“Don’t you have any work to do? Just because you go to the dentist doesn’t mean that you don’t have work to do when you come in.” Everyone on the desk looked up.
The confident Virginia disappeared. “I – I only just arrived,” she mumbled feebly.
“Really? Next time go to the dentist in your own time and get on with some work.” She was shouting and Virginia flinched. Isabelle glared at everyone else on the desk and stalked off. For the first time, the others on the desk shot Virginia sympathetic glances. All she could think of was how much she wanted to be rid of Isabelle. She set to work.
Later, the interview times of her second-round interviews were confirmed for Thursday after work. She wished it was sooner, but she understood that it couldn’t be. She would just have to be patient. After all, she had waited so long, what difference would a couple of days make?
She had almost forgotten that Isabelle’s big client lunch was scheduled for that day. She was glad that Isabelle and her bad mood would not be there to upset her and neither would anyone else on the desk. Virginia would enjoy a heavenly afternoon alone. Isabelle told the others that at least the quiet markets meant it was a good day for them all to be off the desk. She said it as if she had arranged personally for the market to fall. Before Isabelle left she instructed Virginia to man the phones, to take messages and not to do anything else. She said that all the big clients would be at lunch anyway, and if any other clients called, she was to explain that there was a conference so no one was available. Isabelle seemed to think it was worth losing an afternoon’s income to wine and dine clients who would give them more business in the long run, but Virginia felt she should leave at least one salesperson on the desk: even if the big clients were with her, some others might want something and it was never a good idea to lose business. Virginia did not mention this theory to Isabelle.
“I’m sure you can cope, although you’ll probably prove me wrong again. Oh, and get the filing done while we’re out – this desk looks like a paper mountain.” Isabelle was still in a bad mood about the markets and now she was in a flap about the impending lunch. She took out all her frustrations on Virginia.
There was no filing and no paper mountain, so as soon as they left Virginia prepared for her second interview on Thursday. The office was quiet and she was enjoying the time she had to herself. Isabelle was proved right about the phones: It seemed that only mothers, boyfriends, girlfriends and internal people called. She effectively had an afternoon off.
At half past three the phone rang on a client line. She snatched it up, panicking inside. It was a fund that didn’t normally do a lot of business with them and had not been deemed important enough to be invited to the lunch.
‘SFH” Virginia said, worrying.
“Hi, I need a price in Griffin,” a gruff male voice barked. Virginia felt her heart stop. It was a sales call, a trade. This was what she would soon be doing.
She bumbled, “I’m sorry, but there’s no one ...”
“What? Look, don’t mess around. I want to buy ten million dollars” worth of shares in Griffin and I need a price now. I can always use another bank.” The voice was insistent, and the order was huge. Virginia didn’t know what to do but she didn’t have time to think. Without even realising it, she shouted over to a trader.
If the trader was shocked to hear an order from her, he didn’t show it. He shouted back a price, which Virginia, voice shaking, communicated to the caller.
“Fine, you got the order. Call me when it’s complete. John Towers. Got that?”
“Yes,” Virginia squeaked, and John hung up. She shouted to Mark, the trader, who congratulated her.
“Nice work, darling,” he said.
Virginia felt sick. She shouldn’t have done it. Although she had made a lot of money for the desk, she wasn’t registered with the SFA; the official body you had to be regulated by before you could take client orders or trade. She had broken the law. And that wasn’t all. What would Isabelle say?
Virginia panicked. She put her head in her hands and took deep breaths. She kept telling herself she had done the right thing; she hadn’t passed on an opportunity that would make them money. But she shouldn’t have done it. She wasn’t allowed to. “Oh, God,” she said to herself, as she rested her head on the desk.
“Trade complete,” a voice boomed at her.
Mark came over to the desk and gave her the prices. He looked at her strangely; she had turned green and was sweating. “God, darling, you shouldn’t get in such a state. It’s a lot of money, but you need to keep cool, like me.” He grinned and walked off.
Virginia’s hand was shaking as she called John and gave him confirmation. He even said thank you. Then she filled out a ticket. As she booked the order, she knew she would have to face Isabelle in the morning and she hoped she wouldn’t be horrible about it. The implications of what had happened flooded Virginia’s whole body. “Oh, hell,” she said to herself, and rushed to the ladies” loo to throw up.
She went home and, unable to face her French class, she crawled under her duvet without eating. She didn’t sleep that night, agonising about what she had done. She couldn’t get it out of her head. She hoped that Isabelle would be pleased and would brush the incident under the carpet. She feared that she wouldn’t.
***
Virginia was at work even earlier than usual. She had given up any hope of sleep in the middle of the night; coming to work was her only escape. She still felt sick. She watched the door for Isabelle’s entrance. For the first time, she willed Isabelle to arrive. Then she did. Virginia marched as confidently as she could, with her legs buckling under her, into Isabelle’s office.
“Hi, Isabelle,” she said quietly.
Isabelle looked up. She looked ghastly. Her hair was unusually messy, her eyes were swollen, and her skin grey. Virginia guessed that she was hung over. “What?” she growled.
