Underneath Gary Ford's fondness to tease his employees, Ezell Scott fears the last job background check will harm him. A few positions at Ryan Financial Group are open to the knowledgeable employees. They are overextending themselves to win a position while Ezell, a new employee, curiously receives a summon to the Bonding Symposium.

“Here you go.”

“Hey . . . what is this?” Ezell says as he examines the pink envelope.

The Office Boy doesn’t answer. He slowly rearranges the office’s mail and packages sitting at the cubicle’s entryway in the two shelf wire cart.

Ezell pauses, hoping the Office Boy will spring into those chatty performances like he does with the others. Ezell doesn’t open the mail. He stares at the short Office Boy wondering why he is not telling the corny jokes: what funny thing happens the weekend and the knock-knock joke for the day. Instead, the Office Boy leaves Ezell in the lurch.

The Office Boy slowly turns raising his eyebrows, and he gives Ezell a flat stare. “You think you’re better than everyone here, don’t you?”

“What?” Ezell says.

The Office Boy folds his arms across his chest. “You come to work acting too high for us. You try to outdo everybody. ”Adding, “Yeah. I know your type.”

“You do? Tell me,” Ezell urges. After clicking the metal lever on the chair, he lies back in a relaxing position.

The Office Boy looks over his shoulders. With a slow wide step, the Office Boy walks over to Ezell’s desk. Chin up, chest out, he sits on the edge of the desk. Then the Office Boy leans toward Ezell’s face and murmurs softly, “These envelopes are for employees who put in for a promotion,” he adds, “ and the Symposiums starts in thirty minutes.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Ezell says,“ So. I didn’t put in for a promotion.” Adding, “I’m still a new employee, eight months new.

The Office Boy’s posture loosens, “Why are you receiving a summons to the Bonding Symposium?"

Ezell’s mouth drops open. His head jerks back. “You tell me.”

“You’re going to the Symposium for orientation, or you will be let go.” The Office Boys says.

A sudden coldness hit Ezell at the core of his guts. To be let go after all the hard work confuses him, so he is beginning to believe the last employer did not give him a good background check. The summons confirms the last employer is disloyal. As Ezell replays the event over in his mind how the unscrupulous employer schemes work on those who are not on board with shady accounting practices, his blood begins to rise.

The Office Boy asks, “Then, you must be religious?”

Ezell shakes his head, “Is this one of your jokes of today?” The Office Boy questioning is inflaming Ezell, so he suppresses his emotions.

The Office Boy says, “What a minute. The last guy working in this cubicle pass around small religious booklets. The guy goes to the Symposium, but after the meeting, he packs his belonging and leaves, and his work habits equal yours.”

Ezell is angry. His mind is racing through possible things to do to defend himself. The financial mess he’s in prevents any sound ideas. After three months or even six, he does not get a company evaluation, so he takes the chance convincing himself the job is going well. Ezell withdraws all of his saving, and he puts it all on a new house. He then borrows money using his house as a guaranty to furnish the house and pays down on a new car. Ezell thinks he is safe from the greedy employers' action toward him.  Now, he will be let go leaving him with bills to pay without a job. With two bad background checks in the business world these days, Ezell can not land a good payday to pay the bills.

After the Office Boy leaves, Ezell leans back in his chair. He glances at the clock. It’s 3:15 pm. The 3-tier desk tray is flowing with accounts that need calculating. He squeezes his eyes shut covering his face with both hands and thinks on his beginning as he rocks back and forth in the chair.

Hands and feet fluttering like a fish out of water inside of a dumpster as a baby, I begin life. The homeless finds me alongside their dinner. They carry me to the store and the proper authority takes me. I grew up as an orphan. Fluttering his way out of this trouble is all he can do now.

Rather than reckoning his brain until 3: 30 pm, the meeting time, Ezell decides to cross-examine the secretary of Gary Ford, the boss.

Occupying herself with a romance novel, the secretary waits at the elevator. Ezell sees her. A relaxing appearance goes a long way. He approaches the slim frame arm candy humming.

“Hi,” Ezell says.

The secretary peers over the top of her glasses smirking a conceited smile, tucking a curl of her hair behind the left ear.

After receiving a pink envelope, Ezell does not want to give away the belief that he is on the chopping block. He asks a simple question. “Uh, ma’am. Do you know the Office Boy?”

