“Hilarious. And here I thought somebody around here was getting a promotion and a raise. Turns out he's a clown who can't even get an expense report approved.”
“To think I spent half of yesterday kissing up to him. What a waste.”
“I think the boss did the right thing. If he doesn't knock the guy down a peg, certain people start thinking the company can't survive without them.”
I looked at the coworkers tossing their jeers my way, and a strange daze settled over me.
Just yesterday, these same people had crowded around me, calling me Ian this, Ian that, saying I'd saved the company by landing the big contracts, that without me they might all be out of a job.
Now, the moment my expense report stalled, their faces had flipped in an instant, every last one of them looking at me with open contempt.
I didn't say anything to it.
When a wall starts to fall, everyone gives it a shove.
For now, all I wanted was Tyler's answer next Monday.
After work, the first thing I did was head to the hospital to see my father.
But I walked into his room and found someone I never expected.
Frances Henson.
President of Henson Group, our company's biggest competitor.
“Ms. Henson? What are you doing here?”
I froze for a second, caught completely off guard at running into her here.
Frances turned to look at me and spoke plainly.
“I heard your father was ill, so I came to check on him.”
That surprised me.
Not just that she knew my father was sick, but that she'd come all this way to visit him in person.
Frances and I were hardly close. At most we'd crossed paths a few times during project bids.
She was the president of Henson Group, worth at least a billion. Why would she make a special trip to the hospital to see the sick father of some low-level employee at a rival firm?
She seemed to read the confusion on my face. She set the fruit basket she'd brought on my father's nightstand, then drew me out into the hallway and got straight to the point.
“I heard you signed all seven of those contracts in one go?”
I nodded. “That's right.”
Something like that couldn't stay hidden.
At my answer, Frances studied me for a few seconds, her gaze deep and searching.
Then she suddenly smiled, lifted her thumb, and said with genuine sincerity,
“Ian, you're really something.”
“I chased those seven clients for the better part of a year. Took them out to dinner more times than I can count, sweetened the terms round after round, and they still wouldn't budge.”
“My people ran themselves ragged and couldn't land a single one of them.”
“And you go and close all seven over one dinner. Ian, I have to hand it to you.”
I said nothing.
Frances smiled again, took a step closer, looked me straight in the eye, and lowered her voice.
“I hear you've been at Wansheng Tech for eight years, always the top performer, and you never even made department manager. Is that right?”
“That's right,“ I said evenly.”
Frances went on.
“That Tyler Gray at your company keeps a whole crowd of relatives and cronies on the payroll. Someone like you, with no connections, could work there your whole life and stay nothing but a hired hand.”
“Talent like yours, held down by people like them. It's a complete waste.”
I frowned and asked,
“Ms. Henson, you didn't come all the way out here just to twist the knife, did you?”
Frances smiled, then turned serious.
“Come work for me. I'll make you a department director on the spot, triple your salary, give you a team. At Henson Group, you won't have to answer to anyone.”
Her eyes were sincere, and in them was something I'd never once seen at Tyler Gray's company: appreciation.
Triple the salary. Department director. A team to lead. Answering to no one.
Every word of it pulled at me.
I was silent for a few seconds, then shook my head again.
"Ms. Henson, thank you for thinking so highly of me."
"But I'm not looking to change jobs right now."
After all, I'd just closed a major deal at my company.
I still hadn't been paid the salary and commission I was owed.
And Tyler had said he'd give me his final answer next Monday.
Either way, I wanted to wait for his answer.
Seeing where I stood, Frances didn't press. She just fished a card out of her pocket and tucked it into the pocket of my jacket.
"My number's on the card. The day you change your mind, call me anytime."
"The door at Henson Group is always open to you."
With that, she turned and left.
Monday's meeting came around fast.
It was set for ten in the morning, in the big conference room.
By the time I got there, the place was already full.
Tyler and Stella walked in looking pleased with themselves. He ran through the usual recap of last week's work, then pivoted to this latest deal.
"Last week, our company successfully signed long-term contracts with seven major clients. It's the biggest order since this company was founded, with projected profits in the tens of millions."
