Dave Gordon - TIP

Brian wanted to ask Chris so many questions. Why him? What new direction? What did he mean? Brian had never missed a quota in 10 years. Did they realize at 39 years old he had a wife and three kids to support? The knot in his stomach tightened, and he had the overwhelming urge to throw up.

“What do you mean, a new direction?” was all Brian could ask.

“Not sure what they mean,” slurred Chris. “All I know is, the big cheese is sending out an e-mail tomorrow, and if you’re on the list, you’re gone. The little cutie from HR who has a crush on me told me you were on the list. We’re supposed to have this conversation tomorrow after you get your e-mail, but I just thought you should know now . . .”

“Are you on the list too?”

Chris hesitated. “Umm. Well, no.”

“So, what is this . . . a farewell drink? Is that it? Is that why you took me out tonight?” Brian’s voice was getting louder. “Firing me in a public place so I wouldn’t react?”

“I’m sorry. I really think you’re a great guy. But the numbers just weren’t there. It was really close though. Quota unfortunately was the bottom of the scale . . . the minimum.”

Before Brian could respond, the bartender came over and stood in front of the two men.

“Seems to be getting a little loud in here for a Tuesday night. Everything okay?” he asked.

“Everything’s fine,” Brian answered. “Just fine.”

“Good,” the bartender responded. “Can I get you guys anything else?”

“No . . . actually I have to go,” said Chris. “Not feeling too good.”

Chris slid off the bar stool and quickly grabbed his bag and coat. He gave Brian a quick pat on the back, as if to say goodbye, it will all be okay, no hard feelings, and please don’t hate me, all at the same time.

“Just put it on your expense account,” he slurred. “I’ll okay it when it comes in.”

Brian didn’t even look up as Chris headed out the door.

What was he going to do? Was he really going to be fired? Maybe Chris got his info mixed up and he really wasn’t on the list. His mind began to run through every possible scenario of what the next day was going to look like. He imagined it all a mistake. He imagined how he was going to look and act as he read the computer screen telling him to get his stuff out of the building. Would they really fire people by e-mail? Brian imagined how he would get revenge. He’d find a way to shut the damn company down. He didn’t know how, but he would. He was angry . . . confused . . . furious! But, he had no one to direct that anger towards now that Chris had left the bar.

The bartender walked back over after taking care of the couple at the end of the bar and once again stood in front of Brian.

“Your friend have a little too much to drink?” he asked.

“You could say that,” Brian responded.

“Looked like a little more than that, though. You guys were getting a little heated. Seriously, is everything okay?”

“No, not really.”

Brian paused.

“I’ll take another beer when you get a chance.”

The bartender grabbed a beer out of the cooler and popped the cap with his silver bottle opener. He placed it in front of Brian and then waited.

Brian paused for a few seconds and then let it out.

“That guy said I am about to be fired tomorrow morning. He said I’m on a list of people who are being let go. I’m not sure if he’s right or wrong, but being that he’s my manager, I don’t think he’d tell me if it wasn’t true.”

The bartender stared at him for a moment before he responded.

“I’m Jack, by the way.”

“Hey Jack . . . Brian.” He gave the bartender a half-hearted handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Brian. Welcome to Crossroads. Look, whatever is going to happen is going to happen, so you can’t dwell on the possibilities, unless there is something you can do about it. I have a philosophy about moments like this. Want to hear it?”

“To be honest, Jack, not really. Philosophies are great in theory, but if you were the one being fired, I think you’d be singing a different tune.”

Jack nodded. “I’ll get you the check, then.”

Jack the bartender went to the register and rang up the final tally.

Jeez. The guy couldn’t even pay the check when he knew I was being fired the next day, Brian thought. “I’ll okay the expense when it comes in.” Damn right you will.

Jack put the final bill on the bar.

“Last round was on me,” he said, “sorry about the bad news.”

“Thanks.”

Brian opened up the bifold containing the bill and saw a tab for 35 dollars. He did the calculation in his head. What should he tip? Normal service is 15%. Good service is 20%. It was good service. 20% would be seven bucks. Brian filled out the tip, signed the check, and put it back on the bar. As he gathered his things, Jack came over and said thank you before even opening the bifold. As he walked back to the register and opened the booklet to ring the tip amount into the register, he stopped and turned quickly around to face Brian.

“$35 tip. That’s 100%,” he said.

“Yup.”

“Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem,” said Brian as he picked up his computer bag, “Chris can explain that one to the finance department when I’m not there.”

“Listen,” said Jack, “could I get your business card? I do an e-mail newsletter, letting people know when we are having specials and things like that here at the bar. Plus, I write about things once in a while that you might find interesting.”

Brian pulled out his business card and tossed it on the bar.

“Won’t be worth much after tomorrow, so feel free to send whatever you want. A virus would be nice.”

Brian decided he would not tell Jen until he knew for sure. Seeing how it was only one day away, or more like 12 hours to be exact, why give her an extra amount of worry in her life? The only thing worse than getting fired, Brian thought, was the rumor that you are about to be fired.

Brian got into a cab and headed for home. Tomorrow, Brian thought, would be a very long day.

Brian got up early and arrived at work at 7:30 a.m., anxious to see what the day had in store for him. He wanted to make sure that all of the personal files on his laptop were copied, just in case his departure was immediate. There were no illegal files or things he would need to hide from the company, but he did have a few folders like poems to his wife, a few funny stories he had written for the kids while on the commute back and forth to work. These folders along with everything else would be deleted from the computer, and the laptop would just be issued to someone else. Just like that. Was he really that replaceable? “Quota was the minimum,” Chris had said.

As Brian turned on the computer, he wondered how many people would log on to their own computers and see the e-mail. Would they expect it? Did they have a manager give them the heads up already, or would it come as a complete surprise? He was guessing most would be surprised. Brian did a Google of “RIF” and “fired over e-mail” which turned up a few hits including an article in BusinessWeek about a president of a company who fired 400 people over e-mail. Thoughts of his tenth-grade girlfriend breaking up with him over the phone popped into his head. Coward.

He looked around his small office. Pictures of the kids and Jen everywhere. Inspirational quotes tacked up all over the room. His favorite being from Albert Einstein, who said, “If you are of value to your friends, family, clients, and community, then you truly are a success.” He didn’t know how successful he would feel today if he were fired. At that point, how much value would he be to anyone. How much would he be worth?