Chapter 4

Week 2 - Tuesday

Brenda was already there when I came to work. She followed me into my office and as I was turning on my computer, she asked, "So, Boss, what is my first duty?"

"Well, your first duty is to quit calling me boss. My name is Ed and that's all I'll answer to."

"Okay, Ed."

"I want to tell you the opinions I've formed since I've been here and I'd like for you to tell me if you think they're right or wrong. Would you be willing to do that?"

"Sure, for what my opinions are worth. I've been here a few years, but I haven't been closely associated with many of the people in engineering."

"That's okay. Close the door... No, why don't we go down to the cafeteria. I function better after a few cups of coffee. This time of the morning the cafeteria is almost empty."

"Okay, should I bring anything with me?"

"No. That's fine. This is very informal and very confidential. I wouldn't want it to get back to any of the people we talk about."

We got ourselves some coffee and we took my corner table. When we were seated, I said, "First off, let's talk about the guy who isn't here any more. I spent a couple of weeks in very close contact with Pete. He assured me that there were absolutely no problems in engineering. All of his managers were white knights in shining armor riding on white chargers, and all of his engineers should have been given the Nobel Prize for physics. He told me that relations with other departments were top notch, also."

I sipped my coffee and watched Brenda's reactions. She smiled and said, "And Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny make regular visits to all of the good little employees."

"Obviously his evaluations were somewhat optimistic. I'm afraid Mike Severt's evaluation of Pete Welsh was a little rose colored as well. I've only been here a few days, but so far I've learned that Pete sexually harassed at least some of his female employees. He allowed his department to become seriously understaffed because of a non-existent hiring freeze. He covered over problems between engineering and purchasing. He showed favoritism to some employees. Can you think of anything I've left out?"

"First off, let me respond to what you just said," Brenda said, then took a sip of her coffee. "The sexual harassment wasn't just Missy. I know of three other women who claim to have been sexually harassed by Pete. I don't know anything about a hiring freeze, but I have heard talk of engineers threatening to quit because they are overworked. Favoritism? Would you be referring to Dave Jarchoff and Sly Westover? There may be others, but those are the two I can think of, right off the bat."

"I didn't know about Jarchoff, but I know Mel isn't too happy with him."

"As for the purchasing thing, I really don't know. There was a very vague rumor a couple of years ago that Pete might have some extra money coming in. Maybe that ties in, but it would be a reach."

"I don't know about Pete, but I'm pretty sure Al Jackson in purchasing is getting kickbacks or something for purchasing components from specific vendors."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Al Jackson is a slimy... character."

"It's okay, Brenda. You can say 'bastard' in front of me."

Brenda laughed and said, "It's true, that is exactly what I think he is. I think the only reason he hasn't hit on every woman in the plant is because he doesn't have the guts. He's always making off-color remarks. He seems to think it's cute."

"Unfortunately, you find people like that wherever you go."

"I guess you're right, and we seem to be stuck with Mr. Jackson."

Brenda and I discussed the managers, engineers, and support people. She really didn't know much about any of them. We did seem to establish a good rapport, though.

I ended up having lunch with Missy, again. This time she didn't even ask, she just brought her food over to my table and sat down.

"I guess I shouldn't be sitting with the vice president," she said with a smile. "People might get the wrong idea."

I had to laugh. "You mean they may think you're using your nubile young body to curry favor from your boss's boss?"

"Exactly. Anyway, I really wanted to thank you for what you did for Brenda. Being your secretary would have made her very happy. Being your PA has put her over the moon."

"Missy, she's way too talented to be wasting herself as a secretary. I only did what her talent and experience seemed to warrant."

"Well, whatever the reasons, I thank you."

"You said you aren't from around here. Where are you from, Missy?"

"I was born and raised in Muncie, Indiana. Actually, outside of Muncie. I was a farm kid."

"Hey, being a farm kid isn't bad. I grew up on a farm about twenty miles from here. It wasn't the kind of farm you're used to, but it was a farm nonetheless."

"What kind of farm was it?"

"We had two hundred acres of blueberries. We also had a few cattle, and we raised a big garden. Mom and Dad still run the farm, but I'm afraid they may have to give it up before long. Dad had a stroke last year, and he's never fully recovered."

"That's a shame, Ed. It's hard to see something like that happen to someone you love. My favorite uncle started having heart attacks about five years ago. They tried every kind of medication imaginable and nothing helped. I don't think the doctors even knew why it was happening. His last one was about six months ago and it killed him."

"That's a hard thing, Missy. I've worried about heart attacks, too, so I started trying to get the exercise I need. I'm trying to eat right, too. That doesn't always work, but at least I feel like I'm doing something positive."

"Yeah, I started running while I was in college. As for eating right, I had my cholesterol checked a while back and it was 170. I think I could eat about anything and it'd stay the same."

"You'd better watch out, young lady. It may catch up with you in a few years. Our metabolism changes as we age."

