Changing Roles
By Julie Dawn Cole
Chapter 21

Emily sat back in her chair and twiddled her pen between her fingers waiting for a reaction from Sally who bit her bottom lip and turned and looked at me then took a deep breath. I froze and it seemed like time was standing still as our eyes locked. I wanted to hear what Sally thought but not in front of Emily who I hardly knew. I feared that Sally might speak honestly without holding back since she had nothing to lose.

‘Well Emily as you know I’ll be on maternity leave soon and Julian was my boss before you arrived. I think he has been unfairly treated and I’m not sure what is going on or what to think. I owe him so much and to see him like this concerns me a lot. I have to speak up for him because he deserves better. He was the MD and he worked hard for the company and he put the Company ahead of his family and friends. It’s like you’ve cut off his balls and just because he enjoys his feminine side by cross dressing from time to time is no reason to humiliate him like this.’

‘Really Sally you surprise me. Julian has willingly taken the role of my PA and my assessment was that his femininity has been released without any pressure from me or anybody else. I don’t think you know Julian as well as you think you do. Julie Ann has been there all the time and I’m surprised that you never noticed.’

It was like I wasn’t in the room, and I tried to speak but I couldn’t. In truth I had enjoyed working for Emily and spending time with her. My life had changed dramatically, and I didn’t feel like it was in a downward spiral. I was scared that Sally would say too much and spoil everything. I had a job and it seemed like I had experienced a social life this last week or so and had chance to breathe instead of worrying about work and my aging family who were declining rapidly.
Both were looking at me so I reached across to hold Sally’s arm and indicated her to back off a little. I feared that she was digging a hole for me. It wasn’t as if I was unhappy at the moment, quite the reverse and I almost looked forward to spending time with Emily and I wanted to please her because she had treated me so well and quickly made an impact.

Sally put her hand on mine and she got the message and nodded. ‘Emily, I think you should let Julian give his reaction. He clearly looks like a young woman so calling him Julian is a bit weird but he was my boss and I really care about him.’

‘Sally I know you two had a good reIationship and that the changes I’ve implemented can’t be easy on both of you but this is not Julian here it’s Julie Ann and you should address her as a female colleague. As a friend too which you clearly are. You can see in her face how happy she is and over the weekend I’ve seen a caterpillar turn into a beautiful butterfly. I’m proud of her the way she responded to my coaxing to let her true feelings come out.’

‘But I could understand if this was taking place somewhere far away from here, but she is in the midst of people who worked for her and then there is her family to consider.’

‘See how easily you have accepted Julie Ann?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You already refer to her using the name she is adopting. You see a woman now not a man.’

‘But that’s not fair. It’s because you refer to him as her and use her feminine name.’

‘Of course I do. That’s what she prefers isn’t it Julie?’

I nodded my head and looked to my lap. Sally took hold of my hand and squeezed it looking into my eyes. ‘Is Emily right? Do you prefer to be Julie Ann from now on and to deal with any difficulties that might arise.’

‘Yes, I feel Emily meant no harm at all. I have always felt I was trapped as a man. It’s like I can be myself.’
‘I just hope this is the right decision. You are treading a minefield in my opinion and one wrong step and boom.’

Emily took charge and said that we should leave the discussion where it was and let Sally get back to her desk. She asked me to stay and I just said to Sally that I’d see her later and she just shook her head a little and smiled as she left.

I got up to go back to my desk, but Emily asked me to sit down again. ‘Julie is something bothering you? I get the feeling you have doubts and that you might feel I’ve bullied you into something you didn’t want. Do you want to say something? You know that you can talk to me and share any concerns.’

‘Maybe but I’m not sure. Anyway we have delayed you long enough. You have lots to do today with a full schedule.’

‘True but I am your boss and I will always make time. I can move a meeting if you need to talk. Just go freshen up a little while I make a couple of calls. Back here in 15 minutes if that’s OK? How about we have a fresh pot of coffee?’

I felt better for the break and the chance to visit the bathroom. My stomach was churning and I felt a migraine coming on that had always happened when I was under intense pressure. I sat and closed my eyes for a few minutes and massaged my temples and the bright light that appeared first as a dot got bigger and bigger until it seemed like it was so large that it disappeared from my vision. It always seemed to work as long as I sat quietly and closed my eyes.

