A sound outside her office window caused Cindy to jerk her head up. She had been staring blindly at her fingers resting on the black computer keyboard. They weren't moving, but her mind was a blur of thoughts…mostly bad ones. Cindy was temporarily relieved to be back in the real world instead of the illusory place in her head.
She wasn't even sure how long she had been lost in her thoughts. She was only glad that her fears of unemployment, relocation and financial suffering were still just fears and not reality. Not yet, anyway.
Cindy's office was a reflection of herself—conservative and practical. Nothing was out of place; everything had a purpose. The pictures on the walls were not personal, yet Cindy could have been in each nature scene and looked perfectly at home. Her desk was neat and organized.
Friends who visited Cindy at work always told her it didn't look like the office of a young marketing coordinator. They expected ideas and plans splattered on the walls in the form of post-it notes and flip chart paper. They expected mayhem. Instead, they got introspection.
On this day, Cindy was contemplating the company's future and, thus, her own future. Things weren't looking good. Like most employees she only heard rumors. Most of the rumors were typically of the doomsday variety. She tried to convince herself things couldn't be as bad as most people in the company seemed to believe. But, how did she know?
The chime of Cindy's Outlook calendar reminder once again brought her back to the present. She had a meeting with the Vice President of Public Relations in fifteen minutes. Tom Cline was her boss' boss. She didn't meet with him often, especially alone. Cindy wasn't necessarily afraid of the meeting, just curious. The only agenda item listed was Department Goals.
She figured she had just enough time to get to the rest room, fix her hair and get ready for the meeting. She grabbed her purse on the way out and spent the next five minutes brushing her short blonde hair, applying simple makeup and checking the lines of her blouse and skirt. Cindy had remembered the appointment in the morning when she dressed and purposely selected an outfit that was somewhat professional, yet feminine. The blouse hung a little farther open than most and the skirt was perhaps a little tighter and shorter than she liked. But this was a VP.
Cindy was still single at 28, a fact that astonished her coworkers who all agreed she was pretty—bordering on gorgeous—with a great body. She never flaunted her looks and that made her popular even among the other women in the company. Guys stumbled over each other for dates with her, but she rarely gave in. When she did, she made it clear she was not in favor of long-term relationships at work. Cindy was mature beyond her years in many things…very naïve in others.
After returning to her office to pick up her briefcase, Cindy headed for Mr. Cline's office. She was as much curious as she was nervous about the meeting. She was glad that soon her anxiety would be over and she'd have an answer.
Cindy paused for a second outside Tom Cline's office, then gently knocked on the door.
"Come on in," Cindy heard Mr. Cline say in his deep, pleasant voice.
She opened the door and walked in with a nervous smile on her face. Immediately, she noticed her boss Paul Richards sitting on a couch at one end of the office.
"Hi, Cindy," he said.
"Hi, Paul." She turned towards the huge desk at the opposite side of the office. "Hello, Mr. Cline."
"Come in, Cindy. Close the door," he replied. "And how many times have I told you it's OK to call me Tom?"
After pushing the door closed and facing the VP again, Cindy blushed and said, "OK. Tom."
"Sit down." Tom was standing behind his desk and motioned to a plush chair between his desk and the couch. It was situated in such a way that Cindy could easily see both Tom and Paul with a slight turn of her head when seated.
"Thank you," she said. Cindy crossed her legs and pulled down on her skirt as inconspicuously as possible. It didn't prevent both men from taking a good, long look at her well-sculptured legs.
"Cindy, no one probably needs to tell you that financial times are tough," Tom began while sitting down. "This company is no different. We are just now beginning to see the signs of reduced sales, revenue and profits."
Cindy looked at him earnestly and nodded.
Tom fiddled with a pen on the desk, spinning it between his fingers. "Nobody sees an end in sight. So…everybody…all companies are being forced to look at their organizations to see where costs can be cut. The last thing we want to do is lose any of our fine staff members. Especially in the marketing area, which will eventually be so important in regaining the customers we might lose in this recession."
Cindy didn't like the way the conversation was starting. She tried not to look nervous or weak in front of her bosses, but Tom's words were beginning to scare her.
"A small group of VP's and Directors have studied the organizational chart and are in the process of preparing a report to the CEO on our recommendations for cost-cutting," Tom said. "Obviously, Paul and I will be the ones looking at Marketing. Now, as you know Cindy, it's not a huge department to begin with. So the options are fairly limited."
Cindy nodded.
"It would be simple to recommend that the newest employees be considered for layoffs. But I don't think that's how you should run a company," Tom said, staring directly at Cindy. He leaned forward in his chair slightly. "I believe the best employees should be retained no matter when they were hired."
All Cindy could think of was the word 'layoff' she heard a second ago. '
Damn,
' she thought to herself.
"Commitment to the company and a willingness to go the extra mile are imperative in these tight times. We're all going to have to make some sacrifices," Tom said, relaxing a little and leaning back into his chair.
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes," Cindy said during the pause, not sure if it was the right time to jump in or not.
"Great. Perfect," Tom said. "Paul and I don't take our task lightly and we want to make absolutely certain that we make the right decision in the end."
He paused for several seconds, which seemed like minutes to Cindy. Tom looked down at the pen, twirled it on the desktop, then looked back at Cindy.
"Cindy, we don't want to have to lay you off. Paul and I want you to have every possible opportunity to show us that you want to stay with the company and be a valuable contributor," Tom said.
"Like I said, I'm willing to do whatever it takes," Cindy repeated.
Tom tried not to stare at her, certain that a persistent gaze would give away his thoughts. "We may very well have to decide between you and another staff member, Cindy. We will need to be absolutely confident that your dedication to the company is steadfast."
"OK," she replied, not wanting to say again, for the third time, how she felt. She crossed her legs in the opposite direction, more out of nervousness than discomfort. She saw Tom and Paul exchange a quick glance, as if Tom was looking for Paul's reaction to something.
"Cindy, stand up for me please," Tom said.
The words took the young woman by surprise, but she obeyed. Cindy smoothed out her skirt as soon as she was on her feet. She saw Tom's tongue barely slide across his lips as he gazed at her. Then he said, "Take off your blouse."
Cindy's eyes widened. "Hey. That's not…I don't…"
Tom sat emotionless in his chair. Paul slouched in the corner of the couch as if watching TV at home. Cindy's mind spun from the myriad of thoughts going through her head.
