More Than a Suit Box Set

More Than a Suit: Tobie-3

On Monday morning, I moved to the cubicle in front of Mal’s office, which meant my back would be directly in his line of sight if the door was open. Before he left for a meeting, Mal called me into his office and handed me a thick file.

“I need you to examine it and find a way to cut costs by the end of the day.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Tobie?”

“Sir?” Mal looked at me for a minute, searching my face for what, I didn’t know.

“Forget it. I’ll see you later.” I went back to my desk and heard him leave a few minutes afterward. I wonder what that was about?

The file was damn near fifty pages long, so I got down to work.

John cornered me at lunch. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to be Jones’s personal assistant?” he complained as he sat beside me at the table, a bottle of Gatorade in his hand.

“Didn’t see the need,” I replied. “Plus, you were too busy strutting last week to hear anything past your ego.”

John cuffed me lightly on the shoulder.

“How’d it go this weekend?” I asked before I took a bite of my Greek salad.

“Aw man, it was rough. Only two of us showed up on time, including me. I was really tired, since I had a date the night before. Totally hot.” I watched as John closed his eyes and smiled at the memory.

“Anyway,” he continued, “the three associates who were late got cut from the list of finalists. Believe me, I was wide awake when that happened. Mal had us working on scenarios and strategies for the Smithson project. My brain literally hurt by the time we finished on Saturday night. It was midnight, man! And then, Sunday? It was the same thing all over again. I had to drink three cups of coffee this morning to stay awake at my desk.”

“But you like it, right?”

“Oh yeah! It’s awesome. I just need more sleep.”

“You always tell me that you’ll sleep when you’re dead.”

“True. Oh well, I gotta go work on some more numbers. I have a two o’clock deadline. Good luck in your new position. And remember what I said about being afraid of possibilities.” With a wink, John left.

Mal returned to the office at eight o’clock that evening, and with a brief greeting, closed the door behind him. It took me until nine thirty to figure out the best way to get costs down so the merger wouldn’t be a drain. The easiest solution would have been to reduce staff, but I knew there was a better way.

Carly had already gone home for the day. I sent a copy of my work by email to Mal and put a printed version in the paper file. I cleaned up my desk, and got ready to go home. Before I could leave though, Mal’s door opened. When I looked behind me, I saw him standing in the doorway.

“Come in, Tobie. Let’s discuss your analysis.”

“Yes, sir.” I grabbed the file and walked by Mal to sit in front of his desk. He took a seat and I handed him the file.

“Thank you,” he said, setting it aside. He turned his attention to the computer screen.

After a few minutes, Mal said, “Interesting that you chose not to cut staff. Why?” He leaned back in his chair, eyes focused on me like a laser.

“It always seems like staff is the first to go every time. I prefer to think that layoffs should be the last option. There’s always a way around things if you try hard enough.”

“While I applaud that ethic, it won’t always be feasible, and you’ll have to deal with that. It’s the way things can be in this world.”

“My parents were laid off from a factory line years ago simply because the owners were greedy. They could get more money from getting rid of the workers and selling the factory than if they kept the employees and tried to find another way. They just didn’t care. My family had some hard years because of it. I vowed to do whatever I could to make sure it didn’t happen like that with anyone else, if I was ever in a position to do so.”

Mal studied me for a minute, then he smiled. “You never cease to amaze me.” Clearing his throat, he continued, “Okay, Tobie. I need you here at five o’clock tomorrow morning. We’ll be traveling to Milan to propose this solution—with a few tweaks—to a company that we intend to merge with over there. You just saved these people’s jobs. I hope you have a passport?”

“Wha…Yes, sir, I do.” It was something I had thought to get a year ago, just in case I ever had the need to travel abroad for work. A good thing, too.

“Well then, I suggest you go home and pack. We’ll be in Italy for the rest of the week.”

I thought of something. “Sir, if I may ask. Did you always plan on me going with you even though you hadn’t seen my analysis yet?”

“Yes. But I also knew you’d come up with something brilliant, and you didn’t disappoint. Good night, Tobie.”

“Good night, sir.”