Closed for secretsara
My intercom buzzed. “Mr. Carson? Mrs. Tran is here to see you, sir.”
I grinned. I’d been looking forward to this meeting all week. I pushed the Transmit button down on my end. “Please send her in, Judy,” I directed.
I reviewed my plan as I waited for the knock on my office door. That I even had a plan was somewhat of a novelty. I’d never been much of a schemer. I hailed from the old school. Back when I was starting out as an executive. You had a problem with a guy, then you dealt with it directly – with your fists, if need be.
But corporate culture had changed since then. Open confrontation was frowned upon. Everything now was subtler – sneakier. It wasn’t my preferred means of doing things, but I was nothing if not a survivor. I hadn’t lasted this long by failing to take heed which way the wind was blowing.
According to the world at large, I was still in the prime of my life. But at McPherson Manufacturing, Ltd., I was practically a dinosaur. My hair retained but a few flecks of its original golden hue, the rest a pale gray. The glasses I carried in my front pocket were not a fashion statement, but a requirement for any reading. Compared to the host of young bucks cruising the management floors, I seemed like a senior citizen.
The target of my little scheme was one of those young bucks. Hung “James” Tran had come to McPherson with his newly minted Wharton MBA four years back. I’d paid him no mind at the time, so he’d only been on my radar for about the past 14 months. Apparently he was quite the wiz kid with numbers, having earned a couple of quick promotions that brought him to a level worthy of my notice.
Unfortunately, I only needed about a week to realize I couldn’t stand the guy, so the past year had a been a grueling trial of my patience. The guy’s ego was huge and he couldn’t resist the urge to burnish it any opportunity. Worse, he seemed to recognize that he got under my skin and seemed to go out of his way to irritate me.
Ordinarily, I ‘d have used my influence to get the guy canned, or at least moved somewhere I wouldn’t have to interact with him. But James had two things going for him that made such a direct move impractical. First, his self-aggrandizement aside, the guy was good at his job. He’d spearheaded some successful projects during his tenure that bespoke someone with true potential.
Second, he had some juice with the Board of Directors. His uncle was one of the board members’ golf buddies or something. Admittedly, it wasn’t quite the ironclad shield of a direct familial connection, but I wasn’t going to roll the dice on whether the board member might intervene on James’ behalf.
With that combo, I needed more than just my seniority to push James out of the way. The Powers That Be wouldn’t shift their new golden boy (and possible favorite of a board member) just because I found him an intolerable prick. I’d need some leverage first. Leverage I didn’t have.
It’d taken me awhile to find something. It wasn’t quite the sledgehammer to James’ career I’d been looking for, so I’d almost discarded it. But in addition to my graying hair and thickening middle, age had also brought me a sense of perspective. Just because the opportunity that arose wasn’t the one you sought doesn’t mean you should ignore it.
Thus had I shifted targets to Mrs. Tran – James’ wife. She dropped by the office every Thursday to go to lunch with her husband, so I’d had my secretary ask her to stop by my office afterwards. As far as Mrs. Tran knew, it had something to do with a surprise the company was planning for her husband. I grinned again. It’d be a surprise, alright, just not so much for him.
The heavy oak door to my office gave a couple of muffled thuds as someone knocked. “Come in,” I announced.
My intercom buzzed. “Mr. Carson? Mrs. Tran is here to see you, sir.”
I grinned. I’d been looking forward to this meeting all week. I pushed the Transmit button down on my end. “Please send her in, Judy,” I directed.
I reviewed my plan as I waited for the knock on my office door. That I even had a plan was somewhat of a novelty. I’d never been much of a schemer. I hailed from the old school. Back when I was starting out as an executive. You had a problem with a guy, then you dealt with it directly – with your fists, if need be.
But corporate culture had changed since then. Open confrontation was frowned upon. Everything now was subtler – sneakier. It wasn’t my preferred means of doing things, but I was nothing if not a survivor. I hadn’t lasted this long by failing to take heed which way the wind was blowing.
According to the world at large, I was still in the prime of my life. But at McPherson Manufacturing, Ltd., I was practically a dinosaur. My hair retained but a few flecks of its original golden hue, the rest a pale gray. The glasses I carried in my front pocket were not a fashion statement, but a requirement for any reading. Compared to the host of young bucks cruising the management floors, I seemed like a senior citizen.
The target of my little scheme was one of those young bucks. Hung “James” Tran had come to McPherson with his newly minted Wharton MBA four years back. I’d paid him no mind at the time, so he’d only been on my radar for about the past 14 months. Apparently he was quite the wiz kid with numbers, having earned a couple of quick promotions that brought him to a level worthy of my notice.
Unfortunately, I only needed about a week to realize I couldn’t stand the guy, so the past year had a been a grueling trial of my patience. The guy’s ego was huge and he couldn’t resist the urge to burnish it any opportunity. Worse, he seemed to recognize that he got under my skin and seemed to go out of his way to irritate me.
Ordinarily, I ‘d have used my influence to get the guy canned, or at least moved somewhere I wouldn’t have to interact with him. But James had two things going for him that made such a direct move impractical. First, his self-aggrandizement aside, the guy was good at his job. He’d spearheaded some successful projects during his tenure that bespoke someone with true potential.
Second, he had some juice with the Board of Directors. His uncle was one of the board members’ golf buddies or something. Admittedly, it wasn’t quite the ironclad shield of a direct familial connection, but I wasn’t going to roll the dice on whether the board member might intervene on James’ behalf.
With that combo, I needed more than just my seniority to push James out of the way. The Powers That Be wouldn’t shift their new golden boy (and possible favorite of a board member) just because I found him an intolerable prick. I’d need some leverage first. Leverage I didn’t have.
It’d taken me awhile to find something. It wasn’t quite the sledgehammer to James’ career I’d been looking for, so I’d almost discarded it. But in addition to my graying hair and thickening middle, age had also brought me a sense of perspective. Just because the opportunity that arose wasn’t the one you sought doesn’t mean you should ignore it.
Thus had I shifted targets to Mrs. Tran – James’ wife. She dropped by the office every Thursday to go to lunch with her husband, so I’d had my secretary ask her to stop by my office afterwards. As far as Mrs. Tran knew, it had something to do with a surprise the company was planning for her husband. I grinned again. It’d be a surprise, alright, just not so much for him.
The heavy oak door to my office gave a couple of muffled thuds as someone knocked. “Come in,” I announced.
