Executive Affair

by Ber Carroll

  Donald Skates had been the president for twelve years and held the record for the longest standing president in Silicon Valley, the fickle IT capital of the world. He had been with the company when it had had only one hundred employees. It was now the proud employer of ten thousand people across forty-nine countries. In some ways, the real secret of Amtech’s success was Donald’s conservative streak. It was a differentiating characteristic in an impulsive industry and it went down well with large government and financial sector customers.

  Until now, it had never occurred to Claire to use Amtech’s international presence as a means of travelling overseas, and she felt a little ashamed that it had taken a personal disaster for her to appreciate the opportunities that were literally at her fingertips. She used the search function to select finance management positions only. Her search yielded three hits: two roles in San Jose and one in Sydney. She skimmed through the role descriptions, skills and qualifications for each. She knew before doing this that she would go for the one in Sydney. She still had Fiona’s photo in her head: her carefree grin and sun-kissed skin, the expansive white sand and clear blue skies, and the enveloping feeling of summer. Claire wanted a photo like that of her own.

  She felt nervous as she knocked on Mark’s door. She opened the door slightly and he beckoned her to enter. He was on the phone. She sat down and waited for him to finish.

  He grinned at her as he put the phone down. ‘Hey, what’s up?’

  She handed him a printout of the job advertisement. ‘I want to talk to you about this role in Sydney …’

  ‘Oh.’ He was taken aback, the grin slipping from his face.

  ‘Sorry, Mark, I should explain myself,’ she said, recognising that she had started at the wrong place. ‘Look, you probably know by now that Michael and I have split up …’

  He nodded.

  ‘And as much as I try to be professional and not let it interfere with my job, the fact is that my world has turned upside down …’ She paused and tried to control the catch in her voice. ‘I can’t act as if nothing has happened when I see him at work.’

  ‘I understand,’ he nodded again.

  ‘So, either I leave Amtech and go to another company … or I see if I can transfer overseas,’ she concluded.

  He picked up the role description. ‘It’s undoubtedly a good career move for you, Claire, a promotion.’

  ‘I thought you would approve.’ She smiled, relieved to notice that he was looking more receptive now. ‘What do you know about Amtech Australia?’

  ‘Well, they’re quite a bit smaller than Dublin – it’s a sales and marketing subsidiary, not manufacturing like we are. I think they have about three hundred people. Harry Fielding is the finance director. I don’t know him personally but Robert Pozos speaks highly of him.’

  Claire took a deep breath. ‘Will you support me if I apply for the role?’

  ‘Yes, I will,’ he answered, looking tired. ‘I don’t want to lose you from our team here but this seems like the lesser of two evils. Send Harry your résumé. And I’ll mention it to Robert.’

  Robert Pozos, based in San Jose, was the senior vice-president of Finance and a member of the board of directors. Claire knew that he travelled extensively but she had never met him. He and Mark had a good relationship and Claire was confident that Mark would pave the way for her as much as he could. The rest would be up to her.

  Claire shut the door behind her and sat down before dialling the video conference number. Her interview with Harry was at eight – she had five minutes to go. The screen came alive with the image of the room in Sydney. There was a long board table and gold-coloured curtains that were drawn to block out the sunlight. Her own image was in a small box on the bottom left of the screen. She self-consciously fixed her hair and when she saw how slow and obvious her movements were on screen, she reminded herself not to fidget throughout the interview. While she waited, she read through a copy of the résumé that she had sent to Harry. She looked up to see a blurred male figure move jerkily across the room until he was seated. It was hard to see his features but his hair was white. He was older than she expected.

  ‘Good morning, Claire.’ His smile was friendly.

  ‘Good evening, Harry.’

  ‘It’s nice to meet you at last. Thanks for agreeing to this interview at such short notice.’

  ‘It’s no problem. I’m very keen to pursue the opportunity and thank you for considering me,’ she said, making an early pitch to show her enthusiasm for the role.

  ‘Claire, I’ll start by giving you some background information on the position. The incumbent is leaving at the end of this week to take on a new role in San Jose, under Robert Pozos. We’re looking for a good generalist, with proven operational ability in financial accounting, treasury, taxation and customer proposals.’ He paused deliberately to allow Claire to respond.

