ohmygodohmygodohmygod--girlSQUEEEEEEAL! We got the contract! [View all]

[Nuclear Unicorn]

WE GOT THE MOTHER-MFFPFN CONTRACT!!!!!

My boss' business has taken a beating these last few years. Those who know me from DU2 might remember I was the only 1 of 3 admin assistants to survive the layoffs. Things were looking up and the boss wanted to hire someone and make me the "office manager" but then a few clients got scared off and that fell through.

We've been clinging to a hotel consruction project for months. The investors are skittish and to be perfectly honest the local town and county aren't helping. I swear we've had 3 different rounds of inspections and have 4 completely lists of requirements to show for them. It's infuriating.

Then to make matters worse our (former) project manager is a rather "troubled" fellow. I don't like him. Typical salesman bullshit artist and I once told him if he kept talking to me the way he did I'd have Lover Boy kick his ass. Well, jackass has always been a drinker and a cheater so his wife left with the kids (Sorry to say, I'm not sorry) and weekend before last he got himself busted on a DUI. As his wife was gone he called the boss who promptly posted his bail and said he was deducting it from his last paycheck.

As schadenfreudenish as that may be it put us into a tailspin. When you're trying to sell yourself as a project managing firm for projects costing tens of millions of dollars you want to present stability. Your clients need confidence especially when they're already scared. When they hear the appointed PM is out on a DUI they stop returning calls.

So me and the boss start pouring over the project files. He dove into the building plan proposals and I took the numbers. Yesterday we went to see the clients after all but promising sexual favors just to get some face time (that sounds bad, doesn't it?).

I was sitting in the back of the room as the boss went over the different plans explaining the pros and cons of each. It's all in architect and engineering speak and I couldn't tell you what any of it meant if I had to save my life. Sounds real snappy though. I was off in my Happy Place when it came time to go over the numbers and I hear, "My assistant, Mrs Unicorn, will explain the numbers."

What?

When I was going over the numbers I had found a discrepancy. One invoice line had shifted from one contract to another and then a third as the funds were re-allocated. Along the way funding sources changed. Well, the invoice line may have shifted but in the second contract it ended up bundled into a larger service package so they were effectively paying for the same service twice.

Granted, it was only $2,400 for a cored soil survey but $2,400 is $2,400 and the client would be out of the money whether we were hired or not. I had explained all of this to my boss figuring he would just relate it to the clients -- not throw me under the bus. I stammered through the explanation and they fired a ton of questions at me. I don't think I've ever felt like a bigger idiot and truth be told I've been rather depressed thinking about it. The boss says I did fine but what does he know?

Well, the boss called me into the office just a while ago. The client was on the speaker phone and the boss asked the client to repeat himself.

They said we got the project so long as I'm part of the project team.

All I could do was hold my hand over my mouth as I cried. The boss chuckled at my being a softie as he hugged me. Neither one of us wanted me sobbing into the speaker phone.

If we hadn't gotten this project we would have closed shop entirely. Now we not only get to keep our jobs but it will employ nearly 100 construction workers and once its built there will be dozens of full-time staff.

When the call ended the boss slid a check across his desk saying its the difference in wages between my old job and my new one. As nice as that is it's not about the money. This means a lot to a lot of people, not just me. When I first started we had 20 employees and now we're down to a half dozen.

We're saved -- for now, until the next time.

I'm a torrent of emotions. I'm relieved, I'm exhilerated, I'm proud, I'm giddy, I'm scared for the challenge ahead but also eager. I'm excited by what I'm learning. I happy for so many people including my boss. I fighting between squealing and crying and back again.

I tried texting hubby with the good news but apparently he's out of our service area. Lover Boy better watch out tonight. I have a lot of energy to work out.