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From "Un paso más adelante" by María Laura Rucci. 308 words
Todos y cada uno disfrutarían de sus vacaciones. ¿Por qué entonces yo no habría de disfrutar de unas también? Trabajaba duro, había manejado ya varios proyectos de vital importancia para el avance de los negocios en los que se embarcaba la empresa; meses, días, horas frente a mi escritorio, seleccionando candidatos, revisando solicitudes, asignando proyectos y asegurándome de que cada proveedor de servicios recibiera su pago sin demoras.
¿Cómo era posible entonces que los demás estuviesen empacando sus trajes de baño o sus botas de nieve cuando yo sudaba excesivamente bajo el traje de corte inglés? Yo, que preparaba el café de la mañana y la tarde, que contestaba todas las llamadas que Gutiérrez y Amingorena no querían atender, que lidiaba con los asuntos desagradables entre proveedores y clientes, ¿no habría vacaciones para mí?
Veía como cada empleado entraba en la oficina de Vargas y salía triunfante, sonriendo, pensando en las vacaciones que acababa de ganarse. Sabía que debía tomar coraje y entrar a esa oficina yo también a arrebatar mis vacaciones de las manos de quien también tendría el derecho de negármelas. Y lo hice. Y aquí estoy. Disfrutando de una oficina vacía.
Las palabras de Vargas resonaban aún en mi cabeza: "No, Juancito. Lamentablemente tu viajecito a la costa no podrá ser. Por el momento necesito que alguien cuide del fuerte, ¿sabes?". Fui débil. Pero mi debilidad nada tiene que ver con que yo esté aún aquí. Si hubiese estado aunque sea medio paso delante de Vargas… Si hubiese sabido que existía una clave mágica para ganarme mi estadía en la costa por unos días... Me pregunto qué tan placentero hubiese sido estar en la playa, habiéndome ganado la empatía de Vargas del mismo modo en el que se la habían ganado los demás: informándole que trabajaría desde la playa durante mi escapadita a la costa.
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Absolutely everyone would be going on holiday. So, why shouldn't I be going on one, too? I worked hard, I had handled several projects of vital importance in moving the firm's business forward; months, days, hours at my desk, choosing candidates, going over applications, assigning projects and making sure all the suppliers were paid on time.
So, how was it that the others were packing their swimsuits or snow boots while I was drenched with sweat under my business suit? Me, who made the morning and afternoon coffee, who answered all the calls that Gutiérrez and Amingorena didn't fancy taking, who battled with any unpleasantness between suppliers and customers, didn't I deserve a holiday?
I watched as each employee went into Vargas's office and came out with a triumphant air, smiling, thinking of the holiday they had just bagged for themselves. I knew that I, too, should pluck up courage and go into the office to wrest my holidays from the person who also had the right to withhold them. So I did. And here I am - stuck in an empty office.
Vargas's words were still ringing in my ears.
"No, Juancito. Unfortunately your trip to the seaside is off. Just now, I need someone to hold the fort, you understand?"
I was weak. However, my weakness had nothing to do with why I am still here. If I had been even half a step ahead of Vargas...If I had known that there was a magic word to conjure up my few days by the sea...I wonder how happy I would have been to be on the beach, having got round Vargas in the same way as everybody else had - by telling him that the beach would be my office during my break on the coast.
Every man and his dog would be enjoying their holidays, so why shouldn’t I be enjoying mine too? I was working hard, had already handled several projects that were crucial in moving the company’s business negotiations forward; hours, days, months spent at my desk, selecting candidates, going over applications, assigning projects and making sure that all service providers were being paid on time.
So how come everyone else was packing their swimming gear or snow boots while I was sweating buckets in my business suit? What about me, who had been making coffee morning and afternoon, answering all the calls that Gutiérrez and Amingorena didn’t want to take, struggling with tricky situations between suppliers and clients, didn’t I deserve a holiday too?
