"Are we really going to sack this Senior Engineer, Mr. Alan? He seemed to have an excellent track record." Mr. Tze swiped through an online report within the company server. He was reading the engineer's past work performance and achievements and couldn't find anything wrong with it. In fact, this man seemed to be one who consistently performed at the ‘Meet Expectation’ level.

 

As a Multinational engineering company with many branches around the globe, getting a ‘Meeting Expectation’ evaluation continuously after working for nearly ten years meant that his work ethics and grasp over technicalities of the numerous projects were top notch. To let go of someone with such skill and give it to other competing companies was against company policy. Additionally, this senior engineer's salary was actually at the lower end as compared to the tasks he had been completing. It meant that, by employing this man, the company had saved a lot yearly for the past ten years. 

 

"I got a report stating that this engineer had a serious work ethics breach. I am quite skeptical about this, but the report by the manager seemed to be quite serious. After all, it is true that Mr. Arash's attendance and the number of emergency leaves he had been taking spiked too much in this last month. If his family was truly in trouble, we could sympathize. But, if it was just a fraud, we need to take serious actions to give others a reminder.

 

“Let's just have a talk first and decide later. We couldn't just hear from one side. Evaluation should come from 360 degrees." A handsome, slightly tanned Caucasian man in a suave dusty gray suit replied without moving his gaze away from his smartphone. He was the young and upcoming VP of the Project Department Sector, the prodigal son of one of the Board of Directors. He had been placed in this position three years back for the sake of learning the ropes in the company. Since then, Mr. Alan had made quite a lot of 'big moves' within the company to improve the overall productivity by thirty percent. It involved the change of a few policies, relocation of personnel, and retrenchments.

 

Mr. Tze nodded silently. As someone who was here to assist this young and upcoming prodigal star, he could only try his best to give counsel and advice accordingly. His position meant nothing to this young man in front of him. Although he was from another department, his livelihood was in the balance, too, since he heard that only a word from this young man could sway the CEO's decision from HQ. He wasn't sure how accurate the rumors were, but it seemed that this man's 'cable' was quite big.

 

Mr. Alan placed his smartphone on the meeting table and laced his fingers together. "No rush. Let's just wait and see the man himself."

 

...

 

Arash was sweating buckets at the moment. Meeting both Mr. Alan and Mr. Tze was really bad news. He had heard last year's retrenchments were being led by these two higher-ups.

 

Mr. Alan was the new Vice President of the company's Project Department, someone really high in the company's organization, which had the power to lay off employees on the spot. While, the popular Mr. Tze was someone from Human Resource, under Internal Affairs. Arash had only seen both guys through companywide meetings, e.g., change in company's policy, the distribution of yearly bonuses, and in the worst-case scenario, the mass laying off of employees from 'right-sizing.'

 

He took a deep breath in the lift and sprayed some freshener into his mouth before he stepped out with a calm look. Hana had adamantly told him to take good care of his dental health and hygiene, especially when talking to clients and bosses. She said it mattered and even forced a mint-flavored mouth spray into his hand. When he saw it inside his cube's drawer, immediately, Hana's advice came to mind. Once he thought about the love of his life, he would feel very calm and collected, as if he had been doused with a quick fix of endorphin.

 

It didn't matter. Arash convinced himself internally.

 

It didn't matter if he was sacked.

 

He could find a new job.

 

He had quite a sizable saving due to his immaculate way of handling his finances. It would be alright even if he was unemployed for a year or so as long as they become a little thrifty. If God wills it, he would just embrace it. In a sense, it was quite a good time for him to be there for his beloved little girls if it comes to that. Although Arash was grounded, some bits of positivity from Hana did rub off upon his person.

 

Arash's gaze turned serene.

 

He knocked on the door firmly and stepped in.

