Chapter 62: Reorganization Plan

June 3, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“You all know how much I hate long speeches, so I’m going to keep this as short as possible!”

There was laughter from the assembled NIKA staff, all waiting for dinner to be served.

“Today marks NIKA Consulting’s Tenth Anniversary. We’ve come a long way from working out of my house, which you’ve all now seen, to the building we own in the West Loop and two regional offices. And, a week from Monday, three additional offices from Lone Star. I’ll have a bit more to say on that later.

“Ten years ago today, Dave and Julia Kallas, Cindi Spanos, Elyse Clarke, and I began working full time as NIKA Consulting, and Penny Penfield was working part time. That work wouldn’t have been possible without investments from my dad and Joyce Tarrance’s grandfather, Don Joseph Grossi, who is represented by his wife. Dad, Joyce, and Donna Grossi, please stand. This would not have been possible without your faith in us.”

There was a stirring round of applause, and then they sat down.

“I’d also like to recognize the Board of Directors, so Dad and Joyce, please stand again, along with Doctor Barton, Doctor Pater, and Commander Schumacher. Would Doctors Dalton and Lambert, former Board members, please stand as well?”

There was more applause and they sat down.

“I’d like to recognize a few special guests, without whom this would never have been possible. First, Mr. Scott Bannerman of Sun Microsystems, who taught Dave, Julia, Cindi, and me how to manage software development.”

He stood and waved then sat back down next to Lyudmila Alekseyevna Anisimova, or Lucy Alexa Anisimov as everyone else knew her. I’d invited her as a special guest, and hoped I’d have a chance to talk to her before the evening was out.

“Next, Doctor Charles Bauer from IIT, who was responsible for the founders’ formal computer training as Chairman of the CS Department.

Applause.

“Next, Jamie Ferguson, Esquire, a close family friend and our corporate attorney who has generated ridiculous fees all in the name of protecting us from other members of his profession.”

Lots of laughter and applause. I’d cleared that statement with Jamie beforehand, as I didn’t want to offend him. He’d told me he’d be offended if I DIDN’T complain about lawyers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Melanie stick her tongue out at me.

“As your attorney, I shouldn’t have to remind you that your software and services aren’t free, Mr. Adams!” he retorted, as we’d planned.

More laughter.

“Next, I’d like to thank Samantha Spurgeon who is providing us with the financing to purchase Lone Star, as well as Jeri Lundgren, who financed our purchase of BLS several years ago. Ladies, please stand up!”

They did to applause, then sat back down next to their sailors who were wearing dress whites.

“Finally, and then I’ll let you eat, I’d like to thank Ben Jackson, Ben van Hoek, and Ned Jenkins, who are here representing the NIKA User Group.”

The three of them stood and then sat after applause.

“Thank you all, and also all of those who aren’t here who have helped. The caterers will begin serving, and I’ll come back to talk to you during dessert and coffee.”

I sat down at the head table with the executives and current board members, and watched as the caterers began serving everyone their salads. After salads and a main course with a choice of chicken, beef, or fish, dessert and coffee were served. I stood and went back to the podium.

“I have some very important awards to make. First, I have two awards for ten years of service. Mario and Penny, please come forward.”

They both got up from their seats and joined me on the dais.

“Penny was our first hire, though only part time as I mentioned earlier, because she was still in High School! She and I have been programming together for about twelve years. Mario was our first full-time hire. He started off helping Cindi do installs and Novell support and, when we opened the office in Pittsburgh, accepted an appointment as manager of the Eastern region. Please congratulate them!”

To loud applause, I handed each of them a plaque, along with an envelope with a check. Once they’d returned to their seats, I handed out the five-year awards. Once those were done, I got to the part everyone was certainly waiting for.

“Chris, Keri, and Kimmy are going to distribute your bonus checks, or for most of you, direct deposit receipts. The money will be in your account on Monday. I’ll ask you to please wait to open the envelopes until I’m finished. A few more minutes of suspense won’t kill you!”

There was laughter as Chris, Keri, and Kimmy began handing out the envelopes.

“I promised earlier to say a bit more about Lone Star. Our due diligence is complete, and on Wednesday, the Boards of Directors for both companies will approve the deal, and then each company will have a shareholder meeting to finalize everything. As of 5:00pm next Friday, NIKA and Lone Star will be a single company.

“There will be some organizational changes, as I mentioned when I first announced the merger. We haven’t fully worked out the new structure, but suffice it to say there will be plenty of opportunities for all of you to explore. We’ll absolutely be expanding our consulting and IT support services to Dallas and the Raleigh-Durham area, and we’re considering doing the same in Reno.

“As new positions are decided, they will be announced and all of you will have the opportunity to explore them. I fully support cross-discipline moves, so if you think you might like to try your hand at something different, just let your manager know. They’ll make sure your name is in consideration. We also may approach some people directly and ask them about their interest in a role.

“I’m asking all of you to bear with us, as there’s going to be quite a bit of turmoil and some serious adjustments when we absorb a company nearly the same size as ours. We’re going to need everyone pulling the oars together to keep the ship aright and on the proper course. You may well be asked to do things outside your normal jobs, but I know I can count on each and every one of you to do everything you can to make NIKA successful.

