Regrets

ASTON

“I want to assure you that I will only be a phone call away at all times. If you need me, call. I only plan on taking vacation for a few days, but if I need to come back earlier, I will.” A sea of faces looked at me from around the biggest conference room we had at the hotel.

I had called a staff meeting first thing this morning to announce I was taking some time off. While I’d made up my mind to go to Florida, I didn’t want my employees to feel like I was skipping out on them. I needed to make sure everyone knew I was only going for a few days and that they could contact me anytime they needed to.

Most of the people scattered around the room smiled at me. A few looked just plain bored and were staring out the windows at the beach and ocean beyond. Calling a meeting to talk about my vacation wasn’t strictly necessary and I understood why some people were bored, but I needed people to be assured my leaving had nothing to do with the cuts.

Smiling or bored now, everyone expressed