Chapter 9 - Any In-Road

“Right on time,” thought Cain.  “I like that.  He isn’t going to waste my time.  There are way too many people who want to waste my time.”

Despite his door being closed, Cain could hear any activity at Amber’s desk.  Though he trusted her, he still wanted to be aware of everything that was going on.

“I am Charlie Hughes,” Cain heard the gravelly voice formally announce himself.  After a short pause, the voice continued, “I am here to see Mr. Johnson, Cain Johnson.”

Cain mentally pictured Hughes expecting Amber to be responding to him as if he were very important.  That would have been the reason he paused.  He mused at the thought of her not even responding to him, possibly not even looking up from her paperwork to acknowledge him until he stated his purpose.  Of course, she knew his purpose, she had arranged the appointment.  She was just refusing to acknowledge that he was important to her because he wasn’t.

“Just one moment,” Cain heard Amber reply.

From his intercom, Cain heard Amber announce the arrival of Hughes.  Her voice dripped with a hint of sarcasm, as she was playing against Hughes exaggerated formality with her own.

So, Cain decided to play along with this formality game.

“Please, accompany him into my office,” Cain replied.

Cain stood but remained behind his desk.  More cautiously than normal, Amber opened the office door.  With a sweeping motion of her right hand, she directed Hughes to enter.

“Welcome, Charlie.  Please, have a seat,” Cain had carefully chosen to be less formal in how he addressed Hughes so he could better control the meeting.  He also motioned with a sweeping gesture of his right hand for Hughes to sit at one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“Amber, please bring Mr. Hughes and myself some fresh coffee.”

“Yes, sir, right away.”

As Amber exited the room, Cain turned to his guest with a broad and engaging smile.

“You do drink coffee, don’t you?  I would offer something stronger but it is still morning.”

Hughes’ hesitation confirmed for Cain that he had the man off balance.  This would serve to better control this meeting.

“Why, yes, I do drink coffee,” Hughes fidgeted with his shirt sleeves before folding his arms across his chest.

“He appears a bit uncomfortable,” thought Cain.

“I imagine you are wondering why I have asked you here,” Cain said as he leaned towards the Hilliard City Council President.

“I have never been here before,” Hughes replied.  “In fact,” as he looked around the office, clearly avoiding eye contact with Cain, “I have never sensed that the party cared about Hilliard, but I have done fine without party support.”

Abruptly, Hughes snapped his head to look directly at Cain and spoke, “I will continue to do fine.”

Cain could not help but smile.  On one hand, he admired the confidence he was seeing from Hughes.  On the other, it was clear that this man assumed that Cain would be handling things just as his predecessor had so weakly done.

After a gentle rap on the door, Amber entered.  She was holding a tray that displayed the Democratic emblem.  On the tray were two full coffee cups.

Gracefully, she made her way towards Cain’s desk.  Though he wanted to enjoy watching his attractive aide, Cain kept his gaze on Hughes.  He wanted to see how the man would react to Amber.

Politely and formally, Hughes accepted the coffee from Amber.  He did not maintain any eye contact with her.  He looked down at the coffee as he held it in his hand.

“Well, I can see that women are not a weakness to him, at least not redheads,” thought Cain.

“Thank you, Amber,” Cain turned his gaze to her as he took the cup she offered.  “Would you see that we are not disturbed for the next twenty minutes?”

“Yes sir,” Amber replied in sweet overtones.

As she turned to leave, Cain took a sip of his coffee.  He noticed that Hughes did glance up and look in Amber’s direction as she left the room.

“As I was saying,” Cain returned to the conversation, “I am sure you are wondering why I called you here.  Since we have never met and it has been several months since I took this position, I thought it was time to connect.”

Hughes nodded only slightly in response.  He gave no appearance of appreciation at the opportunity to meet.

“I want to begin by asking you, Charlie, how the party can help you and the people of Hilliard?”

As if caught off guard, Hughes tilted his head to the right.  He glanced at Cain, as if he were attempting to measure the sincerity of the question.

“You seem surprised by the question,” Cain said as he leaned back in his plushy upholstered chair.

“I have been serving on the Hilliard City Council for over thirty years.  Never in all that time, has the party asked how they could help.”

Cain pursed his lips as he considered how to respond.

