Journey of a Lifetime

A Cocaine Lined Contract

Monday morning comes and it's back to work. Things are basically back to normal. The old files have been uploaded again onto the system.

"Mr Richardson is here" Lisa says in a panic, eyes wide

There are gasps around the office floor as he makes his way to my secluded office space. This was not in my calendar. The office is still a mess of files from the shutdown. I was not ready for this. Fuck. He never comes here unless he absolutely has to, and I have a board meeting with him in about a month. Fuck. I take a gulp of water just before he gets to my door.

"Miss Barnes" he says, voice deep

"Mr Richardson" I reply, standing to greet and nearly choking on the water I had in my throat. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He closes the door.

You're about to get your ass handed to you

Fuck

"I just wanted to chat to you prior to the board meeting next month, clear up a few things" he says, sitting down

"Of course" I reply, trying not to panic as I sit back down

He fixes his suit jacket in a power move and clears his throat. "I heard that the clearing of the system was your idea"

I lean back in my chair and pick lint from my trousers. My own power move for when I have sat down. "It was what fixed the system when it was down. Yes I made that decision when it was recommended by IT"

He unbuttons his jacket. "You realise these decisions need to come from higher up"

"Higher up don't see the stress from the offices, or the staff and the clients that they had at the time of the system being down. It needed urgency, something I know higher up cannot do"

"System does bring urgency"

"Within a five minute turn around?"

He's quiet for a moment.

"I expect not" I smile

"Zoe, you cannot make these decisions without approval"

"Then give me approval, Michael. The restart worked"

"It doesn't work like that" he yells, slamming his hand on the desk

"Then it's time we changed the way we work" I yell back, slamming my hand.

The vein in the side of his forehead was showing, almost throbbing. I've only ever called him by his first name on a couple occasions before.

"We need to change the way we work, we are in the new millennium. I am on the ground with the clients, completing the meetings, seeing the changes in what they want. I am here with the team. I did what needed to be done in the moment"

"Maybe it's about time we were on the ground a bit more"

"Just let me do my job the way I see fit, which is what is best for my team. Or fire me. Remember?"

"Which brings me to the other topic"

Here we go.

I laugh slightly. "Are you really going to lecture me about taking time off over the holidays, Michael?"

"Actually, I was going to say I thought it was a great idea to give your team some time off. They have showed an increase in productivity since the return, even with the system failure"

What?

What? "Do you mind telling Rebecca that?"

"I was actually going to have it so she wasn't your boss anymore, but on the same level, so I would basically be your boss"