JC: Ed Biggers
Part 6: Doyen
Chapter 2
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Ed sat at his normal place at the conference table and looked 
around the room at the other occupants. Jim sat at the head of the 
table with a huge stack of papers in front of him. Seated next to 
Jim was Jack Anderson, the family accountant. Ed didn't know the 
man that well and realized that it had been years since he had 
talked to him. 

Kelly, Leroy, Ling, and Linda shifted nervously waiting for the 
family meeting to begin. They were watching Ed, making him feel 
self-conscious. Ed looked over at the door waiting for Cathy to 
arrive with John's personal papers. As soon as she came, they 
could start the meeting. 

Cathy entered the room and took her place at the far end of the 
table. Getting out her notebook and pen, she was ready to take 
notes. Pained by the need to hold the meeting, Ed said, "Unless 
there are any objections, I call the family meeting to order."

When no one said anything, Ed said, "Okay. The first item on the 
agenda is the reading of the will. Jim, if you'll take over the 
meeting."

Clearing his throat, Jim said, "John left a copy of his will with me 
that was dated four months ago and duly witnessed by three 
observers. It is a very simple will, far simpler than most wills."

Ed listened with increasing numbness as Jim proceeded to read the 
will. John had divided his shares in the family to the other 
shareholders equally with the provision that any odd shares go to 
Ed. Ninety-five percent of future revenues from his patents were to 
go to the Fusion Foundation and five percent was to go to the 
family. He had placed all responsibility for administering the 
money to Ed. 

John had left five million for each staff member, including Shauna. 
Cathy dropped her pen in shock when she heard that the staff was 
included in the will. It tore at her heart that John would leave them 
with that much wealth. She burst out in tears and had to leave the 
room. Jim waited for her to return before continuing with the terms 
of the will.

The remainder of his assets was divided amongst all family 
members in equal share. The moneys for the children were to be 
provided in three increments. An even million was to be dispersed 
when they graduated high school. Another million was to be 
dispersed when they reached eighteen. The remainder was to be 
made available when they turned twenty-one. Jim was responsible 
for administering those funds.

When Jim finished reading the will, he asked, "Are there any 
questions about the terms of the will?"

No one answered. They just sat quietly thinking about what John 
had done for them. Jim looked around at every and then said, "Jack 
was kind enough to work up the figures for me."

Jack looked up and said, "The amount per family member works 
out to a hundred and thirty three million. Since most of that money 
is in investments, it will be difficult to distribute it without 
liquefying the assets. The family income from the patents is 
currently at a hundred and twenty million per year."

Ed looked around the room to see how the others were reacting to 
the news. Kelly raised a hand and said, "Do we have to liquefy the 
assets? Can't we distribute the assets in the same way that Ed 
divides rocks?"

That seemed like a reasonable solution. Ed said, "That seems fair 
to me."

Linda and Leroy both nodded their heads in agreement. Ling 
asked, "How does Ed divide rocks?"

Ed explained how he would take all of the samples involved and 
place them in a single pile. At that point, each person would select 
a sample in a single round, with each person taking turns going 
first in successive rounds. Ling was impressed and said, "Sounds 
fair to me."

Jack shrugged and said, "If everyone agrees, then I don't see a 
problem with that approach. If Jim would be willing to select a 
proxy to stand in for the children, I can break the assets into 
individual units of a million each."

Listening to the discussion, Jim was trying to figure out the legal 
implications of dividing the assets in that manner. He couldn't see 
a problem and said, "I'll have to check and make sure that is legal."

Jack said, "There are tax issues that limit how much you can 
inherit without being taxed. You guys are way over that amount."

The discussion concerning taxes continued for another thirty 
minutes. At the end of that time, Ed said, "I suggest that we take a 
lunch break. Marguerite has set up a nice buffet for us and I would 
hate for it to go to waste."

As everyone went to get a bite to eat, Cathy slipped out of the 
room to cry.  Ed noticed and followed her out of the room, 
catching up to her as she burst out in tears. Concerned, he pulled 
her into a hug providing a shoulder for her to cry upon. As her 
body shook, Ed pulled out his ever-present handkerchief to dry her 
tears. Amidst her sobs, she said, "I really loved John."

"I know, I know. He loved you too," replied Ed rubbing her back 
as she slowly relaxed and her sobs died down. He knew that the 
whole staff was in shock over the death of John. It would only get 
worse when they found about the provisions of the will.

