Chapter 6
With a sigh of resignation, Chance walked into his office Monday morning and met his brothers’ inquisitive gazes. He knew why they were there. Marcus had mentioned to them that they’d been invited to Kylie’s for dinner and no doubt they wanted to know how things went. But he wouldn’t make it easy for them. He would pretend that he hadn’t a clue why they graced his office with their presence.
“Good morning. Is there any reason the three of you have taken over my office?” he asked, placing his briefcase down on his desk.
After a few moments, when no one replied, he exhaled a long sigh and said, “I don’t recall us having a meeting this morning. I know I have a meeting with Bas later today, but what’s up with you guys? Is any-thing wrong?”
Not surprisingly, it was Bas who stepped forward and said, “How about cutting the bull, Chance. You know why we’re here. We want to know how things went yesterday.”
Chance looked at him. “Was there a particular way they were supposed to go?”
“You tell us,” Morgan said, frowning. “You were the one who was all bent out of shape last week when you found that note. Can we assume you blew things out of proportion and Tiffany Hagan isn’t the threat to our nephew’s future that you assumed she was?”
Chance leaned back in his chair. A part of him wanted to tell his brothers that Tiffany was no longer a threat but her mother definitely was. But there was no way he could do that and have a moment’s peace from their inquisition. “No, Tiffany’s not a threat and although I’m not going to say I overreacted, I will say that I think Kylie and I have everything under control.”
Donovan quirked an eyebrow. “Kylie?”
“Yes, Kylie Hagan. Tiffany’s mother.”
Donovan smiled. “Oh, yeah, the one who’s such a good-looker.”
A dark scowl suddenly appeared on Chance’s face and he leaned forward. “And how do you know that Kylie is good-looking?”
Donovan was taken back by the bite in his brother’s tone. “You told us, don’t you remember? In fact your exact words were, ‘If the daughter looks anything like the mother then I’m in trouble.’”
“Oh.” Too late, Chance recalled having said that. He leaned back in his chair again, ignoring the curious glances his brothers were now giving him.
“You know what, Chance?”
Chance glanced over at Morgan and frowned. “What?”
A smile curved Morgan Steele’s lips. “I hate to tell you this, but I have a feeling that you’ve gotten yourself into some trouble.”
“So there you have it, Chance,” Bas was saying after handing him the written report. “I’m glad to say that considering everything, we’re doing well. Although some of our competitors have gotten bruised by the severe trading conditions of the past few years, we’ve been successful because we’re a company that sets the pace and doesn’t just follow the trend. Still, whether we like it or not, sooner or later we’re going to have to give some thought to the possibility of outsourcing in order to stay competitive. I don’t like it any more than you, but that’s the way things are going now and we need to continue to adapt to change, even change we don’t particularly like.”
Chance tossed the report on his desk. Bas was right. He didn’t like the thought of outsourcing as a means to stay ahead of the game. With the new importance being placed on countries like India and China, for the past year he’d seen huge restructuring taking place in a number of manufacturing and production companies.
As the corporation’s problem solver and troubleshooter, Bas kept them in the know. He was an expert at tackling the company’s complex problems. So far the Steele Corporation was not union ized because, during the twenty-five years of its existence, the employees had always been pleased with the fair treatment they’d received. Their salaries were more than competitive, and the Steele Corporation had a reputation of never having laid off an employee, even during some of the company’s rough times.
However, according to Bas, there was talk in the production area that the Steele Corporation would be outsourcing to a foreign country.
“I’m still not ready to go that route, Bas. Our employees are loyal and we owe them for all the hard work they do. Our people are the reason this company is successful, not the products we produce and deliver. What we’re going to have to do is to continue to focus on developing our employees and executing those manufacturing strategies that integrate people, processes and technologies to assure us tangible results. Until that stops happening, I refuse to entertain the thought of outsourcing to another country.”