I had arranged to meet Elise at the entrance of the MRT station.
She stood near the bus stop in the same spag top and shorts combo, attracting both appreciative glances from grown men and teenagers, and jealous looks from other women.
Elise had let her hair down, restoring the more womanly and alluring look she carried off in the office. But the difference between the weekday and weekend is the amount of skin showing… Phew!
She has tapping away at her little Samsung flip phone, and smiled when I approached.
“Sorry, hope you didn’t wait long,” I apologised, “Some urgent emails.”
“Sounds like your life’s all about work. And to think you were complaining about being an editor…” she said in jest as we headed to the MRT entrance.
But somehow that touched a raw nerve.
I stopped and sighed, “Elise, that’s totally different. I’m working hard for myself now. I’m making a very decent living, and the more I work the greater the returns. I got nothing out of Allison & Omari.”
Elise’s eyes widened as large as saucers, and she placed a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, the- word filter in my brain is not installed today. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
With so much sincerity in her eyes and the look of genuine contrition on her face, the irritation dissipated in an instant.
“It’s OK. I should be the one apologising for the outburst. I’m sorry Elise.”
A wry smile crept into her face. “As your HR partner, I still think I detect… Unresolved issues.”
I smiled and shook my head at her, as I headed to the downriding escalators. “Are we going computer shopping or not?”
This girl, I thought, is… Interesting.
We alighted at Bugis MRT, which we get off at every day anyway as it’s the closest to Allison & Omari. The short train journey was good, as Elise is a very easy person to talk to. She never fails to attract attention where she goes, and at this stage of my life I am more than able to stand confidently next to a woman as lovely as her.
Sim Lim Square was our destination, and we made a stop for lunch at the basement foodcourt to fuel up for a stretch of shopping.
An outing to Sim Lim never fails to make me smile. I have fond memories of hanging out there either by myself or with Darren. In its heyday, Sim Lim’s multitude of levels were densely populated by students checking out the console game outlets and bootleg software shops. It was Darren’s love for PC hardware and his family’s ability to afford it, that gave me the chance to work on the latest technology when we assembled systems together. We were carefree kids, best buddies. And after all this time, we were still best buds and working together. I can count myself very fortunate indeed.
I noticed Elise smiling at me. “You’ve got a faraway look on your face, but a good one this time.”
We made our rounds at the laptop shops of better repute, and needless to say the mainly male sales staff were eager to serve us - well, Elise in particular. She decided on a set quite quickly, and by 4pm or so we were done.
I asked if she knew how to install the other required software, and she said that she had all the required discs at home. With tomorrow being a work day, we decided to head back: me to Bedok and Elise to Tanah Merah.
Monday, 10 August 2009
5:05pm
Playground near Block 414, Bedok North Road
We chatted all the way back, from Sim Lim to Bugis Junction, and on the train journey. The question at the back of my mind was: didn’t Elise have someone significant in her life to run today’s little errand with?
But I’ve only known her for less than a week, so I thought that it was not appropriate to get familiar so fast. But I had to admit: she’s very easy on the eyes and is someone that you could really open up to.
Elise has that charming quality about her.
Given the naturally sexy vibe and her friendly nature, Elise could very well be mistaken for leading guys on and be labelled a cock tease.
I looked at my watch as I passed by the coffeeshop near my block. Kinda early for dinner.
I swung by the provision shop next door and got a little treat for the neighbourhood cat.
Hope it wasn’t too traumatised from this morning’s run-in with Beebee.
Author’s Note:
So after the long sex scene with Adeline, there’s been quite a lot of talking and corporate details being written. Hope this isn’t too boring for readers, but the intention is to help paint a better picture of the situation and the interactions between the characters.
Corporate shit is hitting the fan soon.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
3:55pm
Day 9
Turnaround Team Base, Allison & Omari
“You’re all fucking cheeeeeeeee byeeeeeeeesssssss!!!!” Uncle Hock screamed at the top of his lungs at me and the turnaround team. He was a 30-year veteran of the company, and had spent his whole life doing warehouse operations at Allison & Omari’s warehouses. With him were another two longer-serving staff from the Jurong warehouse, that together with the Loyang facility, were slated for closure. Warehousing would be consolidated at the newer and larger Tuas facility.
“Uncle, you can see the company is not doing well. Your eyes also tell you that the stock in your Jurong warehouse is not moving well. All those books and managzines sell to karung guni also cannot pay for the warehouse rent. Uncle, like that how?” Seha explained sincerely.
“So you sacrifice us lah? You all sit in nice aircon office and do your atas planning, then come chop us when things go wrong!! What the fuck is this? I have a sick mother at home! I no job how!?!” bellowed Uncle Hock, spittle flying out of his mouth.
