It would be an honor to work for you, Adam.”
Adam smiled and extended his hand for a second time. Juan grabbed it with both of his.
“ I was hoping you would say that, Juan. I’m very pleased.”

They spoke briefly about how soon Juan could make the move. He explained his desire to give Nextronic a two week notice. Adam respected the man even more. Juan explained that he rented an apartment so there was no concern with having to sell a house. He would lose his security deposit, but under the circumstances, who cared?

Adam took down his address and explained that he would have the company send out a check for five thousand dollars as soon as he got back. That was to cover the cost of getting his family and belongings out to the west coast. Adam offered to have Juan’s wife come out a little sooner so that one of his assistants could help her do some shopping for a house. He gave Juan one of his business cards after writing on the back of the card one of his direct lines and his home phone number. He assured Juan that it would be all right to call him at any time if he had any trouble.

As mysteriously as the driver had known where to go, he knew when to pull back into the Nextronic driveway. The limo stopped, the two men shook hands one more time. Adam spoke first. “I’ll see you on the west coast.”

Juan just didn’t know what to say. “Thank you” seemed so inadequate. “You certainly will, Sir.”
“Hey, what’s this ‘Sir’ business? It’s Adam.” He was smiling.
“You certainly will, Adam.” Juan managed to say. What he wanted to say was, ‘You certainly will, Lord.’ He wanted to fall to his knees and kiss the man’s hand as he had seen people do with the Pope. Juan had never understood why people did that. He always thought it was ridiculous. Now suddenly he saw it all so clearly.

The limo had stopped. Juan opened the door and got out, blinking at the bright sunlight. He wondered if it had been this bright a few hours ago, or if his vision was suddenly different. He didn’t really know, but he did know that he had to get home as quickly as he could.

Quite a few of the Nextronic employees had seen the limo pull back in. They had seen the gardener climb out and they were very curious as to what that was all about. They would have to wait. Tomorrow would be soon enough. The rest of this day belonged to Juan, his family and God. Juan told himself there would be a lot of thanking going on tonight.

Chapter 4

The meeting broke up shortly before lunch like it did almost every week. Everyone went off to their various responsibilities and Adam went to his office. It was only a short walk from the board room to the executive suite which included a large sitting room with a beautiful custom made desk centered on the back wall of the room. An attractive woman in her middle thirties sat at the desk working diligently.

To the right of her desk was a door that led into the office of Nancy Drummond who was Adam’s personal secretary. She had been the personal secretary of Edward Keaton who was the president of Comtec when Adam Adamson arrived on the scene. Sharply to the right, on the wall that ran perpendicular to the wall behind Nancy Drummond’s desk, was the door that led into Adam’s office. To the left of Nancy’s desk was the door that led into the office of another woman who was now Edward Keaton’s personal secretary. To the sharp left was the door into Edward Keaton’s office. Mr. Keaton was presently the senior vice president of Comtec. He came back into his office from the meeting just a few minutes after Adam.

Most people in Edward Keaton’s position would have been resentful. But then, who could begin to understand Edward Keaton’s position? When he thought about it he just chuckled to himself.

He had handed over the company to Adam Adamson almost eight years ago and he had never regretted it for a minute. He believed he had made more money in the last seven years than he would have ever made if Adam hadn’t appeared on the scene. It wasn’t that Comtec had been doing badly. Quite the contrary, Comtec was a growing company even then. They had gone public a year earlier. They had plenty of cash, and their research and development people were on the verge of some real breakthroughs. They had several contracts in progress and it seemed that the communication age was just dawning. Edward Keaton thought he was sitting on top of the world then. He just chuckled to himself. How could he have ever known what was to happen?

Chapter 5

He could remember distinctly that it was a miserable, rainy day when his phone rang that Friday afternoon. It was his secretary, “Mr. Joshua Mitchell from Sonatec Systems.”

Joshua Mitchell was the president of Sonatec. Sonatec was a huge player in the manufacture of radar and sonar systems, and they did a lot of work for the government. Josh was one of those people who often played golf with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and he had played golf with the President of the United States twice.

Edward had met him at a very exclusive seminar for chief executives about ten years ago, and they hit it off instantly. Josh was a very fun guy given his position. He had a wicked sense of humor, but he didn’t make jokes at the expense of others. He was actually quite considerate of others, which was not a common trait among highly successful executives.

