Post by StoryGirl83 on May 17, 2009 23:37:57 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty-Five – The Decision
, Naomi, and Mr. Hollis
Chris stopped in front of the doors of Centennial. He looked up at the sign on the door. His eyes closed and he exhaled deeply. He walked up to the doors and pulled them open, both of them. Letting go of one, he entered the other door.
He walked past rows of furniture displays, turning just after a display advertising the newest thing in kitchen ware. He stopped at a door that said “Employees Only” and pulled a swipe card out of his pocket. He ran the swipe card through a small devise next to the door and the door beeped. A small red light on the handle changed to green. He turned the handle and waited as the over cautious door checked his palm print. With his free hand he stuffed the swipe card into his pocket. It beeped once more and he pulled the door opened. With a visible sigh he entered the room and the door shut behind him.
The receptionist, Naomi Walz, was sitting at her desk looked at some papers. At the sound of the door she looked up and watched as Chris entered the room. “Hello, Mr. Halliwell. Did you forget something?”
“Not exactly,” he hedged. “Is Mr. Hollis in?”
She nodded. “He’s in his office.”
“Thanks.” He walked down the hall, stopping briefly in front of a room that had his name on the door. Shaking his head he continued on and knocked on a door that said “Reginald Hollis” in gold letters emblazed onto a plaque.
“Come in,” Mr. Hollis called from inside the room.
Chris turned the knob and entered the sparsely decorated room.
At the desk was a man only a decade or so older than Chris, Chris’ boss, Reginald Hollis. He looked surprised. “Chris. What brings you here? Your shift ended hours ago.”
Chris walked up to the desk and stood behind the chair there. “I’m sorry. This is rather difficult.”
Mr. Hollis frowned. “What is the matter? Won’t you have a seat?”
“No,” Chris shook his head. “I’d best not. I won’t take much of your time.”
“What’s going on, Chris?”
“I’ve decided to put in my notice,” Chris told him straight faced.
Mr. Hollis stared at him stunned. “What! Why would you do that? Is it the wages?”
“No.”
“Are you having trouble with an employee?”
“No, not really.” The situation with David didn’t count.
“Then, why?”
“I believe I have lost my usefulness to you,” Chris admitted. “There are others who would do the job better.”
“I doubt that,” Mr. Hollis argued.
“Well, you’d be wrong,” Chris told him, a little bit more firmly. “I haven’t done much of use in the last month and a half.”
“Business has been good, especially for after Christmas,” Mr. Hollis reminded him, confused. “Usually things are slow.”
“Not my doing,” Chris informed him. “I’ve been distracted and things are just going to get worse.”
“Is it school?”
“No,” Chris denied. “School is not the problem. If things continue as they are I may have problems there, too, but so far one day a week I can handle.”
“Unless you are suddenly independently wealthy, you’ll still need a job of some sort.”
“I’ll find one,” Chris assured him, “but I need flexibility. Things in my life have been complicated.”
“Then, how do you explain the influx of business?” Mr. Hollis wanted to know.
“Mostly, David. He’s a good employee and since you don’t know anything of what’s going on, I’m pretty sure he’s been covering for me, hoping the situation would improve. It won’t. If he’d going to do the job, he deserves the credit, the title, and the pay raise.”
Mr. Hollis was silent as he looked at Chris. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yes,” Chris replied firmly. “Do you want it in writing?”
“That’s probably best, if you are sure.”
“Very sure.”
Mr. Hollis dug into his desk and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. He put them on the desk in front of Chris.
Chris bent over and started writing on the paper.