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

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Chapter 32 

How Much More?

We watched the news and Grant did a great job of filling the reporter in on the events that transpired.  The reporter tried to trap Grant, “Mr. Gump, you mentioned that the young man came to you about a personal matter.  Could you tell us what that matter might have been?”

“Mr. Orchard, I don’t remember mentioning if the informant was a male or female.  We do have both males and females working in the Receiving and Warehouse Department.  If I were to tell you much more, people would stop confiding in me.  We people here at Shell believe in protecting our loyal employees.  If people are misusing their positions, then they will be relieved of duty.  The new President has made it abundantly clear that people are expected to be present and productive for the time that they are being paid to work.  Now, if you will excuse me, it has been a very long day.”

Dad looked at me, “It would seem to me that Grant would make an excellent choice to be your second in command.  He’s very articulate, and apparently concerned about protecting the rights of others.”

“Dad, that is precisely why Grant is where he is.  After hearing him speak tonight, I’m sure that I have him plugged into the perfect position.  He has been able to get people to talk to him, and because of it, we have been able to uncover some big problems at Shell.  Grant is a doer.  I don’t think he would like to be considered to be in charge of people.  At least, not yet.”

“He is very eloquent and that’s another reason I need him to be where he is, since I sometimes tend to be a little blunt.  The biggest reason is that he is gay and proud of it.  The public would quickly pick up on the fact that the two of us were gay.  The problem is that everyone who’s currently working for me is filling the perfect slot.  I know that the job is a lot bigger than my running the day to day operations by myself.  I also realize that there are going to be times when I will need to be away.”

Mother stopped the discussion, “Al, it’s obvious that Ed is trying to solve the problem.  He doesn’t need us outsiders telling him what to do when we’re not familiar with the playing field and the players.”

Allie giggled, “Grandma, I can’t believe that you're being that nice to Dad.  Don’t you think you’re giving him too much credit?”

Allie stood up, “Come on, Dieter, we need to get ready for bed.  We have a busy day, tomorrow.  You need to baby-sit Mitchell, and I need to go check on Mikey.  Grandpa Darryl and Uncle Tom will be arriving about dinner time.  It’s a good thing we have everything we need for dinner tomorrow night.”

When Brahim and I were in bed, he started to manipulate his favorite part of my body.  He snickered, “I’m about to find out if what they say is true.”

I pushed him down on the bed, “Could you give me a clue as to what you’re talking about?  I’m not a mind reader, you know.”

Brahim positioned himself, “They say that president’s are better at making love than special assistants to the president.”

I kissed him, “I guess you have to determine if that is true for yourself.”

It turned out that I wasn’t as tired as I thought I was and must have done a credible job.  At least Brahim rolled on top of me, “That was incredible, but I’ll delay my ruling until I’ve had further opportunities to evaluate future performances.”

On Wednesday morning I got up early had taken a shower and was standing naked at vanity shaving when Allie and Dieter entered the bathroom.  Allie hugged me, “Looking good this morning, Dad.”

Dieter giggled, “Allie, you’ll have to have President Waller show Ted and Tom Cochran what a real man looks like the next time they come begging for food.”

I turned around so I was facing Dieter, “Look, young man, don’t make the president angry.”

Dieter grabbed his throat, “Allie, I guess what they say is true.  The truth always hurts.”

When I arrived in the kitchen, Allie was talking to Dad, “Granddad, what time are you going to leave, today?”

“Little Al, we’ll be leaving when you go to school.  Your Grandmother wants to stop and see your Aunts and I do need to get back and take care of the ranch.  What time will you be arriving at the Double Zero, on Friday?”

“Granddad, your guess is as good as mine.  It will depend upon when your son, The President, gets home from the headquarters.”

Dieter started laughing, “Grandpa Al, I guess you’d better leave the light on, so we can find our way in the middle of the night.”

I sniffled, “Look, Dieter Diddledorf, all you’ve done all morning is make fun of me, and hurt my feelings.”

Allie hugged me, “Don’t worry, Daddy, your feelings will recover nicely, just make sure you get home in time for dinner, tonight.  I think your ride is here.”

I looked at the clock, “Aren’t they a little early?”

“Oops, I guess I forgot to tell you that they would be coming early.  Mr. Bloom is driving because he needs to take a long lunch hour to take care of some business.”

When I climbed into the awaiting car, Greg started on me, “Why didn’t you have the rest of us stay with you, last night?”

