Chapter 65: Looking Forward

June 12, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

On Wednesday morning, Bob brought in the final candidate for the Managing Director’s role for the Managed Services Business, Melinda O’Brien. She had a degree in Computer Science and had been in Navy ROTC, then served eight years, with a final rank of O-3, a Lieutenant. When she’d left the Navy, she’d worked as a data center manager for Digital Realty.

“Why leave the Navy?” I asked after Bobby brought Melinda coffee and brought me tea.

“I got pregnant and decided that wasn’t the life I wanted for my daughter. I stayed in until she was born for the benefits, then didn’t re-up, despite pleas from my commanding officer to stay in. A recruiter found me the role with DRT and the same recruiter let me know about this opportunity.”

“What most interests you about NIKA?”

“The corporate «kami»,” she replied, making it clear she’d read the materials Bob would have sent her via the recruiter. “The benefits are attractive, the position is interesting, and I think it would be a good challenge, which I am absolutely ready to undertake.”

“Do you come from a Navy family?”

“No. ROTC was a way to pay for college without borrowing any money.”

“Did you know a Professor Scott Bannerman when you were at Stanford?”

“Yes. I had him for one class.”

“He was my professor at IIT, and I worked for him as an intern. Which class?”

“Software Engineering.”

“A class Dave Kallas, our Director of Development, and I helped Scott create at IIT. Did you ever meet Lucy Anisimov? She would have been a grad student when you were an undergrad.”

“Blonde girl who surfed, right? And went to work for Sun Microsystems.”

“Yes. She runs her own company in Moscow, Russia, which is basically a sister company — NIKA Systems. They rep for us in Europe, in addition to doing the same kinds of business we do here.”

“Small world!”

We chatted for another fifteen minutes before I took her to meet with Reed, who would then turn her over to Aisyah, who would turn her over to Noelle, with Penny going last. When I returned to my office, there was a message from Stephanie asking me to come to see her.

“What’s up, Squirt?” I asked when I stepped into her office.

“Shut the door so we can chat privately.”

I did, then sat down on the couch.

“I have my preliminary reorg plan,” Stephanie said. “I can send it to you, but I figured it would be easier just to talk to you about it first, then revise it based on our conversation.”

“Whatever works for you,” I replied. “I’m OK with a verbal outline.”

“Two main divisions — software and services, with each one composed of several business units. Software would be NIKA Legal, NIKA Medical, Athena, and VLC. Services would be consulting, Managed Services, and support. Sales and Marketing and Admin would be corporate. OK so far?”

“Yes. Where do you envision Julia?”

“As CTO, which would be a corporate role, with Sam’s group reporting directly to her, and with complete oversight over all technical specs and decisions.”

“But not management?”

“No, that would fall to the Senior Vice Presidents of the two divisions, but Julia would have final say on all technical decisions and on hiring technical staff. And to answer your next question — Dave is the person I’d have run the software division. It’s basically an expansion of his current role to include the two other development groups, and it would be up to him who ran each of the business units. Harper would run Services, and I’d seek her input on the management structure.

“As for the regions, we need four, in my opinion. West, Central, Southeast, and Northeast, assuming you aren’t going to move the VLC team to Chicago. John would take the Southeast and Mario the Northeast, with Zeke and Barbara keeping their regions, but with slightly modified geographic areas. Texas would be part of the Southeast.

“Cindy and Elyse retain their respective roles, of course, with the same responsibilities. I don’t foresee any changes there, except that we’ll need a few more admin staff, which we can certainly afford. We’ve been very lean, following your lead, but I think we’re too lean at this point.”

“I don’t have any objections,” I replied. “I do have two questions. Well, a question and a challenge.”

“What’s the question?”

“The plans for space here in Chicago?”

“Eve is making good progress with the city, but you know those gears grind slowly. We’re not asking for any TIF money or any property tax rebates, so it really is just the red tape to get permission to tear down the annex and build the new building. Jackie Phelan will revise the architectural drawings based on feedback from the city. And I’ve been in touch with 550 West Jackson about space there during construction. What’s the challenge?”

“Bob actually played it straight with the third candidate for the Managed Services management role, and today’s candidate is very good — ex-Navy, Stanford, and two years managing the data center near McCormick Place for DRT. I think Larry is a better choice, but I think Melinda O’Brien is someone we should hire. And we will have other management roles available.”

“True. Is she still here?”

“Yes. She’s interviewing with the team.”

“Let’s have lunch with her so I can get a feel for her.”

“Sounds good.”

