Moving Up in the World

This post will wrap up Liv and Brody's story in current time.  It's ridiculously long, and I'm not sorry! Tomorrow evening I'll be posting the final post, and then you'll probably hear from me again in about a week or so.
______________________________________

The rest of our time on Turtle Island was just as amazing as the first evening we spent there.  I was sad to leave, but at the same time I was looking forward to getting home.  Isn't that how the end of vacation usually goes?

While we were checking out, the manager began to tell us about their return trip package.  I wandered away, certain I didn't want to have any idea how much this trip had cost.  I looked out at the beach in front of us, watching the waves gently lap at the sand.

"Liv?" Brody called.  I turned.  "What do you think about coming back next year for our anniversary?"  I considered this.  I would love to come back, but I was still hung up on what I imagined it had cost.  "Don't overthink it," Brody said, smiling.  "Do you want to come back?"

"Yes," I said, finally.  "I do."

Brody turned his attention back to the manager and they talked quietly for a couple more minutes, then we were ready to go.

I managed to actually get a little sleep on the long, overnight flight this time.  We had a longer layover at LAX this time, and we passed the time by talking about our favorite parts of the trip.  For being a relatively small private island, there was no shortage of things to do.  We'd hiked and biked around the island, snorkeled, tried stand up paddleboarding in the lagoon (Brody's favorite and my second favorite), and went horseback riding (my favorite).  We'd also paddled sea kayaks around the lagoon and taken a couple sunset cruises around the island.  I had been pleasantly surprised by the amount of things to do right there, and we were definitely never bored.  And we still got in plenty of time just laying on the beach or in our hammock.

"I'm ready to go home," I admitted, "But I'm not ready to go back to work.  Can you run your business remotely?  Let's go live on an island."

Brody laughed.  "Maybe someday," he said.  "Because that does sound nice."

We finally got home around 10pm on Sunday.  We'd gained back the day we'd lost on the way there, thanks to the international dateline.  We'd both taken Monday and Tuesday off and I was thankful to have the time to adjust.

"Wow," Brody said, as we dragged our luggage into the house.  "I'm really glad we cleaned before we left.  It's nice to come back and have it so clean."

"Told you," I replied.  I was tired from traveling, but I was also starving.  We'd stopped to pick up pizza on the way home, and I left my suitcase just inside the door and took the pizza box from Brody.  I got plates out while Brody carried our suitcases upstairs.  Elle had washed all our clothes so we didn't have any laundry to do, which was awesome.   We ate our pizza on the couch, then showered and went to bed.  I wanted to take advantage of being tired to try to get to sleep at a normal time.

It didn't take long for us to settle back into our normal routine.  The brand newness of being married faded as our lives returned to normal, but something still felt a bit different (in a good way).  Even though Brody spent an unmanageable amount of time at work for over a week after we got back, he made sure he was always home before I went to bed.  Even if it was just a few minutes to talk about our days and say goodnight, it was nice to feel like such a priority.

A week and half after our return, we had plans to go pick up Eddie.  We wanted to do it on a Thursday evening so that someone would be home with him for 3 days while he adjusted.  Brody left work at a normal time for the first time since we got back, and we enjoyed dinner out together before going to Pete's house to pick him up.

We'd driven into the city together that morning, so I stayed at work until Brody came to pick me up.  I felt like I was still catching up on emails and paperwork from being gone for three weeks, so it was nice to have a little extra time to get some of that done.

I was surprised when I heard a knock at my door.  Nearly everyone was gone for the day already, aside from a couple people that had later family appointments.  I looked up and saw Brody standing there.  He looked good leaning casually against the doorframe, still in his suit from work, and my thoughts immediately went to a not-safe-for-work place.  I bit my lip and looked up at him.  "What are you doing here?" I asked.  "How did you get in?"

"I called you, but you didn't answer," he replied.  "So I came in.  Your admin assistant was on her way out and she recognized me and let me in."

I looked down at my phone and discovered I had two missed calls and a text from him.  It was still on silent from my work day and I'd been so absorbed in my paperwork that I hadn't even noticed it light up.  "I'm sorry," I said, frowning.  "I didn't even notice it ring."

"Don't worry about it," he said, waving my apology off.  "Do you need a few more minutes to finish up?"

"I just need to finish this email quick, and I'm ready," I replied.  He nodded and stepped into my office, making himself comfortable in one of the armchairs.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him tug on his tie to loosen it then unbutton the top button of his shirt.  I quickly finished up my email, hit send, then shut down my computer for the weekend.

