“I see what Ta doesn’t, that there are a lot of very unhappy staff members right now, and he’s going to have a serious problem on his hands if something doesn’t get done soon.”

Dini paced the living room, muttering to herself.

“Names. I need names. Ma? Ta?” She made a face. “Adele Samson?” She paused, considering, then shook her head. “Too pushy, she’s already giving a lot.” She resumed her pacing, feeling the anxiety in her stomach rise to her throat.

She’d promised Bracha she would get her salary at the beginning of the month. And that was tomorrow.

She sighed. She could, of course, simply draw the money from her father’s bank account, the way she did for all her CT volunteer events. Ta never asked her for an accounting. And it was only an interim measure, until she started raising serious funds.

Until she figured out how to start raising serious funds.

Dini raked a hand through her sheitel. To do that, she needed names of serious potential donors.  Should be a piece of cake, given her connections. But who did she have the guts to ask for a list of friends to contact? Her mother would absolutely shudder at the idea.

Her in-laws?

Dini stopped. It was even more awkward than asking her parents, but, on the other hand, Shuki’s mother was feeling quite guilty at the moment. Guilty enough to help?

She rocked back and forth on her feet. Ever since returning from Maariv, Shuki had been holed up in their home office. Doing what, she didn’t know; it was a rare sight to see him working from home.  But surely she could interrupt him for just a few minutes to ask what he thought of the idea?

The door to the office was slightly ajar, and Shuki’s voice wafted out. He must be on the phone.  Gently easing the door open, Dini stepped inside.

Shuki was on a Zoom meeting with what looked like about 20 people, and he was leaning forward, speaking in a measured, confident voice.

“I’m with you, Dave. Calling an employee out in front of other people is not okay. That’s never been the way we work at Bloom Senior Care. You all know how much we value treating everyone with respect.”

Curious, Dini walked closer, careful to stay out of the computer camera’s line of vision.

“Dave, I’m writing down the incident you just told me. Before we wrap up, Olivia, you had something you wanted to share?”

As a woman on the screen began to talk, in an increasingly huffy voice, about how Eric insisted on reviewing every single invoice she wrote up before it was sent out — “I’ve never felt such a lack of trust, never! As if I haven’t been working here for the past twenty-five years!” — Dini watched, fascinated, as Shuki nodded, made empathetic interjections, and scribbled visibly in his notepad, sending Olivia and her fellow staff members the clear message that they were being heard.

She’d never seen this side of Shuki before. She’d always pictured him as just a lackluster employee, lounging around in his office, doing some work here and there when the mood struck.  But this was a different Shuki entirely. Here he was encouraging, in tune, in command — a leader.

“Olivia, I’ve been feeling exactly the same way, and from what we’ve heard in this meeting, a lot of others have, too. I feel like this meeting has been really productive in allowing us all to get a full picture of what’s been going on. We’ve been working together for many years now, and we’re a fantastic team. Now that we’ve aired our grievances, the next step is to problem-solve.  I’m going to try to come up with some recommendations, and I’d love to get yours as well. Let’s meet same time next week to discuss. Sound good?”

From across the little boxes on the screen, Dini saw nods, thumbs-up, and waves. Shuki signed off and stared into space for several moments before slowly standing up. He started as he caught sight of Dini.

“When did you come in?”

Dini blushed. “I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she said quickly, even though that was exactly what she’d been doing. “I — I had a question to ask you.”

Shuki looked at her expectantly, but somehow, Dini didn’t feel like she could jump into Chesed Tzirel fundraising yet.

She cleared her throat. “You were fabulous at leading this meeting. It was your idea?”

Shuki’s cheeks turned a faint pink, though he shrugged self-deprecatingly. “Everyone’s been complaining to me about the new manager because, y’know, I have the boss’s ear. Even if my father doesn’t want to hear it.” His eyebrows furrowed. “I see what Ta doesn’t, that there are a lot of very unhappy staff members right now, and he’s going to have a serious problem on his hands if something doesn’t get done soon.”

“So you decided to do something about it?”

Shuki scratched the back of his neck. “What can I do, really? I can’t fire Eric, and Ta doesn’t take me seriously to begin with. But I realized that what I could do was give the staff a forum to vent, to feel they’re being heard by someone who’s connected to the higher ups.”

Dini nodded, feeling pride bubbling up inside. Yup, Shuki had hit on their exact psychological pain point and how to fill it. Not surprising; that was his superpower.

“Does your father know about this?”

Shuki grimaced. “Of course not.”

“He should! You have to tell him! He should realize what a priceless help you are!”