To Ezell’s surprise, the secretary opens up in an easygoing manner replying, “ Oh, yes. He is Gary Ford’s brother-in-law. He is really talkative, isn’t he?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The bell rings, The elevator doors open. The secretary gets on expecting Ezell to follow.

Ezell says, “Darn it. I need to go back. I forgot something,”  he lies.

“Have a good day,”  the secretary calls out as the door closes.

On the way back to his cubicle, Ezell passes his colleagues. He makes no eye contact, for the confident he brandishes daily is dwindling. Upon entering the cubicle, he loosens his tie and unbuttons the top button of his shirt then clumsily yanks the chair out to sit in it. Ezell is unable to get comfortable, so he believes it’s probably better to avoid the whole meeting and leave. While longing for a drink of water, his heart is shrinking. Staring at the clock realizing it is time for the Symposium, he reaches out to the desk but steadies himself to his feet. After taking a long inhale for that second wind, he leaves. 

When Ezell enters the Symposium, the conference room featuring a charming original fireplace. He witnesses a silent tug for a few positions. Everyone’s face reveals bewilderment. The knowledgeable employee's faces were stiff and numb as rosewood boards with layers of crust on them. He immediately makes a conscious effort to hide his expressions concluding it is extreme fear on the knowledgeable employee's faces.

Gary Ford enters and sits in a leather rocker recliner on a platform. He pauses before sitting until the room is stock-still making he has everyone's attention before speaking in a way that seems as if it is beginning a fireside chat. Abnormally, the subject is his Asian Semi-Longhair cream cat.

Ezell frowns. He starts asking himself, “Gary, can you please repeat what you just said? I really don’t think I belong here.”

After awhile, Ezell’s thirst intensifies. He passes up the water on the table to find out if the long time term “take the edge off’’ works. The 26-year-old elects the mixed alcoholic beverage to relax. Clearly, he does not belong in the meeting so de-stressing will help pass the time.  

As Garry Ford continues the white feline discussion, Ezell’s sipping turns to gulps. After receiving gawking eyes, Ezell dedicates to the drinking. For a non-drinker, he surmises the alcohol will not have an effect on him. 

Garry Ford bestows honor on the white cat instead of revealing his choices for the different positions thus taking his time to break down the many ways the cat makes him happy. Making soft purrs, the pussy will jump into his lap giving him an unimaginable pleasure. Vowing the conversation between him and the pussy is genuinely awakening. As Gary Ford ends the dissertation, he promises the pussy has a demanding character. Leaving the meeting drunk, Ezell did not know the reason for his presence nor why positions remain open.

In the cubicle the next morning, Ezell's fingers were flying reckoning a high dollar account. As Ezell eases up to review the accounts' data, he sees from his peripheral view a giant figure in the cubicle’s doorway.

“You really know how to handle those “Harry Virgins.” The giant figure says.

By squeezing the ledger in his hand, Ezell controls his nervousness. He turns gazing dead into Gary Ford eyes and stutters, “No, sir. I am not dating right now.”

Gary Ford’s stance is motionless. He is stretching both arms open, posting on either side of the doorway like a drill Sargent in the Marines and in the position to rightly reprove Ezell for being late to work.

“Is that right?” Gary says.

Ezell’s heart begins to race, drumming as he imagines the coworkers in the meeting did. To his dismay, that is the unmanly pussy loving controller. Gary Ford is similar to George Patton whose inclination to slap a shell-shocked employee under his command. Ezell believes his coworkers are in a much better position. The knowledgeable employees wish for a position that still exists while he is coming to an end.

“Yes, sir,” Ezell stutters.”

“First, I want to welcome you to Ryan Financial Group. I personally prefer to meet newbies when it suits me. I went over your market analysis and your insight impresses me on the different transactions.”  Garry Ford lowers his head adding, “I also realize that’s your first “Harry Virgin” because it is the mixed drink you were guzzling during my Bonding Session.

“Yes, sir. I mean no. Yes”

“Ha-Ha. I can’t resist pranking the newbies with sexual suggestions. It makes some uncomfortable in my work environment. Are you religious, Ezell?”

“No, sir. Yes, no, uh.”

“Ha-Ha. Relax. Now, listen,” Gary says, smiling. “Keep up the good work,”  laughing off and on,  “ and don’t come to work late tipsy again.”  Gary Ford says as he leaves.