Part 1 of 2
"Miss Ochs, I realize that there are extenuating circumstances about your situation. Nevertheless, I think you'll agree that your continued employment at Consolidated Oil and Gas would be awkward for you and for your co-workers. Given that, we feel that the best course of action for all concerned would be for you to resign for personal reasons. If you choose to do so, we will, of course, be glad to serve as a reference for you and give you a strong recommendation for your next employer."
As the Human Resources representative spoke to me, I stiffened involuntarily. "I just got fired," I realized, and even though I'd expected it, I felt my eyes begin to tear up. "Don't cry!" I told myself fiercely. "Whatever you do, don't cry!"
After I'd signed the paperwork they'd given me, I slowly made my way back to my cubicle. It took very little time to clean out the few personal items I'd tucked into the drawers and shelves; then I was carrying my pitiful little box down the hall.
I didn't know whether to be sad or relieved that none of my teammates were around to see me off. Truthfully, I was just as glad Jerry wasn't around, but I wish I could have seen Buffalo Bill at least one more time. But I knew where he was and besides, given what he probably thought of me now, maybe it was for the best.
Suddenly a horrible thought crossed my mind: what if I were to encounter Kurt Jorgenson? That terrifying idea caused the tears to begin to flow in earnest, so I bowed my head and hurried as quickly as I could out to my old Toyota to drive to my little apartment.
After I got there, I hurriedly began to pack my things. It didn't take very long; in the few months I'd been in the apartment, I bet I hadn't spent more than a few weeks actually living in the place. You don't accumulate a lot of stuff when you're a field auditor. I'll bet some truck drivers spend more time at home than I had.
Anyway, that was all behind me now.
There was one more task to be done, the one I'd been postponing. "Mom, it's Annie. Mom, is it all right if I come home?" And with that, to my utter embarrassment and dismay, I began to sob.
When I had pulled myself together, I dropped my keys and the current month's rent in the mail to the apartment manager and then set out for Tyler. It's only about 200 miles from Houston to Tyler, but they might as well be a continent apart. Heading north on I-45, I couldn't stop myself from thinking back on all that had happened.
I remembered sitting outside Kurt Jorgenson's office on the first day of my new job. I was simultaneously nervous and excited. Finally, I would get to meet my first boss in my first real job: not a summer job or internship but the real thing, and not with just any company, but with Consolidated Oil and Gas, one of the largest energy companies in the world!
Sure, I'd made top grades at the University of Texas at Tyler, and I'd done even better on the CPA exam. But I still had never thought that I could land a job with a major corporation. I'd been more or less resigned to doing the books for my parent's rose farming business in Tyler. Tyler is the rose capital of the world because of all the rose bushes it produces, and my folks had been rose farmers all their lives.
Even though I was doubtful about my prospects, when I heard that Consolidated was going to be recruiting on campus, I jumped at the chance. Somehow they picked me to come to Houston for a second interview. When they actually offered me a position, I knew that if I didn't accept I'd regret it for the rest of my life. So there I was, ready to start my new job.
Actually, I'd officially already been at work for several days, but they were spent in an orientation program, benefits enrollment and other introductory activities. Now I was ready for my actual work assignment.
I'd assumed that I'd be working somewhere in Consolidated's vast accounting function, so I was a little disappointed to learn that I'd been assigned to the Field Audit team. Accounting is dry enough as it is, but auditing is even further removed from the actual business. Basically, it's just double-checking the work other accountants have already done. But I was in no position to argue, so I dutifully waited outside his office to meet Kurt Jorgenson, one of the directors of Field Auditing and my new boss.
When his secretary ushered me into his office, he arose from behind his desk and directed me to sit in one of the chairs facing him. He was a distinguished-looking man, taller than me, probably in his early forties, with dark hair combed back on his head. While many of the directors I'd seen in the company wore more casual attire, he was dressed in a suit, white shirt and tie. His dress and manner all gave an appearance of authority, even command.
"Miss Ochs," he began when I was seated, "the commodities that we extract, refine and distribute are vital to the economies of many nations around the globe. A shortage in oil or gas can cripple a national economy and topple heads of state. Our financial results are eagerly awaited on major stock exchanges not only for their direct impact but also because they are seen as harbingers of the economic future. As a result, our corporation is closely scrutinized and regulated, and our financial results are carefully reviewed.
"For these reasons, it is essential that every transaction of the company be accurately recorded and consistently reported. Moreover, all transactions must strictly adhere to generally accepted accounting principles and standards of Consolidated Oil and Gas. It is the mission of the Corporate Auditing function to ensure that those standards and procedures are applied consistently and uniformly throughout the corporation.
"You are now part of the team charged with this critical mission. Are you ready to take on this responsibility?"
I gulped. "Oh, yes sir," I told him, "very ready."