Cathy straightened up and accepted the handkerchief from Ed. "Let 
me clean up and I'll be back."

"Okay," replied Ed. He returned to the room to get his lunch. Kelly 
and Ling had noticed his absence and gave him a thumbs-up sign 
to let him know that he had done the right thing. He turned his 
attention to the food in the buffet and filled his plate. It was all 
finger food that could be eaten at ease, a bite at a time.

Returning to his chair, he thought about the responsibilities that 
John had placed upon him. The family was looking to him to for 
leadership and he doubted that he was up to the task. Distracted by 
his concerns about his new responsibilities, he barely paid attention 
to what he was eating, going through the motions without thought. 

Kelly noticed that Ed was distracted and frowned as she thought 
about how he was taking the death of John. She asked, "Ed, are 
you feeling okay?"

"Just a little tired," replied Ed. It was the truth, but not all of the 
truth and it hurt him to say it. 

"If you say so," commented Kelly. Ling, Linda, and Kelly 
exchanged glances that communicated exactly what they were 
thinking. They each knew that his state of mind couldn't be eased 
with a little sex. This was going to require two weeks in the desert 
with an appropriate companion. He wouldn't be getting it anytime 
soon.

Ed munched on a mini-taco barely tasting it. The tax issues that he 
faced were horrendous and he was going to have to work hard to 
get John's affairs in order to meet the necessary tax-filing 
deadlines. Those tax deadlines were looming large on the horizon. 
He wanted to curse the IRS, finding it hard to believe at this 
moment that he actually worked for them. 

Leroy sat down next to him and said, "Ed, you've done so much for 
all of us already. Anything that I or any one of us can do to help, 
let us know."

Pleased at the offer of support, Ed replied, "Thanks Leroy."

"You're welcome."

Smiling for the first time that day, Ed said, "Just don't turn off your 
cell phone."

Leroy laughed at the joke; satisfied that Ed was recovering a little 
of his positive outlook on life. He replied, "I'll double check that it 
is on in a month or two."

Ed laughed and shook his head. Some of the tension drained from 
his back and he took a sip of iced tea appreciating the cool liquid 
flowing down his dry throat. Looking around the room, he saw that 
everyone had returned and it appeared that everyone was ready to 
resume. He asked, "Are we ready to resume?"

As everyone nodded, Ed requested, "Jack, would you please give 
us an update on the financial health of the family?"

The report was shocking in terms of the amount of money that was 
controlled by the family. Ed had not realized that John had been 
pouring millions of dollars into the family coffers on a monthly 
basis. Ed was personally worth close to three hundred million 
dollars from his business interests, he had just inherited another 
hundred and twenty million dollars from John, and his shares in the 
family were worth seven hundred million. Stunned, he realized that 
he was a billionaire.

"Ed, you remain the major stockholder in the family." Jack had to 
repeat himself before he was able to get Ed's attention. Once he 
was sure that he had Ed's attention, he said, "Ed, you are the major 
stockholder in the family. You have been in the past and your 
responsibilities do not change. In effect, you are the chief 
executive officer of the family. John was the chief financial officer. 
You need to name a new CFO."

Ed had not thought about which member of the family would 
manage the family assets now that John had died. He looked 
around the room and asked, "I'm accepting nominations for the 
job."

No one said a word as they looked at each other. It was a thankless 
job and one that no one really wanted. Long after the silence had 
become uncomfortable, Kelly said, "I think it should be Ling."

Ling sat up with a surprised look on her face and asked, "Why 
me?"

Leaning on the table to give his words more emphasis, Leroy 
answered, "You are the most disciplined of us all."

The assessment concerning her discipline didn't surprise Ling, but 
she didn't think that it qualified her to take charge of the financial 
health of the family. She was going to argue against it, but looked 
at Linda and Leroy realizing that no one else was any better 
qualified than she was. Sighing, a frown tugged on the corner of 
her lip as she said, "Okay."

Ed asked, "Anyone object to Ling being the CFO?"

No one objected. Jack and Jim exchanged a glance at how quickly 
and easily the family had put someone in charge of their financial 
health. Jim said, "I'll set up the paperwork for her to take over that 
position."

