Ann: A Love Story Ch. 66

"Who was asking them?"

"Mostly Geoff," Dad said matter of factly.

Geoff...was Geoffrey Beck, the President of the company. His grandfather had founded it, and he'd risen to the top after his father retired as President about 10 years before to become Chairman of the Board, which was really just an honorary thing. Geoff's dad didn't have anything to do with the company any longer, since he lived full time in Palms Springs, California. So, Geoff took over as head of the company.

As people go, Geoff was pretty cool. He was rich, but he never acted like it. He knew his good fortune came from the hard work that his father and grandfather had done, as well as the people that worked for him currently. He never forgot that, showing up to work every day and making personal gestures towards the employees from time to time to show his appreciation.

I liked Geoff because of those traits. He was one of the few people that saw me as Neil, instead of as Darren's boy. And that was huge, since he owned the company. I also loved that he had a self-deprecating sense of humor, and he'd show it to anyone. Because his name was Geoff Beck, I always teased him about being the famous guitar player. And he'd go into an amusing rant about having to change the spelling of his first name to avoid confusion. I could hear him in my head saying that HE had the name first, so the other guy should have had to change. Of course, that was all BS, but I still found it funny.

But at the time I'd resigned, Geoff was pretty much a 'hands off' President. He came to work every day, and he made his morning round walking through the production part of the plant, saying hello to employees and thanking them...he was always pretty good about that. But once he did that, he'd go to his office, and that would be it. He let his Management Team handle the day to day operations, believing strongly in delegation, and accountability. He only got involved when he felt it was absolutely necessary. So when Dad said that Geoff was the one that started asking questions when he found out I'd given my three weeks notice, it was apparent that this was one of those times he felt he needed to step in and find out for himself what was going on.

"Mr. Beck asked questions," I said as I sat up straight in my chair. "Who...who did he ask?"

"Well, me at first, since I'm your dad. He wanted to know what was going on from a personal standpoint...with you and Ann. But he asked Dan the more pointed questions."

"Great...one more reason the next two weeks are going to suck," I said dejectedly.

"What do you mean?" Dad asked, taking a bite of his pastry.

"Dan...he's already got to be pissed about the paycheck thing. You know, having to pay me out of his pocket. Now he's going to be pissed because he got grilled by Geoff."

Dad smirked and said, "I wouldn't worry about it, Neil."

"Well, I know I shouldn't, but I'm going to be busy enough training. I don't need him coming back here meddling...and you know he's going to now. And he's going to be ticked off while he does it."

"No...he's not."

"Dad...you know..."

"Neil, you report to me now."

"WHAT...how can YOU be my boss?"

"Geoff appointed me as your boss on Friday...that's how."

"Isn't that a conflict of interest?"

"I don't think so...you're only going to be here another two weeks, and Geoff is more concerned about the stability of the department than he is appearances to the rest of the plant."

"But...what did Dan have to say about all of this?"

"Neil...Dan's gone. Geoff fired him on Friday."

I sat back in my chair, my mouth dropping open. "You're kidding!"

"Unbeknownst to me...Geoff didn't realize you weren't a salaried employee. He assumed you were, since you were managing the department like you were, and the results have always been there. He said he never had a reason to think he needed to look into it. In fact, he was a little surprised you never complained to him about it."

"Well...why would I?"

"You wouldn't...and he knows that now, Neil. He never thought about you being my son, and that you wouldn't say anything. And trust me...Geoff knows ALL about nepotism. He's heard the snide remarks for years about riding on his own Dad's coattails."

"But he hasn't," I said, thinking about all the things Geoff had introduced and implemented AFTER his dad retired that had improved the company.

"You know that...and I know that. But you know first hand how people can be when it comes to those kinds of things. Anyway, when Geoff found out, he started digging into what Dan had been doing, and he quickly figured out that you were making Dan look pretty damn good."

"How did he do that?"

