Chapter 147

As soon as Randy left I said, "We have rented ten cars today and we are not even open yet. I think we need to change our plans. We need to leave Randy here for the next two weeks and let him do the training for the new hires here and if necessary use conference calls or possibly send Jack down for a couple of days to fill in the gaps."

A short discussion followed. We would ask Randy as soon as he came back with the food. That had barely ended when Lorrie's phone rang.

"Lorrie, Jessie. We have three couples that were scheduled to go on the cruise out of Baltimore tomorrow. The cruise ship came in early with hundreds of cases of stomach virus. The health department will not give the ship a clean bill of health, the cruise has been canceled and their money refunded. They want to rent the big house on Fishery Drive for two weeks starting tomorrow as a group. I think that is the one you are staying in. They want three cars. Did you get far enough along today to make this happen for them? I know this is three weeks ahead of anything we talked about."

"We are staying in the house on Fishery Road. It is a nice house. We are coming home tomorrow afternoon. We can pack our things in the morning and have the cleaning company come clean it before they get here. Three couples with baggage will require the G5 that is here. I will get hold of the pilots and have them leave early to pick the couples up - say 8 AM - that would make arrival here around 11. That will give the cleaners time to do their thing. The house only comes with one car for the two weeks; if they want two additional cars they will have to pay weekly rental rates for them. Offer the extra cars at the AAA weekly discount. The cars are here so it is whatever they want. Call them back to confirm the 8 AM time and the car issue before I go hunting for the pilots," Lorrie said.

Lorrie first called the pilots to schedule the pickup flight and then she called the cleaning contractors. Jeanna was sitting back taking it all in, all smiles. Jessie sent a text, "8 AM confirmed and 3 cars, I processed the credit cards already, they are good."

Jason called on the conference phone. After a round of "Hi Dad" from all of us Jenny filled him in on the things we had discussed, including the assistant and an office clerk.

After Jenny finished I added a few perks to help influence his decision. "Dad, the job will have the title of 'Vice President Human Resources' and a company Suburban or a pickup, your choice. Plus, there will be some traveling to meet employees at other sites. You can take Mom with anytime you like. Jenny forgot to tell you that we got the Frost Borough contract for 10 years. I'm sure you could schedule a lot of visits there during hunting season. The Naples site is booming already on the first day," I said.

"BJ, you are making it impossible to say no," Jason said.

"Well you are retiring in a few weeks. I don't take you to be the type to be satisfied with only cutting the grass. I really think you like to be challenged. This is a complete change of direction. At the rate we are going we will have 300 employees by the end of the year. The first couple of months might be busy, after that you can delegate most of the hard work. When we get home I can have Jenny come over and sit on your lap and say 'Pretty please, Daddy'," I said.

"That won't be necessary. I was looking for something to get involved in between the hunting and fishing seasons," he said. "I have some vacation time to use up; I can spend a couple days a week getting orientated in what you need me to do." Jenny took the call off the speaker and talked for several more minutes before ending the call. Jenny was very happy.

The final conference call came in a few minutes later. It was Courtney. I asked, "How is everything going now that you are back to the regular day job?"

"I hate it. They lied to me. They told me that when I went on the undercover assignment at the gym I would meet the qualifications to be able to transfer to the detective squad and bid on the next openings when I came back. The captain and the Chief made that statement. There were two openings to be filled. When I turned in the paperwork they said they made no such statement and I still was not qualified, they tore the paper work up and threw it in the trash with me standing there."

"They awarded the two jobs to their pretty pet boys. They have been with the force less than two years. They had worked in the traffic control division as school crossing cops and they have to go back to the academy to take classes that I have already had and passed with scores 95 and higher," she said.

"We won the contract with Frost Borough. It is a 10 year contract. Are you still interested?" I asked.

"Absolutely, what kind of position are you offering me? What is the pay and benefits and when can I start?" Courtney asked.

"They want a start date of June 1 with 50 percent staffing, the rest by September 1. I am offering you the job of Director of Security and Student Safety. You will be the boss there, all security employees at the site will report to you. The Starting pay is $52,000, a take home vehicle - most likely a Suburban - and two weeks vacation plus medical. You can start immediately," I said.

"We are going to get the help wanted ads running in the papers this week. The testing modules, the training modules, qualifications, the interviews all need to be written and developed ASAP along with work schedules and you will be part of that. You will need to find a place to live out there. I may be able to finagle a temporary place for you to live for a short time. You will need to fill out an application with all your information and a copy of your academy certification, carry permits and the like," I said.