I was planning on sleeping in Saturday morning but the obnoxious ringtone I'd saved for office calls woke me about 7:15. Still half asleep, I picked the phone up and answered. "Hello."
"Goodman, were you still sleeping?" My boss asked in his normal stern tone of voice.
"It's Saturday morning." I replied wondering why he'd care if I was asleep or not.
"Sorry if I woke you Goodman, but we've got a major problem." He said.
I almost asked him if he had a mouse in his pocket but knew that if he said we have a problem he really meant I have a problem. Instead of making a smart comment I asked. "What's the problem and what can I do to help solve it?"
My boss, Kevin Richman, seldom uses my first name unless he's trying to coerce me into something and this morning was no exception as he explained. "Corporate wants a major revision on the pricing for the Nordstrom proposal that's to be presented Monday at noon. I know I can count on you Allen to give up your Saturday, or at least part of it, to get the revisions entered in the system and printed out for me."
"That's a ton of computer work Kevin." I replied.
"I know it is, but I can count on you Allen, correct?" He answered.
I thought about blowing him off, but knew that we've been trying to nail down Nordstrom for months. Apparently corporate had agreed to a reduction in our wholesale pricing and if we won this account my commission would be sizable making all the meetings I've attended and phone calls I've made worth the effort.
"I'm gonna need some help." I replied without agreeing to give up my day off just yet.
Kevin instantly said. "Tell me who you need and I'll get them there."
There was only one choice, the staff member who knew the software better than anyone. "See if you can get Francine Phillips." I said.
"No problem, I'll call her supervisor, Marge and let her break the bad news to Phillips!" Kevin replied.
"Okay, make sure you tell Marge that Francine will be helping me." I suggested knowing that would help convince Fran to agree.
"What time should I tell her you'll be there?" Richman asked.
"It's gonna take five or six hours to make all the changes, tell Marge I'll be there between 8:30 and 9:00." I replied.
"Okay Goodman, I'll email you with the changes." Kevin answered reverting back to calling me by my last name.
"I'm gonna what some comp time Kevin." I said
"Yeah, yeah you can take a couple long lunches next week." He sarcastically replied before hanging up.
I started a pot of coffee then jumped in the shower and shaved while it brewed. "At least I can be comfortable while spending my day off at the office." I thought as I slipped on a pair of old faded jeans and a red sport shirt.
As I enjoyed my morning java my cell phone rang, it was Fran calling. "Hey there Fran." I said answering her call.
"Good morning Allen, I got a call from Marge and I understand you asked specifically for my help with the pricing changes on the Nordstrom proposal." Fran said.
"Yes I did, and I know you were most likely up late last night celebrating your anniversary with Jim, but we both know you're the expert on that software." I explained.
"Well you're right about the second part." Fran replied.
"Oops, so your anniversary celebration didn't go so well?" I asked.
"He's a fucking asshole." Fran remarked without expanding on how her night with her husband went.
"I'm sorry to hear that Fran." I said.
Francine giggled and answered with one word. "Liar."
"So you'll help me today?" I asked.
"If it gets me outta here I sure will, besides I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing today." Fran said rather sarcastically.
"You're a lifesaver Fran, is 8:30 okay?" I said asked.
"I wanna shower and shampoo my hair, 9:00 would be better." She answered.
"That's fine, I need to go over the changes first before we can make the revisions to the proposal. Richman needs it on his desk by noon Monday." I explained.
"You don't mind if I wear jeans and a tee shirt do you Allen?" Fran asked.
"Of course not, it's just us so dress as casual as you want." I replied.
"Thanks, I'll see you a little later." Fran said before disconnecting our call.
On the way to the office I considered calling Kay, but decided against it for a couple reasons. First, I figured it was too early for her to be up since she didn't open the shop until 10:00 AM on Saturdays, and second, I doubted she want to hear that I was working on Saturday even though it would be completely honest. Maybe I'd call her later or stop by her store to see if she wanted to spend the evening together.
I pulled into the empty parking lot outside the office and parked in Kevin's reserved space certain he'd never show up on a Saturday. With my travel mug of hot coffee in hand I rode the elevator to our floor, then unlocked the door and entered the dark office.
I left the door unlocked and flipped on a few lights, then headed for my desk. As usual Richman's email was blunt and to the point. Corporate had asked for an across the board seventeen percent discount on the order, but also wanted our new spring ladies jogger line added at full wholesale pricing. I assumed the big wigs at corporate figured with that deep a discount we could add in the spring line without the buyers at Nordstrom noticing, and the total cost would still be less than previously quoted.