Real Love Ch. 22

"Craig, do you believe Kelly has been promoted to a position she's not qualified for or not capable of handling?" Brad asks.

"No, Brad. She's more than qualified for this new job. Danny thought she was way overqualified when he hired her."

"Has she been promoted since she started working here?"

"She's the fastest to ever move up the ladder with Danny promoting her and increasing her salary nine times in five years. Including this promotion, it will be ten times in five years," Craig says.

"Have I ever spoke with you about her performance?"

"Just once. I told you the first day we met that you would meet her at the airport, that you could trust her, and that she's real good at her job."

"Thanks Craig. Kelly, are qualified to perform this job?"

"Yes, Brad. I can do it."

"I learned she is capable of doing this job by interacting with her. I asked her several questions about assistant staffing a while ago and her answers convinced me she's capable."

"Now you know better girls. I don't promote based on favors. I promote based on performance and attitude. Kelly's has been over the top. That's why I'm promoting her and that is why I'm giving her a raise. It's just one of many reasons why she deserves it."

Kelly, reaching for his hand again, attempts to stop his conversation by saying, "Brad, I..."

"Excuse me Kelly, I'm not finished," he says, interrupting her, his words becoming more forceful, stronger, louder and direct, causing Kelly to back off.

"I hope that changes your mind girls. And yes, that incident she described did happen, but Kelly is wrong, I was not pissed. I was very fucking pissed. Similar to now, but more intense. I said what I had to say and moved on. At that moment, I wasn't concerned with what she did, because she did what she was trained to do to protect us. My concern was I didn't know she did it. It didn't occur to me that my parents were in any danger just because I got a new job."

"Being held for ransom is a new experience for me and I wasn't thinking about the ramifications of being kidnaped. I was still pissed off after that as well and I found myself picking several fights with her for no reason about any topic she raised only because I was pissed, until I realized what I was doing. That was when and why I apologized for going off on her. We have to work together and if I can't get it together, I will never be able to maintain a long term assistant."

"Fortunately for me, she's a great assistant and understands there will be times like this in working relationships. I forgave her, she forgave me and we moved on, both on a personal level and a professional level. Arguments like this will happen in professional relationships at any time, even in personal relationships. It will happen to us again. Expect it. Say what you need to say because everyone has an opinion. Don't hold it inside and don't hold it against anyone. If you do, it will eat you alive. This is one reason why personal relationships are so important."

"How do I know all this you ask? Because Kelly spoke to me about relationships the day I arrived on the Island. How does she know this? Because our father literally taught her over the last five years. She warned me in advance what I will be facing on this job and not let the smaller problems over shadow the bigger picture. That's another of many reasons why she's getting a well deserved promotion and raise."

"And Peggy, you have heard some of our discussions so you know I'm not feeding you bullshit."

Peggy nods and says, "That's true, Brad. I've heard a few because I was sitting on his balcony when some of them happened, however, I didn't hear that one. They sounded like a bickering old married couple the times I did hear them. It was kind of funny in a way."

"Thanks Peggy," Brad says as a grin appears on Kelly's face.

Brad says, "I need some air," and gets up to go outside and chill.

His sisters get up to go with him, but Kelly gets up with them, puts her arms around them, stopping them.

As Brad heads for the door, she says, "Remember the third mistake I mentioned that I didn't know I was making?"

They nod.

"It happened because I didn't give Brad time to deal with his anger after he got mad at me and I thought it should be over. He's not as pissed now as he was back then, but he's doing the same things now as back then."

"So, based on my experience, you should let him be alone for at least fifteen minutes so he can deal with his anger and relax. Anything you say to him now will only exasperate the problem, as it did for me. It was the one thing which stressed our relationship to the max. So far, that incident has been my most intense learning experience with Brad and I feel lucky to have survived it with my job intact."

"I will never forget that argument and I never want to go through that again. I hardly slept that night and I went to Brad early the next morning so we could talk about it. He was already awake thinking about the same thing. He revealed he also did not sleep well. It affected us both and when we talked about it, we resolved our differences and apologized to each other again."

His sisters take her advice and give Kelly the biggest hugs of her life.

"Not to be a smart-ass Kelly, but now I really do understand why Brad wants you to be the lead assistant," Peggy reveals. "We never got the training he did."

"Brad and I both realize that now. I'm sorry that happened, but I hope I will be able to fix it."

While Brad is out relaxing, Peggy and Stacy apologize to Kelly profusely. They didn't realize the full ramifications of the assumption they made, but Kelly says she doesn't hold grudges and this incident is water under the bridge as far as she is concerned.

They have a group hug, return to their seats, then turn their attention to Brad. Peggy says he's extremely hurt by this and Stacy can only agree. They don't know how they can make it up to him and ask for Kelly's advice. She tells them how she thought they should proceed. Craig is listening to all this and taking it in, remaining quiet.

Ten minutes later, Stacy and Peggy go out to speak with Brad. One at a time, both sisters hug him, with wetness in their eyes, and apologize for the foolish assumption they made. They both hug him again and take the time to clear the air. They tell him they have a clearer understanding of what they did, and they don't want to proceed with Brad mad at them. Brad hugs them together and tells them not to worry. He forgives them, still loves them and won't hold it against them.

It's an experience that taught all three of them a lesson. He's disappointed, not only with his sisters, but more so with himself.

"Brad, how can we make this up to you?" Peggy asks.

"You just did Peggy. You too Stacy. Both of you just did," Brad replies.

The thing that really pissed off Brad the most, is that he realizes he didn't listen to Kelly's advice, even after she raised the issue twice. She was right about the perception, but at the time, he was on a roll, felt full of himself and wasn't listening to what she was telling him. He was being a boss, not a leader. She was also right about women not liking her a first. They return to the meeting about ten minutes later, with Brad lagging behind his sisters.

When Stacy and Peggy return, they both apologize to Kelly, again, for their inaccurate assumption. They give her hugs and multiple apologies again and she accepts again, reiterating she won't hold it against them.

When Brad returns, Kelly is seated facing the table talking to Craig, and watches Brad as he approaches. He sits down facing her, leans his forehead to her shoulder and snakes both his hands to the table and laces them in her left hand. She places her right hand on his cheek, affectionately.

"I'm sorry, Kelly," he says. "You are right about other women not liking you at first. You also warned me twice that people would think you got the promotion because you are fucking the boss. You were right and I didn't care. I was so full of myself, I literally ignored you."

"At that time, I stopped being a leader and became a boss. In the process, I degraded you personally to your fellow employees and Island staff, some of whom will be your employees soon. I'm not sure how I can make it up to you, but I will make every possible effort to do so. Again, I'm so sorry. I feel like such a dick. Now, I wonder what the rest of the staff is thinking... That aside, do you remember what my response was?" he asks as he releases her hand, sits up and leans back.

"That is something I will never forget, Brad. Sarcastically, you said that anyone who disagreed with your decision, could talk with you about it, then you would fire them," she says.

She chuckles, then giggles, then laughs. Craig, Stacy and Peggy all do the same.

"Yeah, well, something tells me that's not going to happen," Brad says, chuckling as well.

In a more normal tone, Brad says, "I guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was. A humbling moment for me. The thing I'm mad about the most isn't what my sisters did, it's what I didn't do by ignoring Kelly's advice. However girls, that doesn't get you off the hook either. Never, ever assume anything. The lesson for all of us today."

Stacy and Peggy realize they not only insulted Kelly, but also Brad. They both feel bad, real bad, for their ignorance. They have no clue how they're going to make it up to Brad and Kelly. It just seems what they've already done, isn't enough.

"Okay Brad. We'll talk about it later, okay?" Kelly says as she reaches for his hand again and this time, he takes it and holds it tight.

"We will. Nuff said then. Okay Craig, sorry for the disruption. Rick is next," Brad says. "What are his data points?"

"Rick has been here for just under a year and makes $53 grand. He has no marks on his record and his contract is up in just over a year."

"Peggy, you're up."

Brad stays affectionate with Kelly, knowing he screwed up and he wants her to know he knows he screwed up, and that he still feels bad he did it. He also wants his sisters to see him feeling as bad as they feel.

"He's okay, a little awkward sometimes, but has lots of good one liners."

"Okay doesn't work for me Peggy. Base your evaluations on performance and attitude, not one liners and awkward, please. Your choice," Brad says.

"Brad, my evaluation of Rick is flawed because I don't really know what his capabilities are."

"I understand that Peggy. But still, you have seen him at work."

"True, and with that in mind, I don't want to get rid of someone because of my own lack of experience. I want to keep him for now and recommend a salary of $56 grand. But, I will pass final decision to Kelly. I'm going to use Kelly's advice and see if anything changes. Having an assistant is new to me, as with Stacy, so getting advice from Kelly on how to deal with him has been very helpful. Kelly, what you just said to us was a real eye opener for me. Thank you. I will come back to you for more advice. Your thoughts."

"Thanks Peggy. I look forward to it... I will agree with Peggy's recommendation," Kelly says. "This was Rick's first time in the field and he got his feet wet on this one. He spent lots of time in the office prior to this. As far as I'm concerned, he can stay as long as Peggy wants him. He did pitch in, without hesitating, and got the job done satisfactorily on the last trip. Thank god because Jack sure didn't. My only change is to raised your salary recommendation to $57 grand."

"Got it," Craig says.

"Last is Debi, and Kelly will handle her," Brad says.

"Debi is the newest hire, being here only eight months. She was hired to relieve me of some of my duties when Danny learned his illness. She's already surpassed the other assistants in her skill level and her thought process. She's the one who suggested I go on vacation for this next trip and she will take over my duties. She also suggested that we bring friends to the Island before the last trip."

"It was her idea to give you all a helicopter ride a few days after you arrived to break the stress of the meetings. She also set up the fire arm lesson, the scuba lessons and the parasailing. She's continuously thinking about her leaders. She was busy during the last trip to LA and engaged herself in numerous problems we faced. She was as busy as I was. I'm very pleased with her performance. Her current salary is $65 grand and..."

Craig interrupts, "Kelly, her current salary is $52 grand."

"What! Are you sure Craig?" Kelly asks.

"She was hired as junior assistant, Kelly, eight months ago."

"I don't believe it! I wasn't aware of this. Her performance level is that of a senior assistant and is off the chart for that salary."

She turns to Brad and says, "This is not fair to her. Junior assistants have less than a year of experience. She has nearly five years. You've seen her in action, would agree to raise her salary to $68 grand and promote her to a senior assistant, and also give her the back pay from when she started? She deserves it."

"Indeed I would. I think she's worth every penny of that easily, but what do I know? I'm the new kid on the block," Brad says, teasing her.

Kelly smiles.

"What do you think, Stacy, Peggy?" she asks.

"I'm fine with that if you are Kelly. I've seen her in action myself," Stacy says. "I'm okay with it."

"Same for me," Peggy says. "She's good at what she does."

Kelly remarks the average assistant makes between $30 grand and $70 grand, mostly because of the fear factor they face. Those assistants that excel can earn in excess of $120 grand.

Craig injects, "I see Brad's assistants getting big raises while the others get small raises. Is there some significance to this?"

Kelly speaks up, "It would appear that you're right Craig, but that's not the reason for the differences. First of all, Debi and I are getting a promotion and raise while Nikki and Rick are just getting a raise. Second, some of it is due to lack of experience because none of the 'new guys on the block' have done this before. It's also due to lack of training on my part. However, it will improve with time because this will be done annually now, according to the new contract."

"Another reason is due to my experience level, or lack thereof, with the assistants as far as what has been observed in the last year, because of Danny's death. Also, I agreed with all of the reviews since I know most about their experience level. I feel the new salaries fairly and accurately reflect their current skill levels. In the future, performance and attitude will dictate raises and additional training will be involved so I predict future pay raises and performance evaluations will be very different."

"In Debi's case, I recommended a senior assistant position to Danny with a salary of $65 grand. I knew he would give it to her so I never felt the need to follow up. Debi has a self confidence problem and for whatever reason, Danny must have figured that out and taken advantage of her. He got a great employee for a real cheap price. I wish he didn't do that to her. It really makes me mad that he did. Sorry guys. I don't mean to insult you, or your father. It just made me angry is all."

