Saving the Company Ch. 05

"There you are!" Brad cried as the four excited the elevator.

"Hi dad! Mom!" Bradley said with a smile. Cherie smiled despite herself. Bradley looked extremely happy.

"Where have you been!" Brad cried.

"Why don't we take this into a conference room?" Joe suggested. "Otherwise we're going to draw a crowd."

"That sounds wonderful!" Sally put in, and then asked Joe, "Do you want me to get the others?"

"Yes," Joe grinned. "Have Clark and Helen come meet us at the conference room. You might as well come too." Sally nodded and disappeared. She arrived with Helen and Clark only a few moments after the others settled in.

"So, now will you tell me what's going on since I left?" Brad asked, sounding a little calmer, but just a little.

"Who wants to start?" Joe asked.

"Why don't you take it?" Bradley grinned.

"Gee thanks!" Joe grumbled.

"Just start talking!" Brad growled in annoyance.

"Calm down dear," Cherie said, still watching her son's face. He was happier than she remembered seeing him in a long time. That was great to see, but there had to be a reason. She knew about his budding relationship with Judy, but it couldn't be the cause of this large of a change. Could it?

"Let's see," Joe began. "Why don't we start with business first? I think it's pretty obvious that Bethany and I figured out what you were up to?"

"Hostile take over of your old jobs! Preposterous!" Brad grumbled, but nodded in understanding. Bethany blushed, but everyone ignored it.

"Since you left I've done some restructuring. First off, the people you see in this room are the new management team," Joe continued.

"New management team?" Brad asked. Joe nodded.

"Judy's been promoted to senior vice president in charge of Sales and Marketing," Joe continued. "I made Clark the vice president of Customer implementation."

"No surprises there," Brad shrugged, but then he asked in curiosity, "What Sally's new role?"

"Oh, she's going to be my assistant," Joe replied. "Assuming you still plan on making me the new CEO?"

"That's a done deal," Brad said offhandedly, yet it still made Joe smile in relief. "That is, assuming you and Bethany have worked out your differences. And speaking of Bethany, if Sally is going to be your assistant, then what's Bethany going to do?"

"She's the new vice president of Customer support. She has Helen as her assistant vice president to help deal with the technical issues," Joe explained. Brad's eyebrows rose for a moment, but then he nodded.

"Makes sense," he said. "She can handle it easily enough." Bethany smiled and blushed again. Brad confidence in her was so very satisfying.

"What about the other areas?" Brad asked, growing calmer as he finally started hearing about the changes.

"Well, accounting has seen the least amount of changes," Joe replied. "I've started meeting with Gary and he seems knowledgeable enough. I'd like to wait a few more months to be sure, but he'll probably head up the area as you and Bethany planned."

"The new vice president of product development is still up in the air, but we've already changed their focus. We're hoping to promote someone inside the company, but if necessary I can start looking on the market."

"Who's the favorite?" Brad asked Sally, causing a few people in the room to smile.

"Simon," she replied. "He's at about forty percent now." Brad nodded and waved for Joe to continue.

"We've also shifted a bunch of staff between the areas. Sally will get you an org chart after the meeting," Joe said. Sally handed over a document to Brad.

"Way to stay on top of things!" Bethany smiled.

"It was pretty easy to figure out Brad would need to see an org chart," Sally shrugged, slightly embarrassed.

"Maybe," Joe smiled. "But you had to be thinking ahead to have it ready."

"I don't see Tim or Sara-Jane on this org chart," Brad said suddenly, refocusing the conversation.

"Well, removing Tim may have been a little premature," Bethany began. "After reviewing the area in some detail it became obvious that he's a pretty bad manager. I gave him a choice of continuing to be a designer or finding another job."

"He didn't come in this morning," Sally put in. "He called in sick." Bethany rolled her eyes.

"Then again, maybe not having him on the org chart wasn't premature," she said. "Sally, if he doesn't come in tomorrow we'll need to send him a registered letter letting him know he was let go."

"I'll handle it," Sally said.

"No, you just need to make sure I follow up," Bethany explained. "You'll have enough work without volunteering for more. You only do tasks that Joe assigns you. That and make sure that people follow up with what they tell Joe they're going to do."

"Got it," Sally replied. Joe nodded to himself. He liked Sally's style. She was doing far better than he expected despite the on the job training Bethany was giving her, but he knew he shouldn't be surprised. After all, Bethany had suggested her. Okay, maybe suggested was too weak a word.

"And Sara-Jane?" Brad asked. Everyone fell silent for a moment, but eventually Joe took the lead again.

"We have a meeting with Gerty Hannon tomorrow," Joe said carefully.

"That hussy!" Cherie cried.

"I told you so!" Bethany said pointedly to Joe.

"On damn!" Brad snapped, knowing what getting Gerty involved meant. "How bad is it?"

"So far, the worst of it is Sara-Jane and kickbacks," Joe explained. "She was also blackmailing Karl."

"With what?" Brad asked.

"He was working on an underage porn site while on company time," Helen snorted.

"Bastard!" Brad growled. Bradley just shook his head.

"He spent at least one night last week in jail," Joe continued. "I'm not sure of the full extent of the charges. I'm sure Gerty will let us know tomorrow."

"Okay, is there anything else I need to know about the company?" Brad asked.

"Not at this time," Joe replied for them all.

