Thursday, April 06, 2006
The Honeymoon Is Over!
My honeymoon with the new job came to an abrupt end yesterday morning as I was rattled with an unexpected phone call. When I picked up the receiver I received such a deep self inflicted electric jolt, that my brain ceased to function properly. I couldn't hardly concentrate on researching on my topics for the magazine, because of that one phone call. Every time I answered the phone I mis-screened a call. I chalked up the mistakes and charged it on the account of me being the new person. Thank God I didn't have any articles to write or any to edit, because I'm sure the end result would have lead to a serious mess. My mind was that far gone. All I could do was reiterate what D'Angelo sung so long ago.
Part 1: "Shit....Damn...Motherfucker!"Flashback:It was one night last May when I was feeling sulky. Perhaps I was too sulky to even participate in an open mic session in Baltimore that I was invited to. Nevertheless, I still took the drive out there and joined the session as a spectator. Unfortunately, by the time the session ended, the night was still feeling young to me. So I made the trek back home to DC and stopped by the bar that my friend LAF and I frequent. Well, we don't really go anymore, but at the time it was the place to be.
On that particular night, I was happy to be there by myself, sipping on my usual Lynchburg Lemonade and talking a little trash with the bartender. I had on the perfect mask that evening to cover up what sulky feelings I had inside from all that had taken place earlier that day. When I began to feel my real emotions I packed up my purse, closed out my tab and headed out the door... so I thought. When I reached the outside portion of the bar, I walked passed a table of two gentlemen that I first noticed when I arrived at the bar. I watched how they stared me down like a hawk when I entered the place and when I walked out, not only did they stare but they became bold enough to speak.
After a few minutes of back and forth of them coaxing me to stay to have a drink with them and me trying to head to Ben's Chili Bowl, I gave in and sat down for another round of drinks. A few minutes later another female, someone the fellas were expecting, arrived and the four of us spent the entire night into the morning talking on a breezy spring night. The female was about my age. Actually she was a couple of years younger than me. The two fellas were both in their late 30's to early 40's and of the two men, one is married with a daughter. Somehow, in our semi-drunken state we clicked. It wasn't until around 3 am when we left the bar, and all but the married guy headed to Ben's Chili Bowl with me. Before we all went our separate ways, the four of us did exchanged cell phone numbers and were in agreement that since we had a good time with each other that perhaps we should meet up again.
A few times over the summer, the three of them were my happy hour buddies as we met up in different places after work for a drink or two. Somehow during this foursome bond, the married guy developed some fond feelings for me. Though, I had his cell number, I hardly called it. I only called him if I knew we were going to hang out with the other two and to confirm the place, time and etc. He started calling me on his own a little bit more and I told him straight up that I don't deal with married men. I told him that I can deal with a married man in a friendship setting such as this, but that's it!
After a few more phones calls, and me rejecting his flirtacious advances, he finally called me late one night to say that he couldn't handle being just friends with me. He through a whole speech about he wishes me well and so forth and I nonchalantly told him I understood and that perhaps it would better if he did stop calling me since he feel he can't be just a friend to me.
For about a month or so I didn't hear from him and soon after I stopped hearing from the other two. Actually the other two were pretty much busy with their lives that it was hard to meet up with them anyways. Then, around late August, the married guy started calling me again. A couple of times I didn't pick up his call, but eventually I answered. I questioned him on what happened to him not being able to handle being just a friend. I got some rhetoric about how much he missed talking to me and how he would try to just be a friend and .. blah blah blah...
For a while, he actually did just that. He was a friend, but I still didn't call him. He was calling me. Then came the worse two weeks of my life for the year 2005. In the latter part of September into October, I was an emotional wreck. Having been through a nasty falling out between Hazel and I, and I was feeling very vulnerable. I did go out with the married guy during that time, but I won't say I totally crossed the line. We did the whole touching and kissing thing, but that's as far as I let it go. I'm mad with myself for even letting it get that far, because that was just more fuel for his fire. Nevertheless, he did respect my boundaries once I shocked myself into reality and said no.
After that incident, I ceased all communication with him. He would call and I would ignore the call. For a while he stopped calling and I thought he finally took the hint, but he started to call again right after the new year. I did answer once when his calls started again, it was then he pleaded to meet with me and claimed that he had been holding a Christmas gift for me. I told him to keep it and give it to his wife. I didn't want it and I never agreed to meet with him.
I thought after that conversation he would leave me alone again, and this time for good. For about a month I didn't hear from him and then March rolled around, so did the phone calls. This time, I just can't answer. I don't want to answer. He even sent a text message inquiring if I was okay and saying something to effect that he didn't understand why I don't talk to him and that he missed me. The calls aren't every day, but perhaps every other day to maybe once a week. The most recent of calls to my cell phone was just last Saturday. All I could do was look at the caller ID and press the "reject call" button.
Fast Forward To Yesterday Morning:The phone rang and I answered with ease. Then came the shock of my life. On the other end, was a gentleman clearing his throat and once his voice boomed through the receiver I damn near choked on my own saliva. I knew the voice, but I still wanted to give the caller the benefit of the doubt. The caller was asking to speak to my boss.
"Whom shall I say is calling?"When the caller announced his name, I felt as if all the life I have been living was just purgatory and now I was truly dead and living in hell. I passed the call to my boss and immediately went into shock. Just then, the staff person who is leaving the firm arrived for the day. I had to know if the caller and the married guy I know are one in the same. On the down low, I called her over and wrote down the caller's name on a piece of paper. I asked if the name looked/sounded familiar. In a cheery voice she beamed,
"Yeah! That's his brother! But he rarely comes to the office though."To be sure we were talking about the same person, I had to pull from my memory what the married guy looks like. I briefly ran down the line with his looks and the staff person confirmed it.
