CHAPTER 3

 

CHAPTER 3

Tuesday morning went by pretty much the same way Monday morning had. They began in Ms. Forsythe’s office where even her name plate listed her by her last name. Maddie had already noticed that the other name plates she’d seen held only a first name.

Sharon once again assumed her position behind the desk and motioned Maddie to take the chair adjacent. Before she could begin issuing orders, Maddie asked, “Ms. Forsythe, would you mind answering a few questions about the information provided yesterday. I don’t have many, but would appreciate the clarification.”

The woman stared at Maddie, raised an eyebrow, glanced at her computer screen, and after staring at the screen with clenched jaw, more or less graciously acquiesced. This took less than half an hour and then she began explaining and showing Maddie the various files in her desk as well as the materials in the few files that were against the wall on the other side of the door to the inner sanctum. They were just about finished with those when a commotion erupted and a big and very angry man practically ran into the office.

“God dammit, I want to see Lorax now, this minute, right now. I’m tired of getting the runaround.” He went over and began to hammer on the inner door.

Annie ran right in behind him, flushed and saying, “I tried to stop him, but he just wouldn’t listen. Somehow, he knew about the door lock and pushed it himself. In fact, he pushed me to get to it. I’ve called for security.”

Sharon got up and went to the man. Her face showed only anger and tight lips as she said sternly, “If you don’t leave immediately, the police will take you out of here. Now. Leave.”

“I ain’t leaving until I see Lorax. He’s not going to fuck me over, make me lose my company. He promised and I aim to make him keep that promise.” He turned back to the door and began hammering again, adding a couple of kicks for good measure.

Maddie walked over to stand beside the man. She smiled as she placed a hand on his arm and looked up. “Sir, sir, please. Mr. Lorax isn’t here right now and he won’t be back today. I’m his Executive Assistant, and I know if he made you a promise, he intended to keep it. Could we sit down some place quiet and talk about your problem? Maybe I can help solve it.”

The man looked down at Maddie. He was quite large and made her feel quite small. Hopefully, he wouldn’t hammer her with his huge hands. She looked up at him, eyes wide open, continued to smile, kept her hand on his arm and asked, “May I know your name sir? I really would like to help if I can. In fact, being Mr. Lorax’s assistant, I’m sure I can help.”

The man appeared to relax a bit and told her his name was John Kennedy just as two of the security staff entered the room and started toward the them. Maddie moved between them and said imperiously, “Tom, Jeff, we don’t need you after all. I’m going to deal with Mr. Kennedy on Spence’s behalf.” She was thankful she’d met them the day before and knew their names.

Ignoring Sharon, Maddie turned to Annie and asked, “Is the little conference room free?” To Annie’s wide eyes and head nod, she said, “Oh, good.”

She turned around to face Mr. Kennedy and asked, “Sir, would you like coffee, tea, a soft drink or just some water?”

Tom, Jeff, Annie and Sharon were all looking at her as if she’d grown two heads. She ignored them and asked, “Annie, Mr. Kennedy would appreciate some coffee with cream and perhaps you could bring in some water and a couple of those pastries I saw earlier this morning. Thank you.

Then, Maddie turned to Mr. Kennedy and said, “Shall we, sir? Let’s see if we can solve that problem of yours.”

Coffee poured and served, a pastry and napkin provided, Maddie sat on the other side of the table and listened and made notes while Mr. Kennedy poured out his tale of woe.

“I met Spence about five months ago when he came to visit my little company. We make small parts for small planes. I prefer getting my parts from companies that make them in the United States. That way, I know I’m almost always getting a quality product.”

Mr. Kennedy stopped to take a sip of coffee and a bite of his Danish. “Say, this is quite good. I’m not much for sweets, but this reminds me of something my mamma used to bake.”

“They are quite good aren’t they. If I ate one every day, I’d gain weight and look like kin to an elephant. Now, please Mr. Kennedy, continue.”

