Part 4

Dinner time approached and still Jim sat in the library, his fingers pausing over the pages of the latest business proposal he was considering. Guttenberg Braille Project had hit a funding wall developing a refreshable Braille eReader and was seeking additional funding.

The idea seemed so obvious to raising literacy in the blind community, but the technology behind heat reactive polymers was apparently prohibitively expensive.

The dinner bell rang and Jim rose, determined to keep to his schedule, despite his visit from Trixie. He had a company to run and employees who depended on him.

He pushed away the wave of loneliness that threatened. She left. It was over. He was alone again. Which is how he wanted it. So why did he feel like crap?

Which was why he was surprised to see Trixie in his living room, fully dressed, and talking to Miss Trask.

"Did you get a chance to review the financials for GBP, Jim?"

Jim held up the file. "Was going to look at it over dinner."

"Will you join us, Miss Trask?" Trixie asked, her blue eyes bright.

"I thought you left," Jim said.

Miss Trask raised her eyebrow. "Kicking me out, Jim? I assure you Wheeler/ Hart will take me back."

"No, I meant Trixie," Jim said, feeling flushed and foolish.

"I'm not going anywhere," Trixie said. "I only have a week to convince you to go to the wedding. I'm not wasting any of it." Her chin tilted and she sat at the formal dining room table with the regalness of a queen. "Are you planning on standing there or were you going to join me for dinner?"

Jim sat and a tray was wheeled in. "Just leave it in the kitchen when you're done," Cook said. She shared a smile with Trixie and Miss Trask before leaving them for the kitchen.

"Help?" Trixie asked. "And here I thought you were a complete hermit."

Jim's face hardened. "I'm not a hermit," he said, hurt that his family would think that of him. "I run a multimillion dollar business as well as sit on the board of Wheeler/ Hart. I even call my parents once a week. It's not like I don't have contact with people. " He turned to his sister's former governess. "Were you going to join us, Miss Trask? I can get an extra place setting."

Miss Trask smiled and brushed a stray silvery hair away from her face. "Thanks, Jim. Trixie. But I have a date tonight. Trixie, your suitcase is in the Blue Room. Jim can show you after dinner." She nodded to them both and left, her stride brisk and purposeful.

Dinner began as an awkward affair with neither of them sure what to say or how to begin to build a bridge between their past friendship and their current situation.

"This is delicious. Cold duck?"

Jim nodded, staring at his plate and systematically cutting his dinner into small bites. He was only happy Trixie was sitting to his right, keeping the worst of his scars facing away from her.

"What. Um. What proposal are you looking at?"

"GBP, or the Guttenberg Braille Project, is trying to bring to market an affordable Braille capable e-reader. The project stalled in Europe and the one in China is set to come out but with a price point of over three thousand US dollars."

Trixie whistled. "That's a lot of money."

Jim nodded, opening the folder. "It is, and naturally, puts it out of the reach of many of the intended demographic. And, of course, the cost of books. They're trying to work out a deal with the three biggest publishing houses to get translations in Braille. That would have to be shored up before we continue. But, literacy is essential to learning and many of the blind community aren't even being taught Braille."

"Really? So, they aren't reading?"

Jim shook his head and pulled out a report, sliding it across the table. "From 1932 to 1960, blind people were taught to read Braille. But according to the report GBP included from the National Federation of the Blind, adult literacy among the blind is only at 10%."

"Oh wow," Trixie said. "That's terrible!" She frowned. "How do they learn?"

"Audio or text to speak programs," Jim said. He pulled out another report and frowned. "But of course, those things can't teach punctuation, sentence structure, or other aspects of grammar. Reading comprehension for school kids isn't as high among the blind because they aren't reading. Sometimes, as you know, we all need to re-read things several times to really understand and grasp it."

Trixie looked at the prototype that Jim held. Slightly longer than her Kindle e-reader, it was sleek and light. "Braille raises the pages, making the books thick and cumbersome," he continued. "That was a big reason it fell out of use."

She held her hand out and lightly touched the slim device. "So the screen will raise with the words?"

"They're working on a heat sensitive polymer," Jim said. "I think one of the companies Dad uses works with polymer. I want to look into seeing if we can keep costs down by staying in-house."

"Wow," Trixie said. "It sounds like you're sold on the idea."

"Yes and no. I agree it's a needed item, but I need to review their business plan. Will it make money? Can it be marketed to international markets? Or am I subsidizing a losing, although well intentioned, item?"

"Is it always about money?"

Jim shrugged. "Frayne Holding isn't a charity. Eventually, I have to recoup my investment. "

"Literacy is important, Jim."

"I agree. I want to look into it, for sure. I need to look into their distribution chain and determine where and how they're coming up with their price point. I need to talk with a contact over at Random House and see if they're willing to work with us. This could be a great prototype for multiple companies to get in and support it. Once it gets rolling and we see what the demand is, we can expand and the price point will drop." He stood, collected their plates, and placed them into the now quiet kitchen. He returned with two generous slices of cheesecake. "Looks like Cook thought of everything," he said.

"Are we going to talk?" Trixie said.

"Not over dinner," Jim said. "I just want to enjoy a meal with an old friend."

Trixie nodded and felt her stomach clench. "I'm not leaving, Jim. Everyone wants you there."

"I don't get company very often," he said quietly. "Let's eat first," he said, tracing her hand with one long finger. "We'll talk later," he said, handing her a fork.