Frank arrived. “What’s up?” She muttered that they weren’t even in business, so she didn’t know. “Oh, my apologies. This is Rafiq, my executive assistant.” “I was under the impression she was your executive assistant.”
“I’m sorry. I was running a bit late. It’s lovely to see you, Mr. Jones. Finally. Great news about the East Coast acquisition, by the way. The company will never be the same again.” Their profit had been tanking by forty percent. It was unheard of in the industry. He had also done a competitor analysis of the Riverside area just to give him the context. But he would let Jimmy handle that.
As they were saying before he came in, they needed to show Frank why they were the best-positioned competitor for this project. Did he have the presentation ready? “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” Then Rafiq collapsed. “Shauna, call an ambulance. Hey. You okay?”
Afterward Jimmy asked Shauna if he could have a word with Rafiq. “Oh, yes, of course.” They needed to talk about his health and his role. “My role?” He had been an incredible employee. He had quite literally saved Jimmy’s life with his own kidney. Jimmy owed him forever. But he also owed Bucky Logistics, too. And he needed to do what was best for it in the long run.
Right now he had been ill for weeks, and Jimmy was sure it had not been easy to recover from the surgery. “I’m fine, Jimmy. I should—” “You’re not fine, Rafiq. For goodness’ sake, you just passed out during a meeting with Frank Jones, and you may have cost us our company’s future. We needed this deal.”
“It’s not that I could control it, Jimmy.” “No. No, you couldn’t. But still, I can’t keep pretending you’ve been missing meetings and deadlines, and today would have been a disaster if it wasn’t for Shauna.” He said she had told him Jones was late. He had been here the whole time. Sick in his office puking in a garbage bin, and then he passed out in front of their biggest client.
Jimmy thought this role might not be for him. Not for right now, at least. He knew he had promoted him, and he believed he had what it took. But it might be best if he went back to being an office assistant, at least until he was better. Think on it, and they would circle back in a week. It would be a good break until they figured things out, until he got better.
Later Shauna asked if he already had all of that. He had all of that. Was he sure? He was sure. “You are superwoman. That’s great. Okay. Come on in.”
“Ah, Rafiq. You’re never going to believe it. Frank Jones just called. He said he wants to have another conversation.” “Well, that’s great to hear.” Jimmy knew the odds were in their favor, but how was he doing? Listen, regarding what he said earlier about stripping him of the executive role—
“Actually, I’m fine. My doctor told me it was a stomach infection, so it had nothing to do with my kidney.” “Seriously?” “Yes, seriously. Well, I got a solid round of antibiotics. I was a doctor back home. I knew it was my stomach.”
“Why didn’t you say anything? I thought you had complications from the surgery.” “And what if I had? Would it justify stripping me of my position? Anyway, I sent the report to Frank Jones. I believe it’ll help him take a favorable view of Bucky Logistics.”
“Oh, so that’s why he called back.” He had also ordered supplies for the next two months. He had trained two junior members of the team to help Shauna with her new role. “The role? What role?” He understood she would be taking over as executive assistant.
“Well, no, if you’re feeling better—” “No. I won’t be. It’s been a great ride, Jimmy. It really has. But I believe I’m worth a little more than Bucky Logistics.” “No, you can’t leave us. For God’s sake, you gave me your own kidney. I can’t let you leave like this.”
“I gave you my kidney no strings attached. You don’t owe me nothing, Rafiq.” Jimmy said he could double his salary. “I’m sure you can. But I can assure you I’m fine. I really am. But I want you to understand there are certain things in life that are priceless. Health, as you have discovered, is one of them. Integrity is another. And I now have to honor mine. Goodbye.”
Later Frank Jones came back. “Jim. Ada. Where’s your executive assistant?” “She’s here.” “No, not her. Rafiq. The guy who sent me the report.” “Well, we—he resigned. He wasn’t a good cultural fit.”
“And you just let him go? Without a fight?” “Well, we didn’t want to, but—” “This tells me you didn’t take a single look at his report. The guy’s a genius. I’ve never seen anything like it. You just let him walk out of here? This changes things.” “What do you mean?” “Your decision-making, Jimmy. I don’t trust it. I’m afraid this deal’s off.”
The phone rang. “Hello? Hello. Is this Rafiq Khan?” “This is him.” “Oh, good. Frank Jones calling. I’ve got an offer for you. Regional director.” “Regional director? Are you kidding me? When do I start?”