"No problem in arranging the meeting," Owen said, "as long as it's over lunch. Pick any decent place near the office."

"Let's meet them at the office," Mark said, "and I'll take them to a place I know nearby."

The next day, they met the AMI group at the office and Mark led the way. They followed him down the winding streets of downtown Manhattan to an area near the water that Bill had never noticed before.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" he asked.

"Don't worry," Mark said with a secretive smile, "it's worth the walk."

He led them down the steps of an older building. Bill had begun to think that it didn't look like a restaurant, when he noticed the hand-lettered sign on the door reading simply "Vincent's." Inside they found that the premises had been divided into a number of private rooms. The one they were led into looked just like the kind of dining room one would find in an elegant apartment. Original paintings hung on the wall. A vase of flowers sat on the table. A sofa and matching armchair stood against the wall near the fireplace.

"Let me guess," Bill said, "this is one of the franchises owned by your idol, Vincent the Magnificent."

"You got it," Mark said. "In addition to these private rooms, they have a main dining room for large parties. In the evening, they have magic acts. When I worked in the city, I sometimes used to come by and perform. The food's great here. I've taken the liberty of ordering the house selection. It's several different dishes from different nationalities. You just sample and decide what you like."

Over a variety of impeccably prepared exotic dishes, Mark and Bill asked their questions and received their guarantees from the three AMI managers. Eventually, even Mark overcame his misgivings. Bill took special satisfaction in watching Bruno pick up the check. Naturally, it would be charged to AMI and eventually Orange Bank, but the thought that Bruno was paying for the lunch of the man he'd fired was particularly gratifying.

And so for the second time, Bill found himself returning to Arthur Mitchell after having been fired. Since Owen had not found a replacement employee, Bill's old office was still available. Bill found it pretty much as he had left it. His team however had changed. Sarah had not yet been replaced. That left Natalya and Monica as the only members of Arthur Mitchell's team. During her interview, Bill had found Natalya extremely capable, once he got past the language barrier. He had hired her originally as a fourth person, to work under the direction of Wing, Sarah and Paul. Now due to their departure, she was the lead programmer.

Bill realized that it took all of her efforts just to maintain her own schedule. Requiring her to direct Monica, particularly with her imperfect English, was out of the question. At ninety dollars an hour and with his own assignments, Mark could not be expected to accept this additional responsibility. As a consultant manager being paid a hundred dollars an hour, Bill could not devote hours at a time to direct novice programmers. Unless Arthur Mitchell was willing to pay Mark his high rate for ordinary programming work, Bill would recommend that they start searching for more experienced programmers to hire. For now, he left Mark in charge of the team, while he and Owen went to Orange Bank headquarters several blocks away for a meeting.

At Orange Bank it was business as usual. Mike Lotti shook his hand and said quietly, "Too bad things didn't work out for you, but then again, your loss is our gain. Glad to have you back. The others don't know a thing about it, so why don't we just not mention it."

Bill realized that underneath the calm exterior, Mike was worried. He was the one who had recommended that Arthur Mitchell handle the job and he was the person entrusted to see to it that the project was properly handled. Had he carried out his duties responsibly, he should have advocated discharging Arthur Mitchell long ago. Either his own inept management or his rumored relationship with either Owen or Jean had led him to minimize the miserable job Owen was doing. Now having established the cover-up, he was in too deep to stop. So he had neglected to mention that the best programmers on the project had either left or been fired and rank amateurs were doing the coding. Then Bill had been terminated, Sarah had left and Mike was now torn between continuing his deception or reporting to his superiors that Owen's project team had just about disintegrated. Such a report would lead Orange Bank to look into the matter more closely and they would discover the true depth of both Owen's and Mike's incompetence. So Mike had chosen not to reveal that the technical manager was off the project. Now that Bill was back, he could pretend that nothing had changed.

