There was talk of cut backs. There was always talk of cut backs. Talk at the computer terminals. (Don't put it in e-mail, God knows who'd read it...)
And so when the lay offs came no one was surprised. The whole office was to be closed. Merged with the main office in Des Moines. Some people were given the option of moving to Iowa.
``No thanks,'' they said.
People started calling in sick or just not showing up. Who cared after all?
Every one brought food to work and ordered in pizzas. They played computer games and drank beer. Incoming mail went straight to the shredder. All phone calls went to voicemail which was ignored and e-mail was cleared without ever being read. They had become an island cut off from the Company. Their job was handling customer complaints.
On their last day they fired off the e-mails. To all the customers of the Company.
It took nearly a week for the Company to realise something was wrong. They sent three security men complete with shoulder holsters. They found the office empty. The security men were writing up their reports when the pizzas arrived. Pepperoni and Hawaiian.