At thirty-two-years old, Will Parnell was just shy of six feet and in good shape, working out regularly. He wore his brown hair on the long side and most regarded him as good looking. By profession he was an accountant, and he’d passed the CPA exam. Diligent and hard-working, he’d recently earned a law degree from Temple’s night program and passed the bar. He thought he had achieved significant professional accomplishments, but he was still in a dead-end position career wise, at least that was what his wife of four years, Claire, told him every moment that she had a chance. His father and older brother chimed in with the same tune in support of Claire, whom they liked very much.
Will and Claire had been high school sweethearts in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. They went to the same college together, Ohio State, and settled in Philadelphia where Will worked as an accountant and Claire, a journalist, was hired as a reporter for a local news station. Her attractive looks and engaging presence on camera helped her career to flourish. Will was proud of his beautiful wife and her successful career. They saved their money and finally married four years ago. Soon after that, the trouble began. Will wanted a family and Claire wanted a career. They weren’t on the same page.
As time went on, Claire’s opportunities grew, while Will’s never seemed to materialize. Yet, he was very supportive of her, so when an opportunity came to move to a news station in New York City, he supported her decision to take it, because he knew she wanted it badly. She commuted at first and then got a pied-à-terre, coming home on weekends. After eighteen months, she came home every other week, and then every three weeks.
During the recent holiday party at her news station, he watched his wife dance with a colleague, a little too closely. They fought about it afterwards, and he ended up going back to Philadelphia, alone. Arguments had become the norm, but this one had been different.
As he sat in his small office, depressed, his phone rang. It was the receptionist telling him that a process server was in the lobby looking for him. The firm was always getting served on behalf of its clients who opted to do battle with the IRS. Many of those clients were accounts that Will generally worked on.
He walked out to the lobby, signed for it and walked back to his desk. It was from a small law firm in town. Sitting down, he opened it and stared at the first page, as the air rushed out of his lungs. The law firm represented Claire, and she was suing him for divorce. It encouraged him to have his legal representative contact them so the matter could be settled amicably. Tears welled up in his eyes, and there was a huge lump in his throat.
How could you do this? he cried to himself.
The firm’s managing partner stepped into his office and shut the door. “I heard that you got served by those jerks. My ex used ’em …” she said. Word had spread fast throughout the firm.
He couldn’t respond, frozen in shock. Finally, through the pain, he managed to blurt out, “Yeah.”
“Why don’t you take the afternoon off?”
“No. I have work …” his voice broke, but he caught himself.
She sat down in the chair in front of his desk. “Will, you are one of the most valued employees here. Everyone depends on you. You make them all look good–”
He abruptly cut her off. “Then why am I never promoted? I’m not a partner. I outwork everyone. The sacrifices I’ve made have just benefitted everybody but me!” Will was more surprised by his outburst than the managing partner. He truly liked her and regretted the tone of his voice, but he desperately needed to vent.
“Will, you don’t bring clients to the firm. You do good work, and that’s why you have job security with us,” she said sternly.
He took a cleansing breath and looked at the ceiling. “I think I’ll take the afternoon off after all.” His mind was still numb as he tried to decide what to do or feel next.
“Good. Come back when you feel fresh and ready to go.” She was unsettled by their exchange and left quickly.
He blew his nose and collected himself before grabbing his briefcase to leave.
When he reached the lobby one of the partners, an athletic looking man, said, “Yo, Parnell. Sorry to hear about the wife … She came on to me once, you know.” The partner’s large mouth framed by thick lips smiled showing a broad array of artificially veneered teeth under a bulbous nose.
Will bristled as he walked past the receptionist, saying nothing on his way to get his coat out of the closet. Once the partner disappeared, the receptionist ran to Will’s side. “He’s an asshole, Will, and everybody knows it. I’m so sorry about Claire,” she said sincerely.
Will thanked her and left.
It had been years since Will had been out during the day, except on business. Even though it was early afternoon he stopped at a bar and had a drink, followed by several more. He watched the sports news as he drowned his sorrows, and ate a burger to soak up the alcohol. After a while, he decided to leave before the cocktail crowd arrived.
He walked back to his ground floor, one bedroom apartment in the Art Museum area.
Once inside, his cell rang. It was Claire. He answered with no emotion. “Yeah.”
“Did you get my package?” she asked.
My package, he thought.
“I got your divorce suit,” he responded.
“Will, I’m sorry to serve you at work, but I needed to be sure you got it, and you work all the time. Anyway, I’d like to do this as quickly as we can, and as simply as possible. You keep your money, and I keep mine. We both go our own way.”
He wanted to engage in a real discussion, but he knew it was hopeless.
“Did you hear me?” she said.
“I heard you. I’ll be in touch with your law firm tomorrow.” He hung up the phone. He’d never hung up on her before, but he was experiencing a lot of firsts lately.
The cell rang again. It was Claire. He turned it off, kept drinking until he fell asleep.
