Some suit-type individual stood at the front of the conference room, waiting for the general hubbub of the room to subside before speaking. I took a moment to look around; all of the office staff were present, as too were the workers from the warehouse – this was going to be a pretty big announcement. I instantly thought of the worst-case scenario of course – redundancies all around, downsizing, maximising efficiency, streamlining – call it whatever you want, whenever there's a whole staff meeting in the middle of a busy Friday, then it's always going to be big news.
'I'd like to thank you all by coming today,' began the immaculately-dressed, all-business lady at the front (like we had a choice with our attendance). 'I know what most of you will be thinking at this stage. I'd like to take this moment to set your mind at ease and assure you that your jobs are not at risk today.'
An audible sigh of relief went up around the room. Followed moments later by hushed whisperings – if we weren't getting fired, what was happening? The suit at the front raised her hand and we all fell quiet.
'Head-office has decided to invest in the future of this branch of the company. We are keen to streamline the business here,' oh, fuck, 'so I would like to introduce you all today to someone with years of experience of management consultancy. Please welcome Mel Levinson.'
We all knew exactly what streamlining meant. The fucking suit had chosen her words carefully when she said that nobody's job was at risk 'today'. What she really meant was that effective today, everyone was going to have to justify their jobs to some aloof, anonymous consultant and that they would have the final decision on who was going to get the boot. What a great way to start the weekend.
I was prepared to instantly hate the woman who came through the doors and into the conference room. It wouldn't even have been difficult – this perfect stranger was here to judge and evaluate my worth to the company; who the fuck did she think she was? I was prepared to hate her alright; but I wasn't prepared for the way she looked as she strode confidently into the conference room.
She wasted no time in introducing herself, speaking calmly and authoritatively to the room; explaining the reasons for her arrival and the expectations she had of staff over the fortnight long consultation period, but I have to be honest, I didn't really take much in about what she said. I was too busy checking her out from head to toe.
She was immaculately dressed, that's the first thing I noticed; she wore a charcoal grey, tailored business suit with a pressed, white blouse. My eyes were instantly drawn to her pedicured feet as she strode into the office. Her nails were painted a deep red, her toes long and slender and her soles arched beautifully in her spike-heeled sandals. Her light brown hair tumbled in waves down to her shoulders, framing her beautiful, yet stern (and somewhat cold) face.
I was prepared to hate her. I hated the reason she was here, I hated how confidently and coolly she stood at the front and expertly addressed a (rightfully) pissed off audience of staff, I hated how head-office so flippantly decided that they needed to axe loyal members of staff so that they could further line the pockets of the shareholders. I hated all of those things, but I couldn't hate this beautiful woman.
Chapter 2
'Tell me Mark,' my wife said as I served her up her dinner that evening at the table. 'How was your day?'
'Not good,' I replied, sitting down once I was satisfied that Jess didn't need anything else. I told her the whole story about work – the meeting, the management consultant and the impending layoffs. She listened with a sympathetic ear as we ate our dinner.
'This woman, Mel is it?' Jess asked, I nodded, 'does she seem like she knows what she's doing?'
'Yes,' I responded. That was one thing I couldn't deny, she carried with her an air of natural authority and confidence. It was clear that head office had done their research before employing her services.
'Well,' continued Jess, 'you're just going to have to hope that she sees the value in keeping you on; aren't you?' I nodded. My wife was right, there was no point moping about it; if I was going to keep my job, I had to prove that what I offered the company was worth keeping. 'Good, now go and run me a bath please.'
I spent Friday evening with my wife. Once she had taken her bath, we relaxed in front of the TV with a couple of drinks. I gave her a relaxing foot massage to help her to unwind after a long working day before we went to bed and made love. The rest of my weekend went pretty much as usual, spending the quality time with my wife helped me to take my mind away from the troubles at work. I didn't really think much about Mel again until Monday morning when I arrived at the office.
I found a memo waiting for me at my desk when I arrived. My heart skipped a beat when I read it. It was an invitation to meet with Miss M Levinson at 2.30pm. I was to use an hour of my time in the morning to prepare an overview of my role and responsibilities within the company.
2.30 came around quicker than I would have liked it to. I left the main office building and walked down the corridor to the small meeting room. This had been appropriated by Mel for the fortnight and would act as her office. I noted how she had already had a sign prepared for the door. I knocked on the door. There was no immediate response. I tried to look through the blinds to check that she was in, but found that they had been drawn; the limited view I had into her office offered no clues as to whether she was in or not. I contemplated trying the door, but decided against it. There was very little alternative but to wait it out.
About 4 minutes passed. It seemed like an eternity standing there. Just as I was about to knock again, Mel opened the door and smiled curtly at me.
'Mark,' she spoke as she extended a hand and gave me a firm, confident handshake, 'Enter.' I noticed that there was no apology for making me wait.
I sat down in front of the desk she had made for herself in the room; she already seemed quite at home there, but the rest of the furniture had been simply moved to the back of the meeting room – it was the only part that didn't seem quite so organised. I think she caught me glancing over my shoulder at it as she sat herself down in front of me. She wore another flawless business suit, this time it was blue with a pinstripe; her polished, black, heeled sandals glistened in the artificial light of the room and drew my gaze once again to her perfect feet.
The next hour was spent all business. Mel asked me about my history, my roles and responsibilities and a little about my personal circumstances. She didn't at any point ask me about my opinions on the future of the business or about how much I felt that I was worth to the company.
'Your wife,' Mel asked, glancing at the clock on the wall, 'what does she do?'
'She works as a solicitor for a local law firm,' I replied. Mel raised her eyebrows approvingly at this. 'She's been there for about eight years now, she thinks she might make partner this year.'
'So your wife is the main earner in the household.'
'That's right,' I replied cautiously.
''Doesn't that ever cause friction?' These questions were straying into somewhat personal territory, but I knew that it was my job on the line, so I had to be careful.
'Maybe it did at certain points early on,' I answered, 'but I think we have a good understanding at home. I know how hard Jess works and I try to show her how much I appreciate her.'
Mel raised her hands to her face and tapped her perfectly manicured nails thoughtfully against her red lips as if considering her next steps in the discussion. 'So you would say you're respectful then.'
'Yes,' I replied honestly.
'And loyal.'
'Yes,'
'And obedient?' she asked, raising her eyebrows at me.
'Umm...' I hesitated.
