Chapter 56: Strategists Week at the Beach, Part I
Patrick’s POV—Last week
0900. Time for the pulse check.
“Yo!” Diego.
“Yo!” x5.
“Roll call. Miami, present.” Miami always starts the pulse check and we move north to each branch.
“Atlanta, present.” Chase.
“Trenton, present.” Manny.
“NYC, present.” Jorge. Cool guy. I’m starting to like him.
“Boston, present.”
“Good. Turning this over to Trenton,” Diego says.
“Thanks. OK, men, here’s the deal. Everyone got their invitation to the beach, with the address and suggestions, correct?”
“HUA!”
“Good. Here’s the deal. We need to do something to say ‘thank you’ to the CO. She’s taken her time at the beach, which was supposed to be private, and done what she felt was right for the company. She’s invited each group of men to spend time together, as a group, to get to know her and to know each other. We’ve never done this before and we need to thank her.”
I agree. The moment I got my invite I was stunned. It was really thoughtful and it’s the first time the strategists have ever gotten together as a group. I get to meet all my colleagues face to face for the first time and not wonder if they’re snooping in my branch.
“Additionally, we are going to be the CO’s only protection at the beach. The Trenton rep, meaning me, is taking point with Hector on her security, and I’ll explain the security setup when you guys get here, but trust me, technically we are each her bodyguard service for the week.”
“Is Hector staying?” Chase asks. Thank you, man.
“Nope. This is a moment of trust for the two of them. The CO argued that with five other RangeMen onsite, she shouldn’t need Hector at her back. He’s not a happy man about this, so we have to take this seriously.”
Done. Never want Hector mad at me.
“She still has her trackers, so he’s watching from a distance and he’ll know if and when we fuck up. I’m determined that won’t happen.”
“HUA!” Complete agreement on the line.
“Next thing. I’m sure you guys remember that memo we sent a few weeks ago, about treading carefully around the CO?” Agreement on the line. “Well, essentially, the CO felt smothered around here. We’re trying to loosen the restrictions, let her have a bit more freedom, so I propose taking each morning and finding something fun for her to do. Each man is responsible for coming up with something fun and stress-free for the CO to do during the day, and we’ll figure out the last day. For example, I’m bringing a beach volleyball set. It’s fun, we can do three-man teams, and it’s exercise. We do it in the morning, before the sun gets too hot, and the CO gets fun in the sun and time with all of us at the same time.”
Damn. That’s a great idea. I heard Manny was a smart guy so I can’t wait to really spend some time around him.
“Atlanta.”
“Go ahead.”
“If I recall correctly, the CO can put away a plate, but she’s not big on cooking, right?”
Smothered laughs. “Correct.”
“That rental got a BBQ?”
Silence, then, “I’ll ask.”
“Ask. I can burn a meal, bro, so if Ella isn’t doing food service and the CO is alone with us, we gotta eat. If she’s got a grill, I’ve got dinner.”
“I’ll help,” I add. “I’m good with a sauté pan. If Atlanta has the grill, I can do the inside work.”
“Excellent,” Manny replies. “The CO can put away a meal. I’ll find out about the grill situation by 1500.”
I think quickly and come up with an idea. “Yo, Trenton!”
“Yeah?”
“Boston is proposing a sand castle contest.”
Silence then laughter on the line. I’m grinning. Hey, it’s cute fun.
“Dude, how little girly! Sandcastles?” Jorge says, laughing.
“Yeah, man. Either we can each build one and let the CO choose the best or we can do it in two or three man teams. More fun in the sun.”
“Lemme guess. You’re good at this because you have a daughter and want to see us all go down?”
“Partially true. My daughter is five months old. I need to start practicing.”
More laughter but Manny agrees to write it down as an idea.
“OK, final thing. The CO told me that this is supposed to be a ‘rap session’ for us, a chance for all of us to get together as a group and bounce ideas off each other. I’m not sure yet if Lester will be joining us. Last I heard he was, but there may be something going on in San Antonio that keeps him away. Move forward under the assumption that he’s coming also.”
“That would be the correct assumption to make.” Lester. The line goes silent.
“Sir, words for us?” Manny says. I’m impressed that his voice is steady.
“None. I’ve liked everything I’ve heard so far. Pleased and proud that you men are taking this time with the CO seriously. And I rock sandcastles.”
