My project had just ended, so I was reassigned to another client’s project. There were already about twelve engineers on it, the best engineers in the company. I wasn’t one of them. I joined, and things started moving.
The client was cutting teams.
“The client wants to keep going another three months. What do you think?” the CTO asked me.
I thought he meant all of us, so I answered:
“Sure, no problem. It’s been complicated, a bit of a sweatshop, rushed, and full of mistakes. But if the team keeps going, no problem.”
After a big, stressful project I usually took a few days off. This time they lined up with the holidays, so the break got longer. When I came back I kept closing a few things.
Silence.
I lost access to some tools and was being lined up for another project, which felt strange.
After a week or two I asked the CTO what had happened with the project, and when we’d continue.
He closed his eyes, let out a short “ha”, and shook his head, like “ay, Mumo”.
“No, man. The client wanted to continue only with you. And when we talked, you told me it was fine staying on the project with the team.”
“Ahhh… okay, but…”
“Don’t worry. The relationship had gotten really toxic. He wanted everything, at all hours. We weren’t going to risk you burning out and quitting. Or him hiring you. So, ahí muere.”
That’s where it ended.
I answered a question I hadn’t really heard. I answered for a team that wasn’t in the offer, and I said the hard part out loud as if it were a side note. He heard that part.
Later I understood why the client wanted me. I kept asking why, pushing back with arguments, proposing. With my own offer, I didn’t ask.
If I were asked the same thing today, my first word would be “Why?”