I would watch each employee enter Vargas’ office and waltz out triumphant, with a smile on their face and their mind on the leave they had just been granted. I knew that I too had to pluck up the courage to walk into that office and wrest my leave from the hands of someone who was entitled to refuse my request. And I did. And here I am. Enjoying the delights of an empty office.
I could still hear Vargas’ words ringing in my ears: “No, Juancito. I’m afraid your little trip to the coast won’t be possible. At the moment I need someone to hold the fort, you see.” I was weak. But my weakness has nothing to do with the fact that I’m still here. If I’d been even just one small step ahead of Vargas… If I’d known that there was a magic code for getting my few days on the coast… I think about how nice it would have been to be on the beach, having won over Vargas in the same way as the others had: by telling him that I would work from the beach during my little break on the coast.
They were all going to enjoy their holidays. Why then should I not be able to do the same? I worked hard and had already managed a number of projects which were of vital importance for the development of the business deals in which the company was involved. Months, days, hours at my desk, selecting candidates, reviewing applications, assigning projects and ensuring that each service provider had been paid on time.
How was it possible then that the others were packing their swimming costumes or snow boots while I sweated copiously inside my English-cut suit? It was I who made the morning and afternoon coffee, who answered all the calls that Gutiérrez and Amingorena did not wish to answer, who dealt with the bothersome problems between service providers and clients. Was I not entitled to my holidays?
I would watch as each employee would enter Vargas’s office and leave triumphant, smiling, no doubt picturing the holidays they had just earned themselves. I knew that I too had to muster the courage to go into that office and wrest my holidays from the hands of those who were in a position to deny me them. And I did it. And now here I am: enjoying an empty office.
Vargas’s words were still ringing in my head: “No, Juancito. Unfortunately your little trip to the coast won’t be possible. For the moment I need someone here holding the fort, you know?” I had been half-hearted, although my half-heartedness has nothing to do with my still being here. If only I had kept myself even half a step ahead of Vargas... If only I had known that there was a magic code which would have secured my stay at the seaside for a few days… I do wonder how enjoyable it would have been to be lying on a beach, having won Vargas’s empathy in the same way that everyone else had done it: by telling him that during my little getaway I would be working from the beach.
Each and every one of them would get a vacation. Why, then, shouldn’t I? I had worked hard. I had handled several projects that were vitally important to the success of the company’s business. I had spent hours, days, months at my desk selecting candidates, reviewing requests, assigning projects and making sure that each service provider got paid on time.
How was it possible, then, that while the others were packing their bathing suits or their snow boots I was perspiring heavily under my English cut suit? I, the one who made the morning and afternoon coffee, who answered all the calls that Gutiérrez and Amingorena refused to answer, who dealt with all of the squabbles between suppliers and clients. Wouldn’t I be getting a vacation?
I watched each employee enter Vargas’ office and emerge triumphant, smiling, thinking about the vacation time they had just secured. I knew that I must work up the courage to go into that office myself and wrestle my vacation from the hands of the one person who had the right to keep it from me. And I did. And here I am, enjoying an empty office.
Vargas’ words were still ringing in my ears: “No, Juancito. Unfortunately your little trip to the coast is not to be. You see, right now I need someone to hold down the fort.” I was weak. But my weakness has nothing to do with the fact that I’m still here. If I had only stayed even half a step ahead of Vargas. If I had only known that there was a magic code that would have earned me my few days on the coast. I wonder how nice it would have been to be at the beach, having won Vargas’ empathy the same way that all the others had: by informing him that I would be working from the beach during my brief getaway to the coast.
Soon, everyone would be enjoying their vacation. So why wouldn't I enjoy mine as well? I worked hard, I had managed several vitally important projects for the company's new endeavors; I had spent months, days, hours at my desk selecting candidates, reviewing applications, assigning projects and ensuring that each service provider was paid in a timely manner.