"Dan didn't have any answers for the questions Geoff was asking him. Which pointed out that Dan really doesn't have a clue what you do back here. And then when Geoff found out that Howard wasn't ready to take your place...well, let's just say that Geoff blew his stack. He was angry enough about losing you...but to have the department put in jeopardy because Dan didn't manage his resources better, on the heels of you busting your ass to secure that new customer; Geoff wasn't happy about any of that."

"So he fired him...just like that?"

"I wouldn't say that," Dad said with another smirk as he took a sip from his coffee.

"What...you pushed him over the cliff?" I laughed.

"He was already standing on the edge of it, Neil. I just threw him the anvil. Not my fault he didn't dodge it," Dad grinned.

"Anvil? What did you do?"

"Geoff asked me what my opinion was when he said he wanted to let Dan go. He said he didn't want to make a hasty decision, but his gut was telling him that he needed to. All I did was tell him that I didn't care for the fact that Dan wasn't a man of his word. When he asked me what I meant by that, I told him that his handshake wasn't his bond...and that's how I judged managers."

"So...you're talking about Dan shaking my hand about my raise, and then trying to take it back?"

"Yep...I told Geoff what happened, and then I reminded him that I worked for his grandfather Ernie when I started with the company. And I told him that I took that job, based on Ernie shaking my hand and telling me he'd take care of me. No contract, no talk of salary or benefits....just a promise and a handshake. All I did at that point was ask Geoff what he thought Ernie would do if he were in charge."

"So he fired him."

"Within seconds. Walked from my office to Dan's, and it was done."

"Wow, Dad...this is a lot to process first thing in the morning."

"Well...I'm glad you're sitting down, because there's more," he smiled.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sitting at my desk, I was sorting through the neatly organized piles of paperwork, one stack at a time. And I was amazed at how well they were categorized. The part that amazed me was that Kevin, my replacement, had been the one that had sorted through all of the papers, putting them together in a way that made sense to him. And what was great about that is that it made sense to me too.

I'd been right. Howard had indeed used his 'dump on the desk' system, which was one of the things my Dad had used as a way to convince him that he wasn't right for the job. So, when Dad told Kevin that same Friday that he'd gotten the job, and he'd be on salary from the start, Kevin came in on his own on Saturday, and went through all the papers. He wasn't trying to suck up or anything. But he didn't want me coming in to a mess.

Dad said he had come in too, to do what he found Kevin doing quietly in my office, trying to get a handle on the products and procedures of the department. When Dad asked him about it, Kevin apparently told him that he knew he had big shoes to fill, and he didn't want to look like an idiot in my eyes when I went to train him.

"That's when I knew I'd made the right choice," Dad said at the time. "He's worried you're going to think he's not the right guy, and he doesn't want you to have the impression that he's going to ruin all the hard work you put in to make the department a success."

I smiled when I thought of what Dad had told me. I actually hadn't given any thought to it, but I suppose I could have thought Kevin might be wrong for the job, or that all the things I'd done to secure the departments future might go to waste. But looking at what he'd done to organize my desk, I knew that wasn't going to be a problem. With the notes I saw that he wrote, reminding himself to ask certain questions when I started training him...I knew pretty quickly that the department was not only in capable hands, but ones that were going to take the job seriously. The only concern I really had was how he'd interact with the customers.

The other concern I had were the changes that had been made within the department itself. Dad had moved Howard out of the department all together. I'd never known it, but Howard really wanted a chance to work in the maintenance department. And since that's where his strong suit was, it wasn't a stretch. Apparently, Howard had told that to Dan in his last two evaluations, but it fell on deaf ears. And when Dad told Howard that he wasn't getting the job, and learned at the same time that all along, Howard had wanted to transfer to a department he felt was a better fit for him, Dad ended up making a positive out of a negative...twice.

When Dad first told me that Howard was transferring to maintenance, it surprised me. That department was fully staffed, and I couldn't see them taking on another employee just to make him happy. But it made sense when Dad said they were making TWO employees happy. It seemed that Tommy Butler wanted a chance to move up into management, and he felt trapped in maintenance. Tommy was my friend, the one that had told me about the resort in Colorado that he'd taken his wife Angel to on their honeymoon. The same resort Ann and I had just stayed at days before.

