VISIONS – A NEW ENTERPRISE

Chapter 2

Master J and the Furious Four

The company’s Lear jet was sitting on the tarmac at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Missouri. Joseph remembered his father’s excitement when it had been purchased five years ago. “No more taking public transportation,” Jacob had said as if he was taking the Metrolink to downtown for a Cardinals game. Joseph remembered thinking how privileged they had become with the ability to avoid standing in lines and taking connecting flights to get to their ultimate destinations.

Joseph could count on one hand the number of times he had taken a trip with Jacob to a corporate meeting, retreat, or to pitch a proposition for acquiring a new business. Jacob was always one who kept things close to the vest, revealing only parts of his plans to those who needed to know. Many times, as a boy, Joseph had wanted to ask about his uncle, Esau, but dared not as that seemed to be a sore subject for Jacob. The family business seemed less like a family any more due to mergers and acquisitions. There was much to ponder as Joseph gathered his briefcase containing his laptop and cell phone along with his portfolio, which contained his half-scribbled plans to remediate the issues he never really got to share with his father.

Worry began to cloud Joseph’s face as he began to board the plan. His small entourage consisted of a group of people he called his crew: Meagan, Jack, Brian, and Sarah.

Meagan Tyemba, his administrative assistant, was more capable than she had let on when he hired her. Meagan was a couple years younger than Joseph, the ripe old age of twenty-eight. She was physically fit as she kept up with her early-morning routine of exercise before going to work. Her brunette hair was cut to shoulder’s length. She had a beautiful slender face with dark brown eyes that seemed to look right through anyone she spoke to. Her olive skin seemed to always glow. She was the very picture of professionalism. She dressed in business casual outfits; it was clear that she took time and great pleasure in selecting her clothes, which accentuated her athletic build but also complemented her unapologetically feminine side. At five feet ten inches, she wore three-inch heels that always made Joseph feel short, although he stood at an even six feet. Meagan was a jovial and kind person, always humming around the office. Her voice was melodic, and he figured she had a beautiful singing voice even though he had never heard it. Joseph had hired her because she had been direct and exact in her interview. She had been in management at her last job, which had taken time away from her family. Her position with Joseph afforded more free time, and she hadn’t minded realizing a cut in pay. She was an excellent facilitator and reminded him of Naomi. Joseph believed she would complement his style of management. Meagan was very fond of Joseph, admiring him for his humble but stoic leadership capabilities. Meagan had been married for six years to her husband, Ben, and they had two beautiful little girls, Katy who was five and Jocelyn who was four. Ben often referred to Joseph as Meagan’s work husband. Ben and Joseph became fast friends because they both enjoyed sports, arguing different sides of politics, and their appreciation for St. Louis–style ribs. Ben trusted Joseph because he was a good friend, a consummate gentlemen, and he presented himself with poise and discipline. Although Joseph wasn’t married, he never showed any signs of impropriety.

Then there was Jack Ryan, Joseph’s right hand. Jack had been a running back for Notre Dame before he tore his Achilles tendon. After recovery, at age twenty-five, he decided to focus on business. At five foot nine, Jack was stout and muscular. He was very persuasive and ruggedly good looking. He had lots of girlfriends and very few male associates. Jack had met Joseph at a job fair. Jack was looking for any job he could get. He was suave and had fielded several offers by the time he met Joseph. There was something about the way Joseph presented the opportunity that seemed to fill the hole Jack was experiencing in his life. While in recovery, Jack had lost his father to cancer. Grief stricken, he then watched his mother drink herself to death. Jack had a stepsister, Joyce, from his father’s previous marriage. They became closer after Jack’s mother passed. From that moment on, Jack began looking for something or someone to fill the void. Joseph seemed to fit. It wasn’t necessarily the job description that interested Jack. It was the purpose that he could see that drove Joseph. Jack could feel the passion seemingly dripping from Joseph’s description of the day-to-day work. Jack wasn’t the only one impressed. Joseph was equally impressed with Jack’s drive and tenacity. Jack went through his experiences as if he stood before an audience walking through a PowerPoint presentation. Joseph saw an individual who was comfortable in his own skin. It took a week for Joseph to make Jack an offer. Jack certainly thought he had bombed in his interview with Joseph, having forgotten that Joseph had mentioned he would be away on business and would follow up with Jack when he returned. Joseph knew that, in Jack, he had a bulldog. Joseph made Jack his business product manager.

Brian McDoogle and Sarah Leon filled out the roster of Joseph’s crew. They were both consultants and had been with the company for six years. They had held various positions, but they had never been able to be consistent in delivering results until they started working for Joseph. He demanded of them a level of integrity and honesty no other manager had. He also demanded consistency, proficiency, and efficaciousness in everything they did. On many occasions, they thought they might be fired. Jacob had given Joseph an edict to release them from their contracts, not seeing any level of productivity. He felt that the expenditure of capital dedicated to their positions could be repurposed for other projects. Joseph requested one year to turn things around. He challenged Brian and Sarah with difficult work that was within their respective wheelhouses. He gave them responsibilities as internal auditors and entrusted them with the work of investigation and delivering artifacts with recommendations in areas where remediation could be implemented swiftly. As a result, a year had passed, and the company had become more proficient because of their work. Brian had a propensity for accounting whereas Sarah had a proclivity toward information technology. They made a great team, and they were grateful to Joseph for seeing their value and refocusing their efforts in areas in which they could do their best.

Joseph decided to get his team on a quick conference call, anticipating their excitement regarding the pending endeavor. As he began to describe what they were going to be focusing on, he decided to keep the details to himself and tease them by saying he’d call them later to discuss. On his call with Meagan, she asked, “Will this be a routine trip?” Being close with Jack, his response on their call was, “You know nothing with you, Master J, is ever routine.” Jack often called Joseph Master J and referred to the rest of the crew as the Furious Four, a throwback to an infamous rap group named Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five from the nineteen eighties.

Joseph contemplated this trip and how it would about as far from routine as anything he had ever done. He had called his team after leaving the office and everyone seemed ready to go. They had all packed clothing for the full week even though they were leaving on a Friday. Many of their trips had been last minute. In most cases, they were away for only two days, and they flew commercially. This time was different. Joseph could feel their anxiety as he had not given them much detail.