Missy giggled. "Yeah, I could just see myself at thirty, weighing three hundred pounds and whining that I hardly eat anything."

I had to laugh, too.

I got a call from Phil in the afternoon. He said he wanted to meet with me to talk about the purchasing situation. I told him I had a meeting in the morning, but we could get together after lunch if he'd like.

I spent the afternoon preparing for my meeting with Gene, in the morning. I asked Brenda if she knew anything about any of the engineers in Controls.

"Well, I don't really know any of them. There are a couple who have bad reps, though."

"Who would that be?" I asked.

"Remember, this is gossip. I wouldn't want you to make a decision on anyone based on wild stories."

"I really wouldn't do that, Brenda. If you have heard things, it would give me a reason to check out the validity of the story. That's all."

"Okay. I have a friend who dates one of the electrical installers. He says that Patrick Miller is never on the job site when they have a question for him. He says that Patrick is usually in his hotel room when they try to find him, but sometimes he'll be at a movie or something, and they'll have to wait until he shows up."

"Thank you. I'll have that checked out. Is there anyone else?"

"Yeah. Jim Belmont. Jim is by all accounts a ladies man. He brags about all of the women he has bagged at different job sites. From what he has told people here in the office, he sets up a new screen name on AOL when he knows he's going to be commissioning a job. It's usually something like Jim_in_Atlanta or something like that. Then he starts chatting up the women in the area he's going to. He tells them he's being transferred to the area and by the time installation and commissioning starts, he has half a dozen dates set up."

"Okay, that's reprehensible, but it's a moral issue rather than an engineering issue."

"Well, the installer I was talking about says Jim will show up on a job site in the morning, but will disappear within half an hour or so. If they have a question, they'll look for him, but he's never around. If they ask him about it, he says he's been there all day and they've just been looking in the wrong places. When the job is finished, he changes his screen name, and disappears. There was one job where he had to be on the site for three months. He claims to have had sex with twelve different women during that period."

"I will definitely check this one out. What he does in his personal life is his business, as long as it doesn't reflect badly on the company. If he's spending the time he's supposed to be working, out getting laid, then that's our business."

Week 2 -— Wednesday

I really kind of dreaded this morning. I liked Gene, but he seemed to be having more problems, with personnel and otherwise, than any of the other managers. I asked Brenda to sit in on the meeting with us, and she agreed.

"So, Gene," I said. "Before we get started talking about each of your people, give me a rundown on any of them you think are problems, or potential problems."

"Well, you're aware that Sly Westover is a bit of a problem. I would like to replace him, but there's no hurry. The only other problem is Marty Dunn. Marty goofs off a lot. He gets the job done, but he misses things. Sometimes we have to pay penalties to get things to a job site, so the job can be done on time."

"What's Dunn's problem? Why does he goof off. Is he just lazy?"

"I'm not sure. It may be that he's just lazy. I think it might be because he's bored, though. From what I've been able to find out, he has an IQ around 160. He got his engineering degree at Stanford and had a 3.97 grade point average."

"Maybe he'd work out better in R&D," I said.

"That's where he was when he first went to work here. He didn't get along with Jim Shear and after about three years, he asked to transfer over here. I knew he was extremely bright, so I snapped him up."

"Okay, let me think about it. I may have an interview with him in the next day or two. Are those your only two problem people?"

"Actually, we have one support person I'd like to replace. Jenny Divers is a nice middle-aged woman. She's pleasant to be around, but she isn't too bright. She has a hard time following instructions, even if she writes them down. I hate to get rid of her, but she just isn't pulling her weight."

"You didn't recognize these things before you hired her?"

"I needed a new support person. I put in my request to personnel. They transferred Jenny in from the production floor. After I realized her deficiencies, I complained to personnel. Martin Babcock told me she was my problem now."

Okay, so that made me a little angry. I'd seen it before, where personnel would shuffle a person around from department to department. No one wanted to take the steps necessary to get the person fired and no one made the effort to find out if there was someplace the person would actually fit in.

"I'm going to want to talk with Jenny, too. Is there anyone else you consider a problem?"

"Not really. There are a few I feel could do a better job, but I think they'll shape up as they get more experience," Gene said.

"What about Patrick Miller? I've heard rumors that he's never at a job site when he's supposed to be."

"I've heard the same rumors. But he always gets the job done, and there have been no official complaints about him."

"What about Jim Belmont?"

"Uh, I don't know of any problem with Jim."

"I've heard rumors that he's a real ladies man."

"I think those are just rumors. Besides, it isn't our business if he dates a lot."

"It is if it keeps him from doing his job. The rumors also say he is missing from job sites a lot. Have you heard those rumors as well?"

"Rumors, yes. No one has complained about him, though."

"Gene, I want you to look into Belmont. Talk to our installers. Find out if this is hurting his job performance."

"Uh... I might not be the best one to do that, Ed. Uh... Jim is my wife's brother."