Dick Gibson
It’s October 1968.
Just as Rob Grant is preparing to leave for a conference in Las Vegas, his attorney calls and tells him his divorce is final. Rob is now a single parent living in Connecticut with two teenage sons. The younger one, Greg, gets into drugs, and Rob takes immediate steps to find help.
Now twice divorced, Rob is wary of committing to a permanent relationship. While in Vegas, he meets Kate Skowron, a pretty face who follows him back East. She is the first of several women he romances as he searches for a new companion and a surrogate mother for his boys. They hope to see immediate results—especially Greg, who needs firm maternal guidance. But a conflict arises when Rob finds that his personal timetable and cautious approach aren’t compatible with either the boys’ hopes or those of the women he dates.
Rob then encounters a professional setback when the oil company he works for in New York becomes the target of an acquisition. This unforeseen complication tests his resilience, but a new woman enters his life and brings Rob love and support. Will it be enough to help him face the uncertainties that lie ahead?
Author's web address: www.dg-books.com
Dick Gibson was born into the twentieth century’s great depression and was raised on a small farm near Logansport, Indiana. After high school, he served on a minesweeper during the Korean campaign before graduating from the Indiana University School of Business in 1955. It was also the year that saw the beginning of his long professional career—one that started with his having had an important managerial role with the company in Downey, California that built the Apollo spacecraft. In the late sixties, he moved to suburban Connecticut and commuted into New York each day (the settings for both works, It Isn’t Easy Being a Lion and Deliberate Steps) where he worked for companies in the oil, basic metals, and executive search businesses. By the mid-seventies, he’d settled in central Massachusetts, changed careers, and spent a dozen years in various management roles within the real estate industry. Nearly a decade later, he relocated to south Texas and served as an officer in the largest privately held bank in the state. He and his educator wife, Sandra, then emigrated to Europe in 1986 and have since lived in both Spain and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
www.dg-books.com
Rob thought he’d be among the first to arrive. Not so. The party was in full swing when he got there. He headed straight for the hors d’oeuvres. A cushion was needed before he said “hello” many more times and then got serious about having his favorite drink. Working his way around a huge bowl of shrimp, an assortment of cheeses, and an array of other delicacies, a trim, cute little young lady jabbed a fork into a helpless shrimp. Fortified by a second glass of wine, Rob discovered later, she said, “Hello. I’m Sharon Kerner. Judy says you’re Rob Grant.”
“I was when I left the office.” Smiles. “Suppose I still am. But I thought Judy might introduce us since we’re spending the night together,” Rob said, chuckling.
“Whoa! You move fast. Since you have all this figured out, shall we leave now?”
“Someone at a conference in Las Vegas made a similar but slightly different comment about two months ago. But it wasn’t my meaning. We’re spending the night together with RD. On second thought, it might get crowded in his bed.”
“Judy said I’d like you. She was right. Any other good lines you’d like to try on me?”
“Shall we have dessert here or at your place? But that turns the menu upside down, don’t you think?”
“I don’t believe any of this. We just met a minute or two ago and already you’ve got us in bed together. You’re wild, and a little crazy—but correct, maybe. I suppose you read tea leaves, too. About later, we’ll have to see. But just in case your prophesy is accurate, maybe it’d be a good idea if we go easy on the booze.”
“I’ll try not to take the edge off a good thing.”
RD came by to say hello. “This is one of Judy’s friends. Guess you know that already.”
“I do. And as nearly as I can figure it out, she pointed me out to Sharon and said, ‘sic ‘em’. She wasted no time and did just that. We’re already in love and planning a quiet wedding before anyone knows she’s pregnant.” Hearty laughter. The party was off to a good start.
Sharon went off to talk with Judy. He could see smiles. Rob started to circulate so that he could talk with colleagues he didn’t see very often outside of staff meetings. He didn’t get far. Walt Knorr cornered him almost immediately and said he’d been talking with International Metals & Mining, IMMCorp, about taking over their management development function sometime after the first of the year. “Various personnel operations are being centralized and they also need someone to administer their human resources program. Responsibilities would be worldwide, including Australasia. I’ve recommended you. Said if they wanted the best, you were it. Pencil in a meeting with their VP, Stan Baird, sometime next month. I have to assume you’re interested. Implementation of their new plan will begin to take place sometime in April.”
“Good thing I came to the party. Thanks, Walt, I really appreciate it. I didn’t know you knew that much about what we do or what kinds of results we’ve had.”
“Robbie, there isn’t anyone at 48th and 5th who doesn’t know what you and your department have done for Sentry in the past 18 months or so. I’m glad to recommend you. You’re what IMMC needs to get the job done. It’s demanding, but it’ll pay you more than what you get now. Count on it. I’ll let you know when Stan can see you. I’ve built you up to the point that if you want the job, I’m convinced it’ll be yours. All you’ll have to do is come in, say hello, and sign the employment contract. Just so you’ll know, they’re down in the financial district. I’ll keep you posted. Baird trusts me—and my judgment.”
“This is a total surprise. I’m indebted. Buy you a drink?”
“Sure enough. Price is right, thanks to RD.”
Rob went back to saying hello to people who’d most likely be elsewhere around the U.S. before much longer. Suddenly, he wound up face to face with Sharon again.
“You have a very pleased look on your face,” she said. “Good news, other than me?”
“You might say that. Chance of a pretty good job after Sentry gets chewed up. A complete surprise because it came from someone I least expected to be an ally or a supporter.”
“Judy says that RD considers you one of his stars.”
“Nice to hear, but I’m simply doing the best job I can with a subject I know pretty well. Been at it a while. But in the words of someone I know at a Midwestern university, I don’t have 14 years of experience, just one year of experience 14 times.”
“Not sure I agree with that idea. But where do you live, Rob?”
“Sheffield, with my two boys.”
“Ah, a commuter.”
“And you?”
“Just a block from here. 78th Street. I used to be down in the Village, but security got to be a problem in the old building I lived in.”
“And what do you do?”
“I’m an artist and sell some of my works to keep me afloat. Do fairly well. Would you like to see my etchings?”
That caught Rob off guard, and stung his conscience just a little.
“I say something wrong?”
“No, no. Are you serious, or is that just a come-on to get me up to your place? You don’t have to do that, you know.”
“No, I really do have some.”
“Then I’d like to see them. A little voice is telling me they’re in your bedroom.”
“You can see into the future! How did you know that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Let me guess. It’s how you attract male animals to your lair.” They shared another laugh.
“Not many and not often. Lotsa people in my crowd are grubby and smell bad. I’m very finicky.” The meaning of “not often” wasn’t lost on Rob.
“How about we get some food? We’ve been at the spirits long enough. If this beast is to growl properly, it’ll take sustenance.”
Having filled their plates, Rob and Sharon sat on big, fat pillows on the floor. Just as Rob was getting organized, Dana Morris, who was clearly drunk, settled to the floor in a slow, scissor-like motion and sat squarely in Rob’s plate. “Dana! I believe you just sat in my dinner.” Those who saw what had happened broke into a chorus of laughter. They were led by RD who was nearly beside himself.
A couple of helping hands lifted Dana out of Rob’s plate. “I picked out those things on my plate very carefully. Now you’ve gone and mushed them all.” More laughter. Sharon couldn’t control herself. At this hour of the evening, they decided that maybe the food didn’t matter that much after all. Rob had the floor. “Let’s drink to Dana, and to Sentry Oil,” he proposed.
“Here, here,” the crowd responded, and they drank to honor the man and the company.
