Nice Day

NIce Day

“Have a nice day!”, one of the passengers called out to me as they were leaving.

The elevator hummed with its machinery as it lifted me upwards several stories high above ground level.

I wasn’t alone, but I may as well be. Deidra from Accounting cast some quick glances my way, then looked away, pretending to be focused on the rising numbers displayed above us.

I felt the elevator give a small bounce as it stopped on the seventh floor and let her off.

“Have a nice day,” I called out. She gave no response at all as she walked out. I shrugged my shoulders as the doors closed and I continued my upward journey. I tapped my foot as the top floor approached, trying to keep my stomach from knotting.

Something was up and everyone else knew it but me. Great.

As I reached the top floor, for some reason, my stomach lurched with the bounce and I felt my breakfast rise up my throat. It burned like hell as I stumbled out clutching my chest.

“Whoa! Dave! You okay?”.

“Eeyecchhhch!”, I managed to utter, doubling over, my vision blurring.

In a matter of moments, a crowd of my coworkers had gathered around me, looking horrified as if they were viewing a grotesque creature in a 19th century circus.

I breathed in and out and I held up my right hand.

“I’m okay, guys..I’m okay. Just a bad case of reflux. That’s all.”

Tom, the thirtiesh man who approached me first, seemed to study me closely, then nodded his head. I often wondered if he should be working in a hospital rather than an office.

“Okay, Dave. Take it easy, okay?”

I nodded my head while trying my best to hide my face which was already blushing with the embarrassment of the episode. “No more fast food”, I said under my breath, not knowing that my day was about to get worse.

As I got to my office door, I passed by several people, who had just come from the break room. I heard them whispering something then abruptly stopped as soon as I got close. Their eyes met mine and had that…look of a child who had just gotten caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

I shook my head at the thought. “You’re paranoid, Dave”, I said softly as I approached my office door.

I inserted the key and turned.

Rattle rattle

Rattle rattle.

“What’s going on?”, I said.

As soon as I said that, a voice behind me spoke. “Dave?”

I turned around and saw Adam, my boss’s aide, his youthful face showing the somber look of a funeral attendant.

“Uh oh”, I said mentally.

“This way,”Adam said, motioning to his left, bidding me to follow.

I haven’t dealt with Adam on a regular basis, but he always reminded me of a marble statue, all stoic and immovable.

He guided me to the office of the big boss, Mr. H. Carstairs, the CEO. The big mahogany doors lined with golden doorhandles loomed before me. I almost felt like it was watching me.

“Enter. He is expecting you”

I turned to look at Adam and as expected, his expression remained impassive.

“Nice, Pokerface”, I said to myself.

I nodded my head and turned the door handle hoping that I did not smudge it too badly. My hands were sweating enough to fill a bath towel.

I entered the spacious office and waited by the door after it closed behind me. Mr. Carstairs never looked up from his sleek, black desk, his eyes peering at the 3 monitors on top. He had the blinds drawn to block out the light from the sun. His face had been lined from years of frowning and snorting.

I looked down at my shoes, noticing the dark color and the design. My mind traced the shoelaces as they looped in and out of the holes.

“Well, sit down, Dan”, he snorted

“Umm…it’s Dave, sir.”

For the first time he looked up at me and frowned. He slid his horn rimmed glasses down on his round face for a moment, as if looking at me through a microscope. He then stood up, revealing his large frame encased in a pinstripe three piece suit and walked towards me and then with his eyes bulging out of their sockets, he motioned for me to sit down.

“Congrats! You just made the big boss mad”, I said to myself.

“Well, if he is going to fire me anyway, he may as well get my name right, at least.”

I sat down in the chair and waited for Mr. Carstairs to speak. He walked back to his desk and sat down in the large black desk chair and stared at me, his green eyes feeling like lasers into my soul. His bushy eyebrows lowered as brow furrowed almost at the same time as the sun set directly behind him making it look like he had a divine glow.

I swallowed hard but did my best to make myself as taciturn as Adam.

“Reveal nothing”, I instructed myself.

“So, Dave.”,he began, looking at the left monitor. “Our records show that your work within this company has been exemplary. The production within your department has improved significantly, thanks to your leadership skills, I’m told”

I shifted in my chair for a second then I nodded my thanks, giving a slight bow.

His green eyes shifted in my direction.

“Cat got your tongue?”

I cleared my throat, holding my left hand over my mouth. “Thank you, sir”

He grunted and then shifted back to the screen.

“I see that your direct supervisor spoke with you last month about your career here.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Yes sir. She did.”

He turned and looked at me, his eyes penetrating. “She asked you to think about it. She was trying to help you grow. It’s been over a month now and I don’t see that you have applied for anything. Why?”

My face fell. I didn’t have a good answer, or so I thought. “‘I was focused on my existing role sir. I wanted to make sure our team did well. I didn’t devote much time to thinking about my own career here.”

He leaned back in his chair, steepling his hands. “So you were thinking about the team. That’s admirable”

“Yessir”

He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his desk and shook his head. “Dave, it is vital that you think about your career as well. Things change in the business. New policies are put in place, new markets open up while others close….and in your case…positions are eliminated.

“Basically, you worked yourself out of a job!”

I sat there in a stunned silence as my stomach dropped like a lead balloon as beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I felt my breakfast trying to make its way up my throat again.

Mr. Carstairs got up from his desk and walked towards the other side of it. His face seemed to soften. “I realize this is a…….shock to you. “

“ We have a generous severance package you can take, of course, but I would like you to take some time to consider other options within the company. Our HR department is also ready to assist you in this process.”

I still felt crummy, like the floor had just disappeared and I was in free fall simply because I didn’t think hard enough about my own career. It felt….wrong even

I had spent ten years of my life at this company. I thought it was always going to be there and that I had more time to decide how to move forward.

But now…I had no idea…all of my assumptions were just ripped away like a bandage and I had to make a snap decision.

I could look at the other options within the company but…those positions could be eliminated too. Was it worth it?

He put his hand on my shoulder as I rose slowly..eyes watching nothing as my insides churned.

“Go down to HR. I’m sure.they’ll have an opportunity you don’t want to miss.”, giving me the reassuring smile of a snake oil salesman.

“Yes sir”, I mumbled softly as I stood up.

I turned towards the door to leave and as I did, he called out “have a nice day!”