Chapter 2

"Beep, Beep, Beep." My phone alarm was waking me. I stretched as I sat up. I kissed both girls who were still in a deep sleep. I quickly dressed and returned to the bedroom to kiss each of the girls on the forehead. Jules pulled me back to her when I kissed her forehead, and kissed me as gently as it can be done. She whispered, "I'll be waiting for you later."

I briskly walked to the hotel, showered, shaved, and dressed, ready for the day. I had a hotel breakfast that consisted of toast, scrambled eggs, and nasty bacon. I ate a couple of cantaloupe slices and that livened up the breakfast for me.

The office was only a couple of blocks away, but the sidewalks were already getting crowded. I realized that the West Coast didn't get started until the day was almost half over on the East Coast. I opened the office and found the desk that had been assigned to me. I logged onto the computer and checked e-mails. There were a half dozen dumb shit e-mails and a dozen important ones. I answered everything and then began reviewing this region's statements to see why it wasn't producing the way it should. This should be our most profitable region, but it was lagging far behind.

The sales were lackluster, and the follow-up credit information was slow. The loan approval rate sucked, but that was blamed on the customers' poor credit ratings. No one was working with the customers to get loans. We had our own loan department that had investors lined up to take our customers' loans. The building contractors didn't seem to be interested in speeding up their work, and definitely weren't interested in quality. This place was going to require a hell of lot of attention to get it right.

I had to call the home office and talk to my direct supervisor, the senior partner, by noon. I explained all the areas I had found, but qualified it all by saying, "I may be only scratching the surface. I think the Atlanta regional will be the best to put here." It was my job to be honest and to give them the correct recommendation. My boss said, "We're going to have a meeting this afternoon. You've found what we've suspected, but we don't know how hard it's going to be to put that office back together. Your recommendation of Sellers from Atlanta to work the California region is probably a good one, but we'll see what happens during this meeting."

It meant it was past eight back east when five came and went. I had already shifted a few people between departments to streamline some of the activity, but it wasn't the way it should be yet. I would be meeting with the sales staff in the morning to find out why our sales have been so slow.

I called the home office at seven my time, which would be ten eastern. I was hungry, tired, and wanted to leave. The evening operator answered and I asked if management were still in a meeting. The day receptionist was still there and told me, "They're in there yelling at each other, trying to come up with a plan on how to handle the California region. You've really stirred up a hornets' nest."

I told her, "I know you're not supposed to do this, but get me connected to that room and let me handle this. Do that for me and let's get it done."

There was a long pause before I could tell that I was on one of the spider conference room phones. "So tell us what you need to do, Brad. The Florida Region may begin to flounder if we pull you from there, and that great production might get tiny again. Tell us how to make this work."

"I'm not happy about pulling up stakes in Florida and moving out here, but it's going to take me or the Atlanta guy to get this done. The problems are obvious and should be easy to fix, but it will take time and a lot of personnel changes. I think we can get the LA region back in shape within two quarters, but it will take a lot of head banging between now and then. Pull the kid from the St. Louis region to Florida. He understands my techniques and should be able to continue the way I have handled the region. He won't have to do much of anything if he looks and listens, except check out a slow moving sale every once in a while."

The boss said, "Okay, when can you move to LA? You can use all the company's resources to get moved. We can buy your house or condo, whatever you have, so that you don't have to wait to have money to buy something out there. Oh yeah, you will be getting a big increase in wages for your efforts in Florida. You will also receive the extra money for the cost of living in California. Your wages should more than double. I wonder why we can't get qualified people who already work in that area. Move out there and get that office back on the profitable track it should be, Brad."

I called Katie's cell phone and the call went to voicemail. I called Jules and hers went to voicemail too. I left the same message on each of their phones. I said, "I have news of me possibly moving to California. Call me. I'm going to eat and then to the hotel."

I stopped at the restaurant next to the 'Rack' and had a salad and a steak. I was making a plan on how to quickly get moved the whole time I was eating. I had a recent appraisal of the condo because I had considered selling it after buying at way below the increased market value. I had to have my car sent out west, but I had learned to use public transportation and could walk to most areas around here. I would need an apartment, so I would investigate the building where Katie and Jules lived. Rent for a studio here would be almost double what my condo mortgage was each month. My personal stuff wasn't that much and a moving company could have it packed up and gone in a day.

I called the girls again and still went to voicemail. They might be enjoying each other tonight and didn't need an interloper like me.

I went to the hotel and had a drink from the minibar in the room. They did have some of the booze I enjoyed, so I had some and listed it on the little sheet they provided. I continued the list of things to do and figured out what all quickly needed to be done here before I returned to Tampa to clear out. I already had a twenty step plan to repair this office. Some items were going to be difficult, and some were heavy-handed, but they needed to happen. I listed what I could get started on that would progress on its own until I was permanently here.

