Chapter 1: Off to Washington

"Remind me, where the hell is Lynnwood?" I asked my brother. We were sitting in his office in San Francisco, the headquarters of our family business.

"Just north of Seattle. Nice little community, far enough from the big city and yet close enough to do business," he answered.

"And I'm going there because?"

"Fix it or forget it, Gabe" he said abruptly. "It's underperforming and while it's still making a small profit, it won't stay that way for long. Lots of competition in the area. Starbucks, Tully's, Seattle's Best, Cascade ... you know the rest."

"Okay, tell me what I need to know."

"You know Don Nichol is an old friend of Dad. He's due to retire and there is no one suitable to replace him. We need to decide what to do about that."

"Look, Dave, I'm nearly fifty years old. I've been on the road one way or another for this company over the past twenty-five years. Somewhere along the way I need a permanent location. It isn't right to be my age at not have a permanent residence. I'm a fucking gypsy, for Christ's sake."

"Whose problem is that? You used to be married with a home. It was your choice to be the troubleshooter for the operations. Marion left you because you were never home, now you're complaining about choices you made."

It was obvious my brother Dave wasn't overcome with sympathy for my situation.

"Okay, okay, I get the point. But I am ready for something more permanent," I sighed.

"Fix Lynnwood and it's yours," he said glibly.

"You mean it?" I asked.

"Why not? You know what it takes to run a good operation. You know the business better than anyone else, including me. It's big enough with enough potential to be one of our largest and most successful branches if it's done right. You just need to surround yourself with good people who'll do the work for you," he grinned.

"Yeah ... well ... it doesn't sound like the place is overrun with that commodity," I said sullenly.

"Fix it. Hire good people. Steal them from our competitors. Do what you have to do, or tell me we should forget it because it can't be saved."

I nodded. I'd done one of these before in our San Antonio operation. It took most of a year, but now it was one of our best performing units. The hardest part was finding the "good people."

"Who's going to replace me? Stu Cairns?" I asked.

"Yeah ... he's almost as good as you, and he's a lot younger," my brother laughed.

"Okay. Is Don expecting me?"

"Yeah, he specifically requested you. I told him you'd be there sometime this month."

I sighed once more. "No time like the present, I suppose. I'll call him and see if I can be there next Monday."

My brother smiled. He'd gotten what he wanted. The rest was on my back.

"Hello, Don. Nice to meet you at last," I said, my hand extended in greeting.

"Nice to meet you too, Gabriel. I've heard a lot of good things about you from David and your dad."

"Well, they have to, don't they? We're all family," I chuckled.

"Oh, I think I know them well enough to know they aren't just blowing smoke up my ass."

Don Nichol was now sixty-five and showing some of the wear and tear of the job on his face. He'd been one of the original managers when Black Gold had expanded from its San Francisco base to the Seattle area. Almost thirty years on the job and most of them pretty successful too.

"So, what are you going to do when you retire?" I asked.

"We've bought a motor home and Muriel and I will head south during the winter. We still love it here in the Northwest, but I much prefer sun to rain, so we're better off in Arizona when the weather turns."

"You've got a daughter in Scottsdale, don't you?"

"That's right. She's a music teacher. Gave us three grandchildren. They'll get lots of attention from us," he smiled fondly.

"Make sure you stop in and see Mom and Dad on your way. They'd be pretty hurt if you didn't," I warned gently.

"No problem. Muriel's already talked to your dad and let him know what we plan. We'll probably spend a week or so together before we move on."

"Good for you," I nodded. "How about a plant tour and I can get started learning the ropes here?"

"Sure. We'll be doing some cupping at about eleven this morning, so you can join us. It's always good to have another opinion."

"Later this afternoon, I'd like to go over the staff with you. Get an idea from you where the strengths and weaknesses are. Just between you and me, I may be taking over this operation if we can give it a boost."

"Finally going to settle down, huh?" Don smiled. "Your dad was wondering when that would happen. Your brother has a nice, cushy job at home base, so no reason you should be running all over the country fixing things and putting out fires."

"I don't know if David would agree that he's got a cushy job, but it's certainly more conducive to a stable home life," I said regretfully.

Don nodded agreement but said nothing.

"Why don't we take that tour?" Don said after a silence. "I've got a list of the people and their job descriptions ready for you, so you won't have to remember all the names right away."

"Good. Let's go."

We left his modest office and walked into a larger, open area that featured a few cubicles and two offices. Don led me to the first office.

"Gabriel Hancock, I'd like you to meet Susan Barnes, our controller. She keeps us non-financial types on the straight and narrow. Susan, Mr. Hancock will be taking over for me, at least for the near term."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hancock," the woman said, rising and walking around her desk. "I'm Sue to everyone here."

She had a brilliant smile and a voluptuous body. But what struck me first was her color. She was the most beautiful caramel color I had ever seen on any woman. It looked as if it would shine in the sunlight. Her eyes too. They were large and expressive, a deep dark brown, almost black. Her voice was deep and silky-smooth. I guessed her age to be early forties. I must have been staring before I regained my wits.

"Hello, Sue. And I'm Gabe to everyone. Very nice to meet you."