I stood and stretched, then grabbed my purse from under my desk.  Brody looked comfortable in my chair, and also exhausted.  I hated that he had to work so hard to catch up after we took a vacation.  He'd been trying so hard to get home before I went to bed that he was leaving the house by 5am at absolute latest every day.  He'd also gone into work on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. "Ready, handsome?" I asked holding a hand out to him.

"Ready for bed," he joked, with a flat chuckle.

"I know," I said sympathetically.  "You look worn out.  Are you working all weekend again?"

"I'm going to work from home on Saturday, I have some stuff I haven't been able to get to this week because every time I sit down to do it, I get interrupted.  But I'm taking Sunday off completely.  I need a day off."  He took my hand and stood, then impulsively pulled me into a hug.  "Thanks for being patient while I get caught up."

"I think taking Sunday off is a good idea," I replied.  "And you're welcome.  It's easier to be patient when I still feel like you're making time for me, even if it's just a couple minutes every day.  I know it's temporary."

While we walked out to the car, I took a second to marvel at how far we'd come in regards to Brody's work schedule and our relationship.  He'd taken huge steps to balance things better and to make sure I knew I was a priority, and I'd developed a much better understanding of his work schedule and the demands of his job which helped me with my patience.  But I'd be lying if I said I was always breezy about it.  I still hated when he had to travel, especially on the very short notice that he got.  I got tired of eating dinner by myself like I had for the last week.  But it was never for too long, and getting to spend more time with him in between helped.

Once we had received our drinks and placed our orders, Brody leaned forward a little and grinned.  His eyes, though tired, looked a little more lively than they had while he was sitting in my office.  "What?" I asked curiously.

"Remember when we talked awhile ago about me buying a second office building?  And housing some of the indirect departments there, like HR and marketing?"

"Yes," I replied, smirking.  "If I recall correctly, that was my idea."

"It was, and it was a great idea," he said, nodding.  "Well, I found a building I want to buy.  I stumbled upon it completely by accident.  I had a meeting with a client's attorney and the building next to his was for lease.  I called and inquired if they'd be willing to sell and it turns out that they are.  It's a really great location.  Not too far away, a bit out of downtown with some parking, but still accessible by bus."  He looked excited, and I grinned.

"So you're going to buy it, right?"

"If you're okay with it, I'd like to use some of what I got from selling my dad's company.  That's our money really, not just business money, so I want to make sure you're okay with it.  I know it was your idea, but that was awhile ago.  It's going to take about two thirds of what I got from the sale to buy the building outright and get it furnished."

I did the math in my head quickly.  "Go for it," I said.  His grin grew bigger.  "You look so excited," I said, laughing.  "What are you going to do with all your extra space?"

His eyes lit up.  It looked like he had been just waiting for me to ask that.  "We've gotten a bunch of resumes lately.  I want to hire, and I want to do a little restructuring.  Right now, everyone does a little bit of everything.  You have a client, and you take the phone calls.  You do the meetings.  You do the press releases.  You organize the appearances.  I want to specialize departments.  So if you have a client, you are their contact person.  You do the meetings, take the phone calls, do the communication--but you have a department to write press releases.  You have a department to make the phone calls chasing and organizing appearances.  You're free to spend more time keeping your client happy and making them look good.

"Each department will have a team lead that runs the show in their department--tracks workload and hands out assignments as they come in from the agents, trains new staff, manages hours and schedules.  It's going to be so much more efficient.  We'll be able to take on new clients, everyone will get to specialize in doing what they're good at, and I hope client satisfaction and our reputation will get even better."

I smiled.  His enthusiasm was contagious.  "So then how will your job change?" I asked.

"It'll change significantly.  I don't want to ever get so far removed from the day to day work that I'm out of touch with what it takes, but it's also not realistic for me to hold a full client load either.  I'll only keep 2-3, probably.  The department leads will report directly to me so I'll be supervising them and helping them problem solve and troubleshoot.  I hope that Pete will be my agent team lead.  I'm also going to handle all the contract negotiations, both the new ones and the renewals.  My main job will be bringing in new business and getting them started."

I rolled this around in my head.  "That sounds like it's perfect for you," I agreed.  I paused, then asked, "So...what does that all mean for us?"

"I'm glad you asked that," he said.  He reached for my hand across the table and smiled again.  "My hope is once I have the restructuring done and everyone in place, my schedule will be more consistent and a bit more like a normal work schedule.  I'll never have a 9-5 job, but I'm hoping that I'll be looking at around 50 hours a week instead of 65-70+.  More free weekends.  Dinner with my wife.  And eventually, more time to spend with any kids we might have."

