Morning all. We have reached the midpoint of the week and while I am feeling much better I am also realizing how much I want to get done before the weekend. So today is going to be a day where I see just how many things I can strike from my to do list. First up, the morning prompt. (Well technically the first was the Task for the challenge, but still…) So timers set and off we go.
I am going to have to break this out. I love the idea of someone who has been pushed to the brink yet tried hard to be a team player and finally reaches that moment where they are done. Sort of where the nice guy snaps kind of thing and this feels like that moment. Fun.
Wednesday, February 11th: She was braced for rejection.
She was braced for rejection. She poured every effort into the proposal she could, made it as spectacular as her supervisor would want despite the more practical nature of things. She had lists of profits and potential losses as well as ways to mitigate those losses.
When looking at the proposal she was proud of her work. She dressed appropriately for the meeting but before she left the house that morning, reminded herself not to expect too much.
Her supervisor had his preferences and she was not one of them. She hoped that this time her work would not only be solid enough to have a real impact but that she added enough bells and whistles to actually entice him.
He was all about the bells and whistles.
Unfortunately, he was also all about promoting his little coterie of cohorts. They all went to the same school, had the same interests and thought in more or less lock step. If one of them had a proposal up, it would trump hers no matter what. Her only hope was that no one had anything else to present.
Her hopes were dashed as soon as she walked into the meeting. There were three other proposals in the offing and all from members of her supervisors in group. There were also some of the higher ups sitting in. As everyone shuffled in the group was told to conduct the meeting as usual as those visiting were just trying to get a feel as to how these meetings were run. There was the implication that her supervisor was up for some sort of promotion.
He certainly believed it was so from his puffed up posture.
The presentations started. She was not surprised to be listed as last on the agenda. She sat patiently through the first three presentations. They were all variations on the same theme. Her turn came to present. She gave her opening statement. Before she could continue, her supervisor stood up.
“I think that we have heard enough for today and as you presentation is not really in keeping with the thrust of our planning, I believe we can skip it in the interest of brevity as we will clearly be choosing from one of the more compatible projects we have already heard.”
She pressed her lips together, biting back the comments she wanted to make while remaining professional. She gave a small nod.
It was worse than the usual reception for her projects. Usually, she managed to get through her presentation before her supervisor told her they were going with one of the others.
‘At least I didn’t have to sit through the whispering and lack of attention,’ she thought. The room cleared out and She decided that it was time. Obviously, this was not the place for her. She had already prepared her resume in anticipation. This project had been the last attempt she planned to make.
‘I’ll start sending it out after work today,’ she decided.
She returned to her desk, determined to forget about the abrupt dismissal until the end of the day. She logged into her computer. The desk phone rang and she answered. “Anderson Limited, Sarah speaking, how may I help you?”
“Ms. Lewis this is Brenda from Mr. Watkins office,” the woman on the other end said. “Mr. Watkins would like you to come up to his office for a brief meeting. He would like you to bring your proposal with you.”
“Of course,” Sarah replied. She hung up the phone and logged out of her computer. She picked up her presentation file with shaking hands. Had her project been so off base that she was being fired? After so many off base projects, she suspected that might be the case. Given the smirks from those in the supervisor’s inner circle, she suspected they thought so as well.
Ten til Midnight 