“Let me be clear with you, Charlie.  I am not asking because I am concerned.  You have done an amazing job in leading Hilliard as a bedrock community for the party.

“As I have become more familiar with our party members and their communities in Franklin County, your work stands out.  You have carved a niche that seems impenetrable.  Are you happy there?  I mean, with what you have been able to accomplish, I am surprised that you have not advanced your political career.”

Cain had expected this compliment to soften Hughes.  He found that flattery was often an effective tool to reveal the weakness in those he wished to control.

Hughes put his coffee cup down in a deliberate fashion on the corner of Cain’s desk.  He leaned into the desk, placing his elbows on either side of the cup, as he interlocked his fingers.

“Some, Mr. Johnson, seek to climb the ladder of supposed success.  I have chosen to be the ladder builder in Hilliard.  I chose who climbs and how far they climb.  That is how I have done, what you call, an amazing job.”

A twisted grin erupted across Cain’s face.  He nodded his head, as his hands firmly gripped the arms of his chair.

“I like him,” Cain thought to himself.  “But, let’s push him, a bit.”

“So, Charlie, you have chosen who the next mayor of Hilliard is going to be?”

The question hung in the air.  Silence filled the room, until Hughes shifted away from the desk and into his chair.  His clothes made a ruffling noise as he repositioned.

Cain continued.

“I understand that no one has submitted themselves as a candidate.  With only six weeks until the election, I am sure you have a plan.”

Hughes put his right hand to his chin.  Cain saw this as a sign of weakness.

“He doesn’t have a plan.  This means opportunity to me,” thought Cain.

“I understand that the outgoing mayor is your cousin.  Is there a way he could be persuaded to run for one more term?  I understand that Hilliard’s charter designates the term length to be four years.”

“No,” Hughes shook his head as he spoke softly, “he cannot run again.  He is in the advanced stages of liver cancer.  He has not been able to serve the last six months.  I have been covering for him, knowing that he would not be able to return and serve again.”

“I’m sorry,” Cain replied with false empathy.  “This must be a difficult situation for your family and yourself.”

The next sixty seconds were silent, except for the sipping sounds made by each man as they drank their coffee.

“I don’t want to appear to be harsh, but we do need to address who might be the next mayor.”

Hughes slowly nodded then set his coffee cup down.

“There is one possible candidate.  His name is Bob Griffith.  He has no previous experience serving in public office.”

“Is this Griffith fellow on our team?  Has he stated that he is a Democrat?”

“To date,” Hughes now looked to Cain, “he has not stated any political party. I suspect that his inexperience has blinded him to the importance of it.”

The last statement confused Cain.

“How could any individual who has any aspiration of holding public office be naïve to the importance of party choice?”

Hughes now leaned in towards Cain.

“I have been attempting to vet him.  All my findings show that he has the qualities that would make him a fine candidate, from the public’s perspective.  He is married, church-going, successful in his job and career.  The only incentive that he seems to have for being mayor is that he genuinely wants to serve the public.”

Cain let out a short blast of breath.

“So, Hughes, he is the perfectly pure candidate.  He has no ulterior motives or agendas.  Is that what you are telling me?”

“In all my years,” Hughes raised his hands palms up, “I have never come across a man like this who had an interest in public office in Hilliard.”

“Hmm,” Cain placed his right hand over his mouth.  “We need to create an in-road to this man.  Any in-road will do.”

“This man has no idea what to do next,” Cain reasoned in his mind.  “He can still be of some use, though.”

“I need you to go through all the details you know about this, Bob Griffith,” Cain looked upwards as he was thinking his own next steps.

Cain picked up his phone.

“Amber, I need you to join us.  Bring your notepad,” Cain instructed.

Before Amber entered the office, Cain began to adjust the setting.

“Charlie, bring your coffee over to the table,” Cain pointed to the round table in the corner of the room.  “We can best consider together, what our next steps will be.”

As he heard her enter the room, Cain gave instruction to Amber.

“Could you arrange a pot of coffee be brought to us?  We need…” Cain abruptly stopped as he saw that Amber was carrying a coffee pot.

A smug grin was planted on Amber’s face.  Cain could sense that she was becoming better at anticipating his needs.

“Did you bring yourself…” again, Cain was cut off as Amber twisted the pot to show that she also had brought a mug for herself.

