if you have questions this afternoon. He and other managers are in a session now, being notified of these personnel shifts and how to cope with team change, and he’ll help transition your work back to the remaining team. Your severance package is also awaiting your electronic signature. Good luck in your future endeavors.”
“But—” My voice finally came back just as her screen turned dark and then disappeared. I was the only one left in the meeting. My sad face took up the entire screen. “What about my MBA program?” I whispered to no one.
I had been accepted into NYU Stern’s part-time business school program earlier that week and was slated to start classes in the fall. My managing director knew that completing an advanced business degree was one of my career goals and was supposed to work something out with HR where I could transition to a business management role at the firm when school started. With Hamilton Cooper’s Employee Assistance Program, my MBA tuition would have been subsidized. But not anymore.
Ding! A new member joined the video call. Cam Simmons, the guy who was hired because his dad was one of our clients. The dude who passed out under his desk after the company holiday party and woke up covered in a rainbow of Post-it notes, courtesy of his pranking peers. The associate who did half the work but took more than his share of credit.
He squinted into the camera and said, “Sorry I’m late. Long lunch. What’d I miss, Jess?”
I left the meeting. You missed everything. And you can figure it out on your own, Cameron.
I threw some personal items from my desk into my laptop bag and left my workspace in a hurry. My cheeks burned with embarrassment and I knew I had to hightail it out of there, or I’d burst into tears. I didn’t have much time.
Mashing the button multiple times didn’t make the elevator come any faster, but I found myself feeling so suffocated and desperate that I tried it anyway.
Three executives I’d worked with directly on recent deals walked down the hallway and stopped around the corner to chat. With everyone tied up in meetings, or being laid off, there wasn’t the typical typing, arguing, or yelling surround sound to drown out their conversation. My ears perked when I heard my name.
“Jessica Kim was one of them. A damn shame, she was one of those Asian worker-bee types. Always here past midnight. I heard she worked on Christmas. A real numbers whiz.”
“True, but she wasn’t the best fit for client services. At her level, she needed to be a thinker, not a doer. I know this sounds crass, but her clothes never fit. They were a little too baggy for my taste.”
“Maybe you should have paid her more so she could hire a tailor.”
Laughter.
“Wasn’t she already being overpaid anyway, especially for a female associate?”
My stomach lurched. I’d heard enough. My sadness vortexed into pure rage as I stomped over to them.
“I gave blood, sweat, and tears for this company.” I growled and pointed at Robert, my former group director. “You begged me to cover for you if your wife called when you were wining and dining that female client last year.”
Robert’s face reddened. “But you didn’t. I’m going through a divorce now.”
I went down the line to the next asshole. “Shaun, you tried to expense your escapade at a strip club by saying it was my birthday dinner and HR thought I was in on the scam. And Dan, you transposed all those numbers on the deal sheet and I caught them just before they were sent out, remember? You could have been fired for that, especially for showing up to work high. I went above and beyond for you. I saved your ass.”
Their jaws dropped. No, they weren’t going to schmooze their way out of this one.
“I know what you’re thinking. How dare she say these things to us? She’s just bitter because she was let go. Well, it’s partly true. I’m bitter because I’ve wasted seven years of my life at this company that turned around and stabbed me in the back. If I wasn’t leadership material, why didn’t a female mentor coach me? Oh right, because there aren’t any female execs here. But thank you, sincerely, for the wake-up call. Now I can take my bonuses and severance and do something better with my time rather than covering for you and making you all richer.”