Cliff's Good Deed

17 - A Consultation

Cliff and Izzy sat around the dining room table with their father examining the request for a proposal Cliff had been working on. He asked for his father's counsel because of being unsure whether it was worth his time.

Cliff presented the spreadsheet he had printed out. "As you can see, I believe we could make a healthy profit. The problem is if we win this contract, it would be our first venture outside of Pennsylvania. New Jersey's regulations are stricter than ours. For instance, we can't pick up trash before seven in the morning because of noise ordinances."

Their father took a few minutes to review the figures. When done, he met Cliff's gaze. "Have you taken into consideration that we'd have to pay state mandated prevailing wage rates?"

Cliff flipped through the spreadsheets. He pulled a page and slid it across the table to his father. "Here's my analysis. We can make it work."

While studying the page, his father asked, "Izzy, what do you think?"

Cliff was happy their father had included her in the discussion.

Izzy sat up straighter in her seat. "When Cliffy and I talked it over, I told him my biggest concern was we'd have to purchase a new fleet of trash trucks. The state doesn't use the bag system, so we'd have to purchase all new wheelie bins too. I worry we'd have trouble obtaining financing. I already put out some feelers and our banks are squeamish about lending money for an out of state venture."

Cliff lamented the fact that just about every municipality was doing away with the bag system. When that happened, he would no longer be able to manually throw trash into the trucks which would hamper his ability to stay in shape. He hated the idea of having to join a gym.

Their father sat back in his chair and regarded the two of them. "Here's my advice. Don't try to win this one. Don't lowball. Present a high price in the proposal. If by chance, we do win, we'll be covered, and the fee schedule will look more palatable to our lenders. If we lose, it'll still be an educational experience. At the proposal presentation, you'll have a chance to review competitors' proposals and study their pricing strategies."

Although their father was no longer involved with day-to-day operations of the business, his experience and insight often impressed Cliff. "That's a great idea."

Izzy chimed in, "Yeah, thanks, Dad."

Their father pushed back from the table and stood. He looked at Cliff. "Son, I know you don't like hearing this, but I'm going to preach it again to you. Having a United States Senator's influence would give us a powerful advantage toward winning contracts and securing bank financing on projects such as this one."

He was pushing Kayla again. Cliff decided not to respond.

Father went on, "Can you at least think about it?"

Cliff sighed. "Sure, I'll think about it."

"Good." Their father nodded and left the room.

Izzy gawked at him. "Seriously? You'll think about it? I already told Kayla you weren't interested."

Cliff glanced down the hall to make sure their father was out of earshot. "Relax, kiddo, I just told him so he wouldn't belabor the point. I, uh, I'm going to ask Hannah to the summer social."

She grinned. "You sound nervous. You really have the feels for her, don't you?"

He ignored the second part of her question. "Do you know what makes me nervous? Having Hannah find female debris in my Corvette. You need to do a better job policing your stuff or I'm going to take away your driving privileges."

Izzy held a hand to her chest. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lipstick in the passenger door pocket."

"Ah, that's Kayla's. She must have left it there and forgot about it."

"A Tampon case in the center console."

Izzy snapped her fingers. "That's where it got to! I've been looking all over for that. Sorry, I'll do better."

"And you returned the car to me running on fumes. If you drive it, you need to put gas in it."

Her brows knitted together. "But it's an E-Ray. It's all electric, isn't it?"

Cliff scoffed. "Don't play Miss Innocent and try to con me. I know that you know it's a hybrid. You still need to gas it up."

She sighed. "I didn't think you'd mind. I haven't received a paycheck yet and your car takes expensive high-grade gasoline. You can help me out with that, can't you?"

"I'm not made of money either."

She wore a puppy dog expression. "Please, Cliffy, please?"

"You're killing me, Izzy." He ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, but then don't expect me to fill up your Audi." Except they both knew he would.

She jumped out of her seat and hugged him. "You're the best." Then out of the blue, she asked, "When are you going to ask Hannah to the summer social?"

"I'm taking her to Hershey Park on Sunday. If our date goes well, I'll ask her afterwards."

"That's a coincidence. Aaron and I are going there too on Sunday. Hey, do you want to double date?"

The thought appealed to Cliff, because hanging out with his sister was always fun, but he figured it was too soon. He still wanted Hannah all to himself to get to know her better. "Not all day. How about if we meet up at the food court later in the day?"

Izzy grinned. "I can't wait to see you how you act around your new crush."

Will Cliff ever say no to his sister?

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