You and Dolores stood in your office early the next morning. It was almost time for Gary to show, and you were going over a few things just to make sure everything went alright. It was mostly just reminders to remain professional, and to rely on Dolores if you weren't sure about something. Hence why she was there to begin with. Finally, the time arrived, and Gray was a no-show. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. It wasn't until an hour after your scheduled meeting did Gary walk in the door, looking just as impressive as he did the previous day.
He perked up a little when he realized HR was there. He was probably hoping that Dolores would force you to let him keep his job. A part of you really pitied the delusional manchild, but another, larger part just wanted his gross ass gone. He was in no way, shape or form a good fit for the Head Technician job. You doubted he'd be fit for any job in the Parts and Service department. The two of you watched as he turned his office chair around, and sat in it, facing you.
"You're late, Mr. Stuart." you said in your most neutral tone.
"No, I'm not. We start at 7:00." he argued, sounding a little smug with HR standing next to you. You resisted the urge to smirk. He truly didn't understand just how in the wrong he was.
"Clock-in time is 6:00. You've been working here for years now, you should know this." you said, again keeping your tone neutral. He shrugged, as if the subject of when his shift started was unimportant.
"Oh, well. We all make mistakes. So, anyways, I've been thinking about how poorly you treated me yesterday-"
"Mr. Stuart, I didn't treat you poorly at all. I came in, informed you about me being the new Head Mechanic, and then you started begging me to keep your job." You forced yourself to stay calm. This motherfucker was really trying to play the victim card.
"You forced me to beg on my knees!" He started to sound angry.
"Mr. Stuart, this is a professional setting, I must ask you to keep your voice down." Dolores spoke, and Gary had the audacity to look shocked at being lightly scolded.
"As I recall, you got on your knees of your own volition. I had to tell you to stand up." You succeeded in hiding your smirk, but only barely.
"And then you told me to leave. Quite rudely, might I add." He crossed his arms, and pouted like the child he was.
"I told you to go home so we could talk about your continual employment properly, which brings us to now. Mr. Stewart, can you tell me, in your own words, why you should keep your job?" You brought the subject back to where it was supposed to be. He started to look nervous.
"I don't even get an apology for being spoken to so rudely?!" He raised his voice again.
"Mr. Stewart, I already asked you to lower your voice, please do not do so again. As for rude behavior: did she make fun of or make any derogatory comments about you?" Dolores asked, and Gary looked at you with what could only be described as a shit-eating grin.
He then proceeded to tell a very botched version of yesterday where you were an evil bitch, and he was an innocent lamb you were trying to slaughter. He even went as far as to try and force himself to cry. By the end of it, he did his best to look like a blubbering baby who did no wrong. It took all your will power to remain professional in the face of such childishness, but you managed by the skin of your teeth.
"I see. If what you are saying is true-"
"Oh, it's very true. I've been traumatized by our horrible new Head Mechanic." he interrupted Dolores, not hiding his pompous expression all that well.
"Hmmm. (Y/N), is what he just said true in any way?" Dolores asked.
"No. I stand by what I said earlier. I walked in, informed him that I was the new Head Mechanic, he then started to beg me to keep his job, in which I told him to go home so we could discuss this today. That was the end of it." You said, keeping yourself calm as you explained yesterday's interaction in a truthful light. Gary still looked like he had the upper hand.
"So there are two conflicting versions of what happened yesterday. Are there any witnesses to the interaction?" Dolores' question wiped the self-satisfied look right off of Gary's face.
"Yes, in fact. A group of employees had gathered behind me throughout the interaction. You can ask them what happened if you wish to investigate further." You said, the barest traces of a smile twitching at your lips.
"I will have to. These are some serious accusations, and we need to-"
"THAT won't be necessary! I forgive her for her transgressions. There doesn't need to be an investigation." Gary looked quite nervous about where the conversation was going.
"There is a conflict of interest here, which requires an investigation. Unless one of you is willing to admit you were lying, the matter will have to be looked into. Rules are rules, after all." It was fun watching Gary begin to sweat bullets.
"Hey, uh, what about my job? You know? The thing we're here for?" He was quick to change the subject.
"You still haven't answered my question on why you think you should keep your job." You reminded him, and he looked a little resigned that he'd have to talk about a subject he didn't want to.
