Two months after Ruby’s arrival at Pompous Sports, Vince, her immediate supervisor, left the company. He told Ruby that he had found an amazing position that was perfect for him. He said he was comfortable with her ability to fill his shoes.
It never occurred to Ruby to question him further, but later she wondered if they had paved the way for him like her previous company had for her. Regardless, she wasn’t sure that his leaving was good news for her.
Nevertheless, knowing that she had landed on her feet and feeling financially secure, Ruby approached Jason about applying for a no-fault divorce. This was how she chose to close that door and move on.
Jason continued to stay in their house for about one year after she left. When their divorce was finalized, they decided to sell the house they had lived in together. When they met at the lawyer’s office to sign the closing sale papers, she discovered that Jason had forged her signature on documents to add a $30,000 second mortgage to the original one on their house. Jason had spent the whole amount, so the money had to be repaid with the proceeds from the sale. He had cheated her again.
Ruby didn’t care as much as she would have even two years earlier. That chapter of her life was now closed.
The new vice president of labour relations, Mr. Miller, took over Vince’s duties. Mr. Miller was about 5 feet 7 inches tall, with a rotund body (probably eighty pounds overweight) and a full head of gray hair. This is never a good reporting structure for human resources, thought Ruby. We fare much better when reporting directly to the most senior executive—definitely not to a person with a labour relations mindset. This move makes me very nervous.
On Ruby’s six-month anniversary, her new supervisor, Mr. Miller—or the weasel, as she had come to think of him—sauntered into her office. Most of the staff had left for the day.
He said, “Ruby, would you mind if I sit and have a little chat?”
“Sure. Come in. Have a seat.”
With that, he squeezed his oversized body into the visitor chair opposite her. Leaning back in the chair, his fingers intertwined behind his head, he crossed his legs. His cocky mannerisms set off warning signals in her brain. “How’s it going, Ruby?” he said.
Like he cares. I wish he had left his enormous ego at the door.
She responded, “Fine. What’s the agenda for your little chat? Is there something specific you want to discuss?”
Ruby shuddered as he gave her an I’m better than you smirk that screamed, Wouldn’t you like to know. Maybe I have a little surprise for you. She had never been able to read the man. She just didn’t like or trust him. His sneaky sneer made her feel very uneasy.
Then he continued, “You know the career path that Vince said was open for you when he hired you?”
Hesitantly, Ruby said, “Yes. I remember. That is one of the reasons I left my last position to accept this one.” She thought, Red-flag alert. Be still my heart. What is he up to now?
“Well …” He started to say something, but then he briefly halted while he surveyed the walls and ceiling of her office. After his pregnant pause, he looked back at her and casually stated, “That career path no longer exists. I have the approval to reorganize the department. I took that position out of the organization chart and created a new, more junior position. It will report directly to me. I need assistance with my labour relations day-to-day reports and activities.”
“Really. That’s very interesting. Do you have someone in mind?” she asked, but being a people-watcher, she knew who Mr. Miller had been cozying up to lately.
“I’m going to promote Neil, your assistant, to that position. It’s a done deal. He starts tomorrow.”
Her heart sank, but her gut told her she had to remain calm. She asked, “Why would you do that? Do I get a say, as he is my assistant? Besides, he is really green, with only six months experience—plus he’s right out of school.”
“Nope. I know how green he is, but I like him, and he’s trainable.”
Ruby thought, You mean mouldable.
The main purpose of his visit accomplished, he got up from his chair and casually strutted toward the door. At the doorway, he turned to look at her, paused and then said, “Oh, by the way, we never had this conversation.”
Where is a recording device when you need one? This would have been a conversation that would have got me a great settlement in a wrongful dismissal case.
With that, he slithered out of her office. He was gone as quickly as he had appeared. His departure left her in shock. She was hurt and angry that he had an arbitrary veto over her career path. She felt violated once again.
A few years ago, she would have cried, commented, or displayed some emotion. Not today. That would not happen—plus, this was not the place. Female managers don’t cry. She had developed a tough exterior, and that is all the world would see. Inside, however, she was devastated.
Ruby drove home, trying to concentrate on the drive. She was angry but held her feelings inside her for now. The second she closed her apartment door behind her, however, she allowed herself to shed the tears that had been waiting to flood down her face. She sobbed. Why me? What did I do to deserve this?
She had foolishly thought she was in control. She still didn’t get it. The upper management—all of them men—played with people’s lives like pawns on a chessboard. The organization didn’t matter. Ruby had developed a saying: “Different corporation and different men, but the game is always the same.”
The next day, she telephoned a recruiter friend. “Hi, Stan. Do you have any HR jobs?”
“No, Ruby. But I think you might want to get out of that company sooner rather than later.”
“I can’t just quit,” she told him. “I’m on my own and need my paycheque to survive.”
“Maybe this would help: I’d gladly hire you as a recruiter at my firm. Hell, you could start tomorrow if you wanted to.”
“That was not exactly what I expected to hear,” Ruby replied, “but I’ll think about your kind offer. I don’t want the reputation of running away at the first sign of conflict. But one thing’s for sure: I’m not going to allow them to abuse me, either.”
Later the next day, she met with Walter, the son who headed up sports clothing manufacturing. He was a kind and caring type, even though he had the reputation of being a jock. Ruby repeated the complete discussion she’d had with her manager the weasel the day before. “And as he walked out of my office, he said, ‘We never had this conversation.’ What conversation? He told me what he was going to do. There was no consultation, and certainly no conversation. Walt, is there anything you can do? Am I already past-tense?”
She could see that he was genuinely upset and angry. “I’m so sorry to hear this was handled so poorly,” he apologized. Then he added, “I’ll look into it, but I don’t know what I can actually do about it. It is his department.” He did not want to give her false hope.
Ruby told him straight out, “I never want to be someone’s pawn. Furthermore, I do not want that weasel to have the satisfaction of thinking I’m desperate and begging for my job.” Abruptly, she stood up, as if she’d had a change of mind. She said with the most inner strength she could muster, “Don’t bother looking into it. I couldn’t work with that weasel after this, now or ever again. But you do realize I have a good case for litigation: sex discrimination.”
Walter nodded, his eyes wide.
“Here’s my letter of resignation,” she said, handing the envelope to Walter as she left his office. She had worded the letter very carefully so as to leave the door open for litigation.
With a strong sense of purpose, Ruby walked quickly through the building, not making eye contact with anyone she met. Back in her office, she held back her tears of anger as she cleaned out her desk. She briefly explained the situation to her staff of five and then said, “I just don’t want any of you to think that I’m abandoning you. You guys should be okay. None of you is a threat to Mr. Miller.”
Ruby started toward the department’s door, and then she turned, smiled and waved goodbye to her staff. Before leaving, she stopped at Neil’s desk and said, with as much sincerity as she could manage, “Congratulations on your promotion.” Her parting comment to Neil was, “Watch your back. He is throwing you into the fire without the proper training. I’m concerned that he is setting you up for failure. Please be careful, Neil.”
Sheepishly, Neil bowed his head. “Thanks. I will be careful. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll land on your feet.”