“You don’t have to call me Mr. Kennedy. You can call me Ken since that’s what Spence called me. Anyway, Spence assured me his company could provide mine with all the parts I need to hold two other parts together. Since I had a decent supply at the time, I waited to order, and when I did, I was told they were out of stock and I couldn’t get any for four months. In four months, I’ll be out of business.”

“Did Spence indicate there would ever be a problem in obtaining what you need?”

“No Miss. Spence said I’d get them in less than a week of my order whenever I decided to order.”

“Okay, Now, why do you say you won’t get them?”

“First, I got an email from the supply department telling me what I’ve just told you. I tried to call Mr. Lorax, but was shunted off to someone named Tyler. He told me it would be impossible to provide the parts and when I demanded to speak to his supervisor, he connected me to someone named Dave who told me I’d get my order filled in four months as I’d already been told. When I continued to fuss, the bastard hung up on me. That’s when I decided I had to speak to Spence in person.”

“I’m sorry he’s not available, but maybe I can help.”

“You have any idea how many times I’ve tried to get as far as his office door? This is my third try and I only succeeded because the security guy was tied up and I snuck on the elevator. I apologize for upsetting everyone, but I can’t let my company, the company my great-great-grandad began back when he was a smithy go under because I can’t get the one little part I was promised in good faith.”

“Okay, Ken, please enjoy your coffee while I round up a few items I’ll need to get you squared away.”

Maddie went out into the hallway and down to her office. Sharon was sitting there looking a bit smug. “So, did you get it handled?”

“Not yet. I need my company tablet and my cell phone. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Back in the little conference room, Maddie used the company tablet to look up the names of staff. “Please be patient Ken. This may take a bit of time.”

She found the name she was looking for and used her cell phone to dial the extension. “Hi Tyler. This is Maddie, Spence’s new assistant; and I’m sitting here with Ken, make that Mr. Kennedy.”

She heard Tyler laugh. “Yeah, I heard he stormed the Bastille. Glad he moved up the chain because I was really tired of his phone calls.”

“Yes, well, the buck stops here to use an old saying. Please explain to me why Ken isn’t getting his connectors on time as promised by Spence. Are we totally out of stock?”

“Well, no, not exactly.”

“Exactly? What does that mean?”

“We have 500,000 in stock, but they’ve all been promised to The Nelson Company.”

“And, when was that order placed.”

“Um, let me see…it was placed ten days ago.”

“And how long has Mr. Kennedy been requesting his supply?”

“About two weeks or so.”

“Okay, and how many did he order?”

“100,000 units.”

“Then, let’s short the other company’s order with a promise to send as soon as available and ship Mr. Kennedy his 100,000.”

“I can’t do that. I don’t have the authority.”

“Who does?”

“Mr. Lorax and Dave Fielding.”

“Thank you, Tyler, appreciate your help.”

Maddie pushed the end button, looked up and dialed the extension for Dave Fielding.”

He too, greeted her with a laugh about poor Mr. Kennedy, but the laughter soon dried up as Maddie employed her no-nonsense voice.

“Mr. Fielding, I’m sure you know by now that Mr. Lorax won’t be in the office today. I’m sure you also know, and I can double check the files, that Mr. Lorax promised Mr. Kennedy and his company whatever component was required when the time came. I’ve already talked to Tyler and know we have 500,000 units on hand. So, here’s what we’re going to do. You are going to ship 100,000 units to Mr. Kennedy’s company today. Not only that, but you are going to overnight them regardless of the cost. If Mr. Lorax were here, I know he would authorize this because he wouldn’t want Mr. Kennedy’s 100-year-old family company to fail after promising our company would provide the units he needs when needed. Then, you can ship the other 400,000 units to the other company with the explanation that we’ll provide the other 100,000 as soon as possible. And, when do you think that possibility might be?”

There was silence on the other end and for a minute Maddie was afraid the factory foreman had hung up. “Are you sure Spence would approve this? Absolutely positive. I don’t want to lose my job over 100,000 connectors.”

