A Question of Morals
Obstacles or struggles are a normal part of life. The most important part of the challenge is how you deal with it. For Delaney Carlson, struggles were constant, or so it seemed. How she handled any struggle wasn’t to back down but to meet it head on and prove she could conquer it. This situation would be no different. She strongly believed a challenge that doesn’t break you will only make you stronger and build your character.
Delaney was small in stature with blonde hair and brown eyes. She was always concerned about her appearance and what others thought about her. Even though her parents told her repeatedly not to worry about what others thought, she did. She thought of herself as a normal person in every way. She put her pants on one leg at a time like everyone else. Other people didn’t think she was capable of simple things and was certainly not capable of being vice president of the marketing department. A lot of people didn’t think she was the right person to be put in charge because she was disabled.
She was born in a small town name Kosciusko, Mississippi and although her parents did the best they could to bring her into the world safely, that isn’t how it turned out. She was born prematurely and suffered from oxygen deprivation. That’s how her struggles began. The milestones made while she attended school were achieved with her parents pushing for their child to be treated fairly and given access to the same things other children had access to. Now she was an adult and needed to handle her battles herself to show that she was capable of doing anything.
After college she started trying to find a job. In most all of the jobs she applied for, she would be called in for a first interview because she had the skills and education but once the perspective employers saw she was on crutches they never even called her back for a second interview. She had determination and never gave up and it finally paid off. She accepted a job with Compton Insurance Services. She started out as a switchboard operator and slowly worked her way up the ladder to become a marketing representative. She did not achieve these goals without a little help from Jacob Holmes, the vice president.
Jacob Holmes was Delaney’s mentor. He taught her all about the company and he had always given her the opportunity to show her talents. He saw her disability as only part of her ability. They grew from a boss and an employee to friends with slightly more. The slightly more has made them closer to each other but the risk was very high for both of them if anyone found out.
As a marketing representative, she had the opportunity to show just how much she had learned and retained about the company. Her co-workers were beginning to sit up and take notice. They asked her questions and continued to increase her responsibilities. She had recently been sent on a business trip to give a presentation and help land the company’s biggest account. Easton Logistics was a premier transportation and logistics provider who had a large fleet of carriers that traveled nationally. The company was under new management and was seeking a more cost effective insurance plan.
Delaney thought if Jacob was serious about landing this account, she would be able to help him achieve his goals and it would prove to management just how capable she was and what a big asset she was to the company. She didn’t get very much sleep the night before the big presentation. She rehearsed it over and over to make sure there were no mistakes.
The next morning she woke up a little early to go over it one last time. She knew she was probably overreacting but it must be flawless. A lot was riding on this for her. It was a chance for her co-workers to take her seriously and she wouldn’t let Jacob down. Once she arrived at work, she stopped by Jacob’s office and told him she was headed to the conference room before the meeting.
“Do you want to sit in and listen and critique the presentation before the big moment?” she said while grinning from ear to ear like a girl who had just got her first car from her parents.
“No, I want to be just as surprised as the Easton clients are when you knock it out of the park.”
Jacob saw she had a little case of the nerves and he had helped her build her confidence up over the last few months, she was ready for this.
After having rehearsed and paced the carpet it was finally show time. If she played her cards right they would be signing the contracts with Jacob before they left the building. No pressure she said to herself as they were coming into the conference room dressed impeccably just as she imagined.
Jacob introduced everyone and said a few words and turned it over to Delaney. He sat next to her chair and watched her presentation unfold. When she began, they were all a little shocked to see the crutches and he knew some of them were very shocked and skeptical about how this would play out. At one point during the presentation, he smiled and snickered softly because he remembered what Delaney had said about how she could tell if people were uncomfortable because they never had experiences with a disabled person. They act as though I have a disease and if I touch them or breathe on them, they would catch it.
Jacob saw Delaney as a beautiful woman who needed and wanted to be loved. He didn’t realize the crutches. He had fun with her and they could talk about anything together, even if they had opposing opinions about a topic. He had strong feelings for her and hoped she felt the same. She finished the presentation and she did an outstanding job. She used Easton’s logo on all of the materials and had copies of the different types of coverage and their cost for each member. He also noticed she had not used any notes.
Once she finished he took a few questions about riders and premium increases and the owner of Eastman, Carol Wright said “Jacob, I think we have seen what Compton can do for us and how much money we can save.”
Jacob smiled and said “Do we have a deal?”
She stood up and reached over the table and said ‘Yes, we do and I never like to close one without a handshake just as my father did with all of his business dealings.”
They left the conference room after signing all of the papers and Compton Insurance had a brand new client that would take the firm higher than it had been before.
They both decided they deserved a little pampering that night after the big sell so they met at their favorite restaurant Gino’s for dinner and drinks. Delaney was proud of herself. She began to be more confident in her abilities. Jacob told her many times throughout the rest of the day what a fantastic job she did and this would increase revenue and open new doors for her.
She told Jacob that this should show the President what valuable asset he was to the company and she thanked him again for all he had made possible for her. Without him she would still be a switchboard operator.
After the new client, things quickly returned to normal. She spent long days and evenings working on other marketing campaigns to generate new ideals for their brand and its products. This job allowed her to be creative.
She had not seen much of Jacob lately. They had talked on the phone but he was out of the office often traveling to the other branches and attending insurance seminars about upcoming changes in the law. Although she missed him she understood but wondered what kind of toll this was taking on him physically. It was never fun living out of a suitcase without the comforts of home.
One morning to her surprise Jacob left her a voicemail and she was glad to hear he would be home in just three days. She missed his call last night because she was on the phone with her mother and that was always a long conversation. He said he had big news but it had to wait until he returned. The reason for his call was he had left a contract in his office that he needed for an afternoon meeting and wanted her to fax it to him. His secretary was on vacation so he left instructions on where he thought it was or at least hoped it would be. He said he was sure she could find it.
What was the big news? That was all she thought about at first and because her mind was clouded, she had to replay his message.
She walked into to his office and as she glanced around she saw it was not neat and tidy and wondered if his home was just as messy. She started looking through a stack of files on his desk and didn’t see the contract but buried under one of the stacks, she found a folder that was labeled miscellaneous. She opened it thinking what she was searching for would be inside because the deal was incomplete. Inside s found nothing but checks made out to Jacob and not the company.
What did this mean?
She knew she was just from the marketing department but something didn’t seem right. Weren’t all the checks collected from clients made out to the company not the officers? This must be a mistake and Jacob didn’t catch it or he could explain it. She didn’t see a client file for this company and she knew there was always a client file for new clients no matter what type of coverage was taken out.
Delaney kept running possible scenarios through her mind as she continued to look for the contract. She finally found the contract but she also found other checks made out to Jacob stashed in other places. In the memo section of every check it said premium payment. Was Jacob taking extra cuts from clients? There was no way he would do this. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her phone was ringing but before she realized it, it stopped.
It was Jacob and she didn’t want to have this conversation over the phone. She called him back struggling to sound natural.
He answered, “Hey sweetheart, did you find it?” “As soon as you fax it over I can leave and be home early and we can meet for dinner.” Are you ready for the big news?”
She was taking a deep breath before she answered, I did find it and I am faxing it now.” “It will be good to see you.”
He was playful. He said “Just good? I am ready for some good food and a little cuddle time.”
“Me too”, she said.
That’s all she could bring herself to say. She was still in shock and had no idea how to approach this but she couldn’t keep this to herself. She had to let him know she was aware. What if he got caught? Or what if the President already knew and was waiting for the right moment. She couldn’t allow herself to be implicated too. She had worked to hard for her position.
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