Downsizing
Katherine A M Corkery

 


“What are you looking at?” snapped the distinguished looking man in the business suit. He sneered condescendingly and impatiently pushed past the gaunt man standing before him. Damn beggars, he thought. Why don’t they just get jobs of their own and leave the rest of us the hell alone? He shook his head to clear his mind of the image of the man he had just seen: tall and rail thin, with dirty, torn clothing that dangled loosely from his frame, and gray, hollow eyes that stared, unblinking, at the man as he passed by. After all, today was a very important day for him, and he needed to remain focused on the task at hand.
He paused outside a tall, many-windowed building, squared his shoulders, took a deep breath and plastered a wide smile on his face before pushing through the frosted glass doors. “Good afternoon, Mr. Heath,” the security guard sitting at the front desk called out, a bored expression on his face. Heath gave the guard a brisk nod before walking towards the elevators at the opposite end of the foyer. As he approached them, a petite brunette woman stepped out of the elevator before him, a small smile on her face. She wore a visitor’s sticker that said Marianne in a curvy script. As she passed by him she nodded politely, and Heath chuckled to himself, entertaining himself momentarily with thoughts of what lay beneath the jacket and skirt of her navy suit.
He stepped into the elevator and pushed the number 12, his mind still on the stranger who had passed by moments before. Maybe she was here for an interview, he pondered as the elevator beeped, counting the floors as he passed them. I mean, once they give me that promotion, they’re going to need someone to take my place… and who better than some looker who can keep the rest of us entertained? The elevator doors opened on the 7th floor and a short, balding man wearing a wrinkled blue suit and gold tie with a coffee stain on it stepped into the elevator. “Hey John, rough night?” Heath asked, smirking. John looked back at him coldly. “Rough day is more like it. Downsizing, you know? The rest of us get stuck here working longer hours to make up for the work that isn’t getting done now. But hey, better working longer hours than out of a job all together, huh Clifton?” John asked, his eyes on Heath’s freshly laundered suit and starched white shirt. “Hmm,” Heath murmured distractedly, his mind having turned to the brunette again.
“See you, John,” Heath said as the elevator beeped indicating their arrival at the 12th floor. “Bye, Clifton,” John called as the elevator doors closed. Heath looked at his watch and was surprised to see that he was almost 5 minutes late for his meeting with his boss. Damn hobos, he thought bitterly as he rushed past the row of cubicles that sat in front of his boss’s office. He swore under his breath as he pushed past a small group congregating in front of the water cooler next to his boss’s door. Thank God for downsizing, he thought coldly. Hopefully, some of these idiots will be out of here for good. He rapped loudly on the door before him and entered without waiting for a response.
“Come in, Clifton,” Tom Bridges said wearily, looking up from his desk. Papers littered the surface before him, and a pile of empty files lay discarded on the file cabinet beside him. “Take a seat, and let’s get started.” Heath put his briefcase down beside the chair opposite Tom’s desk and walked around to the coffee pot behind Tom’s desk. “What’s up, Tom?” he asked as he poured himself a cup of steaming black coffee. He turned. “Coffee?” he asked Tom, holding up the pot. Tom surveyed him for a moment before shaking his head and indicating towards the chair opposite his desk. Heath shrugged and took a seat, looking at Tom expectantly.
Sighing, Tom said, “Clif, as I’m sure you probably know, our firm was recently bought out my Jones and Jones. As such, we are consolidating our own firm in order to prepare for a merger. We are cutting down on admins whose responsibilities will eventually be taken over by the admins from Jones and Jones. Additionally, we are doing some shifting in our ranks. In just a few weeks, our firm will be looking very different than it does now. It’s been difficult, making the decisions about what changes we make, but without change their can be no progress. You know that our goal is to become the highest grossing law firm in the city by this time next year” Tom paused here, looking at Heath intently.
Heath nodded, a slight smirk on his face. Here it comes, he thought gleefully. Finally, after years of work I am going to get the promotion I deserve. No more pushing papers like the rest of the idiots out there by the water cooler. I’m going to be telling them what to do. “I agree completely, Tom. Changes sometimes have to be made for the good of the whole—it’s just the way things are.” Heath said smoothly. Tom looked slightly confused, but continued on.