“That’s all I have. Thank you ALL for making NIKA a very successful company, and I look forward to the next ten years together. When you finish your dessert and coffee, please join us back at the house for drinks, music, and conversation. Again, thank you all and see you back at my house!”

I sat down and finished my cake and coffee, then walked with my wives back to the house to spend the evening socializing.

June 4, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“Remember I need to leave the group about 5:00pm,” I said to Elyse as we headed into the Loop.

“That’s about when things wind down, anyway. If you look at the schedule, we have the Sears Tower, then lunch at Giordano’s, and then the Wendella river sightseeing tour. Once that’s done, the out-of-town folks are heading for the airports and the Chicago folks will do their own thing.”

“Thanks for organizing all of this,” I said.

“I enjoy doing that kind of stuff, but you know Keri and Michelle did most of the legwork.”

“I know. But somebody has to ride herd on everyone!”

“Sorry about your Penguins,” Ben Jackson said about thirty minutes later as we stood looking out from the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower.

I shook my head in disgust, “They won the first game, then dropped four straight. The Devils look pretty damned good, but then again so do the Hawks.”

“When will you be in LA?”

“I have to be in San Diego on the 26th of July. I’d thought about the day before, but I had to move our family trip to Europe by a week due to the Lone Star deal. I figure I’ll go to San Diego the night before, then come up to LA on the 27th. I’ll stay the night so we can go out.”

“Perfect. That was a nice time yesterday. Thanks for inviting me.”

“You’ve been a good customer and a good friend for years. And you run the NIKA User Group. All of that has contributed to our success.”

“How much turmoil are we actually going to see?”

“Same as always,” I replied. “The medical software will slip. But as I’ve said, doctors usually complain more about upgrades than they do about bugs. Our biggest challenge there is electronic insurance billing. Sam is up to her eyeballs in reviewing the alleged standards.”

“Alleged?”

“No two insurance companies seem to agree on what the standard actually is.”

Ben laughed, “That sounds like tax attorneys!”

“Tell me about it!”

The NIKA group went from the Sears Tower to Giordano’s, and then to Michigan Avenue to board the Wendella boat for a river and lakefront tour. I managed to get a few minutes to talk to Lyusya, and we agreed to try to get together sometime later in the year. I found out what her ‘top secret’ work was - she was working on something called Java, which had the goal of being a platform-independent programming language. She promised to get me a copy to test as soon as she returned to the Bay Area.

When the tour finished, I bade everyone farewell and thanked them for coming to Chicago. The out-of-town folks headed to the office to pick up their bags so they could head home, and I accompanied them so I could change clothes for dinner. I thanked Barbara and Mario again, then caught a cab to take me to Ruth’s Chris in the River North section of Chicago.

“Hi!” Molly said when I walked in.

“Hello!”

“Our table is ready, so they’ll seat us right away.”

We followed the hostess to a table for two and a waiter immediately arrived to tell us the specials and take our drink orders. I was taking a cab home, so I ordered bourbon and Molly ordered a glass of white wine.

“How’d you get into owning a dojo?” I asked.

“I was living in Milwaukee and attending the dojo there. I got a job in Racine, and there wasn’t a Shōtōkan dojo close, so I decided to start one with my «shihan»’s help.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a CPA and work for a small accounting and tax firm. I mostly do personal and small business taxes. It’s nice because it’s flexible enough I can work around the times I need to be at the dojo. What does NIKA Consulting do?”

“We have four divisions,” I said, telling her the new structure we were likely to adopt. “Computer support, consulting, medical office software, and legal office software.”

“Your card said you were ‘President, CEO, and Principal Engineer’.”

I nodded, “I’m a programmer at heart, but somebody has to be zookeeper. Someday I’ll hire someone to run my company for me, but for now, I’m doing it.”

“What’s in Dallas? A customer or do you have offices there?”

“We have customers in Dallas, but we’re buying out our largest competitor and I’ll be going there to complete the deal later this week.”

“Do you travel a lot?”

“Yes. We have offices in Colorado Springs and Pittsburgh, and I do some other travel for work as well. I was in Europe and Asia on work last fall.”

“I’d love to travel, but never have! Need a companion?” she smirked.

I held up my left hand, “I don’t think you could have missed this.”

“Says the man who called a dinner bet ‘tame’!”

I chuckled, “True. And I believe you responded by saying I shouldn’t be so sure about that. Was that before or after you noticed my ring?”

“I didn’t notice it until after because I wasn’t really looking. And by then, I’d already committed.”

“Backing out would have been OK,” I said.

“I can’t welsh on a bet. But why take me up on it? And why say it was ‘tame’?”

“I’m a flirt and basically incorrigible.”

“And your wife puts up with that?”

I smirked, “You have NO idea what you walked into.”

“Huh?”

“My WIVES know, and they know I’m here, too.”

“WIVES? Current and ex?”

I shook my head, “Both current. Not according to the State of Illinois, mind you, but according to the three of us.”

“Riiigghhht!” Molly laughed. “I’ve heard some stories from married men, but that one takes the cake!”

