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“You’ve told me about Miguel and Sam and how they run your crews so efficiently, why do you feel you need me?”
“You’ve engaged new business opportunities and that is why I need you. Satterfield Manufacturing’s CEO has invited me to play golf with him. Do you play golf?”
“I do, and now I get the picture. These guys are good at what they do in the field as a crew supervisor, but they aren’t Operations Managers who can deal with the CEO of a large manufacturer.”
“They’re the best at what they do but Max would eat them alive.”
Jagger chuckled. “So, you’re looking for someone who can be both you when you aren’t available to be here in the office and someone who can supervise a crew when they are too busy?” Jagger was getting the picture.
“That’s it exactly. Someone who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty too if necessary.”
“Mind if I ask why? I mean, you’ve been running this business for fifteen years successfully with just your wife and doing very well too. Why change now?”
Josh was a little taken aback by Jagger’s direct question, but he liked the younger man and his confidence. His professionalism. He replied with honesty, “Sophie was just diagnosed with breast cancer.”
“Josh, I’m really sorry.”
“Me too. I need someone who can step in and replace me when I’m not here. Meet with Maxwell Satterfield and his executive level and close the deal. Can you do that?” Josh waited for him to respond.
“I can.”
“I thought so, from our previous conversation on the phone. That is why you are the only candidate I brought in. Do you want the job?”
“I do,” Jagger replied.
They discussed salary and a start date. Jagger had already moved back to Cooper and was living with his mother who needed him at home. He was ready to start Monday.
“If you can hang around for a while, I’ll introduce you to Sam and Miguel. I’ll be with Sophie on Monday morning having her port inserted. She starts Chemo at the end of the week. Sam and Miguel will support you any way you need. I’ve already explained to them that I’m hiring someone. They’re on board.” Josh didn’t need to explain about Miguel’s initial reaction.
“Thanks, Josh. I look forward to getting started.”
The two men reviewed the client list while they waited for the crews to arrive. Josh gave Jagger the intricacies of each. He was eager to learn, and Josh liked that. He thought Jagger even had great ideas, for growing the business. If he was as good as Josh was thinking, they might need to hire more people.
They took a break and went to the small kitchen at the back of the building. In the fridge, Josh stocked water and sodas for his men. They sat at the table and talked personal for a while.
Jagger had gone to NKU where he got his bachelor’s degree in Business Finance. He worked in a small firm downtown. He hated every minute of being tied to a desk, but it was what his father had wanted for him.
“My dad died four years ago. Mom told me to do what I wanted to do. Greenlawn Landscaping was hiring so I worked for them until Mom became ill. I needed to come back to Cooper for her.”
“No serious girlfriend or wife, huh?”
Jagger snorted and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Suzy left me when I changed careers. She no longer thought I fit the image she wanted. We graduated NKU at the same time. Started dating our senior year. I was about to ask her to marry me when life changed things between us. I didn’t realize how much my career affected her feelings for me.”
Josh chuckled. “Life has that way of sending you curve balls,” he informed Jagger.
“Like Sophie’s cancer.”
“Yeah.”
Jos
h leaned his elbows on the table. He told the younger man about their history. Star quarterback in high school. Those were the days. His plans were to head off to college. He wanted to major in finance. He was a whiz with numbers. “Wanted to make a million like my friend Ben Wilks.” Josh shook his head at the younger man. Money didn’t mean so much to him now. He and Sophie were comfortable, that was all he needed. He could put the kids through college. They didn’t have to struggle like he and Sophie had in the early years. That’s all he wanted.
“Do you know that he just sold his investment firm for one hundred million and in a nasty divorce settlement gave his wife half the money? He moved back to Cooper.” The younger man shook his head.
Josh thought Jagger wasn’t so much impressed as he was confused. He remembered reading the same articles that Jagger had read about Ben. It was like he had given up everything that was important to him without a care. Whatever his wife wanted, she got. Then he disappeared to his small town, Cooper, Ohio where he had grown up and no one knew why except maybe Josh was beginning to understand. He wanted to get to know his daughter, Hannah because his mother was dying.
“Money means nothing when you lose everything else, Jagger.”
