Night-Owl Trucking

Not Too Long Before In the Far-Off Land of Sunny California

Edric pushed through the door leading into his sister's office, ready to deliver the carefully constructed monologue that detailed the nigh-heroic effort he'd made on Amity's behalf in the last twenty-four hours. He had it all planned out; he would fill the air with his exploits! He'd been practicing in the elevator on the way up from Shipping, which annoyed the visiting GrubHub delivery girl to no end. She'd been there first, true—he'd squeezed through the doors before they closed—but his name was on the building. Well. His last name. He flung his arms wide and opened his mouth to proclaim—

Instead of giving him a listening ear and the applause he was due, Emira lifted a palm as soon as the door opened and held a finger to her lips. She clicked and clicked and clicked on her computer, her handset pressed against her ear as she listened to the voice chirping through her telephone. She hummed a response, glancing down at the thick, creamy-white notepad at hand, and scribbled a quick phrase and a set of numbers with a fountain pen. Edric shrugged, shedding a small cloud of dust with the movement, while Emira continued to ignore his presence—which made sense; she was wearing her reading glasses. He'd be a literal blur to her. She pointed at the seat in front of her desk as she furrowed her brow, a deep frown stretching across her features.

"Are you serious?" She asked the person on the other end, pushing her glasses up to her forehead to rub at her eyes, then, "Oh no... Put him through."

Edric opened his mouth to ask Who? just as Emira spoke again, "Mr. Gufstouffson? I— I just heard from my assistant... Yes, no, no sir, I didn't realize... That long?" The green-haired woman gave a soft, sad sound, and clicked once more on her laptop. "Mr. Gufstouffson, the last thing you need to worry about right now is Accounts Receivables. I'm putting you on paid leave, effective immedia— sir..." Emira listened for a moment, and frowned, "No, sir, Mr. Gufstouffson, I won't have that. Respectfully, sir... You need time to grieve... Sir, no, sir, I— I can't say that I have..." She sighed, "Yes, Mr. Gufstouffson."

Edric sidled to the window wall, bits of packing foam falling from his wrinkled suit coat as he looked down at the Blight Industries Tower Campus below. People walked across the sidewalks, the parking lots; splashes of color moving about on the grays and greens, gathered around the small semicircle of food trucks in the Loop. Other employees and contractors going about their normal everyday lives as if this poor gentleman on the phone hadn't just had his ripped away.

Emira swiveled in her chair as she listened, the older man's voice just a barely audible buzz from where Edric stood. "Mr. Gufstouffson, you are more than welcome to call me directly, next week... Yes, I insist... Now—" Her tone of voice changed to business mode, and Edric chuckled. "Mr. Gufstouffson, do you hereby acknowledge and understand that your Blight Industries health benefits package includes a bereavement leave of no less than three calendar weeks, with additional weeks available based on your length of service at Blight Industries— sir, based on your forty years in Accounting—"

Edric turned and hissed, "Forty years?"

Emira flipped him off as she continued to recite, "—I have decided to place you on a six-month leave at full pay, with an additional lump sum equal to no less than three months' salary to be paid immediately, to assist in covering any expenses you may have encountered in recent— No sir, Mr. Gufstouffson, we'll handle all the paperwork come tax time." Edric turned back to the window to give his sister the illusion of privacy.

"Mr. Gufstouffson, do you hereby acknowledge and understand that while on bereavement leave your building access codes and key cards will not function, and your network login will be temporarily deactivated," Emira continued to read in a flat, no-nonsense tone. "Any projects you have in-flight will be put on hold until you return, and time-sensitive matters will be handled by a joint session between Legal & Risk and your direct reports... Yes, Mr. Gufstouffson, I'm sure the rest of the Accounting team can handle everything for you." She paused to laugh, her eyes flicking toward Edric for a moment, "Yes sir, it's certainly not as hectic there as it is in Marketing." She sighed, then, "Sir, I'm sure you understand this is all a way to ensure that you take the time you need... Yes, yes, sir, of course. Your position will be waiting for you, nothing will have changed... Sir, I don't want you to have to worry about anything here." She listened and nodded, "Yes sir, if you need anything from your office, just stop in and get a temporary pass from Security."