He pausing, giving me a chance to process all that, then continued.  "I'll still have to travel, because I feel strongly about doing contract negotiations in person whenever possible, but it will be more scheduled travel and less last minute travel.  I hope eventually to not even be on call except when we need coverage because someone is sick or out unexpectedly."

We had to pause our conversation because our food was arriving.  We thanked our server and once he was gone, I looked up at Brody.  "This sounds awesome," I said sincerely.  "I'm really excited."

"But?" Brody asked.  I blushed.  I hated his ability to read me.

"Well, is it safe to assume that it's going to be crazy until you get everything settled?  And that it will probably take quite awhile?"  I paused, then added, "That didn't come out quite right.  I love this plan, and I love the idea of you having better hours and getting to focus on the aspects of the job you really love.  I really do think it's great.  And if that means it has to be crazy for now to get better in the future, I'm okay with that.  I just want to make sure I have a good idea what to expect so I'm not surprised by it."

"I knew what you meant," Brody assured me.  "And yes, it's going to take awhile to get to that point.  I need to buy and furnish the office and decide who exactly I want to move, then get them moved.  I need to hire, train, and figure out who is going to be in which department and who the team leads will be.  It's going to be a huge restructuring and I need to make sure we're ready before we start transitioning, otherwise it's going to be a disaster.  I'd say 6 months at the absolute minimum--and that's if we get a lot of really great candidates, hire quickly, and retain them all.  9-12 months is probably a lot more realistic.  But I don't anticipate it will be too much crazier than it already is.  Moving will probably be a rough couple weeks, as will starting a bunch of new people, but I think it should be kind of how it has been--good weeks and bad weeks.  Maybe a few more bad weeks."

I smiled at him.  "Thank you.  I can handle another year if it means things will just get better after that.  And I'm really excited for you, this is huge."

Brody nodded.  "It really is.  When my dad sent me up here, I never thought I'd end up actually owning my branch.  I always wanted to own my own company, but I thought I'd work for my dad for another 10 years before I got out and started my own tiny company.  I definitely didn't anticipate needing a second office building and having as many staff as I do.  It's crazy."

"I'm really proud of you," I said.  "You've worked so hard, and you're so good at what you do."  I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when I noticed the pink creeping up Brody's cheeks.  He didn't blush often.  It was funny to see him humble, since he was normally so cocky with everything else.

"Well, the feeling is mutual," he said, quickly directing the discussion away from himself.  "You should talk, since you were only at your job for 10 months before they started recruiting you to be a supervisor."

"We're not talking about me, we're talking about you," I said, laughing.

When we were finished with our dinner, we went directly to Pete's house.  When we rang the doorbell, one sharp bark rang out.  A couple seconds passed, then we heard a second and a third.  Then silence, followed by Pete's wife, Serena, opening the door.  "Hi, come in," she greeted us.  "Sorry, we were downstairs and didn't hear the doorbell.  We did, however, hear Eddie."

Eddie's ears perked up at his name, and he glanced quickly at Serena, then back to us.  As his ears relaxed, his tail started to wag.  "Do you remember them?" Pete asked Eddie, coming into the room.  Eddie continued to wag his tail until Serena released him and he bounded over to us, skidding to a less-than-graceful stop in front of us.  He sniffed the hand I offered him, then dropped his head and bumped it against my fingers.  I stroked his head and scratched behind his ears as he leaned his head harder against my hand.

Then he walked over to Brody and pressed his head against Brody's leg.  "I think he's ready for you to take him home," Serena said, laughing.

"We're definitely ready," Brody said, grinning and crouching down to pet Eddie.  We chatted with Pete and Serena for a couple minutes, then Pete helped us bring Eddie's stuff out to our car.  He had a big bag of food, his crate, his bed, a bunch of toys, and random other dog things.  "Thanks for keeping him for us until we got back and got settled," Brody said to Pete as we went out and got Eddie into the car.

"Not a problem, I'm just glad he's going somewhere that I know he'll be well-cared for.  And he really seems to like you guys already."  Pete turned to me and smiled.  "And I'm an idiot.  Congratulations on your wedding.  Brody showed me a couple of the pictures that people got and posted on Facebook.  It looked wonderful."

"Thank you," I said, smiling.  "It was a pretty great day."  We grabbed the last of Eddie's things and said goodbye to Pete and Serena, then headed for home.  Eddie was perfectly behaved on the drive home.

When we got there, I brought him first into the yard while Brody brought all his stuff in.  He sniffed around the entire front yard, taking his time to explore.  When he was ready, I brought him in.  He sat by the door and looked around inquisitively, and I imagined him planning his exploration before starting.  He looked up at me and I gave him the command to release him.  He stood and began wandering around, nose to ground, occasionally raising his head to look around and sniff the air.  He thoroughly smelled the floor, the furniture, and everything in between.

