Chapter 48

I worked, and trying to be more social, visited friends for the next week. Doug and Jill invited me to a big party that some of their friends had invited them to attend. It turned out that I was the plus one. When I arrived, I saw many people who I knew. I got some kisses at midnight, and shortly thereafter, went home alone.

It was a new year with a new job in a new location. Before I started 1984, I desperately wanted something that was not new. New Year's Day was a Sunday, so Monday was the observed holiday. The business world went back to work on Tuesday January 3rd. I went over to John and Beth's house, so I could talk with them about what to expect in the New Year.

Beth wanted me to do as I did in Washington, and spend a month in a hotel to figure out the lay of the land, to figure out what I was going to do, and where I'd be spending most of my time. She found a nice place on the beach for me, with a pool so I could swim if the ocean was too choppy, and told me to keep up the good work.

John took me to the side, and said, "Britt, I met with your accountant the other day to see if there was anything that we should do before the end of last year. We looked at all the companies, and reviewed all of their financials. Freedom Trucking is knocking it out of the park. The bank is growing and has bought six regional banks in the last year. The insurance business is growing as fast as they'll let it. They've had to shut down two ad campaigns because they were flooded with calls. The refinery used your money to expand and upgrade. They're doing well. Dani's will cut a check on Tuesday putting another hundred million in your pocket. If our projections are correct, we expect that you can buy out the investors at the end of the year."

"I know that this has been an emotional time for you, and I just wish there is something more that we could do for you. The bottom line is that you need to keep it together. You're going to be living closer now, and can come over to the beach and hang out with us on Longboat Key. We are all looking for a strong finish. Break it up into small segments, and simply take it one step at a time."

"John, is this my version of a twelve step program, where I do a step a month? If I understand all you've said, at the end of twelve months, I can retire. Is that it?"

"That's what I'm saying. We'll see you once a month at the board meetings, so that makes it twelve more meetings. Then we wait four weeks before we take the next step. We planned on ten years, and if all goes as we expect, you'll get there in five. It's time to relax. This division in Miami is just the final touches, but it isn't required. If you want to play golf every day, it won't hurt the company in any way. Whatever you do, don't kill yourself."

"I think that I can handle that."

"Beth told me about Mary, and what happened when she came to visit your condo. Thanks for handling it the way you did. I've seen a big change in her. I hate to see them grow up so soon, but she'll be moving away in nine years, and Johnny in seven."

"Go Gators."

"I'll let them decide, but I also reserved a place with Dottie just in case."

"I don't want to think about it, but can you start thinking about what we do after we pay off the investors? What'll be the next steps? Craig and the CEO's are on ten-year contracts, but are also entitled to big bonuses when we meet certain goals. I want you to meet with all of them in the next six months, and come up with a strategy for all the companies. Nothing is off the table. I want to do what's best."

John asked, "Best for whom?"

"Best for everyone."

"I'll start to work with everyone to figure it out."

"Thanks, John. I'm glad you've worked through your problems. You know that you and your family are just like family to me. There's no question in my mind that I have more trust in you and Beth than anyone else working for the company. Figure out what I should give your wife for a bonus, because I'm not diluting your payoff through the law firm. It will all go through her."

"I wasn't expecting a bonus. I'll talk to Beth, and think about it.

"Thanks."

I left on Monday for Miami, and arrived at a temporary place on the beach. I like to swim in the ocean. So, one of the important decisions dealt with where I would live. I could either have a place near the beach or a place near my office. Did I want to drive back and forth to the beach or to the office? My decision was easy, I decided to live on the beach, and drive to the office.

Hector had found office space near the port. I unpacked, and went to the store to buy some groceries to stock the kitchen. When I returned to the condo, I walked across the street, and went for a swim. It felt great, and afterwards I sat on the sand and just watched the people. Because the temperature was still in the sixties, most people still had on heavier outer clothes, but no matter what, because it was Florida, it was still a slower pace.

On my first day in the office, I walked in wearing my suit. I had put it on without even giving a thought about where I was now, and walked in to everyone else in the office wearing golf shirts. I quickly turned around, put the coat and tie in the car, and returned to the office. Hector found me a desk, and we sat down to figure out what my job would be while I was there. Joe had computerized and bar-coded everything coming and going. Hector loved it. The division was growing and was slightly ahead of schedule.

After we kicked the can around the room for a couple of hours, I said, "Hector, I've been working for the last four years with very little down time. Most of the time, I've traveled to fix problems. It has been very intense, and some of the others in the company thought that I was close to going over the edge. As I worked through getting this company up and running, I've lost a few girlfriends that should have been my wives. Everyone thinks you're doing a great job. So what am I doing here?