The tension was broken. We laughed.
Lester’s POV—Friday
Steph’s rental is classy. Two blocks from the beach, gorgeous views, nice amount of space. It’s the perfect setup. As each man arrives and settles into a room, Steph greets them, tells them how the room arrangements work and lets them roam around. Like true security consultants, their first request is an explanation of the security here. Hector and I are onsite as Manny does the demo. I can sense Hal’s stamp on it everywhere. I grin internally. No one is going to get at Hal’s little sister. Not if he can prevent it.
“He did a good job,” Hector mutters. I can see he is unwillingly impressed by the setup.
“She still needs you, man. Trust me.“
After that, they kick back and start setting up meals for the week.
I arrived yesterday to help Ella with the preparations. Steph’s parents had taken the small charcoal grill back to Trenton, so Ella purchased a gas grill and I loaded it, and the propane tank, into the van for transport to Point Pleasant. Steph and I went shopping for groceries and the fridge is stocked, but I tell Chase and Pat to check it out. Put anything they need on the corporate card and charge it back to Ella. She’ll take care of expensing it.
Steph and I pull all the men into the living room for a chat after the sun goes down. This chat is being helped along by lots of Tequila Sunrises.
“OK, so let me explain why I asked you guys to join me here,” Steph says, settling against my side. Ranger’s a bastard. He better make a move or I will. “When I was in NYC, right when we hired Jorge, I was impressed by the way he, Javi, Diego, and Manny bounced ideas off each other. Les was with us and we both said later that it was like watching a musician’s jam session. Chase, Pat, if we’d had more time, we would’ve asked you to join us. It was really spectacular.” She grins and Manny, Diego, and Jorge high five each other. Chase and Pat boo and laugh.
“So when I was here for some R&R, I decided to convert some of my weeks into time with you guys. One, so you can get together and do that as a group and two, so we can have some team building and trust in this group.”
There’s silence at that statement. Heads nod solemnly.
“I, personally, hate the way you guys don’t share information in this company. I know that there are other factors behind that, but today Les and I are here to say that, at least among the strategists, it has to stop. You guys are the idea men. All of you, plus Les, keep the company moving forward and I need you to work as a team for the company, not just for your separate branch.”
She looks at me and I nod. She nods back. Oh, OK. And when did Beautiful get some ESP?
“One of my early ideas for the company was moving the strategists around within the company, placing you in another branch for a quarter once a year, so no one got stale. Plus, it would allow you to see how other offices run and make you more accountable to the company than to a single branch. Ranger held off on that idea, but with both me and the CO backing it, it may become a reality for you.”
The men are wide-eyed.
“I’m holding off and the CO and I will take this week to determine the best reporting structure for what I want to accomplish, but know this: She was right in her assertion that the strategists will begin working as a team. That’s why I’m here this week. As Chief Strategist for the company, I set direction in this, so I’m here to make sure it happens. Understood?”
“HUA!”
Jorge’s POV—Saturday
I’m nervous about being here on my own, without Javi, with all these guys from around the company. Javi said not to worry. I already know Manny and Diego and I need to get to know Pat and Chase. It would be a good trip. And at the very minimum, I’ve met the CO and Chief Strategist before. Piece of cake. Nothing to worry about.
The man is insane. These guys are security experts. They carry like it’s another hand. I’m still trying to get comfortable with wearing a holster. Let’s not talk about the hand to hand. Shit, I’m a money man. The hardest thing I ever did before joining this company is order in French. These guys are completely intimidating and they do it as easily as breathing. The war stories they told last night made me shit my pants. Lester? Complete fear. Total. I understand the NYC men now. I don’t know if I ever want to meet Ranger.
Manny drags the CO out of bed and onto the beach for beach volleyball first thing this morning. The CO in basic black is one thing. The CO in a bikini is another. I’m not looking, but I can see I’m not the only man having slight problems. I think we’re all going to claim ‘morning wood’ this time. Lester stands at the side of the net taking pictures and we learn the CO can definitely serve. She can’t return too well, but she can hit the ball hard. The game is fun and 2.5 hours slip by before we hear a sound.
GRRRROOOWWLLLLLL
We all drop and reach for our guns. Lester rolls on the ground laughing. The CO turns red, and we’re still looking around for the animal that made that noise when Manny straightens and looks at the CO.
