Supersonic

by Anouschka Zagorski

  I exhaled and shook my head slightly. This was all wrong.

  “In your position of seniority you must see what work there is to be done and not leave a trainee in charge. You are expected to assume responsibility within the team, act proactively,” Michael said.

  “You are expected to perform at the level you are employed. Your own perception of what you should be doing is in no way adequate. The guidelines we provided you with nine months ago do not prevent you from taking responsibility and working proactively within the team,” Krystle Cann added.

  I silently looked at all of them in turn.

  “This leads to the third point,” Michael continued. “You recently seem to be keeping quite standard office hours - nine to six. Why is that?”

  “I am usually in at eight thirty after I have dropped my children at school. I have childcare until seven so I try to be home by then. Once my children are in bed I log on at home, if necessary - as in the Dutchbank closing or other recent deals.”

  “Standard office hours are in no way acceptable for a senior lawyer. This seems to be indicative of a general attitude issue,” he replied coldly.

  “Logging on, if necessary, is not sufficient,” Krystle Cann agreed. “Your accessibility is necessary whether or not you anticipate receiving anything. We have a note of one recent evening when you did not respond to a query from the office.”

  “I only saw that email after eleven o’clock as I was looking after my youngest daughter who was sick. I responded first thing in the morning.”

  “Blackberrys are issued to lawyers so they are accessible at all times as necessary, especially after hours,” Krystle Cann reiterated. “We will make a note of that, too. I suggest we meet more frequently now. The next meeting should be in two weeks’ time and then we will review the matters discussed again.”

  I had nothing to add.

  I left the meeting room, firmly closing the door behind me. I was so livid, I thought my head would explode. I decided to walk straight to Gunther White’s office. He was the only one I could speak to openly. He was one of the most decent people at P&W and I knew that he had always liked and respected me. He looked up from his papers, when I knocked on the open door while entering his office.

  “Chloé. What can I do for you?” He smiled kindly.

  I took a deep breath. “Have you got a minute? I would like to speak with you.”

  “Yes, of course.” He put his pen to the side and took off his glasses. I closed the door and walked towards his desk.

  “Gunther, I have had enough. I have been mobbed and mentally tortured for the last nine months and yet I have worked my arse off. I have just had it. This review meeting was the final straw. If you want me to leave then make me a decent offer. Tell your partners that I know of at least one case where Tracey Taylor instructed the team to record more time against a deal than they actually spent on it! I recorded my time properly but when I saw the invoice to the client the number of my billed hours was much higher. I am quite sure the entire invoice was padded. You know this is fraud. If this has happened once, in this firm, then it has happened before.”

  Gunther looked worried and alarmed. “OK, OK. I will speak to management. There is a big meeting going on anyway, here on the conference floor. Yes, they never intended to give you a chance, Chloé. Look, I’m sorry about how you have been treated. Please just don’t do anything rash.”

  I stared at him. So it really was true. I guess I’d been naïve to believe anything else. I swallowed before my tears of relief could show. “Thank you, Gunther. Thank you for your honesty.”

  He lowered his head and sighed. “You’ve been so brave. I really am sorry.”

  I left his office and went back to mine. My whole body was shaking. I closed the door and sat in my chair, staring at the view outside.

  Then I picked up my private mobile telephone, scrolled through my contacts and pressed the dial button, once I’d found the number I was looking for.

  “Chloé! What a lovely surprise - I’ve nearly given up hope!” Giles sounded truly pleased.

  “Giles, I’m ready. I’ll send you the countersigned contract.”

  “Superbe! You won’t regret it.”

  “I’ve got to go. I just wanted to let you know.”

  I put the mobile back into my bag and tried to concentrate on the twenty plus unread emails that had arrived since I had left my office for the review meeting.

  Ten minutes later Gunther knocked on the glass door. I waved him in.