“Mr. Fielding, I’m absolutely positively sure this is a go. Now, please get it done immediately. I’ll tell Mr. Kennedy he can expect his parts tomorrow morning at the latest. Thank you.”

When Maddie pushed the end button, she wanted to slump over. She had no idea if she’d just screwed herself royally or not, but she was the EA and she’d taken care of Mr. Kennedy’s problem. She wasn’t sure if it was what Mr. Lorax would have done, but it was done now and the man across from her had a face with a huge smile.

“You may be a little bit of a thing Ms. Maddie, but you sure know how to take care of business. That’s some voice you’ve got there. If you’d been talking to me, I certainly would have complied with the request. And, I want to thank you so very much for listening to me and taking care of my problem. I have to admit I’ll sleep much better tonight than I have the last couple of weeks.”

“It was my pleasure to help you Mr. Kennedy, I mean Ken. The Lorax Company was once a much smaller company and it is clients like you that have helped it grow.”

“That and your boss’ promises. I am so very grateful now that I decided to buy locally rather than from back east. We need to keep our home-grown companies here working for our communities. That’s pretty much what Spence said that convinced me to switch suppliers. Well, that and climate change and carbon footprints.”

“Please, allow me to show you to the elevator. I’d give you a business card, but they haven’t been printed yet. Whenever you need to call The Lorax Company, just ask for Maddie and they’ll put you right through.”

With some thank-yous and good-byes, the elevator door closed on Mr. Kennedy and Maddie slumped against the doors. Annie got up from behind the reception counter and brought her a bottle of water that was so cold it was sweating.

“You look like you could use this.”

“Oh my God, yes.” Maddie exclaimed as she twisted the top off and poured the entire bottle down her now dry throat.

“Thank you, Annie. I really appreciate your help with this little problem. Of course, it may be a big problem tomorrow, but for now, I’m going to consider it a success.”

“I don’t know what happened or what you did, but I’m sure the company grapevine will soon let me know. Besides, to see Ms. Forsythe, muttering and clenching her teeth…well, I consider that alone a big success.”Tuesday morning went by pretty much the same way Monday morning had. They began in Ms. Forsythe’s office where even her name plate listed her by her last name. Maddie had already noticed that the other name plates she’d seen held only a first name.

Sharon once again assumed her position behind the desk and motioned Maddie to take the chair adjacent. Before she could begin issuing orders, Maddie asked, “Ms. Forsythe, would you mind answering a few questions about the information provided yesterday. I don’t have many, but would appreciate the clarification.”

The woman stared at Maddie, raised an eyebrow, glanced at her computer screen, and after staring at the screen with clenched jaw, more or less graciously acquiesced. This took less than half an hour and then she began explaining and showing Maddie the various files in her desk as well as the materials in the few files that were against the wall on the other side of the door to the inner sanctum. They were just about finished with those when a commotion erupted and a big and very angry man practically ran into the office.

“God dammit, I want to see Lorax now, this minute, right now. I’m tired of getting the runaround.” He went over and began to hammer on the inner door.

Annie ran right in behind him, flushed and saying, “I tried to stop him, but he just wouldn’t listen. Somehow, he knew about the door lock and pushed it himself. In fact, he pushed me to get to it. I’ve called for security.”

Sharon got up and went to the man. Her face showed only anger and tight lips as she said sternly, “If you don’t leave immediately, the police will take you out of here. Now. Leave.”

“I ain’t leaving until I see Lorax. He’s not going to fuck me over, make me lose my company. He promised and I aim to make him keep that promise.” He turned back to the door and began hammering again, adding a couple of kicks for good measure.

Maddie walked over to stand beside the man. She smiled as she placed a hand on his arm and looked up. “Sir, sir, please. Mr. Lorax isn’t here right now and he won’t be back today. I’m his Executive Assistant, and I know if he made you a promise, he intended to keep it. Could we sit down some place quiet and talk about your problem? Maybe I can help solve it.”

