“He was a lot of work, that’s all I’ll say.” Lauren was loyal to her subjects. If she knew bits and pieces through her research and the interview process that the public didn’t need to know, she kept them to herself.

“We’re preparing to land,” John said. “It’s a bit windy, so hang on.”

Again, they hovered over yet another helipad, though Lauren didn’t see the trademark G.

The whir of the blades died, then John removed his headset. The ride couldn’t have been more than ten minutes. Briefly, Lauren wondered why Mr. G had a home so close to the penthouse apartment she stayed in but figured he’d tell her if she asked. And she would.

“Okay, ladies, let’s see what Dad’s got cooking.”

John helped Sandra Marie off the chopper, then he held out his hand to Lauren, though he didn’t let go as they made their way to the entrance. Again, a card was scanned, a red light flashed, and the door slid open.

“One more,” John said. They took an elevator to the floor below them. “Security,” John explained.

Another scan, though this time John stood in front of a lens, a green light moved from side to side, then a red light flashed three times, and the door opened.

“That’s a retinal scan,” John explained. “Crazy world requires this now.”

She had heard of these types of scans—they weren’t all that uncommon—but she’d never witnessed one in action.

Mr. G himself greeted them as soon as John walked into a giant room similar to the penthouse.

“I see my son delivered my guests without any problems.”

“Nothing to it,” John said. “So, Dad, I’m starved. What’s for dinner?”

Lauren felt out of place for a minute, then Mr. G took her by the hand. “I want to show you this new gadget in the kitchen first,” he said, and again gave her a sheepish wink. “Come on, San, you need to see this, too.”

“G, you and your gadgets.”

Lauren was expecting something out of this world, or a robot making table-side Caesar salads.

“Watch this,” Mr. G said, picking up a bottle of red wine and placing his gadget on the bottle; then he took out the latest model of cell phone created by Global Goods and touched the screen. The cork flew off the bottle of wine.

“So, what do you think?” he asked them.

“Dad, you have too much money,” John said.

“I like it,” Sandra Marie said. “Let’s save a bottle for later.” She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“All right, Lauren, I’m ashamed of myself. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare something extravagant, but I make a killer meat loaf and mashed potatoes, so I hope you’re okay with this? I use a turkey-chicken mix.”