Thomas stood up slowly, and the woman, Lily’s mother, looked as if she expected to be terminated on the spot.
— It is fine, — Thomas said quickly, raising a hand to reassure her. — She wasn’t bothering me at all. You are Angela Martinez?
— Yes, sir. Customer Service, Level Three, — she stammered. — I apologize for the interruption. It won’t happen again.
Thomas looked at Angela, truly seeing her for the first time. He saw the raw fear in her eyes and the way her hand shook as she reached out to grab her daughter’s shoulder. He noticed the scuff marks on her shoes and the carefully mended seam on the shoulder of her jacket.
He was looking at a woman who was doing her absolute best, terrified of losing everything she had built. And he saw himself, the man who had been minutes away from destroying three hundred lives just like hers with a signature on a piece of paper.
— Ms. Martinez, — Thomas said, his voice firm but kind. — Could you and Lily wait in my office for just a moment? I need to finish up here.
Angela looked like she might faint from anxiety.
— Sir, I really should get back to my desk. I am so sorry for the disruption.
— Please, — Thomas insisted gently. — Just give me five minutes. My assistant will show you the way. There are some toys in there left over from when my nephew visited last week.
He looked down at the little girl.
— Lily, you can play while I talk to your mom, okay?
Lily nodded solemnly, hugging her bear, and Thomas signaled his assistant to escort them out of the boardroom. He took a deep breath and turned back to face the executives who had filtered back into the room, their faces mixtures of confusion and curiosity. Thomas returned to his seat at the head of the table, staring one last time at the spreadsheet that was still glowing ominously on the screen.
He looked at the rows of data, the rational business justifications, and the projected savings.
— We are not doing the layoffs, — Thomas announced clearly.
The room erupted instantly.
— Thomas, we have been over this! — Gerald barked, his voice rising. — The numbers do not lie. We need to cut costs, and labor is our biggest expense!
— I understand that, — Thomas shot back, cutting him off. — But we are going to find another way.
— There is no other way! — Gerald insisted, slamming his hand on the table. — We have looked at every option!
— No, — Thomas said, his voice icy. — We have looked at every easy option. We haven’t looked at the hard ones, starting with executive compensation.
The room went dead silent.
— We are going to cut salaries at the executive level by thirty percent, — Thomas declared, meeting each pair of eyes around the table. — Including my own. We are going to completely defer bonuses for this year.
He stood up and began pacing.
— We are going to scrutinize our operational expenses, renegotiate our vendor contracts, and slash the marketing budget. We are going to find efficiencies that do not involve destroying three hundred families right before Christmas.
— Thomas, be reasonable, — Gerald pleaded, though his voice was weaker now. — Executive compensation is a drop in the bucket compared to what we would save with the layoffs.
— Maybe, — Thomas replied. — But it is a start, and it sends a message about our values. We protect our people. We find creative solutions. We don’t take the easy way out just because it is convenient.
He gathered his papers and looked at the team.
— This meeting is adjourned. I want proposals on my desk by the end of the day tomorrow for cost-cutting measures that do not involve layoffs. If you do not think you can work within those parameters, then perhaps this isn’t the right company for you.
The executives filed out of the room, some looking furious, others looking surprisingly thoughtful. Thomas knew he had likely just made himself the most unpopular man in the C-suite, and he knew his father would have some harsh words for him later. But as he walked toward his office, he realized he had more important things to attend to.
Inside his office, he found Angela sitting rigidly on the edge of the guest chair while Lily played quietly with a set of wooden blocks in the corner. Angela stood up immediately when Thomas entered, smoothing her skirt with nervous hands.
— Mr. Warren, I really am so sorry, — she began again. — I know the policy about children in the workplace. I just didn’t have any other option today, and I couldn’t afford to take an unpaid day off.
— Ms. Martinez, — Thomas said, gesturing to the chair. — Please, sit down. You are not in trouble.
Angela sat, though she didn’t look convinced.
— I want to ask you something, — Thomas said, leaning against his desk. — And I want you to be completely honest with me. How is employee morale right now? Specifically in customer service, but also in general?
Angela looked surprised by the question.
— Sir, please, I am asking genuinely, — Thomas pressed. — I sit up here in the executive suite, and I get filtered information from department heads. But you are on the front lines. You talk to other employees. What are people saying?
Angela was quiet for a long moment, clearly weighing whether honesty was worth the risk of offending him.
— People are scared, — she finally admitted, her voice quiet. — We know the company hasn’t been doing well. We know layoffs are being discussed in the hallways. Everyone is updating their resumes and looking at other options.
She looked up at him.
— Morale is very low. Productivity is down because people are distracted and worried about their futures.
— Thomas nodded slowly. — What would help? If you could change things, what would make the biggest difference?
— Honestly? — Angela took a deep breath. — People just want to feel valued. We want to feel like we are more than just numbers on a spreadsheet. Customer service especially feels like we are disposable, like anyone could do our jobs.
She leaned forward slightly.
— But we are the ones who actually talk to the customers. We are the face of the company to the people who buy our products. That should matter.
— You are right, — Thomas said earnestly. — It should, and it does. I just made a decision to find alternatives to the layoffs.
Angela’s eyes widened.
— I am not saying there won’t be changes, — Thomas cautioned. — We need to improve our bottom line. But we are going to do it in a way that protects our people.
Angela’s eyes filled with tears, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
— Sir, I don’t know what to say.
— You don’t have to say anything, — Thomas replied. — But I do want to ask you for a favor. I want to put together an employee task force. I need people from different departments and levels to give input on company decisions.
He crossed his arms.
— I want to make sure leadership isn’t operating in a bubble anymore. Would you be willing to be part of that?
— Me? — Angela looked shocked.
— You clearly care about this company and its people, — Thomas said. — And you are not afraid to speak honestly when asked. That is exactly what we need. You would be compensated for the extra time, of course, and we would work around your schedule with Lily.
Angela wiped her eyes and nodded vigorously.
— Yes. Yes, I would be honored.
Lily had abandoned her blocks and walked over to stand beside her mother’s chair. She looked up at Thomas with those same serious blue eyes she had displayed in the boardroom.
— Are you going to fire Mommy? — she asked bluntly.
— No, — Thomas said, crouching down to her level once again. — I am not going to fire your mommy. She is going to help me make the company better.
