ALLISON GROANED. EIGHT FIFTY-SIX. FOUR minutes before the weekly Wednesday morning staff meeting, and her computer was running like a slug. Perfectly horrible timing. She’d just gotten an email from her mom’s loan sharks saying her mom’s payment was late. She sighed. You have to remember to send that in on time, Mom!
Delinquent again meant another $220 late fee. On top of that, they were $1,289 short this month. Which meant they’d be paying a daily interest rate of two percent on the $1,289 till they were caught up, per her dad’s contract. Plus, they could tack on another seventy-five bucks for every twenty-four hours the payment was late, which would kick in within the hour.
Allison squeezed her hands into fists, drew in a breath between her teeth, and released it quickly. She logged into her bank account. She could get this done before the meeting. No problem. Until her computer froze. Wonderful. The reboot would take at least two minutes. As she scrambled for a solution, Linda stuck her head into Allison’s office and smiled like she was about to go on a shopping spree with an unlimited credit card.
“Our general staff meeting is starting in three minutes, Allison.”
“Yes, I know.” Allison tapped into her phone. She could log in and transfer the money from there.
“But you’re still sitting at your desk.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.” She snapped off the words.
“I’m not sure that tone is appropriate, Allison.”
“I’ll be there, Linda.”
Linda stepped inside, strode up to Allison’s desk, and pressed her fingers onto the wood.
“Derrek has made it clear that being on time to our meetings is one of our highest priorities.”
“Have I ever been late to a staff meeting?”
Linda pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. “Let’s not start with this one, shall we?”
Allison slid into an open seat at the conference table with the other staff members and glanced at her cell phone at the moment the time switched from 8:59 to 9:00. A second later Linda marched through the door.
“Derrek texted me a few seconds ago. He’ll be here momentarily.” She settled into her chair at one end of the table. “He’s asked, while we’re waiting, to go around the room and tell what projects we’re currently working on and if we have any prayer requests for the week coming up.”
Allison stood. “While you’re doing that, I need to—”
“I feel we need to honor Derrek’s request, don’t you, Allison?” Linda glanced around the room, a razor-thin smile on her face that dared anyone to disagree.
“I have a critical issue I need to—”
“What is it? Perhaps we can help you solve it.”
“It’s a private matter. Personal.”
“My thought on that is you should be taking care of personal things on personal time, not on the company’s time. Would you agree?”
Linda’s tone was soft, but the softness didn’t mask the threat of retaliation if her wishes weren’t carried out. Before Allison could answer, Linda bowed her head and prayed.
“Dear heavenly Father, we thank you that you hear our prayers and answer them in your perfect timing. We thank you for this company. We thank you for the wonderful leadership Derrek provides and that he is a man of vision and wisdom and integrity. We thank you for him and for the jobs he has provided each of us. We thank you for the clients you have brought him, and we pray for their success, heavenly Father. As we go about our day today, we ask you, blessed heavenly Father, to guide us and grant us . . .”
Linda droned on, and Allison tuned her out. Maybe she could slip out, get the money transferred, and slip back into the room unnoticed. Sure, and the office fairies would appear in seconds to pick up Linda by her hair and pull her out of the room and drop her into Puget Sound.
Allison glanced at her watch. Five minutes after nine. Linda finally ended with a request for her church’s potluck on Friday night to go well. A few other people prayed short prayers. The room went quiet for ten or fifteen seconds. Then Linda closed the prayer time with another lengthy monologue.
“Amen.” Linda glanced around the room, a smile on her face that looked like she’d just saved a drowning child. “What a wonderful time of fellowship together.”
Allison glanced at her watch. Ten after. Still no Derrek.
“I’m sure Derrek will be here any moment, but since we might have a few more seconds before he arrives, let’s go around the table and hear how you’ve been blessed this past week.”
Unbelievable. Allison glanced around the room at the faint look of illness in the eyes of most of those around the table. Wasn’t this supposed to be a business?
