Tuesday, 4 August 2009
12:34pm
Allison & Omari main staff pantry
It has been years since I’d set foot in this room. But the dynamics remained unchanged.
As you enter, the wall facing you held the countertop for the microwaves and coffee makers for the sales team staff. The counters along the left wall for the editorial and design staff, and the right wall for the admin departments. The sales team microwaves were the top of the line ones with grill and steam functions. God knows why they needed these features for, since they lunched outside quite often.
The message was clear. Sales took centrestage, all others fuck off and get out of the way.
Elise was greeted with smiles and ‘hi-how-are-you’s, which she acknowledged with grace and sincerity. The smiles dropped when staff saw the stuffed suits accompanying her. As far as they could tell, we meant trouble.
We sat at a table and engaged in idle talk as we ate. She shared that she had joined 3 years ago and was an Assistant Manager. Elise had rotated through HR, Finance and Operations. The rest of the turnaround team shared about their work, but only briefly. They were mindful of upholding confidentiality, no matter how disarming Elise was. She perched herself on a chair and crossed her legs in a lady-like manner, skirt riding up to display a good bit of thigh and the slightly tanned skin on her legs.
She took dainty bites out of her felafel and cheese sandwich, and always made sure to cover her mouth with a manicured hand if she were to laugh or speak in between bites. Aside from the fact that I noted no ring on her finger, I was thinking: my god - felafel and cheese. How to have energy to get through the day?
My double deck Cajun beef and cheese sub looked obscene in comparison.
We finished quickly, and Elise excused herself to return to her desk. She’d swing by to gather us for the Directors’ meeting at 3pm.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
3:08pm
Conference Room, Allison & Omari
The Allison & Omari acquisition was negotiated by their Board members and Manticore. Apparently, talks had been going on for quite a while before mutually agreeable terms were reached between both parties. I think Darren and Nuruddin kept me in the dark in case I got all hot-headed and impulsive and did something stupid to jeopardise the acquisition. The intention was for Manticore to worm it’s way into publishing.
Now with the rise of ebooks like Kindle, why bother?
The endgame, in this case, was to acquire credible trade titles and then make them go electronic, and charge on a subscription basis. Going electronic meant cutting out production costs in terms of printing, distribution and warehousing.
Allison & Omari’s key titles were:
Aloft
– for aviation,
Trident
– for oil and gas,
Helix
– for medical advancements, and
Acumen
– for investment and finance.
Through the lengthy negotiations, preliminary terms and turnaround outlines were drawn up and further debated upon. Now that the deal was inked for Allison & Omari to be acquired by Manticore, all Archna had to do was to see that these plans were implemented. Inevitably, there’d be some restructuring and accompanying job losses. And that’s what the meeting with the Directors was going to convey.
Elise opened the door, and ushered us in.
I did not expect the Conference Room to be like a
pasar malam
. I’d anticipated only the key Directors to be present, but also with them were what I assumed were mid-level managers and supervisors. Well, with jobs on the line, I suppose folks would want to hear about their fate from the horse’s mouth.
Many pairs of eyes, most viewing us with suspicion, followed us as we made our way to the front of the Conference Room to present our plans for Allison & Omari.
Elise was bent over a notebook, opening our deck of presentation slides. I couldn’t help but notice her butt, so shapely and well-proportioned. I’d ride her like no tomorrow… And those legs that extended from her skirt…
I noticed a couple of younger blokes elbowing each other and eyeing Elise. Tracking their gaze, it was apparent that they were enjoying a down blouse eyeful of her cleavage. And she was blissfully oblivious.
My eyes scanned the crowd. I saw Mr Subra, and he recognised me as well, beaming a smile and nodding at me. I didn’t see DF and Selene in the crowd. I’d catch up with Mr Subra and ask him where they were now. The sales director who had played a part in making my life miserable had left, as I gathered from the file Elise handed to us in the morning. Fuck, one less fucker I get to fire.
I saw the MILF sales lady Lay Eng seated at the table, and I wondered if she’d been promoted. She was looking even MILF-ier. Her expression of surprise when she recognised me was priceless, but she kept her composure.
“All yours,” Elise chirped as she breezed past me and handed me the wireless laser presenter. I inhaled and delighted in her scent.
“Well,” I addressed those present, “Thanks for coming, we from Manticore would like to share-”
And right at that moment, the President, Mr Chiang, the head fucker extraordinaire of the company, strode in.