The man looked down at Maddie. He was quite large and made her feel quite small. Hopefully, he wouldn’t hammer her with his huge hands. She looked up at him, eyes wide open, continued to smile, kept her hand on his arm and asked, “May I know your name sir? I really would like to help if I can. In fact, being Mr. Lorax’s assistant, I’m sure I can help.”

The man appeared to relax a bit and told her his name was John Kennedy just as two of the security staff entered the room and started toward the them. Maddie moved between them and said imperiously, “Tom, Jeff, we don’t need you after all. I’m going to deal with Mr. Kennedy on Spence’s behalf.” She was thankful she’d met them the day before and knew their names.

Ignoring Sharon, Maddie turned to Annie and asked, “Is the little conference room free?” To Annie’s wide eyes and head nod, she said, “Oh, good.”

She turned around to face Mr. Kennedy and asked, “Sir, would you like coffee, tea, a soft drink or just some water?”

Tom, Jeff, Annie and Sharon were all looking at her as if she’d grown two heads. She ignored them and asked, “Annie, Mr. Kennedy would appreciate some coffee with cream and perhaps you could bring in some water and a couple of those pastries I saw earlier this morning. Thank you.

Then, Maddie turned to Mr. Kennedy and said, “Shall we, sir? Let’s see if we can solve that problem of yours.”

Coffee poured and served, a pastry and napkin provided, Maddie sat on the other side of the table and listened and made notes while Mr. Kennedy poured out his tale of woe.

“I met Spence about five months ago when he came to visit my little company. We make small parts for small planes. I prefer getting my parts from companies that make them in the United States. That way, I know I’m almost always getting a quality product.”

Mr. Kennedy stopped to take a sip of coffee and a bite of his Danish. “Say, this is quite good. I’m not much for sweets, but this reminds me of something my mamma used to bake.”

“They are quite good aren’t they. If I ate one every day, I’d gain weight and look like kin to an elephant. Now, please Mr. Kennedy, continue.”

“You don’t have to call me Mr. Kennedy. You can call me Ken since that’s what Spence called me. Anyway, Spence assured me his company could provide mine with all the parts I need to hold two other parts together. Since I had a decent supply at the time, I waited to order, and when I did, I was told they were out of stock and I couldn’t get any for four months. In four months, I’ll be out of business.”

“Did Spence indicate there would ever be a problem in obtaining what you need?”

“No Miss. Spence said I’d get them in less than a week of my order whenever I decided to order.”

“Okay, Now, why do you say you won’t get them?”

“First, I got an email from the supply department telling me what I’ve just told you. I tried to call Mr. Lorax, but was shunted off to someone named Tyler. He told me it would be impossible to provide the parts and when I demanded to speak to his supervisor, he connected me to someone named Dave who told me I’d get my order filled in four months as I’d already been told. When I continued to fuss, the bastard hung up on me. That’s when I decided I had to speak to Spence in person.”

“I’m sorry he’s not available, but maybe I can help.”

“You have any idea how many times I’ve tried to get as far as his office door? This is my third try and I only succeeded because the security guy was tied up and I snuck on the elevator. I apologize for upsetting everyone, but I can’t let my company, the company my great-great-grandad began back when he was a smithy go under because I can’t get the one little part I was promised in good faith.”

“Okay, Ken, please enjoy your coffee while I round up a few items I’ll need to get you squared away.”

Maddie went out into the hallway and down to her office. Sharon was sitting there looking a bit smug. “So, did you get it handled?”

“Not yet. I need my company tablet and my cell phone. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Back in the little conference room, Maddie used the company tablet to look up the names of staff. “Please be patient Ken. This may take a bit of time.”

She found the name she was looking for and used her cell phone to dial the extension. “Hi Tyler. This is Maddie, Spence’s new assistant; and I’m sitting here with Ken, make that Mr. Kennedy.”

She heard Tyler laugh. “Yeah, I heard he stormed the Bastille. Glad he moved up the chain because I was really tired of his phone calls.”

