“Sorted my old boiler out for me, didn’t you, love? And it’s still goin’ fine, fair play.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Sion popped the second half of his chocolate bourbon into his mouth.
“I’m off to London in a bit. Got a job down there. That’s why I came ‘round now. I’m not sure if I’ll be back for the funeral. D’you know when it’ll be?”
Maureen looked to the Family Liaison Officer.
“They need to do the post-mortem first,” Diane confirmed. “After that, the coroner will release the body for the funeral. Usually takes a couple of weeks.”
Maureen pushed the plate towards them, and Sion took another biscuit.
“I’ll try my best, but you’ll understand if I’m not there?”
“That’s alright, love.”
She smiled gratefully at Sion.
“You’ve done so much for me, already.”
???
“Can we talk, Annie? You’re making a big mistake.”
Seb is leaning over my desk a little too closely into my personal space.
My eyes dart around to check that no one’s watching us, and he takes the hint. After dropping a file onto my desk, he steps away.
For the benefit of my co-workers near my corner office space, he projects publicly,
“Come through to my office please, Annie.”
He turns impatiently on his heels, beckoning me to follow.
From the twentieth floor of his glass-lined office, the views stretch out far across the City mile.
Seb shuts the door, then stalks towards me.
I edge back.
“Do I need to remind you of our company policy?”
His face turns flinty.
Passing me without eye contact, he anchors himself behind his desk.
Desperate to retain the formality, I do the same, sitting stiffly in front of him.
“If this is about the other night and the restaurant, Marnie’s in a bad place right now. She’s very suspicious. In the end, I couldn’t stay late in town… You knew how hard it would be, when you decided to come back from New York.”
My stomach twists. It’s bad enough, already.
Bringing up his wife, only adds more fuel to my already huge pyre of guilt. I’m the other woman. The hussy who had a fling with a married man. The home breaker. No one else needs judge me, I’m already doing a great job of it, all by myself.
“Seb, it doesn’t matter about the other night. We’re done. It wasn’t working out between us.”
His eyes are fixed in a stony stare. He’s not used to not being in control.
“Very well,” he sighs. “If that’s what you want?”
“It is.”
He switches roles. Just like that. From lover to line manager.
His eyes cut into me like a hot knife through refrigerated butter.
“I need to raise something with you. From the People Empowerment Division.”
“Who?”
“Human Resources. HR. They say, they’ve found discrepancies in an appointment you made.”
As Director of Customer Happiness (or Customer Services as we were called up until a month ago) I control all my division’s appointments. In my head, I begin sifting through all the new staff we’ve taken on recently. I can’t think why there’d be issues with any of them.
From my rabbit in the headlights stare, Seb can tell that I haven’t got the foggiest notion of what he’s on about.
“Lottie Mathews? Ring any bells?”
“Lottie?”
We were at university together.
“She’s fab. She’s brought in heaps of new ideas. We’ve made some key changes already.”
The large retail company Lottie worked for was downsizing, and I’d snapped her up for a junior leader role.
“HR say, you didn’t follow protocol. That you interviewed her but didn’t declare that you were friends.”
The look he gives me reminds me of a stoat I once saw on the farm as a kid. I caught it slicing its teeth into the neck of one of our chickens, sucking out the blood.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll have a word.”
A shiver runs through me.
“It’s alright,” I counter, “I’ll go up there myself, and set things straight.”
He flicks his gaze towards his computer screen, and I get up quickly, taking my cue to leave.
“Annie?”
My eyes slam head-on into his frosty glare.
“I’ll call them too.”
Giving him a cursory smile through gritted teeth, I head hastily for the door.
I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to carry on like this. New York suddenly seems quite appealing again, even though I’m glad to be back in London. Maybe, it is time to look for a new job?
One thing’s for sure about our relationship, or rather fling; because let’s be honest, it was little more than sex. Whatever this ‘affair’ was called, it’s been a huge mistake.
“Everything okay in there?”
Stacey stops by my desk as she saunters past.
“Yeah, just a glitch. People Empowerment are after me about Lottie’s appointment.”
I feel a headache coming on as I sit back down.
“People, who?”
“You didn’t read the email, either?”
I rub my temples as a shooting pain begins to pulse right behind my left eye.
“I’m gonna need one of their mindfulness sessions after this stress, that’s for sure.”
“The hand that giveth and taketh away. Tell me how you get on.”
???
“Sorry, she’s not here.”
Chantelle pops her head up from her workstation, as I knock on the Director of People Empowerment’s office door.
“She’s uh… got a wellbeing appointment.”
“You feelin’ empowered enough to help me, then?”
“Don’t even go there, Annie. And how’s life in Customer Happiness?”
“Oh, y’know; painting the world with rainbows, every call we answer.”
“Can you tell me if there’s been a query on Lottie Mathews’ appointment?”
“Lottie Matthews?”
Chantelle looks confused.
“Not that I know of, and I handle all the recruitment issues.”
She types her name into her computer database.
“Let me have a little look… Ooh.”
She draws up some record, then pulls her computer screen discreetly out of my eyeline.
Hold on a sec, I’ll just see if Imran knows anything.”
She clicks out of the record, then goes over the main office area, where she speaks in hushed tones to another advisor, who I presume to be Imran. They’re glancing briefly over in my direction as they whisper together.
Then, I see Chantelle discreetly putting in a call from Imran’s desk.
When she comes back over to me, her face has changed. Gone is the chatty banter. She’s all corporate and business now.
“Sorry about that, Annie. The Director’s been dealing with this.”
Seb was right. There is an issue.
Chantelle eyes me cagily as she sits back at her desk.
“But, Lottie’s the best appointment I’ve made this year.”
She scans the screen.
“So it seems. Her reviews have been exemplary.”
She glances up at me.
“Did you write those?”
“Yes.”
It takes me a second to catch her insinuation.
“Hold on…”
“And you headhunted her? This friend of yours… from university?”
Flustered, I try to protest.
“Well, yes, I knew her at uni... but...we’re hardly friends… I mean we don’t…”
“There’s no easy way to put this, Annie. There are irregularities.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The Director recommends
that you’re suspended, until we investigate the matter fully.”
“Suspended?”
“We were intending to call you in for a meeting this afternoon. It’s in the diary.”
“But, I haven’t…”
“I know it’s sudden. But, suspension; it’s like a no-fault position.”
Chantelle sees me gawping at her. Possibly about to blow. Shout. Cry. Make a scene.
“Don’t worry, Annie. These things happen. Think of it as a free holiday.”
???
Back at my desk, I gather my stuff together in a stunned daze.
And as the shock subsides, my anger begins to build. This is so unfair!
I’m such a rule-taker. I would never try to cheat or do something I shouldn’t. I’ve never once over-claimed my expenses. Never pulled a sickie. Or been late. For God’s sake, I’ve never even filched a biro.
I take three out of my desk drawer and stuff them into my bag.
No, my only transgression ever, was Seb.
There are no family photos on my desk. I always keep it clear.
At least, I won’t have to walk the plank with the cardboard box of shame in my arms. They can keep my straggly spider plant, and my personalised to-do list from the office Secret Santa.
I throw the three biros back onto the desk.
Stuff the lot of them!
I’ve turned off my computer, and I’m grabbing my bag to leave when Seb saunters over to my office space.