Mike now introduced Bill to some of the people at Orange Bank who had been planning the system requirements and testing the modules as they had been delivered. Until now, Owen and Jean had been the only Arthur Mitchell people to meet regularly with anyone at the bank other than Mike. Present at the meeting was Albert Simms, Vice President of Automated Systems, which was Mike's department. If anyone looked like a Vice President of a large bank, it was Simms. The sixty four year old was lean and white-haired, with the wire-rimmed glasses that were almost a part of the uniform and had a no-nonsense look plastered across his face. He was here for a reason and it was not just to discuss the project.

"I believe we've spoken on the phone several times,"Albert Simms said. "What brings you down here in person?"

Bill knew that his answer to this question had to be well thought out. He couldn't let the client know that there were serious problems with Owen's management or that he was actually a consultant. But neither would he respond with a falsehood. He could almost feel Owen and Mike tensing up in anticipation of his reply.

"As you know, Owen is a project director of several projects at AMI. Naturally, this is his largest and the one to which he dedicates the most time. He therefore chose to become extremely involved and to become the Arthur Mitchell representative at all of your meetings. This worked well at the beginning, but now the project has progressed to the point where there are several, you might call them subprojects, going on. It's become inefficient to have Owen meet with each different group, try to take all the notes himself then explain it to me. Then I have questions and my people have questions and he has to go back to you. It's become almost like a game of telephone, where the message changes just a little bit with each repetition. I've been a Senior Manager at the firm for several years and I'm also a programmer. This is the only project I'm working on. My availability is one hundred percent. It just made more sense for me to meet with you directly to get a clear picture of each department's requirements, so that I can convey them to my team with one less intermediary. Incidentally," he added, "my hourly rate is less than Owen's, so you also see a savings on our bills."

That last comment elicited some chuckles and also eased some of the tension in the room. Owen and Mike let out their breaths in an almost audible gasp.

"It's about time AMI showed some initiative and did something to kick start this project that didn't involve raising their fees." Simms turned to Owen. "What are you still doing here? We're not going to pay you to stand around." He said it with a smile, but it was obvious that he didn't care for Owen and probably AMI as well.

Owen left almost immediately. Afterward, Bill began setting up appointments to meet with each department head during the rest of the day to cover all the system requirements. He returned to his office close to five to meet with Owen and fill him in on what he had learned.

"I've got a good grasp of what's left to be done for this phase," he reported.

"And is it doable in the time frame we promised?"

"With the right staff. Unfortunately, you don't have it. Unless you offer a decent salary, you're going to continue getting only inexperienced programmers or experienced rejects from other firms with their own set of problems. As dedicated as she is, we can't do it with another Monica. And we don't want another Eric or Ben."

Owen winced at Bill's reference to two programmers he had hired because their resumes showed experience and they were willing to work at the substandard salary he was offering. Ben had come from another large company and his resume had indicated that he knew the programming language being used on the Orange Bank project. Had Owen asked more questions, he would have discovered that Ben's duties at the other firm had involved mundane tasks such as running the backups and installing software upgrades. His knowledge of programming was self-taught and he had no real coding experience. At AMI he had declared his programs to be working, only to have them crash seconds into a test. When faced with an error, he often could not determine the reason so he simply added more code to prevent the error from crashing the program. The bug remained, the program just permitted it to exist and damage the stored data. He was one of the few people who had deserved to be fired by Owen.

Eric was the other one. His resume showed lots of experience and when interviewed he displayed knowledge that only an seasoned programmer could possess. He lamented the fact that his last job had ended due to a merger of his company with a larger one. He continued lamenting his misfortune even after accepting the position at AMI, often refusing to follow a direct order because, as he put it, "they don't pay me enough here to do that. Do you know what they paid me on my last job?" He would arrive late, leave early and often disappear for hours in middle of the day. Bill finally fired him and suggested that his current work was worth what they were now paying him at his previous job.

"How do you propose financing these new employees?" Owen asked, "We're seriously over budget on this project."