I was fading fast and brushed my teeth before getting ready for bed. My cell rang. It was Katie. She said that when I didn't call earlier she and Jules had gone to Pool league and then to Jules' big house to see if we might want to live there. "We both think that we might want to live there if you join us. So tell me about the news of you coming out here?"

"I'm the new LA region manager out here for the company as of right now. I've been putting a list together of what I need to do to move here. I have some things I need to do here at the company, but I'll be done by Wednesday and back here by Saturday. I need to find an apartment now. Are there any empty where you live?"

"That's why we were looking at Jules' house. That place is a monster. You'll have to see it to believe it. I think Jules wants her and me to move there. You can live there too if you want. I can't say that L word yet, but Jules and I really want you to join us. It will be a little drive for you to get to work, but it won't be bad. There is an empty stall where you can park your car. There is a bus stop right outside the gate, so I'll have transportation just like always."

"I'll listen to a proposal, but I don't think I should be kept. I'll pay rent to Jules so I don't feel like I'm taking advantage of her. Let me see the place and we can decide. I'm good with having a small apartment where you live now. I don't think I should try to move in with you guys in your place. There might not be enough room."

"Are you all settled in tonight? Do you want to come over and begin your day from here?"

I looked at the time and saw it nearing eleven. "How about we plan on getting together tomorrow evening? You can call my cell phone during the day. I constantly get calls on it, so it's okay. I'm thinking of you, Katie, and if you don't mind, I'm thinking of Jules too. We'll talk tomorrow."

I ended the call or we would be talking into the night. There was a knock on the door. Jules was standing there looking a little lost when I opened the door. I pulled her into the room and she wrapped her arms around me. The woman said, "We missed you all evening. You left us messages that you were working on a company problem. You said there was news of moving out here."

Jules was still tightly wrapped around me. She asked, "Tell me the news."

"I'll permanently be out here by this coming weekend. I'm making a list of things I need to do before I move."'

Jules pulled back and looked at me. "Ah, Brad, I know we need to talk about this, but I want you to move into my big house with Katie and me. Come home with me right now so we can talk."

"It's after eleven and I need to be in the office before eight in the morning, Jules. I've already talked to Katie and she's okay that we get together tomorrow evening. You can stay with me if you want to, but I need to get some rest for tomorrow."

I told her, "Call Katie to tell her where you are. Go if she wants you home. You can stay if you want."

Jules called Katie and must have had a good conversation. Jules giggled and told Katie she would see her tomorrow evening.

Jules was naked and getting into my bed in an instant. She said, "We can't do much because I'll juice up the whole place if we do. I want some kisses though, and I want to listen to your heart beat. You have really influenced me, Brad."

We kissed until we both fell asleep.

Beep, Beep, Beep.

I was out of bed and into my workout clothes in a minute. I went to the hotel gym and used the treadmill for twenty minutes, then did my light weight regimen. I was determined to keep my tummy flat and my weight down. I wondered if my health club had gyms out here. I hoped so since I had already paid for the year.

Jules was sitting up in bed when I walked into the room. She said, "Come give me a kiss. You look all sweaty; were you working out?"

I explained that I tried to do the gym three to four times a week and more often if I had a chance. I told her of my goal was to keep the weight down and my stomach flat. Jules hugged me and said, "I like your flat tummy. I think your two women out here in California are going to keep you in shape. You'll have to help us do the same."

I went through the shower, shaved, and dressed. Jules commented, "You dress nicely. You look very professional in that nice suit. Will we see you this evening? I'd like to show you the big house if you can come home at a regular time."

The current LA region manager was an example of not doing anything to better the company. He didn't arrive at work until nine-thirty to ten, took two hour lunches, and was gone by three-thirty. I called the home office and asked if I could terminate the guy. I was told to let an HR person come do the deed. I told the boss that I was about to terminate most of the sales staff, and would be working on some of the other groups of people who were supposed to be helping our customers finalize the sales.

I went with the construction supervisor to do a walkthrough of a new home that was going to the title company next week.

I wanted to puke when I looked at the shoddy workmanship. I told the construction supervisor, "Do we have customers living in homes like this? I'm ashamed. This is a million and half dollar house out here that looks like shit. Look at the way the windows fit. They don't. Look at the baseboard. That entire wall doesn't have the quarter round. How did you get past the inspections? I want to bulldoze this place and build it right." I called my boss and told him, "Please, get on an airplane and come see what these people are trying to give our customers. I'm ashamed. You have to see this to believe it."

The construction supervisor was giving me shit about that this is the way houses are built today. I told him, "Go to the Tampa region and look at the four hundred thousand dollar homes we build. We know that house is as near to perfect as possible when we give our customers the house of their dreams. This is garbage."

I was disgusted.

I could see it was from the home office when my cell rang. It was my boss and he said he had a surprise for me. One of the major partners was in LA and wanted to meet me. He wanted to see what I was talking about for himself when my boss told him of my problem. The man had my cell number and would call me.

The big guy did call a few minutes later. He asked me for my location so that he could come see it too. I heard him telling his driver the address.

