A Loser Rebounds Ch. 06

"Oh darling, you are so wonderful," Glenys said, rushing in to kiss him. "I was so nervous about venturing out alone in this noisy and dirty city but from what I've read it bursts with color and atmosphere and charm. I now feel I can look for its qualities."

"Get your ass to the lobby," he laughed, smacking that piece of anatomy and she squealed and went over to change her shoes.

Joseph welcomed Andy into the larger and even more ornate suite.

"I've just read your report about tonight's dinner and must say the estimated cost is astronomical."

Andy said slyly, "And I have been informed that acceptance of delegates is seven out of nine. I wonder why that is Joseph?"

He said grumpily he had no idea.

"I got Glenys to include details of the dining room a copy of tonight's menu. This is your investment in your future to be influential on the international stage."

Joseph smiled and conceded that was indeed a high acceptance rate and said they were seven of the nine people who'd elect the two new executive members.

"You are very bright Andy. I'll kick your ass if I'm not elected and will win a medal on you if I'm elected. And yes, this is my investment in my future. Now let's rehearse my speech so that I shine as a presenter."

Andy checked his watch.

"Let's wait for..."

He turned and answered a knock on the door.

"Hi come in Maria. This is the big boss Mr Shields."

"Hi Maria."

She performed a slight curtsy and said good morning sir.

"Joseph, Maria is the hotels chief interpreter and speaks eleven languages. She is here to coach you on your opening, when you'll say, "Good afternoon my colleagues in the international supply and distribution of food. It is my honor to address you."

"That is already how my speech starts."

"Yes of course, but Maria is here to coach you to deliver that opening in this order, in Italian, French, Spanish, German and Japanese and then you repeat in English.

"Japanese?" said Joseph shakily.

"Mr Shields, think of it as a breeze. You will have an ear-plug and you'll hear me from the translation box say that phrase and say, now repeat after me. We will do that for your greeting in Italian, French, Spanish and German. Get it?"

Joseph wiped his brow and muttered yes.

Later Glenys into her and Andy's suite highly excited.

"Oh we had such a lovely time, both of us had older men approach us and I had my ass pinched. Inés is not at all stuffy, and treated me as if she was a mother introducing her daughter to high society. She said when she worked here she had so much sex she could barely walk at times. She'd such a character. Oh I was buying lingerie for you and she insisted on paying. Look."

Andy said sarcastically when seeing the bra and panties, he didn't wear bras and had no hope of getting in those skimpy underpants.

"Oh I mean for me to wear for your pleasure," she giggled. "I want to look good for you. Let's go for lunch. Inés showed me this hideaway café favored by lovers, mostly adulterers."

"Sounds nice," Andy said, thinking why eat McDonald's when in Italy?

During lunch Glenys startled Andy by feeling his cock.

He looked startled but she said not to worry, many of the women were doing it.

Andy was too shocked to look.

Andy escorted Joseph to the Grand Hall were 400 delegates of the International Food Processors' Organization were about to resume to hear the final presentation for that day.

"You look great Joseph," Andy said, checking him out.

"Thanks I feel fine," he said, inserting his single tiny earphone.

Using his lapel microphone Joseph said, "Yes I can hear you Maria even in this ante-room. Could we run though the greeting in Japanese twice for my last practice? Thanks."

The presentation of the report went very well.

The greetings in the various languages where receive stoically and then before beginning the final greeting in English, pretended to wipe his brow and said, "Gee I can relax now."

That was greeted with laughter and applause.

The organization's president thanked Joseph expansively for presenting the highly technical report on redirecting over-run production from plants in affluent counties for redistribution in needy countries through existing aid channels.

"That was an outstanding report from you on behalf of the team of which you were convener Joseph. Good luck at standing with your bid for election to the executive tomorrow."

When the session was closed, many delegates began wandering off to one of the hotel's various bars.

Andy stood by while Joseph dealt with delegates who'd come forward to congratulate him.

When that ended, Andy said to Joseph, "Here I'll take your attaché case. Come with me. I've learned which of the bars most of the executive members favor. You delivery was great."

"Thanks buddy. I'm on a high. The president wishing me well at tomorrow's election was unexpected."

"It could be in your favor, or a kiss of death. Who knows? I regard it as positive because I've found because of his Irish wit, the president is very popular. But get in here and try to individually charm some executive members. Oh good, the president is here. Start with him. Well everything is set for your dinner at 8:30. I'm off to go out to dinner with Glenys and we'll fly out to London at 10:00 and so will be there by the time the executive vote is held. All the best Joseph and you should easily win election providing your hosting goes well this evening as I'm sure it will."

