Appropriate Corporate Behavior (451 hits)
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Submitted by The Walrus (View user info) at 2004-10-07 20:27:21 EDT
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Santa Claus wouldn't stop staring at me. The huge inflated figure hovered just a few feet behind a cluster of workers rambling on about reports and debts and whatnot. Jesus, you'd think at a party these people would lighten up just a little. A million balloons, a thousand bowls of cookies, fourteen gigantic inflated Christmas icons, and all they want to talk about is work. I needed to get out of here, fast. I excused myself politely and hurriedly made my way to the nearest restroom, careful to avoid any possible unneeded conversation starters.
The wooden door swung shut behind me, in one swift movement lowering the sound volume to a degree actually possible to hear yourself speak. Standing in front of the mirror I straightened my graying hair, grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and wiped my eyebrows clean of sweat. Thirty times have I been forced to attend this goddamn party. Thirty years ago it must have seemed like a good idea. I guess I wasn't expecting to have to deal with it at the age of fifty-four.
"Stokley Technologies" read the label engraved into the brown trash can where I deposited my damp towel. Stokley Technologies, the small business started in the 70's which after years of care and solid management grew into something unpredictably larger. After the technology boom of the 90's the company found itself researching and investigating various items for huge technology companies ready to pay them billions. Now a Fortune 500 company and still going strong, the same man is in charge of the operation. Me, Matthew Stokley, multibillionaire and most well known entrepreneur this side of the Mississippi.
As I opened the bathroom door the huge volume of noise exploded into the room, too much for my weary frame to handle. I stumbled out again into the party, nearly running into Rudolph, shiny red nose and all. I traded some forced conversations with various party goers before I noticed the noise level drop to just a dull roar, and from there to nearly nothing at all.
Shit. Every year they do this to me. Yet again it is an ideal opportunity, although I would have rather done it quickly and quietly, without the unneeded raucous.
So there I was. Alone in the center of the floor, again. The expansive mass of company employees and their families were edging in slowly closer to my makeshift podium, a small circular table with a plate of treats edged slightly to the left by my impatient foot.
"Employees, advisors, and family members, on behalf of Stokley Technologies I welcome you to the thirtieth annual Company Christmas Party." I continued after the ensuing applause, further welcoming the guests and laying out the great accomplishments of the corporation and a brief recollection of it's vast history. I cleared my throat after nearly five minutes and found my mind scrambling to determine what to say, despite my countless hours of practice in front of mirrors, behind my desk, lying half asleep at home. "I would like to let you all get back to your fun, but first, on this eve of such fun and games I'm afraid I have a bit of bad news." I cleared my throat again and went on "After thirty years of serving this great company I relent to say it is time for me to step down and let a new face, yet to be decided, rule in my place. My official date of retirement will be announced in the near future. Thank you and please enjoy the rest of your evening."
A chorus of whispers broke out among the crowd, followed by a scattering of awkward applause. I glanced briefly about the room as I stepped down from my podium. Shocked faces stared emptily at me, a few turned to say something to their companions. A couple members of the crowd were as bold as to smile lightly. A hopeful smile. A perfect example of the greed and power struggle I was intent on leaving behind. I headed quickly and without distraction towards the front entrance just a few yards away, somewhere out there was my waiting chauffeur.
At home as I laid in bed I couldn't help but keep my mind from wandering back to my decision and the fact that it was up to me to pick someone new to lead the company. Not having any one to talk to didn't help the matter, my wife had died two years ago from breast cancer. It's still hard to accept the fact she's gone, I miss her so much. At least I would see my son tomorrow, although there's no way to avoid a conversation about the future of the company with him. My son, Ben, was in charge of the northern most region of business. He was in head of various operations in Maine, New Hampshire, and some in Massachusetts. Although to be honest I don't know if he's fully in control there. He's sometimes rash in his decisions so I appointed him an "advisor" to double check all his decisions and keep me posted.
I'm sure he hopes to be promoted, but I don't think he could handle much more than he has now. There are a few other top employees I am evaluating, four or five to be exact. I'm truly not sure where I'm leaning though, I have a lot of thinking to do.
Christmas morning, my son and I hopped into his car and drove out to the driving range, a ritual we started ten or so years ago. I had personal security of course, but I managed to convince them to only come when called on. I hated having them breathing down my neck, I hated being recognized.
"So Dad, I heard about your speech at the party last night."
