E.W. Howe
I probably shouldn't say this now," the vice president told Don after a full-morning interview, "but you're a shoo-in for this position." And amen to that, Don thought. Let go as redundant after his bank merged, he'd been on the street for five months. This bank was smaller, but the job and title were bigger and so was the salary. "Look," the VP said, "it's just about noon. Why don't you join me for lunch? We'll celebrate and talk some more about what you'll be doing." Don accepted gladly. As they were leaving, the phone rang and the VP turned back to answer it.
"Yes, George, how are you?" He listened a moment. "What?" His face went pale as he listened. Slowly, he put down the phone. "I've been fired," he announced.
Don started to excuse himself to leave, but the VP straightened up, thrust out his jaw and defiantly declared, "Hell no! Let's go to lunch! It's the last expense account I'll turn in, so let's make the best of it."
He took Don to a very expensive restaurant and downed two martinis before ordering. A third came with the oysters, followed by a good cabernet to accompany the filet mignon, and two cognacs to settle the meal. Getting fired didn't curb his appetite or his thirst.
Sipping the last cognac, he said thoughtfully, "Don, come back to the office with me. I work there until the end of the day. I'm going to hire you." In the office, he spoke to his secretary who soon brought in an "offer of employment" letter. The VP signed it and gave the original to Don. Starting date was the following week.
The next Monday, Don showed up and was immediately ushered into the human resource director's office. "I'm sorry," he said, "but Ken no longer had the authority to make that offer. I didn't even know about it until this morning. We'll reimburse you for your time and expense today, of course, if you'll sign this release."
Don signed and took the small check. He suspected all along the offer wasn't really valid. It was just too good to be true.
