Chapter 3

Beep, beep, beep.

I really didn't want to get up this morning, but it was time. I dressed in the clothes from yesterday without putting my tie on, and headed to the hotel. I took a shower, shaved, and dressed in my alternate suit. I called the Concierge to have them clean my suit and wash my shirts and other clothes. I hate living out of a suitcase.

The hotel breakfast was fresh this morning, and I had some scrambled eggs that weren't stiff. The toast was fresh and the bacon wasn't as greasy today. I had some honeydew melon and a wedge of cantaloupe. I wondered how all this here in LA would work out as I walked to the office. I really enjoyed the girls, but they could be a distraction. Two full-time babes could cramp my routine because I was used to rolling along freestyle. It's not that I chased all the time, but I had a dozen fuck buddies who called at least a couple times a month, and it was a party if two called at once. I supposed I could live with the two who were as sexy and psycho as they were. You couldn't ask for two hornier women. They were both fun, and they were pretty serious about us getting together for more than a good fling. I kept thinking that a couple of lezzies like that would probably dump me within a few months. I could enjoy some good times with them before they did that, but I might be getting feelings for them. I hoped Jules had called her grandfather so that I could get that horrible house taken care of.

I went to see the head foreman instead of going into the office right away. I asked, "You work with the men and you know what it takes to be a construction supervisor. I need someone who will inspire the men to do good work. We have to turn out better quality than anyone else because that is what Mooney is built around. Can you do the job and do you even want it?"

The guy smiled and told me, "I have the perfect man to take my place. I heard our former super was fired by a company partner last night. I can now have the men do the work right and not be pushing to meet some fictitious schedule."

"That's the attitude. We can't be dragging our feet and we have to put out quality for our customers. I want you to make sure that any homes in progress are being built correctly. Let's give our customers some value."

You would have thought I gave the man a winning lottery ticket. He was excited to do the job. He went to find his replacement.

The alarm was already off when I went into the office. I heard some movement down the hall and found some of the yard men moving file cabinets into the event room. Connie was already setting up her domain. I winked at her as she smiled at being able to be more than a part-time bookkeeper.

It wasn't eight yet, but the sales secretary was already at her desk with a fresh cup of coffee. "Hey, where did that coffee come from? I could use a cup." The little girl who had been bashful yesterday took my arm and walked me down the hall and into what they called a break room. This sucked as there was only a tiny table with three chairs, a fridge, sink, and counter space to hold a small Mr. Coffee. This wouldn't work. A busy office is fueled on coffee and how do you sit at conference tables without a cup of coffee. I'll fix this too; one more item for my to-do list.

The secretary told me that she put an ad for salesmen on Craigslist. She said that she put it in for high commission only because she didn't know what kind of budget we had. I thanked her and went back to the desk I had been assigned to.

Something amazing happened. The local office manager came in at eight thirty and came straight to me. He said, "I guess you'll be taking my place. I'm being sent to Tampa. That place should be a dream the way you have it working. I'll just let it run itself. Here are the keys to the office and my car. I'll get another when I get down there. I'm already packing."

I asked the guy, "Do you want a house or a Condo? I have a great place that is well below market value down there. I'll sell it to you if you can get a loan. I'm flying back tomorrow to get moved out. You can see it day after tomorrow if you're interested in the place."

The guy was excited because he knew that I wouldn't live in a dump. He said he wouldn't have any trouble getting a mortgage if he needed one. His dad would buy it for him even if he did. My condo would probably be worth a million out here in California, but is only about two hundred grand in Tampa.

I called Jules' cell phone and she answered right away. She excitedly said, "Grandfather is on the way to your office. He wants to see what you're doing and he will help with the handymen you want."

"Thank you, Jules. I need to finish up today so I can fly back to Florida to get myself moved. I'm going to have a moving company clean the place out. I'll give all the furniture and kitchen stuff to the Salvation Army, so there will only be a few boxes of my clothes and personal items. I want to be out of there by Saturday and spend Sunday with my special women."

