When Annie’s son becomes ill, she takes a week off from work. But when she returns to the office, her boss has a police officer and a pair of handcuffs waiting for her. You know how sometimes you think that you’d be valuable to the company because you worked in a place for a decade? Yeah. No. That didn’t happen to me. Let me tell you everything. I’ve been working for a company for ten years. Straight out of college, I joined as a marketing intern and then worked my way up the corporate ladder — the pay increasing at an exceptionally slow rate. One day, my five-year-old son, Kenny, became very sick. His fever was through the roof, and he kept vomiting. That would upset any mom, right? There was no way that I could leave him at home with a babysitter.

I needed to be there, watching him, and ready to take him to the doctor if the time came. So, I decided to call my boss and tell him the truth. I also hadn’t used my leave for the year, so I knew it couldn’t be an issue. I left my son in his bed and walked away. “Hi, Mr. Williams,” I said when he answered on the first ring. “My son is sick, and I need to be with him. I’m going to take the week off to care for him. I haven’t used any of my leave yet.” There was silence for a moment before he exploded. “Are you serious, Annie?” he shouted. “We have our annual general meeting in two days, and you’re abandoning me now? You know I need the marketing reports.”