"Good Morning everyone!" Logan said, starting the staff meeting at the London HPG office. "Thank you all for being here this morning. I recognize a lot of you from when I worked in this office right after graduating from college. Phillip, Bobbie, Nick, it is so great to see you again! Steven, Gloria, I see both of you as well. Monty! How are you man?! I am so glad you are all still with us. For those of you who are newer to the company, welcome! I am Logan Huntzberger, and as everyone who worked with me in the past can tell you, I used to run this office. Steven was my secretary. Nick, Phillip and Bobbie were my A-Team. We had a great time together. I've been where each of you newer people are now. I was raised in this company, and from the time I graduated from high school, my father forced me to be a part of HPG; attend the meetings, do the work, run the errands. I have been in your shoes, but I can assure you that there is plenty of room to grow if you just stick with it, and do your job well. My old team can definitely tell you that where they are now, is not at all where they were ten years ago when I was here. They've all done a great job, and they've grown in their careers, as have I. After I left HPG, I worked for a technology start up out in California, before deciding that I wanted to completely change gears. 8 years ago, I gave everything up, and I went to medical school. I lived with my sister in New York and went to school at Columbia University where I studied to become a doctor. I have a PhD in Immunology and Genetics, and an MD in Internal Medicine. I went from being one of you to having a medical career as an Emergency Room Doctor at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan New York. But why would I do that?! Why in the world would I give up what my father refers to as the 'Dynastic Plan'. I was raised to run this company. My Grandfather founded this company over 50 years ago, and my Father has been running things for the last 25 years. His entire plan in life was to turn the company over to me when he someday retires. But silly me, I took off. 8 years ago, I completely bailed on my per-ordained life, and I went to medical school. I am sure that many of you heard about that. Crazy Logan, turned his back on the family. Crazy Logan doesn't want to be a part of HPG. Crazy Logan gave up everything that he has ever known, and fought tooth and nail to build a life for himself. A life away from the family business. A life that I am proud of. A life that I enjoy. A life where I help people every single day. A life that makes me happy. Now I know many of you are asking what the hell all of this has to do with anything? Why if I completely bailed on the family business am I here with you today? Well, I'll tell you right now why I am here. I am here because HPG is going through quite a few changes lately. Most importantly, we have a new CEO. As a lot you probably heard, my father had a heart attack about a month ago. He came into my hospital with another patient, after an event that he was attending in the city, and while he was there waiting on test results for the other patient, my dad began showing symptoms of a myocardial infarction. I immediately responded and started running tests, and that night, my dad went into emergency surgery. Because I am his doctor, I have taken full control over my father's life for the time being. My father is doing great in his recovery, however, he will be out of commission for several months. He is currently in a rehabilitation facility out in California where he is learning how to lead a much healthier life. At this time there is no set date for my father to leave the treatment center, and he most definitely will not be returning to HPG until he is fully recovered, and his care team is fully confidant in their decision to release him from treatment, and comfortable with him returning to work, without it being a threat to his health. So, with all of that being said, my sister and I had to decide what to do with HPG now that Dad is out of the picture. HPG needs a CEO. It needs someone to guide everyone, and continue to monitor the work you are all doing. It needs someone who can step into my father's shoes, and run meetings, understand the financials, acquire new papers, monitor each department, understand the politics that are happening throughout the world, and direct our staff on which stories we need to be following. We needed someone with experience in the newspaper industry. We needed someone who understands how things work. We need someone with leadership experience, and the guts to do what it takes to get the story, and get the work done. We need someone who can lead us forward, and help better this company. A lot of you are wondering, why didn't I step into my father's position? Well, I'll give you an honest answer. I don't want it! I love my life. I love my career. I have everything I could possibly want back in Manhattan. And none of that includes being a part of this company. However, I am not completely heartless. This company has been in my family for several decades, and it is very