The Challenge - Part Two

Happy Monday.  I'm in Denver and I hope this has come up as planned.  Here's part two of 'The Challenge."  I planned on it only being two parts, but what do I know.  Now there's another part for next week and who knows after that.  If you want to read from beginning, click.here

The Challenge - Part Two

Wendy wasn’t sure what she was going to do when she left Brian Sanderson’s office.  Yes, she had to acknowledge it was his office.  Unfortunately, everything she needed to work was in there because she had been using it for weeks.  She only knew she had to get out of there and away from him before she did something awful – something like give him the finger or smack that smug little smile off his face. ‘Damn you, Gene, what the hell were your thinking? I don’t deserve this.’

She walked out onto the manufacturing floor and became inundated with questions about who was the guy in the suit and what was happening.  An employee meeting needed to be scheduled immediately to answer the employee’s questions and assuage their fears about their future employment.   After talking with several of the workers, her temper had cooled enough to go back and face Brian Sanderson again. 

Wendy walked into the office, and Brian was talking with Connie Belson, the administrative assistant. 

“Don’t you knock?” he asked.

“Never have before, Gene always had an open door policy.”

“Good manners dictate that one should always knock before barging in.”

She could feel her blood pressure starting to rise and hope it didn’t show on her face.

“I’ll try to remember that for the future.”

“Please do,” he told her and then told Connie he would check back with her later.  Connie rolled her eyes at Wendy as she passed her by on the way back to her desk.

“I was out on the manufacturing floor, and there are a lot of questions.  I think it best to schedule an employee meeting quickly to let everyone know what’s going on.”

“You do, do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, I guess that’s the first thing we agree on, Ms. Thurston.  How do you want to handle this?

“As you so succinctly pointed out earlier, you are the CEO, and you make the final decisions.  It would really behoove you to tell me what your expectations of me are first though, don’t you think?”

“You know, Ms. Thurston, I sense that you don’t like me very much.”

“So far, Mr. Sanderson, you haven’t shown me very much to like.  Not that it matters whether I like you or not.”

“It matters to me, Ms. Thurston.”

“You have a very funny way of showing it.”

“I am what I am.  My British background was probably very different from your American upbringing.  My mother was an enigma.  Although she never married, a fact that was considered a flagrant faux pas at the time, she insisted that we comport ourselves according to the strictest protocols of society. So my ways are a product of my childhood and education.”

Wendy wasn’t sure if this was a backhanded apology for his boorishness or just a statement of fact.  Either way he was still a snooty upstart as far as she was concerned, but one she would have to learn to live with or find another job.

He continued.  “Why don’t we schedule a meeting for 4:00 today?  We can go to lunch to discuss how we are going to handle this.  Is that agreeable to you?”

“That’s fine, but what do I do in the meantime.”

“Why you do your job, of course, just like you have been doing.”

“Today is payroll, and I was going over the time cards when you came in and took over.  Everything I need is on the desk in front of you.”

“I see.  Well, take what you need.  I will need to see the final numbers before submission to the accounting office.”

She smirked, hopefully to herself.  ‘So much for Mr. Bigshot.  Nothing like coming in and acting like a know it all when you don’t know a thing.’

“Payroll is handled by an outside company.  I’ll be sure to send you everything before I submit this week’s report to them.”  She gathered what she needed from his desk and walked back to her old office.  Connie followed her in and closed the door behind her.

“What’s with him?” Connie asked.

“He’s Gene’s nephew and apparently the new owner of the company.  Aren’t we just the lucky souls?”

“He acts like he has a stick up his ass.”

“As far as I’m concerned, he is an ass, so the stick probably fits really well.” Wendy said and laughed at her own joke.

“What’s going to happen now?”

“Your guess is as good as mine Connie.  We’re meeting for lunch to determine my new role and what we’re going to say to the rest of the staff today.  Will you see that all are assembled in the conference room at 4:00 today?”

                            _________________________________________

Brian Sanderson took Wendy to one of the better restaurants in town.  He was the epitome of gentlemen-like behavior; opening the car door, pulling out her chair. She was impressed.

“Ms. Thurston.”

“Please call me Wendy,” she asked.

“Wendy, I fear we got off on the wrong foot today.  I appreciate everything you’ve done for Sanderson Manufacturing.  I’m sorry things turned out as they have, but what’s done is done.  Believe me, I was as surprised as you when the attorney called.  I never met Uncle Gene.  He and my mother did not communicate, and my mother never talked about him.”

“Gene Sanderson was a lovely man.  It’s too bad you never met him.”  Brian seemed annoyed she interrupted his train of thought. 

“To continue, I don’t think you know, but my uncle had a plan that was never formalized. His plan was to have me come over and learn the business and see how we worked together. When he was ready to retire, he was going to offer it to us fifty/fifty.  I could be mistaken, but I think it was an attempt at playing matchmaker.”

Wendy couldn’t help it; she started laughing and shaking her head.  “Gene didn’t even know you.  How could he ever think we could get along?”

“You have to remember, he didn’t know me. I don’t know what his thought process was, but he knew we were about the same age.  Based on your past performance, he assumed you would put Sanderson Manufacturing first and work with me to grow the company into the future.  Can you do that?”

“I can do that as long as you climb down off your high horse long enough to give us a chance.  High handedness doesn’t work for me.  I’m willing to work with you as long as you treat me with the respect I’ve earned and deserve.  I will not be treated the way you treated me this morning.  I like my job, and I’d rather stay with Sanderson, but I couldn’t possibly work with the pompous ass that walked into the office this morning.”

“Wow, you don’t pull any punches, do you, Wendy. I may have been a little high-handed this morning, chalk it up to nerves.  What I said, though, still goes.  I won’t undermine you, but the final decisions are mine.  I too want to be treated with respect.  I will not tolerate being called names or have you talking down to me.  Not in private and definitely not in public.  Understood?”

“Respect is earned, Brian. I will do my best but do not expect me to refrain from stating my opinion.  You may make the final decision, but I will vocalize any disagreement I have.”

“Wendy, I’m quite sure you will state your opinion loud and clear but be warned my decision will be final.”  A leveling finger and stern look accompanied the statement.

“Please don’t point your finger at me. And if I continue to disagree.” He put his finger down and a small grin bloomed at the corners of his mouth.  His stern countenance didn't seem so threatening anymore.

“Then I’ll just have to take you over my knee to make you see the error of your ways.” Wendy looked at him, her mouth agape.  “Did you just say what I think you said?”

“What do you think I said?”

“That you would take me over your knee if I continued to disagree.”

“That’s what I said.”

“You are a boorish man and I don’t see how I am ever going to work with you. Maybe it’s best if I give you my notice right now.”

“Wendy, don’t be such a prude.  It’s only a statement.  Of course, it’s one I wouldn’t mind coming to fruition.  I think it would be of great benefit to you and us, but I would never follow through.  Although, in my area of the world, it’s been done - maybe not recently, but it has been done.”  Ignoring the look on Wendy’s face, he suggested ordering lunch so they could decide how they were going to handle the employee meeting later that afternoon. 

See you later for more Aimless Ramblings.