didnât know what she was about to tell me, but I did not have a good feeling. She wasnât the messy type and the tone in her voice was very serious. It wasnât a case of some silly gossip.
When I got her on the line, she spoke very calm and almost in a hushed tone. The first thing that she said was, âWatch your back.â
The pause after her first statement kicked up my anxiety anothernotch. âWhat do you mean? Tell me what is going on.â I didnât have time for speaking in code. I needed specifics.
âI overheard a conversation. Steve asked one of the vice presidents how things were working out with you in the New York office, and the VP basically said that you had not been reporting to him, so he didnât know what you were working on and in fact, he didnât know who you were reporting to. He essentially made it as though you are in New York doing what you want and not working very hard.â
I sat there for a moment in disbelief. I couldnât find words past my anger.
âScottie, are you still there?â
âI canât close my mouth,â I finally responded. âIâm in shock.â
âGirl, I know. They are so sneaky and backstabbing. Thatâs why I wanted to give you a heads-up. It seems like something shady is going down.â
âThank you. I really appreciate it. Youâre right, something shady is definitely going on.â
âIf I hear anything else, Iâll be sure to let you know,â Latina said.
âThanks again, girl,â I said as we rushed off the line.
When I got back to my desk, I started clicking around on the computer screen to appear busy, but I could not concentrate. I was furious that someone was blatantly lying on me. I was told when I got to New York that I would report to Barbra and work on her team. I was never supposed to be reporting to anyone else. However, I had heard the day prior that the company had lost one of its largest entertainment accounts to a competitor. I was sure that somehow it was all connected. I did not know if I should mention what Iâd found out to Barbra or wait a day to see how things started to play out.
I sat at my desk for about thirty minutes, ultimately doing nothing, when my phone rang. The caller ID showed a Los Angeles phone number. I answered. I heard a male voice on the other end.
âHi, Scottie. This is Roger.â
Roger was one of the partners in the agency. I spoke to him in passing whenever I saw him in the Los Angeles office, but I never worked with him directly. Out of all the partners, I knew Steve the best and I worked with him the most. So I was a little confused as to why Roger would be calling me and why Steve was talking to VPâs about me behind my back. The day was getting stranger by the minute.
âHi, Roger. How are you?â I said.
âIâm well, thank you,â he said, before delving straight into the reason for his call. âI know that you recently relocated to the New York office and Iâm not sure how things have been going, but Iâm calling you because some changes have been made and we will no longer be in need of your service.â
I couldnât believe that he called me to deliver this type of news. I was sitting at my desk, which was out in the open with no walls, no doors and no privacy. I had never been fired before, but I couldnât imagine that this was a standard way of it happening.
My eyes bugged out, and I did the only thing that I could do. I said, âOkay.â
Roger continued to talk and I started to sweat. My stomach felt uneasy again and I wanted to hang up. He went on to say that I could finish out the day and work through the remainder of the week.
Is this mothafucker crazy?!
I politely told him straight up, âNo thank you. My last day will be today.â Then I hung up.
As soon as I got off of the phone with Roger, I walked out of the office and headed downstairs to call