Bob was as good as his word. He sought me out the next day.
"Pop is willing to sell it for a thousand dollars, Ian. That's a really good price from what the Blue Book says. It's in good shape, but I'll let you decide that if you're interested. I can also make you a deal. Since you'll be working here at Christmas and possibly next year, I can let you pay for the car with a reasonable deduction from your paycheck. You'll still have to pay for insurance and that isn't cheap."
"That's terrific, Bob. Thank you so much. It will be a real help. I would like to see the car if it's okay with you and your father."
Bob grinned, knowing the deal was made. "Here's his address. He's expecting you. Just give him a call at that number to let him know when you're coming."
I don't know if other bosses would do what Bob did for me, but I was grateful and I told my parents what he had offered, including the opportunity for a permanent job. I almost felt like I owed him to go to work for him.
My dad was really pleased with how Bob was treating me. They were friends, but Dad had never asked him for a favour. Bob was doing this on his own. I think Dad was really happy with that. Kenny was wondering if he could get a summer job there too. I wasn't so sure about him working for Bob. Kenny was a little less mature and somewhat lazy. He was more likely to just show up and collect his pay. He had some growing up to do. Anyway, it wasn't up to me to promote him. If he wanted a job, he had to apply for it, just like I did. Yeah, Dad got me the introduction, but after that, I was on my own.
Chapter 5A
Deb:
I didn't have to go out of my way to find Ian again. He appeared as if by magic in my computer class. I think, subconsciously, I had been looking for him for a while now. I had a good feeling being with him. He was a really good guy and very attentive to my needs. Even though we agreed that we didn't have to be exclusive, I had no intention of looking elsewhere in my last year of college. Despite sending those two girls to ask me about him, I was almost positive that Ian wouldn't either.
It looks like I'm destined to go back to Sechelt and help my parents with the store. Dad seems to be slowing down, despite the fact that he's only fifty years old. They've got a young guy working for them now to help out, but he's not a future manager of the store. I call him 'Odd Job' because that's mostly what he's good for. At least he's reliable. He shows up on time and handles the customers respectfully. That's a big plus. My brother has accepted a transfer with his company and he and his wife are moving to Kamloops. I think we knew all along he wouldn't be involved with the hardware store.
If there were some way that Ian was going to be around, I might consider him as a more permanent fixture in my life. But he's not likely to turn up in Sechelt and I'm not likely to leave there any time soon. I really like and respect the guy. He's polite and thoughtful and even if he isn't a Rhodes Scholar, he's plenty smart. I'm sure he's going to have a good future somewhere. There are times when I wish it were with me. For now, we'll just continue to be friends with benefits.
Chapter 6 What comes next?
Ian:
My fourth and final year at UBC was pretty uneventful. I had several dates with several different girls, but none of them were long-term girlfriend material. I was surprised that I shared a class in Computer Science with Debbie Cummings. She wanted to help her dad modernize his bookkeeping and inventory control at the hardware store. He was part of a buying group and they were putting a lot of pressure on to get him to get up to date and onto their new network.
I had similar ideas for Maxwell Marine Services if I went to work for them. They had quite an antiquated computer system that was functionally limited and couldn't be updated. I had some ideas of what could be done, but kept them to myself until I decided whether to join them permanently or not. It would be a big project and require a lot of manpower to make the change. If I went to work for Bob permanently, I felt it would be a worthwhile way for me to contribute something to the company.
So Deb and I became part-time lovers, I guess you could call it. It was great to be able to hook up with her again. We knew it wasn't permanent and it wasn't expected to be exclusive, but it was really nice to be with her once more. I got the impression she felt the same. She was my teacher and I'll always be grateful to her for helping me understand the female of the species. Girls like her are few and far between. I was also grateful to her for teaching me how to be a student. I don't think I'd have made it if she hadn't pulled me along that second year. Now, I had an ingrained routine and I was confident the good habits she had pounded into me would do me well in the business world.
I sat down with Bob Maxwell in April to have our talk that he promised me last year. I was in for a surprise.
