Piece of work

One of the employees, we'll call him X, from the US office of a client is leaving his position. I don't know the reasons why, though I do know he was going to school, so I like to think he left of his own will. Today however, after asking his boss (because I thought X was already gone) to do something for me which I had originally asked X to do, I received an email from him saying something like "politics to the end huh? You're some piece of work." For the first time in a long time, I can't figure out how I feel.

The relationship had always been strained, a "Japan" vs. "home office" type of war. With X as the sole US representative for a long time, he took most of the hits. Any small mistake, which anybody could make, and certain people on the Japan side would jump at the chance to stack "our" collection of "X screwed up again" incidents. I was asked several times on different occasions to go through all past emails and print out anything that indicated a mistake he made. I spent countless wasted hours in meetings listening to people plot against him.

I can't say I have always been pleased with him, when he retaliated, I, being a vendor, and not in any position to disagree with him, took the brunt of his attacks. The whole situation quickly grew tiresome, and I have long since taken myself out of the frey as much as possible, though I keep getting dragged back in because others want to fight (their eyes literally light up), and I am the one who knows the situation on both sides best.

Through it all though, I was the only advocate he had in Japan. I was the only one who would stick up for him as he was being beaten up (behind his back) for something that is really just part of the process... mistakes that we all make. I even felt a strange type of bond with him... or so I thought. I imagined he wasn't any too happy with the situation, and I wasn't. We were both techies, while the rest of the "players" weren't. As techies, I think we were more focused on problem solving than problem making and power playing, we seemed to be the two people most interested in actually doing work.

I was going to write a response to his mail, but after several attempts, I realized there is nothing I can write that will not sound more like the conniving ladder climber that I appear to be to him. Yet, I feel so unsettled leaving it the way it is. I try very hard to make sure I don't get caught up in bull crap, and instead am someone that the client can rely on to get the job done. His comment makes me really wonder how I look to everyone else. Am I really a piece of work? Dang.