"We're over budget because you cut too many corners. If we had hired one additional Mark, instead of Eric, Ben, Wing and a cast of dozens whose names escape me, we would be months ahead and thousands of dollars behind budget. Part of being a good manager is to learn from your mistakes, not to keep repeating them."

"Be that as it may, I don't have the funds to hire people of the caliber you feel you need."

"Then we'll just have to tell Orange Bank that the project will take six months longer than anticipated."

"Six months?"

"That's assuming that no one else leaves the team and that Monica can get up to speed quickly."

"I'll talk to Bruno about adding another experienced programmer to the team."

"I'm going home to discuss what I learned today with Mark. I'll be back tomorrow with Landmark's revised schedule."

The work progressed, with Mark doing most of the complex coding. Under Bill's management, with Bill getting the requirements directly from the client and with little interference from Owen, they began to make real progress. They received another boost when, attracted by the higher salary now being offered, Bill hired another experienced programmer. Alex Laika was a computer technician, programmer, LAN expert and mathematician. Only in this country for two years, he spoke almost fluent English and had no problem expressing himself even when discussing complex banking issues. He was patient and often stopped his work in order to assist Monica and occasionally Natalya. When Alex and Natalya would discuss a complex issue, they often lapsed into their native Russian. This would cause a frustrated Monica to begin jabbering in imitation. Bill would remark that in addition to foreign currency conversion, they might add language translation to the system. Alex also seemed tireless and seemed to prefer working nights and weekends if some overtime pay was offered. As far as Owen was concerned, though overtime pay was anathema to Arthur Mitchell, it was cheaper than hiring another programmer or paying Mark's rates.

For once, everyone was happy. Bill and Mark were happy at the way they were able to proceed without intervention and at the rates they were commanding. The team was happy to be working with a realistic schedule, clearly defined specifications and overtime pay when possible. Orange Bank was pleased with the progress being made and that made Owen, Jean and ultimately Bruno happy.

Bill came home one evening to find Debbie waiting for him in the living room with a strange look in her eyes and one hand behind her back.

"You know how they say 'when it rains, it pours'?" she asked. "Well, prepare yourself for this! The Wolf Media system bid was awarded to Landmark Computer Services!" From behind her back she brought out a bottle of champagne. "I thought we should celebrate. Now you can give up the Orange Bank project."

"Give it up! Why should I? It's going so well."

"I thought you only took it because you had nothing else."

"I admit I might not have taken it otherwise, but so far it's working out so well and it's bringing in a lot of money. Why throw that away?"

"Because you know how Owen is. His promises don't mean anything. You made him eat crow and he's just waiting for the right moment to get his revenge."

"I think now he wants the project to succeed as much as I do."

"Of course he does. If the project goes well, he'll find some excuse to fire you so he can take all the credit. And if a problem arises, he'll make sure you take the blame."

"All the more reason to stick around and prevent problems," Bill pointed out, "if I leave, he'll blame the failure on me. Then maybe AMI and Orange Bank will both sue us and we'll really have trouble."

"So after all our work you're going to turn down the Wolf project?"

"Why would I turn it down?"

"Because you can't do both! This is not the same little side thing you did before. They're going to want you available on a regular basis."

"I can handle it. The Orange Bank project is running smoothly. I don't have to be in all day every day to keep it running. Alex and Natalya have a good handle on what's needed. Mark is writing specific functions which he can do from his apartment on the weekends if necessary. I still have plenty of time left for Wolf. And Wolf is hiring their own programmers. And if we need more help, Landmark can hire programmers, too. Both jobs will get done."

Mark was not so enthusiastic. "I didn't really want to get involved with AMI a second time. I only took it because you were so insistent and we really didn't have another project. Now that Wolf Media wants us, I'd like to give that my full attention."

"We really can't just dump Orange Bank," Bill argued, "it's unprofessional and damaging to our reputation. But I don't think we have to. Are you really putting in forty hours a week on it?"