important to all of us. My family has poured its blood, sweat and tears into HPG. I might not want to work here, but I can't just completely turn my back and watch everything fall apart, and many of you lose your jobs. So I did what any other person in my position would do. I found someone to step up. I found someone who my sister and I trust more than anything in this world. Someone who we feel is more than qualified to take over for our father. Someone with newspaper experience. Someone who knows politics better than anyone else because she worked on a presidential campaign. I found my wife, Rory." Logan smiled as he reached for Rory's hand. "My beautiful, incredibly intelligent wife. She comes to HPG having worked as a writer and assistant editor at The New York Times for the last several years. She has also worked as a freelance writer, traveling around the world, writing stories wherever she was sent. In college Rory was the senior Editor of the Yale Daily News, then worked as a reporter on the campaign train with President Barack Obama after graduating. Rory also interned for my Dad while she was in college, shadowing him when he acquired the Stamford Eagle Gazette. Rory knows this business. She knows it better than both my sister and I do. Rory was born to be the CEO of the Huntzberger Publishing Group. And unlike me, Rory actually enjoys being here. Working for HPG was something that I was forced into. Something that I tolerated because I wasn't given any other options. But it was never something that I chose for myself, or something that I actually wanted to do. Unlike my father, and several other family members, I don't believe that anyone should be forced into doing anything that they don't want to do. I believe that your career should be something that is an extension of who you are. Something that makes you happy. Something that you are proud of at the end of the day. I didn't have any of that while I was working here. I did as I was told, but I didn't enjoy it. So I got out. And I would recommend doing the exact same thing to any of you who aren't happy with your job, with the life that you have right now. If any of you can relate at all to what I've been through. I would tell you that maybe you should think about reevaluating things. You might be good at what you do, just like I was. Anyone who worked here with me 8 years ago, knows that I was damn good at my job. But I wasn't happy. I don't want to run this company. So I found someone who does. Someone who I know will do an incredible job! Someone who I can't possibly talk bad about. So I ask all of you, I know that things are different ,and may be a little tough to handle right now. But please, give us a chance to work through it. My sister Honor and I are doing our absolute best to get Rory acclimated to her new role, and to help her learn how everything runs here at HPG. It is going to take a little bit of time, but I can assure you that Rory can do this, and that she is who will lead us forward in this ever changing industry. Rory will lead by example. She will be writing and editing articles right there with you. Rory has been working on a newspaper staff since high school, and she is very knowledgeable and easy to get along with. You can come to her with any questions, suggestions, or problems that you might have, and she will do her best to help you, as will Honor and I. We will all be working together throughout this transition, and we want all of you to feel comfortable coming to us, should you need anything. Right now I have my schedule worked out so that I can be here to help Rory and all of you through this transition while still keeping up with my medical career. For the time being, I will be in the office 3 days a week; Monday through Wednesday, then in the hospital Thursday through Saturday. I will be doing my best to stay up to date with everything that is going on, so if anyone needs me, I sent out my contact information a few weeks ago. You can all reach me by contacting Rory. Does anybody have questions? . . . Rory, would you like to say anything?"
"I am on the verge of throwing up." Rory whispered into Logan's ear.
"Bobbie? I am so sorry, but would you mind doing me a favor?" Logan asked, moving his fingers to gesture Bobbie in his direction. "Would you please show Rory where the restroom is?" Logan whispered.
"Sure, no problem." Bobbie told him.
"Honor . . ." Logan said, gesturing for her to follow Bobbie and Rory.
"Alright, let's go through each department and figure out where we need to focus our efforts moving forward. How about we start with advertising. Where do we stand financially? Are we at budget? Do we need more? What is going on?" Logan asked.
Ten minutes later Logan's phone beeped to life, and he pulled it out of his pocket to see a message from Honor.
Honor to Logan:
Rory is really sick.
She keeps throwing up and is really weak.
Logan to Honor:
I'll be right there
"I am so sorry, but I need to pause right here before moving onto the next department. Let's take a 10 minute break, then meet right back here." Logan said before getting up and leaving the room.
