{"id":32,"date":"2023-10-31T06:02:22","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T06:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/?p=32"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:43:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T18:43:21","slug":"corporate-collision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/corporate-collision\/","title":{"rendered":"Corporate Collision"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Bob had that look on his face again. His nose crinkled in a distinct expression of disgust. Disgusted with himself, perhaps. Or more accurately, disgusted with me.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarol, the printer is out of paper again,\u201d Bob said. His voice was quiet, but his anger was as clear as the coming storm.<\/p>\n

I watched from across the room, one eye peeking from behind my computer. Prepared to snatch it towards the screen should he feel my nosy gaze. Carol, his secretary, and his wife, never uttered a word. She continued tapping away on the keyboard as if he hadn\u2019t spoken.<\/p>\n

Yep. This spat was definitely not about the printer.<\/p>\n

Maybe it had something to do with that email Bob sent me. The latest of many, actually. The one asking me to go with him to dinner and after dinner we could visit a nice hotel. There was also that last sentence. The one implying that the status of my employment relied on the response.<\/p>\n

I decided not to respond at all.<\/p>\n

Instead, I went back to work. Checked the rest of my messages and forwarded some important ones to my coworkers. One of them was Carol. I added Janice\u2019s email, the head of HR. It wasn\u2019t until I pressed send that I realized I had forwarded the wrong email. Instead of the quarterly production reports, I sent the invitation to a job-dependent dinner date Bob had sent. Silly me. I make the clumsiest mistakes.<\/p>\n

At least that\u2019s what I told Bob when he called me into his office fifteen minutes later. He had the same look that he was wearing now. Eyes squinted. Face red. Nose crinkled. Lips tensed in a snarl.<\/p>\n

Bob leaned down on the table on his knuckles; his voice raised this time. \u201cCarol!\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman in question swirled in the chair so violently that I thought she would fall out of her seat. She shrieked, \u201cWhat do you want from me, Robert!\u201d<\/p>\n

I stood, evidence in hand. HR had scheduled an appointment with me, and if I waited too long, I\u2019d be late. Down the hall, I heard her shouting but couldn\u2019t understand what was being said. Although Bob deserved this, I hated to be the cause of a lover\u2019s quarrel.<\/p>\n

The walk to HR felt longer than it was. I was swerving between guilt and triumph. Was it worth it? I could become the reason Bob lost everything. I didn\u2019t do anything wrong, did I? I stood up for myself. He wrote those emails. Even after I told him, \u2018No,\u2019 and \u2018Stop trying.\u2019<\/p>\n

In the meeting, I gave Janice every inappropriate email Bob sent me. I answered questions and told her my side of the story. I was told there would be an investigation, as was fair.<\/p>\n

Upon returning to my seat, I couldn\u2019t help but notice that Bob was gone. He wasn\u2019t even in his office. A small crowd surrounded Carol\u2019s desk. There were shoulder pats, tissues handed, and whispered words of comfort.<\/p>\n

Carol looked up as I entered the room. The scowls sent my way caught me off guard. I could understand it from Carol, I suppose. Bob was her husband, and I was interfering with their lives something awful.<\/p>\n

The gathered crowd shot eye daggers at me. Like I was a snarling, rabid animal.<\/p>\n

I sat at my desk timidly, glancing between them and the work I had left. Maybe they hadn\u2019t heard the whole story. No need to do anything, the office gossip would bark up my tree soon enough.<\/p>\n

Just as expected, after the crowd dispersed from Carol\u2019s desk, Richard sauntered over.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, Rebecca. Heard you got into some trouble?\u201d Richard said. That was the one and only thing I liked about the guy. He always got straight to the point.<\/p>\n

Annoyance crept up and almost leaped from my mouth in the form of a, \u2018Are you freakin\u2019 kidding me?!\u2019 But my calm prevailed. I struggled to find the words, mindful that HR asked me to keep the matter private.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2026\u201d I hesitated, crossing my arms, \u201cWell, someone sent me emails asking for something inappropriate and implied that could lose my job if I declined.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard\u2019s frowned, the worry lines making him look older than he was, \u201cOh.\u201d He said, seemed genuinely surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just\u2026heard something different.\u201d He said, \u201cThought you were the one sending inappropriate emails.\u201d<\/p>\n

I snorted, \u201cNo, I have all the emails to prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d Richard said. \u201cSorry about that, Becca.\u201d<\/p>\n

I shook my head, \u201cNo need for you to be sorry. You didn\u2019t send the emails.\u201d<\/p>\n