“Guys, you have families and I didn’t think what was going to happen impacted on any of your positions.  As it turns out, at least two of you will probably be feeling some fallout residue from what happened last night.  I’ll be explaining what happened, in detail during the staff meeting this morning, which will be at nine o’clock, because of some things I need to take care of beforehand.  Juan,  Fredrico will probably be late coming to work today.  He’s to be in my office at seven thirty.”

Juan turned to me, “Did he do something wrong?”

 

“Not that I know of.”

I stopped at the Pit Stop and got my latte and Danish.  Tripp waited on me.  I grinned, I hope your man wasn’t too worn out last night to provide you some entertainment.”

 

Tripp chuckled, “I took care of his ailments so well that he’s moving very slowly this morning.  He’ll probably fall asleep at your staff meeting, and not because it’s boring.”

When I arrived at the office, the door was open and the lights were on in the reception area. I thought to myself, ‘Who’s here at seven fifteen?’

When I walked in, two young men dressed in dress shirts and ties were sitting there.  Carlos’ legs were bouncing so fast that I thought the building was probably vibrating.  Fredrico had his hands clenched so tight that his knuckles were white.  “Guys, would you please relax?  I don’t recall indicating that anything bad was going to happen to you.  Let’s go into my office and continue this discussion.”

I left the door open so I could see when someone else came into the room.  I sat on the front edge of my desk, “You two have a lot  of explaining to do.  Carlos, since I met you first, why don’t you start by telling me all about yourself?”

Unbeknownst to the two guys, Mr. Odom had walked into my office and put his hand to his lips to let me know I shouldn’t say anything.  I thought to myself, ‘How did he know something was happening, and why is here at this hour of the morning?’

Carlos shrugged his shoulders, “Sir, what is it you want to know?”

“Carlos, the only thing I really know about you is that your first name is Carlos and that you work in the Warehouse Department.  Oh yes, I know that you’re shacking up with the Mafia Boy.”

That caused both guys to relax.  Carlos began. “My name is Carlos Miguel Calderon.  I’m twenty one years old and I’ll be graduating from the University of Houston, with my degree in business administration, this December.   Do you have any other questions?”

“Now that you mention it, I have.  You were lamenting because you needed this job because you needed the money to finish college.  Can’t your family support you?”

Carlos took a deep breath, “President Waller, my family disinherited me when they found out I was gay.  You need to understand that my ancestors had lived in this area where we are seated, long before you Americans ever thought of coming here.  They had a land grant from the Spanish government.  My family is involved in the society happenings of Houston and Texas.”

Mr. Odom leaned forward, “Are you saying that you’re the son of Rod and Elena Calderon?  He’s always spouting how he supports the people who have different life styles.”

Both guys whirled around and Carlos answered, “Yes, but he has a double standard, because he couldn’t face the fact that his own son was gay.”

Carlos turned around, “President Waller, who is that man and why is he here?  I’ve told you more than you needed to know about me.”

“Carlos, you’re just beginning, and that man is my boss, Mr. Odom, the CEO of Shell Oil.”

Both guys slouched in their chairs.  Mr. Odom pulled his chair between the two guys. “Let’s get on with these job interviews.  I need to see what I was doing wrong all of these years.  I don’t have all day.  What’s the next question, Ed?”

“Senor Calderon, last night, when we were in the security office watching people process out of the building, you mentioned that Mr. Gilbert was big all over in ways that I would never know about.  What did you mean by that?”

Carlos and Fredrico looked at each and Fredrico answered, “Sir, Mr. Gilbert has a monster of a dick.  I know from personal experience.  One afternoon, while I was still working in the receiving area, he cornered me in the bathroom and took my virginity.  It was as if he was a masochist who enjoyed making me beg for him to not do what he was doing.  He hurt me so bad that I had to go the emergency room and have some stitches to stop the bleeding.”

I gulped, “Why did he pick on you?”

Carlos answered, “Mr. Waller, Mr. Gilbert thought he was the sexual king of everyone in the department.  I doubt that there was anyone who escaped his using them, regardless of sex.  It seemed as if he especially enjoyed using people who pleaded for him to stop.  That’s why he pretty much left me alone after the first couple of times he took my body.”

Mr. Odom stood, “Why didn’t you try to do something to stop the man from doing what he was doing?”

The guys said in unison, “We tried, sir.”

Mr. Odom was frustrated, “What do you mean, you tried?”

