The pills worked their magic, and she was chin deep in numbers all morning, making progress on the sales reports. It was almost the end of the day when she logged into Tina’s “important” meeting, and Reena knew the moment the camera turned on that something was amiss at Railside Clothing Inc.
The meeting was strangely in the executive boardroom. Tina was there, looking exhausted and maybe…sad? Next to her was the normally stoic HR rep, except her smile was unnaturally chipper and most definitely fake. There were two strangers there, too, both wearing the easy-wear, yet formal clothing of a consultant. And a large stack of cardboard file boxes in the corner—the kind they give you to clean out your cubicle. Those were presumably for the unlucky sods who had to attend these meetings in person.
Reena didn’t need to see the pink slips; she knew what was happening here. Layoffs.
Shit.
She had seen this three times before. Most recently here at Railside last year, when the fast fashion trend had forced the midrange basics company to reduce 8 percent of its workforce. She’d been spared. She hadn’t been so lucky at her two previous jobs: first Pharmamart, where she’d worked as a clerk in their payroll department for only six months before the business downsized, and more recently at Avenue, the discount department store that opened a Canadian division with great fanfare, only to fold eighteen months later.
She wasn’t that surprised. Railside was a long-standing company that sold work-appropriate basics in stores located in most mid- to high-end malls. Three years ago, they’d opened a hip new spinoff store called Sidecar. But no midrange clothing company could compete with American fast fashion.
This was this first time Reena had lost a job over a videoconference call, though. It was a shame she wouldn’t have the chance to empty her favorite office supplies into her purse before being led out, but at least she was spared the walk of shame out of the building.
Small blessings, she supposed.
***
The first thing Reena did after disconnecting from the call was scream into a pillow. Then she called Amira.
“Third time’s the charm?” she asked while she unplugged her godforsaken webcam and tried not to throw it across the floor.
“Hi, Reena! Third time for what?” Amira sounded upbeat this afternoon. True love agreed with her.
Reena fell dramatically onto the sofa. “Downsizing.”
“Oh, shit.No. Not again.”
“Yes, again. Standalone Sidecar stores are closing, and Railside corporate just let go of fifteen percent of its workforce.”
“And you…?”
“Got a very generous package.”
“Oh, Ree, I’m sorry.”
A sharp twitch in her eye made Reena blink a few times. She squeezed her eyelids shut, glad no one could see her break down. “I guess I’m used to it now.”
“I know but, ugh. What are you going to do?”
“What can I do? Wallow in self-pity for no more than two days, then call the recruiting agency the bubbly ‘organizational change consultant’ gave me the number for. It’s a brutal market, but I have great references and hopefully will have something new before my severance runs out.”
“I hate that you have to do this shit all over again,” Amira said. “Do you think maybe it’s time to try a new industry?”
“I don’t know, Meer. I’ve been working in retail corporate offices since college. It’s what I know.”
Reena heard Amira sigh. “What are you going to tell your parents?”
She had considered this. “Nothing. I’m not telling them. I can’t deal with Dad pressuring me to work in the family business right now. And I can’t handle Mum’s insinuating that I’m to blame. I’ll find something new, then tell them I was recruited for a better position.”
“You’re going to keep this from them?”
“I cannot deal with their crap right now. Khizar makes partner and I get let go. Dad’s still on me that I’m not a manager. I can’t tell them I’m unemployed.” She sat up and wiped her eyes. “It’ll be fine. It’s always fine. I can brush myself off and get back up again.”
“Yeah, you can,” Amira said softly. “You’re the strongest person I know. But this is blatantly unfair.”
Unfair. When had her life ever been fair? She inhaled deeply.
“Ugh. I need comfort food. Why don’t I have any samosas?”
