Next morning once she had dropped Ralph off at school , Paige decided to do some of the weekly grocery shopping , as she knew over the weekend they would be busy moving items into the new business premises . Walter had stopped home and was happy checking and rechecking the floor plan for their new headquarters . Since Ann had dropped them off at the condo , both Walter and Ralph had spent a few hours per evening coming up with various ideas , but none seemed to be liked by all three partners . Walter's memory enabled him to remove everything everyone disliked and leave in the items they had all liked . This meant at least 50% of the floor area was designed with both shelving and work surfaces . As of yet no attention had been put on the mezzanine floor area . By the time Paige returned home Walter had put together some alternatives to show Ralph and Paige before going to Kovelsky's .
Paige put all her purchases away once she returned from her shopping trip . Then Walter and Paige spent a couple of hours just snuggled up on the sofa together . At 2.00pm Paige's phone alarm bleeped , time to fetch Ralph . Once back home the three of them spent just over a hour going over the new plans worked out by Walter . After a few little tweaks the three of them decided on a final plan .
They arrived at Kovelsky;'s just after seven , Cabe and Allie were already seated in a booth that had been reserved for them . Mrs Kovelsky saw them enter and went towards them, to escort them to the booth , however her real intention was to flirt with Cabe which amused everyone except Cabe , who went bright red , especially when she pinched his cheek .
Next day Paige drove Walter and Ralph to the van hire company , this time Walter decided to keep the van for a week . From the van hire company they made their way over to their storage unit . After a couple of hours they had loaded the van , although there was still a lot of items left in the unit . Once at their new premises , Walter pulled the van inside the warehouse and Paige parked his car in one of the parking spots allocated to the unit .
In less than a hour they had emptied the van . This time they returned to the storage unit just in the van and loaded up the van again . Once back at the warehouse , they again emptied the van . By now Ralph was complaining about being hungry , so they locked the van in the warehouse and the three of them got into the car and made their way to the beach for hot dogs and ice cream . Once they had their fill , they decided to take a walk along the beach , once they had enjoyed their walk it was beginning to get late so they decided to make their way back to Paige's condo , then finish emptying the storage unit until next day .
Sunday morning after a quick breakfast , Paige drove the three of them back to their new business premises . Once there Walter reversed the van out of the warehouse , leaving the car parked in the same spot as the previous day . By the end of Sunday the storage unit was empty after three more visits , the last was late afternoon . so they just left the van locked up in the warehouse , still loaded , Walter and Paige would empty it once they had dropped of Ralph at school the next day . As they had worked through lunch , Walter drove to Kovelsky's for some food .
Next day they dropped a very disgruntled Ralph off at school , with a promise they would take him to the warehouse when they picked him up from school . But he would need to do his homework before he could help them .
Once Paige and Walter arrived at the warehouse , Walter began to offload the van , Paige took her mobile phone out , first she contacted Ann , to see if the landlord would allow them to build a wet room next to the bathroom , all at their cost , which if they left they would leave intact . which could mean the landlord could increase the rent to any new tenant . Ann told her she would check and phone back .
Once she put the phone down , she went to help Walter to empty the van . By midday the van was empty , so Walter began to assemble the shelving that they had bought from the loft . Paige went back on her phone and began to check out mobile room dividers . After about thirty minutes , she found a company in L.A. who sold office dividing panels including some that measured seven feet high and six foot wide , all had castor wheels fitted , which meant they could be moved easily . She got Walter to measure up , to see just how many they would require . Walter decided on an initial order of six would be sufficient . Paige got back on the web site and ordered six and paid with Walter's credit card . , delivery was two to three days .
Over the next few weeks , no real work came into S.C.S. except Paige had to present three bids for C.P. , two were successful and one loss . But after that C.P. went really quiet . Although the main idea of S.C.S was computer repairs , after a about a month orders began to come in for individual built Walter O'Brian computers . Also more and more people were beginning to approach them for coding jobs . It soon became clear that more and more people were learning that Walter was back in business . Although Ralph helped after school and the weekend , it began to become apparent they needed help .