The next day he slept in and eventually got up, showered, shaved, and dressed. Over a cup of coffee, he called Claire’s lawyer and explained that he was a member of the bar and would represent himself. They were finished in less than an hour.
He dropped by the law firm, which was five blocks from his office, and executed the no-fault divorce papers. Claire signed as well in New York and scanned the signature page and sent it back while Will was still with her lawyer.
Leaving the law firm, life felt bittersweet. He knew he had done the right thing and that he’d be better off, but he was leaving behind all that history with Claire, some were memories he cherished. However, as each minute ticked by he felt more and more relief. He’d hated their life together since she took the job in New York. He tried to support her decision, but he hated himself for doing it. Their marriage was over, and he knew he had to learn to be glad that it was.
He stopped at a corner coffee shop and got a small coffee to go. As he sipped it while walking to the office he had another epiphany, and he decided that it was time to make more changes.
He walked into the office passing the receptionist. She smiled and he smiled back, just as the asshole partner was passing through. “Parnell, I need the Brodsky cash flow and tax projections for my meeting first thing tomorrow morning. You’re gonna’ need to work all night. We have a strategy session on Brodsky in the main conference room in thirty minutes. Be there.”
“Got it,” Will said as the asshole partner marched off, taking himself very seriously.
Will went to his office and gathered his files on the Brodsky account and prepared a document for the meeting.
By the time he walked into the main conference room there were people standing and talking in small groups. Four of the partners were there, in addition to the managing partner, the asshole partner and four associates. The Brodsky account was the firm’s largest and its most lucrative.
Will cornered the managing partner and said, “Can I have a few minutes before we get–”
The asshole interrupted, “We need to jump on the Brodsky matter now,” he announced loud enough for the entire room to hear. “Any personal crisis you have can wait.”
The managing partner glared at her asshole partner who pulled a mea culpa. “Brodsky is big business, and fees that we dearly need.”
She looked kindly at Will. “Is it okay with you if we deal with the Brodsky matter first and then talk?” she asked.
“Certainly,” he replied, always professional.
The asshole stood at the head of the table. “All right. We will show our client the resulting cash flow and tax benefits in the form of a projection concerning the merger that he is contemplating. He has chosen our firm because of the analysis that I did on his existing business last year, which gave him a roadmap to improve his bottom line by twenty-three percent. I might add, that is how we got the account to begin with. Now, the relationship is building, based on the solid foundation that we have. Parnell will fill out my template with the necessary modifications to give our client another roadmap to prosperity, and we’ll have that by eight o’clock tomorrow morning, so that we can be ready to present at ten.” He looked at Will. “I need you to commit to that timeframe, Parnell.”
All eyes turned to Will.
After a pause that everyone noticed, Will calmly said, “I don’t think so.”
There were gasps and chatter.
“What?” the asshole’s voice boomed.
Will waited until he had everyone’s attention. He spoke boldly with confidence. “A year ago, you came to me with the Brodsky matter. You didn’t understand how the parent company and its subsidiaries functioned. I spent weeks analyzing the cash flow and tax impact of recommendations that I ultimately made to change their business structure. When I showed it to you, you didn’t understand it, so we had to go over it many times.”
“I needed to vet–”
“Don’t interrupt me.” Will said firmly. He was on a roll. “Then you presented it to the firm and the client as your own work product. Now, you want me to analyze a merger deal using that template. The bottom line is that you don’t understand the work involved, you performed none of it. I’m not about to wet nurse another one of your clients.”
“Are you quite finished?” The asshole was fuming, his face beet red.
“Not quite.” Will carefully scanned the people in the room. They were in shock.
Perfect, he thought.
“You are one of the most uninformed and incompetent accountants that I have ever met. I will no longer brook your bad behavior or your ignorance.”
“You won’t be at this firm much longer,” he seethed.
“That’s correct.” Will stood and handed an envelope to the managing partner. “That is my resignation, effective immediately.” He gathered his briefcase as people began to deal with the shocking performance they had just witnessed. He held up his index finger to get everyone’s attention. “Oh, one more thing. If I hear one word of slander from you, or anyone at the firm for that matter, I’ll haul you into court right along with your insurance carrier.”
Will left to pack up his things.
Word spread like wild fire throughout the firm. People were talking. Will Parnell was becoming a legend in the making.
The managing partner walked into his office. “Wow,” she said.
“Yeah. That’s been brewing for a while.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll figure that out later. I have a CPA and a law degree, so I’ll find something, somewhere.”
“No transition?” She was concerned.
“I have a running commentary on every account that I work on with all source documents and a work plan that I’ll send you. If you need anything else, just call me–just you and you alone.”
“Have it your way, Will. Take care of yourself.” She left confused and angry.
Will only packed a few things. It all fit in a small box.
Walking through the lobby the receptionist gave him the thumbs up and smiled. Will smiled back.
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