"Is everything alright?" Bobbie asked as he passed by her.
"It will be. What restroom did you take the girls to?"
"Down the hall to the right."
"Thank you. Would you mind calling a car for Rory and Honor? We need to get Rory back to the hotel."
"No problem. Is she ok? She looked pretty pale."
"Please keep this just between you and I. Rory is pregnant and the morning sickness seems to have finally kicked in."
"I will take her myself. I've been there."
"Thanks Bobbie. I appreciate it."
"I'll meet you at the loo in a moment. Just let me grab my things." Bobbie said then hurried away to her office.
"Rory?" Logan said knocking on the bathroom door before turning the handle to open it.
"Come on in." Honor told him as Rory crouched next to the toilet, having just thrown up again.
"Ace, I am so sorry! Honor, where is Rory's purse?"
"Right over there on the counter." Honor said pointing across the bathroom as she held Rory's hair out of her face.
"Ace, I am getting you some dissolvable Zofran." Logan said digging in Rory's purse for the nausea medication he had put there when they packed for their trip. "Here you go. This goes under your tongue, and will help you stop throwing up. Bobbie is going to drive you and Honor back to the hotel, and I will meet you there as soon as I am done with this meeting, ok?" Rory slowly nodded her head as Logan dropped the small pill in her mouth. "I am going call Paris to let her know what is going on. I need you to try to hydrate when you get back to the hotel. I will be there as soon as I possibly can. And if you still aren't able to at least keep water down, then we will be going to the hospital for iv fluids, ok? Honor, in Rory's purse is a medicine bottle that says Diclegis. In an hour, I want you to give Rory one. It will probably make her tired, but it will help with the nausea. She needs to rest and hydrate."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Honor told him.
"Thank you. Ace, do you think you can walk out of here?"
"This is so embarrassing."
"It's fine. I'll just tell everyone that you ate something that didn't agree with you. I told Bobbie what is going on because I needed her to call you a car, but no one else needs to know. Everything is going to be ok. Just go back to the hotel, and lay down in bed. I'll be there as soon as I can." Logan said helping Rory up, and holding her arm as she slowly moved to the sink.
"I look like hell."
"No you don't. You just look really pale. You should rinse your mouth out and maybe splash some water on your face."
"Let's get your hair pulled back." Honor said reaching in her purse for a brush and hair tie.
"Hey, it's Bobbie." a voice said as there was a knock on the door.
"It's open." Logan said still standing next to Rory.
"Rory, I am so sorry you aren't feeling well. Before I had my baby last year I was sick for my entire pregnancy! I totally understand what you are going through. How far along are you?"
"About 8 ½ weeks." Logan answered. "Bobbie, this is my sister, Honor."
"It's nice to meet you Honor." Bobbie smiled in Honor's direction. "I heard a lot about you when Logan worked here.
"It's nice to meet you too." Honor echoed.
"Bobbie, we are staying at the Four Seasons at Piccadilly. I just gave Rory some nausea medicine, so hopefully she will be ok until you get to the hotel. If you could just help Honor get her upstairs, that would be great."
"No problem. I'll be back here as soon as I get them settled.
"Thank you! Come on, I'll walk you guys out." Logan said escorting everyone from the bathroom, and following Bobbie to her car in the parking garage before returning to the conference room to rejoin the meeting.
"I am so sorry about the delay. Please excuse my wife, she isn't feeling well today, so I sent her back to the hotel. I'll be finishing things up on my own. Now, let's get back to where we left off. I think we will start going in alphabetical order by department, just so I don't forget anyone. Accounting and Admin you are next. We have 28 departments to get through. Does anybody need a list?" Logan asked. When several hands were raised, Logan go tout of his seat and walked over to the blackboard at the front of the room to make the list.