  ‘I believe I can demonstrate effective skills in each of those areas. Tax may be a bit of a challenge, as I’m not familiar with the local legislation, but the basic principles should be fairly standard.’

  Harry adjusted his position in his seat before speaking. She could see his lips move but it was a few moments before the sound of his voice reached her end.

  ‘I agree, tax should not be an insurmountable problem. We have advertised the role externally. However, it is our preference to have an internal candidate over an external one. It would be a much smoother transition for us if we found an existing employee who would be familiar with Amtech’s policies and procedures.’

  ‘Have you had many external applicants?’ She hadn’t considered the possibility of competition for the role she had set her heart on.

  ‘Yes, but none of them jump out at me … Claire, I’ve been through your résumé in detail and have talked to Robert Pozos about your role and performance in Dublin. I am not going to make this interview too laborious as I have a lot of positive and reliable information that most interviewers don’t have about the candidate they are interviewing. So, why don’t we just have a chat … you tell me about you and then I’ll tell you about me.’

  Their chat lasted an hour and ended with a job offer.

  Later that evening Claire opened the door to Susan whose face was pinched and pink from the icy cold.

  ‘I think it’s going to snow,’ she said, hurrying inside, a paper-wrapped bottle in one hand.

  Claire grinned. ‘Well, in four weeks’ time I’ll be far, far away from this freezing weather.’

  Susan stopped in her tracks. ‘Is that why you invited me over? Have you booked a holiday?’

  Claire laughed. ‘It’s not exactly a holiday. I’m going to Sydney. Indefinitely.’

  Susan’s eyes popped. ‘You’re what?’

  ‘I’m going to Sydney! I applied for a finance manager’s role – it was advertised on the homepage. I had an interview with Harry Fielding today and he offered me the job on the spot!’

  Susan was flabbergasted. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, really! I’m so excited! I’m going to Sydney!’ Claire did a little dance around the kitchen.

  ‘Wow! All this since last week? This is so unlike you!’

  Susan was right; Claire wasn’t the type to be impulsive. But playing safe had got her nowhere and she was left with nothing but the urge to be reckless. This move was tossing everything in the air: her job, her apartment, everything that was ‘routine’. She had no idea how it would pan out in the end, but right now she couldn’t care less about outcomes.

  Susan hadn’t taken off her heavy winter coat. She still hung onto the bottle of wine. She was more than surprised, she was stunned. ‘I’m really happy for you but I’m going to be so lonely without you here. And I’ll be so jealous of you and Fiona having fun in the sun while I’m stuck at home in the miserable cold …’

  ‘Let me open that,’ Claire reached for the bottle in Susan’s hand, ‘You look like you need a drink to get over the shock.’

  ‘What did Mark have to say about it?’
Susan asked, moving cushions to make herself comfortable on the sofa.

  ‘Mark’s been great. It’s his connections that got me the job. He’s pretty close to Robert Pozos and it seems that Robert gave Harry all the assurances he needed. There was very little for me to do.’

  The wine was an Australian chardonnay, from the Hunter Valley. Claire smiled as she pulled the cork and poured it into two glasses.

  ‘Are they going to pay your relocation costs?’

  ‘They’ll pay my airfare and my living expenses for the first four weeks.’

  ‘That’s a pretty good deal.’ Susan was looking thoughtful as Claire handed her the glass. ‘You know, I get the impression that Mark might be extending his responsibility outside Ireland and he’ll be happy to have you to rely on in Australia.’

  ‘What do you mean? Do you know something I don’t?’

  ‘Mark’s been on a lot of calls with the US lately and he’s more involved in the upgrade project than you would expect. It wouldn’t surprise me if they made Ireland some kind of international headquarters for IT and Finance with Mark at the helm. The upgrade will bring a lot of synergies – it would make sense to centralise some of the functions. Hey, wouldn’t it be great if I could somehow wangle a business trip to Sydney?’

  Claire couldn’t resist teasing her. ‘Dream on, Susan.’

