Just then, his father walked in and said, “Hey, Grant.”
Grant had not expected him to be there.
“We have an unorthodox corporate organizational structure,” Walter explained in response to Grant’s quizzical look. “I have human resources and sales under me. A lot of places put sales under the COO or the CFO, but our business relies so much on sales that I felt it was important for sales to be integrated in the broader vision of how we structure the company and the strategic direction our company takes. You all on the sales force have your finger on the pulse of the market in real time.”
Martin smiled at Grant broadly. “This is why he’s been on the cover of every major financial magazine on multiple occasions. The Maverick CEO.”
Martin pulled out copies of Grant’s resume and cover letter. “You have eight years in the US Marine Corps, and in the infantry, no less. You also have no college degree. How will that translate to working sales?”
Grant cleared his throat. “I hear you all have developed a new type of server bank that cools more efficiently. It would be good for some of these warmer climates. With the projected boom in the developing world, this is a market Holbrook Enterprises really wants to move into. It seems simple and obvious, but these types of cultures can sometimes be hard to break into. I have contacts through the military that I could tap from people whose families immigrated here from a lot of these countries.”
“Sounds good to me,” Martin said.
One of the regional managers leaned forward and said to Grant, “I admit, we were thinking maybe you would concentrate on North America and Randal could move to international.”
“I can do whatever you need me to do,” Grant said. “There is a lot of focus right now in sub-Saharan Africa with the terrorist activity there. Getting internet and data management infrastructure in these areas is in everyone’s best interest. Plus, I can hold my own in a lot of these more undeveloped places.”
“I’m sure you can,” the regional manager replied.
Martin looked around. “I’m sold. When can you start?”
“I’ll be processing my final EAS paperwork in in the next few days. Once that clears, I’m all yours.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Grant shook hands with everyone in the room then left.
He felt charged and elevated, especially when Kate smiled at him when they came face-to-face in the hallway.
“Sounds like you nailed it,” she said.
“I guess so. It wasn’t as hard as I thought.”
“I told you they were going to hire you anyway. This is a formality. The real test is if you deliver.” She looked him over critically. “We’ll need to order you some more suits, a nice coat, and your own assistant.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I work for your father. You should have your own assistant.”
Grant didn’t like that. How was he going to win Kate if they wouldn’t even be working together anymore?
Grant spent the rest of the day at the Holbrook Foundation, meeting with the team developing the stray dogs and veterans program. He had to stand in front of a camera and say some lines they were going to use in a commercial. He also had his picture taken, and one of the interns had him write out answers to interview questions they were going to post on the site. Nancy stopped by to see how everything was progressing. Everyone seemed to respect her opinion and listened attentively when she gave advice.
“Nancy Holbrook rules this place with an iron fist,” one of the programmers told him. “But in a good way. She didn’t really know much about programming, so she’s been taking classes so that she could keep up with what we were doing. She’s a force of nature.”
He met up with his father that evening at an upscale bar. They shook hands stiffly, then Grant sat across from Walter at the table.
“They are going to formally offer you the job. Not that they weren’t going to anyways, but the regional manager was a bit tempered. You really blew them away. We recently acquired several companies that we need to integrate into the company and launch their services. We’re by no means tapped out in North America and Europe, but it would be a big win to break into the African continent and give the Chinese firms a run for their money.”
“We’ll see,” Grant said.
“There have been people getting kidnapped out there or attacked,” Walter told him, taking a sip of his water. “It’s not like going to Geneva for business.”
“I can handle it,” Grant said.
“Yes, I suppose you can.” His father paused as the waiter came by with salads. As Grant picked at his, his father asked, “Are you all right after what happened in the club house, that much death?”
“I’m fine,” Grant said, stabbing a crouton with his fork. “That wasn’t the first time I’ve killed anyone.”