Accounting
Administrative
Advertising
Business
Circulation
Classifieds
Community; announcements, community calendar/events, births/weddings/deaths
Economy
Editorial
Entertainment
Extras; comics, cross words, TV listings, movies, horoscopes
Features
Financial
Government
Health
IT
Local News
Marketing
Opinions
Printing and production
Publishing
Science
Society
Sports
Stories
Technology
Weather
World News
"Does anybody have anything else that I need to add to the list that needs to be discussed today? Alright, so let's get back to advertising. What are our largest accounts in this market?"
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Three hours later Logan while still sitting in the meeting with the various department heads, but decided to text Honor to check on his wife.
Logan to Honor:
How is Rory doing?
Honor to Logan:
She's been asleep since we got here
I checked on her a couple times but she hasn't woken up
Logan to Honor:
We are only about halfway through the meeting
I may stop by during lunch
Do you want me to pick anything up?
Honor to Logan:
I'm ok but thank you
I'll order room service if I need anything
How is everything going?
Logan to Honor:
Lots of changes since I was last here
Not too bad all things considered
Let me know when Rory wakes up
Honor to Logan:
Will do
"Alright moving on, IT department. What do you have for me?" Logan asked
"We should probably think about replacing a few of the older computers. They are pretty out of date and can't handle the newer software. We've had a lot of problems with them freezing up." the head of IT spoke up.
"How many is a few?"
"Only 3 here at headquarters, but I'm sure there are several at the various newspaper offices."
"I need a list of each office and how many computers are needed, as well as an estimate of what it will cost to upgrade. What else? How are the other appliances doing? Did my dad ever replace that decades old copy machine?
"Just last year actually. It finally completely died."
"Seriously? I haven't been here for 8 years, and he JUST replaced that machine last year? You have got to be kidding me!"
"Your dad doesn't like to spend money. Neither did Elias."
"Ok, well I am going to make this super easy on all of us. Why don't you get me a list of everything that needs to be immediately replaced, and an estimate of how much it is going to costs us. I will work on getting replacements ordered. Then, I'll need a list of all of our assets and the year of manufacture. We are an international media conglomerate, and there is no reason that we should be working with antique machines."
"Your dad freaks out every time something breaks. He would rather pay to fix the machines than replace them."
"Well my dad is no longer in change. Rory is the new CEO, and we both know that you have to spend money to make money. Replacing the antique machines is a necessity. We should not have to work with any machine that is more than ten years old. We can sell anything that is still usable for whatever we can get out of it to make up for part of the cost of the replacements. We need to be able to function as a business, and having failing equipment is not an option. Local department, you are up. How are we doing getting the news around here? What are your concerns?"
"My concern is lunch? Can we order something?" the head of the local news department asked.
"You know what, I like the way you think! Let's take a break! I am going to go back to the hotel to check on my wife, but let's all meet back here in two hours. Does that work for everyone? Awesome! I'll see you all in a couple hours!" Logan said seeing everyone's head nodding.
"Logan, do you need a ride?" Bobbie asked, approaching her old friend.
"That would be great, thank you."
"Have you gotten any updates on Rory?"
"Honor said she's been asleep since they got back. I don't know anything else. I need to call her doctor now that it is a decent hour in New York." Logan said once again following Bobbie through the office to her car.
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"Hey Ace, how are you feeling?" Logan asked sitting down on the bed next to Rory.
"A little bit better. Stilln auseous, but nothing like before. The medicine you gave me seems to be helping."
"Have you eaten?"
"Not yet."
"Why don't we go get you some soup, and then if you want to you can come back to the office with me, or you can stay here and rest for the rest of the day."
"How has the meeting been going?"
"It's been good. I decided to go in alphabetical order by department, talking to each one about what is going on and what their needs are. So far the biggest issue is the IT department and my dad not wanting to spend money to replace the antique machines. Until he finally replaced it last year, there was a copy machine in this office that was about 30 years old. My dad has just been too cheap to replace it."
"Are you serious?!"
