Writer's Notes:
'Real Love' is my personal tribute to JammyJimmy's (JJ) story, 'Threads: The Island'. I give JJ credit, because credit is due, for this story and for my own inspiration and entrance into writing. 'Real Love' is actually the first story I wrote, even before 'Tale of Two Teens', my first published story.
As I was writing this story way back when, I was hoping JJ would be the editor. Having been unable to make contact with him, I have been reluctant to release it. Some say JJ has passed away, but I don't know. JJ, if you read this and want this story removed, please contact me. Several readers have relayed to me, both publically and privately, that they would like it released.
Therefore, 'Real Love' is an unauthorized, reimagined rewrite and sequel to JJ's story, 'Threads: The Island'. The general storyline in JJ's story is embedded in this story. Several of the character names have been changed because this is my story. Anyone who has read JJ's story will identify the characters quickly, starting with my main character, Bradley Weber, formerly known as Kyle Watson in JJ's story.
This story is long, but tolerant and filled with several emotions. If you stick with it, you will experience euphoria, happiness, sadness, sorrow and it will make you horny. You'll be disgusted, pissed off, scared and you'll grieve, cry, frown, smile and sometimes, you'll laugh, I hope.
'Real Love' starts off slow, but gains speed with age. Feel free to leave comments about what you like and what you dislike about the story. Feedback is a good thing for those writers who want to know what reader's like and dislike about their stories.
Please don't be mean in the comments because those that put in many hours over a period of several months, and thought into designing and writing these stories don't appreciate it, nor do they deserve it.
I do hope you enjoy the 'Real Love' series. Just don't forget one important detail -- it's fiction. Please do give us 'not so professional' writers a little slack.
JJ, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, fair winds and following seas my friend.
Let the saga of Bradley Weber continue...
MDSW
* * * * *
As the three owners sit down for their scheduled owner meeting, Brad says, "Confession time girls. The first week we were here, I wondered if either of you wanted any part of this business. Here we are six weeks later and both of you have pretty much jumped in with both feet. You're taking on responsibility and making business decisions. I can't tell you how proud I am of both of you for taking the time to learn and dedicating yourselves to this."
"With that said, you need to let Kelly know when you have swamped your assistants with work. Kelly will start adding assistants as you need them. She's expecting to have three assistants for each of us. I'm completely happy with the assistants I have so far and you should be too, so we need to evaluate them."
"What I suggest you guys do is sit down with Kelly and give her examples of work you have asked of them to see if she sees something in their performance that needs improvement. The idea is not to replace, but to train them to be more efficient or use different methods to get the job done. A big part of this job is foresight, or their ability to look into the future and determine what your needs will be, then take the necessary steps to acquire the same in advance of the need. We need the best staff to support us. That's my bottom line. You guys okay with that?"
Peggy is the first to respond saying, "Yup, I'm on board with that Brad. Rick still has down time so I don't need any more help at this time. He's been able to handle everything and answer business questions that I don't know, which is still a lot. I also know you're carrying my work load. I want you to know that I'll be taking on more responsibility as I get deeper into it. I can't begin to tell you that I appreciate your patience with me. I will get it eventually, but I'm slow at it. Rick is becoming more involved and I trust his advice more and more, but I don't want him to think I'm stupid, because sometimes, I feel like I am."
Brad replies, "You're not stupid, Peggy, and Rick knows it. You may be ignorant, but not stupid. Ignorant is okay because you can learn. Rick and Nikki both expect that because you have no background in business. This isn't a bad thing so don't beat yourself up. You're doing fine. I can do a lot of this because I have been trained to do it. You haven't. You have to learn as you go, which in so many ways, is trial by fire. There's a lot to learn so don't give up."
"Don't be afraid to say you don't understand. Let him help you or ask him if he can give you a beginner course in business. Don't let fear dictate your actions. Face fear and overcome it. Remember Kelly's advice. Talk with her again if you like. She has more advice about this than I do so take advantage of her. She can help you break the ice too. Consider the other side of the coin, Peggy. If Rick works less than fifty percent of his day, what will he think if you ask so little of him? Will he think he's not doing his job? Will he quit because he is bored?"
