“Right, sir, I’ll correct that tonight,” Harold grunted into his desk phone before hanging it up and sighing. “Did the boss change his mind again?” Tom asked from the desk across the narrow hallway. “Yeah, but this shouldn’t be too bad.” “Last time you said that you worked twelve hour days for three weeks to finish the project...” “Sometimes you have to put in the time to get what you want.” Harold scowled at his lazy coworker and tuned back to his computer. “Let me know if I can help with anything tomorrow,” Tom offered as he stood up to leave. “Heading out already?” Harold questioned him. “Harold, it’s six. We should have left an hour ago.” “We should leave when the job is done.” “I’ll get my job done tomorrow. Don’t stay too late.” “Yeah, yeah...” Harold mumbled, waving a hand to Tom as he walked out of the office. “It’ll pay off when I make it to the top.” The next day Harold woke with a start as Tom dropped into his desk chair with a dull thud. “Morning!” Tom greeted the disheveled Harold. “Morning,” Harold replied with his head in a fog. “Never made it home, huh?” Tom asked. “Got everything updated though!” “Didn’t you say you needed to head home early yesterday morning?” “Shit, Emily!” Harold jumped from his chair and rushed out of the office. His hands fumbled with his company issued cellphone, but his daughters number wasn’t saved in it. As he tried to recall the last two digits of Emily’s cellphone number, the phone started buzzing. Harold answered, “Hello?” “Harold, it’s John,” Harold’s boss replied. “I got your latest report, but I don’t think this will work.” “What’s wrong with it?” “Just some minor stuff. Font updates, spelling errors, etcetera. I sent you some comments: can you get me an updated copy today?” Harold sighed and dropped his shoulders. “Yes, sir.” He turned and headed back into the office. “I’ll get started on that right away.” “Great! Let me know when it’s finished.” Walking back to his desk, Harold slumped into his chair. He sighed, opened the email from John, and began typing away. “Did the boss change his mind again?” Tom asked once more. “Yeah, but this shouldn’t be too bad,” Harold whimpered. “Hey, what happened with Emily?” “I never got to call her, but I’ll do that after this is done.” “What did you miss yesterday?” “It was her birthday...” “Harold—you should call her!” “This will be done soon; it can wait.” “If you say so... you really should spend less time here and more time with Emily, Harold.” “Now you are starting to sound like my ex,” Harold growled. “What? When did you and Charlene split up?” Tom gasped. “Recently...” Harold grumbled as he turned his back to Tom to focus on his work. “Oh... uh... sorry...” Tom mumbled before turning to his computer. Silence fell on the office for the rest of the day. Harold typed for hours, only looking at the clock when Tom stopped for lunch. Eventually, Tom stood up, stretched, and got ready to leave. “Hey, uhh, I can take a look at that tomorrow if you need a hand,” Tom said as he buttoned his coat. “Thanks, but I’ll have it done tonight,” Harold responded without looking up. “Shouldn’t you head out of here? It’s 5:30, you never actually left yesterday, and Emily is probably wondering why you haven’t called-“ “None of that is your business!” “I’m just worried about you. Never thought you would be the workaholic type.” “It’ll pay off when I make it to the top.” “Oh, as long as you are chasing what you want... just be careful not to lose everything along the way...” With that, Tom walked out the door. Fuming, Harold focused on his report. “I’ll show him,” he muttered to himself. An hour later, his work phone rang again. With a heavy sigh, he answered, “Hey, this is Harold.” “Harold, it’s John,” the voice said across the phone. “Do you have a minute?” “What is it, sir?” “As you may have heard, I’m retiring at the month.” “I’m not sure how they will keep things running without you.” “They will manage, mostly because of how hard you have been working lately! I wanted to talk to you about the manager position that’s opening up.” “Yes?” Harold squeezed his phone and leaned forward in his chair; his eyes opened wide as he waited for John to respond. “We want you to—hold on—I have another call. Can I call you back in a minute?” “Uhh, sure!” Harold managed to stutter before John hung up. Harold fumbled with his phone until he managed to find Emily’s number. He dialed and waited eagerly for the call to connect. “Hello?” Emily answered. “Hey, honey, it’s me,” Harold replied. “Oh, hi dad.” “Hi, I wanted to call and wish you a happy birthday!” “Dad, my birthday was yesterday... did you forget, again?” “No, no, I didn’t forget! I’m just very busy at work. There is a big promotion coming up; once I get that I’ll be able to take you out to dinner whenever you want.” “Okay. Is that it?” “Huh?” Harold looked down at his phone, which was receiving another call from John. “Yeah, I actually have to go.” “Bye, dad.” “Bye, honey, I lo-“ the line went dead as Emily hung up. “I love you...” Harold said to no one. With a sigh, Harold answered John’s call, “Hello?” “Sorry about that, Harold,” John said. “Like I was saying, We want you to help the new manager get used to things around here.” “What?” Harold asked in disbelief. “Since you have been so productive for the company lately, we want you to help him get up to speed.” “Yes... sir...” “Great! I have to go, but I’ll call you with more details tomorrow.” As soon as John hung up the phone, Harold put his head down and wept.