"For some inner reason I ended up on the beach where I can swim. Swimming is one of my biggest stress relievers after sex. What I'm saying is, don't feel like someone is scrutinizing you. Whether you realize it or not, they just picked you to babysit me. Instead of trying to give me a day in and day out job, why don't you think about one thing that you would like to change. The issue would be, 'if I could change one thing to make this business work better it would be', and then fill in the blank. At the end of the year, we can end up in one of three places. One: The same place we are now. Two: We've fixed the problem and you're happy. Three: We have a plan in place, and we're working towards a solution. I'm going back to the condo Beth rented for me, change out of my suit, and go find a Cuban sandwich. I'll stop by in the morning and see if you've come up with anything."

"Are you OK? I don't want to babysit you, and I don't want to worry about you. I don't want people pointing at me saying I was the one that pushed you over the edge."

"Hector. You can't even think about how happy I am to hear you ask that. Please be brutally honest and tell anything to me as if I've laid out my soul on your desk. Trust me when I tell you that I'm fine. I had some very large goals that I had set up to meet, and I have met most of them, or I expect to meet them soon. Although I had initially setup a timeline that was vague, I now have a definite timeline. I'm fresh and ready for what you have for me. Don't give me busy work, give me the impossible and we can see how I do."

"I will. I do have something that I've been thinking about, but want to define it better before I lay out the problem to you."

"Fair enough. I'm glad you're here, and I hope you and your family are happy."

"Thanks, my friend."

I came in the next morning, and Hector said, "I hope you brought some waders, because I'm about to dump a bunch of shit on you."

"I left them in the car, but let me hear it anyways."

"The biggest problem we face is delays in Customs. I have equipment that's worth a thousand dollars that's been sitting in Customs in Haiti because they want five thousand dollars to release it. The shipper won't pay it. The buyer won't pay it, and I don't want to have to pay to return the shipment."

"That raises more questions than I know the answers to. Is there someone here that's a Customs specialist or you'd assign to those problem cases?"

"That would be Marco who wears his waders to work every day."

There was a chair at my desk, so I rolled it around to Marco's desk, and said, "Tell me about Customs. I don't know if you've got the time right this minute, but I want to watch what you do, and learn about the problems you face in Customs. Is it a hand full of countries that are the main source of the problem, or is it all the countries?"

"Britt, did they send you over to save me? I can usually get the problems fixed with just a phone call or ten. Most of the times they want us to pay them an extra handling charge. Other times it's just poor logistics."

"Is it just the small countries or poor countries or what?"

"Spain is hard, the third world is hard, language can always be a problem, and then there are other issues."

"Do we try to use one point of entry per country or multiple points?"

"We don't ship by air. We sub-contract that portion, so it's just the shipping ports. We try to use one, but Japan, China, and Russia all have more than one that we ship to."

"I'd like to sit with you for a couple of days and see what you do, and then ask some questions. If I can figure out what the problems are, then we can work on a solution."

That's exactly what I did for the next two weeks. I sat and I watched. I wrote down everything I was thinking, like a call log. Listening to Marco was hard because he spoke four languages, so he often had to translate what had happened on the call after he'd finished the call. We came up with common categories and countries that had any repetition in the issues they had. At the end of the two weeks, Marco, Hector, and I sat down and I laid out the issues as I saw them, and tried to define what I saw as the potential successful outcomes to the problems. When we finished the meeting, I said, "This is the project as I see it, Hector. Do you think that if we can get these issues addressed that you'll be happy?"

"Yes, I'd be very happy, and Marco would need a new job."

"I want you to think at the next level, and think about what we could add to make it better." Turning to Marco, I said, "Right now, we are trying to address the root of the problem. You need to think about what else we can do to make it perfect."

Marco said, "I'll think about it."

The next month, since the second was a holiday, we pushed our board meeting back to the sixteenth. Beth called to let me know that the check from Dani's had come in, and been paid out to Stop and Go. There was a check in the mail to Schwab, and she had one for the hospital on her desk.

"Beth, can you walk it next door and give it to my grandma, please? Make sure to remind her that if she wants the rest, she needs to bake a cake and take it to Marshal."

"I'll do that right now. She's a special lady."

"I love her, but then again, I love everyone."

"And everyone loves you. Are you flying in on Sunday?"

"The flight lands at three or four depending on the time zone. Are you bringing your husband, or your new nightie?"

"Both."

"I've something for you, so make sure to remind me."

"OK, see you in a couple of days."

Beth and John were waiting when I exited the plane. John mentioned my tan, and I just shrugged. The beach was nice, and I spent time swimming every day including this morning before the flight. They bummed a ride with me in the town car. They both wanted to know more about what I was working on, but I told them that they'd hear about it in the morning. Beth handed me a stack of reports after I put my stuff down. I handed her a small velvet box.

It looked like an engagement ring box, and she looked back and forth between the box and me before opening it. It was a pair of diamond earrings.

"What's this for?"

