JED

JED Chapter 1, pp. 3-4 ONE MORE Circa 1900 The cards fell to the floor as JED’s knock on life’s door startled his mother into a leap that she could not negotiate. The leap ended when Mr. William O’Toole Diston caught his wife as she fell forward. The cards landed face-up before her on the floor. The display revealed the card hand order: three twos: (two of clubs, two of hearts, and the two of diamonds), but the deadwood in the hand was one eight and one ace as an omen. Mr. Diston was never able to beat his wife at card games, regardless. He originally intended the competitive game of Gin rummy as a relief in the midst of the pregnancy tension, albeit more for himself than for Mrs. Diston’s benefit. Possibly a foot or a fist crashing against the rather fixed walls of womb confinement, a thrust that expressed discontent coupled with a thrashing declaration of desire was stating that time had expired. Possibly, the burst related to JED not wishing to remain past the time allowed for growth in the womb, period. This was, the first recorded position stance and exercise of power by JED the control fanatic. Mrs. Diston, Mary Martha, was less than pleased, not so much with the flamboyant attempts at the womb exit and world entrance of her newborn but more with the fact there was another in the ever-expanding line of succession to the Diston fortune. All previous siblings were boys: Harold Henry, Price Walter, Grant Sean and Ian Alfred, and the thought that another boy might enter the line-up was troubling at worst and compromising at least. Mary Martha, filled with hope, prayed daily that her Lord Jesus and His blessed mother working in concert would bestow a girl upon her, not another boy. The Diston name owned a head start on perpetuity without the addition of another male legacy carrier. She knew her heart would pine for gratification forever if it were not a girl. Her prayer fell upon deaf ears. The Diston English-Irish roots smacked of Roman Catholicism after the family migrated out of Birmingham, England into Dublin, Ireland. The Diston name spread like the plague, each marriage duplicating the brood of the previous clan with the male gender to the extreme that the family laughed at how difficult it was to birth a Patti in the family. ACTUAL 186 WORDS OR 986 CHARACTERS JED CHAPTER 3, p. 42 SABOTAGE “Corporations are unique structures! There is much they can do; but also, there is not much they can do efficiently, regardless.” The concept crossed the lips of JED frequently, albeit lowly, near a faint mutter. A peculiar circumstance arose that exposed three vice presidents linked to a coup d'état with the chair of the board and with several other board members who set in motion a plan to oust Elroy Ian McGomerery from the presidency of the company. Although solicited, JED chose to defer involvement wishing to feed carnivorously on the consequence product of the battle, maybe as a potential candidate himself, maybe. The decision helped and hurt JED’s image with the staff putting him on notice that he would never be included in discussions of pertinence again, either within the corporate design or outside the corporate plan. Suddenly, the risk decision elevated JED, as a potential collateral damage victim, along with President McGomerery, should the coup work. JED chose to become proactive. He finessed a private and somewhat compromising moment at a urinal with Mr. McGomerery in the men’s room, much to the surprise of his boss, since the privileged room was private. He alerted Mr. McGomerery to a plot to overthrow Elroy and advised who the executive vice presidential level players were that formulated the plan. President Elroy asked for details, times, and methods, some of which JED knew and some of which he did not know. After expressing appreciation for the information, Elroy befriended JED with a promise to aid him in the future with any situation that might allow JED control and ownership of a competitive company. JED added with a grin, “To own and to operate!” Mr. McGomerery smiled and replied, “You are a contrast in character, my friend. A contrast in character, bold and balanced with subtlety, brashness brushed with smiles, and bloodletting, gently administered with skill minus compassion. You are likeable and more importantly you are approachable. In addition, naturally, you must own to operate or you will self-destruct. Keep the balance friend. Keep the balance.”