by Parker, Ali
Tiffany gripped the edge of the marble counter of the front desk. “I told you. I told you they didn’t give a fuck about us and that we would all be out of jobs soon. Looks like I was right."
I ignored her comment for now, listening as the reporter continued. No doubt I would be buried in questions from the staff as soon as word of this spread. I didn’t want to miss a thing the reporter said.
“There has been speculation all day about whether this will be beneficial for the company, as Mr. McAllen seems to believe. Sacrifice is sometimes necessary for big corporations, but it can also be a symptom of bigger problems. We’ve rounded up a panel of experts and will be discussing this announcement with them after the break."
“Did you know about this?” Tiffany asked, hurt coloring her eyes.
I shook my head in disbelief. A travel ad filled the screen, but it hardly registered. I was stunned. I couldn’t believe what they were saying on the news.
Major cutbacks?
Surely Blake would have warned me if there were significant cutbacks in the works that would make the evening news. Although, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this could be the reason he left so abruptly and couldn’t tell me why.
A cold chill traveled down my spine. Discreetly, I scanned the lobby. So far, so good. There wasn’t a horde of angry staff members descending on me—yet. I had to brace myself for it, though.
But I could get through this. I just had to stay calm and gather as much information as I could. Dealing with bad news was part of my job. I was prepared for this. In theory, anyway.
Tiffany was staring at the television, looking like she was in shock when the reporter appeared on screen again. He was no longer standing in front of his green screen but was seated at a half moon type table with five other people around it.
They looked exactly as I might have imagined experts on a business news show might appear. There were two men and three women, all competing to be the smartest and stuffiest looking member of the panel.
They were discussing Danny’s announcement with the superiority and aloofness of people who didn’t have a worry in the world. One of the men was outlining some of the group’s most recent moves before adding, “They’ve been making some uncharacteristically risky decisions recently. Wayne McAllen has always leaned heavily on the conservative side. It was about time for them to start branching out, but I must say I’m surprised they are doing it at the expense of some of the current branches.”
The woman seated next to him nodded her agreement. Her hair was pulled into a severe bun at the nape of her neck and her turtleneck sweater looked tight enough to choke her. “Dave, I think a lot of us have been expecting the younger generation within the company to start showing their influence and when the announcements started rolling in, I couldn’t help but wonder if that is what we are seeing here. Making the decision to announce major cutbacks for a company of their size is tricky. Personally, despite what Danny McAllen believes, I don’t think this decision will further the interests of the company at all. It’s bound to cause panic within their staff and among investors. With cutbacks, people always wonder what’s really going on.”
There was a round of nods from all the experts seated at the table. Another woman chipped in, “I agree with Mary. It definitely won’t be beneficial to the company in the long run. I firmly believe it will end up hurting them.”
The camera panned back to the man who spoke first. “Indeed, it will hurt them. Depending on what they are offering these people, it could end up costing them too. Perhaps the expansion plans are happening too soon, or too fast. Whatever the reason, this isn’t the way a financially healthy company acts. It’s also very unlike Wayne McAllen to make this kind of move so publicly. One wonders if the staff even knew what was coming. Mr. McAllen is known for his stellar and fair treatment of his employees. The company is bound to take a knock because of this sudden turnabout in their modus operandi, if nothing else.”
The discussion continued for another couple of minutes before the camera moved in close to the reporter as he was telling his guests and the viewers they were out of time for the day.
Then he offered his own final comment. “There you have it, folks. The consensus on whether this latest move by Danny McAllen will be beneficial to the company is a unanimous thumbs down from our guests today. We are all in agreement when we predict this uncharacteristic move to ultimately hurt the company.”
Tiffany and I turned to each other as the closing music began to play and the show ended. Her eyes were brimming with tears. “Do you know if they are talking about our branch as well?”
Completely dumbstruck, I shrugged. “I don’t know yet, but I am going to find out.”
Chapter 28
Blake
What a fucking week. I was no stranger to firing people, and it was by no means one of my favorite things to do, but it was something that needed to be done from time to time. Since I was usually on the ground level out among our employees, I was often the one who had to do the deed.
This was different though. Firing one person was nothing compared to going around having to tell managers responsible for hundreds of people that their branch was on the chopping block.
The sun was shining in Houston, but it felt like there was a thunder cloud hanging over me inside the hotel manager’s office. He was one of the managers I had never met before, but I knew from his reports that he was a relatively meek and mild man.
He got consistently okay reviews from guests and his staff alike, and appeared to be something of a yes man. That didn’t make my job here any easier, but then again, nothing could.
I took a sip of the water he had fetched for me and fixed a solemn expression on my face before I broke the news. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the company is making some cutbacks.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, apprehensively.
