Chapter 6

The next morning, Friday, Jennifer noted that Brad had beaten her in. She had quietly promised herself, upon accepting his offer to come over to this job with him, that she would always try to be in the office in the morning before her boss arrived; and for a couple of reasons.

First, it just seemed as if it were the right thing to do. If Brad came in and found someone he directly supervised there already, awaiting comments from him – even if it were just a good morning greeting – then he would start the day FEELING as if he were in charge. That would be a good way to get him at least into the habit of ACTING as if he were in charge. After a while, he would adopt that persona and his bosses could not help but notice eventually.

Typically, Jennifer knew that, from the business psychology class she had taken during her secretarial studies at the community college, the really competent take-charge types of guys liked to supervise other take-charge types of guys. It made them feel as if they were even more superior and it gave them the confidence in recommending advancement for their subordinates, who more than likely mirrored their own approach to business.

Jennifer wanted Brad to continue to be successful and advance, thus allowing her to advance with him; so, she would do what she could to fuel that take-charge feeling in her young boss.

Second, she wanted to be able to gauge quickly and react positively to Brad if she detected him coming into the office in a sour mood. Jennifer had gained experience in her previous temp jobs by being around other administrative professionals who advised her that, if they did not cheer up a grumpy boss very shortly after his arrival, it could be a very long and difficult day for everyone involved.

This harmed morale and inhibited productivity. And Jennifer did NOT want any drops in productivity in Brad’s sector of the company. After all; she had signed up for profit-sharing upon assuming her new position and she knew that, the better the company performed overall, supported by Brad’s sector, the better her financial portfolio would be at the end of the year.

So, she could only turn grumpy starts into happier days if she were already in place at her workstation in order to detect Brad’s mood as he entered. Then, as needed, she could immediately go into damage-control and intervention modes for the rest of the day for Brad, for herself, and for all the others in his sector of the company.

This morning, Jennifer felt a little bit uneasy at first, when she realized the Brad had beaten her into the office. She also had no way to gauge his mood until she could find a way to enter into an early conversation with him.

Jennifer was contemplating these things as she hung up her jacket and then placed her purse in her desk drawer. She turned toward her new mini fridge that had already been installed in order to put her lunch away for later. That is when she noted that her need for an excuse for initiating a conversation with Brad to gauge his mood had been overtaken by events.

Brad was standing in the doorway connecting their office spaces holding a steaming cup of coffee in one of the new porcelain executive mugs that came with his office – no more 7-11 pressed paper cups for this corporate big shot. The grin that he wore threatened to tear his lower jaw away from the rest of his face.

“Well,” Jennifer said as she returned her boss’s grin, “don’t you look happy this morning?” She then proceeded to stash the contents of her insulated lunch tote inside the mini fridge, and stood to face her boss.

“Oh,” Brad said to her as she moved to her task chair at her desk, “you just cannot fathom how happy I am this morning ... and proud.”

“Really?” Jennifer answered as she clicked the icon after waking her screen up in order to begin logging in to the company server. “Why don’t you try? Start with ‘happy’, and then we will work our way to ‘proud’.”

“Well,” Brad replied as he took a small sip of coffee and snapped back because it was very hot. Jennifer was out of her chair like a shot with a tissue from the dispenser on her desk to catch any errant drops.

“We don’t want you to spill any coffee on your clean shirt or tie,” Jennifer said as she held the tissue up close to her boss’s chin. She wondered only for a split second why Brad was actually in suit and tie today instead of the wearing standard slacks and polo shirt normally worn by everyone on Casual Fridays around here. Then, she remembered his meeting with one of the major suppliers in the middle of the morning and nodded to herself.

“Nah, that’s okay,” said Brad with a grin as he breathed heavily into the O-shape of his lips in order to cool the soft tissues that may have been threatened with scalding from the hot sip of his 100% Colombian. “I’ll just tell anyone who notices that I like coffee so much, I thought I would wear some just to show it off.”

Both of them chuckled and Jennifer returned to her desk, thinking, ‘No matter how high up this man goes in this company, he will never get a big head or be embarrassed about simple ‘life things’ or ‘shit happens’ types of things – since the small stuff, such as coffee drops on his shirt, evidently do not faze him a bit.’

“Okay,” she said, “We were speaking of ‘happy’ and ‘proud’.”

“Well, I am happy,” said Brad, “because it looks as if Jan and I will be moving into better housing accommodations soon.”

When Jennifer simply raised an eyebrow in response, Brad continued.

“Jan and I were invited by a phone call yesterday from Mr. Morris, the Company President, to meet with a real estate developer’s representative, a Mr. Crane, over at Riverside Estates.”

“You mean,” interrupted Jennifer, “that new subdivision where they are building those new super-size palaces for all the rich folks?”

