Taking Texas By Storm
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 17 

More Bite the Dust

When we went to bed, Brahim took care of any of my problems that seemed to have been caused by his ministrations.  I was awakened by the alarm clock at five thirty.  I struggled out of bed, took a quick shower, went to get dressed and realized that we needed to do laundry or we were going to be running out of clothes.

I went to the kitchen and there was a note on the coffee pot which was already to go, ‘Have good day, Dad.’

Brahim came into the kitchen just as I was getting ready to leave.  He hugged me, “Ed, I don’t know if I can handle being able to move about the country at will.  Is there anything that you want me to do, now that I can drive to classes and not have to spend hours waiting for a ride?”

I chuckled, “Now that you ask, you might do some laundry for us, if you have time.  Either that or we’re going to need to buy some new clothes.”

Brahim sighed, “Remember, the packers and movers are going to be here today and tomorrow, so that the Daniels can take the things that they want to the duplex and put the other things in storage for when they retire to their condo in Dallas.”

I hugged Bra as I went out the door, “I have the feeling this is going to be another long day.  See you tonight.”

I was standing by the Highlander when Juan and Greg arrived.  I looked at them, “Let’s load ‘em up and let’s ride, partners.”

Juan laughed, “I knew you were making big bucks, but that vehicle had to cost you an arm and a leg.”

I smirked, “You’d be surprised how inexpensive it was.  I’ll explain on the way to the office.”

After I told Juan and Greg the story of how I bought the SUV for $100.00 over what the dealer had paid it, because of Allie, and what Brahim had told Mr. Jones said about the car being made for a prince, the two guys were laughing so hard that I thought they were going to go to the bathroom in their pants.

I was to pay dearly for my telling them the story of the vehicle buying experience.  When we arrived at the headquarters, Juan went in first and yelled, “Prince Edward of Shell has arrived.  Please bow and pay your proper respects, since he has condescended to visit our place of employment.”

When I entered, I was accosted by two of Houston’s finest.  One of the officers seemed to be in charge, “Mr. Waller, we need to take a set of your prints so we can wipe you from our list of suspects, since I understand that you were having a fun time at your parent's ranch this weekend.”

Tripp brought my latte and a roll, but it was going to be a while before I had a chance to consume them.  My entire staff was present by seven, as was President Odom.  My people were helping the security people check people in.  It was pleasing to see that not everyone who worked for Shell was slacking off.  It was seven forty-five when the first flag lit up.  The guys had figured out how to color code the flags so that the flags for the people who went to Vegas and the people who were in the facility late on Friday were different colors

The first flag was a young man who had made the trip to Vegas.  President Odom and I took the young man aside and President Odom nodded to me, “Mr. Waller, I believe you have some questions for this young man.”

I looked at the young man, “Mr. Bloom, how was your strategy training session in Las Vegas this weekend?”

The young man started to laugh, “Some strategy training session.  We met for breakfast on Saturday morning at this fancy restaurant.  After we finished eating, Mr. Small stood and announced, ‘I want you all to be thinking about how we can the make the Real Estate Division more productive and efficient.  We’ll get together for another meeting in two weeks, somewhere, to discuss your thoughts.  Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you all back at the headquarters on Tuesday at the earliest.  Remember, the company will be paying for your rooms and meals for you and your guests, so have a good time.”

 

I looked at President Odom and he was looking a little tense.  But he remained calm.  He asked, “Mr. Bloom, did you and your guest have a good time?”

“I didn’t choose to take anyone with me, and no I didn’t have a good time.  I neither drink nor gamble because of something that happened in my past.  To me, this weekend was a complete waste of company money.  Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get to work.”

I stood up, “Mr. Bloom, do you know who this gentleman is?”

“Sir, I haven’t the foggiest idea who he is, nor do I know who you are.   I don’t understand why you’re asking me these questions.”

“Mr. Bloom, the gentleman is President Odom.”

The man fell back against his chair, “I guess I just lost my chance at getting ahead in this company.  Just when things were looking up, I stick my foot in my mouth and shoot my chances.”

I pointed my finger at the young man, “Mr. Bloom, tell us about your qualifications and why you were hired to be in the Real Estate Division.”

The man threw up his hands, “I have no idea why I was hired to be in the Real Estate Division.  I have my college degree from TCU in accounting.  It would seem that I would be more suited to be placed in the Finance Division, but a job is a job.”

I looked at President Odom, “Sir, I have an idea how we get our monies worth from this young man.  I think we should put him to work for Mr. Greg Gump.  Greg will have him shaped up in no time.”

President Odom had a funny look, “Whatever you say, Mr. Waller.  Why don’t you get Greg and ask him to meet us here.  I don’t want to miss the excitement when the vandals arrive.”

I went to get Greg who was helping check people in, “Greg, I think we’ve found an assistant for you.  Come meet him.  He’s sitting with President Odom.”