"Thank you," she smiled again. It was a genuine and welcoming smile.

We chit-chatted for a couple of minutes and my first impression of my "financial right-hand" was good. She was incredibly attractive as well, but I could see she was all business when the conversation ended.

Our next stop was the second office in what I assumed was the accounting area.

Don knocked lightly on the door frame to announce our presence.

"Loretta Di Napoli, I'd like to introduce Gabe Hancock. He'll be my replacement for the foreseeable future."

Again, the woman rose and came around her desk to greet me. I liked the attitude of the first two people I'd met. It gave me a good feeling to start with.

"Hello, Mr. Hancock. We've been expecting you. Welcome to Lynnwood Black Gold," she smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Loretta. I hope you don't mind my being familiar, but I go by Gabe to almost everyone except our bankers," I grinned.

"Gabe it is then. And I'm Lori to everyone around here." Again, that nice, unforced smile.

"Lori is chief estimator and works closely with me and Susan to keep us profitable."

"Very important," I nodded, "and I'm pleased that you three work together. I'll be the first to admit I'm relying on you and Susan to keep me from making any serious mistakes."

Loretta was slimmer and shorter than Sue, but nonetheless, very attractive in a businesslike way. She was a brunette with a light reddish tint to her medium length hair, blue eyes, and a pale complexion. By observation, she was similar in age to Sue.

Again, after some casual conversation, we took our leave as Don led the way into another open area. Again, two small offices and several cubicles were distributed around the room. I followed Don to the office.

"Good morning, Lexi," Don said as we entered. "I'd like you to meet Gabe Hancock. He'll be taking over for me shortly. Gabe, this is Alexa Martin, our scheduler."

"Hi, Alexa," I said with a smile.

"Hi, Gabe. Call me Lexi. Everyone does." Like the other two women, she rose and came around her desk to greet me with a firm handshake. She was taller than Lori, about the same height as Sue, and her build was similar as well. Very attractive in her own right.

"Lexi it is, then," I agreed.

Once more, we chatted about the job and how many people she had to supervise. I also discovered she was responsible for scheduling the delivery trucks. There were six of them for the sales area, which sounded like more than enough.

Our next stop was the second office, where I was introduced to Janet Lapierre. Once more, I was greeted warmly and welcomed to Lynnwood Black Gold.

"Jan is really our most important sales asset," Don said, causing the woman to blush slightly. "She handles complaints, schedules deliveries, works with Lexi in scheduling and generally runs the sales department."

"Wow. That's a lot of responsibility," I said, holding back on the questions of what the sales manager did.

I liked the look of Jan. She was medium height, brunette hair cut short, blue eyes and a slim but attractive build. All four women were attractive and all were in the same age group by my guess.

As we walked into the back of the upper floor office, I saw a single office that was considerably more spacious than the others I had visited, including Don's.

"Our sales manager is out at present," Don said, trying to disguise his dissatisfaction with the situation. "I had requested that all of the key people be here for your arrival, but apparently, Walter didn't get the message."

"You don't sound very happy about that," I offered.

"I'm not. It's no more than a common courtesy and he had plenty of time to arrange his schedule. To be perfectly honest, Gabe, he's a weak link in this organization. I think Jan is doing half his job plus her own. I don't have the time or the energy to chase around wondering if he's working, but maybe you'll want to concentrate your energies there. We can do better, and I hope you can prove me right."

"Your sales are pretty flat, Don. I don't see any gains, but no losses either."

"That's just it. He's running a maintenance system. Keep what we've got, look after all his favorite customers, and don't take any risks. As the ladies will tell you, that's why we've been just plodding along in the past few years."

"Why not replace him?"

"I was about to when Dave phoned me to tell me you were coming. Not that I wanted to stick you with my dirty dishes, but I thought you would probably want to make your own assessment of the staff. Besides, he isn't the only problem employee. Our production manager, Caleb Randall, is off on extended sick leave. He's being treated for acute rheumatoid arthritis. He can barely get around anymore. The outlook isn't good," he said sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I take it you don't expect him back?"

He shook his head and wore a very sad expression.

"What are you doing in the meantime?"

"Well, it's kind of a group project. Lexi and Jan are working together to keep things going. They are directing the foremen on the roasting and packaging crews. So far, we're holding things together."

"You've got quite a matriarchy here, Don," I grinned. "Those four women seem to be quite confident in their jobs. My first impression is very good. Plus, at least two of them are holding down more than one job. That's impressive."

He was nodding and smiling as I talked.

"You're right. Those four are the heart and soul of Lynnwood. Better yet, they are all good friends. If I'm looking for answers, that's where I start. They are mature, upbeat women ... all about the same age. The only mystery about them is that they are all single."

"Well, let's do a tour of the production area, then go back to your office and we can talk about what you see might be done to improve the chances for growth. We can't let the business stagnate. It won't survive. This is coffee country, so there must be opportunities. Let's talk."

After we returned from a brief look at the plant, we returned to his office with for a talk with the door closed. Although there were translucent glass panels beside the door so that anyone could see if the office was in use, Don said the closed door meant knock first and only if it was important. It was the same policy for all the other separate offices.