 

"Afternoon, gentlemen, I'm Arash from the Engineering Department." Arash gave a gentle smile to both persons present and shook their hands one after the other calmly. The Caucasian man with primp dark auburn hair and light gray eyes were scrutinizing him with interest from top to bottom. He felt like he had returned to the village where all the villagers were watching him like an interesting rare specimen. The Chinese-descent man standing beside the Caucasian man had a smiling expression upon him. However, it was disturbed by the little frown over his forehead. He must be worrying about something at the moment, but Arash only gave him a reassuring smile to appease him. His act startled the guy, and he finally recovered as his smile turned a notch softer. 

 

After being seated in the empty meeting room, Arash inquired, "Gentlemen, is there anything I can help you with?" 

 

Arash felt a sense of calmness from adjusting his mindset in the lift a few minutes before. He knew he might be laid off at this moment and accepted that fact readily. Both men were surprised by how composed he was at the moment. All three of them knew what this meeting should entail.

 

"The company had received a report about you, Mr. Arash. And it was quite a harsh one at that." The light gray-eyed young man spoke first while looking straight into Arash's eyes as if he was searching for something. Although it startled him slightly, Arash didn't back down, and return his stare with a calm and firm gaze of his own.

 

"Oh? I see. May I know the contents? I felt that I've been maligned unjustly if I am not given a chance to explain myself."

 

The VP received a tablet from the Chinese guy beside him as he swiped a few times. "This report stated that you had made multiple emergency leaves, falsified the contents of your technical report for Project Kemsah, and abscond the most important review meeting with our VIP clients."

 

"Is there anything else?"  

 

"It is also stated hereof insubordination and lack of respect for your superiors. The details... I'd rather spare you the details. It was quite colorful, to the least." Mr. Alan explained while swiping through the report stated in the tablet. He was quite surprised how high this report had gone up until he had to take action himself after the committee meeting.

 

"I see." Arash smiled gently as he sighed.

 

Both Mr. Alan and Mr. Tze looked at each other, puzzled with how the engineer responded. He was just too calm.

 

"And, what did you think about this, Mr. Alan? Did the higher-ups already make a decision to make me leave due to this issue? Will my explanation affected the decision made?" Arash inquired calmly.

 

The Caucasian man's gaze turned bright as he nodded with understanding.

 

"..The decision isn't truly finalized per se. I might be able to do something about it. Convince me."  A small smile crept through the corner of the young man's lips. It was infinitely rare for the stone-hearted young prodigy to be moved about something.

 

...

 

Arash started to explain about his predicament and his condition from the very beginning; how his wife went missing and is still missing currently, on how he had to manage everything haphazardly for his two children before returning to work. Nonetheless, he didn't go into the details.

 

What he truly emphasized was how he had finished his work, resolved any pending issues, and, lastly, even submitted the finalized paperwork by that afternoon. There shouldn't be any problems regarding his performance and work. He also quoted that he had the right to request an emergency leave for emergency situations as it involved the wellbeing of his family at home. In fact, he had done more for the company as compared to his peers all these years and never argue with other personnel on any work-related issues. He believed that his service should've made the company value him more rather than forsakening him from a single one-sided report. In fact, rather than being made to leave, he should've been promoted for his service for this past ten years plus.

 

Arash didn't know what affected him.

 

Might be due to the fact that he had accepted his fate to be retrenched, he had more courage than usual to explain how he had been mistreated, and how he held back, and how he had done his work well without raising any fuss. He also shared how he felt about petty people who loved to argue and how he didn't want to waste his energy and emotions with these kinds of people. He'd instead go home and spend quality time with his family. He needed to make both persons understand his mindset rather than letting them have a false impression of him for being a wimp. He couldn't forgive himself if he was looked down upon by these two gentlemen when he had done nothing wrong.

 

While he was talking, unknown to all three of them, a transparent wave resonated from Arash's left chest. The wave was as thin as paper, but it kept on pulsating gently. As the wave reached the two men, it entered their bodies without them knowing.

 

Somehow, deep in their respective souls something unknowingly changed…

 

...

Authors' Note:

This is the general segregation in an engineering company that Arash works in for your reference;

Junior engineer/engineer < Senior Engineer/Project Engineer < Project Manager < Department Manager < General Manager < Vice president (Project Department) < President/CEO of company