Blown for Good - Marc Morgan Headley [130]
His plan would cost upwards of 20 million dollars. And I was taken off post for my 2.5 million dollar plan!
A few weeks later Dave was doing an inspection in A/V Manufacturing. It was like every other inspection he did, he had his usual entourage of people and there were execs from RTC and CMO Int who were hovering as we walked through the different parts of the production line.
I think COB knew that I now thought he was full of crap and taking me off the Producer post was wrong, especially in light of the fact that his own plan was my original plan on steroids. But Dave was in a bad mood today and had obviously had a bad meeting before he showed up in my area. He was angry and asking questions and not even waiting for the answers. I knew he was in a bad mood and I knew that I should have played it safe, but I just couldn’t.
“So Marc, you know you will be able to make the release dates now, right?” Dave asked snidely.
“Well, after we buy all that equipment, we will practically be able to make any dates laid out,” I said, regretting the words as they came out. Although it was a perfectly normal answer, I knew Dave would interpret it as a dig. He did.
As the first fist hit my face I was unsure what was happening. After the second and third blows hit, there was no question. COB was punching me in the face! He literally leapt forward and was punching me over and over again. I was up against a sort of desk/counter area and I had lost my glasses after the first several hits. The frenzy had certainly caught me off guard. I did not go down though. The desk was supporting me and I used my hands to steady my balance and stand up straight.
Once I righted myself and Dave had stopped punching me, he took a step back. Although in pain and startled, I knew what would come next. It was my turn. I looked right into his eyes and started to advance towards him slowly.
“I am sorry, Marc, I should not have done that. I am sorry. Take a walk, man! Walk it off. Get yourself together!” Dave said frantically.
I was immediately grabbed by three people and shoved in the direction of the exit. I headed towards the door that led outside.
“Did you see that? He was actually going to hit me just then!” Dave said as I made my way out the door.
“You bet I was!” I said under my breath as I went through the door.
Several people were sent to console me and profusely apologize for Dave hitting me. Greg Wilhere was the first to show up. Greg told me that Dave personally wanted to make sure that I knew that he had lost it and he never should have hit me and that he was sorry for what had happened.
The next girl who came and found me told me that it had been an hour and asked if I was cool and would come back to the building. I agreed that I would, but if Dave ever even thought about touching me ever again, I would do whatever was needed to teach him a lesson.
“You really were going to hit him, weren’t you?” she asked. “I could see it in your eyes.”
“Yes, I was. If I weren’t grabbed, I would probably be in the back of a police car by this time. I really was planning on hitting him. Hard. Someone has to stand up to this crap. Everyone knows that it is wrong. But no one ever does anything,” I told her, still pissed that I was pulled away from him at the last second.
Well, after this, I did not last very much longer on the A/V Manufacturing Director post. I obviously disagreed with COB and that I tried to punch him out as well was not helping any. But I was not to be posted anywhere else but in Manufacturing, which I think was Dave’s way of making sure that I saw what he was doing and it was his way of rubbing my nose in it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Flexible
I had been flying below