Chapter 4

Dickie Busby surprised Tina when she first met him. She had seen his photo on the corporate website, along with most of the rest of the managers and owners, but in person he was vastly different. His photo showed a stocky and heavyset, well dressed young man; in person Dickie was a roly-poly teddy bear in his mid-twenties, with a short beard that failed to hide his multiple chins. It was the first Saturday that neither Sam nor Jack had been able to cover the Oneonta office, and he had come down from Saratoga to fill in. He greeted Tina and Margie warmly, then settled into the manager’s office comfortably. After lunch, while a new salesman showed homes and Margie did paperwork in her office, Dickie sat down in the lobby across from Tina and asked, “So, how do you like working for Sam?”

“He’s great. He really seems to know everything about the company. Have you known him long?” she asked.

Dickie looked surprised. “Yeah, I’ve known Sam almost my entire life.”

“What does he do in Albany? All I know is that he’s a bigwig at headquarters and that he does computer stuff up there. I guess he’s pretty important?” she said innocently.

Dickie gave her a curious look. “You could say that. He’s one of the owners.”

It was Tina’s turn to look surprised. “But I thought Busby Housing was a family company.”

“It is. Sam married my oldest sister.”

“Sam’s married? He never said anything about his family.”

“Lee died four years ago.” Dickie yelled down the hall to Margie’s office, “Hey, Margie, didn’t anyone tell Tina who Sam is?”

Margie stuck her head out the door. “What, that he’s an owner? I thought she knew that!” she said, then ducked back to her work.

“Nobody told me. I thought you had to have the name Busby.”

“Nah, marrying one works just as well,” laughed Dickie. “Sam doesn’t play on the name at all. Big George and Momma treated him as the idiot son-in-law for years, despite everything he ever accomplished, and it always pissed him off.” He went on to describe Sam’s years at the firm.

Tina listened intently. Her initial attraction to her boss had been growing for weeks now. Sam had an easy, self-deprecating sense of humor that deflected any form of praise or thanks, and he erected a barrier between himself and the rest of the world. That barrier was showing a few cracks, however, because she had sensed him watching her, seeing her not just as an employee, and Tina was intrigued by the idea. Sam Charles was the most intelligent person she had ever met and was far better looking than he thought himself. He had the sharpest and driest wit she had ever seen, and an ability to keep the office in stitches for hours, along with an encyclopedic knowledge of the business and the company. He fascinated the young woman.

“So, what’s he really like?” she asked. “You’ve known him so much longer.”

“Who, Sam?” commented Dickie. “God, I’ve known him since I was a kid. He started dating Lee when I was a baby. Hell, I worked for him one summer in Saratoga.”

“So, what’s he like? He doesn’t say anything about himself.”

Dickie leaned back and thought for a moment. “Well, I’ve never been anywhere with Sam when he wasn’t the smartest guy in the room. He’s a genius, literally. He’s got more degrees than the rest of us combined. That’s his biggest problem, too. He knows it, and he simply won’t tolerate fools, and, to Sam, most of the world falls in the category of fool. Have you seen his temper yet?”

“Uh, not really. I did overhear him chewing out somebody over the phone once, and it sounded pretty bad,” she admitted.

“I guess. Just remember, he blows hot and cold. He ever cuts loose on you, simply roll up a newspaper, smack him on the nose, and tell him to behave. He’ll calm down right away, just like a puppy.” Tina laughed at the image. “Seriously, though, he’s very respected back in Albany. When Big George sold the company to us kids, he sold Sam’s shares to Lee, not Sam, even though Lee didn’t work for the company. None of the spouses would be allowed to inherit, and nobody could sell the stock to outsiders. If Lee died, Sam would be out on his ass. It was the rest of us who insisted on the provision that Sam was the only spouse allowed to inherit. Big George had to back down.”

Tina was impressed. “What’s he like personally? He seems very aloof and withdrawn.”

Dickie nodded at the description. “He’s quite different than the rest of us. He’s very quiet and reserved, very much an intellectual. He loved Lee and loves his kids.”

“He’s got kids?”

“Two, both about your age. A third, his oldest girl, died in the car crash with Lee. You have to be around him awhile before he lets down the barriers. He can be pretty hard to live with at times. You end up either loving the guy or hating his guts, and I don’t think he gives much of a damn either way. I like him, myself, but I know more than a few people who would like to drop him off a cliff. Why?” asked Dickie.

“Oh, just curious. He does seem very smart.”

“He is. Give him a chance. He’ll loosen up once he gets to know you better.”

It was a Saturday several weeks later that Tina called Heather. Even though they only lived across a driveway from each other, it was pouring outside and neither felt like getting up and going out in the cold and wet. Heather asked Tina how the new boss was doing.