My thanks as always to ErikThread for his skillful and timely editing. Any errors are my responsibility.
Chapter 14:
Lloyd Bruton arrived at the office earlier than usual on Monday morning. There was quite a bit to do before he could call Brent Gordon. Brent had called him at home on Sunday evening and asked him for some help finding a psychiatrist or psychologist for Jeanette and perhaps himself. He said he was worried about how he was dealing with the problem and maybe he might need some help as well.
In addition, Lloyd wanted to talk to Charlie Verano again and get more specifics about what type of job he might have in mind and what the compensation and benefits would be. Lloyd already knew the custom millwork business to some extent, but he was being cautious before suggesting Brent talk to Charlie.
Lloyd had also phoned Henry last night after he had hung up with Brent, and passed along their conversation. The more the two men thought about it, the better they liked the idea of finding a good placement for Brent with someone they trusted -- someone like Charlie Verano. The reality was that they had almost given up any hope that they could keep Brent at Mountain Pine. There were no openings for someone of his skills that would be satisfying to him and offer the kind of future he had with his present job. Lloyd had never encountered this type of problem in all his nearly thirty years at Mountain Pine, and it was taxing his skills.
By nine o'clock he had contacted the human resources department at headquarters and had been e-mailed a list of doctors used by the corporation when problems of a "non-physical nature" arose. A dainty way of putting it, Lloyd thought. He scanned down the list and a familiar name popped out at him -- Dr. Virginia Meldrum, M.D.
He remembered her when he and Diana had gone through her cancer scare a few years ago. The fear in his wife had greatly upset his home life and personal equilibrium. The woman doctor had been the right solution to their mutual problems. As it turned out, the cancer had was remission for over ten years now and according to their oncologist, unlikely to reappear. However, it had been a bad time for a few months, and Dr. Meldrum had made a positive difference.
Henry volunteered to talk to Charlie Verano. They knew each other well, and could talk in a very straightforward manner without couching their language. Henry had one objective – make sure they were steering Brent Gordon in the right direction. Everything hinged, of course, on the idea that Brent would like working for Charlie and his company. They were a long-established custom millwork company with an excellent reputation for high-quality work and on-time delivery. They produced windows, doors, kitchen cabinets and specialty millwork to custom order. Nestled in the western side of the Rocky Mountains, they were not ideally situated for the big city customer, but their good reputation and the large number of local ski and sun lodges provided more than enough work for the growing firm.
Giancarlo Antonio Verano was the only son of Giancarlo Massimo Verano, an Italian immigrant of the early 1950's. They had come from a small town near Torino, and had left the economic and political wasteland of post-war Italy for a better life in North America. The elder Verano brought with him only a few tools and his pregnant wife, Carlotta, when he made his journey.
They landed in Montreal, and after giving birth to their son, put all of their combined energies into finding a home in the west, near mountains like the ones they had so loved in their homeland. The elder Verano anglicized his name to Carl and easily found work in a millwork shop in Castlegar, British Columbia. Within two years, they had the down payment for a small bungalow and their future was secure.
The younger Verano, now known as Charlie, loved the smell of the wood in his father's shop, and it was almost a foregone conclusion that he would follow in his father's footsteps. When his father bought into the small firm he was working for, that future was a certainty. He learned what he needed to know at his father's side and the young teenager never doubted what his future would be. However, he had bigger dreams and could see the day when Verano & Son would be a much bigger company, hopefully with many employees. It was a dream he would hold to and see realized in his father's lifetime.
Verano Custom Millwork now employed forty people. Over the years they had grown, modernized the equipment more than once, computerized, and thrived in their mountain home. The ski lodges of Rossland, Castelgar and the surrounding areas provided a steady workload for the spring, summer and fall. The people who came from Vancouver and Calgary and Edmonton to ski, saw the workmanship and soon, Verano Custom Millwork was supplying products to homes in Alberta as well as the coast, and on a couple of occasions, into the United States.
With his father's guidance and conservative outlook, they had carefully expanded without putting their finances in jeopardy. They operated on a line of credit that was more than they needed for their day-to-day operations. They paid their bills on time and they backed their work with a personal guarantee of satisfaction.
As a result of their growth and potential, Charlie recognized he couldn't do it all himself. His father, now nearing seventy five, was slowing down and was entitled to pace himself. His father and mother's health was still good, but Charlie wanted them to enjoy themselves in their later years and not have to worry about the business.
It also meant that Charlie needed some professional management help. He had already found a top-notch accountant and was more than satisfied with his three supervisors on the shop floor; one for each division. What he lacked was sales management, someone to coordinate their efforts and make sure they were getting the right kind of business for the right kind of margins.
When Lloyd Bruton subtly let him know that Brent Gordon might become "available", Charlie was genuinely excited. Mountain Pine's wood division was a major supplier of his raw material, interior White Pine. Additionally, their corrugated paper division was supplying their wrapping and packaging needs for shipments from the plant to the jobsite. Last year, Verano Custom Millwork had purchased over a half million dollars in corrugated packaging for their kitchen cabinets and wrapping for their windows, doors and custom millwork. The two companies were virtually joined at the hip. To add someone with the credentials of Brent Gordon to his staff would be an exceptional coup.
"Charlie, how's your wretched golf game?" Henry began without introduction as soon as Charlie had answered the phone.
"Not as good as yours, I'll bet. Some of us have to work for a living, Henry" Charlie was used to the aggressive openings of his business friend's phone calls. No "Hi ... how are you" in this conversation.
"Thanks for that, asshole! I think I'll raise your prices five percent."
"Yah, well I think I'll call your competition and see how bad they want my business," Charlie threatened in mock anger.
"How's your mom and dad, Charlie?" Henry finally asked.
"They're great, thanks. I'm trying to get them to take an Alaska cruise this summer. I think I've almost got them convinced."
"Good for you. They've earned it after having to raise a son like you."
"Ha Ha, very funny," Charlie shot back. "What's on your so-called mind, Henry?"
"Lloyd told me he mentioned that Brent Gordon might be available. Are you interested?"
"Of course I am. He's just the kind of guy I'm looking for. What's happened to make him available?"
