I sprayed the remaining small perfume I had on my body, and put on my cover shoes. I decided to go on a white shirt and a long black skirt. Today, was the first meeting of the year at blooms oil and gas, where I worked. And all staff were required to be at the meeting. We were told that our employee would be present. So everyone at work was a little on edge.
Mr Davis Heatherson, as he was popularly known, was a multinational businessman who specialized in the oil and gas industry. He had many small companies spread around the country. He was like a celebrity, and it was an honor for him to grace our branch with his presence. Most of my colleagues were excited about meeting the famous Mr Davis in person. Everyone made sure to finish their work beforehand and keep a proper record lest they be called out about it in the meeting and be humiliated.
Every year, as rumor may have it, Mr Davis comes in person to one of his several small branches to meet with the head and employees situated there. This year, our branch was the chosen vessel and our manager, Mr Johnson, had made it very clear that everyone must be present and on time. As lateness would not be tolerated this time around.
So I hurriedly carried my handbag and went to work. However, it seemed fate had other plans for me. There was a traffic jam on the road. As I assessed the situation, the traffic lane was long. Apparently, the road was very bad and still under construction. I couldn't believe this was happening to me.
"Why today of all days" I said mentally to myself.
I sat impatiently in the back seat of the car, watching slowly as the time ticked away before my eyes. I couldn't afford to lose my job. Missing this meeting was a direct ticket to being jobless. I had to do something. I creased my eyebrows as I thought deeply about how I could get to the office faster. I stretched my neck out from the car window to see what was happening further down the road, and it was still the same. The endless line wasn't even moving. Frustratingly, I paid the driver and got out of the car and started walking. I had just thirty minutes to get to work before the meeting started. And the walk to the office was more than a thirty-minute walk. This was definitely not a good day for me, I said to myself as I walked faster, increasing my pace.
When I finally arrived at work, I was soaked with sweat. My white shirt was totally a wreck, and they were far into the meeting. I sneaked in to the back seat hoping I wouldn't be seen coming in just now, giving my state. Mr Davis was in his element glancing through a series of documents, including the companies' statement of account, list of heads of departments, and so on. In a short while, we rounded up the meeting and Mr Davis left.
" Miss Alex! See me in my office now", Mr Johnson said with a firm tone that one would tell I was in trouble.
Hesitatingly, I walked down to his office, holding a big lump in my throat.
"Miss Alex, you came late despite my direct orders." He started.
" And the last client you handled threatened to pull out due to a flaw in the project by your team," he continued.
I was dumbfounded. How did it happen? I made sure to put everything in place. Except maybe Tom didn't deliver his own part of his work. I immediately began apologizing, trying to explain everything that happened to him.
" Enough! You are lucky you're one of our good employees. Nevertheless, for your punishment, 20% would be deducted from your salary for this recklessness of yours" he said strictly.
" You're excused " he said at last staring at his computer
As I walked out the room, I felt like the universe was against me. I worked so hard on that project. How did things go so wrong? To make matters worse, I received a call from my neighbor that my apartment was flooded. Apparently, one of the pipes had burst open, flooding everywhere.
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I slumped down on my work chair feeling defeated. When my best friend and colleague at work, Anna, came to me to find out what was wrong. With a defeated sigh, I told her everything that had happened to me right from the beginning and when I was done, she held my hands.
" Remember our little slogan, we sink or swim". She said to me
" At least above all that happened to you, you didn't lose your job. That's something to be thankful for," she continued,
" I'll come over to assist you clean up, don't worry about it, I got you" she said playfully, and I smiled for the first time that day.
As she left, I realized that she was indeed right. I was a swimmer, and I wasn't going to let this sea of problems sink me down. I was going to swim out of this one.