"I have no desire to go back," Quinn said.
"Back to where?" Betsy asked.
"Amherst, Massachusetts," Martha said. "That's where the three of us grew up. It meets our criteria. There are five colleges, a good hospital and all that but I agree with Quinn; I want to move forward." I nodded in agreement.
We all liked New England but Quinn in particular, despised the high taxes of his home state. Connecticut and Rhode Island were ruled out and we began to concentrate on New Hampshire. With a baby on the way, Quinn's and Martha's top priority was a locality where they could raise a family in a large and comfortable home.
Agreement was final reached on a tentative location for our Shangri La; Keene, New Hampshire. I remembered passing through the small city on ski trips to Vermont during my college years. I always found it pleasant. The city of twenty-five thousand was located in the south western part of the state. It met all our criteria; a stable employment, reasonably priced homes, a state college and a regional hospital. Our ease on reaching a collective agreement on so important, life-changing decision stunned us all. More wine was poured. The next step was informing Mr. Cooms of our willingness to proceed with his offer. We'd then cross our fingers and see what particulars would follow. The details proved surprisingly uncomplicated.
True to his word, when informed of our decision, he immediately put the gears in motion. A company, Econ Scrutiny, Inc. was established via a Chicago law firm. It was a subsidiary of one or more of Mr. Cooms' international holdings and would be devoted to analyzing a myriad of production numbers effecting economies from countries around the world. All five of us would be employed in various capacities at very generous salaries. Each of us received a six figure hiring bonus. All bookkeeping was handled by an accounting firm. Paychecks would be mailed weekly. There was no oversight as we were a privately held company with full autonomy. Everything was perfectly legal and taxes paid. We had full medical insurance and a pension program.
An overseas bank account in the company name contained a balance of one million dollars as startup funds for us to secure quarters for the enterprise. We were each given shares of stock, fully paid for, that would provide substantial dividends for future years. According to Mr. Cooms everything was accomplished through third parties without him ever knowing our names.
Each of us nervously cut ties with our past by giving notice, making moving plans and advising our few friends and relatives. Betsy's loving boss presented the most difficulty but she used the excuse her new husband was transferred to New Hampshire. He promised she could work from home and even offered a substantial raise to which she crocodile-tearfully demurred.