"That's the way to tell me what you want. Get a taxi to the big house when you come back. Katie and I are going to move in. You can have one of the suites so you feel like you have something of your own, but I'm betting you're going to be our bedmate most of the time. Don't be too horny when you come back. Katie and I will both be suffering from our monthlies. Neither one of us is a bitch, but we don't like to have to wait for playtime."

The main receptionist paged me to come to the front. Hideki was there with a beaming smile. We shook hands and I walked him back out to see the construction area. I told him that I didn't have time to see I what needed to work out here yet, but it would probably change a little. I told him I had a new construction supervisor who would be working on quality now. I gave him a tour of the existing offices inside, explaining some of the problems I had discovered. I told him the first thing I had to do was to get everyone working toward the same goal. I introduced him to Connie and told him she was our CPA, but she had been restricted in her ability to help the company. I showed him the sales room that was now missing four desks and introduced him to the secretary who was proudly holding a pad with an advertising agency's information. I told Hideki, I think there are a lot of good people here, but there has been no leadership. There is a lot I still didn't know about this office, but I would find out.

Hideki asked if I had an office. I said, "It's a desk in a cubicle right now, but there is an office that needs to be cleaned out and prepared for me. I'll get that done today. I had the man sit beside my cubicle desk. He pulled a sheet of folded printer paper and handed it to me. "Call the man at the top of this sheet and have him meet you at the home you need help with. He is very good and very fair. He was excited to be of help to Mooney when I called him."

I immediately called the man and he was able to meet me at the house in thirty minutes. I pulled my punch list out and asked Hideki, "Want to come along to see how bad a house can be built?"

The man not only wanted to come along, but insisted we ride in his Rolls with his driver. There was a second man in the front passenger seat today. I wasn't introduced, so he must be some form of bodyguard. I hoped he wasn't one of those dark type of individuals Hideki spoke of.

We had just rolled up to the house that was being landscaped today when the handyman's van arrived. After greeting the handyman, I gave him my list and began showing him each of the problems I had spotted. I told the man that he needed to call the window installation people for reinstallation. That would require some repainting, as would most of the deficiencies I had. The man's name was Jesus. I said, "You have come highly recommended by someone I have great respect for, Jesus. Fix this house and make it as desirable as it should be. I want the customer to take pride in this home."

Jesus was all for repairing the items on my list and said he should be able to complete the job in less than a week. I told him, "Use as many men as you need to get the job done. Hire a cleaning crew to make the home perfect when you're done."

I wrote the local office number on my card, and gave him Connie Burnside as a contact to get paid. I told him he could ask her to have the construction supervisor get any needed materials for him. I called Connie In front of him, and advised her of Jesus' company and what he would be doing for us. She wanted to talk to him, so I handed him the phone. I could tell she was arranging for some of the forms she needed. That's what those bean counters were for.

I thanked Jesus for his quick response. I gave him a set of keys for the house and Hideki and I left. The grandfather said, "You don't waste any time, do you? We were in and out of there in less than an hour. What do you have to do now?"

"I need to make sure the changes I put in place will continue while I'm gone. I need to talk to the advertising agency for some newspaper and TV ads, and I need salespeople to deal with the people who respond to the ads. I'll clean all that up next week. I need to make some calls, get my clothes from the hotel, and fly to Florida to get moved. I'll be there through Friday or Saturday, and be back Saturday evening."

"I'd like to spend some time with the girls Saturday evening and Sunday. I'll be busy again next week, and I might not be able to spend as much time with them as I would like. I'll have this office up and running correctly in a couple of months, but I have a lot of culling to do before that."

We were heading back to the office when Hideki said, "I'm very pleased that you requested my help. You can now help me. The man in the front passenger seat is a bodyguard. He is very good and can also help you with what you need to do to move here. I want to send him with you to help and protect you. Jules is very important to me, and you are therefore also important to me. Will you allow him to go with you?"

