Chapter 49: Consequences of a dismissal

The flight was quiet, and I arrived home a bit early. To my surprise, Jenny was sitting in the living room with an angry face.

“James, I was fired!”

I stopped. Jenny, the ideal employee, best in class in the famous Canberra course, had been fired? I asked her to tell me what happened.

“I arrived early (as always and earlier than some people I know), went to my desk to pick my personal items and went to the HR manager, since he had asked me to see him as soon as possible. He was there, congratulated me on my results in the course and started to discuss my new position of admin manager for the sales division. A promotion, higher salary, exactly how it was planned.”

Her face became very upset, even angry.

¨The phone rang, and Mr. Smythe wanted to see me. We were surprised, but I went. Before leaving he told me to be careful, since there had been incidents before. I remember what you once told me to do in a situation like this and before entering his office, put my phone on record. He was nice at the beginning, complimented me on my course, but said that he had a better offer: become his executive assistant. He’d make certain that I’d be promoted rapidly, and my salary would be increased accordingly. He always wanted to have such a beautiful woman as his personal assistant and would guarantee his personal attention to my progress in and outside the company. He was certain that we’d have a relationship that would be satisfactory for both. He was divorcing his wife in England, and he occasionally needed someone to accompany him on social events and I’d be the perfect person for this. In case I needed some money for these occasions, he’d be happy to give it to me. Did I agree? I could start immediately and perhaps we could meet at night for dinner to discuss the other responsibilities I would have.”

Now she really was angry, remembering his words.

“James, it was a weird conversation, and he did not even try to hide what he wanted - me in his bed. I waited for a moment and then said that I’d prefer to stay in the position that had been promised to me - the admin manager. I was certain that I could help the company more in that position. He stared at me and asked me whether I had understood his offer. I said yes, but I still thought I’d be more effective for the company in the admin job. He was getting upset and said that he didn’t care for admin or any other thing, he wanted me as his secretary and personal help. He told me to think twice because he was the President and he could do whatever he wanted with me, and he wanted me as his secretary! I’d better be prepared to be very friendly if I knew what was good for me! James, he was angry now and started to raise his voice, yelling at me to accept his offer or I would regret it very much.”

Jenny was furious, angry to be proposed that way by the CEO of IBM Australia.

“I got up and took my purse when he grabbed my arm. He was red in his face and asked once more whether I’d take his job and when I said no, he exploded. He became personal, saying that I had acted always as if he did not exist, that he was always compared to Allan Moise or the Count de Winter, and that he was tired of this. It was his company now and if I couldn’t follow his orders, he’d make certain that I’d be fired and whatever references I expected would be very negative, and I’d not get another job in this city. James, he was completely out of control. He asked once more whether I would change my mind, I said no, and he fired me. He called security and had me taken out of the building without even letting me get my things. James, that guy is mad! Can he do it?”

I knew the guy was mad, but it was a surprise that he had gone so far. He was obviously infatuated with Jenny and thought that he could pressure her into his bed with promotion and money, but he did not know Jenny very well. Jenny was irate.

“James, I want that man punished! If he believes he can do this to me, he’ll do it to others! Now I understand the rumors about him! Two girls already left under dubious circumstances, but nobody did anything! James, do something!”

I was furious, too. He had yelled at Jenny and had the courage to touch her! I asked for her phone and the recording confirmed every word she had said. First, I called the company to talk to the HR manager. He was apoplectic but told me that he could not do anything at this moment. He had a written order from the President to dismiss Miss Mary Ann Parker, due to comments out of order, not obeying a direct order, and trying to hit him. He knew that this was not true, but there were no witnesses, and he couldn’t do anything; he would make certain, however, that she would receive the best possible references and every cent due to her. Well, that didn’t help, but I had a much better weapon. I looked at the clock; it was late afternoon, but in New York, it would be early in the business hours. I called Bill Cunningham.

He was surprised to hear from me and after the normal courtesies, he asked why I had called him.

“Bill, you remember Miss Mary Ann Parker, my assistant?”

