belong."
He dropped the envelopes on her desk and they slid apart in an unorganized pile. "They are very important so I want you to hurry up and deliver them and get back on that presentation. I need it by this afternoon."
Sharp pains shot through Caroline's lungs as he left as calmly as he had entered. How could he be so calm after doing something like that? The young woman gritted her teeth, picked up the disorganized pile of letters and left her cubicle.
She would have reported him, but again, she couldn't afford to lose her job. Besides, it wasn't the first time it had happened and she was certain it wouldn't be the last.
She delivered the letters one by one, noticing there was an envelope for at least three-quarters of the people in her department. The last letter she came to was her best friend and "next door cubicle neighbor", Grace Swan.
Grace had been at the company for thirty-five years, faithfully serving her role as an administrative assistant under all conditions, in sickness and health. Her time with the company lasted longer than her marriage which ended with her husband's death the previous year.
Caroline knocked on the entrance to Grace's cubicle and the plump woman, wearing a black dress with ducks flying across it, turned around.
"Hi, Caroline, what brings you around this early?"
"Just here to deliver mail from our wonderful boss," she replied sarcastically.
"Wonderful. I wonder if it's news of another pay cut." She scooted forward in her roller chair to collect the letter.
"No, because if it was we all would have gotten one. So, have you decided what you're going to do after your last day?"
"Girl, I'm going to drink up a storm. Wanna join me?"
Caroline chuckled. "Sure, why not. I probably won't have anything to do that night anyway."
"Just three more weeks," Gloria said as her strong fingers tore open the letter. "Three more weeks until I am out of this hell."
"Lucky you, I can't wait till I retire."
Gloria smiled as she scanned the letter. "Now, don't say that. You're young and have your whole life to look forward to. Enjoy it while you can, baby, because trust me, it don't last forever."
"Well, I can do without all this lasting forever," Caroline sighed, "I have nothing to look forward to."
Caroline waited for a reply to her comment, but it didn't come. She looked up at her friend and saw tears in her eyes. "You alright, Gloria?"
Gloria's mouth moved but no sound came out. Moisture leaked down the bags beneath her eyes.
"Gloria?"
Caroline's friend tried to respond once more. Instead, she handed over the piece of paper. Caroline read it and gasped. It essentially said that because of the economic troubles the company was facing, the company was forced to downsize. Unfortunately, her friend had been caught in the downsizing.
Caroline quickly rushed over to Gloria and embraced her. Fire ignited in her chest. She clenched her fists as her friend began to sob in her embrace.
Firing Gloria a few weeks before retirement denied her benefits she so desperately needed. The young woman's ears picked up the sounds of other gasps, shouts, and heated conversation going on through her department.
This was wrong. This was very wrong. The company screwed up and her co-workers had to pay for it? No, this couldn't happen. Caroline’s vision clouded. All the abuse, all the long days, all the unpaid work and "take home" assignments she had to perform without pay finally resurfaced. She bit her tongue.
The people responsible for this were about to feel the heat for what their brazen mismanagement of the company had caused. They were going to pay for the sins of denying an elderly woman her desperately needed benefits, and the many lives that they had no doubt wrecked. The board was having a meeting that afternoon, and during their meeting she was going to deliver her message.
***
Seething anger burned behind Caroline's eyes as she pressed the button beside the elevator. She was going to tell them
He dropped the envelopes on her desk and they slid apart in an unorganized pile. "They are very important so I want you to hurry up and deliver them and get back on that presentation. I need it by this afternoon."
Sharp pains shot through Caroline's lungs as he left as calmly as he had entered. How could he be so calm after doing something like that? The young woman gritted her teeth, picked up the disorganized pile of letters and left her cubicle.
She would have reported him, but again, she couldn't afford to lose her job. Besides, it wasn't the first time it had happened and she was certain it wouldn't be the last.
She delivered the letters one by one, noticing there was an envelope for at least three-quarters of the people in her department. The last letter she came to was her best friend and "next door cubicle neighbor", Grace Swan.
Grace had been at the company for thirty-five years, faithfully serving her role as an administrative assistant under all conditions, in sickness and health. Her time with the company lasted longer than her marriage which ended with her husband's death the previous year.
Caroline knocked on the entrance to Grace's cubicle and the plump woman, wearing a black dress with ducks flying across it, turned around.
"Hi, Caroline, what brings you around this early?"
"Just here to deliver mail from our wonderful boss," she replied sarcastically.
"Wonderful. I wonder if it's news of another pay cut." She scooted forward in her roller chair to collect the letter.
"No, because if it was we all would have gotten one. So, have you decided what you're going to do after your last day?"
"Girl, I'm going to drink up a storm. Wanna join me?"
Caroline chuckled. "Sure, why not. I probably won't have anything to do that night anyway."
"Just three more weeks," Gloria said as her strong fingers tore open the letter. "Three more weeks until I am out of this hell."
"Lucky you, I can't wait till I retire."
Gloria smiled as she scanned the letter. "Now, don't say that. You're young and have your whole life to look forward to. Enjoy it while you can, baby, because trust me, it don't last forever."
"Well, I can do without all this lasting forever," Caroline sighed, "I have nothing to look forward to."
Caroline waited for a reply to her comment, but it didn't come. She looked up at her friend and saw tears in her eyes. "You alright, Gloria?"
Gloria's mouth moved but no sound came out. Moisture leaked down the bags beneath her eyes.
"Gloria?"
Caroline's friend tried to respond once more. Instead, she handed over the piece of paper. Caroline read it and gasped. It essentially said that because of the economic troubles the company was facing, the company was forced to downsize. Unfortunately, her friend had been caught in the downsizing.
Caroline quickly rushed over to Gloria and embraced her. Fire ignited in her chest. She clenched her fists as her friend began to sob in her embrace.
Firing Gloria a few weeks before retirement denied her benefits she so desperately needed. The young woman's ears picked up the sounds of other gasps, shouts, and heated conversation going on through her department.
This was wrong. This was very wrong. The company screwed up and her co-workers had to pay for it? No, this couldn't happen. Caroline’s vision clouded. All the abuse, all the long days, all the unpaid work and "take home" assignments she had to perform without pay finally resurfaced. She bit her tongue.
The people responsible for this were about to feel the heat for what their brazen mismanagement of the company had caused. They were going to pay for the sins of denying an elderly woman her desperately needed benefits, and the many lives that they had no doubt wrecked. The board was having a meeting that afternoon, and during their meeting she was going to deliver her message.
***
Seething anger burned behind Caroline's eyes as she pressed the button beside the elevator. She was going to tell them
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