Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

Chapter 12

Wednesday, 09 March 2022 – 2:40 p.m. MST

Quinn and Ramesh returned to the Q-Morrow top floor suite just after two-thirty. As they exited the elevator, Valerie met them with a smile.

“I hope you had a nice lunch,” she said then continued, “Quinn, Laura just called. She’s meeting with the governor at three and hoped you could be there. She said it’s mainly a PR thing. She said it would be a good time to show your support.”

Quinn had promised Laura that not only would he support her candidacy, but that he would be involved and engaged in her campaign. He did support Laura and he had made a decision to make her political career at least equally as important as his business. She had supported him through twenty years of work; it was his turn to support her.

“I can show Mr. Kapoor around while you’re gone. It shouldn’t be more than an hour, I suspect,” Val added.

“Please. Valerie, you can call me Ramesh.”

“I can show Ramesh around while you’re gone,” she repeated with emphasis on Ramesh.

“That would be perfect. Ram, I’m sorry I need to run, but this is for Laura,” Quinn said as he turned back to the elevators. “I’ll be quick. Val, you be nice to Ramesh.” He winked as the doors closed.

“Shall we?” Valerie asked as she stepped into the second elevator. “There’s so much to see.”

“Yes, please.”

Ramesh stood just slightly behind her. She was turned away temporarily. He looked at her. She was about five feet eight inches tall. She had the skin and muscle tone of a twenty-one year old. Her dark brown hair had a slight wave and touched her shoulders in the back. She was petite, but not thin and she had a perfect figure. She wore little jewelry, but Ramesh noticed that she did wear a wedding band. He smiled.

“How much do you know about Q-Morrow?” Valerie asked.

“Actually not much more than I have read in the news and trade journals,” he replied. “I was living here in Phoenix when Quinn started this. I was at the open house for this building also, but Quinn and I were both very busy at that time. I truly do not know much about how this all began,” he said.

The elevator arrived and they stepped inside.

“I think you’ll find this very interesting, then.” Valerie pressed the button for the eleventh floor. “You have a history in biotechnology, right?”

“Yes. I was at one time on the executive management team for the International Genomics Consortium in Phoenix. I studied both biochemistry and computer science at university,” he answered, catching himself before continuing. He had a tendency to dominate conversations regarding his technical expertise and didn’t want to bore Valerie. He preferred to let her speak. The sound of her voice seemed to lift him each time she spoke.

“I think you’ll love the research and development we’re doing on the eleventh floor then. It’s right up your alley,” she said with a wink.

They arrived at the eleventh floor and began their tour. Ramesh hung on every word that Valerie uttered. He could not believe the exciting things he was seeing. He was amazed. At every floor, in every office, the research and development was dizzying. Ramesh knew that he was not entirely current with the state of the art, but he felt that what he was seeing was much further ahead than was known in the industry. He guessed that some of the research was even five to ten years ahead of the most aggressive estimates.

Valerie led Ramesh on a whirlwind tour of the complex. They visited two other buildings on the Q-Morrow campus and met dozens of people. Ramesh entirely lost track of time, but was sure that more than an hour had passed.

“So, what do you think?” Valerie asked as they finished their tour and headed back to the main Q-Morrow tower.

“This is all fantastic. I have never seen anything so advanced,” he said as he walked quickly beside her into the large atrium of the main building.

“I hope you don’t mind that we took a little more time than planned. Quinn has only just returned from his meeting,” she said as she led the way to the elevators.

She moved quickly, but did not rush. She was so confident. She seemed to know everything about the company and she was well organized. She conversed pleasantly with the staff, but she always maintained a professional relationship. They respected her and she them.

She reminded Ramesh of his wife, Padumi. She had been so confident, so strong. He missed her. “No, not at all. It has been very pleasant,” Ramesh returned. He was a bit disappointed that the tour was over. He glanced at his watch. It was just after five thirty. Three hours had passed in a blink.