Beeeeeeeep! Beeeeeeeeep! Beeeeeeeeep!
This was all I could hear, echoing inside my head. It was a busy Monday morning as the cars furiously honked their horns.
I was running late for my first day at work!
Having a new job was all I needed after spending the last two years of my career life in a very low-paying job. I shouldn’t be staying here stuck in the middle of traffic, ruining this new opportunity to be working for a well-known and respected company.
Mr. Johnson, tall, grey-haired, maybe in his late 50’s, standing in front of his office, crossing his arms over his chest, was looking at me with a straight face.
“Are you Ms. Gonzales?” He asked. You could sense impatience in his tone.
“Y-Yes, Sir.” I nervously replied.
Then he handed me all the paper works without formally introducing himself.
I couldn’t believe that the higher pay would cost a price.
My boss, this man, was not the friendliest person you’d meet in your entire life. He’s a competitive person and would take no for an answer. There was this one time, he would call me early in the morning, at 2:00, while everyone was fast asleep, laying comfortably on their soft bed, just to remind me about a presentation, and how perfect he wanted it to turn out, that there was no room for flaws. I find it somehow annoying but challenging at the same time.
..The worst thing I hated about my boss was that he had this anger management issues to the point that he would yell at us when something was not done the way he wanted it to be.
He would scream a lot as if his life depends on every task not done in a timely manner. He’s a monster.
There were times he would give credits when they were due, acknowledging efforts by treating us lunch from time to time. You could easily tell if he’s in a good mood whenever he wears yellow but you could only count those instances with your finger, in your one hand, all year round.
In my second year, he would assign various tasks outside my scope of work. Sometimes, I felt like I was the least favored staff among my colleagues.
I have this dream of becoming one of the superiors in the company but it seemed that his favorite was Angie. Though we were on the same level of position, I didn’t really understand why I handled more volume of calls and projects than her. I think, he was not being fair.
Fast forward, after spending years with them, meeting deadlines over deadlines, hitting goals, working on several projects, I wonder if Angie got the promotion on this year’s final evaluation.
Wait, what is he doing here, wearing that bright yellow polo shirt?!
Don’t tell m—
This tall, grey-haired man, maybe in his late 50s, stood in front of my sister, Carrie, here in the hospital.
“Hi. My name is Johnson. Macy’s Boss at Global Telecommunication Services,” Johnson started.
“H-Hi. Nice meeting you in person. I am Carrie, Macy’s sister,” replied Carrie.
“I received your call yesterday.”
“I didn’t really know she has a sister at first, or it’s just probably me. I didn’t bother asking my employees ‘bout how things are going. I’ve been very busy preparing them for the future, toughening them up to be the next leaders. As a matter of fact, that is one of the reasons why I am here.”
W-Wait are those tears?
“M-Macy is such a great staff.” His voice was shaky and unsteady. “She has been running an extra mile to get her tasks done. She always exceeds her goals and even accepts additional projects in her spare time. S-she manages her time well and can afford to assist her colleagues even with all the loads that I purposely assigned to her.”
Man, you purposely did all of that. Why? Did you hate me that much?
“I know. She’s even doing part-time job and working at home after her shift,” Carrie enunciated
“She has been performing excellently and consistently.” He handed the file that he has been carrying to Carrie. “That is our annual performance evaluation. Last Friday was our one-on-one discussion to relay my assessment to the staff as their Manager. She was not able to go to work and I tried to call her, but to no avail. So I thought I could discuss it with her by Monday, but she was still absent. Since I haven’t heard anything from her, I checked our emergency contact record, and saw your contact information that Macy had listed there.”
“Good thing, I haven’t changed my number yet. And thank you for reaching out.” Carrie’s now turning the pages of the file handed to her. “Mr. Johnson, I really appreciate you dropping by. Macy surely appreciates it. I can’t believe how she possibly completed all these remarkable projects despite her busy schedule!”
“Exactly!” Johnson agreed. “And there is no one more qualified than her to be the next Finance Manager.”
Carrie’s speechless and so was I. I don’t want to assume but, please. Also, he was wearing yellow today which he would only do if there is something to celebrate!
“You see. I am planning to establish my own business this year, so I have already decided to file my resignation soon. I have been eyeing Macy as my successor. That is why I had to push her to her limits to prepare for the new role that I will give to her.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Me, as the new Finance Manager? I thought it was going to be Angie.
“Mr. Johnson, Macy will surely be very happy to hear this great news! I just hope that she recovers real soon for us to celebrate!” I could see Carrie’s tears of joy that moment.
All this time, I thought Mr. Johnson was just trying to be a real jerk. He’s really been a pain in the ass for a long time. Now I realized what he was trying to accomplish.
He believed in me when I, myself, was not so sure if I was doing my job efficiently. Seeing him here, visiting me, not as my boss but as a friend was a major turnaround of things. All the years of hard work really paid off.
I can’t wait to be back!
___________________________
Hanggang part four lang po ito.
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