“Oh yes, a beautiful and very intelligent woman. What happened to her?”

“She was fired by Mr. Smythe, because she wouldn’t be available for his bed.”

There was silence on the other side and then he asked in a very formal voice. “James, tell me what happened, but remember that this is a very serious accusation!”

I told him the story and added what I had heard about from my former colleagues. The company was being run into the ground, the best people were starting to leave because of this guy, and he could be certain that at the end of the year, there would be only a skeleton left of what Allan Moise had guarded so well.

There was more silence and then the only comment was, “I’ll call you back.”

Maureen arrived and she was as perplexed as I, but she wanted action, and action now!

“James, you have a black belt! Beat him up so that he doesn’t touch another woman again! Protect your woman!”

I calmed her down and told her that I had started already my actions. She looked at Jenny, seething in her anger, and took out the Macallan.

“Jenny, drink this and empty the glass, and then we’ll discuss battle plans.” Jenny took the glass and gulped the whisky down. When she realized how strong it was, she started to cough and we ran to help her; it had, however, the desired side effect - she was calmer.

We had dinner and Bill Cunningham called back. “James, I cannot leave immediately, but I arranged my schedule, and I shall be in Sydney in four days’ time. Please transmit my apologies to Miss Parker; I know that she didn’t deserve this, but I’ll handle it now. Just make certain that she’ll be available for a meeting when I’m in Sydney. And thank you for calling, as I hadn’t realized how serious the situation had become.”

There was a moment of silence and then he continued. “Please tell also Mrs. Monahan, that I’ll have the letters she requested with me.”

Jenny was satisfied and opened a bottle of chardonnay. It helped to calm everyone down and we discussed how we could use this opportunity. She was available much sooner and Maureen started to smile.

“You, my dear, will become my assistant starting next week. Relax now for a few days, but then you enter my treadmill. If you believed that you have worked hard, just wait.”

Jenny looked at her. “From one slave driver to the other? What I did wrong in my life to deserve this?”

Maureen laughed. “You wanted to be part of us and now you pay for it. Do you regret this?”

Jenny jumped up and kissed her, then she came to me. “James, my love, I’ll never ever regret one single moment of our life together. Whatever will happen, I shall always be happy at your side.”

Maureen coughed and Jenny realized what she had done. “Maureen, James is the main reason why I’m here; but if he were not present, I’d be very happy to stay with you forever. You’re my sister, who cares for me and loves me. Don’t ever imagine that I don’t love you deep from my heart.”

Maureen smiled and hugged her. “Don’t forget that in this family teasing is an accomplished art form!”

We finished the bottle of wine and went to bed. Nobody was in the mood for action and all we did was talk some more, caress each other and at the end, after I had received my kisses, we went to sleep. I held Jenny close to me and during the night she made certain that I never let her go.

The next morning Maureen left for the office and promised to bring Jenny the financial statements and business plans we had for the Sydney branch. She would relax in her own way! Peter called me and asked what had happened. I gave him a brief summary but did not mention my call to New York. He was very upset, since he admired Jenny and confirmed that the mood in the company had gone from bad to worse.

“If you ever find a job, take me with you, James. I’ll go anywhere with you! You owe me - I introduced you to Maureen!”

I also spoke to Allan and beside his anger how Jenny had been treated, he was also interested in our plans to conquer the world. He accepted to work with us but made it clear that Ellen was his priority. When I told him about our intention to purchase the NSW company, he said that he knew the owner; he was tired and having no heirs, continued only because of his pride. There was a good chance that he might sell, and Allan promised to set up a meeting. I asked him not to say anything about our plans, just set up the meeting. I wanted to see the man in person and see how far I could go.

At night there was a very long phone call with Eileen, who was furious and wanted to kill the guy. She wanted to cancel the agreement between the companies, but I managed to bring her back to earth, promising that the guy would meet his deserved end.