The President walked into the Conference Room without even giving the turnaround team nor I a glance or an acknowledgement. He strode to the end of the long table opposite from us, and one of his flunkies vacated a chair for him to sit. Mr Chiang sat down, tilted the chair back as he laced his fingers together and put his arms around his head.
I had a sudden image of a male peacock spreading his plumage to attract attention.
I rolled my eyes, and continued.
“Welcome Mr Chiang, so glad that you could join us," I said with a hint of sarcasm. “No doubt everyone’s eager to hear how Allison & Omari will be brought to greater heights, with Manticore as a partner…”
The presentation went on autopilot. The turnaround team and I had gone over it a few times, and we each took a segment of the session to explain how to stem the cash bleeding, what new strategic directions have been set, the kind of changes that these will bring about, and how processes running the gamut of the company can be streamlined.
Mr Chiang looked disinterested. Asshole probably thinks that he’s untouchable. He was playing with his iPhone, making comments quietly to his flunkies and chuckling at certain parts of the presentation.
The turnaround team has seen all these kinds of passive-aggressive behaviour before, and weren’t in the least affected. Like I said, they’re all very competent professionals.
I stood off to the side after I had finished my bit, and once again cast my eyes around the room.
Mr Subra was nodding his head slowly, agreeing with the point that editorial content is key, and that the team should be appropriately resourced and compensated.
There were murmurs in the room when Seha covered the topic of downsizing. The hard truth was that the downsizing could take place as early as within a fortnight.
“Who gets fired first?” a joker asked.
“Not sales!” shouted another and that drew a large cheer from the back of the room.
We wrapped up the session with a comment that the turnaround team and I will work closely with the respective Directors to ensure a smooth transition and a return to profitability.
“Any questions you’d like to pose?” I asked.
“Yes,” Mr Chiang said almost instantly. “Haven’t I seen you before somewhere?”
There was silence in the room. And everyone was looking at me. For an answer.
“Isn’t he the one from that annual dinner?” some idiot blurted.
A commotion rose in the room. We waited for it to die down.
“Well…” said Mr Chiang, “It’s good to see one of our FORMER editors do well and become a corporate raider.”
“Hope you’d… learnt a lesson… during your time with us,” the President said as he sauntered out of the room.
We then found ourselves alone in the Conference Room.
The turnaround team asked me what
that
was all about.
“So you’re that infamous editor…” breathed Elise as she walked in to join our circle.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
4:18pm
Turnaround Team Base, Allison & Omari
We were all gathered in our meeting room, Elise included. I gave everyone a quick summary of what the situation was, the incident during the annual dinner, and the can of whoop-ass I inadvertently brought on myself. Hindsight is always 20-20, and I admitted that it was probably a stupid thing to do to malu the President in front of the entire company. And my actions made my colleagues invariably suffer as well.
“Took balls though,” said Benjamin, our business strategist.
“I’ve no illusions about it,” I said. “It certainly wasn’t a David and Goliath moment. David at least fucking had that tiny catapult and that single stone that took Goliath down, right between the eyes. Mr Chiang and the sales goons dropped boulders on me.”
And what made me sore was the fact that the President didn’t remember me. Not that I’m noteworthy or anything, but that fucker gave me hell. And the fact that he didn’t remember me shows how insignificant he sees his opponents as. But then again, I was nowhere close to being a worthy opponent.
They
tekan
-ed me simply because they could.
And because there’d be no repercussions for them.
“Well, Conman, this looks like it’ll be an interesting assignment for you,” said Rai.
“Conman?” asked Elise.
“Conman and Conwoman. Nicknames for the Manticore Consultants. Joke is that they’re the ones who weave a beautiful picture out of every acquisition,” Sally shared with a laugh.
“And it’s up to the brilliance of the turnaround team to make that picture a reality. When an acquired asset goes back into the black, credit goes to the turnaround guys and gals,” I pointed out, which drew thumbs-ups from the team.
“Conman… That’s funny. I like it,” said Elise with a smile as she glanced my way.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
4:45pm
Trade Publications Editorial Director’s Room, Allison & Omari
The drama notwithstanding, work needed to get done. We asked Elise to help schedule meetings with the various department heads to go through the restructuring plans in greater detail. She dutifully noted this and other minor requests.
I told the team to settle in, and note any further drops in connection to Perseus, the Manticore corporate data network.
“I’m gonna to do some catching up. You guys can leave anytime you’re done. Own time own target…”
“Carry on,” Chong, Rai and Benjamin chorused together.
