Chapter 24

When I got back from my run and swim, Annie had already left, but Shawna was still here, in the kitchen drinking coffee. She said that Annie was going to work and would be moving in her stuff that night. We went in to her office to talk, before meeting with two congressmen in the afternoon.

When I got back to the house, Annie was home and she was in a very good mood.

"Susan Hager and I spoke with Craig today. He asked us to fly back to Nashville for a follow-up interview on Friday. I asked if he wanted you there. Do you know what he said?"

"Craig probably told you that he'd rather interview you without me, so it doesn't look like I'm pushing you on the company."

"He didn't say that, but now that I think about it that's probably what he meant. He said that he was in a hurry to start the work, because complaints were already starting to trickle in. Some of the people they were hiring from other companies were letting him know that this was about to blow up in our faces."

"It was only a matter of time. I think you need to put together a new presentation to cover all the bases and let Craig know that you and Hager Sharp are ready to do the work."

"We finished the outline today, and should finish the entire presentation in the morning. Can we show it to you in the afternoon?"

"Leave me directions, and if Shawna will let me go then I'll stop by."

It turned out that I didn't get a chance to stop by, because Shawna had set up a meeting with a congressman from Maryland's ninth district named Andy Stewart. His chief of staff met us in the outer room, and made it clear that the price to see the congressman was ten thousand dollars. Mr. Stewart was not on a committee that could really hurt me, but since I wasn't sure who his friends were, and I was spending money so fast, I just wrote the check. It was like buying a four-dollar coke at Disney; you just pay the man and move on.

If I knew what was on the other side of the door, I'd have saved my time and my money. Stewart was a seasoned elitist with too many years in office. If asked why our congressmen should have had term limits, a picture of him would have been the response. He'd been around long enough to get seniority on some important committees and his constituents didn't want to lose that power for their district. To keep the power, they kept electing the same ass hole repeatedly.

I walked in and introduced myself and then my company. I was about to start on the benefits we brought to America and his district, when out of the blue he says, "I know about you and what you're doing. You're hurting my district and I'll do whatever I can to stop you."

"I'm not sure what you mean. Maybe we should talk about it," I replied.

"I have a good friend that owns a trucking company and he's a big supporter of mine. He has a big Christmas party every year for me to shake hands with the people in my district and he foots the bill. He's lost three of his top ten accounts to you and the other seven aren't up for renewal yet. In addition, he says that you're doing something to cut prices below what's fair, simply to steal business from hard-working businessmen like him."

"I have put together a business plan, so we can deliver the services cheaper. This will save money for the rest of your district."

"I want you to stay out of my district. I don't want to hear your name again. Ricky Martin Trucking is a good friend of mine and I don't want you to come near them again."

"I'll see what I can do," I said. I made a hasty retreat. Shawna and I went back to her office. She called in Mr. Timmons and we started our meeting.

He said, "Stewart is a jerk and a loose cannon. What do you want to do?"

"Tell me if you think I'm digging myself into a deeper hole, but I think that I should tell my sales team to change the pricing on any load coming into or out of his district, to the higher rates."

"Britt, how will you know that? It will be too much work."

I dialed Joe and placed him on the speakerphone sitting on the conference table. He answered and I said, "Joe, this is Britt. We just hit our first hurdle here in Washington. It seems that a trucking company has lost three of their top customers to Freedom Trucking. The congressman in that district is upset. How hard would it be to charge any loads coming or going out of his district to the higher rates?"

"If we had the zip codes, we could flag any new orders to reflect the higher prices. We'd have to honor any existing deals, but future deals would be easy. The computer would recognize the zip code and bring up the higher pricing."

"Can we put a note in there for the sales people to explain the reason for the higher pricing when the customer asks?"

"Yes. What would you want to say?"

"I think that the truth would be best. We can say that Representative Stewart, to protect Ricky Martin Trucking, has told us that we needed to match his pricing within his district. On second thought, let's wait until Craig hires a PR firm and let them create the messaging around the higher prices."

"You aren't one to pass the buck, but after what you just said, I'd recommend that you wait for the professionals before you double our fee with our lobbyists."

"I'm with them now, so they may tell me to plow ahead." We all chuckled and then I asked Joe how things were going and if we had anything that may help our lobbyists.

"Everything is right on schedule. Our trucks are saving fuel and money. We're delivering on time and considerably faster than the competition. The computer tracking system has been flawless and has even provided data to allow us to reschedule trucks so that they miss some of the traffic jams. By holding the trucks for an hour or two and then have all the drivers leave back to back, we may lose thirty minutes on the loads, but we save the drivers two hours of sitting in traffic."

"Anything else?"

"We're using the railroad more. We're filling the non-full containers with partial loads and then dropping them at warehouses along the route, where they then send each delivery to its final destinations. There's very little waste in our capacity. We're training drivers and they seem very happy when they're home at night."