  “I have been sent to let you know, formally, that the partners have agreed to offer you a settlement worth three annual salaries including a ten per cent. bonus. The managing partner is on the phone to your lawyer now. Until the formal agreement is signed, you can take paid leave as of now.”

  I nodded slowly, letting the information sink in. On a quick calculation that was nearly one million Euros! I tried to maintain a poker face.

  “Oh, and something else.” He seemed to suppress a smirk. “I shouldn’t tell you this but I think you deserve to know - there will be an internal investigation into Tracey’s invoicing files. She has been suspended with immediate effect.”

  “I see. Thank you, Gunther.”

  He nodded with a smile. “It’s the least I could do.” He softly closed the door behind him.

  When he left I bit on my lips, suppressing a grin. It was nearly too good to be true. I would finally get justice, to the tune of almost a million Euros! With a new job already lined up!

  I looked around my office. Would I miss it? I had spent four years of my life in this firm and, somehow, had felt I belonged here. I took the silver photo frame, containing a picture of Noëlle and Marie - the only personal item I had brought, when I had returned nine months before - and placed it carefully in my bag. I checked my emails. There was none that was only addressed to me. That was the advantage of working in a team. If one team member drops out, the others can continue. I turned on an out of office reply and typed.

  Dear sender,

  I am currently out of the office. Please contact Jerome Panzer on extension 5703 or Jerome.panzer@prattwonkey.com for further assistance.

  Best regards, Chloé Krakowski

  Suddenly the door was pulled open with force. I swivelled around and stared at her in shock.

  “Hello, Chloé.” Tracey stood in my office. Her hair was frizzier than ever, she was pale and had her hands clenched in fists.

  “Tracey! What are you doing here?”

  “That’s hardly relevant. How dare you blackmail the firm! How dare you elevate yourself above the partners when you should just shut up and do as you are told! I will see to it that you will never practise law again!” she hissed loudly. Her neck showed dark red blotches.

  Suddenly I felt very calm. “It’s hardly blackmail if I tell your partners what you are up to. As for not practising law again, I wouldn’t worry about me.”

  “Ha! We will see about that!” she snorted and turned to leave. Then she stopped in her tracks. “I know you despise me, Chloé. You think you are so superior with your morals and your principles but you have absolutely no idea who I am and what I have had to sacrifice to get to this position. You would have never made it here as a partner. You never fitted in.” She smiled haughtily. “I must admit - I have nearly envied you at times for being different, for wearing what you want and for insisting on spending time with your children. You cannot have it all. There is a high price to be paid for the privilege of making it in this firm and you were never willing to pay it.”

  I smiled. “One million Euros plus your suspension feels like the right price to me.”

  Her jaw dropped. She drew her breath as if to start another tirade. The she pressed her lips together, shot a deadly glare at me, turned on her heel and stormed away.

  Turning back to
the screen, I saved the out of office message, closed all windows and logged off. I switched off my blinking blackberry and placed it on the desk.

  I took my bag and walked to the door. I slowly took in the room, the filing cabinets, the desk and the chair. Then I turned out the lights and left without looking back.

  Epilogue

  My name is Chloé. Chloé Krakowski.

  Today is my first day as a partner at Olsens. Nobody had any problems with my surname. The spelling of my name on the office door is correct, as are the smart black business cards.

  A vase with a large bouquet of lilac tulips is standing on my clean white desk. Next to it is a card showing the first Concorde operated by British Airways. I turn it around and read it again. The words are handwritten in blue ink.

  A warm welcome, dear Chloé.

  We are happy that you have joined us and we are looking forward to exciting times.

  Giles and your Olsens team in Berlin

  I put the card back, lean back in my chair and smile.

  * * *

  Nine hours later. My first day in the office had not been a long one. At 6 p.m. sharp Giles had urged me with a wink to go home.

