Satisfied With Love Ch. 16

Ted opens the door to the meeting room and allows them to enter. Kevin and Ted remains nearby just in case they are needed, but that is not likely to be necessary. Brad's security detail relaxes for the time they are in the meeting.

Larry is talking when they enter, Brad first. Sandi jumps up and gives each of them a hug as Larry holds everyone else in their seats. Helen sees them enter the meeting room from her office and she jumps up in total excitement. She runs over to Angie, grabs her hand and pulls her into the meeting room. Then, Larry asks Sandi and the two secretaries to be seated so he can introduce the Packard Records team to the Packard Empire team.

Larry said, "Team, standing before you are the new owners of the Packard Empire and their staff. It seems I forgot to tell you they would be here today."

"Allow me introduce each one. First is one you all know, Mr Bradley Weber, one of three co-owners and yes, he got a haircut and a shave, looking a little more human..." he said and they laugh, "and he is now engaged to Ms Kristi Miner, his senior most executive staff assistant," he said.

"Next, we have Mr Weber's sisters and co-owners, Ms Stacy Capone and Ms Peggy Gray, both of whom are single. Next, is Ms Jeni Gilbert, senior assistant to Mr Weber and she is also single. Then we have Mr Rick Akins, Peggy's assistant and Ms Anita Martinez, Stacy's assistant. Rick and Anita are in a relationship as well. So, you guys, Kristi and Anita are spoken for. You ladies, Mr Weber and Mr Akins are spoken for."

The room broke out in applause and hugs are given freely. The Packard team is impressed at the amount of hugs they are getting. They all settled into the seats and talk as a group for about two hours, exchanging ideas with exhilaration in the forefront.

"Larry, did you loose any employees since Little was fired?"

"Not a single one Brad."

"Wow! That is great news!"

"Does your staff know about your island visit?"

"They do, but just the management staff. The supervisors and employees do not know - I don't think."

Larry asks one of the managers to get the employees into the meeting room for the expected meeting. Also to let him know when they are all there, advising him not to spoil the surprise and he departs to do so.

Larry said, "So, here is the big picture. You will meet with the employees, talk for a while, then we will have a catered meal, then, spend the rest of the day with the employees, as long as they want, before their normal quitting time. They have been waiting for your team to visit with them for about a month now and they will be extremely happy to see you here."

When the manager returns and said they are ready, Larry escorts Brad and his team to the elevator, down to the second floor, through the hallways and stops them behind the meeting room. He explains the sequence of events he planned, giving them additional information.

Then, Larry enters the meeting room with Sandi and Angie with a round of applause. They sit down in the front row as Larry takes his normal spot behind the podium and makes some announcements, the last of which is the company picnic tomorrow. Larry's managers are standing in the back of the room with smiles on their faces. Helen stays in the hall with the rest of the team, out of sight.

Then he said, "Lastly, I have a surprise for you. Something you have been waiting nearly a month for."

Screams, cheers and applause broke out as Team Brad enters the room. Smiles appears on Team Brad's faces. Then, a standing ovation. Everybody is on their feet.

Brad shakes Larry's hand, gives him a hi-five and steps to the podium, flanked by Kristi and Jeni, who gave Larry a hug and a hi-five. Cheers and applause are lasting long enough so he motions for them to tone it down so he can speak. Larry sits down next to Sandi in the front row.

"Hello Packard Records! How are you all doing?"

More cheers and applause break out.

"I forgot to bring my ear plugs, but my first observation is that all of you look different than the last time I saw you! Even I look a little different!"

Again, more cheers and applause break out.

"That answers that. Thank you and hello again..." he said and waits for the noise level to drop. "Last I was here, I did introduce my staff. I don't want them to feel left out today, so I will do so again," he said, smiling as he took a shot in the ribs by both his staffers. "The HOTTIE to my left is my senior staff assistant Ms Jeni Gilbert, the one who's face is currently blushing."

More applause breaks out.

"The HOTTIE on my right is my senior executive staff assistant, Ms Kristi Miner, who's face is also blushing."

More applause rings out.

"The other two HOTTIES you already know."

They laugh at the obvious reference to Larry and Helen.

"One of you asked, last we were here, if I was single and I said yes, I was, and I am, but I was also in a relationship. Believe it or not, that relationship has blossomed and I would like to introduce you to her. Would you like to meet her?"

Applause again.

Brad said, teasing them, "I don't have to do this if you don't want. I just thought..."

"Stop teasing please. Introduce her!" the crowd yells.

Brad smiles, turns and looks at the back door to the meeting room as if he is waiting for her to show herself and everyone does the same. At the same time, he picks up Kristi's hand so everyone can see her engagement ring. Cheers rang out as he hugs her, gives her a quick peck and put his arm on her shoulders as they face the crowd.

"We met in a very unprecedented way. I discovered that I don't control who I fall in love with. The fact that she is an employee did not make it easy for either of us, but it did not stop our love from growing, so, eventually, we had to succumb to the inevitable. I am as proud of my choice as I am with our relationship... Ms Gilbert, however, is single and is rising through the ranks really fast. I may have to chain her to an anchor to slow her down so I can catch up to her," he said as he put his other arm on her shoulders.

Both girls are all smiles, but Jeni turns red as a beet as they laugh.

"Ms Gilbert doesn't turn beet red very often so this is a good sign I embarrassed her," he said as they smile.

Brad removes his arms from their shoulders and gives Jeni a hug. Then returns his attention to the group.

"Again, we appreciate the warm welcome you have given us... I made a promise to you as we departed the last time, that I would bring my sisters with me the next time we visited and I'm sorry to say, I didn't do that," he said as they enter the room, smiling and shaking their heads. "I guess I did do that," he said as a smile forms on his face.

They laugh and cheer again as Kristi moves to the other side of Brad and Jeni moves over. Laughter turns into applause with cheers and whistles as Stacy and Peggy approach Brad, followed by Anita and Rick, and stand in a line beside Brad. He moves to stand between his sisters, putting his arms on their shoulders and hugs them. Helen also comes in and stands near the door after she closes it.

"I tried to talk them out of coming with me but they insisted... By the way, you gave my sisters a warmer welcome than you gave me! I am seriously disappointed... and jealous... but they are beautiful, aren't they?" he said, smirking.

The crowd applauds and the Packard team follows suit.

"They look just like me, don't ya think," he said as he shuffles his suit and straightens his tie.

The crowd looks at him funny with no response.

"You're fired," he told them.

They laugh and applaud.

Brad's team starts laughing hysterically. Brad lost control of his laughter as he is surprised at the quick reaction. It is a real response to a real question and he did not anticipate such a response.

"Okay, you're hired," he said as he laughs his ass off. "That was funny. If I was running this company, I'd want you guys to work for me in a heart beat... That was sooo funny! It's good to know where your heads are at," he said and continues to laugh.

They all laugh, including Larry, Sandi, Helen and Angie.

"Just to set the record straight, you guys are not fired... On my left is Ms Stacy Capone and on my right is Ms Peggy Gray. You may not understand why three siblings all have different last names so I will explain, because sometimes, I am good at it. Then again, there are other times... In reality though, I'm just wasting time so I can hold my sisters a while longer."

Peggy and Stacy smile and blush as they gave him a little nudge in his ribs, then put an arm around Brad as they all laugh.

"Our Mother and Father were seriously in love and, surprisingly enough, they got married. Danny and Donna Packard were living with the love of their lives for three years when they discovered they were pregnant. Starting twenty-three years ago, three children were born, but with the birth their last child, our Mother passed away from complications of child birth."

The room gets silent as the sadness of the death strikes their emotions.

"Our Father was devastated. He lost the love of his life, and now he has three children to raise, without their Mother. Two days after birth, our Father gave the three of us to adoption. Each of us was adopted by a different family and that is how we have different last names. We grew up not knowing we had each other as a family. We've only known each other for about three months. We're part of each other now and won't give that up for the world. We're also a family and wish we always were, but life has its trials, tribulations and rewards and here we are, united after 23 years..."

Stacy and Peggy gives Brad a tight hug. A weak applause breaks out as the sadness of the moment begins to disappear.

"Let me change the subject for a second. We are all family here aren't we?"

Everyone nods.

"Would anyone object if we convert to a first name basis?" Brad asks.

Everybody agrees.

"Great. Thanks everyone. I like to be personable when talking with you and a first name basis is part of that for me."

"Okay, Peggy was a successful writer but gave it up when she accepted this job. It seems she likes being a billionaire more than a writer. One of these days, I will figure out why," he said, rolling his eyes as the group laughs and Peggy smiles.

"Stacy is a successful photographer and you can see some of her work online. Stacy, on the other hand, likes both jobs... but, she does have a great camera."

Stacy bursts out laughing.

"I have to explain Stacy's outburst," he said. "She took photographs of most all of the guests at our Father's funeral. When she showed them to me the next morning, they were absolutely awesome. I made the intelligent comment that she must have a great camera. She told me that complimenting a professional photographer on their camera is like complimenting a highly professional chef on his pots and pans."

The crowd laughs again as Brad kisses his sisters on the cheek, then moves to stand between their assistants. They give him room as Brad puts his arms on their shoulders.

"Mr Rick Akins is Peggy's assistant and Ms Anita Martinez is Stacy's assistant, but these assignments will be changing very soon. They are also in a relationship as well. Rick and Anita top off our compliment of assistants and, as a team, we owners are very proud of them. We may even keep them employed for a few more days... Oh, I forgot. Both of my sisters are single."

Brad moves back to the podium.

"Do you know why Larry, Sandi and Helen came to visit us about two months ago?"

The crowd shook their heads.

"If you remember our last visit, I told you things were going to change. Have they?" Brad asks.

They cheer and applaud.

"It is official and you can blame it all on Larry. He was expecting changes and began quizzing me on what they were last we were here. One thing led to another and we ended up inviting Larry, Sandi and Helen to the Island for more discussions. I really had to twist Larry's arm to get him to come, but it finally hurt him enough to take the trip," he said, getting laughs from the group.

"However, I did not expect any changes to happen this fast, but I'm glad it happened for you folks. What you are feeling about this company, about yourself, and about your leadership, is the result of that meeting. Based on questions he asked the Packard team, it struck a chord and he wanted to pursue it. We had some serious discussions about how to treat employees and it worked out very well."

"To make a short story longer... Wait, I screwed that up."

They laugh.

"To make a long story shorter, we sat down and worked out how to make Packard Records a happier place to work at."

Brad raises his left hand.

"By a show of hands, how many of you would rather quit working here and go work for another company?"

Nobody raises their hand and just sit there shaking their heads.

Brad asks, "Is there something wrong with your heads? I asked for hands, but all I see is bobble heads."

A few laughs broke the atmosphere.

Kristi scanned the group and did not see a single hand, but notice Brad's hand still in the air. She whispered in his ear that his arm in still raised. Brad dropped it and knocked her on the head.

He looks at her and said, "I'm sorry Kristi."

He smiles and gave her a hug as she rubs her head. Brad gives her head a kiss, then looks on the top of her head.

"I can't see where it knocked any sense into you so I guess you are okay."

The room fills with laughter as he gives her a hi-five. Then they return to the current topic.

"What does that tell you Brad?" a voice from the back asks.

"Aahaa! There is more than one smart ass in the room. Welcome aboard!" he said as the room laughs again.

"Just joking guys. Is Helen here?"

She spoke up, "Behind you Brad."

He turns around, found her and turns back to the group.

"An interesting place to be. You like my butt that much?"

The crowd laughs hysterically. Larry, Sandi and Angie is also laughing with the crowd. Brad bows his head while shaking it with a smile, then covers his face with his hands, not believing he just said that. As he took his hands away, a smile appears on his beet red face.

Kristi and the rest of the Packard team open their mouths and cover it with their hand in total shock, then laughs.

"I can't believe I just said that," Brad admits as his sisters said the same thing at the same time.

Brad walks to Helen, gives her a hug and apologizes while everyone continues laughing. She gives him a hug in return and tells him no apology necessary. It was funny. He takes her hand and leads her to the podium.

Returning amid the laughter, Brad said, "I'm sorry folks, I obviously could not pass on that impulse and I probably should have. Remember though, I'm just a 23 year old kid. I just apologized to Helen and I also apologize to all of you for my inappropriate remark."

"To answer your question, Brad, I don't know the answer because your suit pretty much hides everything from the back," Helen said.

"OMG, I've created a monster!" Brad said with a shocked facial expression.

They laugh again as Brad begins to take off his suit coat, but Kristi stops him as everyone continues laughing.