"Cathy, you need to arrange a time for Ling and Jack to get 
together to go over the books. When the paperwork is done, we'll 
have another family meeting to sign it."

From her end of the table, Cathy nodded as she jotted down the 
assignments. It seemed to her that these family meetings always 
meant more work for her. She didn't mind, it was much better than 
the months of boredom that she had experienced since the college 
had opened. She looked up and said, "Got it."

Jack examined the books and said, "Tax time is coming up. I'll be 
here for a month working with the IRS on your returns. I'll need to 
talk to each of you. Ed, I'll have to talk to Lynn about your 
corporate taxes."

Cathy didn't bother to wait for someone to suggest that she arrange 
times for Jack to meet with the family members. She said, "Okay, 
I'll arrange the times for you to meet."

Ed looked down at the agenda and said, "That ends the reading of 
the will and the family corporate business. I'm going to propose 
that we all update our wills in light of the new economic 
conditions."

As every nodded their agreement, Ed turned to Cathy and said, 
"Please schedule time for all of us to meet with Jim for discussing 
our wills."

Cathy took down a note to that effect knowing assigning her with 
that job was the easy part. The hard part was to find times for them 
to get together with Jim. She nodded and said, "Okay."

Looking down at the agenda, the next item was the one that was 
going to take the most time. Taking a deep breath, Ed said, "Three 
of our children have effectively finished high school. We've been 
holding them back because they are still very young. It is time for 
them to move on to college."

Linda said, "William is only five!"

Hoping to squash any argument right from the beginning, Kelly 
said, "We have to protect the weak from the strong."

Supporting Kelly, Ling said, "They are still children emotionally."

This was what Ed had been afraid would happen. The three 
mothers would try to keep the children close to them. Leaning back 
in his chair he listened to the arguments as to why the children 
should remain at home. After the discussion died down, Ed, in a 
tone of voice reminiscent of John, said, "If it harm none, then do 
it."

Kelly asked, "What does that mean?"

Rubbing his temple with his forefinger, Ed answered, "If we hold 
them back too long, they will never complete college. That would 
harm them more than anything that I can imagine short of a direct 
physical attack."

Surprised by his assessment, Linda asked, "Why do you say that?"

"How would you take it if I required you to attend high school 
every day for the next four years?" asked Ed.

Remembering how boring high school had been the first time 
through, Linda answered, "I'd be bored out of my mind."

Kelly nodded her agreement. She added, "With our life experience, 
we'd be miserable."

Crossing her arms, Ling sat there frowning at the direction that the 
discussion had taken. Little John was only seven and for him to 
compete against adults was grossly unfair. He didn't have the 
emotional maturity to deal with them. She said, "They have the 
emotions of kids."

"They've been dealing with the students and the faculty at the 
Druid College almost their entire lives. Don't give me arguments 
about their emotional maturity, they are as mature as the other 
students there," replied Ed.

Not wanting to back down, Ling challenged, "So what are you 
saying we do?"

"Send them a year to the reservation to give them additional life 
skills and then allow them to apply to the Druid College. Both 
environments are safe, yet it allows them to grow," replied Ed.

His proposal was met with silence from the wives as they each 
considered it. They had known that he was going to argue for the 
reservation next year no matter what. From his comments, he was 
more concerned that the kids enter college immediately afterwards. 

As the silence dragged on, everyone became more uncomfortable. 
Finally, Leroy said, "I say that is a good plan."

Kelly said, "As much as I hate to say this, but I have to agree with 
you."

Thinking about William and how young he was, Linda said, "I 
have to think about it."

"I don't like it, but I get your point. I don't have a ready answer for 
your assertion that if they don't go to college now, they never will. 
I suspect you are right," replied Ling feeling that admitting it was 
the most difficult thing that she could do. She asked, "Are you sure 
they'll go to the Druid College?"

"I'm sure that Little John and Beth will go there," replied Ed. 
Pausing for effect, he said, "William may choose the Native 
American College or the Druid College. I don't know which one 
he'll pick."

The idea that William would go to the Native American College 
was one that no one had expressed previously. William had two 
heritages and Linda wasn't going to deny him the chance to 
experience her heritage. With hope in her voice, she asked, "Do 
you really think so?"

"Every medicine man that I've talked with has asked when he was 
going to come to the Native American College. My answer has 
always been that he is his own person and will decide for himself," 
answered Ed. 