Waiting for Hughes and Amber to get situated, Cain began recording a list of short facts he could remember about Bob Griffith.  Amber deftly filled Cain and Hughes’ cups, then her own.  She set down her notepad and sat directly across from Hughes.

“Now, Charlie,” Cain began, “I need you to tell us everything you have done and everything you know about Bob Griffith.  Amber, even though I am taking notes myself, I want to you take notes, also, so we can compare later.”

“Yes, Mr. Johnson,” Amber sweetly sang.

Hughes chose to start by explaining how he controlled all the potential candidates through his time in power.  He shared how he required each one had to interview with him, under the guise that he was assuring their eligibility.  He was only looking for weaknesses he could exploit later.

On another occasion, this would serve as intriguing information to Cain, but right now it did not seem to suit his purpose.  Noting that Amber did seem caught up in this scheming by Hughes, he chose to let him continue for her sake.

Soon, Hughes transitioned from telling his story to the specifics involving Bob.

“I had the city clerk research Griffith.  He met the residency requirements to be eligible to run.  The clerk confirmed that he was up to date with his property tax payments.  He had never filed for a business license with the city, either, so there were no outstanding licensing fees or personal property taxes.

“My contact in the Chamber of Commerce confirmed his employment and employment record.  He has had glowing personal reviews with his company and opportunities for advancement, which made me wonder why he would consider leaving for public office, especially such a low level as mayor.

“So, I talked with his pastor, who promised to not reveal that I had talked with him.  He described Griffith as a man with integrity and a heart for the community.  His marriage appears to be rock solid, even though they have no children.

“I found that he is highly educated and was even considered a success by his professors.  He didn’t appear to be a casual student, no partying or drunkenness.  Even his GPA was outstanding.”

“This is sounding to me like a love fest for this guy,” Cain thought to himself.

“Well, it is clear, Charlie, that you have thoroughly vetted him.  Aside from the facts, what is your opinion of him?”

Hughes went on to share how he had arranged the phony meeting at Jason’s Diner.  He ascertained from that encounter that, while Griffith might be naïve in politics, he was keenly aware of people.

“What do you think, Amber?  What is your assessment based on what we know of this man?”

Cain felt a hesitation to jump to a fully positive opinion of Griffith.  He sounded too good to be true.

“Maybe Amber sees it differently,” Cain thought.

“He seems too good to be true.  I want to believe that there is man like that out there, but I just can’t blindly accept that,” Amber, though she was wide-eyed, still shook her head negatively.

“I can’t blame you for feeling that way,” Hughes replied.  “I would have expected that to be my opinion, too, but I talked to too many people that described him so consistently that I felt I had no choice but to believe in him.”

Cain sat back and crossed his arms.  Looking at Hughes, he saw a certainty in his demeanor that implied confidence in the truth of what he was sharing.  Amber appeared to be both hesitant and hopeful.

“Has his paperwork been submitted and approved?”

Hughes replied, “Submitted but not yet approved.  There is no reason to not approve it, I’ve just been reluctant.”

Cain nodded as he understood Charlie’s restraint.

“Here is what we are going to do.  Charlie, I need you to be available for another meeting.  I want that meeting to be here, in my office.”

“I can meet anytime you want,” Hughes spoke with definiteness as he nodded.

“Amber,” Cain turned to her, “I want you to contact Griffith and arrange a meeting, tomorrow, if possible.”

“I have his contact information.  He is at work, right now, but I do have that phone number, too,” Hughes piped in.  He took an index card out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Amber.

“I was going to call him today to let him know I was approving the paperwork,” Hughes intimated.

“Hold off, don’t call him,” Cain instructed.  “Let’s have Amber call him.  By meeting him here, he won’t feel as if you are controlling this meeting, Charlie.  Our goal will be to further vet him for the party.”

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Chapter 8 - The Quality of a Man

“Oh, it burns,” Bob’s mind shouted as he grimaced.

“I’m so sorry, Miss. Oh, really, I am sorry,” Doris stuttered.  “I mean I didn’t mean to call you Miss, buddy, uh, I mean sir.”

Not only was the waitress fumbling the coffee, she was fumbling her words, too.  Awkwardly, she pulled at the towel she had tucked into her apron string causing the string to untie and the apron to fall to the floor.

