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“Meconium?” I have no idea what that is.
“Uh.” He rubs the back of his neck. “A baby’s first poop.”
I nod, as if I have any idea how that would happen. I don’t even want to imagine it.
“It was pretty serious for a while but he’s getting better.” He injects cheer into the last sentence. While he probably is feeling relieved, I can see tiredness in his eyes.
“Are you here about the Waterson merger? I’ve been working with the marketing team closely, and I think—”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
He deflates. “Oh, then it’s true.”
“What’s true?”
He clears his throat. “The redundancy issue. You’re going to have to let some people go and I’m one of them.”
Jesus, does he really think I’d show up to the hospital where his sick kid is to fire him? What type of fucked up—
With a shake of my head, I tell him, “I’m not here to fire you. I wouldn’t … You’re an asset to our company. I’ve looked over your records and saw aside from two days, you haven’t taken any personal time. Someone told me that you had a sick baby in the hospital, and I wanted to visit myself.”
His eyes bulge and he looks like he can hardly process what I’m saying.
“I-I broke my ankle a few months ago and used up most of my sick days because I had to have surgery. My income is our primary source of income since Meghan went down to part-time once she got pregnant.” It sounds like he’s defending himself.
“I speak for Townsend Industries when I say we recognize your hard work and are grateful for it.” I don’t even think about my next statement as I say, “I’ve spoken with HR and we’re able to give you four weeks’ worth of parental leave. This won’t impact your personal or sick days. You’ll receive one hundred percent of your salary for all four weeks. Should you decide to extend your leave, you’re eligible for another four weeks, at which time your salary would go down to seventy percent, but your job is guaranteed to be there upon your return to the office.”
“Thank you,” he gushes. “Wait, are you sure?”
“I am. Riley …” I pause and clear my throat. “Ms. Martin recommended that Townsend implement a series of improvements to our employee benefits package. Increasing paternity leave was among them.”
She told me about Simon’s situation last weekend, and I spent the past week asking around, prodding HR on what the numbers look like, as well as consulting with my father. He agreed to the strategy.
“Also …” I hand Simon the bouquet of flowers. “Congratulations to you and your wife. Please accept my apology on behalf of Townsend Industries for the lateness of this gift. I’m certain your son will heal quickly.”
I pull a business card out of the inside pocket of my suit jacket. “If you need anything, medical wise, don’t hesitate to contact this number.” I tap the card as he holds it.
“CEO,” he reads.
“Walter McNielson. He’s the CEO of Williamsport General. He’s also a personal associate of my family. If you have any trouble, tell him I sent you. He’ll take care of it.”
“I-I don’t know how …” His voice trails off.
“You don’t have to. You’ve done a great job at Townsend for the past five years. Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
With that, I turn to exit. Not for the first time, I start to wonder how many of my employees are going through something. Riley’s talk from that night on the yacht in Miami comes flooding back. It took me a while to admit it, but she might have a point about considering our employees as a whole, not just as workers.
I wonder how that could improve Townsend’s overall operations.
“Kyle,” a voice calls from me as I stride toward my awaiting car in the hospital's underground garage.
I turn to find a familiar face. I know him from somewhere, but I don’t immediately recall his name.
“It’s me,” he says as he gets closer, pointing to himself. “Brendan Chastain.”
The name rings a bell. The same fucker who can’t take a hint. He’s been calling my office for a few weeks. The calls stopped over the past week, so I thought that meant he recognized that he was barking up the wrong tree.
