Chapter 22

I hung out with Doug and Jill. I also went back and gathered up all of my pictures, so that, at the end of the month, I could have them sent to my new house. Doug dropped me at the airport early enough to catch my flight, and he told me that, in the near future, he may need me to play best man. I congratulated him, told him that I was happy for him, and was sorry that his parents wouldn't be around to meet his beautiful wife and their grandchildren. He came around and did the man hug thing before I went in to catch my flight.

When I arrived, I took the subway from the airport and still had my same room even though I didn't sleep there. It was only ten, so I ran and swam before finishing the last two reports I had. The next couple of weeks went by quickly and we scheduled the closing of the house for a Friday afternoon. The bank was nice enough to have the check driven down by a cute teller and dropped it off at the attorney's office.

I signed for the company and they gave me the keys. The house already had a lot of wood on the walls and floors. Some rooms were wood to the ceiling and some had wainscoting up to the chair rail. I was about to leave for Nashville for some meetings. The girls had given notice a month earlier. They'd stay one more month at their current places or at least pay for it, while we had some work done and start on the decorating.

Saturday morning we met at the house and started to make plans. Shawna had already been by with her decorator friends, but when she tried to talk to me about it, I pushed back and said we could deal with it later. I told them to leave the wood in every room except the kitchen. If they wanted, they could leave it there, but it just seemed a little too much. I knew that I'd rather have something a little different. I knew they wanted to paint, so I told them to pick the colors, but if I didn't like the colors or the room for that color then I'd veto it.

They had color wheels that they chose from, so I sat on the steps reviewing the latest reports while they made lists. Because there were so many rooms, it took them a while to finish. I was almost done with my work, when they said that they were ready. We walked from room to room looking at the colors that they had selected. I agreed to most of them, but they changed my room and my office. The office had a lot of wood and I wanted a lighter color to offset the darker wood. The first project on the list was to sand and re-finish all the floors, while, at the same time, they gutted the kitchen.

The next day, I flew out for our board meeting on Monday morning. I knew that Beth and John normally fly up on the morning of the meeting, but what I didn't understand is why they go through all that stress when they don't have to. Since it was still there, I stayed in my old apartment and after dinner downstairs, I decided to go to bed early.

The meeting went great. Every projection was on track and most often ahead of schedule. We were still flying under the radar because of the lag in data. Because of our real-time computer system, we received our reports immediately, but most of our competitors still were using either end of the month or end of the quarter reporting. Then, they would need to wait for the next report to decide if the last report was a fluke or a real problem. After they determined that it was a problem, they first had to look for the cause before looking for a solution. We were growing like crazy, and they were scratching their heads.

I was most surprised about the rail business, and even the international part was ahead of schedule by a big margin. After the board meeting we went into department meetings, where I met many new faces. I was looking through the sales report and saw that Susan was the top sales person in her region out in Kansas City. I asked about it and the sales manager said that he'd spoken with her several times, and said that her passion comes through very strongly with the customers.

"She calls everyone 'Darling' and 'Sweetheart'. The shipping managers just eat it up. She's received a couple of raises and her bonuses are large. She's landed some big accounts."

"I should get a bonus for finding her," I said.

Craig tossed me a quarter and said, "Stop trying to pat yourself on the back and get back to work."

To make sure that we were getting our message out there, but ensure that I did not become the bad guy, I asked Craig about a PR firm. I explained that my plan was to wait until people figured out that we're there, but when that happens, I want us fully prepared to launch a campaign.

He thought that was a good idea and asked if I had someone in mind.

"I know a girl in Washington, but I'm not sure if her group is the best for the job. Why don't I have them put together some ideas and a proposal? We can get a couple of others to do the same, and then have them present to you or the board. You can make a final decision after that. What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea. You can ask your friend and I'll find a couple of others to put something together as well."

I was in a considerably better mood when I flew back to Washington that night. I hadn't forgotten about Robin, but tried to focus on things that I could control. I met up with Annie at tae kwon do. Whenever we sparred, she wanted me as her partner. I think she liked beating on me. Her technique was better, but my strength helped me. After class, I asked if she had time to meet with me, but she apologized and said that she had to go to work.

"Annie, I meant, do you have time to meet with me about work?"

"What about it?"

