Ivory Tower Power

By Vernon L. Jones

Wherever a person earns a living, there may exist an overreaching hierarchy of power. This hierarchy may be invisible to onlookers outside of the workplace. However, for those who earn a living beyond the veiled shadows of this work world, things are not as congenial as they seem from the outside. It is a culture fueled by privilege for the few, timidity, and an air of untouchability by those who call the shots. Striving to keep the establishment functioning and flourishing are those who achieve but are not valued or rewarded for their loyalty nor for their accomplishments. Ivory Tower Power is a satirical work that pulls back this veil and sheds light on the value of those in an organization who are often overlooked by the hierarchy while keeping the wheels of progress rolling forward. Ivory Tower Power is a fun read about a serious subject.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973659129

Vernon L. Jones

The author enjoys sports and adventure. Many everyday events can take on a life of their own when viewed through the eyes of an adventurer. The author looks at situations and considers the question, What if? A forty minute subway trip to work is no longer just routine if the napping rider does not notice the small spherical travel drive that has been slipped into his coat pocket. The drive contains encrypted codes and markers. He is now unknowingly transporting highly sought after information as a most unlikely carrier. The intent of someone whom he does not know is to later retrieve the travel drive from it’s unsuspecing transporter without his being aware of it. This is a trip to work through the eyes of an adventurer.

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Copyright © 2019 Vernon L. Jones.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5913-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5911-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5912-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019904385

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/4/2019

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Epilogue

About the Author

To the overloaded, overworked, overlooked, and undervalued little guy who:

• strains under the weight of the work while a higher-up takes the credit and glows in the limelight.

• is expected to laugh at jokes that badly miss the mark.

• is expected to be on task behind the scenes but not seen or heard.

• is expected to row the boat but not rock the boat.

• is constantly reminded that as goes the pay grade, so go the privileges.

• may learn the hard way that productivity, loyalty, and integrity may not be rewarded.

• gives respect but may not receive respect in return.

Prologue

T IMOTHY TYLER HAS just finished a home-improvement project that he has been looking forward to wrapping up for more than a year. The work had to be put on hold during Timothy’s ordeal in a clandestine South American research compound. And then there were the months of rest and physical therapy as he recovered from injuries suffered during that venture.

A very tired but satisfied Timothy Tyler is happy to finally be able to declare that there is now room in their three-car garage to park three vehicles. As Timothy sits and places his feet up on a box filled with garage items, his wife appears at the kitchen door with a hand behind her back. Lana is smiling even more than usual.

Timothy thinks, Wow, what a beautiful girl. I sure hit the jackpot with her.

Lana saunters up to her husband and says, Tim, guess what I came across while I was cleaning the attic.

Timothy has an empty look on his face.

By the way, this garage looks great. She kisses him on the forehead. Now you can actually park your car inside.

Timothy replies, Thank you. I’m sure the attic is in tip-top condition too. Raising an eyebrow, he asks, Now what could you have found in the attic that would get you this excited?

Lana giggles and says, You’ll never guess.

Let’s see, is it bigger than a breadbox? Is it entertaining? Is it valuable?

No. It is to me. And I don’t know yet?

I give up. Tell me.

Bringing her hand from behind her back, Lana quickly replies, Do you remember when you wrote this fantasy animal story?

Timothy adjusts his eyes. Yes, I remember that.

You used to add a little bit to it here and there. Every time you got frustrated with the way things were going at work, you would add a situation to your little fairy-tale animal story. You said that writing it was therapeutic.

Timothy reaches for the manuscript. Yeah, this little document was good therapy for me when I got fed up with petty university politics and bureaucratic red tape.

Like a child with a new toy, Timothy takes his feet down off the box and begins to open the dusty manuscript. Lana sits on a nearby box and looks on as he begins reading his rediscovered work out loud.

There, at a beloved institution of higher learning …

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Chapter 1

A T A BELOVED institution of higher learning, President William C. Wolffgang has convened his weekly Monday morning 7:03 cabinet meeting. Soft violin music is playing through the audio system and slowly fades as the meeting begins. Good morning, to one and all.

In unison, his cabinet responds, Good morning, President Wolffgang.

One cabinet member adds, Good morning, sir. And may I say that you are certainly looking very presidential today?

Thank you, Vice President Brownie Noser.

You are quite welcome, sir. President Wolffgang looks over at his executive assistant while exhibiting an air of superiority and says, Secretary Polly, please call the roll.

Yes, sir, she replies.

Always prepared to call the official cabinet attendance roll, Pennie Polly proceeds and prepares to place a check by the names of the executive committee members who are present and a capital X by the name of any member with the courage to be absent. Anything short of a serious illness or a multiple-vehicle accident was not an acceptable excuse for being absent. Anyone lacking an acceptable excuse would receive the standard certified letter of reprimand. That letter would then be transferred to their official personnel file in the human resources office.

Vice President Fetcher?

Here.

Vice President Lizzard?