My mind whirled as I thought of what this guy was. I said, "Okay, he can come and help me. I'll call for reservations for two of us. I fly coach or business class, if that's alright?"

Hideki smiled and said, "You will fly on a charter. I always have a Gulfstream with a crew available. I hope this will help you get done what needs to be done."

"You are amazing, Hideki. Your Jules is amazing as well. I'm not used to traveling or associating with people of your wealth and stature. Help me to keep from embarrassing you or myself."

The Oriental man smiled as he said, "You are the perfect person for our family so far."

I told Hideki at the office to have his man meet me wherever the plane to fly me back to Florida would be. I had to do a few things at the office and gather my clothes from the hotel. I had thought I might just take my clothes to the apartment and the girls could take them to the big house. I gave Hideki my thoughts, and he said, "I will send Dai to the hotel and he will take your belongings to the apartment. Jules is moving today and tomorrow, so you will return to Jules and Katie in the big house.

I gave Dai my hotel key card and asked him to make sure to tell the hotel that I was checking out and to bill the company.

These people were one surprise after another.

I checked with the sales secretary, and she said that she had called the advertising agency and had an appointment setup with them for next Tuesday. She also said she had several people contact us for the sales jobs and would begin interviewing on Friday. I was impressed. The girl was going to do the interviewing too. She might be a lot more valuable than a sales secretary.

Connie grabbed me and pulled me down the hall to the tiny break room. There was fresh coffee that we each took a mug of and walked down the hall to where the manager's office was supposed to be. Someone had been busy. The place was totally cleaned and polished. Connie sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and I sat in another next to her. She said, "No, sit in the big chair. I had it thoroughly cleaned so that you can't catch whatever he had."

I laughed and said, "Thanks. I'm going to leave in a little while to fly back to Tampa and get moved. I should be able to be out of there in two days. There's a lot to do, but I can get it done. Now, tell me about some of the dollars and cents problems I might find here."

Connie handed me a thick folder with a flap to keep papers inside. She said, "This is perfect. You'll have time to go over what's inside there if you're going to be taking a long plane ride. What you do with it is up to you, but I don't think you're going to be happy with what you find."

I asked, "You did keep the originals of this, didn't you?"

"Of course. It's for CYA purposes though, because I was expected to just post and pay. I wasn't supposed to analyze what was going on. Anyway, you read all that and you can call me if you need clarification. My cell number is on top of the folder."

"This place is a mess, isn't it? Thanks for helping me to get started. Did you hire some temps the way I asked?"

Connie said, "I have two right now, and I'll get more if I need them. We just need to go through about five years of data. I'll get you your P&L and should have the last quarter's by Tuesday. I know you need numbers to know what to do. It's my job to get those numbers to you."

"Thanks, Connie. Just stack anything I need to look at on the desk. I work from my left to my right. So stack it on the right side of the desk when you're looking at it. I see I have a phone, but I don't see a computer. Should I use my laptop?"

"Look inside that fancy piece of furniture behind you."

Son of gun; there was a computer screen there, but it was a small old CFT type. I said, "I usually work with a PC monitor on my desk. I like at least two monitors, but three is better. Have one of the techs move this for me and get me some more monitors. I'm surprised that you don't have a couple of monitors to work with."

"Oh boy, Brad, we're going to run right into the twenty-first century if you keep making my day."

"I need to scram now, keep your eyes and ears open. I want to know how the rest of the group is handling my meddling. I need to call Jules for a ride."

"No, you don't. You can use the former manager's car. I had it washed and detailed too. The documents are in the glove box in case you get stopped."

"Okay, what kind of car is it, and where is it parked?"

"In your slot right in front. It's a Cadillac Escalade."

"That's rather exorbitant. You know that we should give it to a sales manager when we get one. They need something flashy. I have a decent car."

"I'll probably see you Monday morning. Don't come in this weekend. You'll get it all done fast anyway since you have help."

I didn't have Hideki's cell phone, so I called Jules. She glowed when she answered. "I know you're coming back because you sent your clothes for me to take to the house."

