As always I own nothing, make no money from this and bow before the genius that is Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, Steven Molaro, and all of the writers, actors and crew that bring the TBBT to life. Thank you.
Camel, straw, back, do the math
Somehow Nicolette was able to keep Jerry occupied long enough for me to eat my burger in peace. I was just taking the last bite when Cheryl came over with the new waitress, Penny, in tow.
I think Cheryl was just marking her territory but it also could have been Cheryl introducing the new girl to "good" customers. Good customers to Cheryl were ones that hassled little and tipped well (even on the bad days). Penny had addressed me as Dr. Hofstadter. She had recognized me from the gossip shows and shyly asked Cheryl if Nicolette and Jerry were models. Secretly I think Jerry was pleased with that but she quickly informed Penny that her friend was an author of several books on "Genius" and that she herself was the operations manager for Latham Financials. I think Penny was more impressed with that, than if they had been models. Penny had just gone off to pick up an order when Cheryl looked at me sharply and told me "hands off". Apparently she had seen my eyes dilate when I looked at Penny and she knew that meant I was attracted to her. She informed me that Penny was in a long term relationship and definitely did not like cheaters. I reminded her that after my recent press issues my desire to date was only slightly lower than my desire for a colonoscopy. She just giggled and asked us if we would like desert. Nicolette immediately ordered a chocolate mousse cheese cake while Jerry shook her head and kept looking thru the desserts. Not finding what she wanted she simply asked what desserts they had for the lactose intolerant. Cheryl beamed and said 2 Leonard specials coming right up.
The dessert was still being tested in several of their sites so the Cheesecake Factory had not been given it an official name yet. Most of the waitresses called it the Leonard or Cheryl special since it had been concocted by the dessert chef after an inquiry by Cheryl. Jerry had hers with strawberry topping and I stayed with my favorite blueberry. Jerry was so impressed she bought another slice to take home. The restaurant was not busy so once our dinner was finished and dishes cleared away, we returned to our planning.
The recording of our earlier conversation turned out to be more lucid than I remembered it. Most of what I had to fill in were explanations on some of my logic and the correct way to approach Mr. Sipes (I still could not call him Great Uncle, he had always been Mr. Sipes). Jerry took no end of joy in repeating that L. William Sipes would cause "those bastards" to have a nervous breakdown. "Bloody Bill" as he was known in financial circles detested thieves, especially those that preyed on widows and pensioners. His old fashioned approach to business was not the most profitable but there was no doubt his review of the books and his groups review of the operating procedures would cause many "early" retirements and people "leaving the business to pursue other interests". He did not bend. He would reveal the culprits regardless of who they were.
Upon hearing that he was wheel chair bound Jerry looked concerned. I made sure she knew his mind was sound. It was arthritis that was giving him issues. I told her of my conversations with his executive assistant Evelyn Brewer about getting him to retire and move to a warmer climate. I believed Pasadena would give him rest for his body and food for his mind. The Sipes Group could start a west coast branch. Jerry gave me yet another odd look. Evelyn she informed me was Mr. Sipes partner and had been one of the most sought after by recruiters when she had graduated from the Warton School of Business.
Nicolette had been quiet most of the time but then she looked at us both she smiled and told me that this was what I did best. Reach in to a tangled mess and pull the right strings until some semblance of order emerged. My genius was not to fix the problems. Mine was to identify the issues so that others could better do their jobs. She brushed my cheek and told me that she was writing a followup on the geniuses she had interviewed 6 years ago to see what they had accomplished. She believed my section would be the hardest since she could not quite figure out how I did , what I did. I promised that if I ever figured that out I would tell her, but not to expect an answer soon.
We talked at the bar till closing time and decided to head to our respective homes and sleep on it. The limo dropped me outside of the apartment at a little after 1 AM. Now that our plan was formulated we just needed to implement it. It sounded so simple but to paraphrase the great general Sun Tzu "our plans did not survive contact with the enemy" (chaos). Chaos came in the form of the most button downed person I knew, Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper.