The Weekend Getaway Ch. 07

"Good morning sleepy head," Brianna purred into Ken's ear as she softly rubbed her hand on the sides of his face. "It's time to get up and get moving."

"What time is it?" Ken asked?

"It's almost seven o'clock. I let you sleep as late as I could. The coffee is made and I'm finishing up breakfast right now." Brianna got up from where she had bent over the bed and went back into the kitchen.

Ken sat up on the side of the bed, and rubbed his face and hair, trying to get the blood flowing to his head again so that he could think properly. He needed to figure out what he was going to wear to the interview. He had not brought any nice suits, as he had not planned on needing anything like that for the weekend. He did have a brown striped polo that he could wear with some khaki's and his black leather shoes. That would have to do. He got up from the bed and made his way to the kitchen where the smell of coffee mixed with bacon was making his stomach turn flips from the anticipation of eating.

"Hey there. Just have a seat and I will have your meal before you in no time," Brianna said as Ken came through the kitchen door.

"It all smells wonderful honey. I can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me this weekend."

"That's okay," Brianna replied. "Go ahead and eat your breakfast so that you can get a shower and we can start for my workplace. Craig is going to expect you when the doors open at nine o'clock this morning."

They both ate the meal rather quickly, and as Brianna was getting the dishes cleaned up, Ken got his bath and got dressed. Brianna was sitting on the sofa when Ken came into the living room.

"Does this look alright for the interview? I didn't bring a suit this weekend because I didn't think we would go any place that would require one."

"Yes dear, you look great. Craig will understand the clothing situation. I think he just wants to get someone who is qualified in the shop and running things so that his time can be freed back up to run the company."

Ken crossed the room and gave her a quick kiss and then they both headed out the door to get into Brianna's car. Brianna gave Ken the keys as he held the passenger side door open for her, and then Ken got into the drivers side and started the car. It was a straight drive, and he had not driven one in a long time. It took him a few moments as he pulled out into the road to get the hang of shifting again, but it wasn't long before they were going down the street fairly smoothly. Brianna told Ken where to turn and soon they pulled up in front of the factory. It was a long cement block building that had been painted an eggshell white color. There was a door at the far end that was surrounded by 2 large windows on either side of it, and Brianna told Ken to park by the window at the end of the building. Her desk looked out onto the parking lot at that window, and she could keep an eye on the vehicle at all times. They went in to the building and a young lady greeted them at the front desk that was situated to the right of the front door.

"Good morning Cheryl. This is my boyfriend Ken," Brianna said as they walked into the lobby.

"Good morning to you both. The boss is already in his office, and he had told me to expect a visitor today. You'll need to wear this pass at all times so that you can have access to the plant."

Cheryl handed Ken a tag with a metal clip at the top and Ken hung it from the front left side of the fabric that opened up at the front of the neckline. Then Brianna and Ken went through the door that was directly behind Cheryl's desk and came into another office area. There was an L-shaped desk with a bunch of papers spread across it in stacks, and a monitor sitting on the far end of the desk.

"This is my office. It isn't much, but I don't need a lot of things to work with. The file cabinets and the computer are probably the most important things that I use on a day to day basis."

Just then Craig appeared at his door way. "Ken, welcome, come into my office please. Brianna, I need the logs from the weekend. Would you please step out to the plant and get them for me?"

"I would be glad to," Brianna replied. Then she headed towards the front office.

Ken followed Craig into the room behind Brianna's. It was a very spacious office. There were pictures on the walls of the plant in various stages of growth through the years. There were some other pictures on the desk that Ken guessed were family. He recognized Wendy in her teen years in one of the pictures. The desk was a solid oak desk, massive in size, but with an elegance in the carving and style that did not make it seem out of place. There were two chairs in front of the desk, and Craig motioned for Ken to be seated.

"Well, I will just get down to business, Ken. I need someone to run the shop that is comfortable dealing with employees and dealing with the public. The shop is basically an outlet that sells the parts that we make here at the plant wholesale to local companies in the area, as well as on the internet to other firms scattered throughout the country. You will have a secretary to help you keep up with the paperwork, and to keep the menial tasks off of you. Her name is Sarah, and she has worked for me for six years now. She knows her job well, and without her during this transition time, I would have been in desperate trouble. She will be glad to help you get settled in, and I've instructed her to be available to you at anytime and to help you with anything until you get the hang of the business. So tell me, how long have you been a supervisor where you're working now?"

"I have been a supervisor for a little over ten years now. I started with the company as a production line worker, and as the opportunities for advancement came along, I jumped right on them. I've been with the company for a total of seventeen years," Ken answered.

"Do you have to deal with the public on your job?" Craig asked.

"No sir, but I have no problems working with anyone, and I think that you will find my "people skills" are top notch and professional."

"Great. I do need to ask you one thing though. This concerns me a little bit. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, and I certainly can't make you. But it would ease my mind to know the answer. What happens if you should break up with Brianna? Would you be moving back to Florida? And if you stayed with my company after the breakup, could you work with her, as you'll be dealing with her when you call into the office with any reports or questions?"

"I don't mind answering that at all. For starters, I don't ever see myself even thinking about breaking up with her. I love that woman very much, and I look forward to hopefully spending the rest of my life with her. But no matter what, when it comes to business, I'm all business. My professional life will never be affected by my personal life, no matter what. Let me assure you that I am willing and capable of handling any situation that arises, either with Brianna or the public."

"That is what I wanted to hear. Brianna talks about you a lot, and I feel like I already know quite a bit about you. It's all good; you don't have to worry about that. When could you start to work here? I understand you will need some time to get your things in order back in Florida. And I expect you to give your notice at the place you are working now. It is only fair to them."

"Well, I can start here within the month. I will give them a two week notice, but I will tell them that I will be willing to stay as long as a month to give them time to find my replacement. The company has been really good to me, and I do not want to leave them in a bind," Ken replied.

"Okay, that sounds great to me." Craig pushed a button on the desk and Cheryl's voice came over the intercom. "Cheryl, I need you to bring me a new employee packet, with a manager's addendum attached."

"Yes sir, right away," Cheryl replied. In just a moment she came through the door, followed by Brianna close behind.

Craig handed the papers to Ken. "Take these papers home with you and fill them out as soon as you can. Then just mail them back to me and we will have everything ready when you arrive for your first day."

"So this means you've got the job?" Brianna asked Ken as Cheryl handed him the papers.

"Yes, I guess it does," Ken replied.

"Oh Craig, thank you so much. I knew you would like him." Brianna was almost jumping for joy as she stood in the doorway.

"Well, from all that you have told me over the past several months, I knew that he was qualified. And after talking to him, I am definitely sure that he is the right person for this position. Okay girls, thank you, now leave us to ourselves for a moment. We need to talk about the money and other things in private."

Cheryl and Brianna went back to their respective desks and continued their work. Craig and Ken discussed salary and benefits and then they shook hands on the deal. As Craig arose from his chair, Ken did likewise and they walked back into Brianna's office.

"Brianna, take Ken down to the store and show him around. Make sure you tell Sarah to get a set of keys made for Ken so that he will have them when he arrives to begin his new job."

"Yes sir I will," Brianna replied. She and Ken went back outside and got into the car and Brianna gave Ken the directions to get to the store. It was a decent size brick building with a large sign over the front door that bore the company logo.

"Here we are at your new place of employment. I am so glad that he hired you. I knew he would. You are so personable and likeable, that I couldn't see him not wanting to have you run this place," Brianna piped up as they pulled up to the entrance.

"I really like him. He is a little bit bold in his way of dealing with people, but that is what I am used to at my old job, so it will not be a problem."

"Okay, let's go in and I'll introduce you to everyone," Brianna said to Ken as he opened his door to exit the car.

Ken came around the back of the car and opened Brianna's door. Sarah was watching from her window near the front entrance, and she got up immediately and went to the front door and held it open for the two of them.

"You must be Sarah," Ken said as they approached the door.

"Yes I am. And you must be my new boss," Sarah replied as they both entered into the front office area.

"Yes, just call me Ken though. I don't need any formalities. If we're going to work together, we need to work together as a team. And for me that means working on a first name basis."

"Alright Ken, let me show you around then," Sarah replied as she took the lead and started across the office. There was a counter that was directly facing the door, with chairs and end tables scattered around the walls of the room. Some trade journals and magazines lined the tables, with a couple of national newspapers lying around also. They walked behind the counter and through the door immediately behind it into a warehouse area that was lined with shelving units. Cardboard boxes filled most of the shelves, with what appeared to be parts numbers written in a bold marker on the sides of each one. To the left of the entrance was an office, and Sarah led them into it.

"This will be your office. I have almost everything cleared out that belonged to your predecessor. I promise to have it ready for you to move in on your next visit here."

"Thank you so much Sarah. I look forward to working with you."

Ken took a moment and studied Sarah. She was about five foot eight, probably about one hundred and forty pounds. She had a little meat on her bones, but she wasn't obese, just big boned. Her hair was auburn colored, and her fair complexion set off her face. She had cute dimples on both cheeks, and a very pleasant smile that seemed to come natural to her. Sarah took Ken around the warehouse and introduced him to each of the employees. There were several that were running back and forth to the front office where the orders were taken in person. There was another desk in the back right corner that held a computer. Sarah saw Ken looking at the desk.

"That is where we check the online orders that we receive. There are several people that are trained to take care of that, and whoever isn't busy at the moment is the one who processes the orders when they come in."

Just then there was a loud beep that sounded twice from the speakers hooked up to the computer.

"That lets us know that there is an order waiting," Sarah responded when Ken turned his head toward the sound.

A young gentleman came over to the desk and began typing on the keyboard, then disappeared among the shelves.

"We'll leave them to their jobs for now. When you start your first day here as my manager, I'll go into a lot more detail with you about how each process is handled."

"That will be great, Sarah. I look forward to working with you and the entire crew here. We must really be going though as I need to get back home and take care of some things."

"I look forward to working with you too. I will have your office set up and everything will be ready for you when you begin your first day."

"Sarah," Brianna chimed in, "Craig wants you to make sure that Ken has copies of all of the keys to the facility by his start date."

"I will be glad to do that. I will send Billy over to the hardware store this week and get them made. Some of the keys that are on the old set are worn, so I will see that they are replaced."

Sarah led Brianna and Ken back out into the front area. Brianna and Ken then went out to the car.

"I really need to get back home now and get this car business settled and start the process of selling the house. There is going to be a lot to get done over the next few weeks so that I will be ready to leave on time to move up here," Ken said as he pulled the car back out onto the road towards the direction of the plant.

They arrived back at the plant office and Craig let Brianna have the rest of the day off. He assured her that if he needed anything, Cheryl could play double duty and take care of it. Brianna and Ken then headed home and quickly loaded the car and started towards Florida. The drive took several hours, and when they arrived at Ken's house, they were both starving. There was a restaurant down the street from his house that had a buffet lunch, so they decided to eat there so that they wouldn't have to wait for their food to be prepared.

As they were seated at the table and eating their food, Ken saw a familiar face walk toward the table.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Kathy said as she approached where they were sitting.

"Hey there, Kathy this is Brianna. Brianna, Kathy my ex-wife," Ken replied.

Kathy smiled at Brianna and turned back towards Ken. "How are things at the job going these days?"

"Pretty good I suppose. I am about to move to Georgia to take a new job, and be closer to Brianna," Ken said as he continued to eat his meal.

"Oh, so you're the new girlfriend in his life," Kathy said as she turned toward where Brianna was seated. "I wondered when he would ever start dating again. I figured he would be banging someone soon. Most men are not going to do without for too long."

Ken's face turned red with anger and Kathy spun around on her heels and was moving back across the room toward her table before he could get a word out of his mouth.