"Thanks young man. You're a fine operator and have done much to assist me. Enjoy your few days in London and Paris."

* * *

Andy and Glenys in Chicago mid-morning after being seven days away and they went straight to the office.

As soon as one of the receptionists saw them she said they were required immediately on the executive floor and were to wait until Mr Rizzo was free to see them.

"Why?"

"I have no idea," said the receptionist.

They went to the executive floor where they found Carlos was free and the receptionist showed them in.

He looked pale and worried and didn't smile or even greet them.

"Bad news I'm afraid," he said. "There's been a palace revolution. In Joseph's absence the board has suspended him as chairman pending an investigation at his bank where he' head of new loans. There are allegations he has been accepting bribes to favor certain applicants over others. The deputy chairman of our board and I have already found one instance where Joseph organized a $1.3 million shipment of five lines of tinned vegetables to new client from one of our suppliers. That new client supplies food to a network of hospitals in South America and its American agent told us he paid Joseph $150,000 to facilitate the deal and insists it was not a bribe, simply the way to 'grease wheels' to get the supplies shipped expeditiously."

"I can't believe this," Andy said. "Joseph is a good guy."

"Yes and I thought so too," Carlos sighed. "But these days in business who are the good guys? Anyway that's all we've found so far and have advised the bank because this might be relevant to its investigation to find if Joseph is guilty of corruption or anything else. I must stress this is all supposition at this stage but the signs are not looking good for Joseph who has just been elected to the executive of the International Food Processors' Organization. He and his wife were supposed to have arrived back two days ago but it was a no show and we found they never boarded the aircraft in Rome. We have failed to make contact with them. Do you know where they are?"

"No and he made no mention of not flying back here on schedule," Andy said.

Glenys, who appeared as shocked as Andy was, said, "I guess this could be relevant but Joseph's wife Inés said when I was shopping with her they'd sold their house recently for a great profit and she was so sad that Joseph had recently sold his very valuable classic Mercedes."

"Oh boy, oh I don't like the sound of this," Carlos said. "I best get back to the bank's CEO."

"Look guys, this will come as a bombshell," Carlos said. "The acting chairman received the full support of the board to close down your department immediately, and I did that yesterday. The acting chairman described the expenditure in establishing the department as unwarranted, that branding exercise would have no effective advantage to the corporation and the expenditure on it to date was hugely extravagant. I received a huge rap over the knuckles."

"Jeepers," was all Andy could say while Glenys remained silent.

"Glenys I'm not satisfied with my replacement PA, you can have your old position back if you wish. I'm sorry it has come to this but there's no way that I can ignore directives from the board. Could you please leave us, wait outside."

She left.

"I'm sorry Andy but the acting-chairman ignored my protests and he says you have to go as you have embarked on a reckless spree of extravagance. Your car is to be returned immediately and I'm to negotiate your exit."

"Is this fair?"

"No Andy. My advice is to negotiate hard. Hire a consultant if you wish. I'm obliged to have our chief attorney and HR manager beside me when I talk severance with you. When would you like to start?"

"Ten in the morning. I'd like to have Linda Hoffman act as my consultant, but only if she wishes to do that and it will not harm her status in this company. Linda helped me assimilated into this corporation's culture when I started work here."

"No it won't harm Linda to work with you. Get her to call me if you wish and I'll give her that assurance and yes we can meet at 10:00 tomorrow. Leave the car here as normal in the morning and give me the keys. I'm really sorry about this but if the board wants you gone, that's it and the deputy chairman claims he has the majority of the board behind him. I'd like you to know I had you ear-marked for bigger things. You could fight this legally of course but that would simply take the lid off this affair and in the end you would still lose. You might have to go beyond Chicago to gain another position."

"Yeah and news will get out I've been fired and no other corporation will want to touch me."

"I agree and that's life. Sorry."

They shook hands and when Andy came from the office Glenys, white-faced, rushed up to him.

"What now?" she said almost in tears.

"I'm gone, but not fired. I have been invited to negotiate my severance."

Glenys' face hardened.

"Well that's it. I can't have anything more to do with you because you're a loser. You would contaminate me. Anyway I was only with you because at that stage you were on the up and there were benefits for me."

Andy stared at her hard and shook his head. He walked away without saying a word.

The doors to the department on the 33nd floor were locked and a notice stating no entry was taped to one door.

Andy kicked between the doors powerfully with the sole of his shoe and the doors flew open with just a small amount of shattering of wood. He removed his personal effects and left the building... until next day.

Andy was angry but felt powerless. The wheels were in motion and even if successfully appealed to Bruce Allen the acting-chairman, his position in the corporation would never be the same. He felt done for and called Linda.

She was on the phone and called back.

"Hi, welcome home. I've heard rumor of disturbing news about our chairman."

"Yes and that's what I'm calling about. I'm being shown the door."

Linda was shocked by Andy's news and sounded very sympathetic after he'd told her everything.

"Yes I am prepared to support you. I'll go and see Carlos to ensure this would do no harm to my career and will call you back.

Next morning Linda walked into Carlos' meeting room alongside Andy and Andy faced Carlos and his two advisers and asked what the offer was.

"A year's salary plus your standing entitlements in full and that's it."

Andy said that was a reasonable starting point and asked about compensation.

"No compensation is being offered."

"Our disgraced chairman brought this about, not me," Andy said. "He pushed the proposal for an external branding department as proposed by me through the board, not me. I expect to be generously compensated for being the victim (Linda had advised him to argue that and use the word 'victim' with emphasis).

"Victim?" Carlos said, startled, and his two aids both made notes.

"Yes absolutely," Andy said. "I was given a task to perform and worked my guts on to launching the new department to the best of my ability and now this, being no longer wanted because of the misbehavior of the corporation's hand-picked chairman. God the media will have a field day if this gets out."

Carlos's aides whispered to him and he said, "My side needs to confer with me. Let's take a break a resume in thirty minutes. Agreed?"

"Yes that will be fine," Andy said. "I have laid the framework and now could benefit by chatting to my consultant."

Andy and Linda went out for coffee.

She asked why had he given the impression she'd not already advised him. She'd told him to raise the issue of compensation and to emphasis he was the innocent victim caught in the fallout over suspected wrong-doings of the corporation's chairman.

"Yes of course you did, but they now believe the vindictive and grabbing bastard with big ideas of how to screw for more money is me, not you. That let you off the hook I suggest?"

"Omigod, you devious prick," Linda giggled.

"What now?"

Linda said, "You've run out of ammunition. I suggest you don't mention media interest again because they might not take kindly to that, although the thought already planted will not leave them. I suspect the drafted agreement already binds you to a totally confidential agreement in which you undertake to talk to no one about details of your settlement."

"So you see a settlement as likely?"

"God yes, they know better than to allow you to charge around like a wounded bull seeking revenge. What you must do now is to reinforce the arguments you have laid down and keep pushing for more money until we think they are with their backs against the wall and would know to go further the board would hammer them for paying out excessively."

Andy sighed. And how will we know when they are at the brink?"

"Carlos will appear overly casual and we'll smell fear from that end of the table."

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely."

At 11:50 Carlos and Andy shook hands. It was all over and after the signing of the amended severance agreement, Andy was handed a check for $644,000 (Linda had suggested he ask to be paid out of his three-year contract as well as compensation) and he took Linda to lunch.

They began with French champagne.

They toasted each other's good health and success in business and she removed a shoe and ran that foot up Andy's leg.

"Are you still interest in me?" he asked.

"Of course. All that high drama has made me feel sexy. What happens for you now?"

"I'm thinking of going home to the ranch for a bit to get my head clear of this."

"Do you wish to resume ranching?"

"Hell no."

"Then I suggest you stay in Chicago for at least two weeks. You just might receive a call because news of this will get around fast."

"Who'd want me?"

"Perhaps one of the recruiters who call Carlos to find out why you were let go."

"You mean pushed?"

"Let go, fired, pushed, invited to look elsewhere for a job. They all are words that basically mean the same thing."

Andy grinned and said that was one way of looking at it.

"Okay I'll wait two weeks before moving to pay out of my lease. Will you call around every night and stay some nights?"

Smiling, Linda said that's what she had in mind. "You know I like to fuck."

Andy said, "You know I think this fuss over Joseph will just die. He's been too smart for them, selling up, getting a position of prominence in Europe. It's suspected he has taken bribes but while 'incentive payments' and 'service payments' can technically be called bribes, if Joseph was brought back to face corruption charges he might provide too smart again and convince the judge on the day than in the way he performed an incentive payment was just that, a payment for him to get off his ass and make things happened and the results show that did happen."

"You could be right and the bank might find the people that Joseph brought to them for personal reward are damn good new clients and they may decide to abandon their pursuit of Joseph, providing they find none of their money is missing. You know if you are right and this happens, you really would be the victim."

Andy said, "In that case was I paid out adequately?"

Linda laughed. "Did you see those three pairs of very white knuckles at the far end of the table before you said you were happy with what was on the table?"

"Yeah and Carlos looked to be sweating. Either that or they were faking."

"Who knows and does it really matter? Get a job soon Andy and you'll have money to invest."

To Be Continued