Friday, November 14, 2008

I was not surprised when Darth quickly agreed with the trip and the plans to
hire someone new since Darth's tactics were always to agree at first and then latter change his direction. Also the ACS meeting was in mid-March and anyone I recruited could not be hired until at least April which was well past my scheduled deposition date. I went ahead and made arrangements and looked forward to the trip to New Orleans.


My second plan of attack was to befriend Carl Host and get his support for my efforts. I wanted to get to know him better so I invited him and his wife over for dinner. He refused with little or no excuse. I then invited him and his wife to join Anita and me at a social tennis gathering at La Club. Carl had told me he played tennis and I thought the invitation would be hard to refuse. Carl said he would check with his wife and then let me know. At last I thought I was making progress. Several days later, Carl informed me that his wife did not want to attend the tennis social. At that point I gave up trying to socialize with Carl and his wife.

My third plan of attack was to press for a long-term contract similar to the one Ravi had. Although the contract would not provide me with any job security, it would provide me with an income should my worse fears be realized and I did have to find another job. Darth's reaction to my request for a long-term contract was predictable. At first he said he thought it would be a good idea and even gave me a small pamphlet on writing an effective contract. This fit the pattern of Darth initially agreeing to something and then latter doing an about face and doing just the opposite. And this time was no exception.

For the next two evenings, I read and studied the pamphlet on how to write an effectivecontract and what to include in such a document. The third day I went in and told Darth that I wanted to discuss some of the items to be included in the contract. Darth was succinct and to the point. “The Cline's and I feel we should be able to walk in and fire anyone on a moments notice. There will be no contract.” End of conversation!

I left Darth's office wondering what ever happened to their elegant firing procedure that Darth had spent a half a day outlining at the previous management meeting. Of course, by now I was accustomed to double standards at Gamma Supplies. There was on set of rules and conventions that applied to everyone else and a separate set of rules that applied to me. Their failure to negotiate a contract with an employee who they were counting on for the future of Gamma Oil confirmed what I already knew. My job was solely to assist in their legal battle with Better Supplies.

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