"I only put in thirty last week," Mark admitted.

"And some of that was evening and weekend work. You probably put in no more than twenty hours between nine and five. So put in twenty or so hours for Wolf Media and we can do both projects."

"If you think so."

"I think I've managed us pretty well so far."

So Bill and Mark took a day off from their project to visit Wolf headquarters and sign the contract that awarded them the system. Owen was not thrilled to hear that both Bill and Mark would be out on the same day.

"It's only one day," Bill pointed out, "what can happen?"

Bill had underestimated Owen's capacity for recklessness. The next day, he arrived at AMI early in the morning, as was his custom. Entering his office, he noticed the message light on his phone blinking. He pressed in his password to retrieve his messages.

"Hello, Bill," he heard Alex's voice, "you were good manager but that Owen, he complete idiot! Too much stupid! Just want to tell you goodbye and good luck."

"10:55 A.M. Tuesday." the automated time and day tacked on let him know that this message had been recorded yesterday.

"Bill," Natalya's voice followed, "you promise me Owen stay out of face. I not liar. Now I feel sick and go home. Probably be sick tomorrow. Bye."

"11:15 A.M. Tuesday."

"Bill, sorry to cut out on you like this," Monica's message followed, "but I'm stuck on something and there's no one else here to talk to. See you tomorrow."

"12:20 P.M. Tuesday."

"Bill," came Owen's growl, "see what happens when you and Mark are both out on the same day? Your whole team just takes a vacation. In the future, I won't allow it."

"12:40 P.M. Tuesday."

Then came a string of calls from various Orange Bank employees, including Vice President Albert Simms, wondering why they couldn't reach any of the programmers on the project. Bill was still reviewing these messages when his phone rang.

"Bill, Albert Simms here. I'm glad to see you're in. What the hell happened yesterday?"

"I'm trying to finding that out myself," Bill told him, "I was out yesterday and.." a knock sounded at his door and Monica entered. "Someone just came in. I might have an answer for you shortly."

"So did you hear what happened?" Monica asked.

"No, I didn't. From the messages I get the impression that Alex and Owen had some kind of disagreement and the rest of you walked out."

"That's putting it mildly. Owen walked in while Alex and Natalya were having one of their discussions in Russian. He told them to get back to work, they weren't being paid to bull session. Natalya told him that they were discussing the system and Owen called her a liar. Then he said that since they wasted all that time bullshitting, he was denying all overtime, including what was owed for overtime already worked. Alex went ballistic. He shouted that if Owen was so concerned with wasted time, why did he waste some much time with his bullshit meetings. So Owen fired Alex. Then Natalya said that she wasn't feeling well, but she said it in a way that we could tell she didn't really mean it. She's staying out in protest and probably looking for another job. Which is what I would do if I had the guts."

"That incompetent, egotistical son of a ..."

"So she told you about Alex," Owen said, entering without knocking. "See what happens when you're not here?"

"Yes," Bill said, "you come around playing manager and destroy in five minutes the team I've spent months building."

"I remind you that I happen to be your director and in your absence, someone has to supervise your people."

"My people were doing just fine before you stuck your nose in their business."

"Bullshitting on Arthur Mitchell's time is Arthur Mitchell's business."

"They weren't bullshitting, they were discussing something pertaining to the project."

"If you believe their story. I know what I heard."

"I didn't realize that you speak Russian."

Owen flushed. "I don't have to understand Russian to know the different between a technical discussion and shooting the breeze. I heard laughing."

"Then they must have been discussing your latest specifications."

"Bill, don't you get impertinent with me!"

"Or what? You'll fire me? There's no need for that. As of this moment, I'm resigning from this project."

"You can't resign! We have a contract."

"And that contract specifies that I am the manager of this project, with the sole authority to hire and fire the programmers. When you assumed that responsibility, you broke the contract."

"Maybe I did overreact," Owen admitted.