I turned a few corners, and before me was the open plan office. Some desks had been shifted, a few new partitions here and there, but the old slavegrounds looked pretty much the same.
Walking along the rows of editors’ workstations, the faces I saw were all new. I was looking forward to seeing Selene and DF again. If they were still there.
But the faces of those who sat at our desks were unfamiliar.
I stood there, regretting that my words of farewell to Selene and DF on my last day of work were so cursory. I was in a hurry to leave the damed place. And after all the trouble I brought to them, I didn’t have the decency to bid a proper, sincere goodbye.
The new editors sensed my presence, and ask if they could help with anything.
“Thanks, but it’s all good,” I said with a sad smile. “Only I can help myself, I suppose.”
They looked confused at my cryptic reply, and then I heard the warm voice of Mr Subra call to me.
“Young man, it’s been too long!”
We shook hands, and Mr Subra gave me a fatherly pat on the back as we entered his cluttered room.
There was a lot to catch up on, but now that fate had brought me back to Allison & Omari, I asked what happened to the old team members, DF and Selene in particular.
“If I recall, DF got poached by Regent Publishing some time after you left. Last I heard he was leading a team doing lifestyle magazines, I think.”
I hoped that DF was having fun. He’d always said that he wanted to work on an FHM-type of magazine and bang the hot models there. Always replied to him that he needed to get rid of his dickface first.
“Then Selene got married and left to become freelance writer to take care of her kid.”
The rest of the old team members had enough of the shit from the sales team. They left, either poached by another firm or went into unrelated fields.
So when the old-timers and experienced editors left, they hired new ones with no experience as a cost-cutting measure. Content and editorial quality suffered, leading to a decline in sales, and worst of all, a loss in reputation.
The company tried to counter this by increasing the number of issues and reducing page count, and hiring more sales staff to hit even more clients. When the local market was saturated, sales staff went on overseas trips to sell the books, taking advantage of the growing economy in Vietnam and Laos. But they charged the regional market clients at the Singdollar rate.
The immense stupidity was breathtaking.
Hmph… mini writer’s block.
And long time no sex scene. So here’s a flashback to Adeline.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
3:33pm
Grand Central Department Store, Tsim Sha Tsui, HK
“Does this make me look like a slut?” Adeline breathed into my ear as our hands roamed desperately around each other’s bodies in the confines of the changing room.
It was my last day in Hong Kong, and I was due to return to Singapore the next day. We wanted to make a nice relaxing day out of it, exploring the charming, rustic islands that dot the vicinity of the territory.
Adeline and I arranged to meet at Central, where we’d take a ferry to Cheung Chau. I spotted her easily from the crowd at the MTR station. The Korean wave had all but consumed the region. So Adeline was dressed in a sheer white shirt, top few buttons undone and the bottom tied above her tummy, exposing her trim midriff. Inside her top was a blue tube top, held up by her pert breasts. A pair of pink hot shorts, black Converse shoes and a slightly ratty backpack completed her look.
I couldn’t help but notice that her shorts, so tight that it must have been spray painted on, revealed a cameltoe. Definitely not practical casual wear for a day outdoors.
But as luck would have it, the skies opened when we got out of the station, effectively ending our original plans.
We walked around Central, browsing the high-end fashion brands that excited her, but were of no interest to me. What did interest me, was the fact that Adeline’s dressing drew appreciative, and even lustful glances from other men who walked by. Far from feeling territorial, I was proud of having such a fine-looking woman by my side. You can look, but I get to touch…
From Central we took a train to Tsim Sha Tsui, where we found a quiet spot for coffee. We cuddled in a sofa and watched the world go by. We talked about our childhood - me growing up in Singapore and her in a quiet town in the New Territories close to the border with China.
We walked aimlessly, hand-in-hand, sometimes in silence and sometimes in deep conversation.
We were acutely aware that with every passing minute, the time to part drew closer.
Then we found ourselves wandering in the Grand Central department store, and Adeline gravitated to the lingerie section.
As she was browsing through a rack of sheer nightgowns, I hugged her from the back, and she reciprocated by nuzzling against my cheek. I pressed my raging hard-on into her firm bum. And, making sure no one was looking, I sneaked a hand down the front of her hot shorts and stroked her pussy.
“Who’s a naughty boy?” she teased as she bit softly on my earlobe.