“Er . . . hungry, Steph?
She blushes. “I told you to feed me before bringing me out here.”
We all look at each other and snicker. Lester finally contains himself and he picks Steph up and carries her back to the house over his shoulder, Steph pounding his back and yelling the entire way. Hilarious. I slide next to Manny and ask, “Are they together?”
He looks over, a serious look on his face. “No. The CO’s heart belongs to our CCO, Ranger. They’re both fighting it. And you will never verbalize what I just said.” I nod. Still, Lester and Steph look awfully close. Manny notices my face and smiles. “They’re friends, best friends. They’ve always been like that. Don’t read anything more into it. She’s not like that and neither is he.”
If you say so, man. Tatiana has made me more wary of that kind of behavior. Her ‘friend’ was also her lover and I had to get a paternity test to prove Annalise was mine. Another reason to be loyal to RangeMan. The guys did something, no idea what, but my case for modification and visitation was accelerated forward. With Javi speaking on my behalf, as my new boss, I got everything I wanted. I have my daughter every other weekend and my child support was reduced going forward. The back amount was put on a payment plan. Last weekend was my first weekend with my little girl and it was rough, but by the end, she and I were giggling. I can tell Tatiana has poisoned her against me but this is my time to correct that impression.
Pat takes over KP duty and we’re digging into scrambled eggs and bacon in no time. After a great breakfast, I take clean up duty while Chase sets a huge hunk of meat on the grill. He grins. “Pulled pork.” Nice! Once we’re done, we nap, watch TV or read for a while. At 1400 (I’m getting there), Lester calls us all to the living room.
“So, let’s talk. I want to know your current state. Status of current offerings, roadblocks to getting them implemented, whatever you have going now that you need help with.”
We sit and get comfortable. I notice the CO’s not present. Lester notices my concern and he smiles. “She’s coming.” Sure enough, the CO joins us, sitting next to Lester again but with her feet on Manny. He grins and twists her big toe until she yelps and slaps his arm.
We grin. She’s so much fun.
Miami starts and Diego reports he’s just getting caught up but everything is cool in Miami. Shane accepted his demotion quietly but Diego would prefer he leave. The men there are hostile toward him even though he didn’t have a chance to screw up the Miami office. Lester nods and turns to Chase. Chase reports Atlanta’s cool but they’re really at a point with the Charlotte office that it’s going to need some attention from Leadership Core. Pat has a weird look on his face at that statement. Les makes a note.
“Anything else?”
“Nope. Bonds Enforcement is going gang-busters.” He grins. “We tipped Trenton last week. Zip is one pissed man.” Lester roars with laughter and the other guys congratulate Atlanta on their success. The CO groans and holds a pillow to her face. “He keeps saying it’s all about the monthly figures and I get the feeling that Trenton’s been told to reclaim the crown or else!”
Lester starts typing on his phone while Manny pulls the pillow from Steph’s face. “You know what’s coming.”
She nods. “Zip’s gonna kill me. I’m going to spend the rest of my life conducting skip tracing workshops.” She glares at him. “Those folders better not find their way into my work pile.”
Manny grins. “I’ll do my best.”
Meanwhile, Lester’s phone rings.
“Chase!”
“Bobby!” Oh, the Chief Liaison.
“Please tell me you’re not shitting me! You tipped Trenton?” He sounds thrilled.
“Yeah, man! My guys are goin’ gangbusters to keep the crown.”
The laughter from the phone is intense. Finally Bobby says, “If you tip Trenton for the month, I fund the party for Bonds Enforcement.”
“Dude!” Les says, “Trenton is mine! Manny, get your team together. This is bullshit!” Manny grins and types an email on his phone. The rest of us are calling bets on Atlanta v. Trenton. Bobby disconnects and Les grins. “That’s the kinda news I like to hear. Anything else?” Chase shakes his head.
“Trenton?”
“Determined not to let Chase’s bunch of losers tip us!” Manny says, and we all laugh. “Meanwhile, Personal Investigations is making money hand over fist, but we’re going to need more men. I’ve had an idea.” Les sits back and nods. “I’d like to partner with NYC on this.” I look over. Manny is serious. “I’m wondering if we could expand our Newark satellite office and center Investigations there. I know Javi needs more space for his Business Investigations group and we need more men for Personal Investigations. Center all investigations in a central spot between the branches.”