"Good, now tell me what's going on with you and Bethany," Brad demanded.

"We're engaged to be married," Joe grinned.

"I'm planning the wedding for early June," Bethany said with a wink at Sally. She then turned to Brad and asked, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to walk me down the aisle? My father's been gone for many years and it's no secret that you've been like a second father to me."

"I'd be honored," Brad said with a smile.

"If he's been a father to you, I guess that makes you my older sister," Bradley grinned. "Sibling rivalry would explain a lot." Brad smiled at his son's teasing. It looked like Bradley and Bethany had finally decided to become friends. It was about time!

"Okay, baby brother," Bethany teased back. "Don't you have some news for your father and mother?"

"You and Judy are engaged!" Cherie guessed excitedly.

"Well, actually," Bradley said nervously. "We're married."

"And there is a chance that I may be pregnant," Judy put in.

"Oh my!" Cherie said.

"Congratulation," Brad said with a smile. His son wasn't the type of man who fell in and out of love every other day. He loved Judy and they would be good together. The thought of a possible grandchild didn't hurt, especially if it was a boy and they named it Bradley.

"Mom, are you okay?" Bradley asked. Cherie nodded slowly.

"I'm not particularly happy about missing the wedding, but under the circumstances, I guess I understand," Cherie said calmly. "Of course, that's assuming you let me throw the baby shower?"

"Of course," Judy said with a smile. "But keep in mind, I may not even be pregnant."

"Sure you are," Cherie said, looking at what she thought was the early stage of a pregnant woman's glow on Judy's face. "But if not, then so be it. In that case, I'll want to set up a full blown wedding reception for all our friends."

"Okay," Judy said, less enthusiastically.

"Don't worry, we'll keep busy so that you'll have to be pregnant before mother can set up the reception!" Bradley grinned.

"Bradley!" Cherie cried.

"So, I guess it's time for me to go back into retirement," Brad said glumly, changing the subject.

"No, it's not," Cherie said, and then smiled and added, "You've been happier since you took back over the company. Joe can be the CEO, but you're still the Chairman of the Board. It will be your job to go into the office once or twice a week and drive poor Joe and his management team crazy."

"I don't think that would be fair," Brad said with a frown.

"Fair?" Joe said excitedly. "Are you kidding? I'd love to have you around for a few more years."

"Only once or twice a week!" Cherie cried, making sure her terms were understood.

"What would I do?" Brad asked.

"Well, for starters," Joe smiled. "I have a small list of clients who Sara-Jane made deals with. I don't know all of these clients well enough to figure out who to talk to so that I can get this issue resolved."

"Also, I'm still not sure whether to press charges against Sara-Jane and what to do with the information about Karl that Gerty's going to give me."

"I could use your help too," Bethany said. "I'm new to this type of job and I'll need a mentor. Joe will be my boss and that's fine, but he'll also be my husband. I could use someone to be a sounding board so that I know if and when my personal life is interfering with my professional life."

"He's only to come into the office once or twice a week!" Cherie cried again.

"That's fair," Joe smiled. Brad nodded, but there was something in his expression that caused Cherie to shake her head.

"It is," Brad said with a smile to his wife. "I'm assuming I still get my Saturday morning golf games? I need to show poor Joe here how to golf once my wrist heals."

"We take a week once every two months to travel, and we take a month during the summer," Cherie said with a calculating look.

"Deal," Brad said, bending down and kissing his wife.

"Starting tomorrow," Cherie added. Brad frowned, but then nodded in agreement again.

"It has been a long night," he sighed. "Why don't we go home and get some rest?"

"Bradley, we'll see you and Judy at dinner?" Cherie asked.

"Yes mother," Bradley said after taking a moment to check with Judy. Brad and Cherie left the room.

"Wow!" Clark said once they were gone.

"Mother and father do taking some getting used to," Bradley said with a laugh as he slapped Clark on the back.

Bethany smiled as she heard Helen and Sally planning Helen's date with Sally's husband's brother as they left. The poor man would never know what hit him! The room quickly emptied until only Joe and Bethany remained.

"You know, everyone keep making fun of your concept of a hostile take over of our old jobs, but no one seems to comment on the fact that it worked," Joe said with a grin.

"True genius is frequently not recognized until years later," Bethany joked back. Joe laughed and pulled her into a quick kiss.

"I guess its time we get back to work," Bethany sighed.

"Yes, but tonight we'll sleep at my place again," Joe said.

"Why?" Bethany asked, not really disagreeing. She was just curious.

"We still haven't broken in my hot tub correctly."

"You and that damned hot tub!" Bethany sighed. "Tonight we're going to spent so much time in it, that you'll never bring it up again!"

"I can hardly wait!" Joe laughed. "What about tomorrow night?"

"We'll think of something else to do," Bethany smiled sexily.

Joe's heart skipped a beat. He was not a young man and he'd done poorly in picking his first wife, but he had a feeling that Bethany was going to make up for all those years of loneliness. He couldn't wait to get started!

Bethany saw the look in his eyes and felt his love surround her. At that moment she knew that she made the right choice. Whatever her luck with men in the past, Joe was the one for her. She trusted him implicitly. It should have scared her, but Bethany decided to take Judy's advice and not think about it. Instead, she took a moment to let Joe's love wash over her. It felt amazing!