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      The Bachelor Party

      By Ron Hummer

      A Jack Roscoe Murder Mystery

      Copyright 2013 Ron Hummer,

      All rights reserved.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1825-4

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      Prologue

      It’s been a long journey for me when it comes to my battle with non-compete agreements. I was never really sure if I was going to write another book on the subject but at the time of writing this prologue, I can honestly say that this will be my last book on non-compete agreements.

      Why is this the last book? Well, to be perfectly honest, I have reached the conclusion of non-compete agreements. I never imagined that it was much worse than I thought. Of course, I’m not going to reveal it here but if you hang around and read this book, then you’ll see that there is nothing more to say on this subject.

      Once you know what the conclusion is to all this, then you’ll understand and probably feel as frustrated as I do about this. I didn’t want to accept the truth but in the end, I knew that there was no other choice.

      Let’s face it, I’ve run into a lot of people who tell me that non-compete agreements aren’t to be taken seriously and they’ll just get thrown out in court. Certainly, the TV show, Fairly Legal, portrayed all the myths that are out there about non-compete agreements but then again, Hollywood still makes movies saying there there is a reading of a Will.

      I’ve done my research. I’ve lived through this. I’ve met with three employment lawyers. Now I have a reaction to this from a State Senator. I know all the answers now. I’m not happy with them and to be quite frank, I know now that there is nothing I can do to change that.

      So the rest is up to you. You can review my book and say what you want. I was hoping that when I wrote A Hell Of A Woman and 96 Rocks, I would get your thoughts and feelings on non-compete agreements. Some of you wrote reviews and you did express your thoughts.

      I think that once you’re finished with The Bachelor Party, you will know the there is a lot to be concerned about when it comes non-compete agreements. Most of all, you’ll know how important this really is for all employees even if you are not on a non-compete agreement.

      With all that said, I hope you enjoy The Bachelor Party. Thanks for reading it.

      Rick Holman

      Introduction

      June 8, 2011

      Bruce Hartley stared at his apartment one last time, wiping the sweat from his face. All his furniture was packed in the U-haul truck along with his possessions. He pressed his lips together, shaking his head.

      11 years, he told himself. I gave Meadow Research 11 years of my life. I was the best salesperson in the company. I brought in more business than anyone in that company.

      Yes, he set records, winning as many as 12 accounts in one day, closing deals that were worth over $100,000 for a year. In the end, it didn’t matter though.

      For the last two years of his job, he, along with everyone in the company, was given a quota. 10 sales a month. If he didn’t get 10 sales in a month, he would have to get 40 in four months. If he didn’t get it, then he was history.

      Over the years, with the economy tanking, sales were down for the company. The end of the year was the worst. It didn’t matter how many phone calls he made. It didn’t matter how many days he stayed late at the office. Even if he went on vacation for a week, the quota would remain intact.

      Of course, while everyone was on a quota, other salespeople were given special treatment due to favoritism. They were given more territory than the others. In the meantime, his territory had diminished.

      There were months where Bruce would exceed his quota many times. Yes, he thought to himself, he would have 18 accounts a month, an all time high. There were other months throughout the year when he was averaging 16 sales a month.

      By September he had his first bad month in the last two years. 7 sales. Even though he would have 12 sales in October, he would have 10 sales in November and 8 in December. He would be fired for having 37 sales.

      Bruce had plenty of job opportunities in his industry. Even though he was more than qualified for those jobs, they were off limits. In fact, he couldn’t even get an interview with any of the companies. The salaries were even higher - as much as $20,000 a year.

      In all cases, he would receive the same typical response from the company.

      Our attorney has advised us not to interview you due to your non-compete agreement.

      Instead, Bruce was sending our resumes for jobs that he was unqualified for. Interviews were few and far between, usually starting out by saying that we have other applicants that have better qualifications than you do. If he even had a shot at those jobs, he would have to take a salary cut of at least $15,000.

      Three months before he was fired, Bruce had applied for a sales position through a search firm. Once he spoke with the woman, he was told that their clients have very strict guidelines and that even though he had a great record and would be very good at doing that job, the company wanted someone who had industry related experience even though he dealt with the same types of clients.

      Bruce had asked if there were other people besides him that were on non-compete agreements. She said yes, there were. Many of them were eliminated from this job because of it but there were three other applicants who had industry related experience. She also said that they deal with a lot of people who are on non-compete agreements in a variety of industries and this happens all the time.

      On January 2, he was called into his directors office and was told that we was terminated because he did not make his quota. In addition, he was told that he would have to comply with his non-compete agreement in order to get a severance package of $5,000. As his employment lawyer pointed out, even if he used that towards his legal fees, his company could sue him for that money separately.

      He knew the day was coming once he was on probation after the first month. He knew that he was never going to recover from the month of September. He knew that there were jobs in his industry but he could not get an interview for them. All he could do was sit there, helpless, as if he was trapped in a cage, waiting for the last four months for the inevitable day to come because he knew there was nothing he could do to change that.

      “I guess it’s time,” Jessica said.

      “Yeah,” Bruce replied. He stared at Jessica as she ran her hand through her short dark hair that fell above her ears. Her dark eyes were red, her body covered in sweat that showed through her red blouse. She sniffled, rubbing her stomach, which protruded over her belt and blue jeans.

      “I guess you’re not going to change your mind” - here, she sniffled - “and move in with me,” she said.

      “No. I just want to get out of here.”

      “This isn’t right. None of it is right.”

      “I know.”

      She leaned against her cousin’s motorcycle, shaking her head.

      “Really something, isn’t it. I’ve been unemployed for over a year and I have to leave my apartment so I won’t be evicted. I have to move in with my brother in Chicago. Yet I could have been working but my company prevented me from taking a job in my industry due to my non-compete agreement.”

      “I know.”

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