I nod. I like the idea. “Accounting belongs to the branch generating the work, but they share the workload?”
“Yeah.”
Solves a problem for us. “I’m cool with it. Commute’s gonna hurt. An hour for each.” We both nod. Steph and Lester write it down and sit back.
“Roadblocks?”
“We’ll work it out. New idea. Biggest one at the moment is commute.”
Les nods. “NYC?”
I’m nervous but it’s my time to show I know what I’m doing. “Passports.” Les looks up, frown on his face. “I need passports to be another item done during employee intake. We’re getting interest from Manhattan in the international portion of the investigations. 80% of the contracts we sign are up-front retainers on a fee schedule, and I underestimated the interest in the international investigations portion of the business investigations idea. I’m sitting on around $25 million in work with at least another $50 million out there. I’m hearing rumbles that DC-based outfits are interested and want to see our results.”
There’s shocked silence in the room. Steph is looking at me as if she’s never seen me before. So is everyone else. Have I fucked up somewhere? I thought they were interested in international.
“Are you telling me that there’s almost $75 million in work out there for us to pick up?” Les asks slowly.
“Yes, sir.”
Lester’s head has steadily turned until he’s looking at me sideways. Finally, he starts laughing, quietly, then loud. The rest of the guys are shaking their heads. Steph glances at Manny and nods. Manny leaves the room and returns with tequila. I’ve learned that tequila is the ‘toast’ liquor in this company.
“To Jorge Ortega! The man knows business and business is really motherfucking good!“
Manny’s POV—Sunday
Jorge headed off to Mass this morning. He was the only one. The rest of us sat around stunned. Steph and Chase hit the beach and Pat decided to follow them soon after.
Holy shit! Jorge’s been an employee for six weeks and he’s blowing up NYC. Lester spent the morning looking at the NYC figures. He wasn’t joking in yesterday’s toast. In the three months since Steph sent me and Diego to NYC, they’ve rebounded. Lester won’t tell us their figures, but he spent the morning talking to Tank and Bobby in French and the sounds we overheard made it clear that NYC is making major bank again.
I step into the backyard to think. My instincts on him were right. The man was the right person for NYC. I call Hal and give him the info I have. It’s clear that we don’t have just Atlanta as competition. Hal is speechless. I tell him I’ll start working on new offerings for Trenton, but I hope to get the investigations group expanded sooner rather than later. Hal says he’ll update Ram. We need ideas and we need them fast. NYC is clearly aiming for Boston and we want to tip them first.
I hang up the phone and find Les in front of me, grinning. He shakes his head and sits. He doesn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, he turns to me.
“I want you to know that Leadership Core has been extremely impressed by the work you’ve done since your promotion.”
I blink. Wow.
“I, personally, have wondered if our extended stay in Trenton suppressed your natural instincts. Now that I’m seeing them come out in more than just Apprehensions, I’m thinking of more and more things for you to do. Meanwhile, the other work you’ve been doing?” He inclines his head and I nod. Ranger. “He’s pleased with your work to the point that he’s vocal.” Les shakes his head.
I’m stunned. Ranger does not compliment. “I’ve done what I was asked to do.”
Les shakes his head. “There’s doing what you’re asked to do and there’s doing it really really well. You’ve impressed us all, had us wondering if you’re at the wrong level.”
“No, sir,” I reply. “I have no interest in being an XO.”
Les smiles. “I wasn’t thinking of making you an XO, Manny. That would be a waste of your skills and talents. Continue to perform at this level and I have bigger things in mind for you.” He pats my shoulder and leaves.
I’m stunned. What on earth does he have planned?
Chase’s POV—Monday
Marcus reports that Zip called and declared war. I laugh. It’s on between Atlanta and Trenton. Danny reports that he and Hal spend their time trash talking each other and strategizing to take Mark down. Now that NYC seems to be in the loop, they’ve brought Javi in on it and he’s eager to take Boston down. Payback, he says.
I spend Sunday night laughing with Bobby. My cousin is so freakin’ thrilled he barely knew how to contain himself.
“Chase, man, please tell me you aren’t fucking with me?”