"That all sounds great, Joe. I'll let you know about the district zip codes tomorrow. I know Craig is interviewing a PR firm tomorrow, so you might want to give him some notice on the quick need for some wording associated with the pricing issue."

"I'll let him know later today when we meet. It was good hearing from you. I'm having so much fun. Even the complaints from our competition makes me smile because it means we're doing things right."

"Well, if they're complaining about us taking their business away, then I hope we get a lot of complaints."

"Me too, my friend. Me too."

After Joe hung up I looked at Bill Timmons and he said, "It sounds like the water is at the top of the levy and we should get resources in place to deal with some of the complaints. I've spoken with a few of our other customers and they like the private club idea and since the chiefs of staff control the access to the congressmen, they like the idea about having memberships for both included. They'd like to meet and then get the ball rolling. When do you have time?"

"I don't keep my schedule. Beth in Orlando does and then Shawna fills in the rest. I get a sheet every morning that tells me where to be," I said.

Shawna said, "He's free tomorrow, since many of the congressmen fly home for the weekend. Monday morning is open as well."

Bill Timmons said, "I'll set it up for tomorrow at two. We can meet here in the office."

That closed the meeting and I shook Bill's hand before he went off to put out another fire. Shawna asked if I wanted to stop for a drink, so I told her that I wanted to go to the grocery and the liquor store, and then go home. Eating out every meal was getting very tiring.

She said, "I eat in most of the time, so it has been nice to go out with you, but I understand what you're saying, so let's go shopping."

We stopped by the house first to change and found that Annie was there. I explained about the problem we ran into, how it may come up in their meeting tomorrow, how I want her ready if Craig asks, and if he doesn't ask, be prepared to discuss it when she returned from the meeting.

We told her we were going shopping and she decided that she wanted to come with us. When we got to the store, we strolled all the aisles together, bought staples that we each wanted, and foods we each preferred. Then we stocked up on wine, beer and booze.

After we got home, I fixed dinner while they put everything else away. I made a pasta dish with fresh veggies and some olive oil. Parmesan cheese topped the dish and we opened a bottle of wine. We started talking about work, and had to force ourselves to talk about other things, or this house would get tired very fast. Annie told Shawna about my progress at the tae kwon do class. She said that I was doing very well and progressing ahead of schedule. I was enjoying the new hobby, and could feel muscles that I didn't know I had. I felt sore from the workout and from the hard punishment from my sparring partners, but it was a good sore.

After dinner, Annie offered to put the dishes in the dishwasher and I called Darcy. She was happy to hear from me and we talked about how she was doing. I asked about the patio furniture that I had left for them in Gainesville and she hesitated before she said, "The people that moved in after us wanted to know if they could have the furniture. It was kind of bulky, so we sold it to them."

"I loan you furniture and you sell it. That doesn't sound right. How much did you get and who kept it?"

"They were only college kids. We got a hundred bucks for everything and we went and got oysters and beer. During the party, we told Britt stories and toasted to you as we spent your money. We even flirted with the waitress and left her a big tip, just like you'd have done."

"That sounds fair. I'll see if I can find someone to make some around here. If not I'll have to see about getting some shipped up here from Gainesville. If only I knew someone with a trucking company."

"Britt, I was talking to Jill today and she said that Doug shipped your pictures. She also moved their wedding, so I could be there. It will be a lunchtime wedding. I'll have to leave a short time after to play for the Nut Cracker performance that night, but I can make the wedding."

"Great. I look forward to having you there even if you have to leave early."

"I'm sorry I'll miss April's wedding. What should I get her?"

"I hear she needs a toaster."

"Really?"

"That's what she told me."

"OK, that was easy."

"It was good talking to you, Darcy."

"I love you, Britt. Keep working hard and I miss you."

"I love you too, baby. Play well."

Shawna had walked in while I was on the phone. "Who was that?" she asked.

"That was Darcy. She is the girl who was my slave in college and now plays for the Orlando Symphony Orchestra."

"What instrument does she play?"

"She plays the clarinet."

"I guess she must be good."

"She'll play in New York one day, and you can take your parents to listen to her when you're home for Christmas."

"I look forward to it."

Annie came in and said, "Susan and I have an early flight. I'm happy for the time change to Nashville. We're going to meet with Craig and his team around two his time and fly back early on Saturday morning."

I said, "Good luck. I'm sure you'll do well."

"Good luck," Shawna added.

Friday morning I woke and did my workout. I swam some extra laps and was home alone when I got out of the shower. My morning was going to be slow, followed by a meeting at 2 PM with Bill and the other sectors, about the private club.

I called Beth and she told me that she'd already sent my reports to my new address, with a scheduled delivery time of later in the morning. I got a little lonely, homesick and horny talking to her. After I hung up, I looked up the number for the Embassy of Spain. I asked for Lola and as I waited, I wondered if the CIA now had me listed for someone to check out. Lola came to the phone and asked me where I had been.