"Very good," he said. "I will expect nothing less than excellence from you."
With that, he summoned his secretary and asked her to take me to meet the rest of his audit team. As I followed her, I tried to gather my thoughts. "What an impressive man," I mused. "He made our job sound like the most important role in the company!"
I was still trying to assimilate my interview with Mr. Jorgenson when the secretary led me into a moderate-sized room divided into three cubicles, with a conference table and chairs in the center. She led me over to one of them and introduced me to Jerry Higgins. "Jerry is our accounting systems specialist," she told me.
Jerry looked very familiar to me, not because I'd met him before but because he resembled so many of the mathematics and accounting students I'd met at UT Tyler. He was of average height, but the buttons on his shirt had to strained to hold in his belly. He needed a haircut. "Another math nerd," I thought to myself. Then I smiled inwardly, "Just like me."
I introduced myself to him and asked him about his role on the team. Those were the last words I spoke for the next half hour as Jerry launched into a long, technical description of Consolidated's corporate accounting software. As he droned on, I couldn't help remembering the students like him I'd met back in college, especially Tom. I'd dated Tom for half a semester in my junior year, and had actually given him my virginity because I didn't want to be the only virgin in college. It had been a pretty messy and uncomfortable business, and I was really disappointed to learn that sex wasn't the great thing everybody said it was. After Tom, I didn't really date much.
"So what do you think -- pretty amazing, huh?" Jerry asked. I snapped back to the present and tried to look enthusiastic as I nodded. I had no idea what he'd been talking about.
"Well, I guess I ought to introduce you to Buffalo Bill," Jerry continued.
"Buffalo Bill?" I asked. "Who's that?"
"Oh, that's Bill Hitchcock, the other member of our team. Everybody calls him 'Buffalo Bill,'" he explained.
"Oh, brother," I thought to myself. "What have I gotten myself into?"
When we walked over to the other cubicle, Bill must have heard us coming because he stood up and immediately extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Bill Hitchcock, but everybody calls me Buffalo Bill. What's your name?"
"Hi, I'm Ann Ochs," I told him.
"Where are you from, Ann?" he asked, and when I told him Tyler, Texas, he got a grin on his face. "Hmm," he said, 'Ann Ochs from Texas won't do at all. I'm going to call you 'Annie Oakley.'"
I peered at him carefully to see if he was making fun of me, but his smile was so open and his laughter so infectious that I couldn't help smiling back. The truth was I was secretly pleased. Growing up, the other kids had always called me Orphan Annie, so the new nickname Bill proposed was fine with me.
"Okay, I'll be Annie Oakley if you'll tell me why you're called 'Buffalo Bill,'" I replied with a smile.
"Sure as shootin'," he replied, and I was to learn that was his normal way of agreeing with people.
"Actually," Bill said, "there's not that much of a story behind my name. I went to the University of Colorado, and I got enlisted as one of the handlers for the school mascot, Ralphie the Buffalo. We used to lead him around the stadium for all the football games. Well, one day Ralphie got excited and took off. All the other handlers fell down and lost their grip on their lassos. I was the only one who managed to stay with him, and I've been called Buffalo Bill ever since."
I couldn't help but grin at the image of Bill being dragged around the football field by a real buffalo. But I was feeling anxious about my new job, so I asked him to tell me about his work as an auditor at Consolidated.
As Bill began to talk, I listened carefully, but I also tried to figure him out. If Jerry was the prototypical nerd, my guess was that Bill must have been his college's class president. He was tall – even taller than me -- and good-looking, with a shock of blonde hair and blue eyes. "I'll bet he's broken a lot of hearts," I thought snidely. But I couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment when I glanced down and noted the wedding band on his left hand. "Stop that," I told myself sternly, "he wouldn't have been interested in you anyway."
When he finished describing his responsibilities, Bill asked me about myself. "There's really not that much to tell," I answered. "I was born in Tyler, lost my parents and lived in an orphanage for a while. My foster parents took me in when I was thirteen and raised me. They wanted me to stay close when I went to college, so I went to UT Tyler. I started out as a math major, but my Dad convinced me that there weren't many job opportunities, so I switched to accounting. After four years I had my degree and my CPA, and I wound up here."
"You got your degree and passed the CPA exam in four years?" Bill asked. "You must be pretty smart; it usually takes at least four and a half years to do that."
"Well, since I was living at home, it was easy for me to take summer sessions and finish up early," I explained.
"Well, It's lucky for us you did," Bill said. "The Audit Department usually recruits a whole new team at the same time. There was another woman named Betty Murphy who was part of our original team six months ago, but she quit after only a few months. So we've been short-handed until you showed up."
"Why did she leave?" I asked curiously.
"I don't really know," Bill said. "One day she was here and the next day she was gone. I guess she just wasn't happy here."
