Happy ever ... after

Chapter 11

'Emily, do you have five minutes?'

She had not seen him coming.

'What for?'

'I have something to tell you. Come with me.'

Mark walked to the kitchen. She left her desk to join him.

For once, she had enjoyed returning to work. She never thought she would feel that way on a Monday morning, but after the eventful weekend, she had happily immersed herself in her job.

Mark's voice indicated bad news. Whatever he was about to say could not be good. He whispered. That was something Emily had never heard him do before – not that he was any good at it anyway – and this was a bad sign. He looked around, making sure they were alone before speaking.

'I heard two managers talking about plans for some restructure.'

'What? Where did you hear that?'

'I'm not sure you want to know... But they were talking about some big changes. I think we could lose our jobs.'

'Wait, are you sure?'

'They spoke in low voices, but I definitely heard what they said. I think they are planning to sell our branch to an Indian supplier.'

'Shit. But what does that mean for us?'

'We either work for the new guys, or we're out.'

'They can't do that to us.'

'Of course they can. If it's cheaper to get our job done in India, they'll do it. They care about money, not employees.'

'But when is it happening?'

'That, I don't know. But earlier on, I saw the boss go to a meeting. I checked her calendar, and it was a big working group with HR. When she came back, she looked agitated.'

'Oh shit. I really can't lose my job now.'

'Me neither, but I'm already preparing my CV just in case. Listen, don't tell anyone, ok? Let's keep this between us.'

Shock and panic flooded her mind for a couple of minutes before denial took over. This was not possible. Things like this happened to other people, not to her. Still, Mark seemed pretty convinced, and he was not easy to scare. There was nothing they could do. She had been working there for many years, her CV was several years old. She couldn't see herself rewriting it or going back through job interviews. What else could she do, though?

In the evening, she confided in Olivier. He did not panic, and his calm reassured her somewhat. Much more accustomed to business management than she was, he explained that it would take time for everything to come together and that she would probably receive 'a nice dollop of cash' as a result anyway. He wanted to calm her down, of course. It was his duty to do so, after all. But she did not believe him, and the unexpected news still very much threatened to disturb the newfound stability in her life.

The following morning, Mark had no more information to give in answer to her many questions. Her anxiety had grown. She called Sarah for comfort, but her advice did nothing to soothe Emily's nerves. Everything happens for a reason, she had said.

'If you have to leave the bank, well, it's because your time has come, that's it.'

'But I hadn't planned for that when I took the apartment... I have rent to pay now.'

'So what? It's not a big deal, you can break the lease and stay at Olivier's if it comes to it.'

This took Emily by surprise. It was something that hadn't occurred to her at all. And now that it had been aired, she could not find a way to make it resonate with her.