Robin Cook - Acceptable Risk

“Edward is coming to live with me,” Kim said, knowing it would quickly get back to her mother. “I’m renovating the old house on the family compound.”

“That’s wonderful,” Candice said.

“You old rogue,” Stanton said as he reached across the table and gave Edward a light punch in the shoulder.

“For once in my life my personal life is going as well as my professional life,” Edward said.

“Why don’t we site the company somewhere on the North Shore?” Stanton suggested. “Hell, commercial rents up there must be a fraction of what they are in the city.”

“Stanton, you’ve just given me a great idea,” Edward said. He turned sideways to look at Kim. “What about that mill-turned-stables on the compound? It would make a perfect lab for this kind of project because of its isolation.”

“I don’t know,” Kim stammered. She’d been caught totally unawares by the suggestion.

“I’m talking about Omni renting the space from you and your brother,” Edward said, warming to the idea. “As you’ve mentioned, the compound is a burden. I’m sure some legitimate rent could be a real help.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Stanton said. “The rent could be totally written off, so it would be tax free. Good suggestion, old sport.”

“What do you say?” Edward asked.

“I’d have to ask my brother,” Kim said.

“Of course,” Edward said. “When? I mean the sooner the better.”

Kim looked at her watch and calculated that it was about two-thirty in the morning in London, just about the time Brian would be getting down to work. “I could call him any evening,” Kim said. “I suppose I could even call him now.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Stanton said. “Decisiveness.” He pulled his cellular phone from his pocket and pushed it across to Kim. “Omni will even pay for the call.”

Kim stood up.

“Where are you going?” Edward asked.

“I feel self-conscious calling my brother in front of everyone,” Kim said.

“Perfectly understandable,” Stanton said. “You go on into the ladies’ room.”

“I think I prefer to step outside,” Kim said.

After Kim had left the table Candice congratulated Edward on the progress of his relationship with Kim.

“We’ve been enjoying each other’s company,” Edward said.

“How much personnel would you need at the lab?” Stanton asked. “Hefty salaries can eat up capital like nothing else.”

“I’d keep the number to a minimum,” Edward said. “I’d need a biologist to handle the animal studies, an immunologist for the cellular studies, a crystallographer, a molecular modeler, a biophysicist for nuclear magnetic resonance, a pharmacologist, plus myself and Eleanor.”

“Jesus Christ!” Stanton exclaimed. “What the hell do you think you are creating, a university?”

“I assure you this is a minimum for the kind of work we’ll be doing,” Edward said calmly.

“Why Eleanor?”

“She’s my assistant,” Edward said. “She’s the person I work with the closest, and she’s crucial to the project.”

“When can you start to assemble this team?” Stanton asked.

“As soon as you have the money,” Edward said. “We’ll have to have first-class people, so they won’t come cheap. I’ll be enticing them away from coveted academic appointments and lucrative positions in private industry.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Stanton said. “Many new biomedical companies go belly-up from a hemorrhage of capital from overly generous salaries.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Edward said. “When can you have money available for me to draw on?”

“I can have a million available by the beginning of the week,” Stanton said.

The first courses of their dinner arrived. Since Candice and Stanton were having hot appetizers, Edward insisted they start. But no sooner had they picked up their forks when Kim returned. She sat down and handed Stanton his phone.

“I’ve good news,” she said. “My brother is delighted with the idea of paying tenants in the old mill building, but he insisted that we will not pay for any improvements. That will have to be up to Omni.”

“Fair enough,” Edward said. He picked up his glass in preparation for another toast. He had to nudge Stanton, who was momentarily lost in thought. “To Omni and to Ultra,” Edward said. They all drank.

“This is how I think we should set the company up,” Stanton said as soon as he put his glass down. ‘ We’ll capitalize with four and a half million and value the stock at ten dollars a share. Out of the four hundred and fifty thousand shares we’ll each hold one hundred and fifty thousand, leaving one hundred and fifty thousand for future financing and for attracting the best people by offering some equity. If Ultra turns out to be anything like it’s been described tonight, each share of the stock will end up being ungodly valuable.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Edward said, raising his wineglass yet again. They all clinked their glasses and drank, particularly Edward, who found himself enjoying the wine selection he’d made. He’d never had better white wine, and he took a moment to savor its vanilla bouquet and slightly apricot finish.

After the dinner was over and goodbyes had been said, Kim and Edward climbed into Edward’s car in the restaurant’s parking lot.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to skip the walk in the square,” Edward said.

“Oh?” Kim questioned. She was mildly disappointed. She was also surprised, but then the whole evening had been a surprise. She’d not expected Edward to have been willing to take an evening off, and on top of that, his behavior had been exceptional from the moment he’d picked her up.

“There’s some phone calls I’d like to make,” Edward said.

“It’s after ten,” Kim reminded him. “Isn’t it a little late to be calling people?”

“Not on the West Coast,” Edward said. “There’s a couple of people at UCLA and Stanford who I’d like to see on the Omni staff.”

“I gather you are excited about this business venture,” Kim commented.

“I’m ecstatic,” Edward said. “My intuition told me I was onto something important the moment I learned we’d stumbled onto three previously unknown alkaloids. I just didn’t know it was going to be this big.”

“Aren’t you a little worried about the participation agreement you signed with Harvard?” Kim asked. “I’ve heard about similar situations leading to serious trouble in this town, like during the 1980s, when academia and industry became much too cozy.”

“It’s a problem I will leave to the lawyers,” Edward said.

“I don’t know,” Kim said, unconvinced. “Whether lawyers are involved or not, it could affect your academic career.” Knowing how much Edward valued teaching, Kim was worried that his sudden entrepreneurial enthusiasm was clouding his better judgment.

“It’s a risk,” Edward admitted. “But I’m more than willing to take it. The opportunity Ultra offers is a once-in-a-lifetime proposition. It’s a chance to make a mark in this world and to earn some real money while doing it.”

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in becoming a millionaire,” Kim said.

“I wasn’t,” Edward said. “But I hadn’t thought about becoming a billionaire. I didn’t realize the stakes were that high.”

Kim wasn’t sure there was that much difference, but she didn’t say anything. It was an ethical question that she didn’t feel like debating at the moment.

“I’m sorry about making the suggestion of converting the Stewart stables to a lab without discussing it with you beforehand,” Edward said. “It’s not like me to blurt something like that out on the spur of the moment. I guess the excitement of talking with Stanton got the best of me.”