****
“Afternoon, Tim”, greeted Standoff who had just arrived for the meeting with Preston.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Standoff. I’ll let Preston know you’re here.”
Before Tim could go over to Preston’s office, the man of the hour came out flashing his trademark grin.
“Mr. Standoff, sir. It’s so good to see you”, he gushed as he shook Standoff ‘s hand.
“Yes, but enough of the formalities. I’m anxious to see the status
report.”
“Of course, sir. Right this way.”
“What about Tim? He is a part of this department.”
“I thought this would be a private meeting, since this is my project, sir.”
“No, it’s a department meeting. And since Tim’s a part of this department, he should be at the meeting.”
“Right. Tim, would you mind? You can put the answering service on until the meeting is over.”
“Sure.”
Tim was curious as to what Standoff was getting at. After all, Tim
had not been invited to any of their previous meetings. They all entered into Preston’s office and sat down.
“What’s new, gentlemen? How is the website coming along?”
“Well, sir, we’ve gone through all of the bids, and so far we’ve settled on a short list of three companies that we’re in negotiations with…”
“You’re still looking through the bids!” exclaimed Standoff in shock.
“No, sir!” exclaimed Preston, who was surprised by Standoff’s choleric reaction. He wasn’t used to incurring the displeasure of his superiors. “As I’ve said, we’ve selected three…”
“According to the timetables we set at our last meeting, you should’ve settled on one already! I came expecting to see plans for the site at the very least”, Standoff fumed. “Now you have the gall to tell me your still at phase one. I have to say, this is way past disappointing.”
“Mr. Standoff, although it’s not readily apparent, much progress has been made. I felt that taking our time to find the right firm for this project would save us a substantial amount of money in the long run.”
“More than this waste of time is already costing us?”
“Sir, if I may explain…”
“Preston, you do realize that you have only two weeks left to bring this project to life. Do you really believe you will be able to do this if you haven’t even chosen the firm for the website!” Standoff said, his voice rising in a crescendo of fury. Tim and Preston were both taken aback by Standoff’s raw rebuke. Tim originally thought he would have been enjoying this moment, but for some reason, it made him feel very uncomfortable.
“More would have been done, sir, but you do realize that my department is greatly understaffed. Mrs. Williams is on medical leave, Mrs. Quinones has resigned, and now that we don’t have access to any temps…”
“And whose fault is that! I heard from Joe that your unprofessional behavior has caused some trouble for him and potentially this firm.”
“But Mr. Standoff…”
“But Mr. Standoff…” mocked Standoff “Is this going to be another excuse? Since the day after you took on this project it’s been one excuse after another and frankly I’m sick of it all. I’ve been practically holding your hand for the past several months and you still have yet to deliver. And what’s more is, I’m not sure if you can.”
“Mr. Standoff…please…I…” Preston stammered weakly.
“Mr. Standoff,” Tim cut in “we still have two weeks. Just give it two more weeks. I’m sure we can turn things around.” Although Tim had no idea why he seemed to be sticking up for Preston.
“Fine. Preston you have two weeks, at the end of which I will expect the finished product or your resignation. As there is nothing further to discuss, our meeting stands adjourned. Gentlemen.”
Standoff strode out of the room while Preston and Tim sat in silence for a moment.
“I’m going back to man the phones if you need me”, said Tim trying to provide himself with an escape from the tension in the room.
“Are you happy now, Tim?” asked Preston in resignation.
Tim returned to his cubicle without answering.
Commencement Page 50