“Man, I’m telling you, I need to catch Les today and tell him that our Hospitality services in Atlanta and Charlotte are getting great reviews. I don’t have to chase contracts for that anymore. We’re hoping that the liaisons spend their week here fine tuning RangeWorld so those requests just start feeding in.”
“What’s the numbers looking like?”
“Bonds Enforcement is now a solid 25% of our work. We’re picking up more bonds agencies in Atlanta and Charlotte. Redecorating is 15%. Hospitality is 30%. The last 30% is the traditional stuff, bodyguards, monitoring, etc.”
“Jesus fucking Christ! That’s insane.”
“Yeah. I’m telling you, the CO is loved in Atlanta. Being able to move on Hospitality and improving in Bonds Enforcement made her a rock star with us.”
“Good,” he says quietly. “She’s a good woman, smart and fun.”
I laugh. “You don’t have to sell me. Stephanie Plum is loved in Atlanta. The men would really like her to visit again soon. Danny loves her, says she’s informed his leadership.”
“How?”
“He’s quicker to ask us what we need now. I didn’t think about that until I realized that’s the major thing she did when she visited. Asked us what we needed and made it happen. Then we heard that’s what she did in NYC and look at how they’ve improved. Every manager in Atlanta has made that a part of his management meetings, asking the men what they need to do the job.”
I can almost hear my cousin nodding his head. “Good to know. Anything else I should know?”
“When we win, my vote is for Magic City.”
“DollHouse, dude. More variety, less likely to see something from a rap video.” Bobby laughs and hangs up.
I turn around to the sound of giggles. Steph is standing there with a bottle of water.
“Strip clubs?” I nod, grinning enthusiastically. “Find something else. Danny and Hal agreed no strippers.”
“Damn!”
She throws her head back and laughs. I shake my head. Married men and XOs with girlfriends. Complete party dampeners.
Pat’s idea of a sandcastle contest is a great one. By noon, there are seven sandcastles on the beach and the CO declares hers the best. Les responds by diving on it, so she dives on his. At 1215, there are zero sandcastles on the beach. Little kids have to tell us to behave, which makes everyone laugh.
I’ve been demonstrating superiority with the grill. Steph has stayed safely away and each of us has pulled out our best meals. I do a Boston butt for pulled pork sandwiches. The CO eats those as if the world might end tomorrow and snaps at anyone who stretches a finger toward her plate. We crack up.
Monday afternoon, we reassemble in the living room.
“Jam session,” Steph says, smiling.
We grin. Each man has his best ideas written. The rest of the afternoon is the most fun I’ve had at work in years. Jorge? That man is clearly an up-and-comer. If it can make bank in NYC, he’s thought about it, strategized, and come up with pricing schemes. We are stunned. He has the ideas and the marketing plans for his five best ideas ready for us to discuss.
“So . . . you’re thinking of marketing this to concierges in NYC Hotels?” Les says, looking through his newest bodyguard proposal.
“Yes, sir. Diego and I have talked about this. As you’ll recall, I said that if you don’t have a niche, this is dead in NYC. Concierges know everyone and they get requests for everything, but I asked a few hotel managers and assistant managers I know about the bodyguard services they recommend. No one really had one, although they get requests. They simply call until they can get a bodyguard. This is a service we can promote in every branch, especially for executives who travel between those cities.”
I write a note. Good idea. I never realized Charlotte was such a big financial hub until we started building the branch. Contract bodyguard service for financial executives who need one but don’t need a permanent guard would be a great service to promote in our locations. Almost airport-to-airport service. Brilliant! The CO is leafing through the proposals while working through a pint of ice cream, although she has to protect the pint from Les and Manny, who continually attempt to ‘help’ her with their spoons.
“OK, men, pick at it. What are they forgetting? What do they need to consider?” She growls at Manny and slides onto the floor. We crack up.
We start tearing the idea apart, although between Diego and Jorge, they hadn’t left many holes. Pat is best at it but even he had to concede defeat after a while.
“My other idea, one I think we can take company wide, is going after more minority- and female-owned businesses,” Jorge says.
Steph perks up and leans forward. “Go on,” she says. Les is grinning.
“Well, it’s common in NYC for women to hit the glass ceiling and decide to leave and start their own firms. I have six former colleagues who have done just that, but they need a variety of things they wouldn’t necessarily think of. Security assessments for their buildings, self-defense training because they’re now vulnerable targets, bodyguards, all the stuff we’re marketing to major firms. Some of it we could and should do pro-bono, to get our name out there among them, but women talk. It wouldn’t take long for RangeMan to circulate among the ladies.”