[Apple Orchard Bed-and-Breakfast near Montpelier, Vermont] 🎤 Birgit

I’d said ‘hi’ to Ed when his family came down for breakfast, but he’d only grunted a reply. I was bummed because I liked him, and what had happened wasn’t actually a big deal, except in his own mind. The difficulty was convincing him of that. I didn’t know what to do, so taking Jesse’s advice, I just let it go and went about doing my morning duties.

“What’s bugging you?” Katy asked mid-morning.

“What do you mean?” I asked, not really wanting to talk about it.

“You’re obviously preoccupied, and you were back awfully soon from your walk with Ed. Did something happen?”

“Nothing bad,” I said. “We just kissed a bit.”

“Birgit, I know you far too well,” Katy said. “When you brood or are moody, there’s something going on.”

“It’s not important,” I said, knowing Katy likely wouldn’t let me get away with that answer.

“It’s important enough to have you out of sorts. You’re sure it was just kissing?”

“Yes!” I declared. “It’s ... well, private.”

“Since when did YOU become private?” Katy asked.

“Not for me,” I replied. “For Ed...”

Katy looked at me quizzically, but then had a look of realization.

“He got overly excited, didn’t he?”

I giggled, “My kisses are just that good!”

Katy laughed, “Now there is the Birgit I know and love!”

“We were French kissing and I kind of rubbed against him and he lost control. He won’t talk to me now.”

“He’s embarrassed.”

“Obviously! But I know that happened to both Dad and Jesse their first times, and I read about it in Bethany’s book.”

“I think you just need to wait him out, and hopefully he’ll be willing to talk to you before they leave on Sunday morning.”

“Boys are really touchy about that,” I said.

“They are. We don’t have the same problem.”

“I wish!” I giggled. “An orgasm in two seconds? Yes, please!”

Katy laughed, “That would have helped in High School, for sure!”

Of course, she laughed, but just thinking about Dad had gotten me so worked up that I probably would have cum the second his tongue touched my clit!

“Just give him some space today and see what happens.”

“OK,” I agreed.

That had been Jesse’s advice as well, and I didn’t really have a choice. All I could do was wait to see if he’d talk to me before he went home to Virginia on Sunday.

[Rochester, Minnesota] 🎤 Jesse

After lunch, Bill decided to take a nap, so I left the room and went outside to get some sun and watch girls walk by. If UW Madison was anything like this, I was going to have a very good time in college! As had happened the day before, a few of the girls looked back and smiled. It helped that I was over six feet tall, and looked old enough to be in college, rather than High School.

“Checking out the sights?” Scarlett asked, walking up to the bench.

“There is plenty of natural beauty to observe!” I declared.

Scarlett smiled, “Good answer!”

“And a truthful one!”

“First time on a college campus?”

“If you don’t count UofC, where my aunt is a professor.”

“I bet there’s more ‘natural beauty’ here than at a school like Chicago.”

I shrugged, “The feminine form is beautiful in all its variations, but beauty is, as they say, only skin deep. Personality and intelligence are WAY more important.”

“I swear that sounds like a line, but for some reason, I don’t think it is.”

“It’s not, and it would be almost as dumb as Bill’s line, because you are certainly very easy on the eyes!”

Scarlett laughed, “You don’t talk like a guy who’s about to be a High School Junior.”

“I don’t do ANYTHING like a guy who’s about to be a High School Junior!” I declared. “My parents have pretty much let me run my life since I was a toddler.”

“Not mine! My dad still thinks he’s the boss of me, and I’m going to be a college Sophomore in the Fall. Of course, he’s paying for school, so he does have some say.”

“My parents don’t think that way,” I replied. “They’ll pay for college, but they’ll let me make my own decisions.”

“Do you drive?”

“My dad’s BMW,” I replied.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. He taught me to drive and I can use it whenever I need to.”

“Think your dad would adopt me?” she asked.

“You’d have to ask him,” I chuckled.

“Why laugh?”

“My family is, let’s call it ‘interesting’ and leave it at that.”

“You can’t leave it at that!”

I contemplated how to explain it, and decided to go with the strategy I’d discussed with Birgit, my moms, and Dad.

“I have a blended family. My dad isn’t married to my mom,” I replied. “And neither my mom nor my dad have conventional marriages.”

“Why do I think you’re being purposefully vague?”

“Because you’re clearly as intelligent as you are pretty!” I replied.

Scarlett laughed, “Now, see that is a good line! It flowed naturally from the conversation and wasn’t obnoxious.”

