Core Beliefs - Chapter 11 - Issues

Core Beliefs—Chapter 11 - Issues

Wednesday morning, Matt checked his email and found one from his brother advising that the papers for both limited liability corporations had been returned. They were officially in business. Joe would express mail copies to Matt and Eldridge.

Joe closed the correspondence with “Happy Halloween.”

Matt realized it was indeed Halloween and rushed out, buying candy for the ghosts and goblins. In the past, he had not felt like participating and typically turned off all the lights, slipped into his study, and ignored the doorbell. This time, Matt was going to have fun.

Thursday arrived, and he headed to the Lasticorp office to collect the LLC documents. Lucy had other papers for his review, and she enlightened him that the first problem with the new Management Team had surfaced.

Matt finished reading and signing the LLC files and called Lucy into his office.

“Lucy, what’s going on with the management team?”

Lucy was not a gossip, but she was very astute and usually aware of everything happening behind the scenes. It seemed one manager had the idea that he could tell some others what to do with their departments. It appeared that Paul Carpenter, the VP of Product Design, had concluded that he should give overall direction.

Matt knew Paul was a highly skilled designer who had made many improvements to the products manufactured at Lasticorp. He had not known him to have an ego that got in the way of things.

He let Lucy finish what she knew and recognized that Paul had been stepping on the toes of Luan Wang, the VP of Manufacturing, and Mark Helford, the manager of inventory control.

Matt called Mark in and had a chat. After about thirty minutes, Matt was getting a clear picture. Matt and Mark went back almost twenty years, and Matt knew Mark would not mislead him. He thanked Mark and then had Lucy get Luan to come to the office.

Luan was young for a manager at twenty-seven, but she was very good. In fact, Matt thought of her as “Damn Good.” Luan was more cautious in talking, but after a while, she presented the same picture as Mark.

She also stated that she felt Mr. Carpenter had treated her in a demeaning manner and provided examples. Matt told Luan not to worry; he would take care of things.

After they finished, he called Helen Waltrip in Human Resources and asked her to come to his office with the files of four employees. The two he had talked with, and those for Paul Carpenter and Arty Birkenstock. Helen arrived in fifteen minutes, and Matt asked her what she knew about the situation. She said that she had heard rumors and innuendos, but no one had filed any complaints.

Matt asked for Paul’s file and reviewed it. Paul had only worked at Lasticorp for four years, having been brought in based on his performance at another company.

Matt asked Helen why, if Paul was doing so well at the other company, had he chosen to join Lasticorp for the same money?

Helen didn’t have an answer but said she would try to find out.

He looked at the file for Arty Birkenstock. Arty had also only been with them for three years, and Matt liked him. He had heard good things about Arty helping other people. Arty was an engineer and was very much involved in product design.

Matt thanked Helen, returned the files to her, and said he would get back to her. He took a walk out to the production line. Matt used to do this several times a week, but now it had been several weeks. The crew greeted him with several good-natured, “Look who’s showing up for work,” and “Where’s that suntan you’re supposed to be working on.”

Matt appreciated the folks working on the production lines. Many were some of his oldest employees, and they treated him just like one of the gang. It was always a boost for him to visit the lines.

He chatted and finally located the person he was looking for. It was Gene Wembley. Gene was a supervisor and was one of the men Matt had appointed to the Administrative Council.

“Could you walk with me?” Matt asked.

“I’ll bet this is about the ruckus between Carpenter and Luan,” Gene said.

“You are one very perceptive fellow, and that’s why I want to talk to you.”

They wandered around the plant floor for almost an hour. Discussing the personalities of the people involved, Gene pointed out several changes to the line that Luan had implemented to improve things.

“Matt, the neat thing about Luan is she isn’t just looking for how to make the product faster and better. She also looks for how to make it better for the crew. Sometimes, it even means giving them more to do to keep them sharp. She is thorough and careful, and if one of her ideas isn’t working, she changes it fast, so it does work.”

Matt took all this in and asked about Arty.

“Great guy, from what I hear, he does the lion’s share of product design, and Carpenter takes the credit.”

Matt’s ears tinted crimson: he knew Gene didn’t bandy things like this about, and it pissed him off to hear that someone was claiming credit for another’s work.

Matt thanked Gene for his time, and as they were parting, Gene asked, “You doing okay, Mr. L? Been a lot of changes, and we miss seeing you. I just want to know that you’re doing okay?”

Matt took Gene’s hand, shook it, and looked him straight in the eye. “Gene, I’m doing good. I miss seeing you guys, but I have some new things that are really exciting for me. I just need some time for those, too.”

“Just so long as you’re happy and healthy, I’m happy, too.”

Matt made his way back to his office. Lucy caught him and said Helen asked if he would call, which he did. She advised that Paul Carpenter had two sexual harassment complaints filed at his previous company, but they were dropped when he left.

She also added that she had spoken to a couple of the women in the design group, and they indicated that Mr. Carpenter had made unwelcome advances and comments on several occasions, but they had ignored the innuendos and continued with their work.

Matt told Helen he had made his decision and that he wanted to see the women, with Helen, in his office in ten minutes. Thirty minutes later, Helen had statements from the women and had the names of three more to whom Carpenter had made inappropriate comments.