  Berlin, Kollwitzstrasse. I’m lucky, in finding a parking space right in front of the house. I get out of the car, take my nearly new LV Neverfull Damier Azur shopper and shut the door. I inhale deeply. It’s still warm. Summer, in July, had arrived. In the café next to our house the tables outside are all occupied. I recognise the couple sitting next to the entrance and briefly wave at them. They are our neighbours from the first floor, Paula and Louis. I look up to the third floor and see the windows of our dining room, where, I believe, the girls are preparing an early dinner with Isabella. I walk towards the front door and unlock it. In the hallway, Jonah’s little cuddly toy bunny lies forgotten in his buggy. I pick it up carefully and walk up the stairs to the third floor.

  On the second floor I stop briefly, put the bunny on the foot mat and ring the doorbell. As I continue to walk up the stairs, I turn my head to hear the door open and Angela’s voice.

  “Look, Jonah! There’s your bunny! I told you, he probably went for a quick walk!” She winks at me and blows me a kiss.

  I finally arrived at our doorstep. I paused for a moment, lightly touching the oval brass plate next to the bell.

  C. Krakowski

  N. & M. Delorme

  I fiddle with my keys at the lock. Suddenly the door is being pulled wide open, the girls burst out and envelope me into a hug. “Mummy, Mummy!”

  I stand there in their embrace and look at Isabella, who is watching us with a smile. She nods and I nod back.

  I’m finally home.

  THE END.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank my first editor, Liz Garner, for not only understanding Chloé’s character and her story but for bringing out the best in me. Her review of the manuscript’s second version has inspired me to turn SUPERSONIC into a book I felt ready to be published. It took another review by Anna Prokopidu-Schulz, my daughter Anastasia Dubourg and Kieran Marchant to fine tune certain aspects, so my heart-felt thanks to all of them.

  I am also indebted to my friend Victoria Smith, a brave single mother, and former lawyer herself, for editing the early versions of the first three chapters so that I could submit them to literary agents - alas, with no success - and for encouraging and motivating me over so many years to find a way to publish this novel.

  Thank you also to Jan ter Haar, an old friend and colleague who reviewed the first version of the manuscript as a beta reader and gave me valuable feedback from a male perspective.

  I owe more than gratitude to Anna and Achim Schulz who were there for me when the going got tough and who showed me That’s What Friends Are For.

  Finally, words cannot express my gratitude to Karmen Hoyer who has read everything, who knows everything and who has never stopped believing in me. I will love you forever.

  Inspiration: Music and Movies

  There are many moments in my life when I’ve felt inspired by a song that I have heard or a movie that I have seen. Here is a selection of those appearing in SUPERSONIC.

  New Kid in Town (The Eagles)

  Indecent Proposal

  Every Time We Say Goodbye (Ella Fitzgerald)

  She Works Hard For the Money (Donna Summer)

  Witness For the Prosecution

  My Big Fat Greek Wedding

  Dazed and Confused

  Holiday (Madonna)

  C’est les Vacances (Ilona Mitrecey)

  London Calling (The Clash)

  Good Morning Vietnam

  Freedom (Wham!)

  We Are Family (Sister Sledge)

  Pretty Woman

  It’s my Party And I’ll Cry If I Want To (Lesley Gore)

  April in Paris (Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong)

  Clair de Lune (Claude Debussy)

  Desafinado (Stan Getz & João Gilberto)

  A Fish Called Wanda

  Wherever I Lay My Hat (Paul Young)

  Don’t Leave Me This Way (Thelma Houston)

  If I Ain’t Got You (Alicia Keys)

  Little Britain

  Supersonic (Oasis)

  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

  The Godfather

  Come Away With Me (Norah Jones)

  That’s Amore (Dean Martin)

  La Traviata: prelude (Giuseppe Verdi)

  Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (Beyoncé)

  You Can Leave Your Hat On (Joe Cocker)

  That’s What Friends Are For (Dionne Warwick)

  Mamma Mia

  Sex and the City: the Movie

  Macbeth

  I will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)