Over dinner I made a few comments to Prime Minister and to Ambassador Hecht along the lines that while I couldn't imagine how a simple Congressman could help them in their work, they should feel free to call me after I was sworn in. I would do whatever I could to assist. What the heck, it didn't hurt to be polite, and who knew, maybe I could help. No reason not to.
I did make one offer to Javier. I knew that the FBI has various law enforcement classes and training available to foreign police forces, and that this is often considered a useful and prestigious thing. Perhaps Congressman Buckman could help make arrangements for him or any of his fellow officers? That seemed very interesting to him.
One of the most interesting moments came when Ambassador Hecht managed to speak to me and maneuver me outside into a garden. He was subtle about it, but I picked up on it easily enough. "Congressman, I wanted a chance to speak to you without anybody overhearing us."
"I noticed we were moving away from the others, Mister Ambassador. What's on your mind?"
"Call me Chip..."
"Carl.", I responded.
" ... Carl ... Anyway, I just thought I should let you know that there is a very good chance that your house is now under Bahamian surveillance. I can't be sure just how intrusive they will be, but I am sure that you will be watched, and your movements monitored. I just figured, you know, a word to the wise."
I felt a cold lump growing in my stomach. "Why would they take that chance? It's not like I'm an enemy, or the U.S. is an enemy. Are you sure about that?"
He shrugged. "No, but it is likely. You are an American Congressman. How do you even know that it's the Bahamians doing it? Maybe a different foreign power is doing it. Who knows? You probably can't do much about it, but forewarned is forearmed."
I thought for a second. Earlier, Javier had said that he had contacted the property maintenance company and they had told him our plans. I was fairly certain that he would be the first call they made in the future, after we let them know when we would be arriving. I nodded slowly. "I have the funny feeling that if the Bahamians are doing it, my friend Assistant Commissioner Javier would be the one responsible. What's he do, anyway?"
Chip shrugged. "From what I've seen, he's a decent enough cop, but he's also a political cop. I don't see him ever becoming Commissioner, but he'll definitely end up as the guy who whispers in the Commissioner's ear."
"Well, I'll just have to keep my sins away from here. No use looking for trouble, is there.", I said, smiling.
Chip nodded again, and we headed back inside. "Forewarned, forearmed.", he repeated.
We made it out of Government House without causing an international incident and fomenting a war in the Caribbean. Sunday we goofed off and Monday we flew home. On the plane home, while Marilyn took a nap, I had a quiet conversation with Joe and Marie in the back of the plane. We could always look into checking for bugs another time.
It was time to start becoming a Congressman. God help America!
Chapter 106: Orientation
Things began getting hectic for me as soon as we got back. We packed Granny and Gramps back to Utica, and went back to being Mom and Dad for a week. Tuesday, at the office, I had to begin making things official. I called the brain trust into the office, and went over the plans we had worked out, and then we called everybody into our biggest conference room. It was tight, but we made it. Then I stood up and I made the following announcements:
Starting in January I was going to have a whole new job. I was going to leave the company. As if anybody could have possibly not known this!
The Buckman Group was not ending. We had a great thing going here, and we were going to keep going.
Effective December 31, I would resign my position as President and CEO. I was keeping all my stock, so keep working hard! Meanwhile, I had to start getting out of here.
Effective December 31, John was becoming Chairman Emeritus. Jake Senior was staying as Treasurer. They were still the grownups.
Effective December 31, Jake Junior was becoming Chairman and Missy was becoming President. They were effectively running the place now anyway, so let's make it official.
I'm not going to disappear! Expect to see my smiling face every once in a while. Besides, the voters might catch on, sooner or later, that I was clueless and throw me out!
This outfit was just about the best thing I had ever built in my life, short of my kids, and I was immensely proud of the work they had done. Thank you!
After the meeting, I shooed everybody back out, but I asked one of the secretaries to stay behind. She was Cheryl Dedrick, and the closest thing I had to a personal secretary-assistant. She had also been one of my earliest supporters, and had been a very useful queen bee during the campaign. She would be perfect for what I had in mind. I led her over to the coffee table and said, "Cheryl, have a seat. I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Of course, Mister Buckman, er, Congressman Buckman.", she said, smiling. She sat down in an armchair and I sat down in a chair facing her.
"Cheryl, let me ask you, have you enjoyed working with the Buckman Group? With me?"
"Yes, sir." She looked confused. "Mister Buckman, is there a problem? Have I done something wrong?!"
My eyes popped open at that, but then I realized I had started this out all wrong! I waved my hands and quickly answered, "No, no, it's nothing like that! No, you're doing just fine here. I have a job proposition for you."
"Oh! For a second there you had me going. Is this something new, here? I mean, now that you won't be here, who will I be working with?"
I smiled. "Yes, that's the problem, isn't it? Here's my idea. Mister Buckman won't be here, but Congressman Buckman is going to need somebody manning the office in Westminster. Cheryl, would you be interested in working for me at my local office?"
Now it was her chance to open her eyes wide. "Wow! I never expected that!"
"I wasn't doing a very good job of asking about this when we started. I apologize for that. No, I am going to need somebody I know and trust back here. I plan on getting back here a lot, since we're so close, but I am going to be using the campaign offices as my local office. You were part of the team that got me there, so how about coming to work for me as my local rep? You live in Westminster, right? It would actually be a much shorter drive, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, sir. Westminster would actually be closer.", she agreed.
"Okay. Here's the deal. I don't know what the pay would be, but you'll be a government employee of some sort. If things don't work out, we'll keep a place available here, including accruing for seniority, pension vesting, and such. Personnel will write a letter stating you can come back at any time if it doesn't work out, you know, like when the voters catch on I don't know what I'm doing." That earned me a laugh. "We're going to have to make some phone calls to figure this out. Now, do you want to talk it over with your husband?"
She shook her head. "No, he won't have a problem with this. I'm your gal for this! This is great! When do I start?"