Dad had interviewed Tommy for my job, but he wasn't quite ready for those responsibilities yet. Kevin was a little more polished. Tommy was smart, and he had a ton of potential, but I agreed with Dad's assessment that he wasn't ready. But...by putting him in charge of the production floor of my department, he'd do just as well as Howard had on the process side from day one. And, Dad said he wasn't going to make the same mistake Dan made; Tommy would be groomed to be Kevin's true assistant...and eventual successor. Or, he could move to a management spot somewhere else in the plant if one opened, having had the proper training.

And that's why Dad was suddenly my boss. The nepotism thing didn't matter, because I'd be leaving. Geoff asked Dad to oversee my department once I left, working with Kevin and Tommy until they got their feet underneath them. And for his part, Geoff was going to step in and assume the responsibilities of Dan's position short term. He wanted to make sure there weren't any other landmines that he'd stumble across accidentally that could be devastating to the company. He would eventually look to replace Dan's position, but he wanted to get his hands dirty and figure out whom else might have been taken for granted like I had.

The way Dad put it to me, Geoff was looking forward to that part...the righting of perceived wrongs. And Geoff said he had me to thank for it. And to that end, Geoff wanted to meet with me sometime in the next couple of weeks before I left. There was no official appointment set, but I knew that at some point, I'd get a call from Nancy to go up front and meet with him. I didn't know what that meant exactly, but it didn't bother me. It intrigued me more than anything else.

So, I sifted through the pile of papers on the desk, waiting for a meeting that Dad was going to have right after the morning break. Dad wanted to talk to the entire department, and let them know what was going on, properly introducing them to Kevin and Tommy. But that would come after a company meeting in the lunchroom, where Geoff would be explaining what was happening from a plant wide standpoint. In a town built on the advanced art of cultivating rumors, Geoff wanted to get out in front of what was going on inside the walls of the factory before they took on a life of their own.

The bell rang, letting me know it was break time...but before I could get up, the phone stopped me. I picked it up knowing it was an internal call. "This is Neil," I said cheerfully.

"Hi Neil...Ann's on line four," Nancy said just as happily. "She sounds great."

"Thanks, Nancy...she is," I laughed as I hit the disconnect button on the phone, before touching the button for line four. "Good morning, Neil Thomas."

"Hi baby!" Ann said, her voice sounding like a morning kiss.

"Good morning, babe," I said, my heart beating faster just hearing her voice.

"How's your first day back at work going?"

I laughed. "It's been just as eventful as the last one was."

"Really? If I remember right, you had quite a day that day...and that was besides getting to be with me once you got to California."

"Yeah...I'm not sure if today's going to end like that one, but as far as work, it's been pretty incredible, and it's just break time."

"I know it's break time...that's why I called. I know you're training, so I don't want to bother you too much this week...or next. I just wondered if you wanted to get some lunch today."

"Sure...what time?"

"What time...I thought your lunch started at 11:30?"

"It can start whenever I want it to, Ann. That's one of the things that was weird about this morning...I forgot that I'm on salary now."

"So you can go to lunch when you want to?"

"Within reason, yeah. And I don't have to rush back either. But that also means I might have to work later than 3:30 from time to time."

"That's fine...I'm just happy I don't have to have lunch in the morning. How about twelve-thirty?"

"Mmm...okay. Where do you want to meet?"

"I'm making Sloppy Joes...want to come over to the house?" she said, using her deep, sexy voice.

"I'll be there, babe."

"Good...you can tell me about your day so far. Love you, baby."

"I love you too, Ann."

~*~*~*~*~*~

I was finding it hard to pay attention to the meeting that Geoff was holding. Not that I didn't care what he was talking about or that it was a boring speech. And it wasn't like I was going down some 'short timer' path, where whatever he said didn't matter to me because I was going to be leaving in a couple of weeks. My mind wanted to drift, thinking about Ann, and what we might be able to do at lunch besides eat.