"Well, I should keep this job because it's the highest paying I've ever had. Also, the hours are great, and... and... oh! My own parking spot! I really like having that!" Gary said, acting as if these were valid reasons for his continual employment.
"Mr. Stuart, these are reasons why you WANT the job. I'm asking you why you should keep the job." You interrupted him before his embarrassment could go on.
"Those are the reasons." was his brilliant response. You stared at him for a moment, and thought about the best way to phrase the next part.
"I believe there is some miscommunication here. When a company hires an employee, there is an agreement there that the worker will trade in their labor for money. A lot of people want the higher positions for the very reasons you just listed, but those require special qualifications. Looking at your application, it was very obvious that it was tampered with, therefore already placing you on thin ice when it comes to your future employment. Now, let me ask the question in a different way: what can you contribute to this company that would warrant you to keep a managerial position?" you explained, and Gary looked like he bit into a particularly tart lemon.
"Uh... well... Technicians work with computers, right? I practically live on my computer. I'd say I know how to work one really well." he was fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt.
"Oh, and what can you do on a computer? Keep in mind that every technician knows how to do the basic soft and hard reboot on any device, so saying you can do that is merely the bare minimum for a common tech job, let alone a manager of the department." you warned, and Gary's face lost a lot of color there.
"I know... keyboard shortcuts?" he suggested weakly.
"Is that a question, or do you know for certain?" Your inner gremlin was trying to claw her way out of her box, but you forced that lid to stay on tight. Being professional was working so far, and you didn't want to blow it.
"I do know keyboard shortcuts!" he said, with more conviction.
"Good. Anything else?" you asked, and you could see his mind scrambling for more things to promote himself with.
"I'm very familiar with the internet." he finally came up with after a minute of thinking.
"Technicians don't need to work on the internet, at least not in this establishment. We focus on the coding and programming of our robots. From the Mapbots to the Glamrocks, technicians make sure there is no corruption, bugs or glitches residing in their software. Are you able to do any of that, Mr. Stuart?" You asked, and the expression on his face told you all that you needed to know. The resounding silence afterwards only sealed his fate.
"I see... I'm sorry, Mr. Stuart, but there is a solid case against you at this point. I'm afraid there is no choice but to let you go." You said, trying not to let your joy show.
"WHAT?! You can't do that!!! You're the same level of position as me! Mr. Selik has to be the one to fire me!" Gary jumped up, and started yelling at you.
"Actually, she can. Under very specific circumstances can a manager fire another manager that's on their same level. Those requirements are: if the manager in question shows gross unprofessionalism, poor understanding of the field of work they're in, and has not contributed to the job in any way in the last six months. You qualify for all three of those, therefore she has every right to fire you." Dolores laid the law down on Gary, and it was so satisfying to see his face turn dark red.
"You are both BITCHES! I will SUE this place for all it has! You're clearly a bunch of man-hating feminists because you're discriminating against me!" Gary continued along those lines of ranting as he gathered all his anime figures, and whatnot from his desk. You provided him a box you had stashed off to the side for this very moment. He ripped it out of your grasp, and poured all kinds of anime stuff, snacks, and... were those condoms? You fought tooth and nail to hide your disgust as he packed his things, and stomped out of the room, yelling and cursing the whole way.
"Well, that went better than I expected." Dolores said, looking quite pleased about everything.
"It was honestly quite satisfying." You admitted, messing with your Fazwatch.
"I'm also proud of you for keeping a cool head throughout all of that." Dolores patted your shoulder.
"Thank you. It was hard at times, but I'm happy to know I can act like an adult when I need to." You said, smiling sincerely at her, before returning to your Fazwatch.
"What are you doing?" she asked, noticing your actions.
"I'm ordering a team of S.T.A.F.F. bots to come give Gary's desk and chair a thorough cleaning AND sanitizing. I don't want anyone touching either of those until they are spotless." You said, nodding when you got the green checkmark that they were on their way.
"Do I want to know why you feel so strongly about that?" she asked, giving the furniture a weary glance.
"No, you don't." You said flatly. It wasn't too long before the S.T.A.F.F. bots arrived and started cleaning.
"Okay, one meeting down, one more to go. Are you ready?" Dolores asked after a minute of watching the cleaning take place.
"Ready as I'll ever be." You gave her a smile, and the two of you headed off to your second meeting for the day.