Steph snorts and we all laugh.
“Minority-owned businesses are the same. There’s major capital there that flies under the radar, but in Harlem and Brooklyn it doesn’t. Mack gave me the names of eight guys he plays ball with on a regular basis and the combined net worth of those men?” He pauses and looks at Steph seriously. “$25 million, give or take.”
“How did Mack meet those guys?” Manny asks in confusion.
“Athletic league. They don’t care about background as long as you can dominate the half court, and Mack’s good. I went with him one day and I’m not bragging on myself,” he grins, “but I’ve still got it too. Mack introduced me as a former Wall Street banker and the next thing I know I’m talking to guys I’ve only read about in magazines. None of these guys has a bodyguard or has ever had a security assessment done.”
Les grins. “So he took you along to start the conversation?”
Jorge nods. “Yeah. I’m working with him when it comes to feeling comfortable in front of clients but in this case, even though they talk shit on the courts, he wasn’t feeling comfortable talking business after. I got those conversations started and we’re already looking at a couple of contracts for security assessments.”
Everyone is writing notes. I’m making a massive list of guys to talk to. I’m feeling a bit ashamed that Jorge thought that up before I did. I’m in Atlanta, home of black millionaires who like to flaunt and spend their cash. I think about it and make a note to ask Aunt Maxine, Bobby’s mom, for advice. She’s in that old money set and she would know who I could contact first.
“Chase?”
“I’d like to discuss more financial services offerings.” I present my proposals and watch them get picked apart. It’s great. Normally, this is the stuff I do with Marcus and Danny, but I can see the wisdom of calling on the other strategists. Marcus and Danny picked at my offerings before I left but man! Pat’s a beast when it comes to probing for weaknesses. Between him, Manny, and Les, my ideas were shredded and put back together stronger and with better clarity. Jorge and Steph agreed to sit with each man and look at pricing schemes. Normally I’d reject that, but with Jorge’s background in finance, we’re all willing to share numbers.
By the time I’m ready to start Monday dinner, Les and Steph are sitting back, looking exhausted.
Les grins. “This is work for the next 10 years.” He looks at Steph. “I’m going on an extended vacation.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” she replies, smiling. “You do that and I’m headed on an extended vacation, minus RangeMen.”
“And you’re going to sell that to Hector how?” Les asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Crap!”
“Exactly,” Les says, looking smug.
I spend the evening at the beach, looking out into the Atlantic. This is the most work-related fun I’ve had in a while. Eventually I look over to find Les standing right next to me. I raise an eyebrow.
“I’ve been here for at least 15 minutes.”
A reminder that Les is both brilliant and deadly.
“I want you to know how proud the Leadership Core is of your work in Atlanta. Bobby is especially proud. Fucker reads all of your reports every week, grinning.” Les looks over, grinning. I’m grinning too. Atlanta leadership is over the moon with the money we’re making.
“Thank you.”
Les nods. “Keep it up. I want to hear more from you. I rarely do. Stop allowing Danny to filter your ideas up. It’s not that he isn’t a good XO or that he doesn’t give you credit for your ideas, but I want to hear from you. I’m impressed by what I see and hear. I’m finally starting to feel I know you.”
I nod, smiling. I allow people to serve as my mouthpieces sometimes because it’s easier to be the quiet guy.
My boss is getting to know me. He and my cousin are proud of me. I’ll get out there. I’ll fight to be seen and heard.
Diego’s POV—Tuesday
Me and Steph Plum? Cool. Completely. Today we shredded my ideas. I thought I was good, but Pat and Jorge were killing me. Then Steph and Les would deliver the final blows before we started the rebuild. I know the CO is a smart woman, I’ve seen it over the past three months, but watching her in person? I’ve never actually seen her work in person and it’s clear she’s a strategic thinker. She and Les, and Manny to a lesser extent, can nearly read each other’s minds. She’d start on a tangent, Les would follow her, and the next thing I know, they’ve got a secondary offering building off my first one.
Crafty. It’s the only word I can think of for her.
I realize that Miami isn’t ready for her and I call Armando and Thomas for a quick chat.