"Honey, I'm sorry about that. She can be such a bitch at times. As a matter of a fact, it is times like these that make me wonder why I ever married her," Ken spoke apologetically.

"Don't worry about a thing. Let her say what she wants. I know the real Ken, whether she ever did or not. Maybe she is just jealous because she realizes she lost a good thing."

"I don't know if she does or not, I just know that I am not concerned about her right now. I love you, and only you. I love you for who you are. Yes, the sex is great, and I enjoy it very much. But you're not just someone for me to "bang" when I want."

"Oh Ken, that is so sweet and wonderful to hear. I love you too and that is what matters the most."

They both went back to eating their meal and when they were finished, Ken paid the bill and they went outside to the car and returned to his home. Brianna helped Ken carry in his belongings. Ken's house was a wooden frame house that had been covered on the outside with vinyl siding. The windows were fairly new, and there was a new storm door in place at the front of the house. As she entered the house, the smell of fresh paint hit her nostrils.

Ken noticed her sniffing the air. "I had the house repainted after I got home from our weekend in Savannah. The place had become rather dreary and I knew it needed a refreshing so that it would be more cheery. When Kathy left, I had let the place become stale and stagnant and I didn't want to come home to that anymore."

"Well, it certainly does help the place. And now that you will be putting it on the market, it will help to sell the house a lot quicker," Brianna answered.

"Yep, I guess everything happens for a reason after all," Ken replied.

"That it does. I hate to be a party pooper, but I really need to get back home. I want to run by the office and make sure everything is ok so that I will know what has to be done tomorrow when I return to work."

Ken walked over to Brianna and held her close and leaned his head down and kissed her fully on the lips. Brianna opened her mouth enough for Ken's tongue to explore and she returned the kiss just as passionately. They stood there holding each other for a bit, even after the kiss, just enjoying the moment. Brianna finally broke away and started for the door.

"I will call you when I get home and let you know that I arrived safely."

Ken walked Brianna out to her car and held the door open. "Alright, I will wait on your call then. In the mean time I will get busy unpacking and putting my things away. I also still need to call the local agent so that I can have a car hopefully for tomorrow."

"Yep, you need to get busy then. I'll talk to you later."

Brianna got in the car and started back out on the road towards home. Ken went back inside and called the agent's phone number. He spoke to him briefly, and found out that Michelle had already called the agent and faxed him the information that he would need to assist Ken with his claim.

"All you have to do is to call the local car rental company and arrange for them to bring you a rental car. I've already sent over the paperwork that they will need to bill us, but I didn't know what time you would be getting home, so I didn't arrange for the car to be brought until I talked to you," the agent told Ken.

"That is quite alright," Ken replied. "I will call the company when we hang up and get them started. I really need the car for tomorrow as I have a lot of running around town that I need to get done, plus I have to return to my work as well. Thank you for all that you have done."

Ken hit the "end" button on the phone and then looked up the phone number for the car rental agency. He dialed the number and spoke with the lady who answered the phone. She assured him that they would have the car out to his house within the hour to pick him up and bring him in to the office so that he could be on his way. Ken thanked her and hung the phone back up in the cradle. Thirty minutes later there was a knock on the door, and a young man was standing on the porch. He introduced himself, and Ken locked the house and the young man drove Ken to the rental company and there Ken completed the rest of the paperwork. He then returned in his rental car to his house.

Ken was exhausted from the day's activities, and decided to get a relaxing tub bath in his Jacuzzi that he had installed in the master bathroom when he and Kathy had first bought the house. The house had needed some modernizing, and a Jacuzzi was one thing that he had always wanted to have. Ken removed his clothing as the water was filling the tub, and got a towel and washcloth from the closet that was just outside of the bathroom. By then the tub had almost completed filling and he turned the water off and climbed in. Ken had run the water as hot as he could stand it, and he reached over to the wall behind him and flipped the switch to start the jets going. Soon the water was circulating and bubbling all around him. Ken reclined backward on the inside of the tub, stretching his legs out before him and he let his muscles relax. Ken thought of Brianna, and wished silently that she was in the tub with him.