Satisfied With Love Ch. 02

The room got so silent you could here a pin drop. He can see fear on some of the faces of his employees.

"My last day working for Packard Records is yet to be determined, however," he said with a slight grin. "Mr Weber refused to accept it saying he is here to support me, not fire me. He also made it perfectly clear he supports Packard Records. He had no plans to fire anyone when he arrived here, but things changed for him very quickly, and for me. In my professional opinion, Chuckie gave Mr Weber no choice. He had to fire him."

Several sighs of relief came from the group. Some smile at Larry's payback.

"Second, I want you to know we have a great owner in Brad," he said and shook his head. "Sorry for my disrespect everyone. He told me to call him Brad and sarcastically threatened to throw me in a pool if I didn't."

The employees laugh.

"If he has nothing else, he does have a great sense of humor, but I'm guessing you already know that...." he said as everyone agrees.

"Anyway, I have never had a strong desire to support anyone more than I want to support Mr Weber. I have more respect for him than I have for any other business professional I know. I cannot begin to explain to you how impressed I am with him as an owner, as a professional businessman, as a person and especially as a leader. Yes, he is young, but he is also wiser than the average person for his years. He has influenced me a great deal in a very short period of time today, and I'm no spring chicken. He told you there are changes coming and as soon as I find out what they are, I will share them with you."

"My gut instinct is -- they will be changes you will like. I suspect that whatever he has up his sleeve will result in full support for this company. Personally, I'm looking forward to them."

The company cheers and applauds.

"Third, I want to say that things will also be changing around here in the coming weeks for another reason, now that Little is no longer here. A few of you know me already and know I don't treat anyone as bad as Little. I will agree with Jim and describe this as a new beginning for us as a company. If any of you would like to participate in any change planning, please give Helen your name and work contact info and you will be notified shortly about our first meeting, but don't hold me to it yet. I have changes of my own I will be making in the very near future and I will coordinate the new changes from the new owners as well. Once again, this meeting may be delayed, but it will happen."

"Lastly, as the Packard team was leaving, Mr Weber asked me if I can allow time for all of you to celebrate Little's departure because he felt you can use a good celebration. I have to agree. You definitely deserve that. With that in mind, Helen is catering lunch here and on the menu is hot and cold sandwiches, salad and cold sodas. Sorry about that folks, this is a spur of the moment effort. I promise the next one we have will be different and yes, there will be more company lunches down the road."

"It takes two hours for the food to arrive and then we will break for lunch. After lunch, we will have another company meeting that will last the rest of the day so everyone needs to clear their schedules for this afternoon, no exceptions."

Getting a signal from one of the managers, Helen walks to Larry and whispers in his ear the police are ready to talk with him.

"It seems I have a date with the police now so I must go. Thank you everyone," Larry concludes.

As he leaves, the employees applaud him. Larry proceeds to the HR office and told the police what they want to know and made it clear he wants to pursue the charges. A short while later, the police escort Little to the police cruiser and took him away.

Larry and Helen went back to his office to talk about the new Packard Records. Moments later the managers join them and they talk until the food arrives. It was 1:00 when it was finally set up for everyone to eat. Most agree lunch is good, even though it was a short notice. After lunch ends, they all went back to the meeting room and Larry calls the meeting to order.

"I want to give all of you an accolade for putting up with Little for so long and not quitting. We have a special and talented group of people here and I would like all of you to know that and to encourage you to keep up the good work. That is the reason for the catered lunch. But, Mr Weber also wants a hand in the celebration. Is everyone ready to go back to work?" he asks with a smile.

The response is grim, as he expects it to be. Larry smiles at them.

"Thank you, each and every one of you, for making this a successful company, one the new owners are proud of. So, at Mr Weber's request, take the rest of the day off with pay. Go home, chill out and be here Monday morning, at your usual time, ready to go to work.... Just out of curiosity, how long has it been since the company brought lunch in for you folks?"

"Three years."

"Well, a new beginning will bring a lot more changes to this company.... I will stay a while longer if any of you want to chat about what happened today."

Cheers and applause follow. They all thank Larry, some with a hi-five, others with a handshake. Then, they return to their seats and start asking questions about what Chuck said and Mr Weber's responses.

Larry is extremely surprised they all are staying so he began to tell them about how Brad handled Chuck up to the time he fired him.

"Let me explain, without revealing too many details because of the investigation that has been initiated. Mr Weber is expecting a law suit to be filed by Chuckie so I need to be careful about that as well."

"From the time Mr Weber introduced himself this morning, Little showed no respect for him or his staff. He never even cracked a smile the whole time. I was very pissed at Little from his opening statement in the meeting and I was ready to fire him then, but Mr Weber stopped me saying he wanted to know where Little was going with the conversation. So he asked me if he could take control of the meeting. Little insulted Mr Weber on several occasions and none of them had anything to do with Packard Records. As it turned out, Little's personal mission was to replace Mr Weber."

"Little continued with more insults but Mr Weber handled him with more professionalism than I have ever seen. It took about fifteen minutes before Little told Mr Weber what he was really after. Then Mr Weber began returning some of his own insults, which were very pointed and direct, and accurate."

"I was indeed very impressed with Mr Weber's performance. Chuckie, on the other hand, got fired. I felt guilty about what he did and, as a professional, I had to offer my resignation, even though I had no desire to resign, and still don't, but I still feel guilty about what Chuck said and did."

Helen jumps in and said, "When Mr Strait offered his resignation, I burst out and yelled 'NO' without thinking. I knew I was about to get fired myself so I shut up and froze. I did not want Mr Strait to resign. Then, Mr Weber asked me to explain my outburst. I was skeptical, but Mr Weber assured me there will be no repercussions and his staff agreed, so I told him that Mr Strait is the direct opposite of Little and I wanted him to stay and continue what he has started."

Larry continues, "Mr Weber learned Ms Cole did not want me to resign and I think that may have sealed my fate, but I also think he may have already made up his mind he was not going to accept my resignation. I was relieved and grateful."

"I can't explain to you folks how much I want to work on your behalf. Mr Weber is more of a professional than I would have expected from someone so young. He represented the Packard Empire with dignity I never expected. Awesome is all I can say about it."

"Anyway, that is all I can say at this point until the investigation is complete," Larry said. "Except, Mr Weber said he is here to support us. That is why I told you I expect any future changes to be good changes, not ones you will dislike."

"All we can do for now is do what we do and wait for the changes to come down the pipeline to us. As soon as I know what they are, I will tell you what I know. This is a new beginning for Packard Records. I have never had a group of employees as determined as all of you are and that is the main reason I want to stay and work here."

Helen is sitting next to Larry, agreeing with everything he told the employees. They are okay with that information. They all stay and ask more questions and Larry answers them as much as possible.

Eventually, they all thought about an early out with an education and Larry has earned a lot of brownie points.

Just as they are getting up to leave, Larry said, "I can't tell you folks how much this day has impacted me both personally and professionally, but with your help, I will survive it. Thank you all for your support."

"Since you all stayed for the entertainment, I will declare Monday a paid holiday and give you a three day weekend. All of you need to clear your schedules for that day and enjoy the long weekend. Yes, things will be changing. Have a great weekend everyone," Larry said as they all begin to file out.

The employees are definitely happy when they left for home that day, but Larry is concerned about any damage this VP incident has done to his career. Because he does not know Brad personally, he is concerned that this may pop up down the road and surprise him again.

Larry has no control over that so he and Helen went back to his office and start a conversation about what Team Brad told them about relationships. Larry is very interested with what Helen is thinking. She even told Larry that she learned Brad is a man of his word and that she is very impressed with him too.

********

After the Packard team climbs into the SUV, they depart for their next adventure, which is lunch. Brad is sitting between Kristi and Jeni in the middle seat of the SUV. He felt good about the meeting with Larry, despite what Chuck did.

After the SUV pulls away from Packard Records, Kristi unbuckles her seatbelt, reaches for Brad and gives him a passionate kiss and a very tight hug. Jeni leans her head on his shoulder and smiles.

"What's that for?" Brad asks.

"I'm just a happy girl Brad. We are both happy girls, primarily because you revealed some of your inner thoughts about us that we did not know," Kristi said.

Brad broke the hug with Kristi, reaches for Jeni and gave her a hug as well.

"What was that for Brad?" Jeni asks.

"Because you two told me you have no desire to leave your job. That is something I have not heard before. That news made me very happy," Brad said.

Kristi and Jeni smile at Brad.

Kristi said, "Neither of us will leave you Brad. You're stuck with us, like it or not. We are so happy you're the owner of this company, and we mean it."

"You already know everything I said to Larry, you too Jeni, and don't waste your time denying it. I just never told you directly before and I should have. We should have had a conversation about this before we left on this trip. Ain't hindsight great?" Brad asks.

"Yeah, it is. And like you said, you should have. But still, we should have told you we are happy not just because of what you did for us, but also for what you are as a friend and a leader. However, it does not change the fact that we are happy girls because of you...."

Kristi continues, "On another note, that VP scared the shit out of me. But, overall, it was the best business meeting I have ever attended, in spite of what happened. Personally, I'm glad you fired Chuckie. He has been a prick in this company since I have worked for your Father, so its been a while.... You did the right thing with the VP you know. He never would have given you the benefit of doubt on any matter before the company."

"You're right Kristi. Nor would he represent me or my sisters to company employees with any respect whatsoever," Brad said. "It was my only choice and a tough one for the first visit.... How long do you think it will take for word to spread to the other companies, specifically, the next company we visit?"

"It already has, Brad. Word travels fast in this neck of the woods," Kristi said.

"Guess we are not likely to have anymore problems like that then."

"Brad, you represented the Packard Empire impressively and you handled that VP with more professionalism and self control than I have ever witnessed," Kristi said as she gave him a kiss, then rests her head on his shoulder. "I'm so very proud of you. You remind me so much of your father," she said, her eyes becoming wet.

She laces her fingers in his and held him tight. She is very proud of her boss.

"I'm genuinely touched that you would say that Kristi. Thank you."

"I agree with Kristi. He also scared me and you did do a fantastic job with that VP. I'm very proud of you too," Jeni said, then gave him a kiss on his other cheek, and a hug, and held his other hand.

Jeni also has a little wetness in her eyes. She rests her head on his other shoulder as Brad took a second to think before responding.

"Thank you Jeni. A hug from both directions. I like that. I can get use to that from my team.... Wait, can I hug myself too?"

His team laughs again.

Kristi said, "That's too corny Brad."

They laugh some more and gave him another hug.

"I'll take that back. My team gives me all I need in that department. Thanks for the compliments, both of you. I appreciate them more than you know.... Regarding the VP though, it's comforting to know you feel better now, considering I was shaking in my shoes throughout the exchange," Brad reveals.

They squeezed his hands, questioning if he really was.

"You sure didn't show it," Jeni said.

"That's the good news."

They had another laugh at that response.

"Brad, thank you for defending Jeni and I. We really appreciate it, even though he didn't mean a word of his apology," Kristi said in a low voice as her eyes are getting wetter. "You put us before yourself, Brad. I can't begin to explain how that makes us feel."

She hugs him again and holds onto him for a while as they continue talking.

"Once again, I agree with Kristi. Thank you so much for defending us. You always go out of your way to make us feel good. I also want to thank you for being abnormally correct. It also makes me feel so good to be able to give you respect. And, thank you for the compliment you gave us as a team. It means a lot to me to know how you feel about your team members and that you share that with others," Jeni said, hugging him again.

Brad put his arms around both of them and drew them close. They are extremely proud of their boss. Brad is extremely proud of his team and their performance. And.... he is proud of his own performance.

"My pleasure to both of you. Understand, that is part of my job. You guys did an outstanding job when we talked with Larry and Helen. You did everything right and I am so proud of you."

