And to make it three out of three...I didn’t like my latest boss either.If he’d been the one who interviewed me, I wouldn’t have taken the job.Even if I didn’t have much of a choice when my old role fell apart.
How could I have known that, a year after I accepted the promotion, the Group Procurement Director would be essentially fired, leaving me to fend for myself?
I faced a stark choice: find a job within the company or face unemployment.
I went from working for a guy I respected and admired to working in a role I didn’t care for.The only silver lining had been my new boss, Claudia.She was an amazing woman — caring and conscientious, yet also formidable.She believed in doing what was right for the employees, not just what senior management wanted.
When they fired Claudia too, for having ethics, my idealised view of the company crumbled to dust.
Which is how I ended up working for her replacement — the knob cheese, “Call me Hew, not Matthew.”
That’s why I hated being in the office so much.It was a reminder of how my perfect life had turned to piss.
After collecting my latte, I headed outside the building and sat on a nearby bench to watch the world go by.Soaked up the weak sunlight and tried to breathe.
Funny how fast things could change.
I went from feeling like I was working for a company I never wanted to leave...to one where staying another five years would be a nightmare.
Work wasn’t the only thing fast going to hell.
Just yesterday, Mum called me seven times to check that I’d be coming over on Sunday, because she kept forgetting she’d already called.
Her memory slips were happening more often.
At first, it was just small things: where she left her keys, missing appointments.Now she was mixing up names and forgetting to turn the oven off.
However much I wanted to, I couldn’t put off talking with her for much longer.She needed to see a doctor.And we needed to face facts: that before long, she wouldn’t be able to decide for herself.
I’d buried my head in the sand, trying to convince myself things weren’t that bad.
But I couldn’t do it anymore.
Even if I wanted to.
The day had startedout so nicely.The sun was shining.I’d had fun zooming around the country lanes and then — I ended up at Mum’s.
And that’s where my Sunday skidded off the rails.
I walked into the house to find her pulling all the cushions off the sofa and moving furniture around.
“Rob, have you seen my phone?”
No hello, no how are you, no nice to see you.I suppose I should be glad she remembered my name.
Instead, I replied with a question of my own.“No.Where’s Dave?Maybe he’s seen it.”
“Oh, okay.Maybe I’ll ask him.He’s upstairs, I think.”
Asking never meant asking quietly.It meant yelling his name at the top of her lungs until he answered.
Except Dave didn’t answer.
I headed to the window and looked outside, noticing his black Ford Focus was gone from its usual parking spot.
“He’s not here,” I said, turning back to Mum, who was staring off into space.
“Hmm, did you say something?”She looked confused for a moment.Her normally bright eyes looked dim.“Umm?”
