The first day Zack went to this new office as the junior employee, everyone was happy that at last, they had this new young person who would bring in the vibrant energy that the office needed so much. They had worked for a year without any new colleagues, to say that they were excited would be an understatement.
They even started talking about what they hoped this new member of the crew might be like. Most of them had said that he’d be sharp and very interesting like most of them had turned out. However, these wishes were opposite to what Zack came to be. Zack was everything else, but not the team player and loyal colleague they had hoped for.
They had lived drama-free in that office for a long time. Maybe the universe was tired of the calm and wanted to shake things up. Zack was a cocktail of what they’d never hope for in a colleague. But they had not anticipated this because a few days after his arrival, he got praise from everyone.
“He seems to be everything we had hoped for, Marie,” Imara told Marie on the second day after he was hired.
Marie, who had taken a moment to think through Imara’s statement was not on the same page with her. She wasn’t sure about this. She thought that two days were not enough to find out someone’s character.
“It’s too early to tell. You’d want people to see the good side of you the first few weeks.” Marie told her.
There was a way that people would want to be perceived on their first days of work and Zack was no different. He arrived earlier than everyone. He did all his tasks on time. When everyone went for tea or lunch break, he would always come back in time. Zack made sure that he was making extra effort.
Imara thought that this was typical of every other person starting at work. When she said this in the office, most of her workmates agreed with her.
Zack was so helpful that everyone in the office had something positive to say about him. There would be instances where he stepped up and helped another colleague with a task, claiming that he had little on his plate and would not mind helping.
“If anything, I need more of these tasks,” he would say as he took up the tasks. “This goes a long way in helping me sharpen my skills more.”
Other times, he would be up and down running errands for the boss. He was always busy doing something. It was rare to find him just seated.
Weeks passed and everyone had gotten accustomed to this vibrant and very helpful colleague. He was what every person would want for a colleague. But one day, something changed.
Something happened that changed him and nobody could figure out what it was. Whatever that thing was, it changed his behaviour so that he was the complete opposite of what people had known him to be.
“Have you noticed Zack’s attitude of late?” Marie asked.
“Yeah,” Imara confirmed Marie’s suspicions. “There is something about him that has changed.”
“He is very quiet, to begin with,” Marie said.
Zack was very talkative. All of a sudden, he was not talking as much. He only answered what was asked and minded his business. All of a sudden, he wasn’t very helpful and up and down running errands. He was very busy doing something that everyone else was not involved in. It was a low season of their activities so being busy was something strange.
“What could he be up to?” Imara inquired. “Why does he act like there’s so much to work on at this time of the year?”
“Who would know? Unless we ask.” Imara replied.
These were the telltale signs but it did not take time before what was hidden to come out into the open. A few weeks into the job, the real Zack was starting to show. All this time he was quiet, he was working behind his colleagues’ backs. Planning to make them appear as jokers and irresponsible in their work.
He was doing an office project that had been given by the project manager as a group project. He was doing it alone and not telling anyone about it. When he finished, he handed over the results to the project manager and told him that no one else had contributed He wanted to take the credit for the work well done.
“I did it alone. Every other person seemed too busy to give me a helping hand.” He complained.
“But this project wasn’t due yet.” The project manager was confused as to where this was coming from.
“Yes, but isn’t it a good thing to have it ready before it’s due?” Zack asked.
“It is not a bad idea. But there’s a reason it was to be done in teams.” The project manager explained to him.
Zack took a minute and asked, “I have finished it, sir. Will the effort be for nothing?”
“Did they even know that you were doing the project alone?” He asked Zack, looking very perplexed.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you tell them?”
“No, I did not tell them,” Zack responded.
There was a very long silence after Zack said these words. A very uncomfortable silence between these two gentlemen. Zack was wondering how he thought the project manager could accept his work without raising concerns about him leaving out his colleagues. The project manager was wondering why a colleague would want to paint the rest of his workmates as lazy and less concerned with their work.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the project manager spoke, “Had it been a personal task, this could have been very commendable. But it wasn’t.”
