Chapter 46

I woke up on my back with a woman almost completely lying on top of me. Georgia isn't pint size like Willy, and has hefty breasts rivaling Jules' but not Katie's. One of those big ones was on my chest while her arms and legs were hugging me. It was a warm and snuggly feeling, but it was time to get up.

Georgia was easy to roll over so that I could sit up and turn to shake her shoulder. "Time to get up and get started, Lady. We're going to go home tonight and sleep in our own beds."

Georgia sat up, showing how her large ones sagged a little. She smiled at me with sleepy eyes, and said, "But I liked the way that felt. I could sleep like that a little longer."

"Let's go work out and get the blood flowing, Sleepyhead. I have a ton of work to do today."

Georgia beat Donte back to my room so that we could leave together to go to the gym. This hotel had a large fitness center that made a morning workout enjoyable. Donte came out of his doldrums, and said, "I think I need a long run this weekend. Maybe I can take a couple of days off and run at Hideki's home. He has a huge place where you will have run over ten miles if you run the entire perimeter. It isn't flat either, as there are hills and wooded areas. There is even a small stream that flows through his property."

"You should call Dai and tell him that you need to be away from me for a day or two. He'll understand."

Donte said, "Dai loves Hideki and Nobuko and never tires of being around them. He'll allow me time off, but he may not have anyone to cover for me. I'm sure the girls are more difficult to care for, so Michi may be off this weekend."

"I'll make sure that you're off this weekend. We'll stay in and enjoy each other's company instead of running around if necessary. I'm sure that I can be my family's protector."

We drove to the Dallas office after a hotel breakfast, and met Jim Patina and his Assistant. We arrived at seven forty-five and thought we that might beat most all the employees in. I was wrong as the parking lot was over half full with more cars arriving all the time. A woman came from the back when I walked into the reception area, and said, "Good morning. The office doesn't officially open until eight-thirty, but can I help you?"

I thought that I recognized her, but couldn't remember her name. "I'm Brad Johnson, the Regional Manager, here to see Jim Patina."

The woman's face turned red and she said, "Oh, I'm sorry but we only met briefly when you were here before. I was busy with a project and couldn't get away. I'm Patti, Jim's secretary, follow me."

Jim was busy pounding the keys to his PC when we walked in. He looked up, smiled, held a finger up, and went back to typing. You could see him review what he had written and then push another key. Jim stood and offered his hand. "I had to answer a couple of e-mails for some of the people who are out of the office most of the time. One of them concerns San Antonio. A decorator we have is from there and is moving back. She heard we were opening an office there and wanted a chance to transfer. I'd say that she would be a good one if you need someone to head up that department."

"There it is, Jim. Your first opportunity to act like a Manager with Regional Manager's responsibilities. You make the decision, and you know how and what to do to get it done. Remember to get your senior decorator to fill that slot as fast as she can. Call Don to find out when he wants her. It will probably be a week from this coming Monday."

Jim said, "Oh yeah, you said you were going to start sales, finance, and title closings early. This has to be a first with Mooney. I need to go see that entire operation and visit with Don to get a feel of how he's going to do. We have spoken often, but really don't know each other yet. I need to do that."

A young man came into the office and stood by an extra desk that was there. Jim said, "Brad, this is Brian Maddison, my Assistant. Brian, Brad Johnson, the Regional Manager over half the company. You met him about two months ago."

I told Jim, "Tell him the news."

"Brian, you're going to be in charge here often now that I'm being promoted to Assistant Regional Manager and soon to be Regional Manager. This is your opportunity to really shine. I'll be using you a lot differently from the way I told you in the future. We'll need that second Assistant now. See if Tony is in when you take Brad on a tour. We need to get him a desk of his own too."

Brian took me on a tour of the office, beginning with the sales office. They were just listing the sales from after five last night. Brian said, "We had eighteen sales yesterday. Our goal is to get close to seventy-five sales a week, which I understand is about half of what LA is doing. I've been trying to study what you're doing there that we aren't doing, and haven't come up with the answer yet. I know you have more salespeople and you must have more customers because of the population."

We stopped to say hi to the decorators then up to see the Finance Manager. From there we said good morning to the Accounting people who were trying to finish up with the closings from yesterday, followed by a stop in the Title Office to say hi, and then back to the Manager's office. Brian said, "They all knew you were coming this morning because Austin called and told us what your itinerary was going to be. That's sort of cheating, but you can't change what you have to do. They're doing it on cleaner desks. They all wanted to stay a little later last night but Jim is strict about getting out of here at five. He said you were the one who started that. I like it because it does give me a chance to take care of some personal things, stuff like laundry and cleaning my apartment."

I took the time it was going to take to get back to the Manager's office to tell the Assistant, "Jim is going to need your help to learn his new responsibilities, Brian. He will be sending you to other offices to do some of the work he could be doing, but will send you to get experience and to see how you handle things instead. You're the one to keep business flowing here when he is traveling. You have it in your head and know the business flow. Just keep an eye on each step and you'll be a perfect Assistant and future office manager."