"Yep, I'm coming back. I don't have your grandfather's cell number, and I need to tell him that I can go to the airport now. I don't know which airport he uses."

"No problem, I'll call Dai to tell him that I'll take you to the airport. He'll let grandfather know. I hope you don't mind that grandfather is sending a bodyguard with you. He is a worry wart sometimes. Where are you so that I can pick you up?"

"At the office. Come get me and I can get this trip over with."

"I'll see you in five."

I made sure everyone had my cell phone number before I went out front. Jules pulled up and I got into the fancy Bentley. We didn't talk about anything important, and she kept saying how the two of them would miss me. I was glad I would get a chance to think about this relationship without them being with me.

We pulled up to a Gulfstream V and parked. Two men and a woman in some form of uniform were standing by the stairway. This was fancy. I'd been in one of these before, but this one was configured for luxury. The front had nice seats and a couch, and there was a bedroom in the rear. The bedroom might be a good idea considering the range of the aircraft. Dai was already buckled up inside the aircraft. The hostess had me sit at what she called the console, which had a computer as well as a satellite phone. I was going to productively use this flight time.

I immediately scanned the contents of the folder Connie had given me, reading invoice after invoice. Clipped to the front of these invoices was a notation that the company these invoices were from was a shell company owned by the former LA office manager. A quick look told me that the company had paid him over three million during the last two years. The next group of invoices was for major remodeling of the office. That couldn't be right, as there hasn't been anything done to that building for at least ten years. The more I read, the sicker I became. I learned that the construction supervisor and the former office manager were billing the company for advertising services. They owned the name of an advertising agency and used it against a very liberal advertising budget. That was another couple million. The only thing to do was to request a formal audit by an investigative or forensic accounting firm. I was sure the company would pay for it.

I figured out how to use the on board computer and began writing a note about an audit to the partners. I stopped and thought I should call Connie first. I told her I was calling from the airplane when she answered, but it was important. "What do you think about having an investigative accounting firm do a forensic audit? Would that bother you?"

"Not in the least; I can even give you several names."

"Good, I'm going to send an e-mail to the partners for permission to have a formal audit. We'll get the right firm and have all the facts before we show this stuff to the partners. I'll talk to you later."

I took my list of things to be done out and used the computer to find moving and vehicle transport companies. I could probably stuff everything else I owned in the car if I got rid of all my furniture and kitchen stuff. I could pack up most of my clothes and bring them back with me in suitcases. That would be the easiest.

Instead of waiting for the new office manager to see if he wanted my place, I called the office in Tampa and asked the sales manager who I could get to market my place. He said, "How about I have the place painted and we'll advertise and show it. I'll put a good spiff on it and I'll bet our people can quickly have it sold. You'll have to pay the company for the ads and commission, but you should still make out."

I made a list of people to call. The telephone company, the electric and water companies, but those two should remain on, so I suppose I didn't need to do much of anything. My condo fees were paid for the year, so that should make the place more appealing. This was going to be fast. I sent e-mails to the two pool league captains telling them I had been transferred to California. Stuff like that happens all the time. I began sending e-mails to all my female buddies, apologizing that I didn't have any time to arrange a party before I left. I called the Salvation Army and told them to come for a condo full of furniture and kitchen utensils on Friday morning. They were happy to come. I would get a hotel room if we ended up staying Friday night.

I turned to see Dai snoozing in the big comfortable chair. I sat back after putting the computer away. The hostess came to me and asked if I wanted any refreshment. I asked how fresh the coffee was. She told me they had an individual cup maker and asked if I wanted cream and sugar. I asked her how far out from Tampa we were when she came back with the mug of coffee. She told me that we should be landing in about twenty minutes.

Let's see, we left LA at four, which would be seven in Tampa. It was going to be midnight when we landed. I better call a car service or taxi. I got up and asked the hostess what airport we would be landing at and she asked the pilots. She turned around to me and said, "We'll be flying into Tampa International. Are there a lot of hotels around there?"