Changing Roles
By Julie Dawn Cole
Chapter 9

‘Emily you were amazing today. Rao is so arrogant and bigoted. He thinks he is superior to everybody because he owns a company and has accumulated wealth. He never had any respect for me or for George Garside and even his own workforce seem to despise him. He treats them terribly. I will never forget the look on his face when you accused him of bribery’

‘Well Jules, I did enjoy it too. Some men need to be put in their place and I think he is a crook. But in truth I was just a fresh pair of eyes. I was able to stand back and consider how a customer can manage to takeover and operate our equipment without paying and ignore all requests to settle. There is usually money involved. We do seem to have 3 greedy guys in the Company who need sorting out. That’s my priority now we can’t tolerate staff stealing or being involved in bribery.’

‘I am surprised. They were always such loyal and hardworking guys.’

‘Well let’s see when I meet them. No doubt my discussion with Henshaw has been fed back to the other two. Anyway, on to better things did you sort out your car OK? Any problems?’

‘I picked it up thanks and it seems in good condition. It’s smaller than I’m used to but that’s not a bad thing. It should be more economical to run than a big car. I did have some problems with the sales guy though. The paperwork was wrong but we got it sorted.’

‘What happened? Let me know if I can help at all. I need you to be mobile since you might have errands to run from time to time.’

‘It was a stupid mistake I suppose. He filled in the transfer of ownership document as Ms Julie Ann Cole. He says they must have misheard the voicemail message. He could see I was male when I arrived.’

Emily laughed ‘ Well I suppose you do have an androgynous look. What with your long hair and pretty features.’

‘You don’t really think I look more female than male .
do you Emily?’

‘Well let’s put it this way Rao’s son couldn’t take his eyes off you today even though Melanie and I were in the room. You must have noticed surely.’

‘I did think he was behaving strangely, and it made me a bit uncomfortable. I thought he might be trying to put me off my guard.’

‘I can tell when someone is trying to make eye contact believe me. Anyway that was part of my reason for inviting you to dinner so let’s talk more later.’

For the rest of the journey, I was conscious of how I was sitting in the car and how I was behaving. Maybe I had been spending too much of my free time as Julie.’

Emily was impressed at the venue I’d selected for dinner and she hoped that the menu was as good as the ambience. She let me go first as we entered and held the door. I didn’t catch on until we were inside and we approached the maître d’hôtel. He greeted us and turned to Emily to check our reservation before inviting us to take a seat in the bar area for a pre-dinner aperitif. Emily was smiling as we looked at the drinks menu.

‘What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?’

‘Not at all. He thinks we are a couple. Is this restaurant used by the gay community?’

‘No not that I know of. It is the best place in town to eat according to some of my friends because it has a great chef. It is pricey that usually means the clients have good income and dine out regularly.’

‘I like the décor and it’s well attended but not too busy and it looks like the dining area is well spaced to give some privacy. I like it and if the food is good we may be setting up an account with them so we use it for business. I like to entertain customers and you could be tagging along sometimes if you don’t mind?’

Emily selected a non-alcoholic cocktail and I was persuaded to join her. The barman was very nice and chatted to us whilst he was preparing them. He told us how successful the restaurant had become since Henri took over as maître d’hôtel and that he’d met some interesting people, many who visited regularly. Our table in the bar was in a nice quiet position and our waiter brought the menus for us to consider whilst enjoying our aperitifs. I daren’t look at the prices on my household budget so I waited until Emily invited me to choose whatever I liked since she was paying.

The barman made a few suggestions based on customer comments and I opted for the mussels that were in season as my starter. Emily selected a smoke salmon dish that she said was a particular favourite. We chatted about items for the main course and even considered sharing a plate but eventually we decided to select Dover Sole with a side salad and new potatoes. The barman had kept looking at me since we sat down so I asked Emily if something was wrong. She said she couldn’t see anything and perhaps I ought to get used to men looking at me and take care not to make too much eye contact with them or they’d get the wrong idea.

‘Why do you say that Emily? I’m just a guy out for a meal.’

‘Well to be perfectly honest Jules I’m not surprised the garage salesman had you down as Julie Ann. You walk and talk like a woman most of the time. Just look how you are sitting right now with your legs crossed. Someone has been an influence on you and in fact we should talk about it. It’s the perfect surrounding here away from the office so I hope that you can trust me to keep our chat in confidence. You seem much more relaxed like this.’

‘Emily I haven’t deliberately adopted more feminine mannerisms. I suppose it’s the uniform that started it and my loss of seniority. I seem to be your secretary now and that’s how staff seem to view me. Maybe I should have just accepted redundancy and found another job because the longer this goes on like this the more difficult it will be to find a job as a Managing Director.’

‘I did expect some sort of resistance to the change and for you to leave and then contact a lawyer or the Industrial Tribunal people.’

‘I did think about it quite seriously and a few people were urging me to object and put in a claim. But so far I’ve had nothing to complain about. You’ve treated me quite well and showed me where George and I were going wrong.’

‘Well Jules I don’t want to lose you and I certainly don’t want to see the tribunal people involved distracting us from turning the Company around. Do you think you can trust me to help you? I think you will make a great PA and we’ll make a great team.’

‘But PA’s are usually females and they are far more capable than males at supporting their boss.’

‘Well how about I treat you as a female PA rather than an ex Managing Director becoming a novice male PA.’

‘How is that supposed to work if you don’t mind me asking?’

‘It means I can train you how to become a PA and carry out secretarial duties without expecting you to meet my high standards from day 1.’

