Husband With Benefits

Gabe sat in his new office and sighed as he worked through the mountain load of files. Someone had tried to maintain things in order but it seemed they too had fallen short. At least this person’s effort was to be applauded or else his life would have been even more difficult.

He glared at his cell phone that was ringing and declined the call for the nth time! One more time! If Ian called him one more time, he was going to make sure that he punched the man the next time he met him. What had he said? You need to lessen yuor workload! You’ve become a workaholic...! Lessen his workload, his a**! Never had his files ever been so disorderly.

A knock on his door had him look up in relief as Jack entered, followed by the man who had been here when he had first arrived. He smiled," Mr Norman. Have a seat."

The older man nodded and sat ramrod straight across from him. Gabe raised an eyebrow. Did he detect a hint of hostility from the man’s gaze?

Ignoring the tension in the room, Gabe shifted his focus to the matter at hand. "So, Mr. Norman, I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me today. I wanted to touch base about the current state of affairs and get a better understanding of how things are being managed here. It seems, other than being on the reception, you have been managing everything else as well. Would you like to tell me why?"

The man nodded and answered," Its not that difficuly. We are a town of old folks. This resort was our main source of income and the only reason our children would stay here. The previous manager did us dirty but I hoped that Frost Industries would be able to pull us out. So, until the details were all signed, someone had to keep things running. I have nothing else to do so I chose to pick up this matter."

Gabe nodded at that, mentally making a note to reward this man at least monetarily. "I appreciate your efforts, Mr. Norman. It’s clear that you’ve been doing your best under difficult circumstances. Is there anyone else who has been involved in managing the office in recent months? Or have you been managing all these by yourself?"

The man seemed to relax for a moment. So, he’d been on the defensive. He looked at him directly and nodded," Yes. An old man like me. How could I have done it myself? I had help. In fact, without her, I would not have been able to do anything. I don’t understand all these invoices and online bill payments and then logging in the entries. She has done all this."

Gabe nodded. Now they were getting somewhere. It seemed Gabe had found his Deputy Manager. Whoever the person was that had been doing this, had done well. It meant that not only were they talented and hard working but also trust worthy. He could train this person for the next year so that when he left, they’d be able to oversee the running of the resort smoothly.