“Yes, well, the buck stops here to use an old saying. Please explain to me why Ken isn’t getting his connectors on time as promised by Spence. Are we totally out of stock?”

“Well, no, not exactly.”

“Exactly? What does that mean?”

“We have 500,000 in stock, but they’ve all been promised to The Nelson Company.”

“And, when was that order placed.”

“Um, let me see…it was placed ten days ago.”

“And how long has Mr. Kennedy been requesting his supply?”

“About two weeks or so.”

“Okay, and how many did he order?”

“100,000 units.”

“Then, let’s short the other company’s order with a promise to send as soon as available and ship Mr. Kennedy his 100,000.”

“I can’t do that. I don’t have the authority.”

“Who does?”

“Mr. Lorax and Dave Fielding.”

“Thank you, Tyler, appreciate your help.”

Maddie pushed the end button, looked up and dialed the extension for Dave Fielding.”

He too, greeted her with a laugh about poor Mr. Kennedy, but the laughter soon dried up as Maddie employed her no-nonsense voice.

“Mr. Fielding, I’m sure you know by now that Mr. Lorax won’t be in the office today. I’m sure you also know, and I can double check the files, that Mr. Lorax promised Mr. Kennedy and his company whatever component was required when the time came. I’ve already talked to Tyler and know we have 500,000 units on hand. So, here’s what we’re going to do. You are going to ship 100,000 units to Mr. Kennedy’s company today. Not only that, but you are going to overnight them regardless of the cost. If Mr. Lorax were here, I know he would authorize this because he wouldn’t want Mr. Kennedy’s 100-year-old family company to fail after promising our company would provide the units he needs when needed. Then, you can ship the other 400,000 units to the other company with the explanation that we’ll provide the other 100,000 as soon as possible. And, when do you think that possibility might be?”

There was silence on the other end and for a minute Maddie was afraid the factory foreman had hung up. “Are you sure Spence would approve this? Absolutely positive. I don’t want to lose my job over 100,000 connectors.”

“Mr. Fielding, I’m absolutely positively sure this is a go. Now, please get it done immediately. I’ll tell Mr. Kennedy he can expect his parts tomorrow morning at the latest. Thank you.”

When Maddie pushed the end button, she wanted to slump over. She had no idea if she’d just screwed herself royally or not, but she was the EA and she’d taken care of Mr. Kennedy’s problem. She wasn’t sure if it was what Mr. Lorax would have done, but it was done now and the man across from her had a face with a huge smile.

“You may be a little bit of a thing Ms. Maddie, but you sure know how to take care of business. That’s some voice you’ve got there. If you’d been talking to me, I certainly would have complied with the request. And, I want to thank you so very much for listening to me and taking care of my problem. I have to admit I’ll sleep much better tonight than I have the last couple of weeks.”

“It was my pleasure to help you Mr. Kennedy, I mean Ken. The Lorax Company was once a much smaller company and it is clients like you that have helped it grow.”

“That and your boss’ promises. I am so very grateful now that I decided to buy locally rather than from back east. We need to keep our home-grown companies here working for our communities. That’s pretty much what Spence said that convinced me to switch suppliers. Well, that and climate change and carbon footprints.”

“Please, allow me to show you to the elevator. I’d give you a business card, but they haven’t been printed yet. Whenever you need to call The Lorax Company, just ask for Maddie and they’ll put you right through.”

With some thank-yous and good-byes, the elevator door closed on Mr. Kennedy and Maddie slumped against the doors. Annie got up from behind the reception counter and brought her a bottle of water that was so cold it was sweating.

“You look like you could use this.”

“Oh my God, yes.” Maddie exclaimed as she twisted the top off and poured the entire bottle down her now dry throat.

“Thank you, Annie. I really appreciate your help with this little problem. Of course, it may be a big problem tomorrow, but for now, I’m going to consider it a success.”

“I don’t know what happened or what you did, but I’m sure the company grapevine will soon let me know. Besides, to see Ms. Forsythe, muttering and clenching her teeth…well, I consider that alone a big success.”