by Val Collins
‘But—’
Delia raised her hand. ‘I’m not interested in excuses. I have to prepare for my meeting with Dan. Tell the other two as soon as this meeting is over, I will, for the very last time, outline exactly what I expect from my staff. You have no idea how lucky you are. The dole queues are full of people who would kill for a cushy job like yours.’ She opened the interconnecting door to her office and without turning around barked, ‘Coffee, now.’
*
‘Rachel, where the hell were you? It’s ten past nine.’
‘You wouldn’t believe the journey I had, Laura. There was some kind of accident. Traffic isn’t moving. Did she go mad?’
‘What do you think? It didn’t help that Joe hasn’t shown up either. If he’s not here before Dan arrives, he might as well not bother.’
‘Did you try his mobile?’
‘I rang both of you. Nobody answered.’
‘It’s impossible to hear anything over the sirens. What did she say?’
‘The usual. We’re having another team meeting so she can tell us “exactly what she expects from us”.’
‘As if we don’t already know. Work twelve hours a day, never express an opinion on anything and keep her supplied with endless cups of coffee.’
*
Rachel had barely switched on her computer when Dan strode into the office.
‘Morning. I love this bright, cold weather. I got off the DART in Sidney Parade and walked the rest of the way. It’s a pity I can’t make morning walks compulsory. Nothing like exercise to get the juices flowing.’
‘Morning, Dan.’
‘You’re all very subdued for a Friday. I thought you’d be full of the joys of spring.’
‘We’re so busy we forgot what day it is,’ Laura said.
‘I can expect to see you all tomorrow, then?’
‘Ha-ha!’
‘Where’s Joe?’
‘He…he went to the shop,’ Laura said. ‘We’re out of milk.’
‘Why are you wearing coats? Is the heating on the blink again?’
Rachel sighed. ‘When is it ever any other way?’
‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with you all. We need more positive attitudes around here. Maybe I’ll bring chocolate next time I come.’ He opened the interconnecting door to Delia’s office. ‘Nothing like chocolate to cheer people up. Especially the ladies.’
‘Ha-ha!’ they said dutifully.
*
‘What’s the matter with that shower out there?’ Dan growled.
‘Search me. They spend their time moaning they’re underpaid and overworked.’ Delia placed a notepad and pen on the small round table, sat down and waited for Dan to join her. ‘I carry the bulk of the workload myself. I’m here until midnight every Friday and I let them leave a half hour early, but they’ve no gratitude. They’re convinced they’re hard done by.’
‘Well, things are about to get a whole lot worse.’ Dan lowered the dial on the fan heater. ‘The board refused to introduce another round of salary cuts. They’re insisting on redundancies.’
‘For staff below manager level, I presume.’
‘No, the redundancies will affect everyone.’
‘Not me, though.’
‘I tried to keep you out of it, Delia, but the board weren’t having it.’
‘You mean—?’ Delia’s face turned red, then purple. ‘You bastard,’ she hissed.
‘Now, Delia, it’s out of my hands.’
Delia’s fingers twitched. She gripped the edge of the table. Her knuckles were white and her back ramrod straight. ‘Don’t give me that crap. You’ve been dying to get rid of me for years. Well, you’re not getting away with it. I will keep my job and I want an increase—fifteen percent, no twenty-five percent. Otherwise, I promise you everyone will find out all about the great Dan McGonigle.’
Dan’s lips stretched into a smile, but his eyes were as hard as glass. ‘You’re hysterical. You don’t know what you’re saying.’
‘Don’t I?’ Delia sprang to her feet and her chair clattered against the vinyl floor. She took two steps in Dan’s direction, then froze. Very slowly she walked backwards until she was flattened against the wall. ‘Do you think I go around with my eyes shut?’ she hissed. ‘I know exactly what you and Robert are up to. One word from me and you’ll be lucky if you don’t end up in prison. And let’s not forget the saintly Annette. How would she react if she knew about us?’
‘What “us”? It was one night, four years ago. Annette would never believe you.’
