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Saying no well
Block C has been a bad month: a mistake in the figures, a crisis meeting, a strike, a furious client, a rumor, a live radio interview, a hard contract and a tempting offer. It ends with a refusal, and how Alex delivers it is worth noticing, because turning things down gracefully is a social skill Spaniards value highly. In Spain, a direct no is not rude if it is clear, warm and reasoned. The headhunter calls it contundente y elegante, firm and graceful, and the two go together. Alex says it straight out, sin rodeos; he shows it was not a whim, no lo he decidido en caliente; he gives a real reason that does not insult the offer, it isn't the money; and he leaves the relationship intact, sin rencor y con la puerta abierta. In a country where professional circles are small and people meet again, quedar en buenos términos is not politeness but prudence. The second half of the scene is just as typical. Spanish offices celebrate, and they celebrate small things: a decision, a contract, a colleague staying. Íñigo's coffee for everyone, on him for once, and his toast, salud por el nuevo coordinador, are the ritual. So is the teasing that keeps praise from becoming embarrassing: sin que se te suba a la cabeza, and the last word claimed for the office gossip, that he mentioned the multinational first. And there is the philosophy Spaniards tend to offer at the end of a hard stretch: a toro pasado, things look different; a fin de cuentas, it is not avoiding trouble that makes you grow up, but how you deal with it. Alex wants a boring month. Íñigo's reply, that normality lasts as long as it takes the phone to ring, is probably the most accurate thing anyone says about working life in this year.