“Exactly,” said Brad, now able to take small sips without leaving what Jan would call ‘pizza burns’ on the roof of his mouth. “It would appear that Mr. Morris has gifted Jan and me with a house over there – fully paid for and, to top it off, it will be fully furnished and decorated by his son, Michael, who is one of the best professional decorators in all of New England.”

Jennifer was stunned and unable to speak for at least ten seconds before she gulped and said softly, “Wow! That’s ... that’s ... simply amazing.”

Then, Jennifer’s eyebrows dropped and she took on a thoughtful look as she asked, “Does he do that sort of thing for ALL of his new Junior VPs? I mean, I knew he was well off, but I did not know that he was THAT rich or that the company could afford to do that for all of you...”

“No, no,” Brad replied, still watching his coffee mug; not used to having coffee in a container without a tear-away sip-hole cover on it – which is why, distracted as he was, he began to speak off-hand before thinking about it.

“This is all Jan’s doing. See, that is why I am so proud...” Brad suddenly brought his head up and got quiet as he realized that he just might have started down the road to revealing too much to his secretary about the agreement that he and Jan had made in order for him to get this job.

Brad did not want to subject his wife or himself to disapproval or censure from the rest of the staff here in the company or within the broader community of Middlebury. After all, they were going to have to live here.

“Jan?” asked Jennifer, zeroing in on the anomaly in all of this talk about mansions, and gifts, and Mr. Morris. “What... ?”

“Look,” Brad interrupted before he let out a breath through a small opening in his pinched lips, “Jennifer, there are some things about my acceptance of this job that I have been asked to keep in confidence. I’m sorry, but this is beginning to fall into one of those areas. I did not mean to get off on this track in our conversation. I guess I was paying more attention to the coffee and enjoying the happiness of the moment, and I forgot for a moment some of the commitments I made to Mr. Kennedy and the others about discretion. So, let’s just drop it; okay?”

Jennifer paused for about five seconds before responding. She was not frowning, but neither was she smiling when she replied, “Okay, Boss.” Brad winced at the less-than-friendly address and her overall bland response, but nodded. But, she continued.

“I will do as you ask and drop it,” Jennifer said to him before her expression changed. Her eyelids drooped a bit as she appeared to focus intently on his face, trying to read anything from him. What she may not have realized was that she was giving off a clear signal of her thoughts to her boss.

As Brad turned to go back into his office, his eyebrows dipped a bit as he thought about the more-than-obvious message that he had read on his secretary’s face. It had said, “You may think that you are able to hide something from your secretary; but I WILL find out; and you just know it!”

It was not more than an hour later that the emotional level in Jennifer’s office spiked with the arrival of a very exuberant Janice Pittman.

The young redhead was almost walking a foot off the ground in her excitement as she rushed in and hugged a very surprised Jennifer before speaking.

“Oh, Jennifer,” Jan huffed, “please tell me that Brad isn’t busy! I just have to speak to him!”

“Actually, he’s in with one of our main suppliers,” Jennifer replied, “but they should be finished soon. They were only scheduled for...” but she did not get any farther.

“I am just SO tickled,” Jan said. “Mr. Morris is such a dear, sweet man! He actually GAVE us a house! A HOUSE! And not just any house.” Jan finally had to pause to take a breath. This gave Jennifer an opportunity to wedge something into the conversation.

“I know,” said Jennifer, “Brad told me first thing this morning. I understand that it is one of those new mansions out in Riverside Estates.”

“Oh,” said Jan, “I guess you know all about it then.” She paused for a moment as she got a thoughtful expression. Then she looked at Jennifer with what the older woman could see was real concern.

“Oh, Jennifer, I just don’t know if I am cut out for all this. I mean, I’m just a simple girl from a mostly agricultural community in Ohio. I don’t know how to live in a fucking palace – ooh! Pardon my French. How do I set the table for Brad when I only know how to place one fork, one spoon, and one knife? I just don’t know HOW I am going to be able to live up to all of his expectations when we move over there.”

Suddenly, Jan looked a bit as if she were about to cry until Jennifer hugged her and said, “It’s easy, Honey. Just continue to be the girl he fell in love with and married. Don’t try to be anyone else. Heck, the way you two act toward each other, just continue to do it that way.”

Then Jennifer held Jan away from her at arm’s length and smiled as she said, “Shoot, if you don’t know how to do something; then, with all the money you are saving on a house payment, just hire someone who DOES know to come over and show you.” Then she laughed and said, “Or hire her to do it FOR you all the time.”

They both giggled and Jan pulled Jennifer in for another hug, thanking her for the comforting words,

“By the way,” Jan said, “before I forget. It is going to be a week or more before we can even think of moving into the new house. So Brad and I would like for you to come to supper on Sunday afternoon at our old house. Nothing fancy; we are just having pot roast. Can you make it?”

Jennifer nodded and said, “Sure; just me, or are my two children invited as well?”