Edward picked up the phone, “Hello Josh, it’s nice to hear from you.”
“Hello Ed, how’s everything in sunny California?”
“Sunny.” Edward would like to have said something very clever and funny, but he wasn’t a quick wit and he knew it. He didn’t want to sound like he was trying too hard.
“Say Ed, I’d like to ask a rather large personal favor.”
The words ‘large’ and ‘personal’ together in the request for a favor made Ed nervous.
“I’m always willing to listen” Edward felt that was a safe reply.
“I have a friend who is coming out to California next week and I think you may find him quite interesting. I wonder if you would take a little time to meet with him?”
Edward felt a sense of relief, this didn’t seem like a difficult favor to grant. “As a favor to you I would be happy to meet with him Josh, but tell me, what exactly am I meeting with him to discuss?”
“Ed, I know this is going to sound a little mysterious, but I think it would be best if I just ask you to trust me, and give him a little of your time.”
“OK Josh, I’ll be happy to, but I must say, you really have my curiosity working overtime now. Can’t you give me at least a clue as to what it’s about?”
There was a small, but obvious hesitation. “Actually Ed, I don’t really know. I’m just doing a favor for someone I’ve come to admire and trust. He actually asked me to give you a call. His name is Adam Adamson.”
“Unusual name.” Edward caught himself verbalizing what he was thinking.
“Well, he’s a most unusual man, but I think you’ll be glad you spoke with him.”
“And he’s coming out next week, what day?”
“He said he would like to meet with you at about ten in the morning on Tuesday.”
Edward looked at his day timer for that day, the morning was open, “Tell him I could see him at eleven.” Always good to create the impression that you’re busy. Let him know I’m doing him a favor, he thought.
“I’ll let him know Ed. Thanks a lot.”

They talked for a few more minutes exchanging little bits about how good business was for both of them, and what they thought the future trends would be. They talked about family, and they talked about golf. No, Josh said, he hadn’t played golf with the President since they talked last. And then the conversation was over. Edward figured the guy probably sold some product that he might be able to use. Well, he thought, if he has something half decent and it will seem like a favor to Josh, I’ll give him a break. With that thought, Edward put the whole conversation out of his mind. Tuesday would come soon enough.

His phone rang on Tuesday morning at ten fifty-eight. Nancy Drummond, always the professional, announced that a Mr. Adamson was here for his eleven o’clock appointment. Edward hung up the phone, got up from his desk and walked out into the sitting room to greet his mystery guest.

Adam Adamson was an impressive looking man. Edward couldn’t put his finger on what it was that was so impressive at the time, but later, when he thought about it, when he really analyzed it, he realized that what made the man so interesting was simply his appearance. He seemed to be perfect. Edward realized that he was not only a very attractive man, but that his dark hair was cut very neatly with every hair in place. His teeth were gleaming white and perfect. He could have been in a tooth paste commercial and they would not have had to retouch the video. His skin was lightly tanned, and he seemed very young. But then as they spoke, Edward reevaluated his age, deciding he was probably quite a bit older than he looked. He was dressed in a dark gray suit, impeccably tailored. He wore a crisp white shirt with a beautiful, patterned tie that complimented the suit perfectly. Even his shoes were so shiny that at first Edward thought they were patent leather. Adam carried a slim, expensive looking brief case. Edward Keaton was not a small man, he stood six feet three inches and weighed about two twenty-five. He guessed Adam to be an inch or two shorter and probably twenty pounds lighter.

Edward reached out his hand as he approached his guest “Hello Mr. Adamson, I’m Edward Keaton. Please come on in.” He motioned toward the door to his office. Adam stepped in front of him and entered, with Edward right behind him.

The office was spacious, and there was a sitting area with a small couch and two large stuffed chairs facing each other. Between them was a coffee table with a striking arrangement of fresh flowers. Nancy changed them every three days or so.

Edward motioned Adam toward a chair and they both sat facing each other. Edward looked at him for a moment trying to size him up. He found himself thinking this was no sales rep plying a product.

Edward spoke first, “Adam, can I offer you something to drink? Water, coffee?”
“Nothing, thank you.”
Edward’s curiosity had waited long enough, “So Adam, I guess we have a mutual friend in Joshua Mitchell.”
“Yes we do. I’ve known Josh for quite some time. Did a little consulting work for him about ten years ago. I really appreciated his calling you, and I very much appreciate your taking the time from your busy schedule to meet with me.”
Edward almost felt guilty for pushing the meeting back an hour.
Adam continued, “Let me get right to the point Mr. Keaton.”
Edward interrupted, “Please call me Ed.”
Adam went on, “All right, thank you Ed. I have a proposition for you . The only thing I ask of you before I present it is that you give me your word that you will hear me out completely, no matter how crazy it might sound to you.”
Edward nodded and held out his arms with palms outstretched as if to signal ‘the floor’s all yours’.
Adam looked him in the eyes for about ten seconds. Edward thought it to be a negotiating ploy, but what were they negotiating? Then Adam spoke softly, but confidently.
“Ed, I would like to take over here at Comtec. I would like to become president and CEO.”

Edward didn’t know if he should laugh or throw him out, but he quickly remembered his promise to hear him out. Adam had said no matter how crazy it might have sounded and it sounded extremely crazy. Edward had promised him he would listen. He didn’t promise he would remain silent throughout. “That does sound pretty crazy, Adam.”
Adam laughed softly, “I’m sure it does, but let me explain.”