Brad continues, "Chuck's first statement told me this was not going to be a good meeting. I was not pleased with him at all. That is why I talked to his secretary. I knew instantly I was going to end up firing him. His attitude really sucked."

"I guess my decision not to bring the body guards inside the building was not all that smart. Do you think we should start doing that?"

"I don't think that will be necessary now that the word is out. Jeni?" Kristi replies.

"I think we will be okay from here on also."

Then Brad asks, "After the assault in Larry's office, both of you were scared and I came over to hug you. Did you want to hug me?"

Both of them lowers their head and admit they would have felt better if they did.

"Chin up ladies. I'm proud of you for doing what you did. But, from now on, if you want to hug me, you may do so in certain circumstances where we are not in public. We must keep it controlled in business situations but in places like Larry's office or inside a Packard Empire owned company, it's fine with me. If we have to explain our behavior, so be it. I think we, as a team, are strong enough to do that now."

"Yaayy! Thank you so much Brad. I will speak for both of us by saying we agree. It makes us a happy team," Jeni said as she hugs Brad.

Kristi agrees and hugs Brad as well, then breaks away and puts her seatbelt back on.

"Brad, I made a voice recording and I got every word of that VP meeting for your listening enjoyment, and the employee meeting as well," Kristi said. "And I would like you to hear the part you missed."

She played the short clip during the time he was talking to Helen. Brad is not aware the VP did that and it surprises him. Lucky for him, Larry spoke up and cut him off.

"Interesting. If I were aware he did that, I would have fired him then.... We may use the recording for training purposes, so keep it under wraps for now, please."

"Done, Brad."

"FYI, I made the recording to point out areas in your presentation that you can improve on. But, your performance was just fine. I don't see any need for improvement at this time," Kristi said.

Brad thanks her and said, "Jeni, can you verify for me that there are two warnings in Chuck's personnel file about his interactions with company employees please and also, that he has been there for 5 years."

"I will do it Brad."

Jeni got on her laptop and began typing away.

"Thank you Jeni. Kristi, how many CEO's work for us now?"

"30, almost 31, but the last business did not pan out."

"Do we have accommodations for all of them on the Island, including any support staff and spouses?"

"I will say no to that Brad."

"When we return to the Island, would you remind me to talk with you about this please?"

"Done, Brad.... I also wish you would stop making me cry," Kristi said as she began to fix her makeup.

Brad looked at her with a smile and said, "You'll get over it."

In the first two weeks, Kristi has told Brad that same phrase several times.

"Funny.... Good answer," Kristi said, grinning and leaning on him.

"Also, would you remind me to talk about self defense classes when we return to the Island. And, just to be on the safe side, we should put a take-down surveillance team on Chuckie for a month to make sure he doesn't do anything he shouldn't. Also, see if they can find out who Chuck's accomplices are," Brad said. "Chuck seemed awfully pissed about his demise so it is best to protect the company, especially Larry."

"I'm on it Brad."

"Yes Brad, Chuckie has two warnings by Larry in his personnel file for interactions with company employees and he has been there for 5 years," Jeni said. "Brad, he also has hundreds of complaints from employees about harsh treatment going back for several years. No wonder the employees were so happy to see him go."

"Thanks, Jeni. I kind of figured that based on what Helen told me. Can you tell me about the next company we are to visit.... And also hand me a bottle of water pleeease."

"Certainly, as soon as it comes up," she said as she hands him the water, then fixed her makeup.

Just then, Kristi's phone buzzed with a message from Helen.

I just thought you might want to hear what Larry said at the company meeting after you left. Classified. Mr Weber made a big impression on Larry. The employees got one on Larry also. On his way out escorting you to your SUV, he told the employees to wait here until he returns. When he returned, the employees got up to leave. Larry was confused for a second, then laughed his ass off along with everyone else when he caught on. Larry laughed so hard he had to sit down before he fell down. It was really funny.

Kristi played the audio file and they listen.

Brad is stunned by what Larry told his employees. Kristi and Jeni also are equally as surprised at his choice of words.