Again, another long silence. Zack seemed stunned. He wasn’t saying a thing or even moving. He was hoping that the conversation would end, and never be brought back ever.
Seeing the uncomfortable moment, the manager saved Zack the embarrassment and gave his final word on the matter, “I will not tell the rest. But be very careful next time not to do team tasks alone.”
Zack went out feeling very terrible. It was evening so he picked up his bag and headed straight home. How could he look straight into the eyes of people he had intended to paint as lazy? He could not.
Marie, Job, and Imara had observed him getting into the project manager’s office. After almost an hour in the manager’s office, he came out looking down at the ground and he seemed disturbed. That wasn’t a good sign. Something bad must have happened.
It confirmed to them that Zack might not be in good standing with the boss. Perhaps it could explain his sudden change.
They started speculating on what it could be. They did not know where to begin because the young man had not been involved in any scandal. He came to work earlier than everyone and did his work perfectly and with speed. What could be the issue? They could not point to a specific issue.
But somehow, things have a way of coming out and rumours started on the company’s grapevine. Before long, the whole place was buzzing with whispers of what had transpired. Two days after this event, everyone had their focus on this new colleague who was trying to show how he was better than anyone else.
“But might it be that the guy is raising the standards of how things should be done around here and you are getting jealous,” Valery commented during the tea break.
“Not now Val! You can’t be defending him” No one had that kind of perspective at that moment.
The grapevine also had it that Zack had complained to the supervisor that colleagues were not managing company time well as they should have. According to the source, Zack had said that they were not only sluggish but they also had this negative attitude which they served customers with.
This infuriated the whole department. They had been happy that fresh blood was joining the team. However, they did not expect a backstabber. No one appreciated the comments that Zack was making. They came off as malicious, even if there was some truth to it.
The truth was that Zack had decided to be anonymous in pushing forward his thoughts on how to take the company a step higher. He wrote a long list and inserted it into the suggestion box. Everyone was on his radar, watching every move he made. When he did this, Job saw and waited for him to disappear. He managed to get the key, opened the box, took out the letter, and together with a few other colleagues, read the contents word by word. They were shocked.
“Zack, why would you even think of putting such a list into the suggestion box?” The manager had asked him when someone filled him in on what was going on.
“How else could I have passed that message? I wanted to remain anonymous.” He defended himself.
“See the consequences now. See how people are now sabotaging you.” The manager was referring to his complaint of how people were not cooperating with him, making his work hard.
“But did I lie?” He genuinely inquired.
“Who cares, Zack!” The manager barked back.
Zack did not say another word.
Then the manager spoke again, “There’s a way things can be changed in a place like this, but not your way, Zack.” He said looking at Zack with the hope that he’d understand. “Not your way.”
The manager was looking at Zack, who not only felt foolish and ashamed but was also sweating. Yet again, the manager was witnessing another instance of Zack looking terrible.
“We are working on all of that and there will be changes. I appreciate your efforts but you need to be very careful.” The manager had become a bit softer on him.
“What will we do with how they are treating me?” Zack asked.
“I don’t know. You’ll have to find your way back to them. Maybe it will teach you how to live peacefully in a workplace” the manager said.
After a week, things were worse. No one was talking to Zack. Executing his mandate had become very difficult and the place wasn’t habitable for him anymore. He resigned. He learnt his lesson the hard way.
Here are more short stories you may want to read.
Caught Between Snitching On His Friends And Going To Jail, Remi Chose The Third Option
The Professor’s Sachets: He Led A Double Life And It Was Bound To Catch Up With Him One Day
He Did Not Expect The Betrayal That Followed His Conversion To Islam To Please The Woman He Loved
He Left The First Time She “Jokingly” Threatened His Life
She Went Through A Procedure To Change Her Body Shape To Please Her Man And Then He Changed His Mind
She Got A Tattoo Of Her Man’s Name And Now He Was An Ex
All Is Fair In Love And War & Our Friendship Turned Into A Chess War Over A Man
