The Company Man, part 9

No sooner had Henry found his resolve to continue on renewed did Jonathan appear back in his office. “Unexpected offsite,” he explained. “Wasn’t allowed to make or receive any calls. I trust everything is going well?”'

“Just fine,” Henry enthusiastically affirmed.

“Glad to hear it,” Jonathan mused, his head already down and peering into the computer monitor as he typed out another email. Henry waited for a few moments, to see if Jonathan had anything more to say, but Jonathan never looked up again, so Henry went back to the labs for them to download the latest vitals and attach fresh batteries.

One Monday, after four weeks, Henry began to notice a few odd things. For one, he found that his badge no longer worked to get into the accounting department in the morning. It only worked in the afternoon. Normally, Henry stopped at his desk first to drop off his lunch and say good morning to Jonah and a few other co-workers before proudly marching off to the lab for his super important work.

Then, in the afternoons, people seemed to act a bit stranger around him. They felt like he was forgetting things that they’d already told him, even when he was sure they’d never mentioned it before. Jonah seemed especially perplexed. “Here’s the documentation you asked me for earlier,” he said.

Henry looked up, perplexed. “I didn’t ask you for this,” he explained.

“Sure you did,” Jonah protested. “You asked for it earlier, and I said I’d have it for you this afternoon.”

Henry mentioned it to Jonathan when he complained about his badge not working in the morning. For once, Jonathan appeared to take an interest. "Sometimes people can start to act strangely around you when they know you’re on a secret project,” he explained with a wink.

“Ahh,” Henry nodded conspiratorially, though he still did not know what the project was about.

“Let me take care of this,” Jonathan suggested. “I think I know what we can do. As I understand from your file, you used to work in inventory?” Henry nodded. “Alright, tomorrow, report there for work.”

Henry’s jaw dropped. He was being demoted back to inventory? He’d always considered accounting a step up. “But what about my current position?” he protested.

“Oh, the temp is handling it just fine,” Jonathan explained. “Besides, I need someone with your experience back in inventory. That place has really fallen apart in your absence. You’re really the only one I trust with this.”

Henry sighed as his ego swelled. “Well,” he confessed. “I suppose I am the best person for the job.”

“Glad to hear it,” Jonathan smiled.