Delia saw the fear in his eyes and knew she had the upper hand.
‘Remember Ellen? DNA tests will prove you’re her father, and I’m sure the papers would love to hear how you took advantage of me.’
‘Would it be any wonder if I forgot the child when you won’t let me…hang on, are you accusing me of rape?’
‘I’m accusing you of taking advantage of your position as CEO to pressurise an employee into having sex. I was afraid my career would suffer if I refused.’
‘Give over! You were dying for it.’
‘Don’t kid yourself. You may have been good-looking in your youth, Dan, but that was a long time ago. Nobody lusts after balding, overweight sixty-something-year-olds. Do you really think those young girls you flirt with every day find you attractive? They laugh at you behind your back.’ Delia gave a thin smile. ‘Still, things could look up. You might be the centre of attraction in prison.’
Dan’s eyes narrowed, then he leaned back in his chair. ‘I’m hurt, Delia. You can’t really think I want you to leave.’ He picked up her chair. ‘Please sit down.’
Delia glared at him.
His expression calm and compassionate, Dan held her gaze until she returned to her seat. ‘That’s better. Now, you know you will always be very special to me. You’re the mother of my child.’
‘Oh, so it’s “my child” now? Don’t pretend you give a damn about Ellen. You don’t see her as your daughter. To you she’s an unexploded bomb that could wreck your precious marriage.’
‘And to you she’s a toy you won’t sha—’ He sighed. ‘I didn’t mean that. I respect your right to decide what’s best for Ellen.’
‘Because it suits you.’
‘Suits me?’ Dan shook his head. ‘This is getting out of control. You’re angry because you think I betrayed you, but since the new chairman was appointed, I can’t control the board the way I used to. Let me talk to the other directors. If I can get them on side, we might be able to convince the chairman we can’t do without you.’
‘You’d better. I’ve been very good to you, Dan. I’ve kept your secrets. I didn’t even tell my family about our relationship, and have I ever asked for child support? Well, I’ve had enough. I keep my job and I get a twenty-five percent increase, or life as you know it is over.’
Dan moved his chair closer and put an arm around her. ‘Be reasonable. How can I get you an increase when people are losing their jobs?’
‘I don’t care how you do it!’ Delia screamed, shrugging off his arm. ‘Just make sure I get what I want.’
‘Bloody hell, Delia, are you looking for an excuse to cause trouble? It’ll be a miracle if I can talk the board into keeping you. They have big plans for your salary.’
Delia’s entire body went rigid. Take it easy, she told herself. You can win this. ‘Let them make someone else redundant.’ She hoped he couldn’t hear the tremble in her voice.
‘We’d have to let four people go to save that amount. Staff levels are already cut to the bone, and the board won’t even consider further salary cuts. Even if I could talk them into a smaller saving, at the very least we’d have to make two people redundant. We can’t fill redundant positions, so how would we operate without those roles? It’s not possible.’
‘You think you can function without a manager?’
‘The board will give Laura an extra three thousand to act as supervisor. She can keep some of her current duties and divi
de the rest between Joe and Rachel.’
The silence that followed was broken by Delia’s heel tapping the leg of the table. ‘What if two people resign? We could replace them with interns. That wouldn’t cost anything, and we’d save on the redundancy payments.’
‘Nobody is going to give up a good job in this economy.’
‘You never know. Leave it with me. If two staff resign, do you guarantee my job is safe and I get my increase? You can call it a productivity bonus. I’ll negotiate again next year.’
‘Will they leave by next week? They’re announcing the redundancies at Friday’s board meeting.’
‘I don’t see why not. Do we have a deal?’
‘Hmm, maybe.’
‘What do you mean “maybe”? I—’
‘Okay, okay,’ Dan said. ‘If two people leave by next Friday, I should be able to save your job and get you that increase.’