“Well, yesterday when you were out ...” Virginia faltered.
“Get on with it, I’m not in the mood,” Isabelle said.
“Well, John Towers called, from Mitos. He wanted to buy ten million dollars” worth of Griffin shares. At first I said no one was around, but he said he wanted us to do it and if we didn’t we’d lose all his business. So I got Mark to give me a price and, well, we did it. And it’s a lot of money and I know I shouldn’t have done it and I wouldn’t have done, but it was such a good order and he was really insistent, saying he would never use us again if I didn’t give him a price. So I did.” Virginia’s legs were shaking so much she could almost hear them.
Isabelle looked up slowly. “You took an order?”
“Yes.”
“You took an order and it was big?”
“Yes.”
“Give me the trade code,” Isabelle instructed.
Virginia told her and Isabelle typed it into her computer. Virginia saw a flicker of interest in her eyes as she looked at the figures. She knew that, whatever happened, Isabelle would take credit for this. She wanted her to.
“OK. Well, no harm done, I don’t think. But, Virginia, I will have to think about this. What you did could have got the firm into a lot of trouble, and although I don’t think it will, it was still a risk. Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep it quiet and if we don’t tell anyone I can’t see you getting into trouble. I’ll just say you called me on my mobile with the order and I filled it. Which is what you should have done. You should consider yourself lucky. That’s it.” Isabelle smiled coldly at her and turned back to the screen.
Virginia didn’t know whether to be relieved or angry. Isabelle said she’d take care of it, so it looked as if she was out of trouble. However, Isabelle had told her yesterday that she wasn’t to be disturbed for anything. She had told her not to call her mobile under any circumstances. At least Virginia still had a job and at least she still had an interview tomorrow. Once Isabelle claimed the trade for herself, there was no way she could backtrack and blame it on Virginia. Isabelle would enjoy taking
the glory for this, so she would keep Virginia out of it. Virginia could put it out of her mind.
For the rest of the day Isabelle kept herself locked in the office. Everyone else on the desk looked as grey as she did. Apparently the lunch had turned into a huge drinking fest, culminating at a nightclub. Virginia gathered this from snatches of conversation, none of which was directed at her. As she didn’t see Isabelle, she managed to put herself at ease about the illegal order. It wasn’t such a big criminal act after all, and it had worked out. Instead, Virginia decided to take this as a positive sign that proved she could be a salesperson.
***
Thursday was hell. She waited all day for six o'clock to arrive so that she could go to her interview. She was unable to concentrate on anything else and she was jittery. If anyone noticed they didn’t say anything, and for the second day running, Isabelle stayed in her office most of the day, probably working out her commissions. All Virginia had to do was the usual day-to-day work, and although she was busy, she was on autopilot.
At six she rushed to the Private Clients” floor and asked for Phillip. She tried her best to remain calm: she was determined not to ruin the opportunity. Phillip met her, took her to a conference room and then, her interviews began. She met four people – a manager, a senior salesperson, another salesperson, and the newest member of the desk. Although she wasn’t exactly dazzling, she was articulate, intelligent, asked the right questions, and by the time the last person had left, she felt confident that she had interviewed well.
Phillip returned and apologised for keeping her so long. He said that they would be in touch via Helena tomorrow, but he also said that it was time for her to tell her own boss she was interviewing. This was a good sign: he wouldn’t have told her to do that if he wasn’t keen, but she dreaded speaking to Isabelle when she hadn’t been offered the job. She agreed with Phillip, although she didn’t really, and she knew that she would have to speak to Isabelle the following day. Another sleepless night stretched ahead of her.
***
Friday was a repeat of Wednesday. As soon as Isabelle arrived at the office, Virginia pounced. This time her legs were shaking so much that her knees were knocking together. “Isabelle, I need to speak to you.”
Isabelle looked amused. “Again? What is this? Did you take another order?” She was cold even when she smiled.
Virginia shivered. Although she had gone through her speech in her head a thousand times, she still faltered. “No, nothing like that. Well it’s just that I’ve been for an interview in the Private Client division and, well, they thought I should tell you before we take things further.” The way Virginia said it, rushing to get to the end, meant she didn’t explain things the way she had so carefully planned.q
“I see. You’ve been interviewing elsewhere.” Her face grew colder.
“Yes.” Virginia almost fell over.
“I see. For a sales job?”
“Yes, as a junior salesperson. Well, you said you couldn’t find me a job, so I called HR.”
“How very innovative of you. I was sure you didn’t have it in you. And if you don’t get this job?”
“Well, I think I will.” Virginia tried to sound assured.
“That’s confidence for you. OK. Let me know what happens.”
“Is that it? I mean, well, I’m not sure, but ...” Virginia was lost.
“That’s it. Let me know if you get the job. In the meantime, just remember you’re still my secretary and I need you to do a load of typing.”
Virginia was astounded. Her face was red and hot, but at least Isabelle hadn’t shouted at her. She hadn’t even seemed to mind. She turned to her typing and tried hard not to think about the moment when she heard if she had the job.