  ‘Don’t be mean.’ Susan pouted. ‘I bet you and Fiona have been making all sorts of plans for the fun you’re going to have without me.’

  ‘Actually, I haven’t had the chance to tell her yet. I wanted to wait until after the interview. Let’s call her now!’

  Claire jumped up to get the phone. She dialled the number from her address book. It rang and then she heard a muffled ‘Hello?’.

  ‘Fi, it’s me, Claire!’

  ‘Claire?’ Fiona sounded disorientated and Claire remembered the time difference. It was early morning in Sydney.

  ‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to get you out of bed. Guess what?’ she squealed.

  ‘What?’ Fiona asked with a loud yawn.

  ‘I’m coming to Sydney! I’m getting a transfer with Amtech! Isn’t it great?’

  ‘Hey, that’s really great news … even worth waking me up for.’

  ‘Can I stay with you when I get there?’

  ‘Of course you can. When are you coming?’ Fiona asked, sounding more sprightly.

  ‘January, provided my business visa comes through by then.’

  ‘That’s only a few weeks away!’

  ‘As far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better! I can’t wait to get out of here,’ Claire said, a hint of despair seeping into her tone.

  ‘Why? Has something happened?’ Fiona asked with immediate concern.

  ‘Yes, but it’s a long story and I don’t want to ruin my good mood right now. Susan is here. I’ll put her on.’ She handed the phone to Susan who had been hovering impatiently.

  Claire was only now starting to realise how much she had missed Fiona. They’d met in college and struck up an unlikely friendship. Fiona cared more about adventure than she did rules. She dressed in bohemian clothes and liked off-beat movies and books. She was direct and outspoken, and she did what she wanted without worrying about what other people would think. Claire could now see that Michael had expanded into the gap she’d left behind, replacing her quirkiness with predictability. In hindsight, that hadn’t been a good thing.

  Claire’s obligatory four weeks’ notice flew by in a whirl of packing with the unwelcome interruption of Christmas. She tried hard but couldn’t help thinking about previous Christmases with Michael and being depressed. Was he bringing his new girlfriend home to meet the family? Or had she already met them by now? Were they doing cute things together like shopping for presents and decorating trees?

  Claire’s family lived in County Kilkenny, two hours’ drive from her flat. She arrived on Christmas Eve to find that they weren’t in very good spirits either. Her mother was depressed because Claire was leaving to live on the other side of the world with no planned date of return. Her brother was depressed because his usually adorable children were behaving like spoiled brats. Her dad was depressed because he liked a quiet life and couldn’t read his newspaper with all the chaos and noise. Much as she loved them, Claire couldn’t stick the tension and she escaped back to the city on Boxing Day, using work commitments as an excuse.

  Then, rather suddenly, it was her last day at the office. She came in, had a coffee and a chat, and set about clearing her desk.

  It was sometime after lunch when she turned around in her seat to find Michael standing behind her. He was wearing a shirt she hadn’t seen before. For some reason she found this quite upsetting.

  ‘Hi,’ he said in a low voice.

  ‘Hi yourself.’

  She didn’t intend to help him find the right words to fill the silence that followed.

  ‘I just came around to wish you good luck.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Is there something organised for after work?’

  ‘Maguire’s. You’re more than welcome to come.’ Her phone started to ring. She picked it up. ‘This is Claire speaking.’

  ‘Claire, it’s Robert Pozos.’ He spoke slowly in a Californian accent.

  ‘Oh, hello, would you mind holding a minute?’ She put her hand over the mouthpiece and turned to Michael. ‘I have to take this call.’

  He looked miffed. ‘I’ll see you later then.’

  Her hands shaking slightly, she turned back around. ‘Sorry about that, Robert. How can I help you?’

  ‘I’m just calling to see if you’re all set for the move,’ he said.

  She relaxed; he sounded nice. ‘Yes, today’s my last day. I’m a little nervous but really looking forward to it.’

  ‘That’s good. And you’ve received your letter of offer from Harry?’

  ‘Yes,’ she confirmed. ‘That came through last week and I sent the signed copy back to him straight away.’

  ‘You were happy with the terms?’

  ‘More than happy. Thank you for being so accommodating.’