*
Delia’s screech had penetrated the partition separating her from the outer office. Laura, Joe and Rachel exchanged glances, then sprang into action. Joe rushed to the corridor, ready to delay anyone planning to enter the office. He leaned against the office door, one hand on the handle, ready to jiggle it if anyone approached. Several people walked past. Some looked at him curiously, but the combination of his height, bulk and reputation was enough to prevent any questions. Laura waited on the opposite side of the door, ready to react to Joe’s signal. Rachel put her ear against the partition and tried to decipher the now muffled voices. She glanced at Laura occasionally and shrugged. They both jumped when a chair scraped against the floor. Laura signalled Joe, and all three were sitting at their desks when Dan entered. Dan rarely passed up an opportunity to perform, and they were subjected to several minutes of inane conversation. The moment he left, they gathered around Rachel’s desk.
‘I didn’t hear much,’ she whispered, one eye on the closed interconnecting door. ‘Just “redundancies” and “salary cuts,” but Dan mentioned all of us.’
Laura sank down on Rachel’s desk. ‘Did you hear anything earlier?’
‘I think Delia mentioned Robert, but I’m not sure.’
‘Probably making more people redundant so that plonker can be promoted again,’ Joe said. ‘How many times is it now?’
‘Three this year and twice last year. He’s only two stages from CEO. I wouldn’t mind if we hadn’t started on the same day and he was the one with no experience. His salary increased by fifty thousand in the last three years and mine went down by six thousand. How is that fair?’
Laura reached across her and switched the phones to voicemail. ‘He’s progressing at a great rate, all right. Nothing to do with his father being the CEO, of course.’
‘It’s just not right. What are we going to do? There aren’t any jobs out there. I’ve been looking for ages.’
‘You’ll find something, Rachel. It mightn’t be the job you want, but you’re still in your twenties and you have good experience. What about me? Nobody’s going to hire a thirty-eight-year-old mother of four who can only work three days a week.’
‘You don’t have to tell them you have kids, and at least you have a husband to pay the mortgage. I don’t even have a mortgage. The minute I can’t pay the rent, I’m out on the streets.’
‘I’ve only made one payment on me mortgage,’ Joe said. ‘I’ll be in hock to the bank for the rest of my life, and Anne and I will have to move in with me ma.’
‘Look, you two, they can’t get rid of us all. Can you see Delia doing our jobs as well as whatever it is she does all day? We don’t know why Dan mentioned our names. He might have been talking about people who won’t be made redundant.’
‘At least one of us is bound to get the chop.’
‘You don’t know that, Joe. Let’s have lunch out today. We’ll need something to cheer us up after this meeting.’ Laura removed her coat and hung it on the back of her chair. ‘Come on, we’d better not keep the Fuhrer waiting.’
*
Aoife took the Luas from Heuston to Abbey Street. She was standing at the lights, waiting to cross O’Connell Street, when she felt eyes on her back. When she turned, she spotted a man in a black hoodie hurrying in the opposite direction. At the lights near Trinity, she looked behind her again. A man in a black hoodie was looking at the ground. As she walked up Dame Street she saw three young men in black hoodies on the opposite side of the road. ‘For God’s sake,’ she muttered. Half the young men in Dublin wore black hoodies. Did pregnancy make you paranoid? She imagined her mother roaring with laughter at the question and had to bite her lip to stop the tears welling in her eyes. There was no time for this. Eyes fixed straight ahead, she hurried up the street.
*
Rachel stuffed her coat and bag into the small cupboard containing the hoover and cleaning products, then tiptoed down the corridor. She took care not to let the office door creak as she sneaked inside. Satisfied that Delia’s door was fully closed, she lifted her chair so it wouldn’t scrape against the floor and switched on her computer. She changed her print settings from the office printer to the photocopier in the print room and selected the documents she required. Ten minutes later, she was tiptoeing towards the door when Delia’s phone rang.
‘Hi, honey,’ she heard Delia say. ‘Oh God, I completely forgot. It’s been a hectic day.… Are you sure?… Thanks. How long will you be?… Fine, see you then.’
*
Okay, this time nothing will stop you. Deep breath. Move.