Jan assured Jennifer that her kids were welcome. “You know where we live; well, for the time being, anyway?” Jan asked with a somewhat sheepish smile.

“I think so,” answered Jennifer. Then they compared notes on where their neighborhoods were in relation to each other. As they did so, Jan frowned.

“Jennifer, please forgive me if I say the wrong thing here,” Jan began, “but is it safe to live in the area where you are staying?”

“It used to be okay, from what I hear from the longtime residents in my neighborhood,” Jennifer replied, “but, in recent years, it has been going downhill. Let’s just say that I lock all my doors and windows at night.”

“What about your husband? Does he... ?” Jan began to ask, but stopped when she saw Jennifer raise her hand and lower her head and shake it.

“Rex pulled up stakes on us a few years ago; taking all our savings and running off with his new squeeze. It has really been tough going since then,” Jennifer said, as her own eyes began to fill with tears.

Both women nodded in a moment of quiet understanding, and Jan began to consider something. But she did not get a chance to say anything about what she was thinking when Jennifer said, “But I leave my car unlocked in the hopes that some gangbanger will steal it and give me the opportunity to use the insurance to make a down payment on another one. I’m afraid Old Paint is on its last legs and about to die on me.”

“Oh, Honey,” said Jan, suddenly taking the dominant emotional role in the conversation, reversing their relative positions from moments earlier. “You should not have to worry about reliable transportation; especially with your responsibilities as a single mom. We will have to see about doing something...”

They were interrupted at that moment by the emergence from the inner office of a middle-aged gentleman leading Brad out. “And we will stand by the agreement on those new shipping rates,” he was saying to Brad. They both were smiling.

Both paused a moment for introductions and the man, a representative of one of J.A.M.’s preferred suppliers, said his goodbyes, and left the office.

“So,” Brad said with a smile; one that faded as he saw the signs of a low emotional levels on the faces of his two favorite ladies. Then, suddenly, his wife’s face lit up as she jumped into his arms and gave him a kiss.

“Hey,” Brad said to his now-apparently-recovered wife, “I only have a couple of minutes before I have to head off to another meeting. What are you doing out here anyway?”

“That’s okay; I won’t keep you,” Jan said.

Then, Jennifer noticed a playful look come across Jan’s face as her boss’s wife continued. “As to why I am out here at the plant; well, I just simply had to come out and show my gratitude personally to my new boyfriend and ask him over to supper tonight.”

Brad looked confused for a moment, and then Jan said in a sultry voice, “Mr. Morris.”

What followed was a bit disconcerting briefly to Jennifer, but was evidently amusing to Jan. Brad looked alarmed for a moment, but then smiled and said, “Good.”

Jennifer relaxed, as Jan started to leave but then turned back and said to Brad, “Oh, and Jennifer and her two children will be coming over to eat with us on Sunday.” Then she was quickly out of the office.

The rest of Friday was a bit calmer around the office. One thing that happened that seemed a bit unusual to Jennifer was a pop-in by two of the other Senior VPs; Daniel Grant and Bryan Newman. They went into Brad’s office and closed the door, but were only in there for about ten minutes before they left, and Jennifer heard once again the mysterious words that had been nagging her since she had first heard them. Mr. Newman spoke them to Brad as the two men left.

“We’ll see you, Brad. And welcome to The Program – to both you and Jan.”

The other unusual incident occurred during Jennifer’s afternoon break in the Sec’s Lounge. She was sitting there enjoying a rare indulgence – someone had left red velvet cake with sinfully rich cream cheese icing and she was having a small slice to go along with her afternoon coffee.

Heather came into the lounge and saw Jennifer and greeted her as she retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Well, are you adapting okay to the rarified air over here?” Heather asked. Jennifer had been somewhat timid in her dealings with Heather during the first two days in her new office. But, by the afternoon of the third day, she realized that the Senior Executive Secretary was really a very nice lady; albeit, one who appeared to carry a lot of heavy responsibility in keeping the wheels of industry moving with respect to the company and its executives, especially her own personal executive – Mr. Morris.

“I think that I am getting the hang of things,” Jennifer responded with a smile. Then, she could not help but let her eyebrows furrow for a second as a stray thought came to her. She was trying to frame her next question when Heather spoke first.

“Something on your mind?” Heather asked her. “Perhaps something that may be difficult to comprehend right now?”

Jennifer’s eyes zeroed in on Heather’s upon hearing that question. Her frown deepened as she said, “As a matter of fact, there is one thing that I just cannot seem to shake loose in my mind.”

Heather gave Jennifer a thin smile and deliberately assumed what she thought of as her most encouraging facial expression.

“You can tell me to mind my own business if you want to but...” and then Jennifer went on to express her not being able to understand various references that she had heard recently concerning something called ‘The Program.’

When she had finished explaining what she had thought she had heard, Jennifer waited as Heather looked down at her water bottle for a few seconds and then back up to catch her eye directly.