For the start of the story and links to the other installments, see this post.
When Phil returned to work on Monday morning, he was looking forward to the chance to pick Dave’s brain. His happy mood ended abruptly when he opened the door to the Sock room and found Mr. Gabriel waiting for him. He didn’t know if it was because his coworkers had complained about him or if it was because he hadn’t found very many sock pairs during his first two weeks, but he was certain that Mr. Gabriel’s presence could only herald bad news. He was about to be fired.
“Phil,” said Mr. Gabriel, “Good to see you. How are things going?”
“OK,” said Phil, cautiously.
“Good, good,” said Mr. Gabriel. “You are doing a wonderful job. They told me that you found ten pairs!”
“Yes,” he replied. “But I’ll do better this week. Really.”
“Ten pairs is great, Phil. You have done so well that we are promoting you to Frozen Foods.”
Phil didn’t understand how ten pairs could be considered an accomplishment, but he wasn’t about to argue that point with Mr. Gabriel. “Isn’t that Fred’s department?” Phil asked.
“Yes, but he’s being promoted to Keys to replace Dave.”
“Where’s Dave moving to?”
An unusual expression flickered across Mr. Gabriel’s normally rigid face. “I am sorry, but Dave passed away yesterday.”
“Oh my God,” said Phil. Dave was the closest thing that he had to a friend in the office. He almost regretted never seeing Dave’s key collection. “How did it happen?”
“A piano fell on him.”
“What?” said Phil. “That’s incredible!”
“Yes, it is.” said Mr. Gabriel. “But that is the way he wanted it.”
Before Phil could comment, Mr. Gabriel continued, “Anyway, with Fred moving up to Keys, there is an opening in Frozen Foods. We do not want you to think that you are only getting this move because of Dave’s death. No, we have been keeping an eye on you and your work has been exemplary.” He told Phil to report to Frozen Foods where Fred would give him a brief training session.