‘But I’ve no idea what you expect of me. I wouldn’t know where to even start.’
‘You’ve started so don’t worry about it. I need your support more than anything and if you made Managing Director then you know half the jobs I’ll be looking for you to do for me.’

‘So do I have to sign anything of acceptance or prove I have qualifications? I can type and file but I’m self-taught like most people these days.’

‘Fine that is the basic part of the job. I’ll teach you how to set up my filing system and you seem to be able to keep up with me taking notes. You know what the MD job entails and you’ll be my eyes and ears and a contact point for staff and customers.’

‘Is that it then? Does that mean I don’t need to have a settling in period with an appraisal by HR?’

‘I’ll deal with that but there is one advantage of this job that I think you might like. Having seen your outfit today and recognising that most staff know about your cross dressing I don’t mind if you experiment a little with your outfits and wear a little make-up.’

‘Why would I want to do that? I might be a closet crossdresser, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready to come out to everybody. There is no way back if that happens.’

‘So, you expect to find a way back to become the MD again and maybe even the CEO?’

‘No, I didn’t really mean it like that. I meant I’m out and it is hard to recover and revert back into male mode.’

‘Well, I really think you should give it some serious thought. I need you to be happy and settled. I’m here to stay because I have a job to do. I made a promise to my uncle and I will succeed rest assured. I understand the dilemma you have more than you perhaps realise. I’ll show you something in confidence later if you like.’

‘Of course but why me. Why the promotions of female staff and exodus of experienced male staff?’
‘Men can be gentle and kind as most women are and of course lots of women are much stronger and assertive than previous generations because of equal rights. I was raised to believe in myself and that I was the equal of any man.’
‘I think you’ve already demonstrated that in just a few days. Staff have had a wake up call, especially the men. Female employees seem to have come to the fore and voiced their opinions.’
‘Jules I think you should be more confident in yourself. Your best attributes were recognised by George but he wasn’t the best leader. Your best skills are normally associated with females based on what I’ve learned from your files and since we first met. Women make good leaders too. You kept morale going even though the business struggled with cash flow.’
We were interrupted and moved to our dining table where our starter course was waiting. Emily decided we should enjoy a bottle of white wine with dinner and since neither of us were big drinkers she selected a half bottle of Prosecco to celebrate the meeting success. It was a substitute for champagne but much better in both our opinions. She made a toast.

‘Here’s to a successful partnership and a long-term relationship.’
I must have blushed, so she smiled and reached out to touch my free hand.

‘We will succeed Jules and I’m looking forward to your strong support.’

I nodded and said thank you for giving me the opportunity to stay on and keep my salary that was much appreciated in view of the considerable expense of care for my family. She smiled and said I was welcome.

We chatted all through dinner with Emily intent on keeping our chat as light as possible and away from work topics. I found myself opening up about my childhood experiences and how inferior I was to other boys of my age. At one stage I was moved to the girls sports activities with two other small boys where we could compete on an equal basis. Three girls took our places that was deeply humiliating. Several of the girls were outgrowing the three of us and even matched the stronger boys in our class. We never really lived this down and it became a regular event when we failed to meet our teachers targets. The upside was that we were made very welcome by the girls and there was no fighting or bad behaviour. It helped our grades, so our teacher felt his decision was vindicated. However, it was to have a lasting effect on me because I felt happier around girls.

Whilst chatting I looked around the dining room and whilst it wasn’t full all of the tables seemed to be occupied by women and mostly in couples. I tried not to stare but it seemed like this was either a ladies night or some sort of convention. Emily noticed too and she smiled at my expression.

‘Are you sure that this isn’t one of your regular venues although I don’t see any transgenders or crossdressers here. It’s more like I was right to assume that you’d brought me to a LBGTQ venue on a ladies night. Am I right?’

‘No honestly. I had no idea. This does seem to be totally female clientele tonight. Why didn’t he tell me when I made the reservation?’

‘Well, your voice isn’t very deep and maybe he also mistook you for Julie Ann. But it doesn’t matter does it? We haven’t been asked to leave so let’s enjoy the evening and you have my permission to let Julie Ann out.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Why not pop and put on some make up and blend in with the other diners. You can use the ladies bathroom and I have some make-up if you wish to try it. Henri didn’t challenge you and neither did the barman so I doubt anybody else will complain.’

‘Do you think I should as I feel a bit out of place like this at the moment. I do have some lipstick and my eye make up in a pouch in my bag that I carry for some reason.’

‘Well off you go and in the meantime I’ll look at the desert menu or get them to bring the desert trolley around.’

It took me a few minutes to build up my courage but Emily seemed to give me no choice. ‘Julie if you do as I suggest I’ll show you something when you get back that I mentioned earlier. Your presentation won’t worry me at all or influence me in any way. I promise.’

I stood up and nervously crossed the room towards the bathrooms. One of the waiters pointed to the door I needed and I entered and hoped it would be empty. Luckily it was so I quickly applied my eye shadow and a small amount of eye liner. I had a small tube of face cream that would have to do and a sample perfume I picked up at a make-up counter. Not expensive but it made me feel more like Julie. I removed my pony tail and brushed my hair out letting it hang loose and headed back to our table.

‘Wow Julie that’s quite a look you have now. Who would dream of challenging you now.’

‘Are you sure I don’t look like a drag artist?’

‘Not at all. That’s a very natural look. I guess you’ve had plenty of practice’

‘A bit I suppose. Only since I was 15 years old. I was encouraged by a few of my girlfriends at school and I entered competitions. So what did you offer to show me?’

‘It’s a photo. Here look and tell me who you think this might be?’

‘She is very beautiful. Is she a model?’