Fredrico answered, “Four of us went to the legal office and were told that we had no legal causes for being there.  The man we talked to said that we were probably advertising our bodies and were begging to be used.  In fact, the asshole opened his pants and wanted to know if we wanted him to service us while we were there.”

Mr. Odom looked a little pale, “Might I ask whom you talked to?”

Fredrico had to think, “His name was something like Kraven.”

Mr. Odom sat down, “I guess you’re talking about Art Kravitz.  Ed, is this interview over?”

 

“No sir, we still know nothing about Fredrico, other than he was raped by Mr. Gilbert, that he is currently working in the Motor Pool, and is shacking up with Senor Calderon.”

“Fredrico, perhaps it would help us if you were to tell us a little about yourself.”

Fredrico threw up his hands, “What do you want to know?  I’m twenty two years old.  “I’m originally from New Orleans.  I arrived here during Hurricane Katrina.  My name is Fredrico Luigi Paganini.  My parents had migrated to the United States from Sicily.  They both died during Katrina and the gay Spic took me in and found me this job at Shell while we went to college.  I, Iike Carlos, will be graduating from the University of Houston in December.  My degree will be in computer technology.”

I stood up from sitting position, mostly because my butt was getting numb. “Fredrico, from what I'm hearing, I gather that you’re not sure of your sexual preferences?”

 

Carlos responded, “President Waller, we’re working on it.  We’re taking it one step at a time, and they have been slow steps by necessity, because of what Gilbert did to Mafia boy.”

I started to laugh, “So, your saying I could trust you to keep your dicks in your pants while your at work, if I were to appoint Carlos as the Warehouse Manager and Fredrico as the head of the Receiving Department?”

Carlos grinned, “If the salary is right, we’ll wear chastity belts to work and give you the keys if that would make you happy.”

I looked at Mr. Odom. “Boss, I think you should take these two scrawny guys to the Pit Stop and get their batteries recharged.  I have another appointment before my staff meeting at nine o’clock.  Make sure you have them back by then, if they don’t want to be pounding the streets looking for jobs.”

Fredrico shook his head no, “President Waller, I need to go to the Motor Pool and let them know what’s happening.”

“I’ve already informed Mr. Gomez that you were going to late this morning.  Now go get something to eat.  I doubt that you’ve eaten anything this morning.”

Carlos chuckled, “Your wrong, President Waller, we split the last pop tart we had in the room.”

I walked the three gentlemen to the door.  I looked at Tammy, “You’re next, Mrs. Grimes.”

“It’s about time.”

Tammy followed me into the office, “Ed, first let me say this.  Mitchell Sheraton is a live wire.  I gather he is acting out, because of all the attention that his brother is receiving.  Are you sure that your friend Dieter is going to be able to cope with him, today?”

“I guess I’ll find out when I get home tonight.  I don’t think that’s what you wanted to talk about.”

“Don’t rush me.  Give me a chance, would you?  Actually, we need to talk about several things.  Trig and I are planning on getting married.”

I sat up, “Tammy, is this a wedding of necessity or is it premeditated.”

Tammy giggled, “I should have guessed that your sordid mind would think to ask a question like that.  In answer to your question, it’s premeditated.  We’re planning the wedding for the end of December, since that is the best time for Trig to be away from his restaurant.  That brings me to the next point.  With your new responsibilities, you will need an additional secretary.  We should get that person on board as soon as possible, so they can fill in for me when I’m not here.”

“Lastly, you are not going to be able to handle everything by yourself.  You need to have someone who will be able to handle the office when you’re traveling, which Marlene tells me you will probably be doing a lot of.  Trig and I were talking last night, and he is of the opinion that it needs to be someone who is married, in view of the fact that you announced your sexual preferences to the world, yesterday.”

I chuckled, “Tammy, are you sure you weren’t eavesdropping on the conversation that took place at our house, last night?   Start looking for an assistant, and I’ll see what I can do about finding someone else for you to boss around.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: I somehow had a feeling that Ed would pick those two guys to take over that department, one way or the other.

Tammy has a good head on her shoulders.  She has figured out that Ed will, indeed, need some help.  He is running himself ragged.  He definitely needs to learn to delegate tasks to others. He already has a staff of very good people who are dedicated to their jobs and the company.

I believe that Dieter is going to be very good at taking care of Mitchell.  I bet that they will get along just fine, after a small bit of testing the waters to see just how far the boy can go and what he can get away with.

I can hardly wait to see what will happen next time.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 06/18/10