Linda was quiet for a moment and then said, "I still need to think 
about it."

Looking around the room, Ed hoped that someone would say 
something that would allow them to resolve this issue once and for 
all. At the moment, he really missed the calming presence of John 
and how he could put things into their proper context with a single 
statement. 

Frowning, Leroy didn't like that the wives were holding back the 
children, although he understood their feelings. The time spent 
away from the house had given him a special perspective about the 
kids. It seemed to him that every time he returned from the field 
the kids had grown up a year for every month he was gone. He 
leaned forward and asked, "Linda, what is it that you want for the 
children?"

"I want them to have a normal childhood," she answered with far 
more emotion than she had intended. 

"They aren't normal children and that denies them a normal 
childhood. William's IQ is off the charts and even most adults are 
intimidated by him. Little John and Beth are nearly as quick as he 
is.  A normal childhood is denied them regardless of what we do." 
Having made his point, Leroy sat back and watched Linda's 
reaction. He could tell that his assessment of the situation upset 
her. 

Ling had been quiet, listening to the arguments put forth by 
everyone. Finally, she said, "They don't know how to protect 
themselves yet."

Kelly had witnessed how the children had worked together to take 
down a bully on the playground and that had been two years ago. 
She also knew that they had been training with Ling for six 
months. She asked, "Are you telling me that after training with you 
for a year and a half that they won't be able to defend themselves?"

As Kelly predicted, Ling replied, "They'll know how!"

Grinning, Ed watched as Ling realized what she had said. She sat 
back and said, "Okay. Point taken."

Knowing that she was losing, Linda said, "I want to hear from the 
children themselves what they want to do."

It was actually a very good suggestion and one that Ed realized he 
should have made a long time ago. It would be hard for their 
mothers to deny them the future they desired. Ed looked over to 
Cathy and asked, "Cathy, could you call Walt and ask him to bring 
the kids here?"

Cathy went to the phone and called Walt as requested. While she 
was on the phone, Ed took his empty iced tea glass and refilled it at 
the buffet. Deciding that he was going to let others do the talking, 
he took another plate of the mini-tacos to snack on during the 
remainder of the meeting. 

As soon as she hung up, Cathy went to the door and opened it. All 
three children were standing by the door, curious as to what was 
being discussed inside. She ushered them into the room. They 
entered embarrassed at having been caught listening at the door. 

Kelly asked, "Were you eavesdropping?"

The three children looked at each other, not wanting to answer the 
question. Finally, William said, "Beth and I thought you were 
discussing us and we wanted to know what you were saying since 
it affects us. William was waiting to talk to you."

Returning to his chair, Ed said, "That's why we want you here."

The children moved over to the table and sat down together with 
William between his older brother and sister. Ed noticed the 
seating arrangement and wondered about the significance of it. 
William asked, "So what do you want to ask us?"

"What do each of you want to do going forward in time?" asked 
Ed.

The three kids looked at each other for a second trying to decide 
which one should answer first. William gestured to Beth for her to 
go first. Beth answered, "I want to enroll formally in the Druid 
College."

Little John said, "Same here. I want to see if we can skip the first 
year since we've already attended all of those classes."

Ling and Kelly were silent as they accepted what the children 
requested. They were already talking about skipping a year of 
college in the most aggressive educational institution in the 
country because it would be a repeat. What would it be in a year's 
time? What would it be in two years? Even Linda looked shocked 
at the suggestion that they skip a year of college.

Sitting in his chair and swinging his legs that didn't reach to the 
ground, William smiled at the reaction of his mothers. Looking at 
his brother and sister, William said, "You don't need to get the first 
year of courses waved. We already have credit for them."

Ed knew that William was telling the truth, but he didn't know how 
that had come to pass. "How come?"

"Daddy John submitted our enrollments in classes as enrolled 
rather than auditing," replied William.

Beth said, "I didn't know that. Now I feel real bad about my A-."

"I would have studied a little harder," added Little John. He was 
quiet for a moment as he considered an item that he knew his 
fathers had wanted the children to do. He said, "I know you want 
us to spend a year at the reservation. That would be a good break. 
I'm not opposed to doing that."

Beth shrugged and said, "Sounds good to me."

