Eileen Slovak

Chapter Twenty-eight: Fighting Fires Burns Sometimes

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and locales are products of the author’s imagination. They are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is coincidental. Copyright © 2024 by Eileen Slovak.

Scarlet

From the second I set foot in the office that afternoon, I feel like a firefighter. It begins with a meeting with Walter, the CFO. He’s an intense individual with a knack for seeing the most desperate, gloomy side of any situation. His mere persona causes me anxiety; he has a nervous, excited manner of speech that is somehow contagious. Walter is constantly in motion. Right now he’s fidgeting with the items on his desk. It’s distracting. He’s extremely thorough in his work, rarely making errors so he’s good to have in a financial role. Not that anyone would ever tell him if he made a mistake. It wouldn’t be worth the agonizing he would go through over making a misstep. I’m studying the crown of Walter’s balding head while he peers over his wire-rimmed glasses at me.

      “Scarlet, this is a serious matter; we can’t make a move until these product problems are resolved.”

      Product issues mean production delays. Production delays mean delivery delays. Both equal payment delays, which make Walter nervous. Angry manufacturers make Walter uneasy. He likes when everything runs smoothly, which is not typically the case most of time in our business. In my job, I work with every department in the company: manufacturing, production, patents, sales, retail, clients, now the inventors. Every problem falls squarely back in my lap. I’m not sure I’m being adequately compensated.

      “Then there’s this lawsuit. I can’t get Frank to sit with me for five minutes to even discuss it. He’s always either on the phone, in a meeting, or out of the office.”

      Walter is out of his seat moving around the room, flapping his arms like a chicken. He moves the bicycle that he keeps in the corner of his office so he can access the file cabinet. He pulls out the thick file to show me. The lawsuit.

In anything other than extreme weather, the bike is Walter’s mode of transportation. At forty, his father had his first, his only heart attack, dropping dead while mowing the lawn. His family was painfully unaware that heart conditions even ran in the family. That year, Walter became a vegan and began cycling. Now, a competitive racer at forty-two, he’s in amazing shape. The exception are his nerves, always on edge. The best way to put Walter at ease is to bring up the subject of fitness or body fat percentage.

      “Walter, are you still riding to work in this weather?”

      “Whenever I can. I won’t ride in heavy snow, it’s not good for the bike. But if the roads are clear, I’m not afraid of a little cold,” he says brightening. His shoulders relax a little.

      “I’ll get you some answers, even if I have to tie Frank to his chair,” I assure him. “Most of the product issues are easily resolvable; at least one I know is a sales error.”

      “That would be great, Scarlet. Hey, something else crossed my desk, the customer service rep, Curt Walsh, who was fired, wants to collect unemployment benefits. What are we doing about this?”

      “We denied him benefits based on the circumstances of his firing. We caught him doing drugs on the premises. I would say absolutely no to that one.”

      “Well, Serena says he’s not letting it drop. But if you say so, I’ll let her know we’re denying benefits. Did I tell you Serena started riding with me on Saturdays? We meet up at the park.”

      I let out a loud sigh.

      “I think I see the sun peeking through Walter, there may be some hope for a bike ride tonight. I’ll get back to you ASAP on the other issues.”

      “Thanks Scarlet. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

      For the rest of the day, I feel like I’m on some scary game show. Behind every office door there’s a new monstrous conundrum lurking. I no sooner resolve one crisis, before another more heinous one erupts. Even more annoying, I’m being plagued by a mystery caller. Whoever it is calls both my cell and my direct line, breathes, then hangs up. By the end of the day, I’m at my wits end with the heavy breather. I call Gary at work to ask what I can do, if anything, to put a stop to it.

      “You can file a report. Why don’t you stop by after work? In the meantime, try not to piss anyone else off Scarlet; you are kind of a hot head.”

      “Thanks a lot. You think I brought this on myself?”

      “I know you like a sister. So yes, most likely.”

      “Nice victim shaming!”

      “You’re not really the victim type. More the other way around.”

      “Wow Gary. Tell me how you really feel.”         

      “You know what I mean, the way men fall at your feet while you float along, oblivious.”

      “That is so untrue! I don’t even know where you’re getting this from.”

      “See you later, sis.”

      When I arrive at the station, Gary’s on a phone call but waves me into his office. Police stations always make me uneasy. Even though I know I’m here to report a possible crime against me; I’m still apprehensive.

      “So, what’s the story, Scarlet?”

      Gary’s different at work. All business.

      “At first, I didn’t think anything of it. But I’m getting calls at the office as well as on my cell phone. The cell phone calls show it’s an anonymous caller. I answered without looking the first few times. Then I stopped answering them and started getting calls at the office to my direct line. I only give that out to people I know well or business contacts. It’s kind of creepy.”

      “Yeah. It’s simple harassment. Does the caller voice any threats?”

      “No, they breathe, then hang up. It’s more annoying than anything.”

      “If there are no threats then it’s a nuisance complaint. But keep a log of when the calls come in, note any changes. I don’t think it’s at a level we could escalate to a phone tap. The department doesn’t allocate funds for this sort of thing in the absence of a credible threat. Prank calls are pretty common, generally non-threatening. The good news is, the caller usually gets bored, then gives up before anything more serious happens.”

      I thank him, feeling like I’m overreacting. I leave the station and put the matter out of my mind. I have real problems. This is only a minor annoyance.