EPISODE EIGHTY-FIVE
Jenny sat in the staff canteen with Graham, discussing the “Pran situation” yet
again. She stirred her latte
thoughtfully, sipped the spoon, then shook her head at Graham.
‘I mean, what was that outburst all about?
Talk about over-reaction. Stupid
prat.’
Graham pursed his lips. ‘He’s weird with
a capital W. Uncommunicative.’
Jenny shrugged and turned her hands upwards on the table, as if Pran’s attitude
was beyond her comprehension. ‘I like to think of us as a friendly team. But, when something like that happens, you
feel you need to keep your distance from your staff. You see Martin, the team leader over
there...’
Graham started to turn round.
‘No, don’t make it obvious – he’ll know we’re talking about him. Well, rumour has it that he told one of his
managers not to have lunch with his staff.
You’ll lose your credibility as a manager, he said.
Graham adopted a horrified expression.
‘But that’s terrible. It’s
so...so gradist.’
Jenny shook her head. ‘Yes, but when you
get pompous idiots like Pran shouting his disapproval across the office, it
makes you wonder if you shouldn’t keep your distance. They lose all respect for you otherwise.’
Graham examined his fingernails thoughtfully.
‘At least we don’t have any problems with anyone else on the team. D’you suppose it’s because he’s...how can I
put this? – because he’s got a chip on his shoulder?’
Jenny nodded emphatically. ‘A lot of
them have, if you catch my meaning.’
‘Still,’ said Graham, with a small shrug, ‘I can’t fault his work. He’s very efficient. But it’s his manner, and the bad atmosphere
he creates in the office.’
‘He should lighten up.’
‘It’s his personality, I suppose. He
can’t help being a miserable sod.’
Jenny looked around the canteen before leaning in to Graham. ‘I mean, I try to be inclusive, as I know you
do, Graham. That’s why I’ve arranged a
team building awayday next month.’
A new member of their team hovered near their table, trying to catch either
Graham or Jenny’s eye.
Jenny leaned even further in to Graham and dropped her voice. ‘Oh look out!
Bandits at ten o’clock. It’s that new Admin Assistant looking for a
table. I can’t cope right now. If she comes over, tell her we’re sorry,
we’ve got an important agenda to discuss.’
Graham looked out the corner of his eye at the new assistant, then looked
relieved. ‘It’s okay. She’s found an empty table.’
Jenny smiled at Graham and sipped her coffee.
*
Mary opened her mouth, tried to speak, but her thoughts were jumbled. Ronnie watched her carefully, his manner
deliberately laid-back., his smile calculating, enjoying her discomfort.
‘Hello, Ronnie,’ she muttered, after an uncomfortable silence.
Ronnie’s grin widened. ‘What would you
say if you could speak?’
‘Still using the same old lines, Ronnie?’
‘Good ole reliable. That’s me.’
‘Oh yes. So reliable, you go off to America
for years.’
‘Now don’t start, baby. You were the one
who got a court order preventing me from seeing the kids. So there didn’t seem any point in sticking around.’
Mary’s eyes narrowed as she stared suspiciously at her ex. ‘So how d’you find
out where I’m living now?’
Ronnie tapped the side of his nose. ‘We
have ways. Where are the kids?’
‘They’re not home from school yet.’
‘You don’t let them walk home on their own.
Isn’t that dangerous?’
The school’s at the end of the street. A
hundred yards away.’
Ronnie frowned thoughtfully. ‘Even so.’
A short stab of fear sliced into Mary’s heart.
‘The order...the court order,’ she began burbling. ‘It still stands, Ronnie. You can’t expect...’
He put up a surrender hand to stop her.
‘Whoa! It’s a lot of water,
baby. Can’t we let bygones be bygones? People change, you know.’
‘Not that much. Except your hair’s grey now.’
Grinning, Ronnie ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. ‘It’s all the worry of missing you, babe.’
Mary stared at him, deadpan. He hadn’t
changed that much physically, apart from his grey hair, which had once been jet
black. His eyebrows were still coal
black. He was suntanned, and his neck
was thicker, bullish, as if he worked out regularly. Apart from that, he was still exactly as she
remembered him, conventionally handsome, although his eyes were rather small.
‘You got my letter and postcard?’ he asked.
‘You warned me you were coming.’
He chuckled, knowing what she was thinking.
‘I didn’t mean to keep you in suspense, sweetheart. If I’d known you were going to worry...’
‘You knew damn well I’d worry, Ronnie.
More psychological tricks?’
Ronnie pantomimed innocence elaborately.
‘May I be struck down dead if I tell a lie. I was detained on business. Had to take a trip to Mexico. But I’m here now.’
Mary sighed. ‘Yes, you’re here now.’
Dave, having heard most of this conversation from the kitchen, decided it was
time to put in an appearance. Ronnie
raised his eyebrows when he saw him.
‘Well, well, well. Is this the new
boyfriend?’
Mary introduced him and the two men shook hands briefly.
‘You might as well come in and have a cup of tea or coffee,’ said Dave. ‘Then you can see the kids.’
He avoided eye contact with Mary, who was trying to flash him a warning. But Ronnie noticed it and grinned cockily at
Mary as he entered.
*
Pran sat opposite Jenny in her office, and shifted uncomfortably in the silence
as she flicked through the pages of his appraisals. His foot bumped against the desk and she
looked over the papers at him.
‘On the whole, you’ve not done too badly, but some of your box markings are a
bit on the low side. There are some
areas causing deep concern.’
Pran coughed lightly before speaking.
‘Can you be more specific?’
‘It’s your communication skills, or rather your deficiency in this area. You seem to be withdrawn and surly. And your negative attitude creates a bad
atmosphere in the team. You seem to have
a chip on your shoulder about something.
But let’s face it, that’s fairly typical of...’
She stopped speaking, caught herself just in time, and concentrated on reading
the appraisal. Pran uncrossed his legs,
and leaned forward across her desk.
‘Typical of what?’
She refused to look at him, staring at the document. ‘Let’s talk about the previous box marking.’
Pran could feel himself burning with anger.
‘What were you going to say just then?
Let me guess. You were going to
say that’s fairly typical of an ethnic minority person, weren’t you?’
She stared at him over the paper. ‘Don’t
be ridiculous. I was going to say that it’s fairly typical of someone with a
negative attitude.’
Pran stood up and glared down at her.
‘You liar!’
She exaggerated her shock-horror. ‘Sorry?’
‘You haven’t even got the guts to say it.’
He started to leave the office.
‘Just a minute,’ she began. ‘We haven’t
finished your...’
He slammed the door so hard behind him, the glass shattered in the door. As he strode across the open plan office,
staff stopped working to watch him.
There was no going back now, he realized. He had burnt his boats. Well and truly. And
he dreaded going home to tell Alan he had walked out of his job.
IN EPISODE EIGHTY-SIX
Vanessa has a bone to pick with Lisa over Jason.