  ‘It’s no trouble. I’m glad that all is in order. I may be in Sydney later this year so I guess I’ll see you then. Good luck.’

  ‘Thanks for everything.’

  When she put the phone down she felt strangely emotional. Then she remembered Michael and knew why. She still couldn’t trust herself not to lose it around him. She was glad that Robert had called when he did.

  As she tidied her desk, she warned the girls not to blame all future problems on her as they usually did with other ex-employees.

  ‘Remember, I’ll still be working for the same company so any derogatory comments will get back to me,’ she laughed as she skimmed through some paperwork before throwing it in the bin.

  ‘I like your filing system,’ Margaret remarked.

  ‘You should try it.’

  Then Mark came out of his office.

  ‘Can I have everybody’s attention, please? Gather around.’ He waited a few moments for people to get in place. ‘I think you will all agree that Claire is going to be sorely missed,’ he began. ‘I’m quite heartbroken to lose such a dedicated, hardworking employee.’

  ‘You’re embarrassing me,’ Claire grinned.

  ‘The positive side is that Amtech is not losing Claire and Australia is a great move for her, both personally and careerwise … Claire, we wish you all the luck in the world. We know you’ll succeed with the role in Sydney. Just have fun while you do it and don’t forget to stay in touch with us.’ Mark kissed her on the cheek and handed her a book of Aussie slang words.

  ‘Thanks … I’ll get great use out of this … I’m going to miss you all and of course I’ll also miss the unpaid overtime, the bad weather …’ She laughed even though she was close to tears.

  Michael didn’t go to Maguire’s. She wasn’t surprised. She had a good time anyway and was very fuzzy around the edges when it was time to go home.

  They put he
r in a taxi, Mark, Margaret, Susan and John crowding round to wave her off.

  ‘I meant what I said earlier,’ said Mark, ‘about keeping in touch. I know we’ll be talking about the upgrade project in a few months but don’t hesitate to call if you need some advice – and it doesn’t have to be work-related. Call if you just need to hear a friendly voice … Okay?’

  ‘Thanks, Mark. That means a lot.’

  ‘And don’t forget to send on some photos,’ Susan added.

  ‘Especially ones of the chicks on Bondi Beach,’ John put in.

  Their prolonged goodbyes and hugs had annoyed the taxi driver. He took off with a screech of brakes and Claire was suddenly very alert.

  She wound down the window and stuck out her head.

  ‘Goodbye, lads,’ she shouted. ‘And goodbye, Dublin.’

  Chapter 4

  Streaks of grey rain splattered the window as the plane began its lurching descent into Sydney. Claire felt cheated. She had left Ireland in wintry sunshine, and rain was the last thing she had expected at the end of her journey. Her eyes were stinging with exhaustion. The emotional goodbyes at Dublin airport and an uncontainable sense of anticipation had prevented her from relaxing enough to sleep.

  Judging by the queues in customs, several planes must have landed within seconds of each other. Her luggage was amongst the last pieces to be loaded onto the carousel and she was even more exhausted when she finally made her way out to the arrivals lounge.

  She spotted Fiona straight away. Excitement beamed across her face as she waved frantically before barging through the crowds to give her an enthusiastic hug.

  ‘Not too close, Fi – I haven’t washed in thirty-six hours!’ Claire gave her a weary smile.

  ‘It’s great to see you, smelly or not!’

  ‘It’s good to see you, too! I’m so happy to be here – I’m dog-tired but very happy.’

  ‘Come on, Den’s parked in a five-minute drop-off zone, so we’d better hurry,’ Fiona said and picked up Claire’s suitcase with enviable energy.

  Den was Fiona’s ex-boyfriend. He jumped out of the car to greet them, oblivious to the glares of the parking attendant who was pointedly looking at his watch. His hair was unrepentantly red and a huge smile split his face in two. His car was the most ancient vehicle Claire had ever seen, an enormous sickly green Ford Falcon that had to be thirty years old. They drove through the eastern suburbs with Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’ blaring from the battered radio. It seemed an inappropriate song for so early in the morning and it didn’t help Claire feel less disorientated.