Linda started, saying she’d been blessed because her daughter had started working for a new massage-therapy company where she’d be making more money. Mary mentioned her sister had become pregnant after trying for two years. Three more people before it would be Allison’s turn to speak. What would she say? That she was blessed to know that her time was currently being flushed down the toilet and her stress level was approaching an all-time high? She was saved when Derrek walked through the front door as the person beside her wrapped up.
“There he is!” Linda beamed and stood as Derrek strolled into the room like the guest of honor at an exclusive cocktail party.
“Hello, everyone.” He smiled as if he’d just handed them all a $2,000 bonus. “I hope your morning is going well.”
He gave no apology for being late. No explanation as to where he had been. But had he ever given a reason for his perpetual lateness? The odds of him starting now were low. But still, twenty minutes late to his own meeting? Classic.
Derrek set down his briefcase on the table and slowly pulled out his laptop. Allison had to figure out how to get out of the meeting and transfer the money. The meeting couldn’t last more than an hour, could it? Yes, of course it could.
“Before we get started on the issues of the day and week, I want to share something I have been studying the past seven days during my time alone with God. This applies to business as well as our lives, and I believe it is critical to our success as a company and as individuals.”
Derrek clicked a few keys, and the projector that hung from the ceiling sent a picture up on the wall behind his head. The first image was the word INTEGRITY in a bold font over an image of a brilliant sunrise.
He chuckled and pointed at the screen. “As you might imagine, I want to say a few words about integrity. It’s a word we all know about, a word we all know we need to live by. We know it’s a hallmark, an indication, a character trait of those who love God. Because of that, it’s a principle we need to revisit and remind ourselves of.”
He clicked to the next slide.
in·teg·ri·ty |\in-te-grә-tē\ noun. The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
Derrek read the words out loud, then went to the next slide. An image of Dwight Eisenhower appeared, and a quote.
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower
Derrek glanced around the room. “Our onetime president is absolutely correct. People might say they’ve succeeded, but deep down, even they know it’s tainted.”
Derrek clicked to the next slide.
“A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.”
—Baltasar Gracián
Again, Derrek glanced at each of them before speaking. “It only takes one time, friends. Just one. And in that moment, when the lie is exposed, a reputation can be destroyed forever. It happens. But it shouldn’t. As ambassadors of God, we should be above reproach.”
He went to the next slide, which held a photo of Oprah Winfrey and the words:
“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”—Oprah Winfrey
Derrek chuckled and waggled his finger at the screen. “Although I can’t agree with Oprah on many things, including her stand on spiritual matters, in this case I believe she is spot-on. We have integrity, not for what others will see and think of us, but for God and what he will think of us. One of the strongest witnesses we can give to the world is our integrity.
“As the Bible tells us in Proverbs 12:22, ‘The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.’”
Derrek shut off the projector and took his seat at the head of the conference table. Allison glanced at her watch. Nine thirty-five. How long was this going to go?
“Quite a few years ago I was in the process of interviewing a highly qualified candidate and we were on the third interview. I liked him, his qualifications were stellar, and we were getting close to bringing him on.
“After chatting in my office for ten or fifteen minutes, I excused myself to go make a quick phone call, assuring him I’d return in no more than ten minutes. Now, you must know that before he arrived, I had set out a piece of paper on the corner of my desk in my handwriting. Not easily noticeable, but an observant person would spot it quickly. On it was what I would offer him in pay. Next to the word low I had a number; next to the word middle I had a number; and next to the word highest I had written a number. The low was what I hoped I could hire him for, the middle was where I imagined we’d settle, and the high was the maximum amount I would pay. Valuable information for the man to have during salary negotiation.”
Derrek shifted in his chair, placed his hands on the table, and leaned forward.
“The words were visible, but the numbers were covered with a wooden pen holder. What my potential employee had no way of knowing was that there was no bottom on the pen set holder. Inside the holder were three hundred BBs. If he were to lift it, all the BBs would come running out.”
Derrek paused for dramatic effect, and as if on cue, Linda said, “Did he lift the holder?”
“He did.” Derrek smiled sadly. “The BBs came pouring out all over the place. As you might have guessed, I did not have to make a phone call when I excused myself. I left to see what he would do. As soon as I heard the BBs pour out, I walked back in and looked at him, then at the BBs, then back to him. I didn’t say a word. Neither did he. He simply picked up his briefcase and skulked out of my office. As you can imagine, he was not hired.”