We small-talked for a bit before he walked away. His gait was more determined now that he had fresh gossip. An hour passed, and harsh glares turned into sympathetic smiles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A weird Monday, sure. A terrible start to the week. But nothing compared to the week after. HR requested a visit and I went enthusiastically, assuming it had something to do with my harassment case.<\/p>\n

It did alright. Janice informed me the investigation was over, and no evidence of Mister Robert Dawson harassing me was found. To top it off, oh so beautifully, I was being let go for discussing the details of the harassment case when told not to.<\/p>\n

I stared at Janice as if she was mentioning the weather, too shocked to feel anything, like my soul had to step away from my body to process the news. To her credit, Janice gave me the time I needed. She even had the decency to look guilty.<\/p>\n

After many moments she broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I know it\u2019s unfair,\u201d she said in a hushed tone. \u201cBut Mister Dawson has friends in high places. But don\u2019t worry. When you\u2019re looking for a new job, I\u2019ll give you an excellent reference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, wonderful!\u201d I exclaimed, aiming for genuine, but it came out as sarcastic as I felt. Janice cringed, looking down at her worn, pleather shoes. I thought I had more to say, maybe my soul was still taking a walk. Or perhaps I realized it wasn\u2019t entirely her fault. Bob was powerful, his friends more so. Janice was being toyed with as I had been.<\/p>\n

Standing with as much dignity as I could muster, I said, \u201cWell, I suppose I better gather my things.\u201d<\/p>\n

A sheepish look settled on Janice\u2019s round, aged face. She squirmed, looking between me and the other side of the room. \u201cWe took the liberty of cleaning your desk. Your things are in the corner.\u201d She said as she slid the letter of termination across the table.<\/p>\n

I turned, following her sight. A box of my few desk possessions was strewn haphazardly against the wall. My soul tapped me on the shoulder, informing me that anger was starting to bubble up. Somehow, I kept the anger in check. Maybe I was overcome with the indignity of it all.<\/p>\n

Actually, no. There was no way I was going to grab my things and shamefully shuffle out of this building.<\/p>\n

I was down the hall before I truly realized I was walking, ignoring Janice calling my name. Entering the work area, I saw Bob standing at the door to his office. A charming smile, and a sly wink as he chatted up a woman I didn\u2019t recognize. Probably my replacement.<\/p>\n

Carol stared intensely at her screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard without a single clack of typing. No longer ignorant and no longer blameless.<\/p>\n

Bob had been out of the office during the week of investigation. Seeing his face again, so chipper and unharmed, made the anger in me froth and simmer.<\/p>\n

Bob saw me thundering into the room, his smile dropped. My ex-coworkers went silent, pretending to work. I didn\u2019t even know what I wanted to say. I stood there, glaring at his ugly face.<\/p>\n

He smiled again. Victorious. \u201cI see you\u2019ve heard. Goodbye, Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n

That bastard.<\/p>\n

I guess my soul decided to rejoin my body at that exact moment. I don\u2019t remember grabbing the flowerpot on the accent table beside me. But when I saw it hurling through the air, I knew I had thrown it.<\/p>\n

If Bob had moved a fraction slower, it would have hit him. Somewhere deep in my soul, I was grateful it hadn\u2019t. I probably would have faced charges if it had. For now, when the ceramic pot crashed and shattered against the wall, pieces falling to the floor, I was enraged at my lousy aim.<\/p>\n

The crowd stopped pretending to work. They stood at their desks, gasping and whispering surprises. My replacement jumped back and kept inching away as if she thought I was there for her. I saw the flicker of Carol\u2019s cardigan as she left the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuck you!\u201d I yelled. I don\u2019t know if I was yelling at Bob or everyone in the room. Or maybe throwing my voice at Carol\u2019s back. I turned to leave, shoving Janice and her dropped jaw out of my way.<\/p>\n

I could probably kiss that \u201cexcellent reference\u201d goodbye, but it didn\u2019t matter. This wasn\u2019t over. Armed with the emails Bob had sent me, the letter of termination, and the constitutional right to inform the press, I was ready for battle.<\/p>\n

They had declared war. But I was going to win it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bob had that look on his face again. His nose crinkled in a distinct expression of disgust. Disgusted with himself, perhaps. Or more accurately, disgusted with me. \u201cCarol, the printer is out of paper again,\u201d Bob said. His voice was quiet, but his anger was as clear as the coming…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80,"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/80"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danifellis.com\/publication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}