"Where should we put his crate?" Brody asked, motioning to it.

"Maybe up in our room?  At least for now, until he gets used to us and used to being here, and we learn his schedule?"  Brody nodded and carried it upstairs.  Eddie followed him, his tongue flopping out as he happily trotted upstairs on Brody's heels.  They stayed up there while Eddie explored, then came back down.  Eddie went to the top of the basement stairs and whined, so I walked over and he followed me downstairs.

When he finally finished exploring, I followed him back upstairs and sat down on the couch next to Brody.  Brody had put Eddie's bed in the corner of the living and he walked over and laid down.  He was only there for a couple minutes before he stood and paced around.  He spent an hour laying, then getting up and pacing.  Finally, he settled on the floor directly under where I was sitting and closed his eyes.


Eddie took a few days to settle in, and I was glad I could be home with him for a full three days. By the time he'd been with us for a week, he acted like he'd lived with us forever.  Meanwhile, Brody put his plan into motion.  He put an offer on the office building and spent nearly two weeks negotiating before they finally settled on a price and accepted his final offer.  Then he got to work on figuring out the rest.

Three weeks after our return, I was approached by Jake.  "I have a proposition for you," he said, inviting himself in, closing the door, and sitting down.

"Let's hear it," I said warily.

"You want to learn more, and become a better clinician, right?"

"Yes," I replied, having no idea where he was going with it.

He nodded.  "I have an opportunity that I think will be a little more up your alley than management is, at least at the moment."

I didn't say anything, waiting patiently for him to get to the point.  "One of the local charter high schools has approached us.  They want to contract with us to have a school-based therapist.  We tried to get a contract with Denver Public Schools when they started having school-based therapists, but we lost out to a couple of the bigger agencies, so this is a really important opportunity for us to show that we have what it takes.  I need to put someone in there that I can trust to navigate the school politics, work independently, form relationships with the school staff, and of course provide exceptional service to the students.  I feel very strongly that you're the person to do it."

I rolled this around in my head for several seconds, and it was apparently long enough to make Jake nervous.  "What do you think?  Are you interested?"

I was interested.  I was very interested.  "I'd like to get some more information," I replied carefully.  "I have a client in 5 minutes, can we talk more later?  I need to get my questions together."

Jake agreed, and we set an appointment at the end of the day.  Between clients, I wrote up a list of all my questions.  When we met, I was prepared, and so was he.  We talked about billing expectations, schedule (mostly school days and school hours, with the expectation of family work outside school hours when appropriate), pay (a pretty decent raise, even with the decrease in working days), flexibility (not as much as my current position, but not completely inflexible either), timeline (the school wanted someone to start after Christmas break), and what kind of set up the position would entail.

"We also have a couple trainings we'd like to send you to, one in December and one in the spring.  We'd pay for the trainings and your accommodations, so it's a great opportunity to do a little more learning," he said.  "The school is requiring a certain number of training and education hours, and it's more than what your board requires for continuing education, so you'll get all your CEUs plus some for free.  And aside from these two that we've already discussed, you'll get quite a bit of choice in what kind of trainings you go to."

I considered this.  I'd have to give up my three day weekends, but I'd have most of the summer off and all the other school breaks.  Seemed like a pretty sweet trade off.  What would I do with an entire summer off?  I'm sure I would think of plenty of things.  The training opportunity was huge.  CEUs could be expensive and if I built that cost into my salary, it bumped it up considerably.  More than anything, I was once again flattered that I was the one they wanted for this.  To top it off, I'd applied for several school-based positions when I'd first started applying for jobs out here, because that's what I really wanted to do.

"Well, what do you think?" Jake asked.  "What other questions can I answer for you?"

"Do I have to interview?"

"Not for us.  The position is technically a lateral move because you won't have any supervisory responsibilities, so we don't have to interview. If you want the job, it's yours.  The school wants to meet whoever we choose to make sure it will be a good fit, but it won't be a formal interview."  I nodded.  "If you want to take a couple days to think about it, you can let me know."

I shook my head and smiled.  "No, I don't think I need to.  I'd like to take the position.  When can I meet the school staff?"

Jake grinned and nodded happily.  "I'll call them and set something up.  Is your Outlook calendar up to date?"

"It is, and if you  need to schedule something on a Friday, I'll come in for it," I replied.

Jake shook my hand and I went back to my office and gathered my stuff.  I was excited enough that I barely made it to my car before fishing out my phone.  Brody answered on the second ring.  "Guess what?" I asked.

"What?" he replied, sounding confused.

"We're both moving up in the world!"