“That was a brilliant way to figure out if the man was honest or not.” Linda beamed.
Derrek chuckled. “In a way I felt compassion for the man, but it certainly was a good way to test his integrity.”
A tiny alarm rang at the back of Allison’s mind, but she didn’t know why. Something was off about Derrek’s story. A second later she had it. She’d heard it before. From Derrek? She wasn’t sure. No, long ago. Way before she’d met him.
She peeked at Linda, then at Derrek, then pulled out her cell phone and googled the story. Seconds later she had her answer. Derrek had modified the tale slightly. But all the main facts were the same. She stared at him, stunned. Had he really just done that?
“I don’t want to belabor the point, so let me wrap up with this thought: At Wright Architecture we will do what we say we will. Always. If we say we’re going to deliver an item to our clients by a certain day and time, we get it done by that day and time. If we give our word about being somewhere on time, we will be there on time. Jesus says to let our yes be yes and our no be no. If we say yes to anything, we will do it. If we say no to something, we will not do it. It is that simple. We speak the truth in all circumstances.”
Allison clenched her jaw as she stared at Derrek, utter conviction on his face. He was dead serious. Meant every word. It took everything inside her not to ask him to do a presentation next week on irony.
Derrek launched into the agenda Linda had put together and without any real effort stretched ten minutes of content into forty minutes of blather. Ten after ten. She had to get out of there and transfer the money. Finally, at ten twenty Derrek wrapped up the meeting with a short prayer. The instant he finished, Allison leaped from her chair, perspiration breaking out under her blouse. She went to her office and shut the door. Booted up her computer. Logged in. Transferred the money. Ten twenty-nine. Made it with a minute to spare.
After cruising through a slew of urgent emails, Allison went to the lunchroom, poured herself a cup of water, and put it in the microwave. A minute and a half ought to do it. She tore open a bag of English breakfast tea and wrapped the string around her finger. Derrek hadn’t really lied when telling a story about having integrity, had he? Yes, he had. She shut her eyes and waited for the microwave to ding. When it did, she opened her eyes, and a voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Quite the presentation on integrity this morning.” Renee sidled up next to her, scooped instant cocoa into a coffee cup, and winked at Allison. “If you looked up irony online, I’m thinking you’d see a link to Derrek’s presentation.”
“No kidding.” Allison sipped her tea.
“Tough to listen to that sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
Renee laughed and said, “Just glad I’m not the only one who sees it.”
“Not by a long shot.” Allison started to leave, then stopped, slipped her hand into her pocket, and pulled out her cell phone. “Take a look at this.”
She pulled up the story Derrek had stolen for his presentation and handed her phone to Renee. Allison took a few more sips of tea while Renee read the article. When she finished, her eyes widened.
“He stole the story. Didn’t he think anyone would check?”
“Apparently not.”
“Wow, this is a new one, even for him.”
A voice broke into Allison’s thoughts.
“Could you two come into my office for a moment?”
They both spun toward the lunchroom door. Derrek.
Allison’s face went hot. Derrek turned and beckoned them over his shoulder with a finger. They followed him into the hallway, then into his office. When they entered, he shut the door behind them.
“I believe the kind of discussion you two were having in the lunchroom is important; however, I don’t believe having it within possible earshot of other employees is conducive to positive employee morale.”
Derrek went to his bookshelves and picked up a small bowl that looked African. He ran his thumb along the edge before speaking. “You’re questioning the story I told during the staff meeting. You’re questioning my integrity.”
Allison said nothing. Nor did Renee.
“Then let me start, and you can offer your thoughts when I’ve concluded.” He pushed off the shelves and held out his hand to Allison. “Would you like to show me what you were showing Renee in the lunchroom?”
Heat coursed through Allison as she pulled up the story again and handed her phone to Derrek.
He nodded and said, “Yes, that’s the same site I found.”
Derrek strolled over to his desk and shot her a condescending smile that made her feel like she was five.
