VELOCITY - DEE JACOB [67]
“To tell you the truth, Amy, I don’t know what it is with him, but I’m glad it’s out in the open. I’ve had my doubts about Murphy Maguire for a long time.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I hate to tell you this, but in my opinion, he’s part of the problem. He’s pretended to go along with LSS. He’s done some of the training – and I do give him credit for that. But he just doesn’t get it. He’s too old school. He’s locked in the past. Frankly, I don’t think he’s ever really going to make the transition to the new culture we need to create.”
Amy nodded slowly, but since it was clearly turning into a personnel issue, she made no comment.
“But, Wayne, what about the substance of what he was saying? What was it, something about Godzilla being idle for a full hour today?”
“That was earlier. For some reason, there was a shortage of material, of a specific part, and we had to fill the shortage before proceeding. So, yes, the processing in this big autoclave – Godzilla, a name that I hate – was delayed until we had a full count. I mean, I’m not happy about it. Kurt and I are already making adjustments. But Murphy … he’s obsessed with this one piece of equipment – as if Godzilla controls the whole plant or something! The whole business, for that matter!”
They had reached the entrance. Amy signed herself out on the guard’s clipboard. Then something occurred to her.
“Wayne, we have very high levels of inventory. How could there be a shortage?”
“I don’t know. It bothers me, too. We just didn’t have enough of a certain part for a certain order at a certain time.”
Wayne opened the steel door to the outside, and they stepped into the hot midday sun. The heat rolled over them.
“Before I go,” said Amy, “let me just ask you, what do you think should be done about Murphy?”
Wayne hesitated, knowing what was at stake and what the consequences might be. Then he spoke his mind.
“I think that Maguire should go. I think he should be moved out – for his sake, as well as the good of the company. He’s becoming an obstacle.”
“Has he been insubordinate?”
“No – although he came close just now, I thought.”
“I want to talk to him,” said Amy. “But not today. Let him calm down. I’ll call him tomorrow morning.”
On the drive back to Highboro, Amy had plenty of time to think about Oakton. The construction zone was more torn up and a bigger delay than it had ever been. But the only conclusion she came to as her BMW sat in traffic gathering a fine powder of dust was that she could make no absolute conclusions.
10
After marrying his third wife, Garth Quincy decided it was time to settle down. He had been a salesman for almost twenty years by then, and he felt as though the vast majority of those years had been spent sleeping at night in places where he did not live – hotels and motels in cities all across North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. The travel demands of his work were certainly a factor in the ruination of his two previous marriages, so when Garth married Fanny, he resolved that this union would be different. So he sought out and won the position of Hi-T’s sales manager for the western United States. He made less money as a manager than he had as a salesman, but he slept in his own bed most nights, and beautiful Fanny proceeded to demonstrate her happiness and appreciation by delivering three kids in four years.
Then came the opportunity to fill Amy Cieolara’s former position of vice president of marketing and sales. Here, Garth faced a dilemma. On the one hand, he relished the title, the higher salary and benefits, and the job itself. On the other, it had become clear to him and to everyone else selling Hi-T’s products and services that since the acquisition by Winner not all was going swimmingly. Something was amiss. The customers were getting grumpy and telling the Hi-T salespeople this, and Garth was hearing the complaints both indirectly and directly. As was Amy. So the question, for Garth, was whether to take the VP position and perhaps help steer the Hi-T ship toward a better