“As such, we sometimes have to do things that not everyone will be happy about, and this is especially difficult when dealing with employees who have been with us for years. It is important to understand that the decisions we are making will benefit all in the long run. Sill, it is hard to believe that when you sitting on the other side of the desk. But be that as it may, it is the way things are. I hope you understand, Cliff. You’ve been with us for a long time, and we appreciate what you have put into the firm, but we are making some big changes, and there is no longer room for you to grow with us in these changes.” Tom concluded, looking at Heath, frowning.
Heath stared across the desk at Tom. “What?” he asked blankly. Tom shook his head and looked away quickly. “Clif, I’m sorry, but we are letting you go,” he said softly. Heath continued to stare. What is going on? he thought. There must be some kind of mistake—they can’t be laying me off. I came here to get a promotion! To take over Saunder’s position after he left last week. These idiots, they’re going to run themselves into the ground. They don’t know what the hell they’re doing. They’re making a huge mistake, letting me go. “There must be some sort of mistake, Tom,” Heath said laughing a bit too heartily. “I do excellent work. Hell, I’m the best you’ve got here! You can’t honestly expect those idiots to do better than me. None of them is even halfway competent enough to take over Saunder’s position. What do you think you’re doing?” Heath asked, his voice rising steadily.
Tom stood up and looked out the window, his back to Heath. “Look Clif, your work has been fine. But the truth is that we went outside the firm to find someone we felt could handle Saunder’s position best.” Tom turned back to face Heath. “We have someone who is going to take over both your position and Saunder’s,” he said firmly. Heath let out a peal of slightly hysterical laughter. “You think you can find someone else as good as me?! Someone better? Let me tell you Tom, you are going to be sadly disappointed with this guy. Ask anyone around here, I’m the best you’ve got,” proclaimed Heath haughtily. Tom sighed, shaking his head.
“The fact is, Clif, that we have asked around. Like I said, these are not decisions we make lately. To be frank with you, when we discussed you as a possible candidate for the position, there were…objections,” Tom finished lamely. Heath glared at Tom, demanding angrily, “What objections? And from whom?” Tom shook his head. “It really doesn’t matter who was making the objections. Let it suffice to say that many in the firm expressed concern about the possibility of working more closely with you. Many feel as though your attitude is not consistent with the ideal image that we have for the firm. I won’t say any more, Clif, it’s just the way things are. I’m sorry. You’ll finish out the week to give your replacement the opportunity to see how you manage your work, at which point you will be free to enter into employment elsewhere.”
Heath stood up, numb with rage. “I will not,” he said in a deadly quiet tone, “return to this place to let some idiot watch me for a few days just so he knows what he wants to change when I leave. You want me gone? Fine, I’m gone. But I’m leaving now. Screw you and the screw up you’re hiring to replace me. And don’t you dare come crawling back to me when you realize that there is no one who can do this job better than me.” Tom stood up and walked around the desk, motioning for Heath to calm down with both hands. “Now Clif, I understand that you are upset, but I assure you that Marianne Shaw is very adept at…” His voice trailed off as Heath turned on his heel and headed towards the door.
Heath ignored the sidelong glances of the group still clustered around the water cooler and marched down the hallway, neither looking at nor speaking to anyone. He hit the button to summon the elevator fiercely, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he waited. After about a minute he threw up his hands and grunted in exasperation before heading through the door on the right that lead to the stairs. A few minutes later Heath erupted from the front door and stalked down the street. He blew past a woman carrying her groceries and knocked over the homeless man he had passed earlier without thought or apology. He stuffed his briefcase into a public trash can that he passed at the corner of the next block and make a sharp left turn, cursing as knee hit an empty stroller a woman was pushing by. Halfway down the block he threw himself through a grimy door in an alcove beneath a faded green sign that read McPhee’s.
“Double shot of scotch,” he snarled at the bartender. “Neat.” The bartender nodded curtly before slapping the drink down in front of Heath. He picked up the glass and downed it in one swallow, cringing as the amber liquid burned his throat. His eyes watering, Heath slammed the glass down on the bar. “Give me another,” he ordered, staring at his reflection in the mirror behind the bar.

 

 

Copyright © 2006 Katherine A M Corkery
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"