"Oh," There really wasn't much to say about it.
"We're all very sad to see you go, it's a shame," said Ben.
"Ay, I guess so, I think it was long past time though"
"Maybe so," here there was an awkward pause, and then he continued, "any idea as to who will be taking over?" Here we go. I knew it would come to this.
"Not at all, but enough of this, it's christmas morning, so how's my grandson doing?" I asked, more than ready to avoid that conversation.
And so we rambled on about this and that for the rest of the car ride, eventually arriving at the club. It was nearly deserted, being Christmas morning and all. Besides, I don't think they usually let people out on the range on Christmas, but they tend to make exceptions for me. I was getting pretty decent at golf, although not quite ready to abolish my handicap, my son was barely better. We exited the course a few hours later, sun beating down intensely on our scalps, chatting lightly about various characters and old stories.
On the ride back we quieted down a bit, my son was still shocked about how warm it was down in the South, even though it was really only 50 degrees out. Compared to the blistering cold of Maine I guess that's not bad at all. The rest of the day we spent driving around, sightseeing, grabbing a bite to eat here and there. It flew by. Soon I found myself at home, wishing him a good flight home.
"Oh, and before I go Dad, I really think you should consider me for the position. I've been working really hard to get where I am today and I think I could do even better. Just give me a chance Dad, I won't let you down." He sounded like a kid begging for a lollipop here in front of me. He really was desperate for it.
I told him I'd consider it and bid him goodbye. I wanted to get this decision over with soon so I wouldn't have to keep dealing with situations like these. I had tomorrow off again before returning to work the next day, a tuesday. I spent the majority of the day off pouring over files and pondering the positive and negative effects on the company each new CEO could have.
Finally I had to go back to work. I was dreading the meetings I would be forced into by the numerous greedy employees, all looking for the job. I breezed by my secretary on the way in, muttering a brief hello. Inside my office I shut the door behind me and took a seat at my desk, browsing over various weekend reports. In about half an hour I heard my secretaries voice through the intercom.
"Mr. Stokley, there's a Mr. Montgomery here to see you"
"Show him in please," Mr. Montgomery was in charge of accounting and the businesses treasury in general. He was a middle aged man, probably about forty five, he had been working for the company for fifteen years now. I respected him greatly, but really had no social relation apart from work. He was, I don't know how to describe him, I guess in modern lingo he'd be considered "sketchy." As he entered the office his graying black curly hair stuck tightly to his head, exaggerated by his overly large forehead. He was rather skinny and around six feet, a creepy smile illuminated his face as we shook hands and took our seats.
"Mr. Stokley, how do you do?"
"Good thank you."
"I heard about your upcoming retirement, we're all sad to see you go," somehow I detected he could care less, "I thought maybe you'd want a meeting with some top advisors to think it over, it is a big deal you know."
"Yes I know that Hank, I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions, I have for thirty years now, a meeting will not be necessary," I stated impatiently.
"Don't get too sure of yourself Mr. Stokley, I am just suggesting you share the load of the decision, I know it must be such a burden," he was obviously frustrated with my decision.
"I'm perfectly all right, that will be all Mr. Montgomery."
The man's smile had completely turned now into a loathing frown, his eyes staring deviously into mine. I had earlier considered this man for the job, now I couldn't stand to see him take possession, the greedy bastard. The rest of the day went on uneventfully, occasionally people would drop by and have a chat, none as remarkable as the first though. Finally the clock swung to five o'clock, time to pack up and get out of here.
At my house the first thing I did, as always, was check my answering machine.
*Beep* Hi Mr. Stokley, it's Ronald Kingsley, just wondering if you had any interest in setting up a meeting concerning the future of the company any time soon, if.... I pressed the button again.
*Beep* Good evening, it's Steve, just wondering if we could have a talk about the whole- *Beep* I pressed the button again. There were three more exactly like them, one from my son, I didn't even bother to listen to the last two, I just stood up and walked out of the room. I didn't plan on getting back to any of these people. That night alone in my bed I slept fitfully, I could not stop worrying about the job. It seems like everyone I considered for it were in truth greedy, selfish pigs. But then again I guess most of humanity is like that. At least from my experience.
The next day I arrived home from work again and instinctively checked the answering machine.
*You have: fourteen messages*
I listened to the first two, then deciding they were all going to be the same I deleted the rest.
The next day I checked the machine again.