“And I hate to break off this scintillating conversation, but I need to go get my gear because the bus will be here in less than ten minutes.”

“See you later,” she said.

I got up and went into the dorm to get my gear for our afternoon skating session.

[Chicago, Illinois] 🎤 Steve

“We’re going to go with Larry Jefferson,” I said to Bob late in the afternoon. “But please do not say anything to Melinda’s recruiter until you hear from Stephanie.”

“Why?”

“She’s going to be opening some new positions, and we’d like Melinda to fill one of them.”

“Three candidates?” Bob asked.

“We did,” I replied. “It’s just we elected to hire two of the three, instead of just one. You’ll hear from Stephanie no later than tomorrow, though the details can’t be public just yet.”

“Care to tell me what’s going on?”

“That’s up to Stephanie,” I replied. “She’ll tell you. I have the hiring form for Larry, which both she and I signed, but as I asked, please don’t say anything to Melinda’s recruiter.”

“You know HR needs to be in the loop, right?”

“I do, but I’m not the one to put you in the loop. I’m here solely as the person hiring the new Managing Director, and I’m letting you know Stephanie is interested in a candidate.”

“Come on!” Bob protested. “We all know who has the real power here.”

“Birgit!” I declared.

Bob laughed, “OK, I mean besides her!”

“I’ve been trying to be a programmer for over fifteen years now, and events keep conspiring to prevent it. I’m trying very, very hard to go back to coding, and once we bring Larry on board and I finish with Knowles and Jackson, I am absolutely not going to allow myself to be dragged back into management. I’ll be Stephanie’s Consigliere, but that’s just providing advice and guidance. The decisions have to be hers.”

“I do need to sit down with you to discuss the HR situation with Knowles and Jackson.”

I nodded, “And we’ll do that once I have the shares assigned to me. Right now it’s all in process, and everything should be confirmed on Friday. At that point, I’ll be the majority shareholder. I’ll be in California next week, so let’s block some time on Friday for a conversation.”

“I’m free except 3:00pm to 4:00pm,” Bob replied.

“Let’s have lunch,” I replied. “I’ll arrange with Bobby. Just let her know what you want.”

“Your office?”

“Yes.”

“Friday at noon, then.”

🎤 Matthew

“Can we have a hypothetical discussion without you freaking out?” Chelsea asked.

“We can,” I replied. “About?”

“Maggie.”

“What about her?” I asked warily.

“You two seem like you would be the perfect couple, and she really likes you.”

“Yes, that’s true, but you and I are a couple, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Are you happy?”

“Of course! I thought we settled this when we talked in Cincinnati after what happened with Zach and Brenda. You are the only girl for me, and I’m not interested in any other girls, including Maggie. I could totally understand you being nervous when we were apart, but we’re living together now, and while we can’t live together during the school year, we’ll see each other all the time. I want to marry you, have kids with you, and have grandkids by our kids! What has you so concerned?”

“People break up all the time, even couples who seem like they’re meant to be together.”

“I’m not going to break up with you!” I protested. “I love you!”

“But what if you get bored, or meet someone you like better?”

“Does my commitment not mean anything to you?” I asked, exasperated.

“You’re upset,” Chelsea observed.

“Because you’re basically saying you don’t believe me when I say that I love you and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don’t think I’ve done anything to make you feel insecure, but if I have, you have to tell me what, so I can avoid doing it again.”

“You haven’t,” she said. “Maybe it’s just being away from home and my friends.”

“Nothing stops us from going to Cincinnati. You can drive, and I’m sure Mom will let us use her car, or we can borrow one from my dad, because Aunt Kara is in California. Or we can fly down. Or even take the bus. Or any of your friends can come to visit, as Pavel and Larisa will.”

“I’m sorry I’m acting this way.”

“I love you and you have nothing to worry about!”

“Take me to bed and love me?”

I took her hand and led her to the bedroom.

🎤 Stephie

“If you want my advice,” Allison said, “lose the attitude and apologize to Nicholas.”

“Why should I?” I asked.

“Because no guy is going to act like a slave, no matter what you do for him! I mean, seriously, why would they? Nicholas plans to be a doctor in the Navy, so no matter what you want, he has to follow the orders he’s given by his commanding officer! That’s how it works. We learned that in social studies when we discussed the Presidency and the chain of command.”

“But he always did what I wanted!” I protested.

“And you lost your shit because he wanted to play video games with his friends one time, instead of cuddling you! Seriously, Stephie, you blew it WAY out of proportion!”

“How did you know?”