"My dad is insanely cheap when it comes to this stuff! IT is sending us a list of everything that needs to be replaced right away. I also asked for a list of assets with manufacture dates. I don't see any reason why we should have to work with anything that is more than 10 years old."
"The New York Times replaces their machines every five years or less."
"And that should be the standard everywhere! Right now I want to focus on the immediate needs. We will eventually replace everything, but I want to prioritize it. There are other areas that we need to focus on, so we'll replace the absolute necessities, then slowly replace everything older than 5 years old. We'll need to keep a master list of all of the assets, adding on the replacements as we get them, that way we know when it gets to be time to get new equipment."
"I like that idea a lot. How far have you gotten down the department list?"
"We've gotten through 16 of the 28 departments. Local News is next. I had just gotten to them, and asked what concerns they have, and the answer was lunch."
"I like it!"
"Me too. We need to get some food in you so you can decide what you want to do about the rest of the day."
"Do you mind if I try going back to the office? I really need to learn this stuff. I know that I need to rest, but sitting in meetings is resting. It's not like I'm on my feet running around."
"Having you with me would be great. There is a cafe down the street. Why don't we head down there to get some soup, and we'll take it back to the office with us. You can sit there and eat slowly while we work. I'll call a car to meet us at the cafe."
"Ok. I just need to change my clothes."
"You go do that, and I'll call in our order. What do you feel like eating?"
"See if they have any tomato bisque soup. I know that it won't taste anything like Sookie's, but hopefully it won't be horrible either. Get me sandwich and some crackers too."
"I can do that. I'm going to go see what Honor wants."
"Why don't you have the car pick us up here, and we can just stop by the cafe on the way to the office. I don't really want to walk anywhere if I don't have to."
"I'll do that. Go get yourself ready." Logan said giving her a gentle kiss, then leaving the room to go find his sister.
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45 Minutes later
Huntzberger Publishing Group
London Office
"This soup is really good." Rory commented as she sat eating. "It is definitely what I needed."
"Hey Rory! How are you feeling?" Bobbie asked, walking back into the room
"Better, thank you so much for your help earlier Bobbie."
"I am so glad. Here, I got you a little something." Bobbie said handing Rory a gift bag. "I know you aren't telling anybody yet, but who knows when we will see each other again, and from one mum to another, I thought you might like some supplies."
"Bobbie, you didn't have to do that." Rory said as she reached into the bag and pulled a green baby onesie, with matching baby converse shoes, and a bunch of snacks. "Wow, thank you so much! You are so sweet! Logan, look how cute!" Rory said handing him the shoes and onesie.
"Wow, Bobbie, thank you so much!" Logan said looking at the tiny shoes. "This is officially our first baby gift. Thank you! I love these little shoes."
"You are very welcome. My baby is 8 months old now, and I just love the little boutique down the block. It has the most lovely things in it! I go there all the time on my lunch break, just to see if anything new has come in."
"I'm sure we will be doing that pretty soon." Honor laughed as Logan handed her the baby stuff.
"All of these snacks are things that I craved while pregnant. I'm sure you won't have the same cravings, but these were are all of my favorites."
"Thank you so much! I will definitely be ripping into some of this today." Rory said as she started putting things back in the bag. "Thank you Bobbie! This was so sweet!"
"You are very welcome! I need to run back to my office before the meeting, so I'll let you get back to your lunch, and see you all in just a few more minutes.
"Unfair, she beat me to baby's first present!" Honor said once Bobbie was gone.
"Hey Ace, how do you feel about Bobbie now that you are in charge of this place? You still hate that she isn't a big surly dude?" Logan asked.
"Hey, no picking on the hormonal wife!" Rory told him.
"Explain?" Honor asked.
"The first time Rory met Bobbie she was shocked to see that Bobbie is female because judging by the name, she thought Bobbie was a guy. She was a little jealous." Logan explained.
"Babe! Her legs come up to my nose! She doesn't even look like she was ever pregnant, much less like she has an 8 month old baby. Bobbie is basically a Barbie doll."