Over the next three hours he explained to Edward that he was already a financially secure individual. He had stopped working for the money a long time ago. As a matter of fact, he would ask no salary. He had set up a charitable foundation some years back and he would expect a percentage of the increased profits to be donated to that organization with no questions asked. He was willing to put twenty million dollars into an escrow account that could only be released by a new executive committee that would be formed. It would consist of himself as the President and CEO, Edward as the senior vice-president, and a man named Philip Benson, who at that time was the vice president of Comtec.

The twenty million would be released back to Adam after the first year. If Edward and Philip Benson were not confident in Adam’s leadership by that time, Adam would resign.

Adam produced a resume of corporations that he had worked for in the past twenty years, all as the President and CEO. The list was impressive. All were corporations whose market positions in their particular fields improved tremendously while Adamson was on board. Several of the names on the list were corporations that Edward knew of personally. One was a company in which he had owned stock. He remembered making a lot of money with that stock and he now realized that it was over the four year period that Adam had been at the helm. He remembered doing so well, that at the end of the four years he sold the stock and pocketed a bundle. His recollection was that the company was still growing quite well.

Adam explained that his intention was not to eliminate Edward in any way, but that Adam could only use his talents for the best interests of Comtec if he had absolute authority. He assured Edward that he had no intention of laying people off or merging with another company.

Edward discussed the fact that there were stock holders and they would have a say in a decision like this. Comtec stock was selling on the market for about two hundred dollars a share. Adam offered to pay two hundred fifty dollars to any stock holder who was hesitant. Edward found himself thinking about how old Adam looked, compared to his resume that went back twenty years. It didn’t seem to jibe.

When Adam had laid the entire offer out for Edward’s consideration it almost seemed too good to be true. It was what Edward had long come to recognize as a ‘win-win’ situation. He would have to swallow his pride and be willing to take second chair to Adamson, but the long term financial gain seemed irresistible. He wondered if this was some type of scam, but then he thought about the twenty million dollar escrow account. If Adamson could afford to do that, what would he need a scam for?

Within the following two weeks Edward had arranged for Adam to meet with the entire board of directors, and separately with the upper management teams. In the end, all agreed that there was no reason not to give Adam the opportunity he was asking for. Seemingly, his entire motivation was simply the challenge of seeing what he could do to improve Comtec’s position in the market and to bring some money into this charitable organization that he had established years ago.

Everyone agreed that he was a very likable individual. He had the same comforting affect on everybody he met. The last challenge would be the stock holders, although Edward thought that having the entire board of directors in agreement was going to make it a lot easier.

Of course, Adam’s offer of fifty dollars over the market price for each share of stock for any stock holder who wanted out would also likely be grease on the wheel of progress. Edward did not anticipate a major problem and, in fact, he didn’t have one.

The stock holders listened intently to his presentation. There were some questions, mostly related to Adam’s qualifications. When Edward rattled off the statistics on the last three corporations that Adam had been involved with, such as gross sales and net worth before his presence verses gross sales and net worth and stock value increase after his tenure as president, the stock holders were in a state of euphoria. They couldn’t get the motion onto the floor fast enough. There were no takers on the offer to sell the stock at fifty dollars over the market value.

The transition went more smoothly than Edward had anticipated. The more he got to know Adam, the more he was in awe of him. He recognized an intelligence that was both beyond and different from anyone he had ever met. Adam had a way of presenting information, never making you feel less intelligent because you didn’t know what he knew. The man seemed to have no ego, and he was genuinely kind and concerned about everyone around him.

Edward prided himself on being a very considerate employer and his employees would have agreed. But Adam was different. Very, very different. He seemed to command some extraordinary loyalty from everyone. Perhaps it was the fact that interesting things started to happen as soon as Adam was in charge.

He had spent much of the first several months just hanging around the research team. Picking their brains, eating lunch with them, talking with them constantly. Adam was not afraid to delegate responsibility to others. He delegated, made sure the person understood what was expected of them, and then would occasionally follow up to be sure that everything was going well.

Those to whom responsibility was designated didn’t feel that Adam expected more than they could do. Much of the major decision making he left up to Edward. He had commented to Edward that he was doing a great job before he came along and he was confident that he would continue to do a great job. He had increased Edward’s salary by thirty percent immediately, as he had done with all of the top management.

As everything ran smoothly, Adam wandered around in research and development. Was he extracting, or, was he actually implanting information? One day Edward had lunch with one of the engineers he had hired ten years ago. He made the observation that Adam asked amazing questions. He felt that Adam wasn’t so much looking for answers as he was steering the thinking of the person he was talking to. The engineer said that after a day with Adam asking him hundreds of questions he found himself thinking in directions he would never have gone before. He was amazed that in seven weeks of having Adam around, he had been able to solve two major problems in a new manufacturing process they were trying to develop. Research had been stumped for eight months.