“This is an aspect of leadership I thought you would understand, Allison, since you yourself are a leader in this company. And were a leader in your own company previously in a highly successful way.”
Allison refused to take the bait. Didn’t nod. Didn’t acknowledge the comment. The candy comments used to work. Even now she felt the influence of Derrek’s claim drawing her in, comforting her, making her believe in him.
No. Wouldn’t work, not this time.
“And, Renee, you, too, are a senior member of the staff. While you’re not officially in management, you have strong influence over many of the others, so you have an opportunity to influence for loss or for gain.”
Renee didn’t speak, but her jaw was clenched.
“Allison?” Derrek asked, eyes wide. “Any thoughts?”
“You were going to offer yours first.”
“That I was.” Derrek nodded again. “When communicating a lesson as critical as integrity, the lesson is the crucial element, not the minutiae of the delivery method. To convey that lesson with enough emphasis to linger within the listeners for years, we use the power of story. I chose the story I did with care, as it is quick, memorable, and easy to visualize. I could have just as easily told a story of integrity from my own years in business, but the one I told was the best one for the moment, which is why I used it.”
“But it didn’t happen to you.”
“In one sense, no, but in another sense, yes. I have used similar ideas throughout my years of interviewing and hiring people. Because I didn’t utilize that precise method does not—in any way—take away from the fact that I’ve done the same thing.”
Allison glanced at Renee, who stared at Derrek, her face blank.
“When, Derrek?” Renee sputtered. “When did you do the same type of thing during an interview?”
Derrek glanced back and forth from side to side without his head moving. “Is it possible I missed something? Am I on trial and no one made me aware of it?”
Derrek cleared his throat, and his countenance cooled. “If I chose to, I could give you hundreds of examples, but that’s not what concerns me. What bothers me is you’re willing to camp on such a small point of contention. You’re straining a gnat and swallowing a camel, Renee.”
“Whatever.”
“No, not whatever.” Derrek folded his arms. “This is precisely what I’m talking about with regard to leadership in this company. You want to be more of a leader here. You want to have a stake in it like Allison does. In order for that to happen, I need to see examples of loyalty, support, belief in the vision—in this case a vision of integrity for this company—not a rebellious spirit, which never comes from God.”
Allison couldn’t stay silent. “I don’t have a stake in this company, Derrek. We just had that talk.”
“But you will. It’s coming. Soon.”
Derrek settled into his leather chair and wiggled his mouse to bring his computer to life. Allison stared at him. That was it? He continued to ignore them.
“Derrek?”
“Unfortunately, ladies, I have work I need to attend to right away.”
“Not before I have a chance to speak,” Allison said.
“Yes, yes, of course.” Derrek chuckled and glanced at his watch. “But right now I need to focus on these projects, or we might not have an office to be standing in to have those opportunities to speak.” Another hearty laugh.
“No, Derrek, I’m—”
The laughter died abruptly. “Truly, Allison, we’re going to have to chat later.”
With that, Derrek turned again to his computer.
On the way home the sky opened and dumped the first rain in weeks. It seemed to increase its intensity every few minutes, and by the time Allison reached the road that led to her neighborhood, she had her wipers on high. As she came to the first of three stop signs before she reached her house, her phone chirped.
Allison glanced down. Caller ID said it was Kayla. Allison hesitated only a second before answering.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Kayla said. “Been a while.”
“True.”
Neither spoke for a few seconds.
“Ally?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m thinking we should be friends again.”
“I’d like that.” Allison drove through the intersection and pulled over to the side of the road. “I’d like that a lot.”
“Good,” Kayla said. “Me too.”
“How’s it going with Mila?”
“Really well. Not as much fun as with you, and not as many fights.” Kayla laughed. “But I’m finally making some decent money. How ’bout you?”
“It’s been tough.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Allison stared at the passing red lights of the cars sloshing along the road.
“Derrek’s not what you thought?”
“No.” Allison sighed. “But you already knew who he really was.”
“You would have seen it too if you hadn’t already been friends.”
“What do you mean?”
“The computers.”
That was all Kayla needed to say. Instantly it was three and a half years earlier and Allison was on the phone with Derrek.