Georgia and Patti were having a conversation about Jim's new position, and what she would be expected to do, when we arrived back in the Manager's office. Georgia assured her that it wasn't overwhelming and she would soon have files on all of the region's offices and know exactly what was going on in each one.

I told Jim, "Come on; we need to head to the airport. Leave your car in the general aviation terminal parking lot. We'll comeback this way and drop you off. Grab your laptop or tablet, and let's boogie."

Georgia called the pilot on the way to the airport and he said he would have the airplane ready. I asked Georgia to get the Houston file from my stuffed laptop bag so that we could review it on the flight. I told Jim, "You can do the same thing on a commuter flight. I always tried to review where I was going and write a report on where I had been. I would review my report the next day and modify it as necessary, but writing it down right after being there is the best way to remember what was going on. You need to document any suggestions you make so that you can follow up on them the next time you go. The frequency with which you go to an office depends on the severity or importance of the suggestion. Some things you'll suggest to a Manager will take longer to implement than you think, so always make sure you're not being a nag or micromanaging."

Jim said, "We had a Regional Manager like that for a while. He wouldn't come, but would bug you about insignificant items that you had already taken care of. He still asked about them every other day as if he were reading off a script. You only called once to tell me that I had a good office and to confirm that I had increased radio advertising after you were here that first time. I'm glad I did because it did give us a sales boost. Dallas is a big sports town, so we do get involved with sports and news programs now. Dallas also has something odd, a city-owned classical music station, and we're seeing a surge in business from ads on that station too."

We flew to Houston and rented a car to go to the office. Something felt strange when we walked into the office. The receptionist had a sour look on her face, and really wasn't very friendly toward a group she probably knew was from the Regional Manager's office. I ignored her when she tried to stop me from going to the Manager's office and went to his door that was closed. I stepped back when I tried the door and found it locked, and kicked it in with my foot.

The Manager was standing over someone who could have been his secretary. The man had his semi-hard dick in his hand and was telling the woman that she better get to sucking if she wanted her job. He looked at me and wasn't that alarmed. He looked high, on drugs, and that had never been a problem in this office. I yelled at the man and told him to back up and get away from the woman. He laughed at me as he grabbed the lady by the hair and was pulling her face to him.

I grabbed the man's arm and swung him around so he would let the woman go and look at me. He held onto the woman's hair so I chopped his wrist. He reached into his suit coat with his right hand, but Donte chopped him on the shoulder and neck and he dropped like a rock.

I scooped the woman up and carried her to a couch in the reception area. The receptionist was instantly around the counter and comforting the lady. I rushed back to the office and Donte had finished cuffing the Manager. I used the secretary's phone and dialed 911. I explained that one employee had attacked another and we had the attacker subdued but needed the police to arrest the attacker.

Jim exclaimed, "Wow, does this happen often? I know Pete, and I can't believe that he's gone off the deep end like this. He never seemed like a druggie, but he almost has to be after something like that."

The good news is that neither Donte nor I pulled a weapon. The Houston Manager began to flinch and twitch while he was down. It soon appeared as if he was going into some real convulsions. I called 911 again and told the operator we needed an ambulance at the address where there had been an attack on an employee.

The lady who had been attacked was now concerned for the Manager, but I convinced her to stay on the couch. She said she had worked for the company close to seven years and had been a friend to the Manager and his wife. She said that she knew something was wrong if he would do something like that.

Donte emptied the man's pockets and found two small pill bottles. A card that came from Pete's pocket had the name Peter Bennington, Business Manager on it. My mind went a little nuts thinking that I would never get rid of these Benningtons. I asked Jim, "Do you recognize this card or the name?"

"Yeah. The guy is some kind of scumbag who at first says he can increase my income by at least fifty percent if I subscribe to an easy business plan. He is persistent as hell, and came to the office almost daily until I threatened to have him arrested for stalking. I also told him I was going to shoot him if that didn't work. Do you think Pete is involved with that guy?"

"Drugs are one of the ways these people use to try and control people. I'm sure you know about the guy who had been in LA, went to Florida, and then to jail. That was Daryl Bennington. A couple more of his relatives have been put in jail, and we have another one here now. Pete isn't going to be salvageable because he mistreated an employee. He hopefully can recover and be a good citizen if he doesn't get jailed. We have to find this Peter Bennington to get him out of Texas and out of our lives. I think this guy may have been part of a scam that was attempting to stuff our time card racks with cards for people who didn't exist. They found out how to transmit hiring documents to the home office, and it was just luck that we noticed an increase in construction people when there wasn't any additional construction going on. You now have to decide if you can give up your Assistant, and we need to get another here as fast as possible, if not. I have one ready, but I was going to use her for where's she's at and promote the Manager from there to San Jose. Darn, I hate to give either of them up. Let me make some calls."

"Hi, Dot, I have a problem that just came up in Houston. Do we have a Manager ready to move up who has a good Assistant?"