“Yo!”
“Yo!” they reply
“Sit. Lemme rap.” Lemme rap? NYC has rubbed off. I give them the lowdown on the CO. There’s silence on the other end.
“Diego, honestly, I came to that realization a few weeks ago,” Mando replies, tiredly. “I like her. The time I spend talking to her is the best part of my week, but you’re right. The men will drive her insane.” I can imagine Mando rubbing his temples now.
I feel for my XO. He’s a good man but he relies on reasoning when he should stuff that and implement thrashings. He’s not weak. Shit, I respect the hell out of him and it’s hard to earn my respect. He’s taught me how to be an XO, how to lead men. I just have a tendency to thrash first, reason second. Armando reasons first, gets fed up then commences thrashings. So he’s the kind of man who works best when there’s a buffer between him and the men.
I know they’re driving him insane right now. We have too many strong individuals in our office who don’t know their place. I’m Mando’s buffer, because most of the prize assholes in the office report to me, so I know he’s getting it without me there to run interference.
“What do we do?” I ask.
“Well, let us tell you about the latest in Housekeepers’ War.”
“The what?” The guys tell me what’s going on and I’m stunned and amused. Good for the ladies. Mando’s attempt failed and we couldn’t figure out why. Their attempt is going gangbusters.
“Who’s there now?”
Chuckles. “Lucia. The beat down Deuce and Mario gave Antonio and Nacho did the trick. Lucia’s been getting everything she’s asked for and it’s making a difference. Now that the men see how the housekeeper is accustomed to being treated, they’re willing to do it. Plus, they’re seeing that the standard diet isn’t bad. They’re losing weight, although we’re short on bathrooms.”
I laugh my ass off. Finally! The ladies solved the problem. We couldn’t figure out how to do it.
“I realize that I’m part of the problem. Maria had no other support. She’s a widow, no kids. Lucia, my wife and my mother have all chewed bits of my ass away. We left her at the mercy of the men and the other ladies exacted tough revenge for it.”
I sit back and nod. I feel ashamed. He’s right. We should have run interference for Maria. The poor woman was overrun in the middle of her grief. Nothing so clear as hindsight.
We chat a bit longer before I hang up and see Les looking at me. He sits, grim.
“Housekeepers’ war taking its toll?” I nod. “Update me.” I tell him everything I was just told. Les looks furious, but amused. We sit quietly.
“Still interested in being an XO?” he asks, looking out into the yard.
“Yes, sir,” I reply.
“How would you resolve this?”
I think for a moment. “Two problems in that office. One: too many strong personalities that have forgotten their place. Fire them and commence thrashings for everyone else. Two: No housekeeper for a while, until they truly get the point. Send Maria to San Antonio.”
Les is quiet and he sits back. Finally, he speaks. “Being an XO is more than what you see. It’s about managing the unseen. Managing the unanticipated. Managing the unexpected. Keeping the men in line. Ensuring that the men both love and fear you. Is that Armando?”
I think. “Right now? No.”
“Why?”
“He can’t manage the men.”
“Why?”
“Too much mercy in him. A tendency to reason with the men first, then thrash.”
Les looks at me sardonically. “Nice answer. Now give me the truthful one.”
I consider what I need to say. “Permission to speak freely?”
“Granted.”
“Armando is not a bad manager. He manages everything else you discussed. Mando’s tendency is that he reasons and explains first, then beats the shit out of them. They don’t fear him like they should. They fear him, but not enough. His other problem is he’s influenced by an outside source, namely his family. The man is henpecked. I think he would’ve fired Antonio years ago if not for the anger from his family. If he fired Antonio, he’d eliminate 50% of his problems.”
“So he’s made business decisions personal?”
“Yes, sir. That one, at least.”
Les is quiet. “OK, I’ll think on that. Meanwhile, I want you to know how proud the Leadership Core is of you and your work in NYC.”
I blink and allow myself a small smile. I nearly killed myself trying to bring it back from the brink.
“The CO promised that you would lead the list of candidates for leadership positions.” I nod. “You’re at the top of the list. We’re watching your performance in Miami very carefully. Your NYC performance has impressed us all.”
I’m grinning. Best call I ever took.
I need to apologize to the CO for telling her to fuck off on that first call. I hope that doesn’t bite me in the ass.