"Oh no you don't, Mr Bradley Weber. That is a private butt," Kristi said.

He turns to her, hugs her, gives her a peck on her forehead and whispers into her ear, "I love you."

He squeezes her again, then turns back to Helen as the laughter begins to die down.

"Helen, would you mind if I put you on the spot?"

"You already did, Brad, so another can't be any worse, I hope."

More laughter erupts.

"Good one," he said as he gives her a hi-five.

"While you were visiting us, one of the team asked you how you felt about being a Packard Records employee. Would you tell everyone what you told us please."

"Do I have to?" she asks smiling.

Brad put his hands together, as in a prayer, and nods.

"Okay... I told them I was not feeling all that great about Packard Records because Chuckie was ruining the company, as far as I was concerned. When he was fired, things changed dramatically and immediately, but still, I did not have a good attitude about Packard Records at that time. I will admit, I was very happy Chuckie got himself fired though."

"Do you still feel that way?"

"No way. Since the visit to your Island, I have done a complete turn around. Things have changed so much, and now, I love working here. And, if you ask any person in this room, they will tell you the same thing."

"You think so?"

"No, I know so."

He looks back to the employees and said, "Okay, let's find out. Raise your hand if you don't agree with Helen?" he asks.

Everybody jumps the gun and raises their hands before Brad finishes his question.

Then, in less than heartbeat, they retract their hands. The Packard team bends over laughing as Brad tricks them. They laugh at themselves for falling into his trap.

"Gottcha!" Brad said, laughing with all of them.

"Okay, raise your hand if you agree with Helen."

Everybody's hand shoots up again and Brad looks surprised.

"Wow. Okay then, everyone put your hands down please and raise your hand if you disagree with what Helen said."

Nobody raises their hand.

"Aahah. That's easier to count," he said as they laugh.

"So, nobody disagrees."

He looks at Larry saying, "Come on Larry, you could have pissed off at least one of them, couldn't you?" he said, then changed his focus back to the group. "He is so disappointing sometimes, isn't he?" he said jokingly.

Laughter breaks out hysterically again, as did Brad. He thanks Helen before she sits beside Larry as the applause begins to wane.

"Well, we are impressed with the employees of Packard Records. You stuck it out hoping something good was going to happen and Larry, with his team, answered your prayers, and ours. On our last visit here, I could tell you were disappointed. Thanks to Larry, Sandi and Helen and the rest of the team, there has been significant improvements."

"Larry and Sandi tell us you are major assets to this company and have become an incredible team. That is very evident to us. You make us proud to call Packard Records part of the Packard Empire. Thanks to all of you for doing extraordinary work. We feel at home here with you. You should be very proud of your accomplishments," Brad said.

Looking at Larry, Brad said, "Larry, you and yours have a truly great team here. Thank you for making it happen for them."

More cheers break out as Brad starts the applause. The Packard Team applauds as well.

Brad looks down the row and said, "You guys can sit down you know."

As they assume a seat in the front row, Brad said, "Not you, you're stuck with me," he tells Kristi and holds her hand. "I want to keep at least one HOTTIE with me and I just volunteered you."

Brad puts his arm around her and holds her close. She pinches his butt and Brad reacts getting everyone to laugh.

"I guess she likes my butt too," he said as they laugh again.

Kristi looses control and goes hysterical.

"Okay, enough about my butt. You may sit down too Kristi. I was only joking with you."

She did, laughing.

"Okay everyone, I didn't think, when I came here today, that my butt would get so much attention."

They laugh.

"Anyway, I've got to tell you this story. On our way here, we took a little detour to Aspen where my father bought a residence some time ago. It was our first visit there, but won't be our last. It is a huge place with about thirty rooms. After we moved Peggy and Stacy's stuff in, there was only five rooms left."

Everybody looks shocked at what he said. Immediately, Brad turns to run out the back door. When he reached the door, he fumbles with the door latch in his haste to get through, but in the meantime, Stacy and Peggy caught up to and crashed into him before he can get the door opened. Brad turns to them and is laughing as he hugs them both tight and gives each a kiss as they laugh with him. Brad puts his arms on their shoulders and heads back to the podium. They are laughing pretty good and his sisters return to their seats, Brad to the podium as the group applauds.