Secrets of an outcast

Shocked

I realised I had been just a little bit harsher than I probably should have been to Cameron; he was only looking out for me after all. Or he could just be being nosey, I didn't know who to trust these days.

I sighed, shook it off and then I headed down towards my office.

Almost as soon as I had taken a seat in my brown leather chair my telephone rang. I sighed inwardly as I reached to pick up the phone that rang shrill in my pounding head.

"Justin Cooper speaking" I said briefly, not bothering with being even slightly courteous.

"Justin, It's Mark Dowler HRM" The deep, almost nasal voice on the other side replied.

"Morning Mark, what's the problem" I cut to the chase.

"Well if you recall we had an application in 2 weeks ago from a lady who was titled Miss Stacey Penkins?" He explained

"Vaguely...wait, I do remember you called a whole meeting about her. But why bring this up now?" I demanded, not really concerned however, just curious.

"I strongly believe that she would be very beneficial to this company, she has straight A's in the majority of her subjects and she graduated from Cambridge University, a very prestigious university as I am sure you are aware, so me and my team have been discussing hiring her." His voice decreased in volume as he finished his last sentence.

"You can't just hire people without informing me of it first, Mark! I own this damn company, and just because you are imperative to don't go thinking I won't hesitate to come down there and fire your arse right now!" I shouted.

"I'm not doing it without informing you, I'm telling you now" There was a pause and muffled voices in the background.

"Mark? Mark!" I raised my voice.

"Yes, sorry sir. Matter of fact she's at reception now." He sounded pleased with himself.

"Mark why is she here! I demand an answer right now" I screeched.

"Because we needed a position filled so we hired her, that's my job"

"Not without my consent it is not! I think you need to re-read your job description thoroughly and then seriously consider another line of employment" I screamed down the phone as the line went dead, not even sure if he had heard me.

I rose with renewed ferocity from my chair and it crashed  soundlessly onto the floor. I rammed the door open and it made a great boom as it collided with the wall, no doubt many faces turning to me as I rampaged out my office.

All of the problems I have of my own to deal with and now Mark has hired someone that is now my responsibility purely because she got A's and a graduate of some university, I knew lots of people who had graduated from there, it wasn't like she was anything special.

 Utterly Ridiculous.

I slowed my pace, though only  fractionally, as I headed towards the lift so that no one would think I was running from some kind of arson attack. The last thing that I needed right now was a commotion.

I slammed  the call button then waited rather impatiently for it to arrive, I really needed to get that sorted.

A few people bustled out of it, a plump lady wearing a coral dress, an older gentleman with a tartan suit and a man of around my age in a plain black suit and crooked teeth. They all greeted me, the lady slightly more enthusiastically- but I just about managed to pull my lips into the shape of something that resembled a smile. I got in and proceeded towards reception where I would fire this so called Stacey, And possibly Mark too.

I was almost blinded with fury, of course I was ridiculous being this angry, or was I?... I laughed incredulously at myself for it, maybe, just maybe, I was being slightly overreactive and resolved that I should cut Mark some slack, but then again, this isn't the first time that he's pulled a stunt like this.

As soon as the doors opened I charged into the main reception and I caught a glimpse of Mark's huge teeth baring grin, my earlier resolve of cutting him some slack had melted away almost instantaniously. His eyes crinkled at the edges, proably more than any 30 year olds should.

Mark was a rather stocky man, but not fat as such. He worked out alot, I learnt this from a conversation I had overheard 2 of my female employees having in the staffroom. It had become apparent in the year that he had worked for me so far that he was very popular with the women, probably down to the blue eyes and brown hair that girls seemed to swoon over. As I looked over at him again I noticed he was now hunched back over his desk.

Thats right, you should be scared.

I made a scowl at his face, in full knowledge that he could not see me, and rested my eyes on Stacey, all of my previous anger had evaporated just like that and was replaced with a deep sadness that chilled me to my very core and filled me with the most familiar feeling of ultimate helplessness.

As my eyes swept across her face, she sparked something deep in my heart which I thought I had buried deep enough inside me to never resurface again. To say that it was the most shocking thing I had seen in my 26 years of being alive, would be putting it mildly.