Stephen sat down in the chair heavily. Looking over at Magus, he asked, "Why did I take twenty-one hours this semester?"
"So that you can get your degree in three years," Magus answered.
"That's right," Stephen said.
"Are you signed up for your summer classes?" Magus asked.
"Yes. Nine hours," Stephen answered. It was going to be a busy summer taking three courses on the shortened summer schedule.
"Excellent," Magus said.
"The final examinations nearly killed me," Stephen said. He was so tired from studying that he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Were there any questions you couldn't answer?" Magus asked.
"No," Stephen said. He knew that he could have probably done half of the studying and still passed all of his tests.
"Any professors you couldn't out argue?" Magus asked.
"No," Stephen answered. He said, "It did help to know which ones wanted arguments and which ones wanted agreements."
"That's the secret of this business. You always have to know what people really want," Magus said.
"I've come to understand that," Stephen said. It was actually amazing how many people didn't really know what they wanted.
Magus said, "By the way, your new desk arrived."
"Really," Stephen asked sitting up straight. He was finally going to have a desk just like the one Magus used.
"Your office is rearranged to be just like this one," Magus said.
"That is great," Stephen said.
"I've also filled the drawers of your desk with the solutions to the most common problems," Magus said.
"Outstanding," Stephen said.
"Poindexter will be giving you the keys to a world of information," Magus said.
Getting excited, Stephen asked, "He's giving me the passwords to your private databases?"
"And the government data sources," Magus said.
"Wow," Stephen said.
Magus asked, "How's Cathy doing?"
"She's doing great. She's down to demanding sex only two times a day. I guess the medications and therapy are working," Stephen said.
"That's really good news," Magus said.
Stephen nodded his head and said, "Yes. Maybe next semester I can try dating some other women."
"Just make sure they are plain looking," Magus said.
"I'll try to remember that," Stephen said.
Magus slid an envelope across the desk and said, "That's for you."
"What is it?" Stephen asked.
"Tickets to visit your parents," Magus answered. "You'll leave tomorrow and return in time for the wedding."
"Thanks," Stephen said pleasantly surprised by the gift. He really hadn't expected Magus to provide tickets home.
"You're welcome," Magus said. "Now get home and get some rest. You've got a long day of travel ahead of you tomorrow."
"Thank you," Stephen said.
"Send Jake over here," Magus said.
A few minutes later Jake sat down in the chair that Stephen had just vacated. He said, "What's up?"
"How were finals?" Magus asked.
"No problem," Jake answered with a smile. "I retook music appreciation and got the grade changed to a B. That really helped my GPA."
"Excellent," Magus said. "You can't do much better than that if you're completely tone deaf."
"I agree," Jake said.
Magus asked, "So how are things going?"
"They are great. I talked to my Dad last night. He's got a new job and it is really helping him out," Jake said.
"And your mother?"
That was the best news of all, Jake said, "The experimental drugs seem to be helping."
"That is good news," Magus said.
"Things are a whole lot better than when I walked into your office the first time," Jake said. Once he had accepted that he wasn't going to graduate in four years, he had found that a lot of the pressure on him had lifted. He was even sending some money home to help out his parents.
Magus slid an envelope across the table. He said, "This is for you."
"What is it?" Jake asked.
"Round trip tickets for you and Cathy to visit your parents," Magus answered.
"Wow. That is nice," Jake said. His enthusiasm faltered a little and then he asked, "You set it up for Cathy to go with me?"
"You know that she has needs. Stephen is visiting his parents and Tom is going home for the summer," Magus said.
"I don't know how my parents will react if I show up with a girl and expect her to sleep with me," Jake said with a frown.
"They are fine with it," Magus said.
"You talked with them?" Jake asked. He realized who he was talking with and said, "Sorry, stupid question."
Magus said, "Why don't you head home and get ready to leave? Your flight is tomorrow."
"Thanks," Jake said.
Magus watched Jake leave the office. He went into the room behind his desk and emerged a half an hour later with an envelope in hand. A distinguished looking man walked into the office and said, "I'm here."
"Ah, Pat Hendrisk. You're right on time. Have a seat and we'll get to business," Magus said. He tossed the envelope on the desk and took a seat.
"What have you got for me?" Pat asked.
Magus answered, "I've got the solution to your problem."
"Good. I was beginning to worry that my ten million dollars had been wasted," Pat said.
Magus slid the envelope across the desk and said, "I think you'll find that my fee is very inexpensive compared to the benefits."
Pat picked up the envelope and opened it. There was a single sheet of paper inside. He pulled it out and read it. Frowning, he asked, "Are you kidding?"
"No," Magus answered.
"You are telling me to fire eight people and to hire one person," Pat said in disgust.
"Exactly," Magus said.
Pat said, "I asked to tell me how to improve our market share by ten percent and you give me this garbage. I was expecting a business strategy."
Irritated, Magus leaned forward and said, "You expected a strategy and didn't get it for the very simple reason that it wouldn't solve your problem. You don't need me to give you a strategy to accomplish your goals. You need me to find the right people. The right people will provide the strategy and adjust it when it isn't working. They will provide the energy and dedication to see a strategy through to the end."
