Bad Timing
Robb Auspitz
A dark haired, very pale white man, was observed sitting in an office, pounding emphatically on a desk while speaking into a telephone. "Mary, all I want is to pick up the kids an extra half hour later and drop them off an extra half hour later."
He paused to listen to his estranged wife then held the phone away from his ear as she shouted, "Why do I have to interrupt my schedule for you? I have a tennis lesson tomorrow morning and I need to be fresh for it. Of course, you won't find that reasonable."
He rolled his eyes and impatiently played with a sign on his desk that read: Ray Bradford, Senior Adjuster, Bradford & McCarver Insurance Adjusting. He spoke again, "Of course you're not being reasonable, that's why we're separated. Remember?"
He stopped talking as she spoke again, "If you're late, no kids tonight. I know my rights."
As he looked up Ray noticed a red faced, man standing in front of him with a manila folder stamped Providential Insurance in his hands. The man was average height with thinning red hair. He wore a white shirt with a nameplate that read John McKuen, Vice President & Senior Supervising Adjuster. He glared at Ray and nervously tapped a pen on the desk. Ray gave him a dirty look but resumed his phone conversation, "OK, I'll be there at the usual time but your bitchy attitude will not make me settle any faster." Ray slammed the phone down with a flourish. "Bitch," he said.
McKuen dropped the folder in the middle of Ray's desk. "I want you to handle this particular situation. I think you need to vary your caseload." McKuen commented to no one in particular as he walked away, "Please try to conduct your personal business on your time."
Ray held his hands over his head as if he were surrendering and waved them disgustedly in McKuen's direction. Ray nervously picked up the folder and began leafing through it.
After a few minutes he emerged from his office and tossed the folder and its contents over his head, onto the floor. Ray turned to the secretarial pool and exclaimed loudly, "I'm not going to Sixth and Race in Philly to investigate an auto accident. And this one is a classic!
"Some guy named Hawkins gets tapped on the fender so now he's injured. Since he's injured he can't work or properly consummate his marriage. Honest to God, that's what it says. And of course, no witnesses. So, a high priced talent like me is supposed to waste his valuable time talking to a couple of downtown losers? I don't think so."
Ray walked down the hall and knocked on McKuen's office door. "Hey John, this is not gonna work. If you remember, I don't do Philly and I don't do auto. I work here in the suburbs and I handle big commercial accounts and its been that way for a long time."
John McKuen did not enjoy confrontations, especially with a Senior Adjuster who had been with the firm for over fifteen years. McKuen looked down at his desk when he answered Ray. "Look Bradford, I think it's a really good idea for all the adjusters to vary their experience. You never know when we might have an emergency of some type and we'd have to pull people from other areas. This way, everyone's sharp."
"First of all, I did plenty of auto when I joined the firm. My father made sure that I started on the bottom and that I learned every line thoroughly. Second of all, I'd like to see a list ofthe other adjusters and their caseloads," Bradford said.
McKuen's face got redder and his voice became thin and shrill. He spoke while shuffling papers, as if he were looking for something, "First of all, your father doesn't work here anymore. He got bought out, remember," McKuen said as he stopped moving papers around and finally looked at Ray's face. The office became quiet for a moment then McKuen resumed, still looking at Ray, his voice louder and very shrill as his head bobbed in anger. "Second of all, I don't have to show you shit. Whether you like it or not I'm in charge and you're just another employee and what I say goes. And if you don't like it you can go work someplace else."
McKuen was now sweating heavily. He turned back to his desk and tried to pick up a stack of papers but dropped them because his hands were still shaking. "Now if you'll excuse me I have my work to do and you, Mr. Bradford, have a new case to investigate."
Ray walked out of McKuen's office, returned to his office, and slammed the door shut. He looked over his desk as if he were conducting a mental inventory of the contents: One computer terminal, a pen and pencil holder, a telephone, a rolodex, an appointment book, a stack of job folders and papers, a picture of his son Ray Jr. and one of his daughter Allison.
He stared at the walls and looked at the various photographs, plaques, awards, and signed testimonials that covered them. He wandered over to the wall opposite his desk and glanced at a couple of plaques presented by the agency's biggest customer, Providential Insurance. Ray was named the independent adjuster of the year on both plaques, one for 1995 and one for 1996.
He picked up a picture of the company picnic taken the year before the buyout. He and his wife, Mary, were still living together and the smiling couple was the centerpiece of the photo.
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