Greg accompanied me to the table where President Odom was sitting with Mr. Bloom.  Greg acknowledged the two, “Good morning, President Odom, hi Tom.  How was your trip?”

“It sucked.  We didn’t do anything and I missed the family.”

I looked at Greg and this Tom person.  “How is it that you know each other?”

Greg laughed, “Tom and I live next door to each other.  I wasn’t aware that he even worked here at Shell.”

I looked at President Odom and he nodded, “Mr. Bloom, as of now, you work for me, and you will be Greg’s assistant.  Greg, I want you to go to Finance and arrange for them not pay any travel or food vouchers unless they are cleared through your office.  I want to see both of you in my office this afternoon at two o’clock.  By then the excitement will have died down.”

It was ten minutes until eight when the first of the suspected vandals arrived.  It didn’t take long for him to be dispatched out the side door to an awaiting squad car.  At precisely eight o’clock, three boisterous gentlemen arrived and it didn’t take long for them to be subdued. One of them spit at me, “Waller, you queer, this is all your fault.  I still think you're sucking the President’s cock.”

Everyone was caught by surprised when President Odom went up to the man and punched him in the stomach, “For your information, my cock has never been inside anyone’s mouth.  I'm guessing that you probably have been drooling over other men for some time.  I’ll even wager that you were one of the prime users of the former glory holes.  So long, and good riddance.  Don’t look for any glowing recommendations from this company.”

After the excitement died down, President Odom looked at the security guards.  I want everyone who has a blue flag by their name to report to the Transportation office, so Greg can explain what’s going to happen.  Ed, let’s go talk to Greg and Tom and then I want to meet with Grant and Joe and go over the time record sheets that they’ve created.”

We went to Greg’s office and President Odom laid it on the line, “Greg and Tom, from here on, all travel requests must be approved through this office.  If there is a question, then buck it up to Ed.  The company will not pay for spouse or significant other’s travel arrangements.  Nor will we pay for their lodging or their meals.  When these people return from Vegas, you will make the appropriate adjustments on their vouchers.”

We stopped at security, and President Odom issued another ultimatum, “When Mr. Small finally arrives, I want him escorted to my office, immediately.”

President Odom said nothing on the way to the 49^th floor.  I began to think that he was upset with me.  As we exited the elevator he stopped, “Ed, I’m so mad that I could spit nails.  I want to know why my senior staff allowed things, like you’ve uncovered in the short time you’ve been here, to happen.  I’ll be interested to see what Joe and Grant have come up with.”

Joe was very diplomatic in his presentation. “President Odom, we have tried to analyze these reports, and we have decided that many of the people who have been here for long periods have been coasting.  We’ve made two different runs; one by position and one by the number of hours people were in the building last week.”

President Odom took the two computer runs and it took only a short time before he pushed them to me, “Guys, you have done a great job.  I appreciate how much time you must have spent on these two documents, and I also know how many hours you spent here this weekend.  Go have some fun.”

Grant laughed, “We would, sir, but we’re too tired.  We need to make sure that Prince Waller doesn’t get into anymore trouble.”

President Odom was laughing, “Ed, let’s go to finance.  All of a sudden, I’m not having very good vibes about the senior staff.”

We walked into finance and Mr. Taylor came to greet us. He looked at me, “Ed, are you going to be firing some more people?  We’ve lost a lot of people recently and the remaining people finally have to earn their money.”

I shook my head no, “Mr. Taylor, we’re here at President Odom’s request, but I have a question for you.  Has Greg Gump talked to you about his office approving all travel vouchers?”

“Yes, I’ve assigned one of my people to work with Mr. Bloom.  We decided that your people need to be in on the approval of the funding for the travel requests as well as the approval for any payments.”

President Odom let out a big rush of air, “Finally, some of you people are using your head for something other than thinking how much money you can make for yourselves.  Dwight, I would like to see the expense accounts of all the vice-presidents, for starters.  That includes any extra pay and the amount they are paid each month.”

Mr. Taylor asked, “Does that include the petty cash funds that are in their names also?”

“Dwight, that means any and all company funds that they have at their disposal.  Bring the records to my office as soon as you get them pulled together.  Ed, go see how many of them have company cars.  I don’t like the vibes I’m getting.”

I went to talk to Greg and all the vice-presidents except Roger Reed had a company car.  “I looked at Greg; can you track how often the vice-presidents have used the limousine services for trips?”

Greg  frowned, “That may take a little time, but I'll get that information to you as soon as we can.”

I went to President Odom’s office and Marlene looked at me, “Ed, the President isn’t a happy camper.”

I knocked and President Odom motioned for me to come in, “Ed, tell Marlene to come in and take notes.  What did you find out?”

“Sir, all of the vice-presidents except Mr. Reed have company cars.  I took the liberty of asking Greg to see if he could determine how often the vice-presidents used the company’s limousines.  He’s pulling the information together and will get it to us as soon as possible.”