“Oh, my God,” Doris screeched as her waitress uniform began to unravel.  Her apron had held the folded portion of her dress in place across her back.  Now, the dress spread open and was hanging loosely.  It flared from her shoulders like a pitched tent.  Clearly it was too large for her.

Bob could not decide whether to laugh, cry, be mad, or sympathetic.  The shock of having extremely hot coffee spilled into his lap was difficult enough but to see this strange woman come apart in front of him was discomforting, as well.

Thinking to himself, Bob somewhat mused, “Well, at least she didn’t…”

“Let me help you, sir”

Quickly Doris reached for her back and grabbed a handful of her dress so that it bunched once again around her waist.  In the same moment, she reached down and picked up the towel that had just been at her waist.  She reached in with the towel and began dabbing the towel over Bob’s coffee-soaked lap.

“What are you doing out there?”

The gruff voice of the owner came barreling out of the kitchen.  He was looking through the cut out where he put the food for the waitresses to pick up.

“What kind of place do you think we are running here, woman?”

Immediately, Doris stopped dabbing the towel in Bob’s lap.  She dropped the towel on Bob’s table and turned her back to him.  She was reaching around behind her to retie the dress so it would bunch once again at her waist.

Her elbows were practically in Bob’s face.  She had moved very close to him, making Bob think that she was frightened of the owner.  Her nearness was approaching, at least for Bob, inappropriateness.

“I will you ask you again, what are you doing?”

Now the owner sounded determined to get an answer from her.

“I am doing what I am told,” Doris said slowly, enunciating each word.

The tone of her response surprised Bob.  Until then, she impressed him as a fearful, delicate woman.  Now, she sounded angry and fierce.

“Oh, okay,” was the unexpected response from the owner.

“I’m sorry, sir.” Doris turned to face Bob.  “I will get your check right away so you can leave.”

“But, I am meeting someone,” Bob began to explain.

“They will understand, I am sure,” Doris tried to be reassuring, even putting her right hand on his shoulder.  She even batted her eyes.

“I promise to explain to Mr. Hughes what happened.  He will understand.”

Bob looked up at Doris.  At first, his eyes were wide, then quickly he narrowed them.

“I never told you that I was meeting with Mr. Hughes.”

Doris’ eyes filled with panic.

“Of course you did, sweetie.  I’m sure you mentioned it when I sat you here.  Remember, I even suggested you sit on this side of the booth so you could see him when he came in.”

Bob’s awareness now was heightened.  He began to question everything about this supposed meeting.  He glanced at her name tag.

“Of course, it has a different name,” Bob thought as he twisted his mouth to the left.

“Charlotte, you have a choice to make right now,” Bob began.

The waitress seemed startled to hear Bob use her actual name.  She stepped back, withdrawing from such a forward and flirty position.

Bob looked around the diner and noticed that no one else was there.  Then he recalled what he thought was a strange gesture she made when he arrived.  She seemed to move around him before seating him.  Now, he sensed that she had flipped the open sign to indicate the diner was closed.

Bob continued, “You can continue this charade and give me a great story to tell everyone I know in Hilliard, or, you can be honest with me.  The choice is yours but you need to make it now.”

Bob stared intensely into her eyes.  Her brown eyes softened in reaction to his determination.  She nodded her head, ever so slightly, to indicate surrender.

“Did Hughes put you up to this?”

“Yes, Mr. Hughes made me do this,” Charlotte dropped her head, tilting it to the right with her gaze falling to the floor.

Bob knitted his brow and crinkled his nose in confusion.

“What do you mean, he made you do this?”

Charlotte mumbled in response, “I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?” Bob impatiently responded.

Charlotte’s head shot up.  Her eyes had a look of pleading.

“Please don’t ask me anymore about that.  I really am sorry if I burned you.  I wasn’t meaning to hurt you,” Charlotte was now shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

Despite the cunningness she had displayed before, Bob now felt a measure of helplessness in her demeanor.

“Should I believe her?”  Bob began to wonder.

“Why should I believe you?”

Charlotte dropped her head.  She remained silent, offering no reply or resistance.

“I tell you what,” Bob began.  “I am sure that you must give Hughes an account of what happened.  He will be expecting it soon.  Am I right?”