After the ladies left, Matt told Helen that she needed to prepare a termination package for Paul Carpenter and that he wanted to close this up today.

It was 3:35, so Helen would have to hustle. At 4:45, Helen called and said all was ready. Matt asked her to call Paul to her office, and he would be there immediately. As he walked out, he asked Lucy to call Arty to see if he would mind coming to Matt’s office at 5:00.

Matt walked into Helen’s office, and Paul was already there and obviously nervous. Helen offered Matt her chair behind the desk, but he just took one off to the side near the door. As soon as Matt sat down, he looked at Helen and asked if she was ready. She nodded affirmatively.

“Paul, it is with regret that I advise you that as of five O’clock today, you are terminated from employment and any connection with this company.” Matt’s voice was flat, void of emotion, but firm.

It was obvious Paul was expecting some kind of negative discussion, but being fired was not part of the plan.

He stammered for a moment and then burst out in a tirade of obscenities and demanded to know the reasons, promised he was going to sue, and called Helen a bitch.

Matt came out of his chair. At five-feet ten-inches, Matt was about the same height as Paul and a little heavier, but Paul was a lot younger. Matt placed himself in front of Paul, shielding Helen.

Matt glared at the man in the chair, his steely gray eyes leaving no doubt about his determination.

“This is my decision and only my decision. If you have anything to say, you address it to me. Is that understood?”

Paul stared up at Mr. Lehman. Matt saw anger and more on the man’s face. Mr. Carpenter was in flux, wanting to come out of the chair and throw fists, probably thinking of whipping the older man, but there were doubts, big doubts.

Whether Paul remained seated or rose, Matt had no fear and no doubts. In the end, he was right, and that was all that mattered.

“Yes, Sir,” Paul’s eyes darted sideways and then to the floor.

Matt stepped to his chair but did not sit or take his eyes off Paul.

“Helen read the cause of the discharge.”

When she finished, Matt handed a document to Paul.

“Read and sign,” Matt glared.

It was an acknowledgment that Paul had received a copy of the termination notice.

“You will leave the building immediately. I will escort you out. You may return tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. and will be escorted for one hour to gather your belongings. Your office will be locked between now and that time. Is this all clearly understood?”

Paul nodded.

Matt asked Helen if there was anything further. She advised no, and the two men walked to the front door. Matt watched, disappointed, as Paul crossed the parking lot and got in his car.

It was now ten after five, and Matt remembered Arty was waiting in his office. He turned down the hall, nodded to Lucy, and walked into his office.

Arty sat in one of the chairs facing Matt’s desk and immediately stood. Matt stepped to him, offered his hand, and invited him to sit again. Matt sat in the chair next to him and adjusted it so they were facing each other.

“Arty, I’ve just had to do something that gave me no pleasure. I’ve let Mr. Carpenter go.”

Arty looked surprised, and a bit confused.

“Arty, I’ve heard and seen too much that tells me that Paul, for all his competence in design, is not the man I thought he was. I would like to elevate you to take his place as VP of Design. It will mean a raise to the same pay Paul was receiving. Are you willing to take this position?”

Arty was thoughtful for a moment. “Mr. Lehman, I’ve always tried to earn my way, and I’ve never wished for anything bad to happen to someone in order for me to advance. Are you sure this is the right way to do this?”

“Arty, I’m surer than ever this is the right thing. I apologize I did not have you in that position years ago.”

The two men talked for almost thirty minutes, with Arty sharing ideas he had been working on. Finishing, they shook hands, and Arty walked out the door.

Matt was gathering up his things when Lucy came in with Helen. It was a surprise they were still there, but he was glad to see them. He invited them to take seats.

"Mr. Lehman, thank you for being there," Helen's words were emotional. I was really afraid that man was going to come after me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you did.”

“It is my responsibility, and that’s the bottom line.”

“Mr. Lehman, I am to take it that Arty is the new VP of Design?” Helen asked.

Matt nodded.

Helen asked about salary, benefits, and if there were any conditions, such as a probationary period.

Matt indicated Arty would be taking over Paul’s position, including salary and benefits, and that there was no need for a probationary period. In Matt’s mind, the man had already proven himself.

He went over the need for security to be present for Paul in the morning. Also, it would be best for Arty to hold a meeting with the design staff from 8:45 to 10:15 in the conference room. He asked Helen to sit in to field any HR questions and to make sure things stayed on an even keel. He did not want this to turn into a Paul-bashing session.

The ladies agreed, and Lucy asked Matt if he was coming to the office in the morning. He replied that unless she was aware of a specific need; he had another task that required his attention.

Friday morning, Matt woke early and realized that his internal alarm clock was on vacation, and he was likely to wake up anywhere from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The loss of routine bothered him a little, but not enough to set the bedside alarm.

At 9:00, he called Chris and told him to be at the CCB&T branch at 11:30.

Matt also called Joe and discussed details of the bank accounts and talked about when they were kids and some of the stupid stuff they had done. It was a good chat.

