Faking confidence
I received acceptance letters from Cass Business School (now Bayes) and Imperial Business School by early April. It wasn’t necessarily easy to gain the minimum GMAT score, write an essay, […]
Foreboding
I ran around the city for the next few weeks to wrap up my life in Germany. I had to return the leased car, remove my name from residential registration, […]
Down the rabbit hole
I remembered what the elderly HR manager said in English when I first arrived a year before. “As long as you keep yourself to where you belong, you will be […]
How to tame a shrew
I sat with Mr. N and the HR manager, almost retiree, to discuss the contract termination. When it came to the compensation amount, I requested at least a three-month salary […]
Injustice of justice
I called Stuart from the restroom. He was more upset than I was and gladly agreed on my early move to London. I needed to wrap up my life in […]
Ending
When Mr. N called me into a meeting room and told me he would cut the contract with me, I felt the weight lifted off my back. Mr. N’s face […]
Voice equilibrium
I withdrew into a shell. I did no work because there was none. I ignored emails that required responses. I stopped smiling and talking to colleagues. I took days off […]
Finale grotesque
The last standing man in HQ, Mr. Yamada, was very enthusiastic about “improving” the overseas operations and considered me one of his disciples to execute his plans. He was young […]
Venom to venom
I was fighting a lone battle. I was allowed no more attempts to prove my worth to my colleagues, most of whom were polite and left me alone. But only […]
Plan B
I don’t remember how the breakdown unfolded. I believe I called Stuart and told him about the call and everything that happened since my relocation was agreed upon. I might […]