His staff was waiting to be berated, because that's what he always does each morning. Never a day goes by that they get a tongue-lashing from Mr. Faulkerson, even when they all feel good about a presentation. And last night, they know they didn't really give him what he asked them to do, so they were eagerly awaiting for him to storm in.
"Ok team, I went over your work, and..."
Everybody held their breath. They already talked about this even before he came, that he would order them to drop every other account they're handling and focus on the presentation.
"... just a few more tweaking and it's good to go. Great job! Carlos, Mina, can you guys take over and ensure this gets done? The presentation's on Wednesday, can you give me the final, polished one by Monday afternoon?"
You could hear a pin drop. The silence was deafening. A few brave ones let out a loud gasp. And a lot of jaws dropped. Then somebody started sobbing.
"Uhm, Mike? Anything wrong? Why are you crying?"
"I'm sorry Sir...huhuhu...Sir... huhuhu...Sir..."
Richard leaned over to the staff nearest him and whispered.
"Trina, what's wrong with Mike?"
"Ahh, Sir... he's just in shock. He, ahh... just broke up with his boyfriend."
"Oh. Ah, Mike? Do you need some time to yourself? Sorry for stealing your weekend, you can take the day off if you're not feeling good."
"WAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Mike just bawled out a little more loudly, making Richard step back.
"Uhm, ok, meeting's adjourned. Thanks team. Carlos, Mina, Monday? Good."
He left the meeting room, leaving everyone still in shock. Mike was still crying loudly. Carlos, Richard's junior account manager, spoke up.
"Alright, spill. Did any of you put a curse on Faulks last night?"
"He called us 'team'... do you think he's dying?"
"He said sorry. Is the world coming to an end?"
The door opened again, and Richard's head popped in.
"I forgot one thing, I asked reception to order pizza and spaghetti for you guys. And don't stay until the afternoon, ok? Have a great weekend!"
And just like that, he left the people in the room more baffled. Everyone was now crying.