rather
distractedly.
“What’s going on? Why are you keeping Kani
out of sight? And drink that. You look like you need it.”
Daniel took a sip, then a longer slurp.
“Tony told me to keep Kani inside at work. Says it’s unprofessional.” He said
it as if it was of no importance, but his eyes went red again. Kani gave an
indignant squeak, even stamping his little feet to make the point.
“He’s the only person in the whole damn
office who thinks that. That’s unreasonable, and unfair on Kani.”
“Yeah. But he’s my boss. I can’t lose my
job over that. Only I’m going to lose it anyway.”
Spen opened the crisps and set the bag in
front of Daniel. “Eat those, and drink that beer. No way is Tony going to fire
you. You’re too good at your job.”
Daniel picked at the crisps but didn’t eat
one. Kani snuffled about in the packet, then stuck his
nose in Daniel’s beer. Daniel waved him off and took another long slurp. “He’s
going to fire me because I can’t go to the national conference. He says I have
to go to it or it’s my job.”
Spen blinked. “Wait a bloody minute. He
can’t say things like that. You told him why? Is it your family? Does he know
about that?”
“He knows. I thought he understood.”
“Understood what, exactly?”
“I’m...sole guardian for my brother and
sister. She’s sixteen. He just turned eleven. Mum and Dad...died. Last year, in
an accident.”
“I’m sorry. That’s a lot to handle.”
“Yeah.” Daniel’s voice still held no
passion or anger, just a dull misery that made Spen ache to hear. “I can’t
leave them on their own for a week. There’s no one I can ask to look after
them. No one I would trust. Dee might cope on her own, but not with Alex, and
it would be a shitty thing to do to them anyway. They get so lonely.” He looked
up, and added quietly, “We all do.”
“No, you can’t leave them. Tony can’t force
you to either. It’s totally against company regulations, and you should tell
him that. Tell HR too.”
“No, no, I can’t.” For the first time, he
became a little animated, his cheeks flushing. “I can’t lose this job. I’m
still on probation. He can fire me at will, no need for a reason, though I’m
sure he has plenty of reasons he can come up with. He could even use what
happened with Kani and Julian.”
“If he tries that, Julian’s boss will eat
him alive.”
“Maybe, but I’ll still be gone. I need this
job, Spen. If I push back, I’ll still end up losing it, only with a worse
reference than what he’ll give me anyway. I’m so fucked.” He finished his beer
in a long swallow. Spen silently pushed over his untouched glass. “Thanks.
Look, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t have a choice in this. You can’t
help. I’ll have to tell him no, and then I’ll have to leave. My family are
everything to me. I’m all they have.” He rubbed his eyes. “God, Mum and Dad
would be ashamed of me not coping with this.”
“I think they’d be proud as hell of you,
and furious with Tony, who’s an A-grade prick. He can’t give you a bad
reference because you complained to HR.”
“Want to bet? I don’t have any work
experience outside this. I mean, usable experience. All he has to do is write a
bland, unenthusiastic reference and the message will get through. I don’t have
an employment record to set against it.”
“You’ve got amazing IT skills, though.”
“But no degree. That’s why it took forever
to get this job. I’m still amazed I got it, considering. Now I’m going to lose
it anyway.”
“There’s really no one you can ask to help?
No relatives? Friends?”
“No.” Daniel started on Spen’s glass,
staring down at the table and Kani patting a crisp without really seeing
either. “Mum was an only child, and Dad’s sister lives overseas. Aunt Lisa
offered to have us move out to her but I thought it would be too much for us to
deal with. Our grandparents live on the other side of the
distractedly.
“What’s going on? Why are you keeping Kani
out of sight? And drink that. You look like you need it.”
Daniel took a sip, then a longer slurp.
“Tony told me to keep Kani inside at work. Says it’s unprofessional.” He said
it as if it was of no importance, but his eyes went red again. Kani gave an
indignant squeak, even stamping his little feet to make the point.
“He’s the only person in the whole damn
office who thinks that. That’s unreasonable, and unfair on Kani.”
“Yeah. But he’s my boss. I can’t lose my
job over that. Only I’m going to lose it anyway.”
Spen opened the crisps and set the bag in
front of Daniel. “Eat those, and drink that beer. No way is Tony going to fire
you. You’re too good at your job.”
Daniel picked at the crisps but didn’t eat
one. Kani snuffled about in the packet, then stuck his
nose in Daniel’s beer. Daniel waved him off and took another long slurp. “He’s
going to fire me because I can’t go to the national conference. He says I have
to go to it or it’s my job.”
Spen blinked. “Wait a bloody minute. He
can’t say things like that. You told him why? Is it your family? Does he know
about that?”
“He knows. I thought he understood.”
“Understood what, exactly?”
“I’m...sole guardian for my brother and
sister. She’s sixteen. He just turned eleven. Mum and Dad...died. Last year, in
an accident.”
“I’m sorry. That’s a lot to handle.”
“Yeah.” Daniel’s voice still held no
passion or anger, just a dull misery that made Spen ache to hear. “I can’t
leave them on their own for a week. There’s no one I can ask to look after
them. No one I would trust. Dee might cope on her own, but not with Alex, and
it would be a shitty thing to do to them anyway. They get so lonely.” He looked
up, and added quietly, “We all do.”
“No, you can’t leave them. Tony can’t force
you to either. It’s totally against company regulations, and you should tell
him that. Tell HR too.”
“No, no, I can’t.” For the first time, he
became a little animated, his cheeks flushing. “I can’t lose this job. I’m
still on probation. He can fire me at will, no need for a reason, though I’m
sure he has plenty of reasons he can come up with. He could even use what
happened with Kani and Julian.”
“If he tries that, Julian’s boss will eat
him alive.”
“Maybe, but I’ll still be gone. I need this
job, Spen. If I push back, I’ll still end up losing it, only with a worse
reference than what he’ll give me anyway. I’m so fucked.” He finished his beer
in a long swallow. Spen silently pushed over his untouched glass. “Thanks.
Look, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t have a choice in this. You can’t
help. I’ll have to tell him no, and then I’ll have to leave. My family are
everything to me. I’m all they have.” He rubbed his eyes. “God, Mum and Dad
would be ashamed of me not coping with this.”
“I think they’d be proud as hell of you,
and furious with Tony, who’s an A-grade prick. He can’t give you a bad
reference because you complained to HR.”
“Want to bet? I don’t have any work
experience outside this. I mean, usable experience. All he has to do is write a
bland, unenthusiastic reference and the message will get through. I don’t have
an employment record to set against it.”
“You’ve got amazing IT skills, though.”
“But no degree. That’s why it took forever
to get this job. I’m still amazed I got it, considering. Now I’m going to lose
it anyway.”
“There’s really no one you can ask to help?
No relatives? Friends?”
“No.” Daniel started on Spen’s glass,
staring down at the table and Kani patting a crisp without really seeing
either. “Mum was an only child, and Dad’s sister lives overseas. Aunt Lisa
offered to have us move out to her but I thought it would be too much for us to
deal with. Our grandparents live on the other side of the
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