Of course he’d heard. Danny, my attention whore of a brother, didn’t wait for the wheels of the plane to lift off out of Florida before he called a press conference. I still didn’t quite understand why he did it or what his game was, and hadn’t known about it until I watched it with the rest of the world.
On the one hand, it made my job easier because all of the affected managers I’d spoken to so far had already known what was coming when I gave them my real name. Many of the ones I had met over the past week were shocked, while others burst into tears or anger the second I set foot in the door.
Justin Brown, the Houston manager, hadn’t done either of those things when he learned who I was. He simply smiled and offered me a glass of water. He was jumpy, though, and his pupils were a little dilated.
“You know,” he said. “I didn’t even know Wayne had two sons. In fact, I didn’t know he had any until that press conference the other day where y’all said there were promotions coming."
“I prefer anonymity,” I told him. “It’s only in times of desperation where I tell people who I really am.”
Justin nodded like he understood completely. “Desperate times do call for desperate measures.”
“Very true.” My hand itched to rifle through my hair and my eyes begged to drop from his big trusting brown ones. But I didn’t do either of those things. I was the one delivering the bad news. The least I could do was to do it without letting the man see how much it affected me to have to give him the news.
He deserved empathy and compassion, not someone who couldn’t look him in the eye when he dealt a death blow to the branch. “I’m afraid the Houston branch is one of those branches where cutbacks will have to be made."
Justin’s brown eyes filled with sadness. He fidgeted with his fingers in his lap. “I thought it might be. Thank you for coming all the way out here to tell me.”
“It’s the least I can do. I wish I had better news for you.” Justin nodded, looking like he was on the verge of tears.
I spent the next hour going over our plan and associated policies with him. It was a tough conve
rsation to have and it didn’t get any easier the more times I had it. Justin listened carefully, but his eyes kept drifting to the window.
Naturally, he was worried about having to break the news to his staff, wondering how he was going to handle all the different reactions that would be coming his way. When I was done explaining the process, I gave him the next step.
“We’ll be sending you a list of employees who will be separated. It’s best to get them all together in one room and deliver the notice. Make sure you’re clear and concise and that there’s an easy route to the exit so they don’t have to see their colleagues after the news has been broken.
Justin nodded, but his heart wasn’t in it. His eyes were fixed on a cloud outside before they shot back to mine. “Isn’t there anything we can do to reverse the decision? Just give us some time. We have good people here, Mr. McAllen. They don’t deserve this.”
I agreed wholeheartedly, but I couldn’t let him know that. It would give him hope that the cutbacks might be canceled, and that wasn’t happening. “Unfortunately, there is no more time. We’ll give you all the support we can from the head office and we’re working on putting together generous severance packages for the people we have to let go. Part of your duties will also be to provide them with letters of recommendation. You can make it much easier for them to find a new job if you put some thought and detail into your letters.”
It was all bullshit and I knew it. A letter of recommendation could only do so much, and it wasn’t nearly enough.
Justin simply nodded, resigned to their fate. “I’ll get it done, sir.”
By the time I left the Houston property, I was fucking exhausted. Justin had made it too easy for me, and somehow, that made me feel worse than with the managers who put up more of a fight. I sighed, sinking into the black leather seats of the car that waited for me outside the building. After leaving Florida to begin this terrible trip, I caved on my usual aversion to private travel and called my dad’s pilot and the travel department of the company. Knowing what the week held for me, I knew I would be too tired and not in the mood to drive myself or to deal with flying commercial.
Both were things I ordinarily didn’t mind doing, but not this week. This week, I didn’t want to see any more people than necessary, like I would at the airport and I spaced out so much thinking about my dad and the work I was doing, that I would have been a danger on the road.
Without the need to say a word, my driver pulled away from the Houston property and headed back to the airport. He navigated the traffic effortlessly while I stared out at the city. I hadn’t spent much time here and I would have liked the chance to explore some, but I wanted to get back to Florida.
I had tirelessly motored through the list Danny’s secretary had sent me and was finally on my way back to Dad. As far as I knew, there had been no change in his condition, but I wanted to be there myself.
Besides, where else was I going to go? My job out on the road was done for now. My family and work were now both back in Florida.
My head fell back onto the seat and my eyes closed just as my phone started ringing. The low groan fell from my lips. What the fuck now?
My mood tanked even further when I saw it was my brother calling. “I just finished up being used and I’m on my way back to you now."
Danny cleared his throat. “Actually, that’s why I’m calling. I reviewed the list that was sent to you and there was one property left off. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to go through one more round before you can come back. Besides, Dad is fine. There hasn’t been any change yet.”
“What do you mean there was one property left off the list?” As soon as he said the words, I knew what was coming. I also had a sneaking suspicion it was no accident that the branch in question hadn’t been on the initial list. Danny knew I would put up a fight about this one. Dad had given them time and I wasn’t doing a single thing until that time was up and the latest numbers reviewed.