How, then, was it possible that the others were packing their swimsuits or their snow boots while I sweltered in my tailored suit? I, who prepared the morning and afternoon coffee, who answered all the calls that Gutierrez and Amingorena chose not to answer, who dealt with unsavory issues between suppliers and clients, wasn't I getting a vacation?
I watched as each employee filed through Vargas' office and exited triumphantly, smling, thinking about the vacation he had just been awarded. I knew I had to work up the courage to get into that office and snatch my vacation from the hands of the one person who could rightfully say no. And I did. And here I am. With an empty office all to myself.
Vargas' words still echoed in my head, "No, Juancito, unfortunately your little trip to the beach won't be possible. Right now, I need someone to stay and hold the fort, ok? I was weak, but my weakness has nothing to do with my still being here. If only I had been half a step ahead of Vargas...If only I had known there was a magic password to earn my stay at the beach for a few days... I wonder how truly enjoyable my trip to the beach would have been, had I won Vargas' empathy as the others had: by telling him that I would work from the beach during my little seaside stint.
Each and every person would enjoy their holiday. Therefore, why shouldn’t I enjoy some time off as well? I worked hard; I had already managed a multitude of projects that were crucial to increasing the business our company had embarked upon: months, days, hours at my desk selecting candidates, reviewing proposals, allocating projects and making sure that each service provider was paid on time.
Therefore, how was it possible that everyone else was packing their bathing suits or their snow boots while I was perspiring excessively in my British tailored suit? Me, the one who made coffee in the morning and afternoon, the one who answered all the calls that Gutiérrez and Amingorena didn’t want to handle, the one who wrestled with the unpleasant affairs between providers and clients; would there be no holiday for me?
I saw how each employee entered Vargas’ office and left triumphantly, smiling and thinking about the holiday he had just acquired. I knew I also had to muster the courage and go into that office to snatch my holidays from the hands of the person who is also entitled to deny my holiday request. I did it. And here I am, enjoying an empty office.
Vargas’ words were still echoing in my mind: “No, Juancito. Unfortunately, you can’t take your quick trip to the coast. Right now I need someone to hold down the fort, alright?” I was weak. However, my weakness had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I was still here. If only I had been just a half a step ahead of Vargas… If only I had known that there was a magic key to earn my stay on the coast for a few days… I wonder how enjoyable it would have been to spend time at the beach, having earned Vargas’ empathy in the same way others had done so: by telling him that I would work from the beach during my getaway to the coast.
Each and every one would enjoy their vacation. Why shouldn’t I get to enjoy one too then? I worked hard; I'd already managed several vitally important projects so that the business ventures the company was taking on could move forward: months, days, hours in front of my desk, choosing applicants, looking over applications, assigning projects and making sure that every service provider would receive their payment on time.
Then how was it possible that everyone else was packing their bathing suits or ski boots while I was sweating excessively under my English-cut suit? I, who prepared the morning and afternoon coffee, who answered all of the calls that Gutiérrez and Amingorena didn’t want to answer, who grappled with the unpleasant affairs between suppliers and customers... there wouldn't be a vacation for me?
I saw how every employee went inside Vargas’s office and came out triumphantly, smiling, thinking about the vacation they had just gotten. I knew that I too should get up the courage and go inside this office to snatch my vacation from the hands of the person who would also have the right to deny it to me. And I did it. And here I am. Enjoying an empty office.
Vargas’s words still echoed in my head: "No, Juancito. Unfortunately you’re little trip to the coast is not possible. At the moment I need someone to hold down the fort, you know?” I was weak. But my weakness has nothing to do with the fact that I’m still here. If I had been even half a step ahead of Vargas… If I had known that there was a magic key to getting my holiday on the coast for a few days… I wonder how enjoyable it would have been to be at the beach having gained the empathy of Vargas in the same way everyone else had done it: letting him know that I would work from the beach during my getaway to the coast.
