Corporate Punishment

It's go time

Sam set up all the social media sites on the large TV in the conference room, as well as several sites that tracked trends on the various platforms. Sally struts into the room and sits next to Sam. "You are done in this company. That fuck up of yours has killed your career."

Sam looks at her, genuinely scared. "I don't know how those files got deleted. I can't do anything from here, but once I'm in the office, I'll look into it."

"By the time you are back in the office you should hope that Macy will let you be a mail clerk."

Sam's phone chimes at noon, and they get to work. Once they have verified that all the scheduled posts went out, they watched the expected blip in the trend. What really mattered was how long it would trend up before leveling off. Sam only half paid attention to how often Sally was on her phone messaging someone as he tracked the trends on a half dozen social media platforms.

Two hours later, Sam excuses himself to use the restroom. He comes back to a pizza that had been delivered and a smug Sally. "I have told Macy about everything you did today. How you tried to sabotage the launch and then when caught, produced a backup that you so conveniently had."

Sam had been thinking about this when he was out of the room. "I just hope that she takes it easy on me." Sam knew better than to admit to anything or say anything that may sound incriminating. They spent the rest of the day reviewing trends and looking for ways to tweak the campaign to keep it fresh.

Back at the hotel, Sam heads straight to the bar and gets some wings and fries, wanting plenty of time to eat before having the upcoming call with his boss. At 7:00 sharp, his phone rings. "Hello Ms. Wallace."

"So tell me. Are you the drunken fuckup that is trying to sabotage the project, or the savior of the day?"

"I'm neither. I didn't delete those files, nor do I know how they were deleted. I was just happy that I had a backup hidden in my backpack. If I didn't go out for a walk, there would have been more time to review everything."

"Well, if I am to listen to Sally, you would either be demoted so far that you would want to leave, or I would fire you for incompetence. But even before this blunder, I have been hearing things about you. Why didn't you take your scheduled flight?"

"I was at the gate early and I heard an announcement about getting bumped. A family had gotten split and was trying to arrive in Seattle at the same time. Since the airline guaranteed I would get in the same day, just later I offered my seat."

"Why didn't Sally know about this?"

"I'm not sure. I hadn't seen her in the waiting area until they were already boarding, so it confused her when I wasn't getting on board as well."

"And had you been drinking?"

"The airline gave me a voucher for food, so I had a beer with dinner. They also upgraded my seat, so I had a complementary rum and coke on the plane. I made sure not to have enough to incapacitate myself. She must have smelled that on me when she met me at the door of the hotel and wanted to know what had happened."

"Just remember Sam, you are thin ice with me already. You should try hard to make sure that you are representing our company properly."

"Yes ma'am. Of course, ma'am. I'm hoping that the rest of the week that I live up to your and Sally's expectations."

Macy laughs, "That is a tall order and I don't think you are big enough to do that."

"I can try though."

"Just know Sam, I have eyes in more places than you think."

"Yes ma'am. And I'll look into the missing files when I get back to the office next week."

"Don't worry about that. I have already started an audit with an unbiased party. Good night Sam. I hope you get at least a little sleep."

"Good night Miss Wallace."