Josh left Tanya and her constipated smile to their own devices. Between the reception area and his office, he encountered a number of colleagues who seemed to lack the time to chat beyond the merest of pleasantries.
Others at desks ensured they didn’t make eye contact with him. He found it increasingly difficult to smile. By the time he reached his office, he’d worn the happy facade to the bone.
“Hi, Jenny,” he said despondently.
Deep in concentration, Jennifer Costas, the procurement department’s administrative assistant, looked up
from her computer. A plain-looking woman in her forties, tall with narrow shoulders and big hips, she was
Josh’s invaluable sidekick. Surprise replaced her look of concentration.
“Josh, it’s good to see you,” she said.
“Hopefully, you can fill me in on recent events,” he said and went into his office.
Jenny followed Josh into his office.
He put his briefcase on the floor by his desk and dropped into his chair. Surprisingly, his desk was relatively bare. Usually, after a week on vacation, paperwork would be spilling off the sides.
“What’s going on? Fill me in,” Josh said.
“Josh, Mike Behan wants to see you right away.”
Jenny wrung her hands in front of her, guilt-ridden anxiety etched into her face.
“What now?”
“As soon as you arrived, he said.”
Mike Behan, the commercial vice president of the
firm, had his office on the opposite side of the building.
Josh had to make an uneasy return journey in front of his equally uneasy coworkers. Again, heads buried themselves into paperwork that didn’t deserve the attention.
Why doesn’t this feel like it’s going to be a pep talk from the boss? he thought as he approached Mike Behan’s secretary. Lisa saw him immediately.
“Hello, Josh. Mike will see you right away,” she said.
Josh went in and found Behan speaking on the
phone. He leaned back in the leather executive chair with one hand on the desk. Seeing Josh, he beckoned him in with a wave of his arm and a smile. Behan finished up his conversation and put the phone down. He
straightened in his chair and sat with his forearms on the desk and his fingers interlaced.
Josh sat down on one of the seats at the board table abutting Behan’s desk. Lisa closed Behan’s office door.
A closed-door meeting meant something was wrong. It put him on his guard.
“Good to see you, Josh,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“Are you recovered from your accident?”
“Sure, no problem. Dry as a bone.”
Behan laughed. “Tell me what happened.”
Josh recounted the events on the bridge, but slightly distorted the facts. He didn’t mention the thumbs down incident; instead he replaced it with the assailant giving him the finger once the car was in the river. Behan nodded and looked shocked at the appropriate
times.
“And the cops can’t do a thing?” Behan asked, incredulous.
“No.
They’ve got nothing to go on. They suggest I
should put it behind me. Reading between the lines— shit happens, live with it,” Josh said.
“Kate and Abby, how are they holding up? Good?”
Josh nodded. “They’re good.”
“And sorry about your flying buddy. Tragic, tragic.
You must be waiting for the next bad thing to happen.”
Behan reddened as soon as he completed his sentence.
Seeing Behan flush, Josh guessed what was coming.
“But, I’m back. Ready to pick up where I left off,” he said.
“That’s what I wanted to speak to you about, Josh.”
Behan shifted awkwardly in his seat. The chair swiveled when he moved. “I saw something on the news while you were on leave. I think you know what I mean.”
A block of concrete sank in Josh’s gut and rested uncomfortably on his bladder. He didn’t acknowledge
Behan.
“The television report is very damaging, regardless of its validity. And I hope the situation is quickly resolved for everyone’s sake, especially yours. We, as a
company, cannot afford to be at risk—we have investors, customers and employees to consider. I think
you understand that it would be unfair to them to put their livelihoods in considerable peril over one man.”
Son of a bitch. No wonder everyone is so jumpy. Josh couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Were they going to can him over an allegation? He knew the allegations were true, but he had yet to be charged. He cut
Behan’s soft soap short.
He slammed his fist on the table and ignored the
flame of pain up his arm. “Get to the point,” he barked.
Behan jumped in his chair. He spoke again, this time with the corporate voice torn away. “Shit, Josh. You’ve been accused of taking a payoff on a previous job. People’s safety could be at risk and you overlooked that in favor of a chunk of money.”
“You have no fucking idea of the situation,” Josh spat.
“Okay. You’re right. I don’t. I have no idea of the circumstances of your guilt or innocence. But I do know I
have a responsibility, and it’s hard to carry it off when I have my procurement manager’s name splashed over the news. The press has been calling here.”
Josh stared hard into the table’s polished wood
surface and gazed at his reflection. The surface
twisted his features and his baleful gaze threatened to burn holes in the table. Behan spoke again and Josh met his eyes.
“Josh, you’ll have to deal with vendors who’ll be wondering whether they’ve lost contracts to a payoff or will gain new ones if they offer you a bribe.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know that our suppliers will think any differently.”
“I do,” Behan said softly, but with the impact of a sledgehammer. “I thought it and human nature tells me others will too. I can’t have that… neither can the CEO of this company. This comes all the way from the top with no disagreements. I’m sorry, Josh. I truly am.”
Josh struggled for something to say, but the words failed to come. The next bad thing had been duly received.
He understood the company position, but their
distance mortally wounded him. He was against the ropes and another of his seconds had disappeared into the crowd, leaving him to his disgrace. Finally, the words came.
He said, “So I’m fired.”
“No, I’m not doing that. I’m suspending you.”
“But what image does that portray? It assures people of my guilt.”
“I’m sorry, Josh, it’s the best I can do. I’ve agreed to a suspension with pay, but if you are formally charged, I will have to terminate your employment here.”
He wanted to say it felt like a sentence had already been passed. “That could be a long time, Mike. I have a family.”