The landlord had given permission for a wet room and Paige had employed a builder who had suggested they might like a sauna built on the side of the wet room . Paige had contacted Ann again who checked with the landlord , he was more than happy for a further ten by six foot extension on the side of the wet room . The sauna was accessible from both the wet room and the warehouse . Once the builder had sorted out the plumbing , which took a couple of weeks , the rest , which was all prefabricated was completed in ten days . Paige and Walter locked the warehouse at the first available moment , then they both put the wet room and sauna to good use , in their favourite pastime . They also used it a few other times especially , if work was a little quite , but more when they actually wanted to relax a little , relax in their own special way .
After one particular hard day , Walter had to complete three coding jobs . He sat on the sofa , Paige snuggled up to him , Ralph sitting on the floor in front of them .
Walter turned to Paige . " We seem to be getting more and more enquires for coding jobs , I know Ralph can help for a hour after school and Saturdays . When we talked about setting up this company , I envisaged a five day a week so we could spend family time at weekends going for walks on the beach and taking trips up and down the coast . But it would seem I am working almost as hard as when I ran Scorpion , less the danger . I think we need to employ another coder , maybe on a part time basis to begin with . "
Paige smiled at him . " Well I would certainly like more me time with you , what do you think Ralph ? "
Without taking his eyes off his tablet Ralph simply said . " Ok with me . "
Paige removed her mobile from her pocket and Googled , coding , after a quick check she found a site that listed requests for bids , for various coding jobs . " Maybe we could put a request on this site . " She told Walter as she showed him the screen on her phone .
" Lets leave it until we are back at work tomorrow . I just want to be with my family tonight . "
Paige's smile got bigger . " Just what I was thinking . " She said as she snuggled even closer to Walter .
Next morning Paige worked out an advert to put on the biding site , Walter was impressed at what she had come up with .
The morning went smoothly , around noon Paige's mobile rang . She checked the I.D. and saw Sly's name . " It is Sly . " Paige told Walter as she answered the phone .
" Good afternoon Sly . "
Paige heard Sly take a deep breath before he managed to speak , his voice was shaky as he answered .
" Good afternoon Paige , I have just seen your advert ." He stopped speaking to take another deep breath , when he started speaking again his voice had become even more shaky . " Do yyyou think Wwwalter might give the time for an iiinterview . "
" Hold on a minute . " She told Sly as she muted her phone .
" He wants you to know if you will give him an interview ? "
Walter leaned back on his chair , closed his eyes for ten seconds , before leaning forward . " Tell him to come at 4.30pm. Ralph needs to be involved in the interview . "
Paige smiled before going back to her phone , unmuted it . " Walter says can you be here at 4.30pm. ? "
Sly was silent for a few seconds . " Yes give me the address please . "
Paige gave him the address and disconnected the phone .
Walter had the look on his face he gets when trying to solve a difficult problem .
" Is something wrong Walter ? " A concerned Paige asked .
Walter shook his head . " Not really I just was beginning to wonder what as happened to C.P., if Sly is looking for a job . "
" We will no doubt find out when he comes in . " Paige replied .
Once they had collected Ralph from school , they made their way back to the warehouse . Paige explained to Ralph about the advert she had put on the web site , she had found the night before and the first person to reply was Sly , who would be coming for an interview at 4.30pm. today and Walter wanted him at the interview .
Once back at the warehouse , Ralph made his way up to the mezzanine floor were he hade made a small section into a study area , were he could do his homework without disturbing anyone . He was back down into the main Warehouse just before 4.00pm. And immediately began working on a coding job he had started the day before .
Exactly at 4.30pm. , the door bell rang , Paige switched on the door cameras , to see a rather nervous Sly standing there , she pressed a button that released the locks on the personnel door , at the same time she spoke into a microphone and told Sly to come in . All this security was just a small selection of what Walter and Ralph had installed in and around the warehouse .
Sly came through the door and just stood there , Paige pushed another button and the personnel shut and bolts engaged again , the noise caused Sly to jump and look back at the door , when he turned his face was full of fear .
Paige looked at him a big smile on her face . " Don't worry that is just part of the security ,that Walter and Ralph installed . Come on in and take a seat in front of my desk .
With a little trepidation , Sly walked towards Paige , removed a cloth from his pocket and wiped the chair all over . " Still the same Sly a complete germaphobe . " Paige said as he finally sat down .
Sly managed a small smile as he just nodded to Paige . By now Walter and Ralph had bought their chairs over and were sitting each side of Paige . Both said hello to Sly and welcomed him to SCS .
