"Thanks," Jack said, a touch bashful. He worked hard to be good at what he did. He moved into the office as the sponsor waved him in. He had an inkling that he knew what this might be about but he didn't want to get his hopes up.

Or he was getting canned.

"I'm not getting fired, am I?" He could not help but say in jest. Merlin, he hoped he wasn't getting canned. Then again, complimenting someones play right before cutting them loose would be a rather odd way to go about things.