I opened the door to one of the key partners fifteen minutes later. We shook hands and I led him to the first location of shoddy workmanship. I had found almost thirty places where the house wasn't correctly built. The man asked, "Do you think we can fix it or should we start over again?"

I tried to be honest with the man, "I would tear it down if this was Tampa. Everything is two and three times the cost here. I think we should find a good handyman company and have them try to fix everything. We'll have to have the window company re-install the windows, but they should stand for that. The installation was crap."

The man said, "Tell me how you really feel." He was smiling when he asked me, "Do you think you can fix this office? It's been going downhill for five years, and no one has cared. The LA region manager is one of the partners' kids, so we have to send him somewhere. How about sending him to Tampa and you stay in touch with the office there and keep it working. I'll tell you what. You keep that office going and we'll pay you that salary as well as the salary for here. You know your people in Tampa and they can keep you up with what's going on. You can always make a quick trip back there to fix something. We'll try to get rid of the problem meanwhile, and bring a good man in to do the job."

I made the suggestion, "Fred Turfing is my second in the region office, and he knows what to do and how to do it. How about creating a new position and having him do the work while the partner's kid continues to do nothing, just as he's done here. The region is in good shape and Fred won't let it go to pot. I'll tell him to call me any time he has a question. You can give Fred some extra money and I won't get ulcers worrying about both places that way."

The man said, "That's what we'll do. Think up a name for Fred's new position and we'll go from there. Now find some people to fix this."

The partner turned to the construction supervisor and said, "I think you should find a new job. You haven't done this one any favors. I will walk you to the construction trailer for any personal stuff you have there and take you home. Take the truck back to the yard and tell the purchasing agent to get you a car, Brad, or do you have one in Tampa?"

"I have a car that I thought I could get shipped out here. I have to find an apartment first. I might have a lead on something."

The construction supervisor had a look of total defeat as the boss took him out to the big Lincoln with his driver.

It was still fairly early, so I drove the truck back to the yard and went into the LA office. I had apparently just missed the current manager as he had left before three for a meeting. I had some time, so I checked with the sales secretary to visit with the sales manager. He must have been in the same meeting, as he had also left around three.

I asked for the advertising budget and the folder of advertising the company was doing. I knew I was in trouble when the girl had no idea what I wanted. She was baffled once again when I asked what agency we dealt with for our advertising. I told her how the company hired agencies to prepare and get newspaper ads placed. They also made sure the local TV advertising was working. This was going to be a real chore.

The big sales room looked to have about twenty desks, but only a couple looked like they were being used. I asked the secretary, "How many sales people are there now?"'

I became physically nauseous when she said four. I would have a meeting with all the salespeople tomorrow morning. Maybe there was someone capable of managing the people. The secretary called me to her desk where she had some older files spread out. She said, "These are from the old file cabinets. This is what you were looking for, isn't it?"

I nodded and told her, "Look through these files and see if there is an advertising agency that we used. We'll need to contact them and get us back in front of the public. Good job looking for those files. Oh, have the four sales people be sure to be here in the morning." I asked the girl, "We need sales people, so if you know some go getters, ask them to come in and visit. We're going to have to set up some training. I think I can get my sales manager from Tampa to come for a two or three day class."

I really shouldn't shake the office up too much until the manager change is complete, but I became more concerned every time I asked a question. Every office has a bean counter. It often was a bookkeeper but there would be a CPA in the larger offices. This office should have a CPA, so I went looking. The way I found the office was by asking who took care of time cards for the hourly employees. Tucked away in a windowless office was a harried looking woman behind stacks of papers.

"Hi, my name is Brad Johnson, and I've been sent here to help promote the office. I think you can probably help me with some of my questions."

The woman was still just staring at me, so I asked, "Do you have a full P&L for last quarter that I could look at?"

The lady sat back in her chair and asked, "Are you serious? You want me to produce a P&L statement too? You only let me work three days a week and I barely get payroll out and get the bills transmitted."

I asked, "Have you been working for Mooney a long time?"

"All the way back to when this was a productive office. I used to have two clerks and an auditing firm that kept things straight. I could work for a firm and be the CPA I'm supposed to be, but I've gotten used to three day weeks."

I was getting the picture and told her, "I want you to think about possibly working some longer hours, but most importantly would be to hire a pile of temps to get the books back in order. No wonder that home office accounting couldn't give me any information about this office."

The lady asked, "Are you serious? I'll gladly put this place back in order, but I need some space. Part of the big event room that we don't use is where my office used to be."

"Okay, we don't have time to do remodeling, but take the event room over, wherever that is, and get enough desks to have a bunch of temps help you clean this up. I'm going to be candid with you, Miss, ah?"

"Connie Burnside, and I am a Miss or Ms. Someone will tell you that I'm gay and not a married gay. I like to play around and don't care who knows."

I was smiling at her and wondered if she knew Jules or the deceased Cindy. There sure were a lot of gay women out here on the left coast.