Both Walter and Ralph looked at Paige and nodded , previously they had agreed to let Paige do the interview , unless either of the other two had any queries . Paige started the interview .
" First thank you for coming , but we all need to know why you are here . "
Sly looked at his hands , it was if he was to embarrassed to look any of them in the eye . He took a deep breath before he began speaking .
" C.P. is no more , after you failed to win that last bid you did for us , I know it was not your fault . However once we got back to the office ." A smile again appeared on her face at the idea The spare bedroom at Toby and Happy's apartment was classed as their office . Sly did not seem to notice Paige and just carried on talking . " Toby completely lost it , he said we should never have listened to your advice to increase our prices or increasing our work time . he also accused you of giving a poor performance , because you wanted Walter to win the bid . " .
Paige interrupted him . " Sorry Sly , but Walter did not put a bid in for that job . "
Sly gave her a sad smile . " I know and so does Toby he just wanted to put the blame on someone else . In fact the biggest problem on the jobs , you won for us , was Toby . None of the jobs we did we never managed to finish on time , meaning we had to pay a late fee payment . He even tried to blame you for all the late fees , even though you had suggested we increase our job time . Anyway after a good hour of Toby ranting and raving , I began to walk out , but Happy begged me to stay . Toby eventually calmed down , he then made a unilateral decision that the next bid they won , he would do the presentation , neither Happy or myself were even given a chance to vote . It was almost three weeks before we were even requested to put a bid in . Toby took over completely , he cut the price to the bare bones and gave a really short completion date. .
But worse was to come , he completely lost it at the presentation , once the client began to ask questions , he began to call the client, stupid , thick , he even suggested he was not fit to run a company . His insults became so bad , the client called security and we were thrown out . That was the last bid we were ever approached with , even ones we found online , if we applied , we either got no reply or an immediate E-Mail . " No thank you . " A few weeks later we shut down C.P. I have been living on my savings , but now they are running out . Happy as reopened her dad's garage , she is such a good mechanic she can earn a living . Toby is doing what he does , lying on the sofa ,either at home or in the garage , reading medical books and magazines , he is so arrogant and conceited that he thinks he is to good to look for a job , After all he is Harvard trained doctor . "
The last remark bought a small smile to the three interviewers faces .
Walter looked across at Paige and with a slight nod of her head she began to reply to Sly . " First you need to understand S.C.S. , although it includes Scorpion in the name , it works nothing like the old Scorpion . We repair and build special specification computers for business and domestic use . Walter will occasionally see a bid for a job that interests him and go for it , usually winning . Once Ralph graduates from school the coding side will increase . We occasionally will do work for Homeland but it is strictly computer related , no more chasing around to be faced with difficult tasks . If Homeland do require help , Walter and myself will go to Homeland to sort the problems out , which would mean you could be left on your own for many hours , but the security surrounding the premises is a special Walter and Ralph system , which you will be shown if offered the job .
At the moment your desk would be up there . " Paige pointed at the stairs to the mezzanine floor . " At the moment Ralph as a small desk up there were he does his homework . The hours at the moment are 9.00am. until 5.00pm for at present four days a week , the pay will not be as much as when you worked at Scorpion , in fact at the moment it is just over 60% of that . Just one more thing SCS is a partnership but unlike CP all decisions are put to a vote were all three of us have a proper discussion . Now first are you still interested ? "
All Sly could do was a nod his head ,
" Ok , then would you mind going to sit on one of the chairs back there . "
Sly nodded again , slowly walked back to were Paige had pointed and sat down .
The three discussed what to do after about five minutes , Paige called Sly back to them . Paige smiled at him and indicated to him to sit down . Once he was seated and settled , Paige began smiling .
" Well Sly , if you are still interested the job is yours . "
A big smile spread across Sly's face . " Yes please . "
All three said" Welcome to SCS . "
Paige still smiling said " Ok, you can start Monday 9.00am sharp .
Walter finally said something . " How did you get here ? "
Sly looked at and did not answer immediately , then sheepishly said , " Happy bought me in her pick up . "
Walter a small smile on his face . " Then give her a ring and tell her to come in . "
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Grykon Thank you glad you enjoyed it .
Pearliegirl Glad you are enjoying the story , must admit I enjoy writing that part of the stories .
LouBe96 They seem able to amaze almost everyone . The shower and sauna are certainly being used .