by Diego Diego
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The business community saw the turnaround of Varitech engineered by Granger as nothing short of phenomenal.
The once sleepy little company had grown into an industry force to be reckoned with. This visibility prompted another meeting of the original twelve SVP’s with Granger in his office. “I hope you still enjoy the perks of your office,” he bellowed as he entered the conference room. Not waiting for a reply he proceeded to point out that the world was becoming more and more politically correct and that serious PR issues might surface if the corporate atmosphere of stimulation and superiority became too visible. He looked directly at me as he expressed his concern. In true Granger management style he quickly walked to the door saying, “I trust you will handle this threat and protect what I have given you.”
We looked at each other and then everyone fixed their gaze on me. “Let’s all think about this,” I said, “I’ll schedule some time for us to agree on what needs to be done to protect our status.”
Granger wasn’t pointing blame with his stare, as CEO he was giving direction to the President of Varitech. Reversing the fortunes of Varitech allowed me to demonstrate the leadership qualities that first brought me to Grangers attention a few years ago. Gunnar and I had proved to be a well suited team. He didn’t mind the overtime as I stayed late at night fine-tuning proposals and reports. In fact he doubled-down his efforts to do more than what was required as specified in the Support Workers bill of rights.
When the big promotion was announced he surprised me with a gold plated plaque engraved with Chuck Rogers, President, Varitech Corporation. Since any verbal communication between managers and support workers was prohibited, he simply handed me the package and genuflected in front of me as I unwrapped the package. When he saw my smile of approval, he bowed his head and licked my shoes for the first time. I have to admit that I liked his way of acknowledging his position in life.
When Granger called his meeting, little did he know that I had been thinking of possible PR problems for some time. The role of our Support Staff was not a secret. It was something that had spread through the gay community, with varying degrees of accurate descriptions of what was required for employment. Rick and I both had been asked if there were openings as we circulated within the community.
Of the twelve original managers ten were straight, although Rick and I had speculated on their orientation a few times over a drink. But the problems in their home life as a growing concern for me. Their wives were beginning to complain about the lack of carnal attention.
That was not the only problem. The uniqueness of resting your feet on a face had worn off for most of the SVPs. The treatment of the Support Staff we traded during our Friday staff meetings was getting rougher. But by god, my team worked hard and deserved to up the rewards to reflect what was expected of them as a team. So, as long as the service you demanded did not draw blood, it was OK to release a little tension on Fridays.
After all no one complained, in part because each Support Staff knew it would be easy to find their replacement if they did voice an objection to their master’s requests.
Will be continued . . .
