I became a sort of de facto member of Peter’s group and regularly offered them help wherever I could. The first few times I sat down at the lunch table with them I drew a few questioning looks, but with Peter’s obvious approval they accepted me. As a result, they made no effort to hide from me their reactions to all that was going on.
The fervor of their attitudes toward Scott was almost shocking. “If he gets the VP slot, it will be a disaster for the company” was a common theme. “Why would senior management even consider promoting such a terrible boss?” was another. It was disturbing to hear qualified, capable people considering leaving the company if Scott got the VP job.
On the other hand, their regard for Peter was as high as their opinion of Scott was low. Several times when Peter wasn’t around, one of his people volunteered a story about how Peter had helped solve a problem. He had a way of offering constructive suggestions that encouraged the person to go back and do a better job. It seemed obvious to me what the company should do, but I knew that executives all too often focus totally on the short-term bottom line and are oblivious to what would be best for the long term.
If the stress on his group was high, it was painfully obvious to me that Peter was nearing the breaking point. The combination of a critical deadline, his rivalry with Scott and the revelations about Callie were almost unbearable – I was afraid something was going to give.
I was so worried about him that two days before the start of Expo I went to Peter’s office. Even though it was well after normal work hours, I felt certain I would find him there, and I wasn’t disappointed. He was surrounded by a small group of his key people staring at something on his computer screen.
I didn’t want to interrupt him so I paused at his door to watch him carefully. I knew he was tired from the long hours he’d been keeping, but the lines and dark shadows I saw on his face revealed an additional burden, one only I knew about. It disturbed me, yet I could think of nothing I could do to help.
Just then, he looked up and spotted me. “Hey, Jess,” he said, “come in and have a look at this,” indicating what was on his monitor. When I went around and looked over his shoulder, all I saw was what appeared to be a view of an empty room hung with curtains around the walls.
“Um, that’s nice,” I said uncertainly. “What am I looking at?”
“This is a new set-up we’re testing. What you’re seeing is a live feed from our hospitality suite at the MGM Grand in Vegas!” Peter said proudly. “Now watch this,” he went on, pecking at the keyboard. The view switched to a large hall. As Peter zoomed in, the view narrowed to a major exhibit that was under construction. “That’s the Magnatadyne booth at Expo, or it will be as soon as the display people get everything set up,” he said.
I looked at him in confusion. “Why exactly do you need a live feed from Expo?” I asked.
Instead of answering, Peter motioned to a woman in the group. “Debby, you came up with the idea, tell Jess what you’ve got in mind.”
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