How
could I have been surprised? Sitting in this office and watching my contract
get torn up in pieces was absolutely inevitable.
This
behaviour was something I had witnessed for years, the way the brothers had
routinely dealt with employees, suppliers and clients alike; bald faced lying,
broken promises and broken contracts, constant threats of legal action to keep
people from suing them first, credit accounts always past due and cut off, even
rumours of dealings with biker gangs and other potentially worse criminal
activity.
Sitting
in this chair now there was shock to be sure, in the past I had always felt
immune to it all. I hadn’t been unscathed by any means but I had always kept my
head down and stayed out of the way so for the most part I avoided their chaos.
However,
I was more than aware of the valued colleagues abused, stolen from and lied to;
the beloved clients who had walked away after one lie too many from the faces
of the company.
This
time it was my turn, I had been set up and I had been too naïve and arrogant to
see it coming.
So
here I was, I had painted myself into a corner. The middle brother was still
ranting but I was too stunned to listen closely. I was reeling and started to
panic as I realized my stark options - slink home in shame, swallow my pride
and admit defeat, but resume an admittedly comfortable if problematic life?
Stay
and endure complete humiliation working for a madman?
Or was
there a third option, a Hail Mary?
I
quickly headed home to pack a bag and left for Edmonton that morning. Bob had
coached and tutored me all year, it was his vision of my future I had bought
into; how could he not be my advocate now and step in on my behalf?
The nine-hour
drive back was torture, and I was at the Edmonton office at 6am so I could be
the first thing Bob dealt with.
He
pulled into the parking lot at 8am sharp and as soon as I saw his face I knew I
was completely and totally fucked…it was clear the brothers had been on the
phone getting their story straight and now it was his turn to twist the knife.
-
I was Kelowna’s problem now, I didn’t work for Bob
anymore so there was nothing he could do even if he wanted to, what was I even
doing in Edmonton without permission, I hadn’t cleared the trip with the
Kelowna office and they were now considering firing me, did I realize how much
trouble I was in… -
In
hindsight, I could have walked into a dozen offices in Edmonton and been hired
that afternoon. Realistically though there was no way I was mentally prepared
to face my friends and family and admit that everything I had worked for and
planned for that summer was a lie.
I got
back in the car and started the long drive back and this time the drive was far
worse. There was no mistaking what my next meeting was going to be like; I was
either going to be fired or accept a job working for one of the worst people I
had ever known.
There
were no surprises this time. I was written up for insubordination, the original
contract offer was officially rescinded due to the written warning now on my
file (WTF?) and my new job would be selling for him in the Kelowna and South
Okanagan. There would be no salary, I would work for commission only and I
would receive no leads from the office, I was expected to door knock everyday
to find my sales. I knew how hard my job had just become but I accepted anyway.
"Liar"
Built to Spill
I wouldn't be a liar
No, I wouldn't be a liar
If I told you that
I wouldn't be a liar
When things are all you think of
And plans are all you make
And thoughts are all you dream of
Your falls are all you take
Look out, the world's destroying you
Relax, it isn't fair
Mother nature's disposition
She don't mind, she don't care
She don't mind, she don't care
I wouldn't be a liar
No, I wouldn't be a liar
If I told you that
I wouldn't be a liar
Passing over, passions pour
Passing everything
I wouldn't be a liar
No, I wouldn't be a liar
If I told you that
It takes up all of your life
These decisions you make
It takes up all of a day
Making them all
Well, outside on the patio
The piano's weeping too
Forget about it all for a little while
She don't mind, she don't care
She don't mind, she don't care
She don't mind, she don't care
And I wouldn't be a liar
No, I wouldn't be a liar
If I told you that
I wouldn't be a liar
You see, it seems minor to me
You see, it seems minor to me
You see, it seems minor to me
You see, it seems minor
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