Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
My business partner shifts in his seat. I’m not sure which side of this issue he’s going to fall on, but I really hope it’s on the one of keeping George. If Robert wants to fire him, I could make a unilateral decision as CEO, but that would definitely fracture our working relationship. Something I very much don’t want to do.
“Okay. I see what you’re saying. I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all. You’re usually a lot more cutthroat than this. But I’m fine with this plan. We can give George only jobs that we know are low priority and won’t put us in a pickle if he messes them up.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you agree.”
“The only thing is…” he trails off.
“What is it?”
“I would have appreciated a heads-up. We’re business partners. We’ve got to keep each other in the loop about these things. I don’t mind a little secrecy when it comes to your personal love life, but you know, we have to keep all business-related topics on the table, out in the open. That’s what makes this partnership work so well.”
I nod because I agree. I should have let Robert know that about this decision. It did originally come from trying to get Tammy to see things my way, but after thinking about it from her perspective and realizing how devastated her family would be if we did fire George, I became more okay with the idea of keeping him on in a more limited capacity.
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind just firing him now and arranging his retirement package myself, but I’m sure George would balk at that idea. Plus, I have no idea how I would explain why I would do that to either George or Robert, so keeping him on is the easiest path, for now.
“I’ll make sure to let you know next time. I just had this idea randomly and didn’t even stop to give it too much thought.”
Robert nods. He clearly wants a more detailed answer, but he’s not going to pursue it. My behavior is out of character, but since I haven’t done anything drastically crazy, my friend is going to go along with it.
For now.
“Good. That’s all I ask. You’re my friend, Barrister. I trust you, don’t forget that.” He straightens his back, cracking it a little. “I’ve got stuff to take care. And knowing that one of our projects has been delayed by two weeks, I have to go make an updated budget. It’s going to be one hell of a week, isn’t it?”
“Probably. I have a lot to take care of today, too, and I’m already behind. But we always manage to get it done.”
“We always get it done. I’ll leave you to it,” Robert responds, standing up from the chair at the same time. “Don’t forget we’ve got the partner dinner coming up. I think Nancy’s already made the reservation, so all you have to do is show up in your suit and tie. This one is pretty low-key, more of a quick check-in.”
“I’ll make sure to check my calendar for the time and location. I’ll see you later.”
Robert departs, leaving me alone to finally work. I login to my computer, ready to go through my emails and whatever else I have planned for the day.
But my mind ends up wandering over to Tammy and our upcoming date. Clearly, our activities have some spillover into our day-to-day lives. But preferably, we can compartmentalize our personal relationship. We’re going to have to go somewhere away from here – some place where we won’t be at risk for running into anyone that we know.
I’m not about to use company time to research date spots, though. I’ve already spent way too much time at Brick Productions focusing on Tammy. And I’ve already messed up business-wise in the George department, even before the deal with Tammy. I really shouldn’t have given him such a high priority job, but I’d honestly thought he could do it. Apparently, I’d made a mistake.
“I’ll look potential date spots up when I get home,” I say to myself.
Right now, I’ve got to email a bunch of people that they’re going to have to wait an additional two more weeks before we can give them access to our latest project.
I know they are going to be pissed. No one likes hearing about delays. Hell, I don’t like hearing about delays, but these guys aren’t as magnanimous as me. If they knew the fault was with George, they’d insist I fire him. Which is why I’m going to have to come up with another excuse for why this happened. I’m sure I’ll come up with something.
I’ve gotten pretty good at crisis control what with being a producer. There’s always a fire that has to put out in this business. That’s something I’m used to. I can think about Tammy later.