William looked around the room and said, "I want to go to the 
Native American College for two years and then transfer back to 
the Druid College. I talked to admissions at the Native American 
College and know that they will accept me for two years. I already 
talked to Oliver about returning to the college and he didn't see any 
problem. After I graduate from the Druid College, I will spend the 
year on the reservation."

With tears welling up in her eyes, Linda realized that she had lost 
the battle to keep her child at home with her. She sniffled and said, 
"When were you going to tell me?"

Her reaction was exactly what he had expected. Looking over at 
his mother, he answered, "Here and now."

His answer suggested that he knew this meeting would be held and 
that he had bided his time until now to inform them of what he had 
been doing. Curious, Ed asked, "Did you check other schools?"

Surprised, William looked at his father for a minute before 
answering. "Yes, I did. It turns out that most Universities consider 
the majority of the first year curriculum to be remedial courses and 
they don't accept the credits. Of course, we would enter as 
freshman and graduate in four years rather than five years."

Linda looked over to Kelly and Ling for support, but found that 
both of them were considering what William had said. It suggested 
that he was ready to move forward with his life regardless of what 
they had to say about it. She said, "You finish the year."

"Great," replied William. He looked around the table and said, 
"We should return to school tomorrow so that we don't miss too 
many classes."

As he stood up to leave the room, Ling asked, "Where are you 
going?"

"There's nothing else to talk about. Momma Linda will take us 
back to the college tomorrow. You, Betsy, Momma Kelly, and 
Daddy Leroy will come out next week. Daddy Ed will come out in 
a couple of weeks," replied William as he pushed his chair closer 
to the table. He added, "We should probably get packed."

Chuckling, Ed watched William leave the room. After a moment of 
indecision, the other two kids followed him out. Ed said, 
"Remarkable."

"We should have made him CFO rather than me," remarked Ling 
totally overwhelmed by William. She knew that for the next year 
she would have to increase the pace of martial arts training if they 
were to have sufficient skill to defend themselves. 

It was time for Ed to regain control of the meeting. Clearing his 
throat to get everyone's attention, he summarized, "Beth and Little 
John will graduate from high school this year and then take a year 
off on the reservation. They will return to the Druid College to 
finish their college education. Any comments?"

After waiting for someone to say something, he said, "Okay. That's 
the plan for them. Cathy, can you make the arrangements for the 
trip to the reservation and their application for the Druid College."

Cathy nodded as she added more items to her list of things to do. 
"Got it."

"William will finish the year. After that, he will go to the Native 
American College for two years, if they accept him. He will then 
return to the Druid College and finish his college degree. He will 
then spend a year on the reservation. Any comments?"

Linda was about to object, but sat back in her chair. She knew that 
William would argue to do what he wanted until he got his way. 
Looking directly at her, Ed said, "Okay. That's what he's going to 
do. Cathy?"

"Got it already, Ed," replied Cathy writing down additional items. 
She added, "I'll make arrangements for a flight out tomorrow."

Shaking his head, Ed commented, "Maybe you should be running 
this meeting. I was about to ask if that was okay with everyone."

"Sorry." Cathy didn't sound all that sorry. 

Everyone else laughed at the comment, feeling that Ed had been 
put in his place by the very business-like nature of Cathy. He said, 
"Okay. I guess some people are flying out tomorrow. Who?"

Linda replied, "Me."

Ling and Kelly looked at each other. Ling said, "I have to stay here 
to take care of family business."

Kelly said, "I'll go tomorrow."

"You can't. I've got to call a meeting of the Fusion Foundation 
Board of Directors. We need to select a new Chairman of the 
Board. That means that you and Ling both need to be here," replied 
Ed.

"I can't go. I'm setting up a new lab closer to home," replied Leroy. 
It was his goal to move the lab to where he could spend more time 
with the family, even though he knew it was too late since three of 
the kids were leaving the house and John was gone. 

Sighing, Linda said, "William was correct again."

This wasn't the first time that anyone said that and Ed doubted that 
it would be the last. William seemed to have some sort of 
connection to the future that most people lacked. He didn't think 
that ability was psychic. Instead, he believed that William paid 
very close attention to the people around him and predicted how 
people would react to things based on their essential character.

Ed said, "Cathy, I need you to make arrangements for a meeting of 
the Fusion Foundation Board of Directors."

Cathy added a note to that effect on her pad. She looked down the 
pad of paper and realized that she had a huge list of things to do. 
Kelly asked, "Are we done?"