"Got it. Excellent answer Kelly. Thank you," Craig says.

"Okay then, that job is done. All we need is the words for the new contract and we can send this to the next step. Craig, all current assistants will be on this open contract. New hires will be on a one year contract while their performance is evaluated. If they remain, they will change to the open contract. Also included in the contract will be annual performance reviews and salary adjustments. Salary adjustments will be based mainly on performance and attitude. The contract can be cancelled by either party at anytime with a two week written notice to the other party."

"Everyone good with that?"

Everyone nods their approval.

Craig decides to throw his two cents into the pot, saying, "I'm very impressed with the performance of the four of you. I have seen all of you interact on a personal and professional level at your best and your worst here today, and it was most impressive."

"I normally don't get to see what goes on behind the scene. The relationship you share with each other is outstanding and beyond reproach. You get along so well, even when you're seriously angry at each other. A month ago, none of you knew the other existed. Three weeks later, you act like you've know each other for years. It's indeed a privilege to work for you and the new Packard Empire. I predict this company will reach new heights in the future."

"Thank you Craig. That's appreciated. But, just so you know, you don't work for us, you work with us."

"Very true," Craig says as he nods his correction.

"What else is up?"

"Just the interview at 4, the team meeting after dinner and the meeting with your sisters at 9," Kelly says.

"Good, time to get in the pool," Brad says. "Let's do what we gotta do, then we're off duty until 4."

As they make their way to the door, Brad takes his sisters under his arms and holds them tight. They give him an unexpected hug with tears in their eyes.

"This is just one of many lessons this business will teach us. Just accept that each of us has made a mistake, that we will make more, and move on. That's what you must do. That is what I must do and don't forget, this will happen again. I say it again, it will happen again. Okay?"

"Okay, Brad, I'll do it, somehow, for you," Stacy says.

Peggy's reply is very similar.

They hug and his sisters go on their not so merry way. But, after they leave the business suite, they stop and watch Brad make up with Kelly, hopefully to make things right with her.

Brad approaches Kelly, putting his arms around her, and says, "I need a hug badly, Angel. I feel so bad right now."

They hold each other as tears come to their faces.

"God Stacy, if they can forgive each other, we should be able to do the same," Peggy says. "They're one amazing couple."

"You're right Peggy. Now it's our turn to step up," Stacy says.

Then they turn away to head to their suites.

Brad and Kelly hold each other tight and kiss multiple times. They remain in the business suite for another ten minutes after everyone else left. Brad feels real bad about what he did to her. He just holds her tight for a long time.

But, as fate would have it, it's time for some rest and relaxation so they hold hands and head to the suite. As they make their way, Kelly decides she will do something special for Brad, but keeps it to herself, for now.

* * * * *

As they reach their bed, Kelly has something lined up for him and because he has taken a hit about the perception, she wants to surprise him. She removes her clothes first, watching Brad take his clothes off. After Brad strips, Kelly immediately pushes him on the bed, jumps on top of him saying he's going to give her a quickie, like it or not. She sucks his cock until it's hard, rolls them over so he's on top and he slides down to her pussy.

She spreads her legs as far apart as she can get them as he licks her wet pussy until she's ready and moaning. He strokes it several times as he thrusts his tongue into her pussy causing her to moan.

Brad's cock is hard as steel and is ready to pleasure his girlfriend. When she's exceptionally wet, he crawls up to her as she grabs his cock and guides it to her essence. She raises her knees and keeps her legs spread. Pushing into her, she unconsciously rolls her eyes into her head and moans. His cock slides in with little resistance, sending specific pleasure signals to her brain. She's tight, but she's also dripping wet as he slowly begins working his cock in and out of her wet pussy and soon, Kelly is moaning constantly.

Then he begins to pound her pussy as her orgasm builds. Her moans become louder and so are his. After some serious pounding, and without warning, Brad releases a large load. Kelly follows suit and climaxes as he keeps pumping deep inside her.