Book Description

The Alumni tells the story of a beautiful woman and two men, high school classmates from the late 1960s, who are driven apart by graduation. They reunite years later as a case of corporate sabotage unfolds and a love story grows. As the late 1960s dragged on like a bad dream, Chuck Osborne lost his revered older brother, an Army Ranger, to a war in Vietnam. Devastated by the loss, his family wondered what would happen to this remaining son of theirs who was losing his self-confidence, and his interest in playing college football. Chuck’s mentor and head coach, a sudden heart attack victim, was Chuck’s last ticket out of town, or so he thought. Susie Cooper had it easier. The only child of a successful lawyer father, and socialite mother, her plans were pretty clearly mapped out. It was off to Harvard Law School, then a spot in the largest firm in town, headed by her father who specialized in solving matters of corporate and government sabotage. She backed away from her relationship with Chuck their senior year when both his attitude and her grades started heading south. Jim Underwood had an independent streak in him that he tried to use as leverage against a bullheaded, recently retired military father who couldn’t adjust to civilian life. With a business mind like that of his CPA mother, Jim needed to make his own mark without having every move mapped out by his old man. He knew he could make a name for himself some day, but had no idea that his efforts would come full circle to bail out the man he grew up despising. As each one made his or her own way into the next decade, a series of events unfolded that would reunite them in a way that no one could have anticipated. Harold “Jim” Underwood would outgrow his military father ́s domineering personality, take advantage of the opportunity to excel in business school, and become nationally recognized for his corporate management talents. He would later find himself in a position to literally save his father from financial ruin, thanks to the elder man ́s personal greed and a thirst for control and power. Chuck Osborne would ultimately overcome the loss of both his big brother and a high school football coach who had served as a valuable mentor and his ticket to the future. Chuck would take advantage of the opportunity to realize both his own dreams, and the dreams of his parents. He came to be recognized nationally as the best in his position as a professional football player. Susan Cooper followed her father ́s footsteps into the legal profession and succeeded in building a corporate law practice. As a junior associate in her father’s firm, she found herself investigating a compelling case of potential government fraud that linked her to a long-lost high school classmate - someone who was her future husband’s best friend from high school. Two of these alumni would marry each other. One family, whose two generations had been estranged for years, would be reunited. This is a story of game plans, of building, losing and re-establishing relationships, and a love story.