Giving me a mock frown of disapproval, she placed her hand over mine and guided it away from her crotch. Adeline then dropped a strap of her backpack in my hand and retreated a few steps from me.
Her eyes never left mine, as she picked out a very sheer maroon bra and panty set, and an equally flimsy and immodestly short nightgown.
We were the only customers at the lingerie section at this time of the afternoon. Adeline spun on her feet, turning to look at the sales counter, where a very bored and distracted salesgirl was busily chatting on the phone and oblivious to our presence.
Turning back to face me, Adeline threw me a mischievous smile and jerked her head toward the changing room. Then she bolted, quick as a rabbit, into it. I needed no further invitation and followed, hot on her heels.
She giggled like a silly teenager, and made way for me to squeeze into the full-height cubicle. I dropped her backpack on the floor and went in for a tight embrace. Our lips met, and tongues greeted each other. We paused for a breather.
Adeline stepped back, and leaned against the wall in a coy manner. She bit on her lower lip, and slowly withdrew her feet from her Converse shoes.
Bringing her hands from behind her back, she placed them on her bare midriff and drew her fingers up to the top buttons of her shirt. Then, one by one, she undid the buttons and unravelled the knot that held the two sides of her shirt together.
I wanted her naked, fast.
And I reached out to grab her.
Before I could encircle Adeline in my arms, she put a hand on my chest and pushed me backwards. She had misjudged her strength, and I stumbled backwards and bumped my head against the thin partition. It wasn’t painful, just the loud thud gave us a little shock. Adeline put her hands to her mouth to stifle a chuckle, then whispered a quick apology and put a hand at the back of my head in concern.
Me (in Cantonese): “You’re a very naughty girl…”
She grinned at me, then got back into her seductress character, backing away from me once more while slipping her shirt off one shoulder. Then the other, then letting the garment fall to the floor. Her tube top was next: Adeline crossed her arms in front of her body and then grasped the bottom of the tube. Her B-cup bosoms were pressed together to form a jaw-dropping cleavage. In one quick motion, she pulled the top off, and turned away from me. With one arm raised and dangling the tube off a finger, and her other arm covering her breasts, Adeline simply smiled as she let the tube fall from her hands and join the shirt on the floor.
Her striptease was driving me nuts. I had to release my throbbing cock from my pants in case the confinement caused injury.
She turned away from me again, her hair falling so gracefully around her shoulders and obscuring her lovely face.
Adeline bent over just ever so slightly, thrusting her firm bum at me. She hooked her fingers into the waistband of her tight, tight shorts, and slowly - agonisingly - drew the material down over the top swell of her fine rear.
The thin black band of Adeline’s g-string come into view, and I dropped to my knees in worship of her round bum. She slid her shorts over the crest of the curve of her delightful buttcheeks, to revealed her secret place covered by only a thin layer of fabric. From where I knelt, the proximity to her sex allowed me to take in the scent of a woman in a state of sexual arousal.
Adeline dropped her tiny shorts down to her knees, and let me take over as I pulled them all the way down to her feet. She was still bent over, and I rained tiny kisses on that perfect ass. She stifled a giggle, as she felt ticklish. I could hold myself back no more, and buried my face into her rear, my nose seeking the moist entrance to Adeline’s private place.
But I didn’t want to waste any more time. Her underwear became nothing more than a scrap of fabric in my haste to strip her bare.
Adeline rose and turned towards me for a hug, sandwiching my uncomfortably stiff manhood between us.
“Which one do you want me to try on first?” Adeline teased, as she reached down between us to rub the fluid leaking from my penis around the underside of the sensitive head…
Leaving the best for last, I picked the sheer maroon bra and panty set.
“Unclip them for me. Drop them on the floor,” she instructed.
I followed her command to the letter, tossing them near her feet.
Adeline was a masterful tease. There she was, naked as the day she was born, her very presence illuminating the narrow confines of the room. She did a semi turn away from me, an arm shielding her hardened nipples from my gaze and her other hand moving to cover her pussy.
And with slow calculated grace, she bent down, keeping her back upright, and picked the bra off the carpeted floor with the hand that covered her pubic mound. Adeline rose slowly, her smouldering moves showing off the gentle muscle movements in her slender thighs and calves. She brought one leg in front of the other, obscuring her fine triangle of trimmed pubic hair from view.
The bra had a front-closing design, and Adeline pushed her bosom outwards as she slipped the bra on up her arms and onto her shoulders. I reached out for a boob, and she playfully slapped my hand away.