Our latest escapade is a little bit of a continuation from one of my wife's previous indiscretions, I'm not sure what else to call them. Things had been extremely well at my job, especially after Carl's last "party". I had got an increase and my first bonus from the six months we had the account "I" secured with Philippe and Jorge's company was equal to about 3 months' pay.
Things had become normal and low key at work, except Carl mentioned several times that I should probably visit more frequently with Philippe and Jorge to make sure things were good. I usually spoke directly to the manufacturing supervisor but took it upon my self to make special calls to the two of them. Both of them were very businesslike but Philippe in particular mentioned several times that I probably needed to make a site visit so I had a better understanding of their needs.
I discounted the comments because I had increased my conversations with Andres the manufacturing supervisor and was making sure we delivered everything he needed two weeks before it was needed, or so I thought. There was a hiccup in one of our shipments and it was going to cause a stoppage in production or the substitute would have to be purchased local at many times our contracted price.
We were able to make some local arrangements but Philippe voiced some concerns to my boss Carl. After several back and forth discussions Carl felt that it was important that we both go down to Venezuela to view production, meet with the workers and also show our committed devotion to our companies partnership. Carl also noted it would be good to bring my wife to show my dedication.
I was taken aback and told Carl I would not ask Pam to make the trip. Carl said he felt it was important and he would pay for us to go to Isla Margarita off the coast after our meetings. I questioned his sincerity and his reasons, but he just noted it was all business and he felt it was important for the contract. I told Carl I would have to talk to Pam before I could commit to her participation.
No more than 30 minutes after our meeting Carl came to me and said he had spoken to Philippe who thought a visit would be a good idea. He also told Carl that the very next week might be a good opportunity, there was a national holiday on Friday; the end of June. We could come down early enough to spend the day at the factory on Thursday and then attend a small company gathering on Friday before our return. He noted he did not tell Philippe Pam would be attending but he again stressed he thought it would be a good gesture. He also said he would need a response that afternoon because of the short time before the dates and setting up the trip or trips if Pam was going to come.
It was already around 2 so I needed to ask my wife fairly quickly. I hemmed and hawed for a short while about how to propose the trip, then decided just to let her make the decision. I called my wife and let her know I had to go to the factory the next week. She didn't say much and I added Carl said she could attend and then the two of us could spend a couple of days at a resort island if she wanted to attend. I had not even got to the question about if she wanted to attend and she had already blurted out "that sounds like fun!" I told her i would let Carl know and give her more details that night.
Before I left for the day Carl had got our reservations in place. We were to fly out Wednesday afternoon, tour the factory Thursday, go to the reception Friday and Carl would return Saturday. Pam and I would fly out Saturday to stay at the Wyndam Isla Margarita and return on Wednesday. That next Wednesday we met Carl at the airport. The flight was a direct flight and we arrived before sundown. We were staying in town and were to leave early the next morning to make it to the factory by 9 am. Carl told my wife it would probably be better if she stayed at the hotel and local shops because the factory was not in the best location. It alleviated my concerns about her purpose on the trip and we separated we me to meet Carl in the morning.
Thursday was a hectic day. After we met with Philippe and Jorge; Andres took us on a two hour tour of the facility and I was able to learn about their hardships and got some good ideas on making sure we did not have supply problems in the future. After a quick lunch we met with the remainder of the crew and Andres took us on a local tour explaining their processes, local suppliers. We met with Philippe at the end and did not make it back to town until almost 7. One item did strike me as strange Philippe acted unusual, almost exuberant when it was mentioned my wife would attending with us at the festivities in the morning. Pam was bored when we got back having spent mostly of the day in the room, afraid to venture far alone. She had me shower quickly and we went just around the corner for diner and some drinks.