"Overreact? You called them liars! You denied them pay for work already done! You fired the best programmer Arthur Mitchell has on the project and caused another to go home sick! You took away their job security. In one day, you destroyed this project."

"We'll hire someone to replace Alex.."

"Spend another few months interviewing and then another few months bringing them up to speed? That's assuming we even find someone else. The reputation of this project has already made the rounds. The headhunters aren't sending us their best candidates. We're getting the rejects like Eric and Ben or inexperienced people like Monica, who need some time to come up to speed and once they do they either get fired or leave, thanks to you. Once in a while we luck out with someone like Natalya and Alex because their accents prevent them from getting better jobs. And when we do luck out, you come around and blow it for us. I've had enough of it. I tried doing it with your involvement and I tried doing it without your involvement but I can't try to do it despite your involvement. I can't run around putting out the fires you start. I'm pulling Landmark off this project. Maybe you should hire the Fire Department instead."

"Bill, let's not be too hasty.."

"Let's not? As in 'let us not'? Too late for that. You've already had your turn. Now it's mine."

"I'll call Alex and get him to come back."

"You think it's that easy? Even if he comes back, he'll have no faith in the job security here. He'll stay just long enough to find another job. And I'm sure that Natalya's already looking."

"There's got to be something we can do."

"Sure there is," Bill assured him, "I can resign and you can explain it to Jean."

"Bill, one thing I always admired about you is that you always managed to keep this project going, no matter what happened. I know this is a setback, but we were making good progress. Surely you can find a way to turn this around."

"Let me get this straight. You expect me to find a way to get Alex and Natalya back on this project, to convince them that they won't be fired again on your whim, to keep you from interfering in this project again.." as Bill verbalized his requirements, an idea occurred to him. "Okay, I won't resign. Yet."

Perhaps that was the turning point, the moment at which he had decided that he had committed himself to see it through to the end.

"Excellent," Owen said.

"And you will pay Alex his full earned overtime, his salary through the end of the day yesterday and two weeks severance pay."

"I guess that's fair."

"And I will find a replacement."

"That's to be expected."

"And the replacement will work under contract to Landmark. We'll bill you seventy-five dollars an hour for his time, including overtime."

"I don't know if our budget can cover that."

"I don't know if your budget can cover the losers you'll get if you try to hire them for this project as Arthur Mitchell employees. This way, they're Landmark employees and only Landmark can fire them. And I'll convince Natalya to stay on the project by telling her that you realize if you fire her, she'll be replaced by another seventy-five dollar an hour consultant."

"I'll have to discuss this with Jean."

"Discuss it with Jean. Discuss it with Bruno. I want your answer in half an hour. Otherwise I'm off to my other clients."

"You have other clients?"

"Owen, I work for a consulting firm now. Did you think we only have one client?"

"But you are giving Arthur Mitchell your full attention?"

"When I'm here, you get my full attention."

"And you intend to be here Monday through Friday from nine to five?"

"Between Mark and me, Landmark is prepared to give you full coverage during those hours."

"I don't believe that's what we had in mind when we hired Landmark."

"Then I suggest that you find another consulting firm. Just give me your answer in twenty nine minutes."

"Bill, you've just introduced some new complications.."

"Just following your example."

"And we really have to discuss them."

"Then you'd better get started. You have twenty eight minutes."

For once, Owen was speechless. He opened his mouth, closed it and walked out. Moments after he left, Bill began to laugh. Monica, who had been hiding in the corner, doing her best to become invisible, joined in.

"Wow," she exclaimed, "I can't believe that you talked to him like that."

"Why not?" Bill asked her, "for once he realizes that he needs me more than I need him. Mark wants to drop this project. I intend to try to keep it, but only on my terms."

They discussed the difficulties she had run into the previous day and Bill gave her further direction. They were still talking when Owen returned.

"How soon can you have another analyst on board?" he asked.

"We already have someone in mind," Bill told him, "we could use him on one of our other projects or we can assign him here. He might even be able to start tomorrow."