“I watched my parents’ divorce,” Allison replied. “It started around the time I was seven and they divorced when I was ten. I’m sure you remember that. It all started because Mom insisted Dad stop playing cards with his ‘loser’ friends.”

“Were his friends losers?”

“No. Mom just didn’t like them because they smoked cigars and drank beer and acted like guys! Dad hosted sometimes, and they were just like guys our age, only older!”

“Why are guys so dumb?”

“I have no idea!” Allison declared. “But it seems to be true if they’re twelve or forty. Doesn’t your sister call your dad a ‘dumb boy’?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s even though he’s the coolest dad in the neighborhood!”

“Seriously,” I complained, “what does everyone see in my dad that is so special?”

“Jesus, Stephie, you’ve lost it! I don’t want to have sex with him like some of Birgit’s friends! He’s way too old for that! But as a dad? He’s totally cool and awesome! Tell me just one thing you want to do that you aren’t allowed to do or one thing you want that you don’t have? He and your moms obviously love you and even when you’re acting like a bitch, they don’t punish you!

“And you know what? All our friends agree with me, and they don’t understand you. I’m like the last friend you have, and I’m getting tired of it. You need to get your act together or you’ll have no friends, no boyfriend, and nobody will want to be around you, including your sisters.”

“Nobody understands!” I protested. “Nicholas and I were engaged!”

“And you treated him like a slave!” Allison declared. “Just tell him you’re sorry and lose the attitude. If you don’t, well, then it’s goodbye, because I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to, Stephie, but you’re impossible to be around.”

“Fine,” I said flatly.

I got up and left Allison’s house. Nobody understood that Nicholas was wrong! I wished he could move out right away, but that couldn’t happen until his mom came back from Sweden. And he was going on our trip, which would ruin it. I wondered if there was an alternative, so I pulled out my phone and pressed the speed dial for Dad.

🎤 Steve

My phone buzzed, and I was surprised to see it was Stephie calling.

“Yes, Bunny Rabbit?” I said after flipping open the phone.

“Could I go visit Grandma Nancy instead of going to Sweden?”

“You could,” I said. “But you would have to call and ask Grandma, and I want to talk to you about it tonight after karate.”

“OK,” Stephie agreed.

“See you at dinner,” I said.

We said ‘goodbye’ and I disconnected the call, then dialed Kara’s mobile phone, hoping to catch her out of the lab.

“Hi, Snuggle Bear! What’s up?”

“Our daughter doesn’t want to go to Sweden with us.”

“Because of Nicholas, right?”

“I’m guessing. She and I are going to talk tonight after karate. She wants to go stay with your mom and Paul. I told her to call and check, but I’ll decide after our conversation. She doesn’t know I’m calling you, but I wanted your input.”

“She’s just going to be a crab the entire time, and I think it’s better if she and Nicholas are away from each other. And it’s not a family trip, per se, because Albert is going to Leeds, Matthew and Michael will be in Spain, and Jesse and Birgit are basically spending the entire time with Kjell and his friends, though Jesse is going to Russia with us. Are you OK with her not going?”

“We’ve always let the kids decide things like this for themselves, even if we disagree with their choices. Maybe your mom can get through to Stephie, where the rest of us have failed.”

“I think I’ll give Mom a call and talk to her. We agree it’s OK?”

“Yes.”

“Are you available for dinner with the professors and grad students from the research team?”

“Sure. How about Friday night? Nalani’s family leaves on Friday morning and I wasn’t planning to fly home until Saturday.”

“That would be perfect! I’ll let them know. Talk to you tonight for our regular call?”

“Sounds good. I’ll fill Jess in.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and I hung up.

[Apple Orchard Bed-and-Breakfast near Montpelier, Vermont] 🎤 Birgit

“Can we talk, please?” I asked Ed when I saw him in the game room with his brother after dinner.

“I’m hanging out with Jamie and we’re playing video games,” Ed replied.

“Just two minutes, OK? Please?”

Ed sighed, but he got up and we moved to the far end of the room. I knew I had to be careful how I spoke to him because guys seemed to have very fragile egos when it came to sex, and they all seemed to be hung up on who had the bigger dick. Bethany’s book had made it clear that size wasn’t the most important factor, but guys were still hung up about it.

“What?” Ed asked.

I took a deep breath, then tried to say what I needed to say as quickly as possible so that I could get it all out.

“According to a book I read, what happened last night is pretty common,” I said. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, because I was just as excited as you by that kiss! I want to kiss you again! I hope you want to kiss me again, too! Please?”