The Fall and Rise of David Beckman

"I know that Mike can be a bit obtuse at times but this really sucks," I said. "I guess he told you that he wants me to have you proof read my contracts before I send them out."

"Yeah, he insisted on that. We'll do that for a few weeks and then I'll get Mike off your back."

"Thanks, Bill, I appreciate your support."

*****

"Did you have a bad day?" Erica asked as I walked into the house that evening..

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did but how did you know?" I said.

"I could see it in your face as soon as you walked in the door," Erica said.

I told Erica what had happened and how Mike had decided to treat the two customer calls as complaints rather than just let me handle them myself.

"So what happened? I mean how did Mike handle the complaints?" Erica asked.

"I told you they weren't actually complaints, Mike arbitrarily decided to handle them as complaints. He had Bill call the customers and take care of the problem," I said. "I still can't believe I made a mistake on those contracts. I proof read them before I mailed them out. Now Mike wants me to have Bill proof read my contracts before they go out."

"Isn't it possible that you missed something," Erica said. "I never proof read my own work. I always ask a coworker to read my documents back to me to catch mistakes I might not see if I read it myself."

"I guess it's possible that I missed something but I have never made a mistake like that before and now I made two in the same week. I just can't believe it."

"Maybe it's not such a bad idea to have Bill proof your contracts," Erica said.

"Whose side are you on?" I asked.

"I'm on your side, of course. I just think that having Bill proof read your contracts with you before you send them out isn't such a bad idea," Erica said.

"I can't believe that you actually think that I need help taking care of my customers after all this time," I said.

"I know you are the best sales rep at BDS but I also know how Mike is. I am just saying that you should do this, if for no other reason than to just to keep him off your back."

I was disappointed that Erica didn't seem to be on my side of this issue but I could see the logic in what she said so I didn't argue about it with her. It was obvious that she was able to look at my situation much more objectively than I was.

That evening after dinner Erica took me to bed and gave me a complete body massage to relax me and then she made love to me. When we were both wonderfully exhausted, Erica kissed me on the ear and whispered, "Now whose side do you think I am on?"

*****

For the next month I did as Mike had ordered and had Bill proof my contracts with me before I sent them out. Not once did we find a mistake. At the end of the month, I figured everything was back to normal but Mike called me in for another chat.

"Bill said that he was comfortable with the way you run your territory and that any problem you may have had with any of your customers seems to have resolved itself," Mike said.

"I never thought there was a problem to begin with," I said.

Mike gave me a look that said he didn't agree with my assessment. "I will defer to Bill's judgment for now. You no longer need to have Bill proof read your contracts but I want you to keep him involved in any new contracts you are working on."

"Can I ask why?"

"Bill and I think we need to have better control of our business. I want him to be involved in every significant contract to make sure we are doing the right things for BDS and for our customers."

I went to see Bill to ask him what the hell was going on.

"Mike just wants to make sure we are getting everything we can out of our contracts," was Bill's reply.

"Why am I being singled out?" I asked.

"You're not. I will be doing this with all of the sales reps. Don't worry about this. It's no big deal. It won't interfere with what you do; it's just more work for me," Bill said.

*****

Once again Erica recognized that I was upset when I got home and I had to tell her what was going on and how much it pissed me off.

"Honey, you know it's just the way Mike gets sometimes. Don't get mad at Bill because of what Mike is making him do. Bill is just trying to help you," Erica said

Erica was right, of course, but it still annoyed me that she didn't show more support for me. I was angry and I expected that she simply agree with me that what Mike and Bill were doing was an insult to me and they should just back off. Sometimes even the voice of reason can piss you off.

Somehow Erica sensed what I was feeling and knew the right remedy. Once again it started with a full body massage.

*****

It took almost two months before I started to see the problem. One of my customers called to complain about some missing tasks in the contract I had negotiated with them. They asked me what I was trying to pull on them. I had to rewrite their contracts to include the missing tasks. I was sure I had written the contract properly. Somebody had to have changed them.

When I discussed the problem with Bill, he asked me how anyone could have changed my contract after I had sent it out. I couldn't answer the question. The process should preclude any tampering with a contract. When I negotiated a contract with a customer, I put together a Scope of Work (SOW) and build a proposal around it including the price. If the customer agrees to the proposal, I turn the proposal over to the Contracts and Legal (C&L) department at BDS and they create the contract. Once they have the contract complete, they give it back to me and I proof read it to make sure it is complete. If anything is missing, I resubmit it to C&L for corrections and then proof it again when they finish with making the corrections. Once I am satisfied that the contract is complete and correct, I put it in the mail. No one sees the contract after me until the customer receives it in the mail.

"This is not good,' Bill said. "We have to keep Mike from finding out about these mistakes or he'll want me proof reading all of your contracts again. You have been doing this long enough that you don't need me to read your contracts before they get sent out but you have to make sure they go out right or it will be both of our asses. Besides, I wouldn't know if something was left out unless I was with you when you met with the customer to negotiate the contract."

After a minute of silence, Bill said, "Why would they?"

"What? Why would who do what?" I asked.

"You said that you thought that someone might have changed your contracts," Bill said. "Why would someone do that?"

"I hadn't really thought about that. I don't know. I can't imagine what anyone would have to gain by screwing up my contracts but I just can't believe I am screwing up. I just don't make those kinds of mistakes."

Bill seemed to be on my side but it didn't make me feel better. I felt as though someone had to be messing with my contracts but Bill pointed out that no one had the opportunity to do that. The only other possible explanation was that someone was trying to make me look bad but I could not figure out who would do that or why?

*****

That evening I discussed this new problem with my contracts and the conversation I had with Bill that afternoon with Erica.

"How can you be so certain that you didn't make a mistake?" she asked.

What was I missing? Was Erica beginning to think that I wasn't as competent at my job as she used to think I was? That was the impression I was getting from her.

"I don't know what's going on but I think someone is trying to make me look bad," I said.

"You can't be serious," Erica said. "You just said that you mail the contracts as soon as you are done with them. No one has access to your contracts once your finish with them. If someone could get to the contract, who would want to do that to you? Who could possibly benefit by making you look bad? No one."

I thought about what Erica said and realized I really had no answers.

"I guess you're right. Maybe I did make a mistake," I said but I didn't for a moment believe that.

*****

To be continued.