Chapter 10

Stephen sat down in the chair heavily. Looking over at Magus, he asked, “Why did I take twenty-one hours this semester?”

“So that you can get your degree in three years,” Magus answered.

“That’s right,” Stephen said.

“Are you signed up for your summer classes?” Magus asked.

“Yes. Nine hours,” Stephen answered. It was going to be a busy summer taking three courses on the shortened summer schedule.

“Excellent,” Magus said.

“The final examinations nearly killed me,” Stephen said. He was so tired from studying that he could barely keep his eyes open.

“Were there any questions you couldn’t answer?” Magus asked.

“No,” Stephen said. He knew that he could have probably done half of the studying and still passed all of his tests.

“Any professors you couldn’t out argue?” Magus asked.

“No,” Stephen answered. He said, “It did help to know which ones wanted arguments and which ones wanted agreements.”

“That’s the secret of this business. You always have to know what people really want,” Magus said.

“I’ve come to understand that,” Stephen said. It was actually amazing how many people didn’t really know what they wanted.

Magus said, “By the way, your new desk arrived.”

“Really?” Stephen asked sitting up straight. He was finally going to have a desk just like the one Magus used.

“Your office is rearranged to be just like this one,” Magus said.

“That’s great!” Stephen said.

“I’ve also filled the drawers of your desk with the solutions to the most common problems,” Magus said.

“Outstanding!” Stephen said.

“Poindexter will be giving you the keys to a world of information,” Magus said.

Getting excited, Stephen asked, “He’s giving me the passwords to your private databases?”

“And the government data sources,” Magus said.

“Wow,” Stephen said.

Magus asked, “How’s Cathy doing?”

“She’s doing great. She’s down to demanding sex only two times a day. I guess the medications and therapy are working,” Stephen said.

“That’s really good news,” Magus said.

Stephen nodded his head and said, “Yes. Maybe next semester I can try dating some other women.”

“Just make sure they are plain looking,” Magus said.

“I’ll try to remember that,” Stephen said.

Magus slid an envelope across the desk and said, “That’s for you.”

“What is it?” Stephen asked.

“Tickets to visit your parents,” Magus answered. “You’ll leave tomorrow and return in time for the wedding.”

“Thanks,” Stephen said pleasantly surprised by the gift. He really hadn’t expected Magus to provide tickets home.

“You’re welcome,” Magus said. “Now get home and get some rest. You’ve got a long day of travel ahead of you tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said.

“Send Jake over here,” Magus said.

A few minutes later Jake sat down in the chair that Stephen had just vacated. He said, “What’s up?”

“How were finals?” Magus asked.

“No problem,” Jake answered with a smile. “I retook music appreciation and got the grade changed to a B. That really helped my GPA.”

“Excellent,” Magus said. “You can’t do much better than that if you’re completely tone deaf.”

“I agree,” Jake said.

Magus asked, “So how are things going?”

“They are great. I talked to my Dad last night. He’s got a new job and it is really helping him out,” Jake said.

“And your mother?”

That was the best news of all, Jake said, “The experimental drugs seem to be helping.”

“That is good news,” Magus said.

“Things are a whole lot better than when I walked into your office the first time,” Jake said. Once he had accepted that he wasn’t going to graduate in four years, he had found that a lot of the pressure on him had lifted. He was even sending some money home to help out his parents.

Magus slid an envelope across the table. He said, “This is for you.”

“What is it?” Jake asked.

“Round trip tickets for you and Cathy to visit your parents,” Magus answered.

“Wow. That is nice,” Jake said. His enthusiasm faltered a little and then he asked, “You set it up for Cathy to go with me?”

“You know that she has needs. Stephen is visiting his parents and Tom is going home for the summer,” Magus said.

“I don’t know how my parents will react if I show up with a girl and expect her to sleep with me,” Jake said with a frown.

“They are fine with it,” Magus said.

“You talked with them?” Jake asked. He realized who he was talking with and said, “Sorry, stupid question.”

Magus said, “Why don’t you head home and get ready to leave? Your flight is tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Jake said.

Magus watched Jake leave the office. He went into the room behind his desk and emerged a half an hour later with an envelope in hand. A distinguished looking man walked into the office and said, “I’m here.”

“Ah, Pat Hendrisk. You’re right on time. Have a seat and we’ll get to business,” Magus said. He tossed the envelope on the desk and took a seat.

“What have you got for me?” Pat asked.

Magus answered, “I’ve got the solution to your problem.”

“Good. I was beginning to worry that my ten million dollars had been wasted,” Pat said.

Magus slid the envelope across the desk and said, “I think you’ll find that my fee is very inexpensive compared to the benefits.”

Pat picked up the envelope and opened it. There was a single sheet of paper inside. He pulled it out and read it. Frowning, he asked, “Are you kidding?”

“No,” Magus answered.

“You are telling me to fire eight people and to hire one person,” Pat said in disgust.

“Exactly,” Magus said.

Pat said, “I asked to tell me how to improve our market share by ten percent and you give me this garbage. I was expecting a business strategy.”

Irritated, Magus leaned forward and said, “You expected a strategy and didn’t get it for the very simple reason that it wouldn’t solve your problem. You don’t need me to give you a strategy to accomplish your goals. You need me to find the right people. The right people will provide the strategy and adjust it when it isn’t working. They will provide the energy and dedication to see a strategy through to the end.”

Pat squirmed in his chair. He said, “I know all of these people you want me to fire. They are good people.”

“Do you really think so?” Magus asked.

“I play golf with Charles every weekend,” Pat said picking one of the names off the list.