"If you want help from me on business matters, all you have to do is ask. I will make myself available to you... either or both of you at any time. Just say the word. Has any of Kelly's suggestions helped you at all?"
"Hell yes!" Peggy states. "It has caused me to accelerate my personal relationship with Rick so yes it's helping me a lot. It seems we flow better together now. He almost knows what I'm going to ask before I ask it."
"He's anticipating your questions Peggy. That's great. How are you doing, Stacy?"
"I'm also picking it up Brad. And yes, Kelly helped me as well, in the same manner as Peggy. There's a lot of information here to process and I'm not use to doing that. But, in time, I will be right up there with you. Nikki still has down time as well, likely because she works so much faster than I do at the business stuff. But I'm getting her more involved," she replies. "Any more suggestions about that?"
"Same advice Stacy. The best thing to do is to talk to Kelly. She's a wealth of information about this and she hates me when I try to do her job. I'm not trying to weasel out of it, but I am trying to get you to the best source of information to handle the problem you face -- and save my relationship... Would either of you like to go to a business school and learn business practices?"
"I would rather learn from you. You can give us the info we need without analyzing the cost of tea in China, if you know what mean," Peggy says and Stacy agrees.
Brad is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to the business stuff. Both Peggy and Stacy know it.
"I understand what you mean Stacy. When we decide to add to the staff, Kelly has already told you she plans to put Nikki and Rick on the same team. That means Stacy will get new assistants."
"That reminds me. Do you know why she wants to do that?" Peggy asks. "She told us earlier she is going to do that, but didn't have time to tell us why. She was getting pulled in a couple directions so she hasn't been able to tell us yet."
"One thing Kelly and I have learned, being in this position, is that we talk all time about anything that trips our fancy and we include Debi in our conversations because she's a team member. Rick and Nikki are a couple and they spend a lot of time together. They talk a lot also, but they talk about both of you instead of concentrating on one. I think they would turn into another Kelly and Debi if they work with the same boss. That way, their focus is on one person and they don't have to keep switching. Not only that, they requested to work with you as a team. How do you feel about that?"
"I like it... Sounds like you're thinking ahead Brad," Stacy says.
"Kelly is thinking ahead, and she does it well. She also has a preference for Rick and Nikki, but she wants them to decide who they want to work with. Kelly talked to them this morning and you know who they picked," he says frankly. "The most challenging of the two of you. I would have been disappointed if they didn't select you."
"Peggy, learn at your pace. Do what makes you comfortable. Some of it will be confusing to you but don't give up. You may not understand what they're telling you, but absorb as much as possible. It will likely come to fruition down the road. Don't try to rush things either."
"Obviously, Kelly will find Stacy assistants with similar qualities. Good assistants are hard to find, so when we find them, we need to do everything possible to keep them. Top positions shouldn't have a high turnover because it will slow us down. That's one reason why I got rid of the termination dates in the contracts. We must have team members that click together," Brad says.
Both Peggy and Stacy agree with what Brad is telling them and appreciate the advice. They also want more casual business discussions when there's less pressure on them, and wants them more often. Brad tells them we can have the mini training sessions anytime they want, but may need to schedule them if time starts getting tight.
Stacy has another thought she wants to discuss with the two of them, now that she has them cornered.
"New topic. Would you guys feel comfortable with team T-shirts that we can wear around the Island on comfort days? Mine would have my name and TEAM Stacy on it along with the Packard Empire logo. Yours will be similar. I'm not sure if that's a good idea yet, but what do you think?" Stacy asks.
"It sounds good yet not good. Everybody works together well right now and I wonder if breaking us into smaller teams will hinder that or separate us somehow. Why don't we discuss this at the next team meeting?" Peggy asks.
"I'm thinking the same thing," Brad injects. "We should give this some more thought and Peggy is right, we need to bring it up at the next team meeting so we get information from the whole team. I do like the idea though."
With that said, they get up and have a group hug. Brad gives each a kiss on the cheek but the girls kiss him on his lips, shocking him.
"What was that for?" Brad asks.