I pulled my wallet from my pocket, removed the plastic insert with our family pictures, and slid it across to her.

“What the heck am I looking at?” she asked.

“My SEVEN kids. And their moms. Four of them. We all live together down in Hyde Park, though this one,” I indicated Jennifer, “is a lesbian who is married to another woman, and this one,” I indicated Elyse, “is steady with another guy.”

Molly shook her head, “Just no way!”

“It’s true. Let me tell you a story.”

By the time I’d explained about Jennifer, Elyse, Jessica, and Kara, we’d had a second round of drinks and ordered our steaks.

“I’m not sure a case of wine would be enough after THAT story!” Molly laughed.

“You’d have to be drunk?” I said with mock offense. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“Sorry. I guess that didn’t come out the right way. I just meant it’s a hell of a story, and one most people would only tell if everyone was drunk!”

“There’s nothing to hide,” I said. “We’re fairly open about it. The only time we’re careful is around the government which seems to frown on anyone not following their prudish views on sex and relationships.”

“I guess you missed that part of the 60s - you know, ‘free love’, and all that.”

“I’m only thirty-two. I’d have been between six and twelve during that timeframe. But the late 70s weren’t a bad time to be in High School. You’re about my age, right?”

“A couple of years younger, but yes. But you seem to have that attitude.”

I nodded, “What I do is my business and what other people do is their business. I think Americans are far too hung up on sex and everyone should just take a chill pill.”

“And just how far does this freedom extend?”

“As far as I want it to,” I said. “Within sensible limits, of course.”

“Crazy.”

“I’m curious, do you have a boyfriend?”

“Nobody steady. I was engaged to a guy my Senior year of college but he turned out to want a mom, not a wife. I’ve dated off and on, but haven’t found a guy I’m interested in enough to think about marrying. It doesn’t bug me, though. I enjoy my work and the dojo and my friends. Having kids isn’t a big thing for me, either.”

Our steaks arrived and we began eating.

“When do you think you could come up to Racine?” Molly asked.

“Towards the end of June, I think. One of the Saturdays would work. What times are your Saturday classes?”

“2:00pm is our mixed class. We have a kids-only class in the morning.”

“That would actually work well, because I could be at my own dojo in the morning. What did you have in mind?”

“For one, to expose my students to different teachers. My «shihan» comes down from Milwaukee once every few months. For another, to have other black belts I can call on for promotion tests. And for another, to make some friends in the karate community.”

“That makes perfect sense,” I said. “Sure. I’d love to. Let me check my calendar and call you this week with a proposed date.”

Molly smirked, “Dinner? A movie?”

“I meant to visit your dojo!” I said, laughing.

“You know, I always wondered something,” Molly said with a silly smile. “If I buy a guy dinner does he feel obligated to sleep with me?”

I chuckled, “I don’t think you have to buy a guy dinner for him to want to sleep with you! And besides, no guy should expect anything in return for dinner and a movie except the company of his date. Not even a good night kiss.”

“Try dating at twenty-nine. A date that doesn’t end in bed results in not getting asked on a second date. Or, if they do ask, it’s expected on the second date for sure.”

“Seriously?”

“Guys in their late thirties and early forties more or less just want to cut to the chase.”

“And you expected me to behave that way?”

Molly shrugged, “It’s par for the course. And married guys have only one goal in mind.”

“You date many married guys?”

Molly laughed, “You’re the first, if you call this a ‘date’. But when they hit on you, it’s sure not because they want scintillating conversation!”

“And me?”

“You didn’t hit on me. Well, you flirted, sort of, with your comment, but I didn’t feel as if you were coming on to me. It was like, I don’t know, playful, I guess. Non-threatening. I like to flirt as much as the next girl, but usually it’s read as an invitation, if you know what I mean.”

“Sure. I get the same reaction when I flirt.”

“And you flirt a lot?”

“I’ve been known to,” I said. “But more in the past than recently.”

“Why is that?”

“Just circumstances, really. I enjoy flirting.”

“What’s your most successful pick-up line?”

I laughed, “Except when I’ve been asked that question, I’ve never used one in my entire life!”

“Oh come on! Every guy does.”

“The girls mostly come to me,” I said. “Just as you did.”

“You think that’s what I want?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.

“I make no assumptions,” I said. “Remember what I said? Your company is all I expected.”

“You certainly have a very different outlook from most people I meet. Guys or girls.”

“That’s true in just about every area of my life.”

We finished our main course and ordered coffee. The waiter also left a dessert menu.

“See anything sweet you want to eat for dessert?” Molly said with a saucy smile.

“From the dessert menu, the double-fudge cake looks good, though I suspect fudge-covered Molly would be very tasty.”

Molly laughed, “Good one! And now I’m supposed to say that a fudge-covered banana with cream would be equally tasty?”

“Equally good! I hate to be a party pooper, but there is a non-negotiable condition for either of those dessert orders.”

“Oh?”

“A clean STD test. My wife, the legal one, is an Attending trauma surgeon at University of Chicago Hospital. That’s the price of freedom, if you will.”

“Well that just spoiled a fun moment,” she sighed.