Seha adopted a conciliatory posture: “Uncle, not that we didn’t try to transfer you to Tuas, but there are no openings there. All the Jurong and Loyang stock going there can be managed by the machines. We really tried. And what we can offer is three month’s of your salary as part of the retrenchment package.”
“We don’t want the fucking money! We want our jobs! Ah Boon has a new baby and Manoj needs to pay for daughter’s studies!!! Three months can last how long? You all young professional types dun know and dun care!!!” Uncle Hock gestured in an agitated manner.
We reached an impasse.
And then I stepped in.
“My first uncle- my dad’s brother- worked for a company for over 30 years. They retrenched him, just like that. Three month’s golden handshake, and then bye bye. Company didn’t give a fuck about what happened next. No one from the company even came to his funeral after he jumped off a building a few weeks later. Why would they, right? Sure kena scolded,” I said evenly.
“You want us to fucking go and die issit!” shouted Uncle Hock.
“My aunt had to go out to work after being a housewife for many years. She works two jobs from morning to night. My cousins had to come to my house after school because there was no one to take care of them at home. You ever see the faces of children after they have been told they lost a parent? Stays with you for life. My family is not rich. But we tried to help as much as we could. My uncle’s retrenchment affected not just his family, but relatives as well. But the sacrifices we made were nothing compared to the suffering of my uncle’s family,” I continued.
“Uncle Hock, we can’t stop Jurong and Loyang warehouses from closing down. But besides the 3 months retrenchment package, Manticore can sponsor you all for training to help you find other work. If we have openings in our other companies, our HR will call you. This is what we can do. I wish something like this could have been given to my uncle. But please, Uncle Hock, Ah Boon and Manoj, it is up to you whether you want to take up the training and finish it. It ups the chances of finding another job. But we cannot guarantee you a job. That is the best that I can promise you. Can you please think about it?” I stated.
“Aiyah, talk to you all si ginna like elephant trying to fuck spider,” Uncle Hock said in exasperation. “We come back later and settle! Ah Boon, Manoj, let’s go!”
We watched them leave, regretful that balancing the books often came with real, human costs that no one fucking declares in an annual report.
“I’m sorry to hear that about your uncle,” Chong said.
“Didn’t happen,” I said. “All fantasies to shut them up.”
Elise, the poor girl, looked like she was going to have a heart attack.
“You’re a fucker, you know that?” Sally said indignantly.
“In more ways than one,” sniggered Ben, clearly referring to Tak Shing.
“Thanks for the compliment Sally,” I smiled at her.
I turned to Elise, who looked very warily at me. “Pull up their HR records and send them to me, please.”
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cluelessp
I think quite a few pages back TS asked if Adeline was truly in love or only pretended so as to preserve her standing…and I think like TS mentioned, to assume it was either would be to restricting the character development to one-dimensional. I believe Adeline was woo-ed by both, a desperate attempt to maintain whatever she had left and a sudden overwhelmed wave of emotion of what it was like to be truly appreciated physically.
I’d like to think that Adeline will always be the breaking straw for the main char and his morals and a reemergence of Adeline in the mid story will be an interesting twist.
So far, very well written TS…prologue was short but effective, it instantly made the main character more understandable and relatable…maybe it was because it is the kind of feeling a lot us here can comprehend, the want to be an asshole but with morals still keeping us in check. Aren’t most of us here constantly toe-ing the line, or even sticking a few toes out occasionally?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! If other readers have found the main character relatable, just like you have, then the slow build up has achieved it’s intended purpose.
I’m not sure if Adeline would be brought back into the picture at a later stage, although I suspect the brothers, and some sisters here, would be keen to see a love complication.
This… I will need time to plan for.
The story is actually forming and evolving with every post I write.
But in the meantime, I’m enjoying the writing, and I’m glad to hear readers having fun reading too.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
4:15pm
Day 9
The Cave, Allison & Omari
Elise crept into my room with Uncle Hock, Ah Boon and Manoj’s personnel files.
She hugged the files tightly against her chest, and from the corner of my eye I saw that her impressive bosoms bulged out from behind the files. She stood hesitantly at my desk.
“Thanks, Elise. Could you leave the files on the desk?” I asked, my focus going back to some online research I was doing.
She didn’t move.
I turned to her. “What’s up? Anything the matter?”
Elise had this look of a lamb being eyed by a hungry lion.
My god, her boobs, that tight bodycon dress, her helpless expression… I felt something predatory welling up from within me.
“How will you… Deal with them?” she asked timidly.
I sniggered inwardly and replied, “Depends on what I see in these files, which are still in your arms.”
Elise looked down at the files, then slowly slid them onto the desk.
She left without a word.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
6:45pm
Day 9
The Cave, Allison & Omari
“I’ve sent their files over to Poseidon Logistics. All forms filled in. And I included your personal note to the COO,” reported Elise.
