Beneath the Son-in-Law’s Shadow

The call

Edgar leaned back in his chair, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone.

Out of nowhere, a paper fluttered in front of his face, breaking his thoughts. He looked up to see a manicured hand holding a request form. “Excuse me, I’m here to collect the office chair for the manager,” a woman's voice said, clipped and professional.

Edgar barely glanced at the form before responding, “Turn right down that aisle, all the way to the back.” The woman didn’t move right away. She just stood there, her eyes fixed on him for an uncomfortable thirty seconds. Edgar met her gaze for a moment, then returned to his phone. Finally, she moved, her heels clicking against the warehouse floor as she walked away.

A few minutes later, the same heels clicked their way back toward him. Edgar paused his game and looked up again, forcing a polite smile. “Did you find it?”

The woman, still empty-handed, smiled faintly, as if she knew something he didn’t. “I found it,” she said calmly.

Edgar frowned, puzzled. “Where’s the chair, then?”

She gave him the same mysterious smile, clearly expecting him to do the heavy lifting. Resigned, Edgar sighed, stood up, and walked over to the storage area. He checked every shelf, scanning the labels, but couldn’t find the requested item.

Frustration mounting, he returned, handing the form back to her with a slight smirk. “Sorry, we don’t have that particular office chair in stock. You might want to double-check the details.”

The woman didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to his co-worker, Nova, and said, “Ms. Ratliff.”

Nova approached, rolling her eyes, clearly already over the interaction. She grabbed the form, headed to the back, and began searching the office supply section herself, muttering under her breath the entire time.

The woman, now watching Nova with growing curiosity, glanced back at Edgar, her brow furrowed. After a few minutes, Nova returned, empty-handed, looking as irritated as Edgar felt.

“Ms. Odom,” Nova began, her voice tight with frustration, “we don’t have that chair.”

Odom crossed her arms, her voice suddenly sharp. “This is CEO Schultz’s chair.”

Nova snorted, crossing her arms. “I don’t care if it’s for the CEO or the president. If it’s not in stock, it’s not here. What do you expect me to do, pull it out of thin air?”

He nodded in agreement, saying, “Could it be that there’s a mistake on the form? But didn’t you just say you found the office chair? Where is it?”

Odom, clearly exasperated, shot them a look of disbelief, as if she were dealing with a pair of incompetents. Without uttering a word, she snatched the form from Edgar’s hand and stormed off.

Roughly half an hour later, she and the HR manager, Mr. Lambert, arrived. His mere presence caused a noticeable shift in the room’s atmosphere. As Nova’s superior, he commanded respect, and his sharp gaze immediately landed on the chair Edgar was comfortably sitting in.

“Is that chair comfortable?” Mr. Lambert asked, his voice casual, but with an edge that made Edgar sit up straighter.

The moment those words left Lambert’s mouth, Edgar’s heart sank. Why was the HR manager suddenly fixated on his chair? Then, like a bolt of lightning, realization struck. He had been sitting in the chair—the one meant for Mr Schultz!

Edgar blinked in shock, stammering, “This is Mr Schultz’s office chair? If that’s the case, I’ll gladly replace it. I’ve got the request form right here. All he has to do is sign, and I can swap the chair out for him.”

Odom, witnessing Edgar’s obliviousness, looked like she might faint from sheer exasperation.

Nova, finally catching on to the situation, gasped. “Edgar! When did you switched the chair?”

Mr. Lambert’s expression darkened, his anger simmering beneath the surface. “Do you think we have an endless supply of office chairs lying around? This is the only one in the entire warehouse! There’s not a duplicate anywhere in the company!", he thundered

If he gives that chair to Schultz, he’ll know immediately. It’s brand new, untouched—anyone with eyes could tell!

Mr Lambert said: "What you’ve done isn’t just stupid—it’s practically theft!”

Edgar asked. “But the chair never left the warehouse. How could that be considered theft?”

Odom, eager to distance herself from the brewing storm, interjected hastily, “Mr. Lambert, you’re in charge here. I’ve got other matters to attend to.”

“Hold on a second,” Mr. Lambert snapped, clearly frustrated. “Don’t you think Mr Schultz—”

Before he could finish, Odom cut him off, her voice sharp, “This is an HR problem. You handle it.” And with that, she swiftly disappeared, leaving the chaos behind.

Mr. Lambert waited until Odom had left before unleashing a torrent of anger on Edgar and Nova.

"How could you two be so careless? Switching office chairs like it's nothing? Do either of you have any idea what you've done?" he shouted, his voice booming across the warehouse.

The noise drew the attention of the nearby workers, who began gathering around, curious about the commotion.

Nova, visibly shaken, immediately started apologizing. "I’m sorry, Mr. Lambert! I didn’t know! I—"

But her apology only seemed to stoke his fury. "Sorry? You think ‘sorry’ is going to fix this? You’ve completely messed up, Nova!" he bellowed, waving his hand dismissively.

Desperate to deflect the heat, Nova turned on Edgar. "This is all your fault, Edgar! If you hadn’t—"

"Shut it, Nova!" Mr. Lambert cut her off, his frustration mounting. "You don’t get to pass the blame. You’re as useless as he is!" Nova quickly fell silent, trembling under his glare.

After a few more minutes of relentless berating, Mr. Lambert suddenly remembered something. Ms Horne is senior assistant to Mr. Schultz.

He pulled out his phone, dialing quickly. "Ms Horne," he barked into the phone. "You know what your recommendation, Edgar Hurtubise, just did? Yeah, that Edgar." He relayed the incident in a few short, angry sentences, his face turning even redder as he spoke. He wanted her to pass on the word to Mr Schultz.

After hanging up, Mr. Lambert turned to Edgar and Nova, his voice cold and decisive. "Here’s how this is going to work. Odom, you will be docked a month's salary for your failure to manage the situation. As for you, Edgar—you took company property without authorization, so you're demoted to a janitor. If you don’t like it, you can hand in your resignation right now!"

Edgar's eyes widened in disbelief. "A janitor? You really think I’m suited for that?"

Mr. Lambert gave him a hard stare. "Either that or the door. Your choice."

Just as the tension in the air thickened, Mr. Lambert’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID—Ms. Horne. With an annoyed huff, he picked up the call.

"Yes, Horne, what is it?" he barked.

Ms. Horne’s calm voice came through the line. "Mr. Schultz said to let Edgar keep the chair."

Mr. Lambert’s eyes widened in disbelief, momentarily at a loss for words. He hung up the phone, his face a mix of frustration and surprise as he turned back to Edgar.