"Ian, as you know, I have taken on two partners in the business. I've done that because there is no one in my family who can carry on for me. Essentially, I've sold two-thirds of the business, but it will remain Maxwell Marine Services, Limited. Ballinger and Thompson are venture capitalists and won't take an active part in the management of the business.
As a result of this partnership, we will be expanding the business by acquiring another business, Algonquin Diesel. That will give us two new locations. One in Ontario and another in New Brunswick. The Ontario operation is located in Guelph, while the New Brunswick shop is in Moncton. The Algonquin owners have sold the business lock, stock and barrel to us. We will probably rename it, but not right away. The business was failing because they didn't have the capital to modernize. Some of their lines are not a good fit for us, but some of them are a match for our existing products. It's going to take some doing to integrate the three locations into one smooth operation. I'll be working toward finding three managers, one for each location.
"You once talked about computerized inventory and sales systems. We're going to need that for all three locations. My question to you is, do you feel competent to monitor the installation of such a system for us? We know what both we and Algonquin have is outdated."
"No, I don't," I answered after some thought. "I know of off-the-shelf systems for both inventory and sales. You need a professional to make sure the installation of the system is done properly. In addition, you need to make sure it will fit in with your accounting and other future systems you might want. You will need help from all three locations. At least one dedicated person to take charge of the implementation, and the complete commitment of the existing staff to make it work. It's going to be a big job cataloguing and entering the data. It's going to take time and since we have to continue to operate the business day-to-day, overtime and weekends are going to be required. That's the difficult part."
Bob was nodding and I saw no indication of disagreement.
"One of our partners has been through this before and warned us that it was going to be just as you described it. We've set aside a substantial sum to get this done. You know our systems and you know our products. I'm confident that you can help us make this work. We will have this outside person work with us on the accounting package to make sure it is compatible with whatever systems you and he think are best. I want you to be the point man in either Vancouver or Guelph. I want someone who knows how we do things and won't let some hot shot steer us into a custom-made system."
"Okay. That's leaves a couple of questions, though," I said. "What happens when the project is done?"
Bob smiled. "You'll have a couple of options open to you, Ian. I see you as future management material. But it's really up to you. What do you want from this new company?"
I didn't answer him right away because I couldn't. I didn't know what I wanted ... yet.
"Bob, I'd like to think about that. You don't need an answer today. Assuming you can tell me more about the salary, I'm more than willing to take on the computer modernization job at one location. That should give me a pretty good look at the business and what it will become. I'll be able to give you a better answer then. I really appreciate your faith in me, considering I haven't yet finished school and have no experience at setting up computer systems."
"I'll make sure you have backup on that, Ian. Your job will be to see that the progress is kept on schedule and within budget. As far as the salary is concerned, you will earn four thousand per month for the duration of the project. Any travel expenses will be covered by the company. If you decide to manage the project in Guelph, then we would provide a temporary living expense. How does that sound?"
I laughed. "For a kid just out of school, it sounds great. That's more than fair, but I know I'm going to be earning it with a lot of overtime and weekends. I'll give you my best effort, Bob. I really appreciate your faith in me. It's a big responsibility and I'll do whatever I can not to let you down."
Bob smiled and nodded. "That's all I can ask, Ian."
~*~
Deb, Renata, Terry, Robin, and I all attended our graduation ceremonies. It was a cloudy day with the threat of rain, but luckily it held off -- since the ceremonies were outdoors. My parents were there, of course, along with Kenny, who had just finished his first year. Like me, he had no clue what he wanted from his education, but with luck, he would figure it out sooner or later. I'm beginning to realize he's a smart kid, but a bit lazy. College will either cure him of that, or he'll find himself on the street looking for a job.
"Who's that super-hot babe with the giant hooters you were talking to?" Kenny asked.
"That's Deb Cummings," I said. "She was in my chem class in second year."
"Are you kidding me? That's Deb Cummings? And you let her go? Are you nuts?" he asked, shaking his head.
"We are still good friends, Kenny," I smiled. He was obviously dazzled by Deb's attributes.