"I can definitely agree with you on that one." Honor told her. "I wish I looked like her!"
"Right?! I wish I could be so lucky."
"Hey now! You two need to stop. You are both beautiful. Honor, I can't really comment on because she's my sister and that's just creepy. But you . . . I would choose you over a million Bobbies, every day of the week." Logan said kissing Rory's forehead.
"Yeah, you lie!" Rory told him
"I do not! Come on, which one of us self-medicated with Alcohol and refused to date anyone for the last 8 years."
"Logan, everyone in this room knows that you're pathetic. No need to remind us!" Honor laughed.
"Is this how it's going to be from now on? The two of you, ganging up against me?" Logan asked.
"I don't know, maybe." Rory answered.
"Whatever! Hush up and eat your soup so we can start this meeting."
"Hey Logan, here is the list of the three computers that need to be replaced in this office, and the cost estimates for the new ones." the head of the IT department said, walking into the room and handing Logan some paperwork.
"Thank you, that was quick! I'm so sorry, I didn't catch your name earlier."
"My name is David. I already had the paperwork ready. I've been trying to get your dad to replace the old computers for months."
"Somehow I'm not surprised that he hasn't done anything about it. I will look this over and get back to you by the end of the week. This estimate, does it include where you want to purchase the new equipment?" Logan asked as he flipped through the pages in front of him.
"It's a print out from the computer company that we are contracted with. Their contact information is right there. I was told that they just need your approval and they will get us replacements within a couple of days and bill our account for everything we need."
"Is this the cost per computer?"
"The cost at the top is. The bottom portion is the total cost for the three units with the service contract discount that they give us for having an account."
"Rory, are you ok with this cost for 3 computers?" Logan asked showing her the paperwork he had been given.
"Didn't my computer cost more than that?"
"I'm not sure, I didn't buy your computer, but probably."
"You're the one who knows about computers. I honestly don't know anything about it."
"This looks like a really good deal to me. Will you sign off on it?"
"Sure! I don't see a problem with it. I trust your judgment."
"David, go ahead and give them a call. Have them deliver the new computers and get everything hooked up as soon as possible. Have the bill delivered to accounting, and we'll make sure they get a check right away." Logan told him.
"Wow, that's it?!" David asked in a surprised voice.
"That's it!"
"There's no catch?"
"Why would there be a catch? I'm not my father. I don't play stupid games like that. You need computers, you did all the research and brought me all the information I needed. It looks like a great deal, so we are signing off. Go ahead and order what you need."
"Alright, thank you!"
"You're welcome! Take your time getting everything ordered. You can rejoin the meeting whenever you're finished. Can I keep this paperwork?" Logan asked.
"Yes, of course. Thank you both!"
"No problem! It's our pleasure!" Rory told him.
"I think you just made that guy's year!" Honor said as David left the room.
"Dad has been refusing to replace stuff in this office for years. The copy machine that he finally replaced last year was about 30 years old!" Logan told her.
"You're kidding, right?!"
"I wish! That thing was a dinosaur! Everyone avoided using it when I worked here. We would go use the machine on another floor, just so we could avoid dealing with that thing."
"Maybe you should have just sabotaged the thing to make Dad replace it."
"I did. Grandpa had it fixed."
"Are you serious!?!"
"I wish I could tell you that I'm joking. Rory and I are going to start replacing everything around here. The Times doesn't have any equipment that is more than 5 years old, and it should really be an industry standard. It takes money to make money, and Dad and Grandpa never understood that. We shouldn't have to wait for something to completely crap out before replacing it. We'll replace the things we need right away, first, then slowly work on replacing everything else. We can sell the equipment that still works for whatever we can get for it, and put the money toward the cost of the replacements."
"I know you have no interest intaking over this company, but that little speech right there, is exactly why you should have pushed dad out a long time ago!"
"I agree!" Rory told them. "This is why I let Logan run things, while I just sit here being the pretty face that he pretends is in charge."