She came in about seven, late even for her. Dave was watching a baseball game and didn’t even look up. “Hi, honey, sorry I’m late. Meetings ran over, you know how the Board loves the sound of their own voices.”
He didn’t respond, just kept watching the game. She looked at him for a minute before deciding to try a different track. “What’s for dinner?”
It had been their practice over the years that whoever got home first made dinner. It had occurred to him as he examined their relationship that she probably hadn’t fixed dinner more than a dozen times in the last year, and most of those times were because he was traveling.
“Whatever you decide to fix yourself. I’ve already eaten.”
She just stared for a minute before she opened her mouth and started the worst fight of their marriage. “Surely you’re not mad about today. It was a business decision, honey. It had nothing to do with you personally. I still love you just as much.”
“For an executive and a fairly intelligent person, I can’t help but think in this case you’re a fucking moron! And by the way, yes, I am angry. In fact, I’m pissed beyond words. You handled the whole thing very badly. Had I ever gotten an unfavorable review in all the time I’d worked there? Where’s the paper trail of warnings, counseling and reprimands? Sure, my numbers were down, but there’s a very good reason. One you never bothered to discover. I…”
“Stop begging! I’m sure I did the right thing professionally.”
It shocked him so badly that he did stop talking for a minute. She smiled and started to speak, but he exploded. “Fuck you, the Board, and every other asshole in the company! YOU WERE NOT PROFESSIONAL, YOU WERE NOT REASONABLE, AND YOU DAMN SURE WEREN’T INTERESTED IN ANYTHING I HAD TO SAY. Tell me, how much input did Adler have in this?”
She was reeling at his outburst. She actually stuttered for a minute before she got it out. “He’s been concerned for months, and was very nervous when he brought me the numbers. You had gone from being one of our top producers to the absolute worst. I had no choice! I had to send the message that no matter who you were, if you didn’t produce, you were gone. It was the only way I had to keep the respect of the people under me.”
“Once again, a fucking moron. I’ve been thinking all afternoon, now that I had some free time. When did you stop respecting me as a man and an employee? If you’d had the least bit of love for me, personally, or regard, professionally, you would have handled this completely differently. You could have tried talking to me, give me a heads up, and if it got bad, you could have offered me a chance to resign. Do you have any idea how hard it’s going to be for me to find another position? If I can’t perform well enough for my wife, someone who is supposed to love me, why would strangers trust me to do a good job? You’ve fucked me in this town; I’ll have a hell of a time landing a job now. It not like I can whip out a glowing review from my old company, now is it? I’ve said enough. If we continue, we, or rather I, may say some things that can’t be taken back. Why don’t you get some dinner, and I’ll finish watching the game.”
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