Pat squirmed in his chair. He said, "I know all of these people you want me to fire. They are good people."
"Do you really think so?" Magus asked.
"I play golf with Charles every weekend," Pat said picking one of the names off the list.
Magus said, "You gave Chuck the job of opening the market in Indonesia. He didn't."
"There were problems," Pat said.
"Did he solve them?" Magus asked.
"Well ... no," Pat answered.
Magus said, "That market alone would have increased your overseas sales by six percent. It could have also served as the launching point into China. He blew it. You need to get rid of him."
"I'm sure he's learned from the experience," Pat said.
"He was in charge of the introduction of a new product, wasn't he?" Magus asked.
"Yes," Pat answered.
"What happened there?" Magus said.
Pat said, "It didn't go over well."
"Really?" Magus said. "I thought it was a great product. The marketing of it sucked."
"Maybe," Pat said.
Magus said, "The fact of the matter is that Chuck is more concerned about his golf score and jetting around the world looking important than in doing his job. He's deadwood. You need to get his ass out of there and do it as soon as possible."
"Maybe," Pat said.
"The guy I suggest you hire will bring a team of people along with him. You better get out of his way and let him do his job," Magus said.
"I've never heard of him. What is his background?" Pat said.
"He is a Captain in the Navy. He's retiring in two weeks. He's got other offers. You've got about two days to talk to him and convince him to take the job," Magus said.
"He's got no business experience," Pat said with a frown.
"If by business experience you mean that he ran a lemonade stand when he was a kid, then you're right he doesn't have business experience. You're wrong if you think that he doesn't have the experience that you need. He's negotiated deals with the heads of governments in countries you don't even know are on the map as well as all of the countries that you do know about. He's been in command of more men than work in your entire company. He's got contacts in just about every company in this country. You need him," Magus said.
"I guess I could give him a try," Pat said.
Magus shook his head. He said, "No. You'll hire him and get the hell out of his way. I guarantee that he'll be your replacement in the company when you are ready to retire."
"Ten million dollars," Pat said thinking about how much the sheet of paper had cost him. Actually, it had cost the company that money.
"He'll earn ten times that in his first six months," Magus said.
Looking down at the list, Pat said, "I've worked with these eight people for a long time."
"They performed when they were lean and hungry, now they are fat and lazy. Do you really think they are going to bust their asses for you when they can make as much money by talking to their stock broker on the telephone for a couple hours a day? If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you," Magus said.
"I guess you're right," Pat said.
"You know I'm right," Magus said.
Pat left shortly after that. He wasn't exactly a happy man, but was likely to do what Magus suggested. His last words before leaving the office were, "It just isn't going to be the same place without them."
Magus sat back at his desk and said, "That job is over. I wonder where the next challenge will come from. I'm sure something is going to drop in my lap any second now. God doesn't like to see me bored; something about idle hands being the devil's tools."
After a few minutes, Magus cleared his throat and looked up at the ceiling. He said, "I'm getting bored."
After a few seconds, Magus looked up at the ceiling and said, "I could restart my experiments to create a black hole. There are some geeks down the street who would enjoy the challenge."
Claudia shouted, "There's a guy by the name of Calvin Dorfman coming to see you in an hour."
"It's about time I had something to do," Magus said. He looked up the name in one of his databases. He said, "I wonder what a fisherman needs from me."
"No reports of unusual accidents at the dock. There doesn't appear to be any foul play at work."
He typed a bit more on the keyboard and said, "I see. His catches have been decreasing for the past three years. I wonder why."
"This looks interesting," Magus said after looking over a couple of graphs. He studied one of the graphs for a minute before commenting, "Very interesting. Catches are down for all of the local boats."
"This is beginning to look even more interesting. Catches are down everywhere along the coast. I wonder why," Magus said.
"He's got three people working for him. That makes his company just the right size for a hundred dollar consultation fee."
"Let's see what else is going on in his life," Magus said letting his fingers do his work.
"He's got money problems, but they aren't bad yet. That's to be expected when his catches are down. If he's smart though, he'll recognize that things are going to get worse and that has got to be worrying him."
"His kids are doing okay in school. That suggests that there aren't any drug problems."
"It doesn't look like any of the women in his life are pregnant. At least there aren't any recent credit card charges to a gynecologist. His son might have a girlfriend, but I'll have to wait to learn more about that."
"There are no arrests for driving while intoxicated. I guess there is no alcohol abuse in the household. Of course, the money problems probably are causing a little tension in the family. At least there has been nothing that has required the police to interfere."
"There's nothing here to suggest that the wife is having an affair. He's a lucky man. One could expect that when he's out at sea for long periods of time."
"Oh, that's nice. She does a little charity work and volunteers at the church. She seems like a good person. Well, it is best to keep an open mind about things like this. You never know," Magus said. He looked at a picture of the woman. She looked nice enough in a middle class sort of way.
"That covers the big three: job, family, and money. It looks like the job is the most likely candidate here," Magus said. He sat back and thought about the life of Calvin Dorfman for ten minutes. Finally, he said, "I hope he's here for his business. That's a good problem."
He closed the desk and sat back to wait for his next client with a growing sense of anticipation.