"That's why I want to set up a meeting. If you're too busy to talk to a lowly yellow belt, then maybe you can recommend a PR firm that I could talk with about doing some work."

She finally got it. She jumped up and down and then into my arms before she asked, "When?"

"I think that's how I started the conversation. I was not sure if I'd be back today, so I don't have anything scheduled if you can make time for me."

"I can and I will. Why don't you come by at eleven o'clock, so we can meet and then go to lunch?"

"I'll come by then, but I'll need someone from your firm with the authority to sign an NDA before we can talk."

"Come at 10:45, and I'll have the owner sit in with us."

"I'll be there. Now go do my laundry and I'll run a few miles."

"Thanks Britt. See you later."

I was on time and introduced myself to Jeff Marx and Julie Henderson. They were the owners and partners of the PR firm that Annie worked for, M&H Public Relations. We stepped down the hall and into a conference room. Jeff sat at the head of the table and Annie sat by me. I slid the NDA across to Jeff, so he could read it over and then sign it.

He started, "What can we do for you, Mr. Britton?"

"Please call me Britt. It's the only thing I answer to."

"Please call me Jeff."

"Jeff, I met Annie when I moved to the city a month or so ago, and she's filled me in about your PR firm. I'm looking to hire a PR firm, but I don't know exactly what a PR firm does. I don't know how much you charge, and I'm not sure what makes a good firm or a bad firm. In a month, we'll be interviewing three firms at our headquarters in Nashville. Since I know Annie, I asked if your firm could be one of the three that we offer a chance to present a proposal to us."

"Can you tell me in which areas you think you might need us to provide assistance? Our approach involves participation in several areas. To offer you some examples, let's say you find yourself in trouble. We then become reactionary where we'll jump in to try to make it as painless as possible. We can also work proactively to get your message out in ways that aren't direct marketing or advertising."

"I think we'll need both, but I hope we need neither."

"You and me both, Britt. Tell me about your business, and why you think you may need us."

"My company is a trucking company. We structured the business in a new way that will put many other trucking companies out of business. We can ship things cheaper and faster than the other carriers can. Some of the ways we save costs are by having our own insurance company, so we plan to take three to five million families from other insurance companies. We will do the same with our bank. In other words, we expect to get some backlash when we're successful, and Mr. Jones has to close shop and lay off his employees after forty-two years in business. He'll be standing there with his finger-pointing at us."

"Do you really think that will happen? I've never heard of Freedom Trucking before today."

"Jeff, we have been up and running for two months now, and business is coming in faster that we projected. We have people under contract while their existing contract doesn't end for six months. The day their old contract expires, ours goes into effect. I'm talking about millions of dollars a day in new contracts."

Julie jumped in and asked, "What type of message are you looking for us to spin if you're putting everyone out in the street?"

"Just the truth. Most of the employees will come to drive for us. We deliver faster and cheaper, which means we can pass the savings on to the consumers. Our primary commitment is to our customers. To ensure that we continue those commitments, we've brought in a new business model that covers most of the areas involved in the process. All of this enables us to keep costs down for our customers."

"Can you think of anyone else that will be going out of business that we should know about?"

"Yes, the truck manufacturers. We have our own that use less fuel and cost less money than the competition."

"This is a pretty tall order. We charge a retainer fee up front and then charge an hourly rate for our work. We add all expenses on top of that hourly rate."

"That's what the lawyers do as well. Are you interested in putting together a proposal?"

"We can put something together for you."

"We have our board meetings on the second Monday or Tuesday of the month depending on the CEO's schedule. The presentation will be that afternoon in Nashville. I know that the CEO and I will be there, but I'm not sure who else."

"When will we be able to meet with you, to discuss the project in more depth?"

"I can try to make myself available when you need me. I'm in town to work with our lobbyists, but they can work around me or without me."

"Can you stay and give your contact information to Annie?"

"I can. I'm staying over at the Hay Adams for now, while I remodel my house, but near the end of the month, I expect to have a permanent address."

We all stood and shook hands. Julie and Jeff left, and Annie said, "I know where you live. Are you ready for lunch?"

At lunch, Annie started to ask me more questions about my business. I stopped her and said, "Do me a favor. When we're out in public, let's talk about something else. We can always talk business back in the office."