Here.

Vice President Brownie Noser?

Here. Ms. Polly, I like your scarf. It brings out the color in your eyes.

Without pausing, Pennie Polly continues with the roll call. Assistant Vice President Growler?

In a loud voice, he replies, Here!

Dean Strutter?

Here Ms. Polly. I’m here.

Dean Noe-Accounts?

Here and accounted for.

Dean Whootie?

Who here. Who here.

"Is that a question?’’

Who no. Who no.

Dean Gobble? Dean Gregory Gobble?

Here.

And Police Chief Brutus?

Present.

Seeing that everyone is present and accounted for, President Wolffgang looks at the meeting agenda and then his cabinet. From his lofty seat of power at the head of his cabinet table, President Wolffgang stares at the faces throughout the room. He intentionally had his chair raised five inches higher than all the other chairs around the table. This is a seat of great influence that he has learned to wield very well over the years like a sharp sword. The university’s chief executive officer has learned the art of quiet manipulation through intimidation. If the elevated seat of power did not do the job, the stare down and artful use of hard vocal in-your-face persuasion usually did the trick. President Wolffgang is one wolf who has gotten used to the habit of getting his way and playing hardball when necessary. He sometimes gets emotionally intoxicated on the fumes of fear he has learned to extract from those who come to this very room. He does this from this very seat at this very table. Creating fear in others reaffirms his sense of power, confidence, and self-esteem. It thrills and fascinates him when he sees his cabinet members trying to avoid the seats closest to his throne of power. Though the cabinet meetings convene every Monday morning at 7:03 a.m. sharp, most cabinet members arrive long before 7:03 to avoid having to sit the closest to the seat that supports the penetrating wolfish glare and stare of their CEO.

Somehow, sitting even a few feet down from his hard gaze seems to make the weekly meetings more tolerable. And seats the farthest down the table are always at a premium. At times, premium seaters have been known to give up their distant seats to later-arriving cabinet members, if the price is right.

The fledging higher education boss has read vastly about past leaders of countries and dynasties who perfected the art of fear persuasion. The idea is to instill fear in the hearts of those who answer to you. Not just a small amount of fear, but a very high level of it. Fear to the point where they are afraid to be in your presence and afraid to see you or hear your voice or even your footsteps. They will learn to recognize your footsteps. Fear to the point of seeing a portrait of you looking at them sends cold shivers up and down their spines and tiny beads of cold sweat down their backs. This president has learned that the eyes can be a source of power or weakness. He learned how to stare with a glare of authority and power, penetrate their very hearts with his eyes to make them afraid to look him directly in the eyes, and break their will with a gaze. The slightest rise in his voice caused them to leap into action.

Once these levels of control have been established, they will submit to do your bidding. Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, fright makes it right. However, it is also true that once the desired levels of fear have been reached, they must be maintained.

President Wolffgang speaks with a commanding voice and with an aura of superiority as he gazes from one side of the table to the other. Ladies and Gentlemen, I know that Ms. Polly has given each of you an agenda. We will get to the written agenda shortly. However, prior to pursuing the printed agenda, I want to press home another point of grave concern. Clearing his throat, he says, I am your CEO. For those of you who are rather new additions to the university, as well as for those who have been with me for quite some time now, I expect—no, I absolutely demand—your utmost respect and loyalty. You are my eyes and ears. And no one, not one of you, is unexpendable. The only one in this room that this institution needs to exist and function properly with is me. President Wolffgang raises one of his large hands and starts pointing around the table. I can replace any of you with a mere gesture of my hand. And in times past, I have not hesitated to do just that. Am I making myself perfectly clear?

The cabinet members all nod.

I know you have families, car payments, home mortgages, and so on. You do not need the stress of losing your job now, do you?

Everyone shakes their heads.

Good, good. We can now proceed with the prepared agenda. President Wolffgang goes on to discuss the university-wide sessions scheduled to convene in two weeks that will kick off the new school year.

If the pompous president could hear the thoughts of his captured audience, he would hear a range of thoughts that would cover a wide gamut of views and concerns.

Those eyes—those red eyes. I can’t stand those eyes.

This person is very overpowering and frightening.

He’s just the kind of leader this university needs.

What’s with this eyes thing?

Sounds like it’s time for me to brush off the old resume.

I hope his bark is worse than his bite.

I think his bite is worse than his bark. Look at those teeth.

I didn’t sign on for this, but I need this job.

There’s no doubt who’s in charge here.

I’m going to check with human resources to see how soon I can retire with full benefits.

Oh, oh. He’s reading my body language.

This guy is a real psycho. But he’s still the president. President Psycho.

I need this job.

I really need to scratch my nose, but he’s looking at me.

Did I remember to use deodorant this morning? I can’t remember.

After this meeting, I wonder if I’ll still have time to get some breakfast.

Think I’ll wear my prescription sunglasses next time.

I just might be sick next Monday morning.

Why do we always have to meet so early on Monday