I want to thank Black Rand for editing this story for me.
Chapter 1 - February 20, 2019
I put my phone down and looked at my watch; fifteen minutes until quitting time on a Friday and Rob Benson, the Chief Operations Officer of Megadyne Manufacturing wanted to see me. I wondered why the COO would be calling me instead of my boss, Phil Martin, the CMO (Chief of Maintenance Operations). This had me worried.
I walked into Rob Benson's office at exactly 5:00 PM, because, when in doubt, it pays to be punctual. Rob and our CEO, John Taylor, were seated on a small couch against the wall but there was no sign of Phil. Phil's absence from this meeting worried me. I felt my heart rate increase and my hands began to sweat.
"Come in, Dan, and have a seat," Rob said as he pointed to the chair right facing the couch.
"Dan, we have watched your growth from the young technician who started here ten years ago, and you have done extremely well. You have always been a top performer, and we know that you have the respect of your peer managers as well as the maintenance staff here at MM. We have given this a lot of consideration and have the agreement of Phil that you are the best man for the job. We have decided to offer you the position of Chief of Maintenance Operations. Is that something you would be interested in?" Rob said.
This was definitely good news, but I had to keep my excitement under control. "So, I'll be taking over Phil's job when he retires?" I said.
"Yes, and you will have the latitude to run the operation the way you think best. We have faith in your abilities or we wouldn't offer you this promotion," John said. "As CMO you will report directly to me."
"I appreciate this opportunity and I won't let you down. When does this become effective?" I asked.
"Phil will officially retire on Friday, March 1st, and we will make the announcement of your promotion to CMO on Monday, March 4th," John said.
My new boss, John Taylor, and I spent the next half hour talking about my new job. John suggested that I spend as much time with Phil as I could while he was still working. John also told me that the plant shutdown for this year had to be moved up a week to the first week of June because we had to get ready for several equipment modifications that needed to take place that week. "I expect that you will be here that week to make sure the shutdown is successful," John said.
We also talked about my pay increase, stock options, which I didn't have in my current position, and a company car, another new perk. When I got up to go home, both men shook my hand and congratulated me.
I couldn't wait to get home and tell my wife, Elise, my good news. There would be one small problem. I would have to change the vacation I had scheduled for the first week of June. Elise and I were scheduled to spend that week with her parents on their 64-foot houseboat on Lake Cumberland. Ever since they bought the houseboat six years earlier, Elise's parents had spent their summers on the lake. Elise and I had spent the week after Elise's last day of classes each year for the last six with them. This year, we were supposed to be there the first week in June.
I walked into the house at 6:30 to the wonderful smell of Elise's fried chicken. Elise came out of the kitchen and gave me a hug and a kiss. "You're late tonight. Did something happen at work to hold you up?"
"I had a meeting with my new boss," I said.
"New boss? Phil Martin isn't your boss anymore?"
"Phil is still my boss until March 1st."
"So who is taking over Phil's job? I thought you expected to get Phil's job. So, who did they promote?"
"Me."
"Wait... what? Did you get the promotion? I thought you said that you had a meeting with your new boss."
"I was meeting with my new boss, John Taylor. I now report directly to the CEO."
Elise threw her arms around me and started kissing me. "This is fantastic news. I am so proud of you I feel like I might explode."
When Elise calmed down I told her about my pay increase and the other perks of my new job.
"There is one problem," I said. "This year's shutdown has been scheduled for the first week of June so I won't be able to go to Lake Cumberland with you."
Elise said. "Well, I'm not going down there without you. My mom would drive me crazy asking me when we are going to give her a grandchild. I'll call my mom and tell her that we will come a week later. They'll understand when I tell them about your new job."
Chapter 2 -- Karen Morrison
On Monday, March 4th, John Taylor called a meeting of the maintenance managers and staff to make the announcement that I was the new Chief of Maintenance Operations. To my delight, the other five maintenance managers seemed to be happy for me. After John left the meeting, I explained the change in the shutdown schedule and we started to put our plan of action together. I also asked the managers to send me candidates to fill my previous position.
By the middle of April, I was feeling comfortable in my new position and was enjoying my work. I had a good management team under me and all of our maintenance crews were experienced and hard-working employees.
One Friday evening in late April, when I got home from work, Elise met me at the door with a hug and kiss, as she always did and asked me how my day went. After listening to the short replay of my day I asked about her day. She said that nothing unusual happened at school, but she got a phone call from her former college roommate.
"Who was that?"
"Karen Morrison," Elise said.
"Karen Morrison?' I said. "The name is familiar but I don't remember her."
"She was my roommate for two years. You met her at our wedding. A pretty brunette, about five feet four inches tall."
"If the only time I met her was at our wedding there is very little chance I would remember her. I only had eyes for you that day."
"Oh, you and that golden tongue of yours," Elise said and kissed me on the cheek.