“Great, thanks! Could you show the training forms to the three of them and convince them that this is the best and only option? Do it quietly. And make sure that they do not know that there are positions open for them at Poseidon. Whatever it is, they must go for training, then they get a job. How long they last there is up to their performance,” I stated. “Can’t do anything more already.”
Elise sighed in relief.
I must admit that I had perversely enjoyed mind-fucking her.
She looked at me, some sparkle returning to her eyes.
“You didn’t have to help them. I mean, coming from a purely policy-based standpoint,” she ventured.
I sat back and looked at Elise in the eye. “You’re right. And I shouldn’t have. Because if I help one person in this manner, how do I then justify not helping another person? By age? By income? By seniority? By background? By family needs?
Anyone on the losing end can say that all these guidelines and criteria we draw up are all arbitrary and can be argued against.” I pointed out gently as a matter of fact.
Elise cast her eyes down and said, “Well, but you helped the three of them as best as you could. They may not know it, but you’ve made a difference for them.”
She paused.
“May have misjudged you just now,” admitted Elise.
“What did you think I was going to do?” I asked.
“I- I thought you’d give them… A hard time,”
“Like how?” I pressed on.
“I dunno. Like get them fired there and then, or take away their retrenchment pay out or something!” she blurted out.
I pointed behind Elise, toward the direction of the President and Directors’ offices. “That’s something fucked up that those idiots will do. Not me. I was on the receiving end. I know how it feels like to be helpless with work. And I sure as hell will not let that happen to me again, or deliberately fuck around with someone just simply because I can.”
“I’m. Not. Like. Them.” I said, as an anger simmered up again.
Elise looked at me with sadness. “You’ve so much anger… It’s been so many years… And you’ve said that you’ve done well for yourself now. Can’t you get past it?”
I turned away from her.
“It’s not good for you,” she said finally.
I looked up and smiled at her, “You sound like a mother.”
She snorted in laughter, held my gaze and then got up.
“Whatever it is, Conman, you did a nice thing.”
“And I’d appreciate some discretion on this matter,” I said as I admired the view of her legs as she left the room.
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
10:07am
Day 15
The Base, Allison & Omari
The week had started off quietly enough - it was more or less business as usual at Allison & Omari - almost two weeks after Manticore formally took over the trade publishing firm.
Things were more or less on track, with the turnaround team comprising of Sally, Seha, Chong, Rai and Benjamin sending back reports, status updates and recommendations back to Manticore Corporate via Perseus, the corporate data network.
Our liaison was the lovely Corporate Services Assistant Manager, Elise Tan. She’s an all-round sincere good girl type who naturally exudes a head-turning sex appeal with her innocence, and the fact that she’s comfortable in her own skin and dresses to kill.
Elise was right about spending quite a lot of time with us as the Allison & Omari liaison for our team. For us guys, Elise was always a visual treat. No one, not even Sally and Seha, minded her presence.
“Ah crap,” sighed Rai. “Connection to Perseus just dropped. Was uploading the biz dev proposals Ben and I worked on.”
“Call the Manticore IT Infrastructure team?” remarked Ben.
We heard the urgent clopping of heels, and Elise appeared at our doorway, her full lips pursed in worry.
“Conman, guys, half of the Trade Publications Team are tendering their resignations!”
We followed Elise’s lead and headed over to the Trade Publications desks, where we saw a group of disgruntled looking editors waiting in front of Mr Subra’s room, resignation letters in hand.
Mr Subra door was open - he always had an open door policy - and we saw him seated with one of the resigning editors and trying to persuade her to stay.
Delving right into the commotion and speaking to the editors, we gathered that they’d had enough of the crazy workload and tight timelines, and the perennial bugbear: being yanked off on sales pitches with absolutely no returns or recognition for the effort.
Some had already found jobs with other publishers, others were taking a break before resuming the job hunt; some needed to serve a month’s notice, others had bought their way out or were bought out of the notice period by their new employers.
I addressed the group, asking them to reconsider and hold on during this time of transition. But they were largely unmoved.
‘You were one of us!" an editor snapped. “You, of all people, should fully understand the shit we’ve been put through! Or have your years of being a corporate high-flyer made you forget? Or do you not care? Is it all about the bottom line now? The sales margins? What?!?!”
If only this poor guy knew the amount of bitterness I still harboured… And I recalled the conversation I had with Elise the week before about not letting the anger go…
I was a little hurt by the accusation that I had sold my soul, but addressed them calmly.
“I’ve been there. And God knows I remember the unfairness of it all. But I can’t just swoop back into Allison & Omari like some avenging angel. Though I wish I could. The change in mindset may take time to effect. Please let us work this out. Allison & Omari is nothing, and I mean nothing, without a strong editorial team,” I pleaded.
“Well, then until this shit gets fixed, you’re gonna continue losing your good people,” said another editor, waving a resignation letter in hand.
They were set on leaving. And there was nothing I could do.