“How are things progressing for you and your new venture, Allison? About ready to hang out the shingle?”
“Just about. We’re doing well. Getting everything set up. Next step is to get a couple of more powerful computers.”
“I know you’ve been PC-based when working for other firms, but now that you’re starting your own, I highly recommend you transition to Apple.”
“Really?”
“Without question. They will serve you well in everything from design software to accounting to marketing.”
“You’re saying we should buy something like MacBooks?”
“Yes. They make an excellent product, carry an outstanding warranty, and the particular model of MacBook I’m recommending will have all the processing power you need to design with ease.”
“I appreciate the counsel. I’ll go to their website today and—”
“Tell you what. Let me take care of it for you. I have an order going in tomorrow, and I’ve purchased enough laptops and desktops from them that they are quite responsive with my orders. I’ll simply add two more computers to the order and you can pay me when the computers arrive.”
Neither she nor Kayla were scholars when it came to tech, so having someone put them on the right path out of the gate would be a big help.
“Wow, thank you, Derrek. That would be incredibly helpful.”
A week after that, Derrek emailed and said the computers had come in. Allison sent a check for the full amount. Two weeks later she fired up her new computers, but something didn’t seem right. She’d never worked with Macs, but she was surprised to see a number of files already in the documents folder. Files that shouldn’t be there. Like one containing a series of songs that she knew Derrek’s band played.
She called Derrek and said, “I think there might have been a mix-up. I found a few files on here and was wondering if maybe you sent us the wrong laptops.”
Derrek chuckled. “No, I should have warned you about that. I was setting up the laptops for you, making sure everything worked right, then I loaded your laptop with some software that I knew would help you, and I’m guessing in the transfer process a few files might have slipped on there along with the software without my knowledge. You can simply delete those files, no harm done.”
It wasn’t till a year later, when a repair shop had fixed an issue on her computer, that Allison learned the truth. Her computer was a year and a half older than it should have been. She hadn’t wanted to believe it. Derrek had taken the new computers and given her and Kayla his older models. She’d let it go. But she shouldn’t have.
“I saw it, Kayla. But I ignored it.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. I’m sure I would have done the same thing.”
“No, you wouldn’t have.”
They both went silent.
“Hang in there, Ally. Things are really crazy for me right now, but let’s get together this fall, all right?”
“Yes. I’d love to, K. You made my day.”
She hung up and smiled. It would take time, but she had little doubt they would be friends again, of the best variety.
Wednesday, July 24th
I just about lost it at work today. Master Spin Doctor of the Universe gave a talk on integrity at the staff meeting. The ultimate irony. Not quirky or funny irony, but the kind that makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs till my voice runs out. Doing the right thing. Doing what you say you’re going to do. Speaking from a place of truth in all that you say.
And then he ends with a story that he stole and justifies it to Renee and me when he overhears us talking about it in the lunchroom. Unbelievable.
Renee tried to push back. But of course she was shut down by the velvet hammer.
The man is the living embodiment of a lie. Does he even know it? Has no one shown him a mirror? Even then, would he see it? Are the others in the company blind, or do they simply swallow his fairy tales for the sake of their jobs?
I was tempted at so many points to dive in and offer commentary, but I can’t. Not yet. Have to take what money I can from my job. Even with Parker’s next batch of money—which should arrive soon, please—it’s not enough, but at least it’s something. But how long will they let us make partial payments?
Micah Taylor says a breakthrough is coming. When? I sure hope it’s looking at the calendar, ’cause we’re running out of days.
What are you doing, God? Don’t you think it’s time to let me in on the plan? I could start looking for another job, but how do I do that when I’ve signed a noncompete? Impossible.
Richard talks about dry bones and calling them to life, and about true selves that have slipped away believing again—but believing in what?
I’m tired. And I don’t see any light coming anytime soon.
Well, that’s not entirely true. Kayla called me on the way home. That was a bright spot. And very needed.
In the morning Allison checked the journal. No change. Same that night. She tried to reach Richard, but his phone went to voice mail. Believe? The last of her faith had almost vanished.