As I have written, for 2.5 years, wifey and I slaved away to build the business of two of the most obnoxious guys to ever pull on a pair of socks in the morning. We did this remotely for most of that time. However, this summer, though they were aware we were preparing to relocate, they insisted one of us come to the office weekday afternoons during one of their peak seasons, which spanned most of August.
Because they were asking for -- no, demanding against all logic -- the presence of either of us up to 10 PM, I decided it had to be me because I wouldn't risk wifey coming home by herself on public transportation that time of night. Though they never gave us a concrete reason why, all of a sudden, one of us being at the office was so critical, I tried to accommodate them.
After a few days of waking up to work from home, then trying to squeeze in chores and errands, then dropping everything to rush to the office and do more work that I could just as readily have done at home, then waking up Friday morning to start the work week at my full time job, I realized how stupid this all was. At that point, I started going in whenever I was done taking care of business at home, because that was priority for me. My family ALWAYS comes first. I would arrive at their office 2-3 hours after I was expected, and was unapologetic about it.
One afternoon, during a torrential rain, I found myself yet again running errands when they were expecting me at the office. Having been caught in the downpour, I was soaked to my skin, aggravated, worn out and just not of a mind to deal with their nonsense. I was driving to a supermarket to pick up some groceries before dragging myself down there when I got The Call. A glance at my phone confirmed that the caller was indeed the elder of these two mopes.
Over the next 20 minutes, he proceeded to tell me that he didn't ask me to move during their peak season, he felt that HIS business always took third priority in MY life, the explanation for my reluctance to work from their office was "bullshit" and suggested that he was doing wifey and me a favor by contracting out to us. When I countered that, considering all the good work wifey and I had done during our business relationship, he was taking things too far, he yelled "I don't give a shit!" He closed the discussion with an imperious "Do your job!"
I didn't trip. I disengaged the call, went about my business and didn't go in that day after all.
Over the next several hours, the memory of that call marinated in my skull. The cursing, the arrogance, the gall this asshole had to yell at me as if I were his teenage son caught sneaking in on a school night after a joy ride in the family car!
At first, I had to cope with the disappointment that, in their eyes, wifey's and my overall efforts counted for little simply because we chose to put our family's interests ahead of their egos and petty office politics. I had high hopes for us with them. They made lots of promises and we really were doing a good job. But overnight, that disappointment turned to rage. For what they were paying us while we waited patiently to reap the benefits of our hard work and good faith, how dare they even hint that we should put their business ahead of our own well-being, and tolerate being harassed over the phone in the bargain?
Regardless, by the next afternoon when it was time to head downtown, I thought everything was under control. I tried to focus on business, but the closer I got to that office, the more certain I grew that I had managed only to temporarily suppress the rage I felt earlier.
By the time I walked into their reception area, I was so angry, I could not make eye contact with anyone for fear I might do something rash. I went to set my laptop on a desk and ended up throwing it, knocking a monitor and telephone to the floor...
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