***
Isabelle counted to ten before she looked up. The little mouse had turned into a rat. How dare she go behind her back? How dare she not listen to Isabelle when she told her she would never make a salesperson? How dare she almost go and get a job?
Isabelle called Helena from Human Resources and asked her if what Virginia had told her was true. Helena said it was and they were very impressed with her in Private Clients. Isabelle came off the phone and wanted to spit. She despised Virginia, with her timid way, her cheap suits and her permanent scowl. She despised her for crossing her. Isabelle didn’t like being proved wrong. She was riding high at SFH, she was respected, and she had a great future ahead of her. She would not accept someone like Virginia trying to prove her wrong.
She thought for a while, then picked up the telephone again and called David Marker, co-head of Sales at SFH. His office was on the same floor, but David was her boss and she never went to see him unannounced. His secretary answered the phone and said that he would be free in half an hour. Isabelle asked to be put in his diary.
She thought it all through. She would ensure that Virginia didn’t get her nice new job; she would ensure that she didn’t work at SFH; she would ensure that she never crossed Isabelle Holland again.
When Isabelle walked into David’s office, she noted as she always did that it was twice the size of her own. She had often dreamt of having an office this size and one day knew she would make managing director. She would be as powerful as David and no little girl would dare cross her.
“Isabelle, how are you? Sit down.” David was very professional.
“Thank you, David, I’m fine.” Isabelle was sugary sweet.
“What can I do for you? I hope we’re not still worried about the dip at the beginning of the week. I know your desk took a battering, but things are looking up.”
“Yes, they are. No, unfortunately I have another problem and I really need the benefit of your experience to sort it out.”
“Go on.”
“You see, David, my secretary made a mistake. On Tuesday while we were having our big client lunch, which by the way was a great success and I think will generate a lot of business for the firm, Virginia Bateman, that’s my secretary, was given instruction to man the phones. I told her if any client wanted to do business she was to call me on my mobile and I would let one of the traders know and get them to execute it. She isn’t terribly bright and she’s certainly not SFA registered. I told her that the lunch was important, but I also knew that I couldn’t leave the desk with just a secretary on it. She had my number and all she had to do was call. The markets were quiet so I didn’t expect anyone to phone, especially as most of our clients were with us.”
David looked impatient. “Yes?”
“Virginia took an order from a client we don’t do a great deal of business with. It was a big order, which made us a good commission. But the point was she dealt with the order herself. She didn’t call me and if anything had gone wrong we might have been sued.” Isabelle looked serious.
“Good God. What was she thinking of? Anyway, no harm done and we made money. Or is there more?”
“Yes, I’m afraid there is. She marched into my office the following day and was actually bragging about the order. I pointed out that what she had done was wrong and I asked her why she hadn’t called me. She was very flippant. I told her we couldn’t afford for anyone to find out because if they did they might report us. I told her that this must never happen again, and I emphasised that although we made money, it was still a bad thing she had done. She laughed and said that I was always so over-cautious and then she informed me she was successfully interviewing in Private Clients and she would soon be a salesperson anyway. She basically told me to stick my opinion. I should have come to you sooner, but I tried to work out what to do myself. I tried talking to her again, but was met by the same attitude. She just didn’t care that she had broken every rule in the book. I know what she did was a sackable offence, but I wanted to talk to you and get your opinion.”
“Really? God, she sounds a loose cannon.”
‘my sentiments exactly. She had obviously managed to charm Phillip Reid, who is very keen, and if it hadn’t been for her indiscretion, I would be supp
orting her the whole way. But we can’t afford to have people with so little regard for the rules in this department, but. even more so in Private Clients. She hasn’t been offered the job yet and I don’t know whether I should tell Phillip or not. Even more, should we sack her? I hate to sack people, you know that, but as you say she is a loose cannon.” Isabelle smiled demurely.
“I see. Well, she sounds dangerous. What we’ll do is this. We have our monthly managing directors” meeting next week. I will speak to HR and then see where we stand on firing her. If there is no reason why we can’t, we can make the decision at the meeting. I’ll get HR to keep it quiet, although I’ll have to speak to Phillip. He can always stall his decision. Then at the meeting we’ll decide if she has a future here and in what capacity.”
This was better than Isabelle had imagined. “I knew you’d have the answer.”
“Yes, but I don’t want her getting wind of it. This meeting is where we discuss all matters of staffing and any problems. Just think of the scandal if we were caught using a secretary to fill orders. Clients would leave us in seconds. She needs to think that everything is normal until HR can sort out the details. We don’t want her flinging any accusations at us, so we need to make sure our case for firing her is watertight.”
“Right. But I think she’s expecting to hear about the job before next week.” Isabelle was worried that the woolly Human Resources woman would find a rule that meant Virginia would get off with a caution. Firing people was so hard these days.
“Don’t worry. The decision to move someone internally has to be approved at the meeting. It’s just a formality but it gives us time to look into things. Phillip will tell her she has to wait.”
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