Matt arrived at the bank to meet with Charles Pimberton. Sitting down in Charles’ office, they began setting up two new business accounts. Charles handled the details, and Matt added that he needed debit and credit cards for each account. As Charles processed the paperwork, Chris was escorted into Mr. Pimberton’s office. It took another fifteen minutes with the help of one of the tellers.

“Matthew,” Charles said, “we have one account set up for Coblenz–Lehman, LLC, including Debit cards for yourself and Mr. Joseph Lehman and a credit card for Mr. Eldridge Coblentz, and the account balance is five hundred thousand dollars and no cents.”

Matt nodded, acknowledging the numbers.

Charles continued, “We have a banking account set up for M&E Enterprises, LLC, with debit cards for yourself, Mr. Martin, and again Mr. Joseph Lehman, and with credit cards for the same three, with a beginning bank balance of one million, five hundred thousand dollars and no cents.

Again, Matt agreed, and they wrapped up the last of the details, getting signature cards for Joe.

By twelve ten, Matt and Chris were walking out of the bank.

“You can start shopping,” Matt said.

“Feels like Christmas,” Chris chuckled.

Chris told Matt he had reviewed the file for the man with a strong background in miniaturization and added that the gentleman also had experience in nanotechnology. Matt was impressed and said he wanted to follow up on that later. Chris ended the conversation with an invitation for dinner Saturday night, which Matt quickly accepted.

The weekend was very relaxed for Matt; the dinner was superb, and Matt cruised through the following week. Chris got busy ordering the items needed to explore the silo.

HR notified Matt that the number of people signing up for the Employee Stock Purchase Plan was exceeding their expectations, and they were bringing in temporary help to ensure everyone was accommodated. They also advised that several had asked about buying significant shares during the initial pre-payroll offering.

With the rest of the week being pretty loose, Matt went in to see the IT supervisor at Inter-mol. His name was Ruben Coruthers. Rubin was one of those people who never had the opportunity to attend college but taught himself everything he could about computers.

Though Ruben’s office was at Inter-Mol, Matt had him troubleshoot any IT problem at any of the companies. He wanted to get Ruben’s input on upgrading his personal communication needs—a cell phone and a laptop computer.

After about an hour of discussion, constantly emphasizing that it had to be easy to operate, Ruben said he knew what Matt needed and could have it ready by Wednesday afternoon.

Matt showed up at Ruben’s on Wednesday and saw a laptop computer on the desk and a cell phone. Over the next two afternoons, Ruben took Matt through each of the units and showed him why he thought they would be the best choices.

Ruben had linked the phone to the computer so that they would automatically update calendars and databases. Matt could get his email on either, and something that impressed Matt was the fact that Ruben had incorporated a sophisticated encryption and security program.

He told Ruben that he would need to set up a few additional people with these features. By Friday afternoon, he was satisfied he could handle the new hardware with confidence. He called Chris, Joe, and Lucy and gave them his new cell number. They laugh to think he had finally adopted technology from the current century. Joe was particularly impressed.

Joe had one other bit of business that he needed to discuss. It seems they had not considered how they were going to keep the books. There would have to be accounting set up for both LLCs, and Joe did not want it to go through a bookkeeping agency. Matt did not want it handled by any of the existing companies. They agreed they had a problem to solve.

Saturday night. On November 10, Matt was enjoying dinner with Chris and Charlotte. It seemed the kids were both sleeping over at friends, and the three adults broke out some wine. During dinner, Matt mentioned the issue with the accountant. He explained that, ideally; they needed someone they could trust who had their own office.

Charlotte asked if the person needed to be in St. Louis or Wichita, and Matt said he didn’t think so. Charlotte excused herself and left the room.

Ten minutes later, she returned and said, “I think I have an answer to your problem.”

Matt and Chris were all ears.

“A friend of mine, a sorority sister from college, is having a tough time of things. She recently divorced and has two small kids. Her ex-husband gambled away all their money, and she’s barely making it in a crappy little rent house and working for eight bucks an hour plugging numbers into a computer,” Charlotte added, “she has a BA in accounting and a master’s in business.”

“Charlotte, can we trust her?”

“She is a good woman and is desperate for help. She can be trusted, and if we set her up at home so she can take care of her kids and do the books from there, it will be a good situation for us all.”

Matt thought about all the times that Charlotte’s resourcefulness had bailed them out. “Okay, Charlotte, where does she live?”

“Independence, Missouri; probably about an hour from where your brother Joe lives.”

Once again, Matt felt that providence had smiled. He thought that this was feeling more and more like destiny as things continually fell into place.

Matt told Charlotte to set it up for her to meet with Joe. He asked her name.

“Luquenta Stevens, but we call her Queeny.”

Charlotte coordinated Joe’s meeting and interview with Luquenta.

Joe called Matt during the week and confirmed that she was a good choice, but needed some equipment set up in her home. Matt told Joe to get her whatever she needed and give her a bonus to get started.

Matt rocked back in his office chair at Lasticorp, leaning his head back. “Why the hell aren’t you scared out of your mind?”

His life was suddenly on a furious, unpredictable path. He couldn’t see the future. He had no idea where all this was going! But somewhere deep within there was a glowing assurance that he was traveling the road he was meant to be on.