Breath of Scandal(48)
dating door. He grasped the brass knob aggressively and pushed it open.
Pilot set aside the drawing he had been studying and peered at Dillon over the silver frames of his reading glasses, nodding him into a chair on the other side of his desk. Dillon didn't let Pilot's stare intimidate him. He waited him out. Finally Pilot said, "I understand you're unhappy with us, Mr. Burke."
If he was going to get canned anyway, he had nothing to lose by being honest. Screw Forrest G. Pilot if he didn't like what he had to say. Debra, he knew, would be the first to back him up for speaking his mind. "That's right. I am. "
"I like for my employees to be happy. It makes for a more congenial workplace."
"I didn't intend to be disruptive. I saw something I didn't like and expressed my viewpoint, that's all."
Pilot removed his glasses and ruminatively polished the lenses with a linen handkerchief. "Why should it upset you that Mr. Greyson was appointed supervising engineer for that medical-clinic project?"
"I wasn't upset. I was pissed off. I had submitted a formal request to my supervisor for that job. He assured me it would get to your desk."
"It did."
"Oh, I see. You passed over me in favor of Greyson.
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"Mr. Greyson has been with the company for ten years. You were hired only last year, straight out of Georgia Tech. Your grades and the sample work you submitted when you applied were impressive enough for us to hire you, but you're still a rookie. " He spread his hands wide. "Mr. Greyson has more experience.
"I've got more talent."
Dillon's immodest candor took the older man by surprise. He barked a short laugh. "And, it would appear, more balls. "
"When I was hired," Dillon continued, "I was promised an opportunity to do some actual work. This medical clinic makes three times I've lost an on-site job to men who are no more qualified. Frankly, I feel they were less qualified, Your system of advancement stinks, Mr. Pilot. Hard work and talent should be rewarded, not compressed into those little glass boxes you call offices.
"Mr. Burke--
"I'm an engineer. I want to build things. When other young boys were drawing cars and jet fighters, I was drawing buildings of the future and trying to figure out how to construct them."
Exasperated, he stood up and began pacing. "What I'm doing out there," he said, flinging his arm toward the door, "I was doing in my freshman engineering class at Tech."
"Some men consider a drafting job at Pilot Engineering a real plum."
"Sitting at a drafting table all day long, waiting for the five o'clock bell to ring, isn't my idea of challenging work. Anyway, in a few years computers will be doing the drafting. Draftsmen will become keyboard operators."
Pilot leaned back in his chair. "What is your idea of challenging work, Mr. Burke?"
"Working with the architect, hiring all the subs, overseeing the whole project. I want to be there from the time the first shovel of dirt is turned until the last light bulb is screwed in."
"Then I can't accommodate you."
Even though he had been expecting termination, when
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Dillon actually heard the words, they gave him a start. Jesus, what had he been thinking of to paint himself into such an inescapable comer? What was he going to do? How was he going to support himself and his bride?
"The first shovel of dirt has already been turned. Dillon blinked Forrest G. Pilot back into focus. "Sir?" "In fact, the ironwork was already up before the project
was Put on hold due to poor Management." "I don't understand."
"Sit down, Mr. Burke." When Dillon was reseated, he went on, "While you were getting Pissed off at me for not assigning YOU the medical-clinic job, I was considering you for another. "
Dillon swallowed hard, but prudently kept his mouth shut. "ConftwY to what you believe," Pilot said, "your work has not gone unnoticed. Nor have your leadership qualities. I Pride myself on having a nose for sniffing out bright, ambitious young talent. As you said, some People are content with regimented work. Others are not. You're one of the latter.
"Unfortunately, having ambition and youth and talent isn't sufficient. To be really successful, one must also develop patience and self-discipline. What I should do is fire you on the spot for your insolence. But I'm not, chiefly because You're too valuable a talent to hand over to my Competitors. And secondly, because the job I have in mind requires somebody who has the guts to be abrasive when it's called for.
"So, I think that now is the time for you to take your foot out of your mouth and tell me whether you,re interested in the project I have in mind for you."
Dillon managed to maintain his dignity. "Naturally, 1,m very interested."
"Before we go any further, I should tell you that there is one major drawback to this job. I I
There would be, Dillon thought dismally. The devil a]Ways got his due. Something good was always followed by something equally bad-that was Dillon Burke's version of Newton's law. It was the cosmic scorekeeper,s system of
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