Danny confirmed my suspicions when he said, “Palo Alto. Before you say anything Blake, this needs to be done.”
“Nope,” I meant it. “I’m heading back to the office. I’m not making any more cuts until I’ve seen the numbers.”
Danny made an exasperated sound. “I looked over the numbers. I know you and Dad discussed this branch, but it needs to be done now.”
“It’s not happening, Danny. I need to review the numbers myself. If I determine it needs to be done after that, then so be it.”
“If you insist on looking over the numbers yourself, I can email them to you. We need to get this done. We need to get it over with as soon as possible. Dragging out the cuts isn’t doing anyone any favors, especially not the people at that branch. They will have heard the news and are probably sweating bullets. Put them out of their misery.”
Trust Danny to see it as doing a favor for the people who are about to get cut. There was a point in their somewhere, but I still wasn’t going forward with the cuts until I was personally satisfied that they needed to happen.
“It’s not that simple, Danny. If it needs to be done, fine, but I want to look at those numbers first.”
He sighed, “Just get to the property. I’ll email you the numbers and you’ll see that I’m right. Get it done.”
If it needed to get done, I would do it. After I saw the numbers. In the meantime, I would be happy to get back to California. Aston had been on my mind in every spare moment since I left. I was curious to see what they had gotten done at the branch in my absence, and I was looking forward to seeing her again.
The driver pulled up to the airstrip and opened the door for me before getting my wheelie bag from the trunk. The bag was filled with new stuff I picked up for the week. It would be good to get back to my own clothes as well.
“Good afternoon Mr. McAllen,” Henry said. He’d been my father’s pilot for many years. “Where are we going next?”
I paused, considering going to Florida before heading to California. But if Danny was emailing me the numbers and there was no change with Dad, it would be a wasted trip. “Palo Alto, please.”
The pilot nodded and went off to make the necessary arrangements. Once I was in the plush leather seat on the private corporate jet, I pulled out my phone and turned it over in my hands.
I debated on whether to call Aston to give her a heads up that I was on my way back and about what might be coming. I still hadn’t returned her calls. I owed her an explanation in person, not a phone call as an afterthought while I was already on my way.
Pocketing the phone, I decided against calling. I would see her soon enough.
Chapter 29
Aston
The sun was setting over the glittering turquoise ocean beyond the wall of windows in the lobby. The orange ball of fire was just kissing the horizon, signaling the end of another busy day. On my way back to the front desk from dealing with a problem in the restaurant, I stopped next to the windows to take in the view.
I was dog tired, but in the best possible way. Seeing the hotel bustling and finally reaching the potential I knew it had all along was invigorating. The challenge would be to keep it up. To keep coming up with fresh ideas and getting our name out there.
Wishing for the hundredth time that I could to talk to Blake about it, I sighed. I longed to talk to him about any number of things, but I still hadn’t heard from him. Since I now knew about the cuts being made, I knew he was dealing with a lot. Not wanting to be annoying or a nag, I left him be and didn’t call again. I would hear from him soon enough.
That didn’t mean I didn’t wish that ‘soon enough’ was today, though. But he had to be even busier than I was. My email inbox had been flooded with company messages about the cuts. There were emails from managers of the branches where cuts had already been announced, assurances from the company that it was not cutting jobs because of financial distress for healthy, successful branches, plus several ranting emails from employees who had been cut.
It was complete cha
os and I was avoiding reading most of the messages because the rants against the company made me both mad and sad. I was mad at some of the things being said about the company, but I understood it. Reading the pleas from employees trying to fight for their jobs was simply heart wrenching. The outpouring of emotions coming through my email must be nothing compared to what was happening in Blake’s.
I felt for him, as much as I wished I would have heard from him. In the back of my mind, I kept wondering if our branch was next. My only solace was that I had faith in Blake. If we were in the line of fire, I felt sure he would have given me a heads up.
It made me feel marginally better. Maybe our improved numbers had saved us just in the nick of time. It wasn’t impossible that we could be safe.
Blake had been on my mind even more since I heard about the cuts. Well, I was thinking about him a lot before then too, now I was even more concerned for him. From what little I knew about his job, I knew he traveled a lot. It stood to reason he would know many of the people affected and might even have been the one who had to do the dirty deed.
He’d been there for me a couple of weeks ago, helping me to improve our branch in an effort to save it, and I wished I could return the favor and be there for him now. In spirit, I was. It was also another reason why I wasn’t pressuring him by continuously calling.
There were still a lot of things to clear up between us, and the lingering worry that I had screwed up my future with the company by sleeping with him. But I didn’t really think that anymore. When the time came, I could speak to him.
In the meantime, I would do my job and keep things on track at the branch. I stared out at the flares of color streaking the sky as the sun set. It was a beautiful sight.