The Holly Man

The Orientation

After a poor night's sleep in her unfamiliar new apartment which was really more like a multifunctional single room, Amy followed the red-haired woman who'd introduced herself as Liz into the area beyond the meeting rooms she'd seen at the interview. Her long maroon skirt flapped around her legs and she pulled the paisley patterned tunic top over her bottom self-consciously to hide it as she walked. It was open plan in the style of most modern offices and Liz pointed to a desk. "This is yours. You can book a desk on the system from today, but most of us stick to the same ones." Amy nodded and spotted Raj a couple of rows across, holding forth about football to two men, and seemingly very comfortable in his new surroundings. There was a laptop on the desk and Liz set about showing her how to set up and navigate the mandatory education with little in the way of small talk and a complete absence of personal information. Apart from a break to get coffee from the small kitchen Amy spent the morning behind the laptop, quietly observing the characters around her. Shortly after arriving she saw Will crossing the floor to sit in his glass fronted office, but if he noticed the new recruit he didn't acknowledge her. Richard however did pay a visit to her desk from his own office. She was relieved when he was swiftly diverted from talking to her by a phone call due to the growling noises her badly behaved stomach was making. Liz rolled her eyes slightly as soon as he'd gone, "Haven't you eaten?" Amy felt the redness rising from her neck,

"Yes, I did. It's just nerves, sorry." she said

"There's plenty of sandwich places around here for lunch." she said, "The supermarket just opposite does a meal deal, so most people head over there." She paused and pointed under the desk, "I bring my own."

At midday Amy got up and grabbed her jacket. "So I'll just go out for a bit and get that sandwich." Liz nodded reaching into her bag to pull out a plastic box. Relieved to be able to escape the unfamiliarity of her new environment, Amy glanced in the direction of the offices and was slightly alarmed to see her new boss look up. He seemed to be observing her closely, and it only increased her sense that she didn't fit in here at all. Her shoulders dropped and the tightness in her chest eased as she walked out of the building into the fresh air of the warm autumn day. She walked to the supermarket Liz had mentioned and bought an inoffensive chicken salad sandwich that wouldn't make her breath smell, eating it on a bench down by the river. After half an, hour she reluctantly got up to walk back, taking her bottle of water, not wanting to take too long or be late.

Before she could use her new pass to get back through the door a smiling woman in a smart black trouser suit just ahead of her held it open, "Hi, I'm Fern. You must be Amy yes?"

"Thanks, yes, I am." she said as they walked past the kitchen, "I just started today."

"How are you finding it?" the aforementioned Fern asked.

"Yeah, good, well I've only really got my accounts set up and done some education. Liz said she'll give me some information on the first project I'm on this afternoon." They paused by the first set of desks where Fern dropped her bag nodding her head towards Liz.

" Liz is still reading the news. Nothing gets done until she's had her hour reading the FT on her phone. We can grab a drink if you like before you start." Amy felt her mouth turn up and she dropped her own bag on Fern's desk and followed her to the kitchen. Pointing to her water when her new companion lifted a mug, they took seats at the white melamine table and watched as Raj appeared. He was wearing the immaculate suit and tie Amy had noticed at the interview, but the older man with him had a more casual look with an open necked shirt. Spotting his fellow new starter at the table Raj stopped dead,

"Holy shit! You're the last person I expected to see! Been to have a 'ickle cry in the ladies yet?" Amy wanted to escape but all she could do was pretend she was unaffected and wait for the moment to pass. Getting little to no reaction Raj went to leave, but his companion stopped next to Fern.

"Hi, I'm Jon Priestly," he said clearing his throat, "I lead one the client teams. You must be Amy. Welcome aboard." Amy reached to shake his hand and the two men left. Fern raised her eyebrows.

"He's very full of himself. How do you know him?"

"I met him at the interview." Amy said shaking her head, "I said something monumentally stupid, and to tell you the truth I'm as surprised as he clearly is that I got the job."

"Now I'm intrigued!" Fern laughed, "But Rich and Will don't recruit anyone very often so you must have had something they wanted."

"What are they like?" Amy sighed, "Liz wasn't giving anything away." Her companion lifted one side of her lip,

"Richard's a really nice guy to work with but Will...it's hard to say to be honest." She drank some coffee, "He's demanding to work for, but I mean fair enough, he's the boss. But none of us know much about him, he never gets personal really at all. Cold as ice. No wife, but I don't think he's gay or anything. He shows up for functions sometimes with a girlfriend, but it's never the same one. His PA Sally says he lives on his own, out in a big old farmhouse in Pensford."

Amy didn't respond so Fern changed the subject. "So how about you? Are you a local?"

"No, I'm from Evesham. I've just moved into a flat here."

"Ahh right, handy for Friday drinks after work then!" Fern grinned and stood up. "Better get back I suppose. Nice to meet you and if you need anything, feel free to give me a shout." Amy nodded gratefully and returned to grab her bag and return to Liz.

Her first assignment was a range of analysis to support an up-coming pitch for a new client. Liz forwarded the meeting request for the whole project team to meet with Richard the following day. Leaving for the evening Amy said goodnight to Liz and left as swiftly as she could. She let herself into the sparsely furnished apartment and leaned on the closed door, letting the tears flow. She whispered to the empty room, "What the hell have I done?" She took her jacket off and wiped her nose on the paisley top. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her phone and reluctantly called home to catch her mum before the carer came.

***

When everyone had filed out of Richard's office the following day, he checked his watch and made his way to his catch up with Will. His boss didn't even look up as he entered but said, "So are we all organised for next week?"

"Yep" he said taking a seat at the meeting table, "We've got Liz leading on the analysis and Jonathan leading on the plan and the running order. They've got a new recruit each."

"Good. We need them to earn their keep." Will said moving to sit opposite.

"Yeah, it'll be good to get them some client exposure."

"Not her." Will's tone was firm. "She stays here."

"How's that going to look?" Richard said his voice rising an octave, "I've already told her to go over there Wednesday morning! You were the one that wanted to recruit her, and now you want to leave her in the office like bloody Cinderella."

"I don't care" his boss returned flatly. "She's not ready."

Richard picked up his pen and left without wasting another word. Will moved back to his desk, but paused to glance across the floor to where Richard was clearly letting Amy know she was now excluded from the client visit. He watched carefully as she bit her lip and nodded. Will couldn't be sure, but he thought he detected her eyes turning glassy, and he felt a stab of regret that she wouldn't know his good intentions as he watched her plaster a fake smile on her face to reassure Richard. She looked up and caught him observing the scene. She looked defeated he thought, and he considered sending her an internal message to explain that his motive was only to spare her added pressure, to nurture her, but with a sigh he thought better of it and returned to his desk.