Mrs. Schwartz, Billy’s boss, retires. At the retirement party, Billy is introduced to his new boss Mr. Smith who turns his world upside down. Here is the first exchange between Billy and Mr. Smith:
Billy stuck out his hand and said, “Everyone calls me Billy.”
Mr. Smith scowled and then said, “You backwoods stump jumpers are among the dumbest people I’ve ever met. Dr. Billy, that’s a joke,” Mr. Smith moved on never shaking Billy’s hand.
A little later at the retirement party Mrs. Schwartz comes over and talks to Billy:
Later while people were enjoying Mrs. Schwartz’s retirement cake along with some coffee, Mrs. Schwartz pulled Billy aside and said, “I have already warned Florence about Mr. Smith,” Mrs. Schwartz said in a disgusted tone, “I guess I should’ve warned you too. He has a reputation for firing technical people the first chance he gets. My boss says that’s why he was transferred here because this is a backwater as far as the company is concerned compared to their West Coast operations. From my brief meetings with him, he’s very unhappy because of the transfer and is likely to take it out on anyone he comes across. Please be careful. You’re a good employee, Billy.”
A little later there’s this exchange between Billy and Mr. Smith:
“I know from past experience that Ph.D.’s can be very lazy, so I will expect a written report from you every Friday afternoon. You can just drop it here in my inbox if I’m not here,” Mr. Smith pointed at the inbox on his desk.
“Exactly what would you like in the report?” Billy asked.
“Damn, you’re dumb. I want to know what parcels you found and have looked at. What parcels have usable timber? What have you done about contacting the owners and the results of any contact? Is that clear enough or do I need to put it into 12 syllable words?” Mr. Smith asked.
“Yes, sir. It’s clear,” Billy said.
“Now that you got that, get the hell out of my office and back to work,” Mr. Smith said.
It is clear to Billy that he will never be able to satisfy Mr. Smith. As much as he loves his job, it is time to start hunting for another one.
