âThat is very honest and sincere of you too. I mean, others would have already started to give excuses and try to explain why they couldnât meet up. But not you, Carl. You simply admitted the truth without hesitating. I wonder why you are doing that.â
âThe figures are all there. And figures donât lie.â
âYes, you are right. Figures donât lie at all. And the figures that I see here are really not good for you, Carl. You do know that, donât you?â she asked as she peered into the sheets again.
âYes, I do, mam. Last quarter I couldnât seal all the deals that I wanted to. I know I fell short. But I am optimistic that I would seal some good financing deals this month.â
âI am sure you will, Carl. But even if you did so, they would not be able to impact how badly you fared in the last quarter. You know that, donât you?â
âYes, I do.â
âSo while you may be able to seal the biggest deals in this quarter, in fact, even today, that would not stop me from assessing you poorly for last quarter.â
He rubbed the back of his neck. âI understand.â
âBut there just might be a way that we can work around this.â
He blinked and shot a glance at her. âThere is a way?â
She nodded and placed the documents back on her table. âYes, of course, Carl. There is definitely going to be a way. Or donât you think there is one?â
âI donât know. I meanâŚhowâŚwhat way could you be talking about?â
âI am talking about your poor performance, Carl. I am talking about a way in which I could disregard it and rate you excellent for last quarter.â
âYou can do that?â
âYes. And not just that I can do it, I am willing to do it, Carl.â
âI donât knowâŚI donât know what to sayâŚâ