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I felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach. At first it was just another fax, one more three-page letter to type. Then I saw that it was in Julie’s handwriting and was addressed to the Boss, Tim and me. Subject: Employment.
She didn’t just resign. She also gave her reasons, and they had everything to do with the lack of respect she was getting, especially from Tim. Her relationship with the Boss has changed, too, but it was always Tim who cut her off at the knees every time she tried to do something to help us.
Her biggest complaint was that she was given responsibility with no authority. She blamed Tim for this because of his management style, and because he always has to have his own way. She says he thinks she always has to have her own way, and that she was the source of all problems. Obviously a clash of wills was inevitable. The result was probably equally obvious.
How wrong he is about that, anyway. Julie has been my lifeline in the company, the one person I can talk to about the way things are going. I can always count on fair treatment and honest answers from her. She has even gone out of her way to give me financial advice. That’s something I wouldn’t take from the other two, even if they offered it.
She’s leaving us with a warning. She sees trouble ahead for both companies, the construction company and The Kennel, if Tim continues making arbitrary decisions, disrespecting employees, and insisting on absolute control, and if the Boss continues to defer to him, not because he deserves it but because he’s somehow afraid of his own son.
But this is about me, and how miserable I was when I got this letter to type. I was paralyzed and unable to do anything for a long time. I wasn’t ready to do that typing, so I went out on my errand run, and when I got back I left the phone turned off for a couple of hours. I needed time to think. And, I didn’t want to talk to anybody. It was a difficult afternoon. | 