But I fought the urge as best as I could, listening to Geoff tell about the recent management decisions he had to make, most notably letting Dan go. The tension in the room when he said that was really noticeable. No one likes it when there are changes, especially when they're unexpected. And no one saw that coming, so it hit the room like a shock wave. You could hear the murmur, which was followed by an eerie silence.

Yet Geoff handled that reaction by talking about it directly. He didn't duck it, or pretend the reaction didn't happen. And he did it by being very generous and respectful when it came to Dan. He didn't say anything disparaging or unprofessional...lauding Dan for the things he brought to the company, while also making it very clear that a change needed to happen. When Geoff talked about integrity, and dealing with people in an honest and forthright manner, I'm sure there were some ears that perked up. But he reiterated that Dan had done a lot for Beck Manufacturing, and his contributions while he'd been there were appreciated.

I was glad I was paying attention, because when Geoff got past that part of his impromptu speech, speaking off the cuff as he almost always did, he actually said my name. I was stunned when Geoff singled me out, telling the plant what almost all of them already knew, which was that I was leaving. But then he went way beyond that, telling them that I had single handedly secured the three-year contract with our newest customer, unlike what many of them heard the week I was gone. Apparently, Dan had told a few select people in the room that HE had landed the contract, knowing that word would spread. Geoff apparently felt he needed to set that record straight.

Geoff went into a little diatribe about the importance of family, versus the negative connotations that can be associated with nepotism. Geoff wasn't bitter, but he did talk about how in a small town like the one the plant was located in, there were many, many people who were related to others within the plant. And therefore, there would be situations where generations would be working side by side, and how he followed his father, who followed HIS father, and how that was a actually a good thing, while it was all too often perceived as a bad thing.

"I know I've always been thought of as sort of inheriting the company from my father and grandfather," Geoff said matter of factly. "And that's okay, because it's true. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't be president. I went to college, but it was always kind of assumed that if I wanted to work here, I could, and that someday I'd be running the company. So I knew that when I decided I wanted to work here, knowing that there would be some people that would say I didn't earn where I am. I accepted that a long time ago, knowing that I'd never really be able to change those views. If you feel that way, you feel that way."

Geoff pointed towards me and said, "But Neil...he's truly one of you. He started working for us during summers, and when he came here full time, he didn't start out in management like I did. He started in shipping. And I know that many of you think that he moved up through the company because his Dad is a Vice President. Well, I'm here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. Neil got where he got, by working his tail off, just like he did the very day he resigned. Which, by the way, is the same day he won this new account...not for the success MY company. Not for HIS company. He did it for OUR company."

Pausing for a second, Geoff thought about what he'd said, and I found it very interesting where he went next. "Actually, Neil wanted to win that customer for our FAMILY, because in his mind, that's what Beck is...it's our family. He put his heart and soul into this...and he did it, knowing he'd be leaving to take another job. He did it, because he wanted to leave us better off than when he got here out of college. The thing I find interesting is...Neil didn't have to. He could have taken the easy way out, and just quietly left us like others have before him. I've been thinking a lot about that in the last week while he was on vacation, bringing his fiancée back to Indiana."

Geoff looked directly at me, sitting quietly in the back of the room, and said, "Neil, would you come up here, please?"

I was a little stunned, never thinking that I would really be singled out like THAT. And I was suddenly nervous. I knew he wanted to talk to me, but I was thinking it was going to be a private meeting. And maybe that was still going to happen...all I knew was that I was a little uncomfortable as I slowly walked toward the front of the lunchroom. But there I was standing next to Geoff in a room full of my peers.

"Neil...I owe you an apology," he said, making my eyes widen.

"Uh...for what?"

"For the same reason most of these other people owe you an apology," he said, waving his arm around the room. Then he turned to his employees, focusing his warm smile on them. "If you have a relative working here, or have ever HAD a relative work here, raise your hand please."

Geoff raised his, and over three-quarters of the room raised theirs as well, including me, which made Geoff laugh.

"I didn't mean you, Neil."