Page 19 of My Forbidden Boss

A woman across from him jumped in with him. “Yeah. We’re all stretched pretty thin as it is.”

More voices joined theirs, erupting into a disgruntled choir of disagreement and troubled chaos.

My arms raised out to them as I did my best to quiet the room. “Hey, hey… Hey, listen… Okay, let’s calm down for a sec… Hey! Take it easy!”

I didn’t mean to shout, but I knew that their exasperation was, collectively, only superseded by my own.

When all eyes were again on me, and their voices once more fell silent, I held the pause and allowed my shoulders to relax.

“Guys, I’m not standing here suggesting that you are all on your own, that you have to keep doing what you’re doing while also adding some way to keep all of us on the same path forward. What you all have been able to accomplish over the past few weeks is phenomenal. Seriously. The End. Every single one of you has gone above and beyond my wildest expectations. You’ve taken each new challenge head-on, and, despite all the changes going on around here, time and time again, you have all come out ahead of the game.”

I took a deep breath and did my best to smile with confidence. I could see the room warming to my compliments, but I needed each department head to be completely comfortable before I could hope to move us forward.

“I know that I haven’t been here to help you, not like we were used to, but it hasn’t mattered. You all have done just fine handling it on your own. You’ve kept your own houses in check while also learning when to lean on each other for help. It’s been beautiful to watch, and, from the bottom of my heart, I can’t even begin to explain how proud I am.”

I looked to every one of them in turn, recognizing the tiredness in their eyes and doing my best to convey reassurance and appreciation above all else.

“I’m so thankful, and there is only one way that I can think of to show it. I want to help us jump to the next step, where all these changes that have happened start becoming normal, and all of the stress and mayhem begins to melt away. I want us to figure out some way to work a little smarter, a little bit more as a unit. If we can do that, we won’t always have to be stuck in this constant cycle where we are stressing nonstop about having to work harder. Smarter, not harder.”

There was a silence, broken only by the same man at the end of the table.

“Yes, but once again, Mr. Fleming. How?”

The ripple of apprehension reclaimed the room as his question reached the ears of each individual and brought all eyes back to me, probably surprised to see me grinning fiendishly.

“I don’t know how… not yet, anyway. But I’m going to find out. I’m tired of being stranded on my own in my office every day, swimming through all of the purchases we’ve had to make, thanks to our recent investor. I’m rejoining the team, no matter how many hours I have to spend at home making up all that other stuff. I miss the days when we worked together, discussing each issue, regardless of whose department the responsibility ultimately fell under. I want to sit in on your committees and spend the workdays back in the pits, brainstorming alongside your different project teams. There are so many new faces around here, and I think it’s about time that I started getting to know them better. I guarantee that somebody is already working for one of you, somebody new that has already seen some way that we could change things and make everyone’s lives a little easier. Now, I know that we have other items on our agenda that we need to get back to before this meeting concludes, but I want you all to be recognizing those people when they do pop up. Take down their names and send them my way – that way, I can get to know them just like you can. The more brains we have stirring in our little pot, the more we cross-pollinate the department personnel, the more we get our problems to work and find possible solutions. Basically, the more we begin to once again see each other as a member of one big family, the closer I will get to know my company once more, the sooner we will all be able to take a deep breath, and the more successful we will all be as we continue to grow and move forward.”

Once more, I looked around, seeing the effects of my inspirational efforts showing at least a little on every individual’s face.

“Alright, enough of that for now. It isn’t often that I get to give a speech for you guys anymore. Let’s get back to today’s issues before I start taking up too much of everybody’s time. I’m still convinced that I can make it through this fiscal year without more grey hairs than I already have.”

An hour or so later, the meeting adjourned. Everyone seemed to be in better spirits than before, and I counted that alone as a win. The department heads gathered their folders and personal items, congregating at the door as I reminded them to send me anybody new that they thought I should know about, anyone who particularly impressed or caught their eye.

One of the women paused and shuffled her way out of the crowd, trotting back and holding up a finger as if a lightbulb had suddenly flicked to life above her big eyeglasses.

I rubbed my chin absentmindedly as she approached my side. “Alice? To what do I owe your continued presence and attention? I’m sure that you’ve already had enough of me for one day.”

I smiled and finished stacking my papers together, lining up the edges perfectly, only to toss them messily on top of my massive stack of other papers I’d been dragging everywhere with me. Alice beamed, always happy to fall victim to flattery.

“Oh no, of course not, Mr. Fleming. I just thought…”

“Alice, please, how many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Hollis. Anything else just makes me look around for my father or, worse, reminds me how I’m getting older every day.”

She smiled, but as usual, didn’t concede any acknowledgment that her ways would change. “Right, of course, Mr. Fleming. I just thought that I would tell you, there is a young woman who has just transferred from the Central Eastern offices in Chicago. She’s blown past all of my expectations, and I already think I would be a fool not to make her our standard project leader. She’s just a fabulous worker, amazingly thorough, and really quite professional. She’s only been with us a few days, but I gave her two weeks for her first warm-up report. She handed me a fully-fledged proposal in less than two hours, complete with financials and references to previous market support. Anyway… You wanted us to let you know if we had anyone worth an introduction. I would say that this young lady certainly suggests that description.”

I nodded slowly and adjusted my cuffs, initially non-responsive because I hadn’t anticipated anyone actually having someone anytime soon.

“Uh… Okay, Alice. Coming from you, that’s good enough for me. What, uh… What is the girl’s name?”

“It’s Tisha Crawford, from Chicago. As I said, a transfer.”

The name triggered a memory. “Any relation to the Crawford’s here in Tyler? I wasn’t aware they had a daughter, and any grandkids can’t possibly be hiring age. Maybe a cousin or…?”

Alice shook her head. “No, no relation as far as I know. Although, as I’m sure you recall, I don’t make a habit of becoming overly familiar with those I supervise, so a connection is possible, I suppose.”

I shrugged the question from my mind, realizing it really wasn’t all that important or interesting. “Well, alright, Alice. Let me… Well… If I write that down, it’ll just get lost, and I will never remember to follow through. I really do want to, though. I have to find some way to get back in touch with the company. How about… Will you send an email to my scheduling address? Oh, and do that thing where you copy my office phone onto it as well, please. I’ve been trying to remember that people can do that. I will keep getting reminders until it’s been moved from incoming to scheduled and confirmed, which is just about the only way I can be sure that I won’t forget.”

Tisha

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