This is the End to part I, Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 10: Jesse Broderick
Jesse Broderick was born in Lankily, California; a beautiful small town about 50 miles south of the Oregon border. It resides in the heart of the Spring Valley at the foot of Mt. Shaman, one of the biggest mountains in the world. Like any typical blue-collar, middle class Americans, his parents worked very hard to provide the best for Jesse and his younger brother Ryan. Jesse was raised in church with good Christian values; he believed all have sinned but God has always been faithful to bring out the goodness in people.
When Ryan was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 16, Jesse prayed and prayed for God to heal him. For a while he did get better but then the condition took a sharp turn for the worse. Ryan passed away just 2 weeks before his 17th birthday.
Saying goodbye to Ryan was the hardest thing Jesse had ever gone through. He didn’t understand why a merciful loving God would allow such horrible things to happen. He struggled with his faith for almost a year and finally came out stronger. There are things that he cannot explain or understand, but he chose to believe in hope, love, truth, and the goodness of God. He knows that Ryan is in a better place now and they will meet again soon.
Ever since his childhood Jesse had always pictured himself living in a big city and having a successful life. After graduating from college he took his old Ford Escort and drove across country to Washington DC to pursue his dreams. He was very blessed to be able to find a job with a small startup just 2 weeks after his arrival. That was the job that opened up his eyes to a brand new world.
He learned that his college diploma was nothing but a piece of paper to reveal how clueless and naïve about the real world he really was. He worked hard while working on his MBA in part time. He recognized to dress apart was one of the necessary steps people had to take to climb up the career ladder. The more he was involved in government IT contracting; he realized connection was the key to success, the one thing a small town boy like him did not have.
That was when he met Elaina. Jesse never thought of himself as a pretty boy, but when random girls from the subway or on the street kept smiling at him and handing out their phone numbers, he knew that while God didn’t give him a rich and influential family, He blessed him with attractiveness that could benefit him very well in life.
When Jesse saw Elaina at a downtown coffee shop on a Spring Saturday morning, he was on his way to the library to study for one of his midterm exams. Elaina was waiting in line right behind Jesse wearing a light yellow sweater that made her gleam like sunshine. She was holding a book by J. T. Elliott titled “Bears and Bulls”. Being a business major in College, Jesse couldn’t pass on the opportunity to strike a conversation with a beautiful girl. They hit it off and started dating.
Elaina studied Journalism in college and was in her second year of Law school. Her goal was to get into politics and eventually become a Congress Woman or even the first female president. Sky is the limit when it comes to young and ambitious minds. Elaina was smart, pretty, and classy, everything Jesse could ask for in a girlfriend. With his job and school both going well, he remembered feeling invincible and ready to conquer the world.
What Jesse didn’t know at the time was Elaina’s Dad – James Steal, is owner to one of the largest network router manufactures in the east coast and a true Washington insider. He didn’t approve at first with Elaina dating someone with no backgrounds and was suspicious with Jesse’s intension. That quickly changed after he met Jesse in person, he liked the sincerity, intelligence and sharp business intuitions about this young man and gladly accepted him into their family and social circles.
Jesse was truly thankful to James Steal, who taught him a great deal about how things work in the nation’s capital, not to mention introduced him to a few pretty important people. He learned about the tricks and dirty secrets of obtaining government contracts and was able to put them into practice and gained himself an impressive reputation in the IT contracting world really fast.
Before he knew it James had offered him a job as the director of business development in his company as a present to he and Elaina’s engagement. That’s when his parents came for a visit and everything changed.
Jesse’s parents, Lisa and Ronald Broderick, almost didn’t recognize their son when they saw him in the airport for the first time in almost 7 years.
What surprised them more was not the chic expensive suit their son was wearing, but the way Jesse talked and acted and what he valued. He seemed to be always in a hurry, cutting them off in mid-sentences and appeared too busy in impressing his future in-laws.
Ron and Lisa kept their mouth shut until they found out what Jesse was doing for securing contracts. Without knowing the details they understood the big picture that their son was lost in life. They sat Jesse down, confronted him and relayed their disappointment, they prayed for him and went back to California before attending his engagement party.
At first Jesse thought his parents didn’t understand his goals and ambition. Then little by little God worked His mysterious ways to pull him back on path. He started reading his Bible again and remembered how Ryan had always looked up to him for his honesty and character. He tried to talk to Elaina about his confusion but she laughed at his “silliness”: “Come on, good conscious only get you so far. Do you think the members of Congress all get to where they are with honesty and ‘loving your neighbors as yourself’?” He was shocked to hear that from her, at the same time realized how far he had departed from his believes.
He tried to correct his course by following the rules but the expectation and pressure from his surroundings was just too much. He knew that he needed to stay away for a while to find what he really needed in life and accepted the offer from D&W as the lead on the CNR project.
He told Elaina that he didn’t want others to think his success came from being the future son-in-law of James Steal, and wanted to build his own empire somewhere else. D&W, being one of the fastest growing IT Contractors in the nation was an excellent opportunity. That was a really good excuse that not only got Elaina on board with him moving away but also received applause from James. Jesse told himself that this would be only for a short while and everything will go back to normal once he figured things out.
He promised himself the CNR project will be a “Clean” project, with no backdoor favors, no behind the scene deals, and no insider tips. He wanted to prove to others and most importantly to himself that you do get rewarded for being honest and following the rules.
Just a few weeks in Raleigh had already made him feel at home. He liked the Southern hospitality and the different yet familiar laid-back atmosphere. Unlike Elaina’s family, he found most people here are content with their places in life, not so eager to push forward to some goals at all cost; most people, except one.
Other than the disappointment, he saw the determination and ambition in her eyes when Mindy announced the job selection. He saw how she didn’t just rely on her brainpower but also put in hard works and long hours to pursue her goal. She was motivated and calculating, almost reminded him of himself in a strange way. He thought that’s probably why when he saw the cupcake on his desk, the first person came in mind was not anyone else, but Mei.