Still not speaking, Charlotte nodded her head affirmatively.  Her eyes remained in a fixed gaze at the floor.

“Say to him that you succeeded.  Tell him I decided to leave.”

“Really?  You want me to tell him that?”  Charlotte’s voice revealed surprise.

“I also want you to tell him that I apologized for having to leave,” Bob grabbed her wrist to be sure he had her full attention.  “And say that I asked you to tell him that I would be back at the city administration building in an hour with the necessary paperwork.  If he still feels we need to meet, he can find me there and talk to me then.  Understand?”

As Charlotte was nodding in agreement, Bob slid out of the booth and stood.  She started to move towards him, her arms begin to raise as if she were going to hug him.  Bob stepped back putting up an invisible wall.

“I am trusting that you will do as you have agreed.”

Bob reached into his pocket and put several dollar bills on the table.  He stepped around her and headed towards the door.

“Are you just another one of them?”  Charlotte softly asked.

“What a strange question,” Bob thought.

Turning to face her, Bob asked, “What do you mean?”

“A politician,” Charlotte’s hands spread out.  “Someone who uses people?”

Bob’s emotions went first to indignation.  He lowered his eyes as he considered her words.

“How could she think that of me?”  he reasoned.  “But, she doesn’t know me, either.”

Looking back up at her Bob responded, “I will let you decide that for yourself.”

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Chapter 7 – At the Gate

Bob’s boss, Evan Schmitt, sounded unhappy.  When Bob told him two weeks earlier that he would be running for mayor, his boss’ reaction was mixed.

“You want to be mayor!  Wow!  I think that is amazing,” Evan grinned.  “I think you would do a great job.  You have some great people skills.  I have watched you act with integrity and you have really grown into a prominent leader.”

Bob looked down feeling embarrassed.  He rubbed his hands, palms downward, against his thighs.  Suddenly, being seated seemed uncomfortable to him.

Evan pointed at a picture sitting atop the credenza to his right.

“That was the best company event we have ever had.  Three months ago, we celebrated having broken every record, well, at least the good ones.  This plant achieved record sales and record productivity.  I believe that we also had our best moral among the workforce that this plant has ever seen and you, Bob, were a primary reason for that!”

“Thanks, Evan,” Bob spoke softly.  “You had my back and gave me the authority to do what I saw needed to be done.”

Evan cut him off, “But you had the vision to see solutions and the creativity to come up with a plan.”

Suddenly, Evan stopped.  He hung his head.

With a sense of defeat sounding in his voice, Evan looked up, “So Bob, this means you will be leaving us.”

Bob pursed his lips.  He looked down at his shoes, then back at Evan.

.

“Maybe we should take this a day at a time.  After all, no one has voted for me, yet,” Bob smiled weakly.

Evan leaned forward, “No, not yet, but they will.  You can bet that every resident of Hilliard who works in this plant will vote for you.”

“Well, not everyone,” Bob smiled.

Evan cocked his head.  His eyes rolled up and to the right as he was thinking.

“Marcie Evans.  Nope, I don’t believe she would vote for you,” Evan was nodding his head.  

He smiled as he returned his gaze to Bob.

Bob paused as he replayed in his mind suspending Marcie.  He had caught her on security camera breaking into a series of employee vehicles in the company parking lot and removing personal property.  On another camera, she was filmed breaking into lockers in a common area and taking food and money from her fellow employees.

When Bob confronted her, she initially denied that it was her.  When Bob was unwilling to consider that argument, Marcie quickly gave in.

“I guess you’re going to fire me.  Well, I hope you realize that you will be throwing a single mother of three out into the street.”

Though Bob was disappointed that she was using this flawed guilt tactic, he knew her well enough to have anticipated it.

“Here’s the deal, Marcie.  I know who you took things from, since it is all on camera.  If you are willing to return everything that you took, I would be willing to let you keep your job.  You are a good worker, but I cannot allow your behavior to continue.  Would you be willing to do that?”

Marcie squinted her eyes as she jerked her head forward, appearing to protest.

“But some of what I took was food.  You know that I can’t return that,” she started to object then paused.

“I guess I can figure out a way to make that work.  Are you really going to let me keep my job?”

Bob nodded, “There is one more condition.”