President Odom sat back in his chair, “I hadn’t even thought of that.  Marlene, call a mandatory staff meeting for four o’clock this afternoon and advise any of the division heads or vice-presidents that any of them who aren’t present, they will be summarily dismissed from the company.  You might have a number of prepared resignation letters and dismissal letters available, in case they’re needed.”

“Ed, let’s go to lunch at the new dining facility and see how it is going to work.”

I looked at President Odom, “Sir, could I at least stop in my office and see what’s happening before then.  I haven’t reported in yet today, and I need to go to the restroom.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you at the dining room in ten minutes.”

Boy did Tammy lay a guilt trip on me, “What is it with you people?  You leave me here by myself to take care of the world problems.  I’m beginning to feel as if I have halitosis and everyone is avoiding me.”

“Tammy, where is everyone else?”

“Oz is manning the security desk to intercept any stragglers from the Vegas trip.  Joe is ripping the legal department apart and Grant and Katie are meeting with a group of ladies who wanted to talk about sexual harassment.”

“Tammy, I need to go.  I’m to meet President Odom for lunch in the new dining facility.”

Tammy grinned, “Order the chicken salad plate.  It’s to die for.”

“How do you know?”

“Trig brought me lunch, so I wouldn’t waste away.”

I wanted to make a smart remark, but decided not to.  “Tammy, would you have the dossier on a Tom Bloom delivered, so I can review it before two this afternoon.  I have a staff meeting at four this afternoon.   By the way, why is your office painted this color?”

“Because it’s boring to look at white walls all day long.  Wait until you see your office.”

I went to the dining room and was met by Trig, “Mr. Waller, if you will follow me, President Odom is already present with several other guests.”

“I looked at Trig, why are you here.  What about your restaurant?” 

“We aren’t open on Mondays.  I decided to come and help the parents get started right.”

I looked around, “It looks like a nice crowd for opening day, without much publicity.”

Trig grinned, “Yes, I just hope it works out for my parents’ sake.”

When I was seated, “President Odom introduced me to two vice-presidents I hadn’t met.”

There was a soup of the day, which was beef vegetable, a tossed salad or a fruit salad.  The entrees were the chicken salad plate or braised beef patty with new potatoes and fresh green beans.  The desert was either peach cobbler or sherbet.  The tables had a white tablecloth and there were white cloth napkins.

I ordered the chicken salad plate as Tammy had recommended and the sherbet for dessert.

President Odom looked at me, “Ed, I would have thought you would have had the beef.”

I grinned, “I probably would have, but my secretary said the chicken salad plate was to die for, so I thought I’d better try it.”

President Odom leaned back and asked the young man who was waiting the table if he could change his order to the chicken salad platter.  The young man nodded, “No problem, sir.”

The food was wonderful and the young man had put folders by everyone’s place as he was collecting the used dishes.  “I’ll take your payments and process them.  I looked at the check and put my credit card in it, and added a fifteen percent tip.  One of the vice-presidents asked, “Why are we paying?  I thought this was a company run dining facility.”

Mr. Odom was trying to control himself, “Howard, this is a private operation.  They are leasing this facility.  Obviously, you didn’t read the menu.  It specifically said at the top, ‘Individuals are responsible for paying for their own food and service.”

The man sputtered, “This is not like the good old days when the company took care of its people,”

Rather than get into a confrontation, “Ladies and gentlemen, you will need to excuse Mr. Waller and me.  We have some things that we need to take care of.” 

We stopped into the kitchen.  I hugged the Wakefields, “It looks as if the restaurant is going to be a big success.  People are still coming in.  The chicken salad plate was wonderful.”

I finally went into my office and the walls were painted like a dice with multi colored spots.  ‘Someone had to have been bored to do this.’  I was going through the messages and there was one that caught my attention.  ‘Bra called and said that he would be late.  He’s to meet with the director of Rigoletto at four, so they could set up a rehearsal schedule.’

When Greg and Tom arrived, I was looking at Tom’s dossier.  Something didn't match the person.  He had a degree in accounting, but he was working in real estate.  His folder said he was married and had two small children.  What did he mean about being turned off gambling and drinking by something that had happened previously? 

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  If things keep going the way they have been, the number of employees at Shell is going to be drastically reduced.

I suspect that the young man named Tom is going to turn out to be quite a good person. I also think he has a history that will make him think twice about doing anything foolish. 

I am glad that Ed is in charge of rooting out the dead wood, so to speak, because he has a good sense of proper behavior.  He wants to see people paid well for doing a good job, and for them to be rewarded for going beyond their normal duties.  He won't stand for someone being paid outrageous sums to sit around and do nothing, or not show up for work. 

I can hardly wait for the next chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher 

Posted: 03/05/10