A Bitter End…..

The Story of the Scorpion and the Frog

In a forest far far away, there lived a scorpion and a frog. One day the forest they lived in caught on fire. The fire had enveloped the whole forest and the scorpion and the frog were pinned against the edge of the forest and a river. The only way out was to go across the river.

So the scorpion asked the frog, “Can you help me get across the river?”

The frog replied, “Why would I take you across the river? You’re just going to sting me. “

The scorpion replied, “That’s ridiculous! If I stung I would drown with you? I’m not that stupid.”

The frog thought for a moment and realized that this was true and it would be stupid for the scorpion to sting him. So he let the scorpion climb on his back and he jumped into the river and started swimming to the other end. They were a little over half way to the other side and all of a sudden, the frog felt a sharp pain in his back. He realized that the scorpion had just stung him. So right before they both drowned, the frog turned to the scorpion and asked him, “Why did you sting me??? Now we are both going to die.”

The scorpion said to him, “I couldn’t help it… it’s in my nature.”

This past Wednesday was my last day of work. After working there 6 full years and helping build the company’s culture and creating a lot of wealth for the owner, I felt that I would be treated differently from all the others that had left previously. Every person that had left prior had been treated callously and in a cold manner. They all left with their heads down and regretful of ever working their. The owner had taken people leaving his company as a personal thing so he would not give them a fond farewell but instead would show them the door and slam it shut once they stepped foot outside.

So I thought I would be different. After all I had gave it my all these last 6 years. I led by example. I helped him grow his business 10 fold. I worked 7 days a week for him when it was needed. I transformed a negative company culture to a positive place to work. I treated my work like I owned the company. I even gave it my all to the final hour of me working there…. so what happened??

That morning, I woke up excited that I would leave my company in a positive light. I had worked hard for so long and always been loyal to the owner. As a executive in his company I thought that I would be bid a nice farewell. So I brought in some food for the other employees to celebrate my last day. Everything seemed like it would be a great way to end a long tenure with the company. I would not share the same fate as all the others.

In the afternoon, I finish up a final meeting with the owner and the web developers for our new site and I decide to take lunch and then come back and say goodbye to everyone. Before I left, the office manager came up to me and told me that my check would only have 42 sales to be paid on it. I was confused because I had just received my payroll log a day b4 telling me I was to be paid on 58 sales. I asked her why and she just gave me a look of helplessness and said, “That’s what he said to pay.”

So I went into the owners office and confronted him on why I was only getting paid on 42 cars. He then blamed it on a mistake the office manager had made about including commissions that we had not gotten payment on. I knew this was a flat out lie because in the 6 years I had worked there, I had received these logs and never was there a discrepancy between the payroll log and my paycheck. For him to lie straight to my face and blame someone else for his dishonesty, was one of the most hurtful things that I had felt in a long time. Since I had outstanding commissions that are supposed to get paid for the next 3-4 months, I knew I would never see the commissions I had earned. This was a sign of things to come…

So I left the office very angry and upset about my boss shaving 20% of my commission thinking I would not know. I go out with one of my coworkers for lunch since she had wanted to treat me out before I left. We got back around 4pm and she had punched in the security code to the office and I went to my desk to retrieve my belongings and shut down my computer. I was sitting at my desk and the owner comes up and asks me, “How did you get in here? Does your code still work?”

I was a bit confused at first but then I realized that he had already changed my door code so I could not get in. He had already changed the code before I even left!

Suddenly an overpowering feeling of hurt came over me. All I could think about was how much of my soul I had given to this guy to fill his pockets with money and he not only was trying to screw me out of my commissions before I even left but he didn’t even give me the courtesy of waiting until I left to delete my pass code….

This was not how I had pictured my final farewell. I didn’t deserve to be treated in such a callous way. There was no appreciation or gratitude for the effort and loyalty I had put in. So, I said goodbye to everyone in the office with my sunglasses on because I could not stop the tears from coming because of my ultimate realization that everything I had done for this man, I had done for nothing. All the love I had shown to this company and loyalty I had given, I thought might be reciprocated? I was wrong….

As i walked out of those doors one final time, the first steps i took were full of pain, resentment, and anger. But as i got closer and closer to my car, those same footsteps began to change into sounds of sorrow and pity for my ex boss. I now realized that his life was full of disloyalty, dishonesty and constant pain brought onto him by others. This never ending cycle would not end for him unless he somehow became awakened. Living in his own prison of misery and distrust was were he would spend his time for the foreseeable future…. and he would always think that it was others who had wronged him… when in reality it was him who had caused their actions…..

A bitter end to a otherwise wonderful time in my life. I still love many of the people who are there… but I began to wonder, will these people share the same fate as me? As the frog has learned…. It’s in his nature…..