"On that basis, let's proceed as planned."

As soon as Owen left and Monica had returned to her desk, Bill made some phone calls. Then, with a secretive smile, he resumed his work. The telephone interrupted him.

"Bill, Albert Simms here. Did you discover the problem?"

This was the call Bill was dreading. How could he explain what was going on without totally destroying Simms' faith in the project?

"Much ado about nothing," Bill replied, hoping he sounded casual. "I was out for a day and one of the programmers was out sick and Owen had words with one of the other programmers and sent him home. It was one of those stupid things."

"Who did he fire this time?"

"I wasn't aware that you were familiar with the programmers on this project."

"It would be a difficult feat, considering that they don't seem to last very long." There was a long pause while Bill thought of a rejoinder, then Simms continued, "You do understand that this is a very important project for us. It has been running behind schedule and we have been getting the distinct feeling that we can't depend on Owen or even Michael to get an accurate picture."

"Sounds to me like you're getting some third party reports."

"I've cultivated some other sources of information. There are people at AMI who don't exactly hold Owen in high esteem. Or Jean or Bruno for that matter. Some have wondered why a plum project like this was awarded to Owen's group. And they have wondered it aloud, in local bars and social clubs. And other businessmen of my acquaintance have hired former analysts on this project and after seeing their productivity and hearing their Owen stories, they can judge pretty accurately where the problem lies."

"There have been a few problems on this project, but overall we have good control."

"That's not what we've been hearing. Our sources say the turnover on this project is uncommonly high, vacated positions are typically advertised at well below standard rates and your only applicants are either ignorant of the facts or desperate for work under any circumstances, in short, not of the highest caliber."

"It's not that bad."

"Isn't it true that you were terminated at one time?"

Bill paused. Was he referring to the first time that had lasted minutes or the second termination which had been permanent? He was deliberately vague in his response. "It was only temporary. Owen has a habit of erupting on occasion, but it blows over quickly."

"A consolation, I'm certain, to the several dozen programmers he permanently fired during his infamous eruptions. How do you keep the team from falling apart?"

"Mr. Simms, despite what you heard, I've laid down some ground rules that Owen, Jean and Bruno have agreed to abide by. One of them is that only I can hire and fire programmers for incompetence. The team is in no danger of falling apart."

"Bill, I just want you to know that though Owen and his cronies may believe we're gullible fools, Orange Bank and my department did not get to where we are today by blindly believing whatever our hired consultants or low-level underlings report. We have our sources of information on this project and what they've been reporting conflicts with what AMI and Mike Lotti have been telling us. Don't fall for their game, Bill. Don't underestimate us. I think you're a good manager and that the success of the project is largely due to you. When I heard that you were no longer on the project, I threatened to pull all of our business from AMI if they couldn't get you back."

"I didn't realize that you felt that strongly about my work."

"I feel strongly about this project and your departure really hurt it. I did not want Owen managing it and I knew that it would take AMI several months to find a competent manager to fill your shoes. Knowing Owen, I expected it to take even longer because he would want someone with no backbone who would work for about half your salary. The threat was the only thing I could think of to get you back and keep the project from collapsing. As I said, this project is crucial. We've spent millions on it and I'm prepared to do anything to see it through. If I thought that pulling it away from AMI would help, I'd do it in a hot minute. Unfortunately at this point, it would mean assembling a new team and taking a giant step backward. So we're probably stuck with AMI for the duration. But that doesn't mean that we're not aware of what's been going on. The incompetence at the highest levels. The cover ups. The cost overruns. However, since we're committed to this project, we don't want to take any action now that could jeopardize it. What action we will take, if we do decide to take action, remains to be seen. AMI is now aware that we have a close eye on this project and if they haven't informed you, I'm telling you now. Don't feel that you have to cover up for Owen. He's not looking out for your best interests. I'm not asking you to turn informer, but do keep me abreast of anything that could affect the project in a major way. And give me accurate information when I ask you for details. You continue to look out for the best interests of this project and I will do whatever I can to protect you from any fallout, when and if that should occur. Do we understand each other?"