"Merry Christmas. I bought you a pair for Christmas, but needed something for Elf. I stole your earrings, and now I'm replacing them. These are bigger, so I paid you interest on the initial loan of the earrings."

"You gave her my earrings? I thought you just met her."

"I did. She liked them."

"Thank you for the improved version, Jill said you bought a new boat. Now you have one at the office, and one at Doug's house. Are you going to get one in Miami?"

"No, I don't think that I'll be there much and the boat at the office is yours not mine. Country leaders must address this issue. I think that I'll visit embassies in DC, and then may have to visit the different countries if needed."

"I look forward to hearing about it."

"I need to read these reports."

"They're the end of the year, so they're extra thick."

"Just the way you like them. Go see your Hubby while someone earns our pay."

"Thanks again for the earrings."

"Let me know if you get out of bed long enough for dinner and I may join you."

I went downstairs and ate alone at seven. It took me until one-thirty to finish the reading of the materials. So that I didn't fall asleep, I had to walk and read the last one while I made notes. The shower felt good the next morning. Everyone seemed excited about the upcoming year as well as the results from the previous year.

When my turn came around I explained the problem as Hector, Marco and I outlined it, and our goals for completion. I outlined my plan of action, and most agreed to the work and expenses that they anticipated. They approved the plan to work on the issues.

The businesses were running well, and Fred White said, "Britt gave me a couple of ideas one day, and I thought about how much it would cost to do. We implemented them and have had to buy six banks with the extra cash and, and we have M and A working on five more to deal with the need for people and locations. The trucking company keeps referring new business customers to us, and we're making more money than what a bank should legally be making. We have to keep adjusting our rates in our customers' favor to reduce the percentage of profit. This brings in more customers. It's a vicious cycle."

After the meeting, we broke for drinks and dinner. I told Fred to start looking into a possible merger with or purchase of Wells Fargo and Shering. "They both wanted to buy us after the buyout of our investors. Can we buy them instead or merge to form one large bank? I think that B of A is a parasite on the American people. I want to focus on them to make them change the way they do business or take away all of their customers."

"What did they do to you?"

"Nothing. I've heard too many stories for me to give them a chance at my business. I've been happy with the other two banks, and if we can take care of them the way they took care of us, then I'll be happy to help. Just look into the numbers, but make sure that you end up on top if it happens, or I'm not interested."

"Yes sir. Do you know what you're going to do at the end of the year?"

"I have John running the scenarios. You should expect a call from him so he can discuss it with you from your point of view. Have you thought about what your plans are?"

"I'm having the time of my life. There are five years left on my contract, and I'm grooming two people to take over. I have them work both together and alone so they can learn from each other, and be totally responsible for projects. When one is the clear choice I'll find another high level position for the other, and then work with the winner until I'm getting in the way more than I'm helping. I always struggled to make my other bank succeed. This is like fishing in a barrel. The dynamics of the way this came together is amazing."

"Fred, you have as much fun as you want. If you get tired of it, let me know, and if you have someone ready to take over, we can see about shortening the contract. I know we have all worked more in the last five years than a normal ten-year contract would call for."

"I appreciate the recognition, Britt. I'll give you plenty of notice if I change my mind."

The next day we met with the union reps, and all was good on the employee side. I saw Annie from Washington in the hall, and followed her into her presentation about PR and advertising. I said hello, and talked about personal stuff before they started, but just sat back and listened to the presentation.

When they finished, Craig asked if I had any questions or comments. I told him that it sounded good to me. Everything was coming together and working like the previously designed plan. Well, it was better than I designed with the top guys in place to fine-tune each moving part. The last person I spoke with was Tony Roble. He was the CEO for Freedom Insurance. I asked how things were going.

"Britt, we have the best problem in the world. Everyone wants our products, but we can't hire and train sales people fast enough. We can't just hire anyone. They have to have a license to sell insurance. They have to have training to understand the needs of the customers, because I want the customers to have the correct coverage. We could buy other agencies, but it wouldn't be easy, because their sales people work on a different pay plan since they perform a somewhat different kind of sale. We have to hire and train everyone, and that takes time. Time that we just don't have."

"Quality first. We'll grow at the pace where we can deliver at the level we initially laid out. Everyone is expecting to receive a big bonus at the end of the year. The only place any of you can fail is on the customer satisfaction and quality levels. Don't hurt yourself or the company's reputation by going for too much too fast."

"I hear what you're telling me, and I'll make sure that we're delivering at the service level we agreed to at a minimum."

"Tony, please make sure to keep up the good work, and make sure you're training someone to step in when your wife is ready for her husband to play golf and take her shopping."

"I love what I do, but I know what you're saying. I have someone that will be ready."

We shook hands, and he went off to talk to someone else. Beth came by and asked where I was heading. I told her that I was going to New York and then to DC. "Can you call Shawna and let her know that I'll be in town sometime soon?"