*
Delia yawned, unplugged the fan heater and reached for her mug. How could she have forgotten? It must be the stress. She’d barely been able to think all morning, and the afternoon had been devoted to her staff reduction plan. She gave a sigh of relief that she’d kept her part of her bargain with Dan. By the end of the week there would be two less staff. She was proud of the way she’d handled the situation, and, whatever they said, she couldn’t see either of them causing any real trouble. Everything would soon be back to normal. All in all, things had worked out rather well. Today had proved she could hold it together when she had to. It had been touch and go there for a while, but she had gotten through it without hurting anyone.
Delia yawned again, sipped her coffee and grimaced. The downside of forcing her underlings to make coffee was they sometimes used it to get revenge. She’d become accustomed to coffee that didn’t taste quite right, but this was dire. It would have to do. She needed something to wake her up. She took the magazine from her desk and flicked though the pages, smiling when she saw a quiz entitled “Is your relationship on the right track?” This was going to be her year. Her eyes closed. She was drifting off to sleep when she thought she heard a noise. As she struggled to sit up, the cathedral bells chimed six o’clock. That must have been what woke her. She put her head down on the desk. Fifteen minutes’ sleep and she’d be raring to go.
*
Three Days Later
‘Morning,’ Aoife shouted over the noise of the hoover. ‘Josie, isn’t it?’
Josie switched off the hoover and put both hands on her hips. ‘You’re the new one, right? Did you take my key?’
‘What key?’
‘The key to the HR office. That Delia one says the office has to be locked every night, so Laura gave me a key. I keep it in the cupboard with the J-cloths and the dishwasher tablets. It’s never gone missing before.’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about it, but I can let you in now.’
‘Are you having me on? Do you know what time it is? I already wasted half the morning looking for the blooming key. I have grandkids to get to school. You think I’m going to start cleaning the office at this hour? It’s not my fault someone nicked the key.’
‘No, of course not. I’ll explain to Laura why you couldn’t clean the office, and I’m sure she’ll get you a new key. Is there anything else I can do to help?’
Josie smiled. ‘Sorry, love, it’s not your fault. It’s just that snooty cow gets up my nose. Yo
u know she wrote me a note once? Two inches high each letter was. Does she think I can’t read? “THERE IS DUST ON MY TABLE. DO NOT LET ME SEE DUST HERE AGAIN.” I’m telling you, it’s a good thing I’ve never run into her. I’d give her a piece of my mind, you can be sure of that.’ She unplugged the hoover. ‘What are you doing here at this hour, anyway? You should be taking it easy in your condition.’
‘You sound like my husband. He won’t let me take the train “in my condition”, so we have to be in Dublin before rush hour. Why he thinks that’s better for me than an extra hour in bed, I’ve no idea.’
‘You’re lucky to have him. My young one’s fella took off the minute he heard she was pregnant. Never saw him again, any of us.’ She picked up the hoover. ‘I’m off. You take care of yourself now, love.’
Aoife made herself a cup of tea, read her newspaper and phoned Jason. She had been hired to do a compliance check on the HR files, but, as she didn’t have keys to the filing cabinet, she couldn’t start work until Laura arrived. She finished her tea and headed for the office.
The interconnecting door to Delia’s office was slightly ajar. As Aoife removed her coat, several loose coins fell out and rolled around the room. Holding on to the desk for balance, Aoife got down on her knees and shuffled around, collecting them. The last one had rolled into Delia’s office. Aoife shoved open the door and picked it up. She was manoeuvring herself into a standing position when she noticed the shoe. Black suede with a gold buckle and a six-inch heel. It was lying on its side in the middle of the floor. As she straightened up, Aoife saw two stockinged feet dangling in the air. She let her eyes travel up to the woman’s knees, then, covering her mouth with both hands, she clamped her eyes shut and backed out of the room.
TWO
Three Months Later
Jason was sprawled out on the armchair fast asleep, his dinner untouched on the coffee table beside him. Aoife crouched down and touched his cheek. Jason opened one eye and smiled.