Ominous Grandma Call

<Chapter 4>

"So you see, I'm running out of options. With the rate this is going, I may have to cancel my plan with you guys. You know what I'm saying?"

"Yes, I understand. I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Reynolds, I really am. You've been with us for so long and we'd hate to lose one of our long time clients. Plus, if you cancel the plan the returns--"

"I know, I know. I am aware about the returns. Everyone is saying that. Even my son told me I shouldn't cancel until I'm dead. But then I won't be even alive to do it! You feeling me?"

"Your son is correct, Mr. Reynolds. While I understand that you need the funds, I don't think canceling is our best option. Luckily, we can offer a way for you to still get the benefits of your current policy without canceling. How about just getting a loan instead? "

Ardes was sitting hunched up in front of his computer. He had one hand twirling the cord of his headset while the other gently massaged the bridge of his nose. He was speaking with a client over the phone. The client wanted to cancel his life insurance policy so he could get some of the money back. He had been a client for over 40 years now and so Ardes was trying to dissuade him by offering another option. If the client canceled the life insurance policy, the money he would get back would be substantially low compared to how much his beneficiary would receive on the time of his passing, not to mention that the premium from 40 years ago wasn't really that high to begin with.

"Do I have to pay for that too?"

"Yes, that's right. If we process a loan for you, a separate agreement would be formed and you will have to make the necessary payment in a timely manner. However--"

"Then screw that! Just cancel the damn thing!"

Ardes could feel a headache coming along. There were certainly customers like this who are a pain to talk with. However, it's not like Ardes couldn't understand what this client was thinking. For over 40 years, Mr. Reynolds had been paying a monthly premium to Hayfields Life Insurance which was the account Ardes and his team was working for. The thought of getting a loan and making a payment on top of the monthly premium is sometimes too much for some clients to handle. Ardes tried to rebut at first but now he no longer had a choice but to comply with the client's wish.

"Alright, Mr. Reynolds. As per your request, I will be canceling your life insurance policy. The physical documents will be sent to you via mail within 5-7 business days. By canceling the policy, you will receive…"

Rapid clicking noises could be heard from Ardes' mouse. He had gone into auto-pilot, clicking the right radio buttons, typing call comments, and reciting the required script for that particular situation.

On the outside, Ardes could be seen as being completely focused on his work. In actuality, Ardes' mind was miles away from his desk. He thought about the incident that started his day, the man who was shot while he was drunk, his trip to the police station, and his bizarre meeting with an old man named David Jefferson.

Talks about coincidences? Coin tosses? Synchronicity? It was all nonsense to him. In the end, David Jefferson gave him a calling card so Ardes could call him. It was true that Ardes did wonder about his "talent" of seeing patterns of time. Ever since he was a kid, Ardes had been quite fascinated with what he would always manage to see whenever he'd take a look at his watch. But surely other people have had a similar experience too, right? Maybe not as often as Ardes did but they still experienced it all the same. It was this kind of rationality that made Ardes stop questioning his "talent" for so long. Nevermind the mind itch he would feel, is this old man telling him that all of that weren't just simple coincidences, that there was more than just luck in the field? What's more was that Jefferson seemed to know he had this "talent" as he spoke like he knew what Ardes' had been going through for most of his life. Well, alluded to would be the more correct word.

'And didn't he also imply that the incident earlier today was also a meaningful coincidence? But a coincidence for what purpose?'

Ardes processed a bank transaction for Mr. Reynolds and informed him when he was likely to receive the check containing the returns for his now canceled life insurance policy. Ardes said his closing spiel and waited for Mr. Reynolds to hang up as he wasn't allowed disconnect the call by himself except for some very specific reasons. During this brief moment, he once again remembered what happened when he finally arrived at the office from the police station. Unfortunately, he had to commute again and ended up a little over two hours late for work.

***

He entered the building and walked towards the elevator. He didn't feel like rushing this time. He was already late so he might as well take his time. Ticel Incorporated rented three floors of the 12-story building. The 5th floor housed the company lobby, Human Resources, and some interview rooms for applicants. The 6th floor, on the other hand, was home to the pantry, sleeping quarters, game room, and some extra rooms used for training. Finally, the 7th floor was where all the magic in the workplace happened. Most of the space on the 7th floor contained several rows of long desks which were separated by desk dividers forming an agent's cubicle. There were computers everywhere and Avaya telephones connected with headsets were on each cubicle. A barrage of sound entered Ardes' ears when he opened the glass security door to where his team was -- a collection of chants, murmurs, and ramblings that he was all too used to hearing.

