Big Time

Thirteen

John sat at his desk, turned on his computer, and started eating his breakfast, musing for the 100th time, why the fuck do these things take so long to start up?

The computer sputtered to life and the Windows jingle sounded.

As John ate his cereal, he read the front page of the Journal while the computer finished booting up. Then he opened his email, which took even longer. Trying not to feel frustrated, he continued reading a story about the U.S. economy and what the Fed was expected to do with interest rates when it next met. When his email finally opened, the first message that caught his eye was from Kevin. John immediately clicked on it.

"John, I’ve got good news and bad. There is no question that you are the most experienced person on the team, but we feel you are a bit short on gray hair, which is important for the clients to see. Don’t worry, these will come soon enough, I can assure you.

As such, we’ve decided to increase your base salary by 50% with the intention of promoting you in a few years, when you’re ready. We’ve decided to appoint Geoff MacDonald, Global Head of Structured Finance, to head your group in the meantime. I believe you’ve successfully worked together before.

You are definitely someone we have identified as senior management material for the future, and we are keen to keep you happy and the team running smoothly. We think the right way for you to look at this is a transitionary step on your way to partner in a few years.

Thanks for your continued loyalty and support.

Kevin"

John felt like he had just been kicked in the chest. He wanted to scream. If he was the most experienced person, then he should get the job, not Geoff-motherfucking-MacDonald. SHIIITT. He’d be working for King Fucking Howell.

John closed the email and went to get up to head to the bathroom for some time out, but he saw another email from Kevin, entitled “New Head of M&A: Distressed Buyout Team.” He sat back down and opened it.

"We would like to congratulate Geoff MacDonald for his appointment as the new head of the Distressed Buyout Team, a part of Mergers and Acquisitions.

Geoff replaces Rob Sutherland, who grew the business from scratch over the last 10 years and will be sorely missed. We would like to thank Rob for his efforts and successes over that time, and we wish him well for the future."

Sorely missed? Asshole. Standing up, John had the impulse to wipe everything from his desk. But he didn’t.

This is just public relations crap. Kevin didn’t mean a fucking word of it. He probably had human resources write it for him.

John stormed out, seething. A newcomer was going to replace Rob, who had no experience in their business. No, “replace” was the wrong word. No one could replace Rob. Thurston was taking his job, though. 10 years of closing deals with Rob, gone. Now King Howell was going to expect him to make him look good. It was detestable. If John was the most experienced, then the position should have been his.

As he opened the first of two doors to the men’s bathroom, it occurred to John how spineless it was of Kevin to give him that sort of news via email. He grabbed the second door and yanked as hard as he could. An air break at the top of the door stopped it from slamming.

The bathroom provided a reprieve that allowed John to come up with a plan for getting through the rest of the day. Going home sick was tempting, but given the news and the fact that he was already at work, it was going to make it obvious he was upset. If it weren’t for his mortgage, he would have walked out then and there. At least, that’s what he told himself.