"It shall be done. Do you want me to book the travel for you or are your plans in the air?"

"If you could book a flight to New York and a room at the Plaza, that'll be fine. I'll call you about the rest if I need your help. I also need to find Darcy's address unless you already have it."

"They just moved yesterday, but I have it. We can't have your little black book out of date."

"In case I need a date out of my little black book."

"Touché."

After securing the new address, the hardest part of the trip was behind me. I checked in at the hotel, and then flagged a cab to take me to the car dealership. I picked out a red Porsche 930 convertible. It cost more than the door prize limit, but I covered the difference, and put it in Darcy's name. I stopped by the hotel, grabbed another present from the room, and then headed over to their new place. It may have been easier to walk. They were due west on the south end of the park at 66th and Riverside, overlooking the Hudson River. They had two bedrooms and seventeen hundred square feet. I had to buzz to get in the door, and they had to come down to meet me. Darcy leapt from the elevator and came to me. We ended up in a hug then a soft kiss.

She asked, "What're you doing here? I wasn't expecting you. I thought you had to go to Puerto Rico."

"I thought I'd drop off a house-warming present."

"I like presents. Come on up."

"You may want to open it down here." I held out the present. I had both the top and bottom wrapped, but you could lift the box open.

She sat on a couch to the side of the lobby, and opened the box. It was a picture of her tied spread eagle on the bed. She smiled, and said, "I'm going to hang this in my room. It would have been alright to open it in front of Karen and Lilly."

"What about the other part?"

She lifted the photo, and saw the keys for the Porsche. She almost screamed, but instead, held her voice, jumped on my lap, and gave me a kiss. Then it was out to look at the sleek machine. The top was down, so I got in the passenger side.

"I hope your place comes with a parking spot or this thing could cost you some serious money."

"It does." She took off from in front of her building and took a right. Three blocks and another right, and then she pulled to the curb. "Two minutes to work. Welcome to Lincoln Center. Britt, I don't know about parking here. Karen is down on Wall Street seven miles away."

"If she's a good driver, I don't mind. It's your car anyways so do what you want."

"Thanks, it's good to see you. Where are your bags?"

"At the hotel. I kind of messed up your schedule last time, and I felt really bad about it."

"The season is over. I have the pieces for this year, but I practice at normal times. How long are you in town?"

"Just a day or so. I have to go to Washington, if you want to come down with me or drive me down."

"That would be cool. Let's go talk to Karen."

Darcy reassembled the present after she parked in her spot. We took the elevator up to the nineteenth floor. When we entered, Karen and Lilly looked confused.

"We thought you got lost." Lilly said.

"We had sex in the elevator, so we had to keep going up and down until we both got off." I replied.

Darcy said, "He's full of shit, but he brought us a house-warming gift."

She handed it to Karen and she opened it, and ahhhed. She thought that it was beautiful. Lilly walked behind her, and looked over her shoulder. She said, "Maybe we can have two more made just like it?"

"This is special to me. I'll think about it."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Karen, give the picture to Lilly so she can see it."

As she removed the picture, she felt the keys on her finger, and looked under. "What's this?"

"It's your ride to work when I don't need it. I took it for a spin -- no, I don't mean Britt in the elevator. It's downstairs in the garage. I may take it to DC for a week, but when I'm here, I can walk to work, and you can drive. You'll need to figure out parking."

Karen got up, gave me a kiss, and thanked me. She said, "I was jealous of you when you came to California, because I was afraid you were going to take Darcy away from us. You could have fucked me, or done whatever you wanted.

She went on saying, "On the day of my planned departure, after the market closed, Chuck came out of his office, and got everyone's attention. When he called me up, I thought he was going to wish me good luck in New York, but instead he said, 'In the near future, Karen plans to leave for New York to start her new job. She wanted to make sure that we didn't forget what an asset she was while she was here, so she brought in one last account today. It came with a check for a hundred million dollars'.

"The place went crazy with applause, and I was so embarrassed that he put me on the spot. I didn't trust you when you asked to meet Mr. Schwab. I didn't trust you to put Darcy and her career first. When you saw that you might be a disruption, you left for her benefit. I misjudged you, and now I have a car to get around the city. Thanks, Britt."

"Can I borrow Darcy for a few days and show her Washington DC?"

"I trust you. I may even extend that trust to other areas. I've been thinking about it."

"You're welcome. Take your time, baby."

Lilly said, "I'm ready whenever you want."

I asked if we could meet April and Angus for dinner, and they thought it would be great. April invited us over to her place so she wouldn't have to pack up the baby. The Porsche was too small for four people, so we took a cab. Angus had just got home, and he was in the bedroom changing. Lilly and Karen met April and Brittany. I ended up with the baby, and she smiled and giggled at me. Angus came out and we all said hello again.