Ardes quickened his pace and headed directly to a large desk at the end of one row of divided desks. His footsteps made muffled sounds on the blue carpet floor as he made his way to his supervisor's personal desk. He passed his teammates busily chatting away with their respective clients, but he could distinctly feel their collective gaze on him as he walked. One of them, a tall man with a sweater on, noticed him coming earlier than the rest and was looking directly at him as he talked on the headset. He was Ardes' friend and colleague Vince whom he had spent a little over one month training with.

Vince gave Ardes a look that seemed to say, 'You're dead meat."

Ardes made an exasperated expression as if to say, 'I know. You don't have to tell me.'

When Ardes finally arrived at the end of the row, a woman with long black hair tied in a bun was busily typing on the keyboard. She wore a navy blue dress suit and had glasses on. She had dual monitors on her desk. One showed a spreadsheet she was working on while the other showed a window with the team's stats updated real-time. The woman gave him a glance and held up a finger prompting Ardes to wait until he's been spoken to. The woman continued to type and Ardes felt her typing became more furious when she saw him. He slyly looked at the time.

'04:04'

Jenny Ocampo was one of the youngest supervisors in the Hayfields Life Insurance account. She had six years of call center experience under her belt, starting early when she was just 18 years old. She started out as a regular agent from another company and was promoted to Quality Analyst after less than a year. Needless to say, Jenny was one of the best when it came to the industry. She had very good communication skills and a fine attention to details. She always seemed to know the perfect thing to say to pacify her callers and her stats were exceptional. It was no wonder she was promoted quickly as she often gave good results. When two and a half years passed, Jenny left her old company and applied at Ticel Incorporated. She quickly rose through the ranks and was given the opportunity to become part of a pioneer account.

Because the account was still starting out at that time, the chance to end up in a key position after everything normalized was high. Jenny made quite an impression on the clients. She gave them results, kept the standards expected of her, and even went beyond them when she had the chance. Before she knew it she had become a supervisor of a group of 12 people. Half of them were troublemakers. As expected, she was very strict with her team but everyone can agree that she was not a slave driver. She never forced her agents to do overtime and would sooner defend her agents from the higher ups than agree to let any one of them go. This stark contrast was one of the qualities that made her very endearing to her agents despite her rash personality.

After about two minutes, Jenny stopped typing and saved her progress on the spreadsheet. She then attached the file to an email and sent it to one of the Operations Managers. She then turned in her chair to look at Ardes who was standing silently on the side. She glared at him and sighed.

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

"I asked you if you're okay."

Ardes was quite surprised. He expected to be yelled at the moment he arrived in front of Jenny but she asked him if he was okay. Could it be that she was worried about him?

"Yes, I'm okay. I wasn't shot or anything."

"Good. I'm glad."

Now Ardes was out of words. He really couldn't believe what was happening right now. Maybe he'd get out of this pinch without a scratch after all! However, it seemed he spoke too quickly.

"You've got a lot of balls coming to work late again. Even though you have a fair excuse, it took you about an hour to reply to my messages? Do you know how many times I tried to contact you? Your teammates also contacted you too, you know. It's not like you were involved in the shooting. Did you think being a witness gave you the excuse to loiter around? Where the hell were you?"

'I'm sorry, Sup. I was stuck at the police station talking with a weird old man!' Ardes wanted to tell her that but he decided not to. It was obvious that his supervisor was only venting out her worry on him. Ardes decided to have her speak her mind.

***

Tti-triiing! Tti-triiing!

Ardes pushed a lit-up button on the Avaya phone and cleared his throat before unmuting his headset to speak.

"Thank you for calling Hayfields Life Insurance. My name is Ardes, your insurance consultant. How may I help you today?"

"Hello? Hi. T-this is… this is Maybel Williams. I'm c-calling to take a loan out of my account."

The people who usually called the customer service line can be divided into three categories: old people; people who recently had a family member pass away; and funeral home attendants. The caller this time was an old woman by the name of Maybel Williams.

Ardes was about to answer when he suddenly felt his mind itch again. Rather than looking at the time, Ardes felt like this sensation was somehow similar to what he felt before the shooting incident. It was an itch he couldn't scratch just by simply looking at the time. He had a very bad feeling about this.

<Chapter 4> End.