Page 68 of Caught A Vibe

When the door closes behind him, I let out a heavy sigh. That was a close one. I didn’t hear him come up, and could barely summon my poker face in time.

I am happy for him, truly. He’s been working so hard on these articles, and he is a really talented writer. It’s wonderful to see his hard work recognized.

I hate the tickle of resentment that itches in my throat.

Days like this make me miss working for someone else. Having a boss tell me I did a good job wasn’t something I thought I’d miss when I struck out on my own. There are just times when I wish I had someone pointing me in the right direction. Well, the way things are going, I might be going back to that soon.

I’ll tell him everything later. I don’t want to bring down the vibe, and I certainly can’t afford to lose my composure now. I refuse to let my fear or sadness show. I am the face of the company, and my friends are counting on me.

Resignation thickening my throat, I join the four o’clock call with bad news on the tip of my tongue but a calm smile on my face.

“Hello, everyone. Thank you for being prompt. I’ve done an analysis of our numbers and accounted for all of the current shipping costs and delays, and it’s not looking good. There is no way we can keep to our targets now, so we’re going to have to cut some costs.”

Everyone starts talking at once. Their fear and panic wash over my open wounds like salt water. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen.

I raise my voice. “Don’t panic!”

“When in the history of bad news has that line ever worked?” Nic asks, tossing my words back at me.Smartass.

“Let me explain. I have a plan to keep us going until I can secure another round of capital, but it’s going to mean big changes.”

“How big are we talking?” Emmie asks with a smirk, and I appreciate the attempt at levity, but I can see her nerves simmering just below the surface. I know just how much this job means to her, professionally and personally. I took a chance on this engineer fresh out of college, eager to get some work experience while tackling her master’s, who also happens to be a single mother. Our partnership has been great for both of us, except it really needs to pay her bills.

Every one of my employees has a similar story. I hired these people because they are exceptional and needed to catch a break. They have devoted themselves to the success of this company. Now I need to hold to my end of the bargain, namely keeping them employed.

“Let me start by saying no one is losing their job.”

“Shit, that big?” Nic winces.

I repeat myself, steel in my voice. “No one is losing their job, but we are all losing our office space. I’m breaking the lease on the building. What we save in rent will keep us afloat until I can get more investment money in, and with Covid and new variants it’s probably safer to work from home for now anyhow. It’s more important that we keep the warehouse paid up, so we can keep shipping orders.”

“So no change for me?” Mike asks.

“No, you’ll still be managing the same space and skids.” He nods, relieved. Change is hard for Mike. I’m glad I don’t have to disrupt him…yet.

“I am also reducing my salary until we get through this.”

“Wait, how is that fair?” Zarah asks.

“It’s my company. Logically, I have the most to gain from its success, so I should also have the most to lose.”

“This isn’t making sense.” Jen holds her head in her hands. “Shouldn’t we all take a pay cut?”

I push onward.

“That’s not on the table. You were hired under certain expectations, and I’m going to hold to that. We’ll take the money we save from these cuts and put it into advertising, both for the product and for the web portal Dash is building, to try and boost direct internet sales while everyone is home. For a lot of folks it’s been months since they’ve been able to casually date. I want an angle on that.”

“You got it, boss.” Nicola scribbles a note.

“And Zarah, I want you to prep pitches for bigger third-party vendors. Once we get these reviews up and more product in stock, we need to be ready to move.”

“Absolutely.”

“I want to be very clear. This is a rough patch, but we are going to get through this, and we’ll do it together.”

Nods on the screen confirm their agreement, and I inwardly let go of one small thread of worry, while keeping the rest tightly clenched in my fist lest they unravel. Even with everyone on board, I’m still pulling the strings. By the end of this, I’ll be a master puppeteer. Let’s hope that end is far in the future.

“You’ll have time this week to go in and clear out your space. I’ve made a digital sign-up so we can be isolated while we’re there. Take anything you’ll need to be comfortable at home. Chairs, monitors, plants, and send me a list. If you take it with you, I don’t have to store it. I don’t know how long we’ll be without an office. Take everything personal. I’m not even sure we’ll be able to rent back the same space, but it will save us a substantial amount of money each month. And keep pushing on all fronts. We’ve got this!”

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