Dirty Break (18+)

In Which this Bitch Bites Back

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Lydia hadn't necessarily intended to blurt the expletive out like that, but no more could she have stopped it. Her colleague's heads swung towards her with the speed of people who were bored out of their minds and awaiting the next drama with bated breath.

"Excuse me? I think you and I both know, Lydia, that that is simply not appropriate language for the workplace, no matter how laid back that place may be."

Lydia snorted at that; NuMedi@ was laid back only to those employees who had been with them for years and, as far as she could tell, held something over their employer which allowed them to get away with all but murder. She had already had two verbal warnings purely and simply for disagreeing with what her direct manager said and she had no intention of not speaking her mind any time soon – her present predicament was proof of that.

"Mr Jones, I would apologise for my language, but If you paid any attention at all to the work-force, you would realise that it is entirely understandable and even necessary."

Laughter followed her statement, but she harboured no illusions that the surrounding people found the situation funny in the traditional sense. They were simply enjoying the fact that they were not in her position, the fact that she was probably saying what some among them were thinking.

Mr Jones operated on a mixture of bravado, machismo and the fact that he was one of the members of staff who had been at NuMedi@ for years. Essentially, from what she could tell, he did not have a lot more going for him than that. He gaped at her, mouth opening and closing with the shape of words he could not seem to formulate until he eventually the pressure of a room full of stares bolstered him and he managed it.

"I suggest you report to Mr Lockwood's office immediately, Lydia. I will follow you in just a moment to let him know exactly why you are paying him the visit."

There were whispers, mutters and even outright gasps around the room, as though she had just been sentenced to death instead of told to do what she had been going to do anyway – pay a visit to the man who might actually be able to put a stop to the blatant theft and bullying rampant in their workplace ... if only to keep her from taking it higher.

Although she was entirely convinced that she wasn't in the wrong, Lydia felt a stirring of nerves as she took a seat in the chair opposite Mr Lockwood. He was not a young man but he was an imposing one – in fact if anything the grey threading through at his temples and streaking the very tips of his hair made him more intimidating.

"Would you care to tell me why you have been sent to my office like a naughty child, Miss Granger? I hope I did not make an error in judgement by offering you the apprentice role here with us."

He didn't know it, but he had just given her the ammo she needed to take it all the way – if there was one thing she was sure of it was that she deserved to be where she was as much as many of her colleagues did and more so than some. She should have been given the chance ... she should have been given more chances, rather than left to languish in the shadows of her so-called mentors. She was not big-headed by a long shot; in fact, she was often known to be a little humbler than she needed to be, but she was young and eager to learn and willing to do what it took to succeed without stepping on people's toes if she could help it.

"I can promise you, sir, that you did not make a mistake in hiring me. If you allowed me to have just a little more freedom you would understand just how much of a boon I could be to the company. Instead I just get relegated to maid duties and the occasional interview, whilst men who don't put half the work in get all the glory."

She hated to do it – not because rampant sexism in the workplace was in any way ok, but because she felt like she was using a cliché to get ahead. But if her boss thought that leaving new, capable blood to languish whilst good ol' boys of the worst kind kept their jobs with absolutely no effort whatsoever she was not above pointing the error of his ways out to him.

"Those men have worked here for years, Miss Granger – they have paid dues that you are yet to imagine. Why should I take a chance on you when six months in to your apprenticeship you're already showing unwilling to put in the time?"

"The men who have worked here for years know exactly what they can get away with; they steal any ideas that the newbies come up with as though it's some sort of hazing ceremony and then they get given the job as a reward."

"These are serious allegations, you understand, Miss Granger? Do you have any proof of this matter?"

Although Mr Lockwood's tone was all serious, Lydia had the feeling that her definition of proof would differ greatly to his and she could guess which standard she would be held to.

"Do you mean have I managed to sneak a recording device within the vicinity of these men and their nefarious deeds? Record them plotting to pull one kver on the new girl? Of course not – but I can tell you that I've had my ideas stolen – and if you asked anybody who had ever apprenticed here I expect they would tell you the same thing."

A slight smirk lifted one side of her boss' thin mouth but he humoured her a little longer.

"And what brilliant idea was it that was stolen from you?"

"The prison show idea Eric just pitched in the meeting! If you look back through our brainstorm memo you can see that I put the idea out there clear as day, with the intention to pitch it when I'd streamlined it a bit"

For the first time, Mr Lockwood looked concerned.

"Surely just a misunderstanding? If you have talked about the idea in a brainstorming session, Eric may just have changed it and developed it further."

"I mentioned it in the session with the pre-cursor that I was planning on presenting it myself and that I just wanted everyone's feedback. They all agreed. But this isn't the first time it's happened - not even the first time it's happened to me."

Lockwood hooked a finger in the collar of his shirt and tugged it away from his neck, swallowing as he did so.

"Why, if this is the case, are you only just mentioning this matter to me?"

"This is still pretty new to me. In the past I thought I might have not made myself clear enough in my intentions which is why I made sure to be specific this time. I have plenty of ideas, Mr Lockwood – somebody taking one of them is less of a concern at this moment in time than the fact that I am a glorified tea-maker. I want a chance to show what I can do and if I don't get it because some man can't be arsed to come up with his own ideas you can be sure I will be going to Ofcom and seeing what they have to say on the matter."

That was it. Lockwood's eyes bulged, and she knew she had him. She was perfectly within her rights to complain that her job was not as advertised, and although she probably would not go as far up as she had suggested, she was not beyond going to her boss' boss if it would get her what she wanted. She knew she could be good for the company, but the cliques would not let her in and that meant that nobody was willing to give her a chance.

"Please give me half an hour to speak to Eric and consider this matter, Miss Granger. You may take a break in the meantime and I will call you back in when I am finished and have considered what I might be able to sort out for you."

His turn of phrase annoyed her, but the subject matter was looking up. She gave him a small, not entirely genuine smile as she stood and walked out of the room.

**************

When Lydia returned an hour later it was to be told that although her side of things seemed to hold up, the fact remained that Eric had pitched that particular idea before her, and she had shared in an open forum despite being burned that way before. If, however, she made a pitch that they preferred at the meeting they had planned in three days time, she could do the prison show instead of Eric. It wasn't what she had been hoping for, but the idea had lost some it's shine now anyway after being stolen like that. She liked the idea of the challenge of coming up with something new and this way if she got to do the show, she'd know it was because she'd had the better idea - although that didn't really count if she had both the ideas - and not because she'd accused them of sexism and favouritism and ageism all in one fell swoop and they were scared.