Temp: Life in the Stagnant Lane

Temp: Life in the Stagnant Lane. Temp is a humorous novel populated with the kinds of people with whom we've all worked at one time or another. They are not .
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I took a couple of examples to show Steve, the accounting manager. Steve was not happy to hear what I had to say. He seemed to be taking it in stride that money was being wasted.

Book description

What really had him upset was that somebody was pointing out the details of the wastage to him. It soon became clear that bringing this sort of thing to him was a big mistake. Steve has always assumed that money is being wasted. I think he believes that college money was born to be wasted.

He was fine with that. Everybody happily looked the other way and went on living a worry-free life. Then, one day, some punk-ass kid strolls into his office with a handful of mistakes that should have been filed away and forgotten. That punk-ass kid was me, and walking into his office was my mistake. Steve was not pleased to learn that I had fingered Marge Meko as the source of the errors. The look on his face said that Marge Meko had the goods on him. Her boat was not to be rocked. The fear in his eyes turned to anger. He was not angry with Marge Meko; he was angry with me.

He was going to teach me a lesson. Figure out where it went and get it back, every penny.

A Smile Through a Tear

Besides, maybe it would teach Marge Meko to take the extra second and look for the real invoice number. It will help you understand how the process works around here. There was no process for getting overpayments back from vendors.

See a Problem?

I expected him to be short with me; instead he was pensive. What about Marge Meko? Then his face changed. He wrenched his face to indicate that he was thinking hard about the matter of Marge Meko. I started to get up from the chair I was sitting in. He cut me off. I forbid you to even mention my name to Marge Meko. This is just between you and her. I needed a night to lie in bed and contemplate how I would manage the confrontation. When I finally got to sleep, I was assailed by nightmares in which I was assaulted by Marge Meko, in the guises of: In the morning, Gwen wanted to know who Marge Meko was, because I had shouted out her name in my sleep.

Gwen was right; my neck was still sore from the headlock. I resolved to get the monkey off my back first thing in the morning. I determined that I would be as diplomatic with Marge Meko as I could possibly manage.


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Since I had no power to compel her to change her work practices, there was no point in antagonizing her. At quarter after eight I pulled a chair to the side of her desk and sat down. If I may give a few words of description, Marge Meko is a stout, fifty-something woman. She has curly, brown hair that sits atop her head in resemblance to a Chia Pet.

She has frighteningly thick arms with pudgy little hands, which she balls up into compact fists when she is agitated. She is not an exceptionally bright person, but she is just smart enough to be dangerous. She knows what she needs to know to keep her job, and how to keep it cushy. She has learned that doing her job properly is not necessary, and may even be harmful, when it comes to maintaining the good life. She gets good merit raises every year, and takes time off when she wants it. Her superiors have decided that those concessions are a small price to pay to stay on her good side.

She scrutinized my face. I thought you were the kid who delivered the bottles for the water cooler. Her little hands began forming into fists. By all means, do tell. Fortunately, I had thought to bring an example with me. I showed her two copies, each with a payment stub stapled to the front. Marge Meko examined the evidence long enough to see that it proved my assertion before tossing the papers back at me. I just thought you would want to know about this.

I mean, if the roles were reversed, I absolutely would want you to tell me. My face must have been beet red. This is just between you and me. Gary runs afoul of a host of difficult characters in the workplace. Marge Meko is thoroughly incompetent, but she has "the goods" on the boss, so she easily gets away with blaming her errors on Gary. Marge's boss, Steve, wants all problems swept under the rug before they become an inconvenience to his cushy position.

Read, write, and keep your day job

Rae is a secretary with an overblown ego, intent on consolidating power by crushing all her perceived competitors. Gary is convinced that College President Burton is a mere figurehead, pulled from the ranks of the indigent and propped up by Rae, the power behind the throne. Through his trials Gary comes to the amazing revelation that it may actually be less painful to die trying than to live the "easy" life of the temp. We will send you an SMS containing a verification code.

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