Dorothy said, "The best one right now would be Sheila, but I'd bet you want to put her in San Jose. Houston might be too much for Rebecca as a beginning Manager. I have the Manager from Panama City who has a really good Assistant who Fred might want to promote to Manager there. Your best bet is moving Sheila, but that's Texas and you never know how they will take a woman running the show there. On the other hand, Texas had a woman governor, Ann Richards, before W took over. Call Fred and see what he thinks."

"I'll do that, Dot. Make a note. I'm promoting Jim Patina to Assistant Regional Manager for the South Central and cutting Phoenix from this region and adding it as part of the California region at the same time. I'll be sending you a ton of information and reports by e-mail this weekend. Let me call Fred to ask him about Panama City."

"Hey, Fred, this is Brad, and I hope that you may have a solution for me. The Houston Manager had a problem and can't work any longer. I understand you have an Assistant ready to move up in Panama City. What do you think about my stealing your Manager there and you promote the Assistant? Find another Assistant and get him or her into training if this will work."

Fred said, "That will be good for Phil since he's doing everything he should to increase business and it's improving. His sales should increase quite a bit when he gets his inventory homes built the way he wants, but he won't be there to see it. Sure, go ahead and take him. Do you want me to get him moving?"

"Sure, you know how to do that. The new Assistant Regional here is Jim Patina, the Manager in Dallas. Keep him advised of when your man will be here. I'm trying to give this region away the same as I did to you. I sure hope you're grooming a couple of Assistants in Tampa, because you're going to be busy getting a new man up to speed."

Fred bragged, "I have one about ready, and another that's learning fast. I know exactly how to do it. I had a good teacher."

"I hope so, Fred. Listen; make sure that you pay attention to your offices. I've run into another Bennington problem in Houston, and Dallas had the guy harassing them before this. I'm sure you got the memo to be on the lookout for construction people who weren't real. The new security badge check-in should put a stop to that."

Fred said, "Let me call up to Panama City and get that man going. He's single and will love those long- legged Texas girls. I think the man becomes jaded every Spring Break, and it takes him a year to get over it. He'll be challenged more in Houston and should do a good job for you."

"Thanks, Fred. Save up some vacation time so that you can come to Hawaii and stay in the new place there. The girls have made some money and bought a beautiful house. My in-laws are paying for some remodeling to make the place even bigger so that we can have a lot of people visit. Plan on about six months from now."

"It's a guarantee that we'll use that invitation. Keep me updated on how the remodel is going." He hung up.

I turned to Jim, and said, "A man named Phil Murphy will be on his way right away. He'll be calling you, so you tell him how bad you need him. Now let's find this office's Assistant and see if he's salvageable."

The secretary was sitting up now, and said, "Tim is probably hiding out in Construction. He didn't want to get fired, but he didn't want to be a part of what Pete was beginning to do. I think he's written to the partners, but we haven't heard anything from them."

Donte said, "Let me go find this Tim guy and bring him in. I should be able to get a feel for the guy and figure out if we can trust him." Donte left to walk across the lot to the Construction Office building.

The receptionist suddenly had a terrified look on her face. "That guy is here. He's come back, and he's said that he is going to take care of anyone who doesn't go along with what he's doing."

I told her, "Send him to the Manager's office and I'll talk to him there. Georgia, you take Myrna and go upstairs and get her some water or coffee." I turned back to the receptionist, and said, "Be prepared to call 911. We may not need them. Call the Construction Office and have Donte come back as I need him."

I went into the Manager's office and sat at his desk. I pulled my Glock and put it under the folded newspaper that was on the desk. I wasn't going to fool with this guy.

A man who looked a lot like Daryl came and sat down at a desk chair. He looked around the office, and said, "So where's Pete?"

"He had a problem and had to leave, I've been given his job. How can I help you?"

The guy kept looking around, and finally said, "Do you know the deal I had with Pete?"

"And what deal was that, whoever you are."

"Oh yeah." He pulled a business card from a case and tossed it on the manager's desk. He pulled a small bottle out similar to one that Pete had, and said, "I can supply you with these in doses that will have women falling at your feet. You can use them or sell them. You should be able to get about five bucks or more per pill. I charge you ten bucks a hundred and you sell them for five and up, and you are suddenly swimming in money. All you have to do is to keep this joint on the path I gave Pete. He has a printed sheet that I gave him to memorize and to incorporate into this office. We were going to knock down a few hundred thousand extra a month from the way I gave him to set up. He was just starting, so the money isn't coming in yet. It will and we'll be getting fat."

I told the man, "I'm going to tell you something. I don't know you, and don't want to know you. Just your last name is enough. Daryl and his brother are in jail for the rest of their lives. The guy from Las Vegas is going to prison for a long time on a variety of charges. You will probably go away too when the cops get here."

I slid my hand from under the paper, raised my gun, pointed it at him, and said, "Do us both a favor and just sit with your hands on the table. The nice man standing behind you is going to search you for anything that might hurt someone.