It was funny; I had thought that we would have fun once Jenny was the whole day at home, but even I didn’t know our busybody. She was studying every little detail of our operation during the day and at night she quizzed us about facts and trends. Did I mention already that she was frightfully intelligent? We enjoyed each other, but it was gentle joy, and tender caresses.

The meeting with Mr. Jason Simpson, the owner of the logistics company, was set for the following Monday morning. At night we did our running; either Jenny was getting lazy, polite, tired, or we were getting better as we were not lapped anymore. We saw her coming up behind us, but she did not catch us. We also went to our martial arts class. I looked at both - Maureen was good, no doubt about it, but she did everything just to defend herself, not to hurt the other. Jenny, however, had developed her killer instinct. She had analyzed the moves, studied the weak parts of her opponent, and went for it; she stopped at the last moment, but she was very, very good at this. I wouldn’t like to be in front of her when she got mad.

The other students started to avoid practicing with her, since she just wiped the floor with them.

At the end, she practiced with me and Sensei, who called me aside at the end of the session.

“James, you have to be careful around Jenny. The way you are together on the mat is too revealing. She could beat any of my students, but when she is with you, she always stops at the last moment so that she wouldn’t hurt you. The same goes for you. She either is afraid of you or loves you very much. I would not want fear, but love is also dangerous in this sport. Think about it, James!”

We discussed this at night, but decided we could do nothing, since we just loved each other too much ... Perhaps next time Jenny could beat up Sensei ... or at least try it?

Two days later Peter called me and said that Mr. Cunningham would come to Sydney to look at operations (which were dreadful) and that a meeting had been set up with HR and all senior managers in the afternoon. At night I received a message to invite Miss Parker to a meeting at ten o’ clock with Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Smythe. Jenny entered panic mode, but I told her I would go with her, and all she had to do was tell the truth and nothing but the truth. We drilled her about her statement and that she should avoid at all costs getting angry, emotional, or vindictive.

“Whenever you feel like this, look at me and I will step in.” She promised to do this.

On Friday morning we walked to the company; Jenny in her best business outfit; light blue blouse, dark blue narrow skirt reaching her knees, a little bolero jacket, and dark blue sandals. She looked stunning. I was in my usual things, suit, white shirt, Hermès tie. When we arrived at the building Tony was there, as always.

“Good morning, Miss Parker, Count de Winter. It is a pleasure to see you again, even under these circumstances.”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Tony, we know each other well enough that you can continue to call me Mr. de Winter...”

He smiled “Yes, sir. I’ll do that, Count.” His smile deepened; it was fun for him.

We were led to a meeting room, and it took a few minutes before the door opened and Mr. Cunningham entered, followed by Frederick Smythe. Bill was smartly dressed in his black suit and a red bowtie, while Smythe looked like a dandy - a dark green suit, a pink shirt, and tie adorned with dancing animals. They asked us to sit, and Bill started.

“I’m here because I’ve been informed about a potentially explosive situation. Smythe, you have been accused by Miss Parker of sexually harassing her and firing her when she did not give in to your desire.”

Smythe exploded. “Mr. Cunningham, nothing of this is true. I don’t know why you even asked her to come here. And what is that guy doing here?”

“Smythe, let’s do this in a correct way. She’ll state her accusation and you can respond. I just want to advise that I hate lying. Be careful with what you say. Mr. de Winter is here because she wanted it, and I know James well enough to say that he’ll help resolving the situation. So, Miss Parker, please start.”

Jenny made her statement as we had discussed at home and Mr. Cunningham listened without showing any reaction. Then he turned to Smythe.

“Now it is your turn.”

“Nothing of this is true. I offered her a job and she rejected my offer. To my surprise she became very upset and used a language that I thought unbecoming to a lady. I told her that and when I offered her a glass of water to calm down, she tried to slap me. She told me that she hated the company, that I was an incompetent manager, and that she’d tell everyone what she knew about our plans and strategies. I had no other choice, but to dismiss her.”

Mr. Cunningham looked at Jenny. “Miss Parker, what do you say?”

She asked whether she could put some questions to Mr. Smythe, and he agreed.