Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“Of course. I’ll be working on that.” I slide my chair back as a nonverbal cue that our discussion is finished, but Charles doesn’t move. “Would you like to talk about anything else?” I ask.
Again, he looks vaguely startled by my question. “No. You?”
“I’m all set for now. I’ll let you get back to your work. Thank you for helping me get things set up.”
“Bye, Ana.” He ducks his head and gives me a small wave, and then he’s gone.
CHAPTER 15
ANA
After Charles leaves, I have some time alone to continue getting situated. I explore the company server, and I’m setting up email inbox preferences when Jackie knocks on my open door. “What questions can I answer for you so far, Ana?”
“Oh, lots. C’mon in.”
Jackie looks less tired now as she sits down on one of the chairs, and I imagine that the caffeine must have gotten into her veins.
“Is there any sort of employee manual?”
Looking vaguely apologetic, she says, “No, there’s nothing like that. Things have been a bit like a runaway train here ever since I came aboard.”
“When was that?”
“A little over two years ago. And there have been three different HR managers here during that time.”
Inwardly, I wince. Maybe this is why Derek tracked me down and accepted my pie-in-the-sky salary request. “You’re not interested in the position?” I ask the older woman.
Jackie shakes her head. “No, ma’am. I’m happy working on payroll and benefits, and I’ll be even happier when I can retire in the next five years or so.”
Nodding, I say, “Makes sense. Why do you think there’s so much turnover here?”
Jackie bites her bottom lip, her head turning briefly toward the open door of my office. “There are some exit interviews in the files. I’ll find those for you and you can read for yourself.”
“Okay, I’d appreciate that. It won’t make any sense to hire people if they’re just going to turn around and leave in a few months.”
Jackie nods, and though she’d been frowning at our topic of discussion a moment ago, suddenly she starts to giggle. Immediately, she lifts her hand to cover her mouth, as if what she’s laughing about is inappropriate, but her laughter persists.
“What’s funny?”
Shaking her head, she wipes a tear from her watering eyes. “I shouldn’t be laughing. I really shouldn’t.”
My curiosity builds as I give her a moment to compose herself. Finally, her voice low but full of merriment, she says, “The last HR manager, Josh, he liked to eat. He was always snacking. On what turned out to be his last day here, Imani in customer service had brought in donuts for the office, and several of us were gathered in the break room enjoying the treats.
“Josh was in there, too. He was eating one donut, and he had another one on a plate, ready to take back to his office.” Jackie mimes this, holding an invisible donut to her mouth with one hand, and holding a plate with her other hand.
“Jansen came in just then, looking for his assistant, and when he spotted Josh, he barked out his name, startling Josh so much that he almost dropped the plate. The donut on the plate bounced up and luckily landed back where it belonged. Josh set both donuts down on a table while Jansen proceeded to give him a short but severe dressing down in front of everyone.”
I wince again, visibly this time, unable to imagine how embarrassing the man in front of everyone could have been called for. “What was it about?”
“Apparently, Jansen had tasked Josh with formalizing safety rules for the coffee shops, and Josh hadn’t met the deadline.”
“That’s it?”
“Maybe there was more he was unhappy with, because he had a lot of harsh things to say. So much so, that Josh quit on the spot, telling Jansen that today was going to be his last day. Jansen told him that he could leave immediately, and Josh pushed past all of us and headed right out the door.”
“What was funny about that?” I’m trying to keep a neutral expression for Jackie’s sake, but inside, I’m cringing and keeping a tally of all the things that are wrong with the scene she described.
“As we were standing there stunned and silent—there were maybe ten of us in the break room—Josh came barreling back in. He grabbed his plate of donuts and then left again without saying a word to anyone.” Jackie erupts into another fit of giggles, shaking her head at the memory.
That is kind of funny even though the overall situation isn’t funny at all. “They must have been good donuts,” I say.
Jackie gets a faraway look in her eyes. “They were, actually.”
“All of the HR managers coming and going must be hard on you.”
“It’s not ideal, that’s for sure.”
“I’ll be sure to find a good replacement before my six months are over.”