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Stories from the Verse
Con Version
Chapter 188: Cooper 60
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Brown 351
The foursome generally ate meals together, breakfast before work, dinners most nights, and lunches on the weekend. Thus the next morning they were together in the dining room eating a brunch prepared by Brian. Derek had offered to cook, but Tommy said no, partly because until they started getting paychecks and contributing to the household budget they would be treated as guests, and partly because when she went shopping she bought food with a view to how she was going to use it, and didn’t want to find that she couldn’t make some planned meal because someone had used up one of her necessary ingredients. French toast, sausage, orange juice, and fresh perked coffee formed the menu. Brian commented that at some point it was learned that perked coffee was connected to bladder cancer and drip coffee was not, but in the nineteen fifties generally only restaurants had drip coffeemakers and for home use the more robust flavor of perk pot coffee was the standard. Tommy changed the subject.
“I’ve been reading a lot of minds at work lately--”
“That seems rather an invasion of privacy,” Brian suggested, but Derek defended her.
“It’s often a useful skill, and the more she practices it the safer she will be when she needs to use it.” Brian shrugged, and Tommy continued.
“The thing is, I caught Mister Cutter. He was as usual berating some employee, and I tapped in to see what he was thinking.”
“And?” Vashti prompted.
“It was odd. He thought, ‘one more week and I’ll be done with all these idiots’.”
“Well,” Brian said, “it’s no secret that Cutter believes himself to be smarter than any two employees here; but that notion that he’ll be done with ‘all these idiots’ doesn’t make much sense. Is he moving, leaving Berkeley and BBS?”
“You did mention,” Tommy noted, “that he was building something up in Yellowstone. Maybe he’s leaving to focus on whatever he has planned up there.”
Brian nodded. “Still, he’s always been very involved in what happens at Berkeley. Even in the time we’ve been here I’ve seen him looking over files and designs in our department, keeping abreast of what we’re doing. It’s difficult to imagine Berkeley Business Systems without his involvement.”
“Also,” Derek said, “the way Tommy put it sounds like something somewhat final--as if he’s planning to sever his ties here. As I understand it, he’s a major stockholder here, and a member of the board.”
“That’s right; him and Keller.”
“That’s a rather major connection, and it might not be simple to sever.”
Everyone nodded thoughtfully.
“Next week is his big party; Keller’s going to be there, and wants me patrolling the area,” Cooper said. “Maybe he’s going to say something then. I wonder what he’s doing in Yellowstone?”
“Yeah,” Tommy echoed. “I wonder.”
As to the old stories that have long been here:
