Dirty Old Man, Maybe Not

"Why did you leave your job with Collins? I thought you were going places with them," I asked.

Julie tilted her head, appraising me with a questioning look. She seemed surprised that I knew about her old job. "Checking up on me, were you Jason?" Julie didn't seem upset; more like thoughtful.

Busted, I thought. I just shrugged and asked again, "What happened?" When she smiled I said, I'm sorry, but I worry about you. Ya even after all this time, I worry about you. Never mind........So how do you like your new job? Is it a good place to work?"

We talked about her job for the next several minutes. "Everyone there tells me that the company has become much more productive and profitable since the new owner took over about a year ago," Julie said with a smile. "They say now their profit sharing will be worth something." Her last comment about Doan Inc. made me feel pretty good.

"So how's PSI doing? Still growing?" She asked switching gears.

"We're doing well; increasing our market share almost every year." I paused and added, "We added two or three companies since we spli.....I mean since we last saw each other. I'm training a second in command so I don't have to put in so many hours."

Julie's expression showed disbelief. I added, "I made the mistake of too many hours once and it cost me big time; won't make the same mistake again."

"Jason, I.......That bit with breaking the glasses, a holdover from your Army days?"

"Yeah, we were celebrating George and Gillian's engagement," I answered. I had to smile remembering the shocked look on Gillian and Kathleen's face.

"It's hard to believe that George is getting married; he was always too busy looking out for you and PSI to take the time to find someone," she said.

"I guess he got tired of being alone," I replied. Then I chuckled and said, "But I really think that someone found him. It's possible that Gillian put an Irish spell on him.

"Your Kathleen is a fine Irish lass," Julie said putting on an Irish brogue.

"Yes she is. But she's not my Kathleen, at least not in the way you mean."

"I thought you were together that night. You seemed very comfortable with her."

"Your right we are comfortable with each other, but not because of a romantic connection."

Was that a look of interest or relief I saw in her eyes? I must be imagining things, I thought. "Kathleen's is a very intelligent young woman with a good head for business. She's the one I'm training to be my second in command."

"It doesn't hurt that she's drop dead gorgeous either," Julie teased. "Now does it Jason?"

I shook my head no and replied, "People will under estimate her because of the way she looks; that will be a mistake on their part. She's like a mother lion when it comes to protecting PSI and she's like a shark in a feeding frenzy when it comes to making a deal." I stopped for a second, gave Julie a big smile, and said, "And you're right, it's easier spending time with her than some."

"Where did you meet this beautiful shark?" Julie was smiling but the tone of her voice made me look at her a little harder. It was the tone of one beautiful woman being catty about another beautiful woman.

I looked down at the table for a few seconds, smiling as I remembered. Looking up I told Julie the story of how Kathleen and I met. I didn't tell her the name of the company that Kathleen had been working for but I did admit my attraction to her. But I also explained how my feelings changed as I got to know her better.

"Don't know what caused the change, but I'm glad it did," I said shaking my head and giving a small smile.

Julie also smiled at my story and my confession. "It changed because you're not a dirty old man Jason. At least not yet," she finished with a chuckle.

Looking down at her watch she said, "Wow, it's almost 11. I'm sorry but I need to go, some of us have to go to work in the morning," Julie said. "I've enjoyed this evening Jason, thank you for the invitation."

We stood and she gave me another hug but this one wasn't an A-frame hug. "Maybe we could do this again," I suggested.

Julie hesitated a little. "What would it mean if we did?"

I looked into her eyes and replied with conviction, "It would mean as much or as little as we wanted it to. At the very least, it would mean two old friends reconnecting after a long time." I leaned over and kissed her cheek.

As she left she glanced over her shoulder at me and I could see a little smile playing around her mouth. Maybe things weren't as hopeless as I thought.

My cell phone started ringing as I walked into my apartment. "Who the hell is calling me at this time of the night?" I said when I answered.

"Still haven't learned how to answer your phone." It was Gillian. "So how did it go with Julie? When are you going to see her again?

"How did you know I saw Julie tonight? And how did you know I just left her?"

"A friend told me you called Julie. George and I just happened to go to Tooley's tonight too." She laughed and added, "You two were so wrapped up in each other you didn't see us come in. Answer the question, how did it go?"

I was trying to think who could have told her about my call to Julie. Stacy, my secretary had to be the culprit I decided. "We had a good time and I think we'll do it again."

Hesitating, I didn't say anything for almost a minute. Gillian asked, "You still there Jason? I lost you for a bit."

"Yeah, I'm still here. Look Gillian, no BS. No kidding around. Okay? I'm already in over my head and I don't need you or Kathleen teasing me about this." I stopped for a second and said, "You were right by the way, I am still in love with her. I'm going to do my best to get us back together. Don't know if I can, but I'm gonna try."

"That's wonderful Jason. I promise, no teasing. I'm here if you need to talk or want help."

Over the next three or four weeks, Julie and met for drinks or coffee several times. I finally worked up the nerve, called her and asked her if she would go to dinner with me.

"You mean like a real date?" She asked with a funny sounding voice.

"Well......Yes, like a real date," I replied.

I took Julie to Angelo's, the same mom and pop Italian place that I'd taken Kathleen. The only reason I took her there was because it's one of my favorite places to eat. I made it a point not to get too "heavy" on the "first date" and we had a good time.

We went to the movies a couple of times; sometimes we just met for coffee. On one diner date, I took her to a five star restaurant; not because it was expensive and fancy but because they have the best steak in the city. I was taking my time with Julie; I didn't want to scare her away. There weren't any more A-frame hugs and I would kiss her cheek when I took her home. Once she turned her head and the kiss was on her lips. She didn't pull away and I had sense enough not to push it too far.

I even took Julie her on a day trip out to the ranch to met Buck and Gilly; of course I wanted her to meet Ralph and Millie too. We had a really good day, riding the horses, swimming in the creek, and at the BBQ Ralph did for us.

Ralph and Millie made Julie feel right at home and as we were getting into my car to return to the city Ralph said, "It's about time we got to meet you girl. Jason's moped around about you for the last four years or so. Don't be a stranger."

I was on edge all the way home waiting for some response from Julie over what Ralph had said. She talked about the beauty of the ranch, the horses, and what a good day it had been. Nothing was said about Ralph's parting shot. As the days and weeks went by, we were becoming more comfortable and open with each other; then disaster struck.

The HR department at Doan had always been a gossip mill, nothing illegal like talking about personal information but a bee hive of conjecture about people's love life and place within the company. Julie was given a promotion and one of the gossip "bees", a man by the way, said something about it was unusual for someone to get a promotion that quickly.

Julie had told a friend in the department about our dates and our history; just two friends talking in confidence. The 'bee' heard that it was me Julie was seeing and said, "That explains the quick promotion."

When Julie asked what he meant, the answer was, "If I dated the owner of the company I'd get a promotion too." That's when it hit the fan.

I'd never told Julie that I, actually PSI, owned Doan and she began to think bad thoughts. The next time I called her, she turned down my invitation. And the next time, and the next time. Finally she told me not to call her anymore; that she didn't want to talk to me. What the hell? Why the change in her attitude?

Finally I learned what had happened at Doan and how upset Julie was. A fellow employee in the H R department called and filled me in. Not telling Julie that she worked technically worked for me was the problem. I'd suppressed my feeling for Julie for too long to let our budding relationship end like this.

Instead of the poor dunce that didn't know how to deal with still loving Julie, I became the shark that built PSI. Instead of sitting back and hoping I took steps to try and correct the problem. On Friday I went to Doan at the end of the work day, waiting outside the building to see Julie. I could've called George and had him look into what was going on but this was something I needed to do for myself.

Julie came out of the Doan building and turned toward the parking structure where most of the employees park. She was walking with her head down lost in concentration when I stepped in front of her and called her name. Julie looked up to see who had it was and stopped dead when she saw me. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. Her face began to turn red with anger and her eyes blazed at me.

"I told you I don't want to talk to you, Jason," Julie said with a trembling voice. "Please leave me alone."

"Can't do that, at least not until I find out why you've changed your attitude toward me. We can talk here in front of God and everybody, we can go to Tooley's and get a drink while we talk or we can go someplace for coffee and talk; But we are going to talk, make no mistake about that." I told her my voice returning her anger. "Where do you want to do this?"

Julie hesitated for a half a minute or so; then she sighed and pointed to the Starbuck's at the corner. We walked to the coffee shop, not speaking. Nothing was said until we got coffee and sat down at a back table.

I waited for less than a minute and then started. "Why didn't you take my calls, why did you tell me not to call you anymore?"

Julie eyes were still blazing. "Why didn't you tell me that you owned Doan?"

"What difference does it make? I, or rather PSI, own other companies too."

"Everybody thinks I got my promotion because I'm dating the boss." I think she was actually embarrassed.

"What do you care what those idiots think? And even if I did have something to do with your promotion, what difference does it make? I'm always shifting people around to make the different companies more efficient." I took a drink of coffee, my eyes never leaving Julie's face and added.

"But just for the record, I don't have anything to do with the day to day operations of any of the companies that PSI owns; that's why I have administrators and technical experts at each of them. I didn't, I repeat, I didn't have anything to do with your promotion or with hiring you in the first place."

I waited for a response from Julie, but she just looked at me. Her eyes and face didn't look angry anymore; I don't know what the look was but it wasn't anger.

"If you don't want to see me anymore because you don't care for me or are still angry over the way I treated you when we were married, that's okay. I can accept that; but that's not the message you've been giving me these last couple of months. But if you're going to shine me on because of some office gossip or some misplaced sense of pride, then you're not the woman I thought you were."

Julie's actions made me sad and a little angry and the more I talked the madder I got. "Give me a call if you change your mind or grow up," I told her. I guess I wasn't very fair because I didn't give her a chance to respond; I stood and walked away, leaving her sitting at the table.

I went out to the ranch on Saturday morning to spend the weekend. Maybe Buck or Ralph or Millie could help me. I stewed over the problem for most of Saturday explaining to Ralph and Millie what had happened. Buck didn't have much to say about my situation but Sunday as I was getting ready to leave both of my friends had advice for me.

"You can't just give up Jason. I know you love this girl so don't give up on her," Millie suggested with a smile and a hug.

Ralph's advice was a little more direct. "I want to see her back out here; I like that girl. Millie's right, don't give up until she runs you off with a shotgun. Hear me boy?"

I drove back to the city with a plan forming in my mind. Monday was going to be a very interesting day for some people; hopefully with a happy ending but an ending never the less. I spent part of Monday morning going over some employee files in my office which I'd sent George to get for me. After lunch I headed for Doan.

When I walked into the HR department it got as quiet as church. The four women and two men working in the department were speechless; they all knew who I was. I found out later that Julie had ripped the gossip bee a new one for suggesting that our dating was the reason for her promotion. It was easy to see which guy had mouthed off; he sat a desk in the corner trying to be invisible. He didn't look up at me and was very pale.

I asked to see Mrs. Johnson the head of the department; she was the person that told me about the trouble in the office that led to Julie refusing to talk to me. She was nearing retirement and was happy that her profit sharing was worth a lot more now that I owned the company. She was also an ace at her job and wanted her department to run efficiently.

Mrs. Johnson and Julie walked out of her office; both were surprised to see me. Julie turned a little pale and then blushed. Mrs. Johnson came to the counter to greet me. I asked her if I could talk to her crew. She nodded and I asked for everyone's attention.

"There's a rumor and gossip going around that Miss Landers, Julie, got her recent promotion because she and I are friends. I'm here to put a stop to the gossip and rumors. I don't have anything to do with running Doan; that's why I have people like Mrs. Johnson." I looked around the gathered troops for a few seconds and continued.

"Mrs. Johnson, who recommended Julie for that promotion and why? Then who approved it?"

"I recommended her and I had the final say, since it's my department. Julie has done her job very well and even picked up the slack in other areas. The department needed an assistant director since Mrs. Taylor retired and I thought Julie would be the best fit," Mrs. Johnson replied.

"Did I have anything to do with your decision? Did I suggest you hire Julie for the job and did I put any pressure on you to promote her?"

"With respect Mr. Borne, you couldn't have made me hire or promote someone who wasn't qualified; Julie or anyone else. I'm going to retire in about a year and the worst you could have done was force me to retire early," she said with a smile.

"To put a point on it, I had nothing to do with hiring Julie or getting her promoted. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir it is. I hired Julie because she was the best applicant. I promoted her because she was the most qualified. The only thing you've ever said was to do what was best for Doan regardless of seniority or length of service. You told us that first week you took over the company."

"Okay, everybody clear on this now?" I looked around at the group, receiving nods from everyone but the guy that started the whole thing. "Which of you is Mr. Thompson?"

As expected the man sitting at his desk raise his hand. I motioned for him to join me at the counter. "Mr. Thompson I've spent the morning goin over your file and your efficiency reviews for the last year and a half. The best thing they say is that you're always at work and on time."

I stared at him until he lowered his head. "The reviews say that you're complacent, lazy, and that you try to take credit for other's work. The only reason Julie didn't fire you right away was it would seem that she was firing you for what you said." Thompson still hadn't looked up and he seemed to deflate right in front of me.

"As I said, I don't have anything to do with the day to day running of Doan, but I will tell you this. Look at me when I'm talking to you," I ordered. Thompson raised his head but had a hard time meeting my eyes.

"You better get right with Jesus because if you don't improve your work ethics he's the only one that will support you. You've got one month to improve or you'll be out on your ass. I'm giving you a chance because Julie asked me too. If it was up to me, I'd kick your ass to the curb right now." The part about Julie was a total fabrication but Thompson didn't know it. "Are we clear; is there any question in your mind about your situation?"

He dropped his head again and answered, "Yes sir, I mean no sir, I understand."

"Okay I'm done with you, get back to work." Turning back I said, "Thanks for your time Mrs. Johnson. I'll leave now so y'all can get back to work." I looked at Julie with a sort of 'I told you so' look and left the office.

The repercussions and results of my little visit to Julie's office were immediate according to Mrs. Johnson. She called me on Thursday and said that Thompson was a changed man. He apologized to Julie and changed his work habits. That was good, I thought. But I still hadn't heard from Julie.

Normally I didn't go to work on Fridays but this week I had to finalize contract negotiations with a new client. As I left my office for the day, Julie stepped in front of me. I stopped in surprise; I hoped she might call me. I didn't expect to see her face to face.

Julie smiled and said, "We can talk here in front of God and everyone, we can go to Tooley's for a drink and talk or go for coffee and talk; but make no mistake, we are going to talk. Where are we going to do this?"

I returned her smile and pointed at my Mustang; she took my hand and we walked to the car. We didn't bother with Tooley's or Starbuck's; I took off for the ranch. I told her I knew of a place to get a drink or coffee where we wouldn't be bothered. During the drive we didn't say much; we just enjoyed being together on the open road. The time for talking would come later.

Shortly Julie realized where we were headed. "We're going to be very late getting back to the city."

"Don't plan on going back tonight," I replied. Seeing her look I added, "There are three other bedrooms and a guest house for you to pick from. You don't have to stay in my room."

"But I don't have any clothes and I can't run around the ranch in this business suit."

"We'll stop at the Wal-Mart in Black and pick up whatever you need. Then we'll go get the best BBQ ribs this side of heaven," I told her.

We drove down the main street of Black and turned into Wal-Mart. Our shopping didn't take long; some undies, a few cosmetics, two western type shirts, two pair of jeans, a pair of sneakers, and an oversize T-shirt with a picture of Winnie the Pooh and friends on it. "It's to sleep in," she told me.

I wiggled my eyebrows up and down, grinned, and said, "Sexy."

"That does it, I've got everything I need," Julie said.

"Not quite," I replied. I led her next door to a store that specialized in boots. "We'll probably be riding the horses some," I explained. "You can't ride in sneakers."