Chapter 6: Karma in the House Market

The temp agency fiasco was finally resolved.

The local education and labor bureaus revoked the company’s license. The boss was arrested, and the community college principal investigated.

It even made the local news.

Sarah was fired, and Jason went back to the temp agency I’d used before.

The European client canceled the order. Luckily, things didn’t get any worse, and the matter blew over.

The Product Manager stopped by, but I refused to let him in.

First time he came, Sarah got burned.

Second time, Bob got burned.

Now he’s back—who knows who’s next?

He knocked, grinning. "You have to look on the bright side. At least we’re both still standing. By the way, I’ve got some gossip. Want to hear it?"

Of course I did, so I let him in.

"Remember I told you the supplier’s tech manager is an old college buddy of mine?"

"Yeah, the one who bought a house for Jason."

"That’s them. The house price dropped from $200,000 to $140,000 in just a few months. So Jason got a house, but now it’s a negative asset—he owes the bank $20,000."

"Evil gets its payback, good gets rewarded. That’s karma."

"The guy’s not dumb. He went to the supplier boss and tried to sell the house back at the original price—$200,000. That way, after paying off the $160,000 loan, he could pocket $40,000 in kickbacks."

"What did the boss say?"

"No way. The boss isn’t stupid—he’d lose almost $60,000. How much does he make in a year?"

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Turns out, even a money-based alliance crumbles when the cash dries up.

The Product Manager continued:

"The boss said, ‘Raise the unit price by 10%, then maybe I’ll buy the house back.’"

"And Jason?"

"What else can he do? He can only stall. The mortgage still depends on the boss paying. If the boss gets tough and stops, Jason’s on the hook for $4,000 a month."

I’d love to see Jason’s face when he asks for a 10% price hike.

But really, it’s not my problem. I’m just the admin manager, the company’s housekeeper.

After our gossip session, the Product Manager grinned.

"I wonder who’ll be the next unlucky one."

"Can’t you hope the company gets better?"

"Look at the situation—how could it? I’m ready to leave anytime."

"No need for that. Sarah’s gone, Bob’s still here. If the boss wants to fire someone, he’d have to can his favorite, Jason, too."

"I’m just curious: if the house price drops to $120,000, will Jason owe the bank $40,000?"

"You really don’t wish him well."

We chatted a bit more, then I checked the clock, packed up, and left with the Product Manager.

Today, the company’s luck held—at least nothing weird happened.

But deep down, I thought:

As admin manager, maybe I’d dodge Jason’s fallout. The next unlucky one was almost certainly the Product Manager.

With Jason running things, quality issues were only a matter of time.

I watched the Product Manager leave, feeling a twinge of sympathy. He was my complaining partner, and I didn’t want to see him dragged down.