A lump formed in the back of my throat. “Thank you,that’s very kind.”
The printer produced her boarding passes, and I handed them over. I didn’t know what else to say and thankfully, I didn’t need to worry much longer as another group of people walked into the building.
“Have a safe flight.”
“Thank you.” A genuine smile greeted me as she backed away and headed over to her son.
Mitch was right. She acted like a decent person, and much more receptive to me than I was to her. To her, I probably seemed like an ice princess, but how should I have reacted? There was no way I was going to embrace her and welcome her into my life. That idea was just plain ludicrous.
Before I left work for the day, I needed to make amends as my heart was heavy with guilt, and I was tired of fighting the insomnia. Taking a deep, pained breath and closing my eyes, I picked up the phone and put in a call to my boss who answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Mr. Tyler, it’s Cedar Ratzloff from Cheshire Bay Airport.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Ratzloff. What can I do for you?”
I twisted the phone cord in my hands. “Well, sir, I wanted to let you know that there was a data breech in the system last week.”
“A data breech? When? We’ll need to get IT on this.” He was twitchy, and his voice was jumping all over the place.
“You won’t need to get IT on it.” Sweat burst in my armpits and nausea settled over me. “It was me, sir. I logged on.” I grabbed the nearby calendar and mentioned the date and approximate time. “IT would be able to confirm it. I accessed a passenger’s personal information for non-emergency reasons.”I held my breath, expecting to be fired, and deservedly so. Tomorrow I’d be out looking for a new job, any job, to make sure the bills were paid.
A sigh of relief crossed over the line. “That’s all?”
“Yes, sir.” I nodded my head, not that he could see it.
“Just the one time?”
My breath hitched, and there was a thickness in my throat as if I were being strangled. “My screen showed the information for less than five seconds.” I gave the passenger’s name as well.
“Five seconds, eh?”
“Yes. I’m so sorry.” I twisted in my seat, curling deeper into myself.
“You sound pretty guilty, Miss Ratzloff.”
Guilty wouldn’t even be the right word, but it was a start. There was also shame, remorse, and a ton of self-loathing mixed in.
“Let me confirm this with the IT department. If it was, as you say,less than five seconds, then I would say your guilty conscience is strong enough that you would not make that mistake again.”
My body started shaking, and I rolled up to sit a little straighter. “No, sir, I most definitely would not, and I know I should not have accessed the information to begin with.”
There was a hum over the air, and I swallowed. In the background, I heard the rapid clicking of the keyboard.
“You’ve been an outstanding employee, Miss Ratzloff, with several written compliments and letters on your record of service. I will take into consideration the fact that you informed me first, rather than us discovering this. Until further notice, you are hereby on probation.”
What? That was it? Probation was easy. I expected I’d lose my job and be fired instantly.
“Thank you, sir. That’s more than generous.”
He bid me adieu and hung up.
I sat perfectly still for a few heartbeats as an inability to formulate an appropriate response washed over me. I wasn’t fired. I still had a job, although that possibility could still be forthcoming once Mr. Tyler got IT involved. But I’d told the truth and owned up to my mistakes. If I didn’t end up fired, it was a damn miracle, but I’d work doubly hard to make sure I remained as he put it – an outstanding employee.
I breathed a sign of relief and hung up the phone still dangling in my hands.
Mitch entered the building off the tarmac. “YQQ is off. She’s gone now.”
The phone went back into its cradle. I still couldn’t believe my dumb luck. “Okay.”