Shaking his head, Ed replied, "No. Two more minor items."

"Can we take a break for a minute? I've got to visit the lady's 
room," replied Kelly.

"Sure, I could use a break too," replied Ed. He stood and stretched 
deciding that he would take a quick run to his room. As he walked 
to his room, he thought about his role in the family. He was the 
oldest one in the family now and everyone seemed to turn to him 
for advice. It was at these times that he missed John the most.

Returning to the library, he noticed that the staff was hanging 
around the library wanting to hear what Cathy had to say. She had 
taken a few minutes to talk to Jim to arrange making appointments 
for everyone before stepping out of the room. She stepped out in 
time to see Ed returning. Looking over at the rest of the staff, she 
raised her hand wide open and mouthed, "Million."

Ed could tell by their blank looks, that they didn't understand what 
she had tried to pantomime to them. He grinned and said, "Come 
in the library, everyone."

The staff, feeling like they had been caught doing something 
wrong, entered the library behind Ed. Cathy went to her chair and 
stared at the papers in front of her trying to keep from drawing 
attention to himself. Ed returned to his chair after refilling his iced 
tea glass. As was typical in family meetings in which staff or 
visitors attended, the staff sat in chairs that were lined along the 
wall. The only one that wasn't present was Walt, who was busy 
watching Betsy (a more accurate description was that he was busy 
chasing her down). 

When the rest of the family arrived, Ed brought the meeting back 
to order. The staff, curious as to why they had been invited into the 
family meeting, sat on the edges of their chairs. Ed winked at 
Marguerite and said, "There are two minor items of business to 
take care of before this meeting is concluded. I would like to 
address them in front of the staff since the items affect them. Are 
there any objections to this?"

George raised an eyebrow trying to figure out what Ed wanted to 
discuss. The other staff members shifted nervously as Ed checked 
to make sure that there were no objections to his plan. Satisfied 
that no one was complaining, Ed said, "I would like to propose the 
hiring of four new staff members."

There were gasps from the staff at the news. For the past five 
years, they had basically done nothing and wondered if this was an 
attempt to replace them. Even some of the family members were 
confused. Giving voice to what was on everyone's minds, Leroy 
asked, "Why?"

This was a question that Ed didn't really want to answer, but had 
known it would be asked. Taking a big breath, he said, "With the 
death of John, I feel like a certain amount of protection has been 
lifted from the house. In six months, we are returning home to live 
and I want to make sure that we are safe. At present, Walt and 
George share security duties around the house and coverage is not 
twenty-four hours a day. I would like to hire two more security 
personnel so that can be corrected."

George was about to object and say that he could handle it, but 
thought better about it. It was true that security coverage was not 
full time and they relied too much on sensors that were unattended 
most of the time. Two more people would allow them to staff the 
security center full time. He also realized that it wasn't his 
decision.

Leroy had noticed the initial reaction by George and asked, "What 
do you think, George?"

"Perhaps Ed is correct."

Ling, looking at Ed in irritation, sat back and said, "I'm here."

"Yes, you are," replied Ed knowing that she would want to fill in 
any security gaps around the house. He asked, "Are you going to 
sit up all night watching the monitors?"

"No," replied Ling thinking about the time required to train the 
children and returning to compete. She realized the point that Ed 
was making. Reluctantly, she said, "I guess you're right."

Nodding, Ed continued, "I also discussed with Marguerite the 
hiring of an assistant cook to take the place of Shauna. Considering 
that we are moving back here, I think we will be keeping her much 
busier than in the past."

Laughing, Kelly said, "You just want a witness when she poisons 
you."

Both Marguerite and Ed laughed at that. Recovering, he added, "I 
would also like to get an assistant for Cathy. I don't think it is fair 
that we have no backup to support her when she feels ill or wants 
to take a day off."

Cathy was about to argue, but Kelly shook her head. She 
recognized that Cathy was the most overworked member of the 
staff and often had to rely on Lynn from Ed's business to help her 
out. Ed asked, "Does anyone have objections to these proposed 
staff changes?"

When no one said anything, Ed smiled at Cathy and said, "Add 
that to your list of things to do."

Smiling, Ed said, "The last piece of business is to let everyone 
know the terms of the will that apply to them. John left five million 
dollars to each of the staff members."