Married Guy + My Boss aka Mr. Yellow = Brothers
Shortly after the first call, the married guy called again asking for his brother...Mr. Yellow. Again, I had to answer the phone. As I went through my whole professional riggamorro over the phone, I could tell as he was responding to what I was saying that he was trying to recognize my voice. Yet, I said nothing.
Dumb me should have known to expect this. The family name, which is also the name of the firm, is not that common in the DC Area. To be honest, the thought did occur to me last week.
What if they are related?I shrugged it off, because the thought alone seemed too uncomfortable, even if I did think of them as only being cousins if it were so. Actually, I could probably digest this better if they did turn out to be cousins than brothers. At least cousins, unless immediate, don't necessarily have to be really tight with one another to call each other at work or whatnot. I should have paid even closer attention to the fact that the bar that I use to hang out in is a client of the firm. Though I don't recall ever seeing my boss there, but LAF certainly has seen him there and has even spoken with him.
As far as Mr. Yellow is concerned, he just thinks I am some chic he hired for a writing job after responding to an ad on Criagslist. He has no idea that I use to frequent the very same bar that he took on as a client and he certainly doesn't know that I know his brother. I don't plan on mentioning anything to either him or his married brother. If they figure it out, I'll let them do that on their own. I want to remain as professional about this as possible. However, I can't help but to feel that I set in motion some kind of sick cosmic joke!
Part 2: "She works for me!" After a good night's rest, I went to work today feeling as if I am back on the purgatory level of this divine universe. I went through the day completing some research and creating future outlines for the next year for the magazine. Then came a buzz on the intercom from Mr. Yellow. He wanted me to go ahead and finalize a "project" that he assigned me to do earlier in the week.
The assignment was to write a letter to the companies that advertised with this current issue of the magazine. In the letter I was to introduce myself as the assistant editor and thank them for their support (their ads) to the publication. At first I did question the whole thing. For some reason I thought the letter would be coming from him since he is the person that is producing this magazine. However, he told me it wanted the letter to come from me.
The letters were suppose to have been mailed yesterday, but because the letterhead for the magazine didn't arrive on time, the call from him today was to go ahead and print the letters on the firm's letterhead and send them out today. However, I had a slight dilemma. I didn't have any contact information for the companies. That's when I had to call "May," who is the V.P. of Business Development - in charge of advertising.
Just as I thought to contact her, it hit me. The letters should be coming from her and not me! Sure enough, when I spoke with her, she was hot, because I was told to do these letters. I didn't take it personal, because I have spoken to her before and she is a nice and cool person and I knew that she didn't have anything against me. I also know how a bit personal the connections are between ad reps and their clients. However, what I did learn today is that the connections can be a bit deeper than I what I originally thought they were.
Ad reps see their connections as their "life line" as May put it. Advertising is a whole different realm that is territorial. Meaning, just as the reps see the clients as their life line, the client sees their relationship with a rep as a personal thing. It almost the same as having a special relationship with a beautician or personal shopper. I fully understood where May was coming from and I understand the logic and protocol of doing things; thank you letter to advertisers should come from the advertising department and not Editorial!!!!
However, Mr. Yellow, didn't see it in that light. He was very adamant about me sending out the letters today. He never gave a reason why. Much of the latter portion of the afternoon was spent on the phone with May, listening to her vent her frustration and then passing the phone to Mr. Yellow, who in turn told May that he fully disagreed with her this time and literally told her (about me) in a calm (sinister kind of way) voice;
"She works for me. Right now, what I say goes."
I spent the last portion of my day, pulling contact names from a data base, printing and signing the letters and addressing them to the right people. As I was toiling away, I had a feeling as to why Mr. Yellow was so dead set on having me do the letters. For one, May isn't a full time employee with the firm. She works on a freelance/commission basis and she hardly comes to the office. All of her dealings with the firm/the magazine are taken care of from her home. I had a feeling the Mr. Yello probably asked her to do this some time ago and she never got around to do it.
When I left the office, I called May to tell her that I went ahead and prepared the letters to be sent out and that if by chance they hadn't been sent out in the morning, I would see if I could change the letter to reflect her name or at least go back to make sure her contact information was in the letter. After a few more minutes on the phone, she realized that names I had pulled from the data base were not the right direct contact. Of course with her being the advertising person, only SHE had the right people to address.
May called back to the office to see if she could have the letters held off for another day. Fives minutes later, I received another call on my cell from May. In a defeated tone of voice she told me to go ahead and send the letters, but she told Mr. Yellow to hold off until tomorrow in order for her to email me the correct names to address.
I asked her did he ever give a reason why he wanted me to send them out. He did give a reason and sure enough it was what I had suspected. He did asked her to complete this task last week and apparently she didn't move quick enough for his taste. So, for whatever reason, he was in a rush to get the letters out and had me to do them.
All in AllI still love this new job and I still see this as another step further in my "writing career." I don't plan on staying with the firm long. I just want to develop enough experience to be able to move to the next level.
How will I handle things if Mr. Yellow finds out I know his brother or if his brother finds I work at the firm? As professionally as I can. I don't need the drama, but you best believe if I smell a hint of it.. I will try to nip it before it gets ugly. I won't know exactly what I will do until I am presented with it. Hopefully it won't come to such a time.
As with May, though I didn't take her venting personally, I still felt a bit guilty for not speaking up enough about the logic of things with such an issue for future reference, but perhaps this wasn't the time, especially since he gave her a task to do and she couldn't deliver on time. I just don't want to over step my boundaries or have anyone think I am.
I am glad to say, through her venting, somehow May and I found time to laugh and talk trash over the over about nothing in particular.
Posted by KomplexPhemale ::
6:24 PM ::
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