*You have: twenty-six messages"
Goddamnit it's too much for me. I took the machine and threw it against the wall. It's shattered shards were still there the next morning, scattered around that portion of the room. I glared at them as I ate a small breakfast of milk and cereal, shaking in spite of myself. I couldn't take this any longer. I got in the car and pulled out sharply into the road, tires squeaking beneath me. But I did not turn right, as I would to go to work.
I was going for the airport. I had decided the past night I just needed to get away, without the added stress maybe I could actually make a decision. In my sleepless hours I had gone so far as to book myself a reservation at a small lodge in western Tennessee.
On the way to the airport I flipped through my cell phone's speed dial options before hitting enter. My son's voice resonated through the earpiece as we shared our good mornings.
"Ben, I'm going away for awhile to think stuff over, tell anyone who wants to know exactly that. If you have any really dire questions, call me, don't let any once else call me though or I will through this phone into the lake," we both laughed nervously.
"Alright Dad, if you think that's the best thing to do, where are you going exactly?"
"Somewhere west of here, it's not important."
"Dad, I think I should know, just in case something happens."
"Nothing's going to happen," but still, it made sense. So I gave him the hotel I was staying at and wished him goodbye.
The plane ride was short and easy, I landed about an hour from my destination before noon came around. I hailed a taxi outside the airport and had him take me to the town center I was staying at, from there I walked a couple blocks before finding my hotel tucked into a street corner to my right. It looked cozy, definitely nothing too fancy though. The man behind the desk checked me in and then carried my bags up to the third floor, where I would be staying. He was nice, but seemed rather bored with his job. I thanked him and went about unpacking. I really hadn't brought very much, just a couple changes of clothes and my toiletries. My plan was to return home before the end of the week, I shouldn't need too long. That night I slept soundly for the first time in a week, it seemed like I had made the right decision, tomorrow I decided I would think over the CEO situation. I was enjoying the peace and quiet to much to worry about it now.
Breakfast was quick and easy, I grabbed a few slices of toast and a small bowl of cereal and returned to my seat. There were just a few other people in the hotel with me, I was almost positive I had the whole floor to myself. That afternoon I left for a walk in town. It was a nice place, quiet, with just a few small shops and a couple restaurants. After window shopping for an hour or two I began to get kind of hungry and went to a little cafe I had seen earlier for a light lunch. Afterwards, having nothing better to do I decided I might as well head back to the hotel and ponder over some documents in the lounge. I walked the few blocks back to my inn and found a spot in a comfy chair in the deserted lounge. A man walked over and offered me something to drink. A hot tea did sound rather nice about now.
The time flew by. Next time I checked my watch it was quarter to five. I had no idea I had been sitting there so long. Oh well, I did get a lot of work done and narrowed down my CEO search to just two possible people. I packed everything back inside of my suitcase and began the ascent of the stairs to the third floor. My door was the third to the right I remembered, number 39. I slid my card quickly through the slot and pushed it open, revealing a pitch dark room.
I began fumbling around for the light switch as the door swung shut behind me. Damn. I could've sworn it was to my right. I put down my suitcase as I scoured the wall. Finally I found it and flipped it up. On the ground was a piece of paper. It was lined and roughly written. It looked like it had been written in my own handwriting. But I surely hadn't left a piece of paper on the ground. I scanned the top of the page, on it was written "My Last Will, before I leave my captor has allowed me-." I didn't finish the sentence. I was interrupted.
"Just sign it."
My heart skipped a beat. Maybe two. As my head shot up I could feel my heart pounding harder then it ever has. On my bed lay a man. On his head he wore a black ski mask, in his left hand he held a small revolver.
What's going on. I waited for his answer then realized I hadn't actually said it aloud, too busy staring at his outstretched hand.
"Wh.. what's going on?" I tried to sound tough, and failed miserably.
"Sign the fucking sheet now" He spoke unnaturally rough, like he was covering up his real voice.
I bent down, pulling a pen out of my chest pocket and signing the paper with an unsteady hand. The signature was a mess. My heart was beating too loudly to hear myself think. And then there was a pain in my right arm. I don't even remember hearing a shot. But I had surely been hit. just below the shoulder blade. As I laid on the ground clutching my arm staring at the ceiling I could see his ski masked face. Staring back at me. Laughing. But I recognized this laugh.
He shot me again in the chest. Bending down to pick up the signed paper he still laughed as he pulled off his mask. I died staring into the face of my captor, my nemesis, my son.
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