"I understand you perfectly."

"I'm glad. Now get back to work fixing our project."

"Immediately. I already have a plan in the works."

"I'm not sure that I'm ready to become a boss," was Mark's reaction to Bill's plan, "I think Landmark works because we keep it simple. Adding new employees and new management concerns might complicate things."

"We talked about the possibility of subcontracting and making money off someone else's work," Bill reminded him. "This is the perfect opportunity. We hire an analyst at fifty an hour and bill AMI seventy five. How can we lose?"

"If we get an Eric or a Ben, it could really hurt us. What if AMI doesn't want to pay for substandard work?"

"I've already got that covered," Bill assured him and then explained his reasoning.

"You know," Mark said smiling, "if Owen buys it, it really would work."

"Owen doesn't have any choice in the matter," Bill stated.

The next day when Owen arrived, both Monica and Natalya were at their computers, hard at work. Bill was directing them.

"When's the new analyst starting?" Owen asked.

"He's already started today," Bill answered, "he's in my office looking over some specs. Let me go bring him out and introduce him." A moment later, he returned. "Owen, I'd like you to meet Landmark's newest analyst, Alex Laika."

Monica and Natalya began to giggle as Owen turned apoplectic. "We have rules!" Owen shouted, "a terminated employee may not be subsequently hired as a consultant."

"Then I guess I'd better resign," Bill remarked.

"We worked around it for you. We hired Landmark and Landmark hired you."

"Just as Landmark hired Alex," Bill pointed out.

"I don't like the idea of hiring another terminated employee as a consultant."

"You just don't like the idea that when you foolishly fire someone they don't stay fired. We need Alex for a number of reasons." Bill began to enumerate. "Next to Mark, he's our best coder. We don't have the time to start looking for someone else and then training them. The reputation of this project is such that if we announce that you fired another analyst and we need a replacement, no one good will come forward. Your firing Alex destroyed everyone's faith in the project. If we don't take him back, Natalya and Monica will leave soon. You were wrong to fire him and he deserves the job. You gave me your personal guarantee that you wouldn't fire anyone off this project. So Alex stays on this project until I say he's off. Bottom line, if he goes, I go."

"Then I guess I don't have a choice."

"Yes, you do. You can grumble and grouse and let everyone know how opposed you are to this or you can apologize to Alex for your rash decision and welcome him back on the team."

There was a minute of silence as Owen contemplated his response. Finally, he said grudgingly, "Alex, I'm sorry about yesterday. Glad to see you back on the team."

"And of course," Bill added, "you will be getting two weeks of severance pay and all the overtime pay you've earned to date."

"Wait a minute!" Owen protested, "Why should he get severance pay when he's still on the project?"

"He gets severance pay for being unjustly fired from Arthur Mitchell," Bill explained. "The fact that he found another job with Landmark doesn't absolve you of that obligation. Anyway, it's part of the agreement we made yesterday and I intend to hold you to it."

"You know, Bill, you keep pushing it."

"No, Owen, you keep pushing it. If you had only acted as we agreed, there would have been no need for this. Remember that the next time you want to fire one of my people. You'll simply be promoting a thirty thousand dollar employee to a seventy five dollar an hour consultant. And we all know what that will do to your precious budget."

"Just get on with it," Owen growled, "and I'm expecting to see major progress."

"You will," Bill promised, "but don't forget that thanks to you, we now have two lost days to make up for. Don't forget to update your Gantt charts."

"He still use Gantt chart?" Alex asked incredulously after Owen was out of earshot.

"He sure does. And he never updates them. They show that we're already finished with this phase and well into the next."

"How he expect to do this?"

"We'll just have to put in about four months of overtime on the last day on his chart," Bill joked. "Don't worry about it. Let's just take it one day at a time."