at. She’s good at what she does.
But there’s still one hundred and sixty three waiting for me?
At this rate, I’ll need another espresso before it’s nine o’clock. I’d only had half of my first, at any rate. Joshua had knocked it out of my hand as he reached across me for another croissant.
Yes, my kid eats croissants now. I don’t know when he became so fancy, but he woke up one day and asked if we could switch from New York bagels to croissants, pronounced damn near perfectly. It took me two days to learn about a new girl in his class, recently moved here with her family from Paris. Her name is Danielle and my son had overheard her asking if the school cafeteria had croissants one day.
So now I’m stuck eating the flaky things every morning with my kid before I’m attacked en masse by tiny, electronic messages. For a consulting firm, most people at Exciteur Global aren’t particularly good at consulting their own judgement before emailing.
So I work my way through the list, replying as I go. No. Yes. Schedule the meeting. I’ll call you tomorrow.
I’m frowning as I open one from f.bilson@exciteur.com. It’s not an address I recognize.
RE: A Thank You to the Troops
Do you think management genuinely believes everyone has marked a giant, excited X on their calendar for the Thanksgiving lunch? Perhaps he should serve a side of humility with the mash…
Sincerely,
Freddie Bilson,
Junior Professionals Trainee,
Strategy Department
My eyes re-read the letter once. Twice. Serve a side of humility?
Despite the insolence of the words, the turn of phrase makes me snort. This fucker thinks he knows better than me, does he? My hand hovers over the forward button, ready to let HR know what type of person we’ve hired as part of the yearly trainee program. Mr. Bilson would be let go on the spot.
But if I do, I’d be fulfilling the very reputation I’m trying to work against. The first months at this company, I’d had to slash things that weren’t working and return to the core of what Exciteur does best. The previous leadership had lost its footing, and I’d had to course correct. But I’m well aware that a lot of people at the company don’t see it that way.
I can’t fire this young man for being insolent. Not even for being so incompetent as to not know the difference between the forward and reply button. Doesn’t mean I can’t teach him a lesson, though.
Hitting reply, I type a sarcastic response that should send him shaking in his newly bought Oxford shoes.
RE: A Thank You to the Troops
Freddie,
What a pleasure to hear directly from one of the most inexperienced members of our company. A person with as spirited opinions as yours is naturally inclined to share them, so please tell me what, besides humility, you’d like served with your mash?
Tristan Conway
CEO of Exciteur Global
Then I hit send and lean back in my chair, imagining the terror that just crept up my newest employee’s spine as he saw my name in his inbox, realizing his mistake. He hadn’t sent the commentary to a friend in the company.
I doubt I’ll get a response. No, somewhere further down in the building, a brain is firing on all cylinders. Will I be fired? Will I be reprimanded?
And he’ll never make the same mistake again. Shaking my head, I dive back into the pile of emails. They need to be finished before my daily meetings start.
But he responds—an hour later, the email is there, winking at me from the top of my email inbox.
RE: A Thank You to the Troops
Mr. Conway,
Thank you for your quick reply. While I may be a person of spirited opinions, I recognize that I don’t have the experience you do, just as you pointed out. As such, I think I’ve given all the unsolicited advice I should, at least for the time being.
Sincerely,
Freddie Bilson,
Junior Professionals Trainee,
Strategy Department
I stare at the email for a few seconds. He actually replied, and it wasn’t in apology or abject fear. Despite myself, I have a begrudging respect for the arrogant trainee. I’d expected him to go silent and not toe-to-toe with me like this. Very few at this company consider telling me what they genuinely think, at least not to my face.
I don’t have time to indulge in this, and Freddie is probably like all the other young guys Exciteur hires. They’re a dime a dozen, the newly minted MBAs who think they’ve made it big for