"We'll get the vacation pay direct deposited into your account by close of business today," he said. "And we'll e-mail you a severance agreement to review. If it meets with your approval, we'll pay you the two fifty at the end of the trip to Midlands, okay?"
"Half now, half at the end," I said. "And a guarantee that the trip is scheduled within forty-five days."
"Smart boy," he chortled. "And done. We've got a deal?"
"It's a deal, sir," I said.
"And Tyler?"
"Sir?"
"We really are sorry. Both about your mother and to see you go."
"Thank you, sir."
Two weeks later, I spent a Thursday and half a Friday in Minneapolis securing the Midlands account for my former employers.
By the following Monday, the balance of my severance package was in my bank account.
* * * * *
So what the hell w