Marcie rolled her eyes then suddenly stiffened her back and gave her full attention, including her gaze, to Bob.  It seemed to him that she might want to keep her job bad enough to comply.

“I want you to get some counseling,” Bob said as he leaned forward.

Crinkling her nose, Marcie responded, “Why would I do that?  What do I need counseling for?”

Bob let out a short breath and tilted his head to the right.  In his heart, he wanted to do something more than just allow Marcie to keep her job.  He wanted to inspire her to change.

“I don’t know for sure why you would steal from your friends and co-workers, but I believe that you are basically a very good person, Marcie.  The way you talk about your kids, I can tell that you love them very much and try your best to take care of them.

“But something is causing you to make the bad choices you have made her.  Now, it isn’t my place to get into your personal business, but I do want to see you get help.  You are a great worker, the very best assembler that we have, and I don’t want to lose you.

“I promise you two things.  First, I will stand by you as long as I know that you are trying to do the right thing.  Second, I am going to insist that you get help because without that, I do not have confidence that you won’t start stealing again.”

“But, I can’t afford counseling,” Marcie shook her head, “You know that I am a single mother, the only income in my household.”

“I have already thought of that, Marcie,” Bob said with empathy, “The company’s employee assistance program normally pays for up to five counseling sessions.  The counseling can be family counseling, behavioral issues, or, even financial skills.”

Marcie appeared to be thinking over what Bob just shared.  She had slumped back in her chair and crossed her arms.  Her face seemed to portray consideration, but her body language implied defiance.

“There is one more thing, Marcie.”

She snapped her head back towards Bob as she tightened the grip her own arms held across her chest.

“As I just said, the program, which is completely anonymous, provides five free sessions.  I have already taken steps to see that you will receive up to ten sessions for free, no cost to you.  If that’s not enough, then we should talk and I will see what more I can do.”

Marcie’s arms dropped to her side.  Her mouth remained slightly open and her entire face appeared relaxed.  Slowly, she sat up and leaned toward Bob.

“Why would you do this for me?”

That conversation was a week ago.  Two days later, Marcie was caught, once again, stealing from the lockers.  This time, though, she was caught by a co-worker.  Bob now had limited options.  He could fire her, but instead, he chose to suspend her under the guise that he was investigating her actions since no one else knew about that he had already confronted her about this same behavior.

It was Thursday that he chose to suspend her and carried it out.  He wanted to see how she would react.  He hoped that she would show him some indication of remorse and that she would take him up on his previous offer.  It was clear to him that she needed help, but he needed to see that it was clear to her, too.

“I wonder if there is any hope with her?” Bob wondered.

“So, how do you think we should move forward with you?”

Evan’s voice brought Bob back to the present conversation.

“Should we begin preparing now for you to, well, no, that already sounds like a bad idea to me,” Evan sounded out his thoughts.

Bob grinned.

“I’m glad that you think you are going to get rid of me so easily.”

Evan returned the grin.

“Yeah, let the people of Hilliard have to deal with you.  After all, it was my decision to give you a job here.  It is only appropriate that they decide to give you a job there,” Evan nodded.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Evan pointed upward with his right forefinger.  “Your performance review is scheduled for sixty days from now.  Between you and me, I have heard that your boss likes you and wants to give you a raise,” Evan chuckled.  “How about we move that review up to this coming Monday?  I am putting it on my calendar right now for ten o’clock.”

“Why would you do that?” Bob asked through a smile.

“Here’s how I see it,” Evan leaned in. “If I push it up, we can give you that raise sooner.  If you get elected mayor, you can still make a few extra bucks here until you quit.  If you don’t get elected, then you still have a higher salary which can help soften the blow of being rejected by the good citizens of Hilliard.”

Bob nodded, “I think I like that idea.  I like it very much.”

“Then we will meet at ten o’clock on Monday,” Evan wrote it down on his calendar.

Bob was now sharing, on Monday morning, that he would not be into work and would need to reschedule the review.

“I don’t know why the President of the City Council is setting a meeting with me at this exact time.  I’m really sorry, Evan,” Bob said. “I just got off the phone with him and I really feel that I should keep this meeting with him.”

“Well, Bob, I really don’t like getting stood up.  I guess we can reschedule when you come into work,” Evan sounded resigned.

“Guess I might be losing you sooner than we both thought.”

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