Once I felt OK I looked at myself in the mirror and as usually happened my face was pale and drawn. For once though I had a solution and I took out my pressed powder case and foundation cream and that certainly helped bring some colour back to my cheeks. I refreshed my lips and as a result I felt much better. This make-up set was a gift from Emily with the instruction to use it little and often. I was ready to go back into her office and since I’d already walked through the office I decided to make the fresh coffee in the staff kitchen. I felt my knees trembling but luckily the kitchen was empty so I filled a fresh jug from the percolator and walked as quickly as I could with my head down back to Emily’s office.

She greeted me with a smile and complemented me on my progress applying fresh make up and my choice of lip colour. It seemed like I should have had this option as a solution to recover from a migraine attack long before now. I poured our coffees and sat down.

‘Don’t forget to cross your legs when you sit and smooth out your skirt at the back as you position yourself on the seat.’

‘Emily I’m so sorry for the fuss that Sally made but she has become a really good friend and she cares about me.’

‘Yes don’t worry I fully understand. Now what’s at the back of all this? Don’t you trust me? You’ve come a long way in such a short time and I fully understand how you must feel because I’ve been through it already with my brother after he came out.’

’I know but really it was more to do with something that Melanie said to me that she must have shared with Sally. So Sally got concerned and drew her own conclusions.’

‘And what conclusions may they be? I assure you that she has more than likely misunderstood.’

‘Well I called Sally earlier but she hadn’t arrived to the office so Melanie picked up. She as much as offered me the job of her secretary whilst Sally is on maternity leave because she said that you were hiring a new PA.’

‘Really. It just shows how things can get twisted. I’m hiring my former PA not replacing you. She works for a head hunting company now so I thought she was a good person to find a new Managing Director since she knows what I expect of people.’

‘But I thought you were taking a dual role replacing both George and I.’

‘I’m OK doing that on a temporary basis but that’s a really big job as you will know from your own experience. I’m not Superwoman and I want the CEO job on a permanent basis and an experienced person as MD who I can trust. Someone in my own image.’

I was speechless and I gulped down a mouthful of coffee that was much too hot so I almost choked.

If you look on your planner when you get to your desk you will see she is coming in today at 4-30 pm. Her name is Dee Devlin. Short for Diedre Devlin. Her family is Irish and they came over from Cork. We go back a long way. We were at a private girls school and college together. We were very close and shared a room. She is married now with a young son so the switch to head hunting fitted her lifestyle as she can work from home. Devlin is her married name. I was chief bridesmaid at their wedding.

‘So Melanie jumped to conclusions?’

‘Yes but then she is still new in the job and she’ll get better as she matures. Unless of course you want to move jobs and be her secretary. It makes life a bit easier in some respects but then I don’t do easy as you’ve already realised.’

‘So my old job is still open? Will you be recruiting a female MD or is it not decided?’

‘It’s going to be up to Dee to decide the short list of candidates and you’ll obviously get to meet her when she arrives. She’s quite a woman. I could have easily fallen in love with her and we were inseparable until Aiden came on the scene. She fell head over heels and she knew him from home. He’s a neurosurgeon.’

‘Oh that’s nice. He must work hard and be well paid?’

‘Yes, don’t we all when we take on responsibility.’

‘Do you mind me asking if you’re in a relationship?’

‘Not at the moment. I’ve had a few narrow escapes but nobody has floated my boat yet. I guess I’d like a man with the personality and lots of the traits that Dee has. Maybe they don’t fit the stereotype man these days. Perhaps my character puts them off. I can’t help who I am I suppose.’

‘Well you deserve to meet someone special. He’ll be lucky when he finally turns up. As Fred Sirieix says when he introduces his show First Dates Hotel, there is someone out there for everyone. Perhaps you should visit his holiday hotel in Italy. It’s so romantic.’

‘Well I don’t get much time to watch programmes like that and I’ve never heard of it, nor of Fred for that matter. It sounds like the last straw and it’s not like I’m ready to settle down into a relationship yet and I’m not pining for children as much as my parents expect it of me. I get added pressure of course given my brothers situation and maybe you’ll be able to give me your opinion of him and his lifestyle after the weekend. Mum thinks our genes were mixed up a bit.’

‘Well it’s not like I’m an expert but I’m sure that the two of you meeting up and spending time together is a good thing.’

‘I’m looking forward to it and of course to the weekend with you. Thanks for agreeing to accompany me. It means a lot and I hope that a weekend away will do you good. We don’t have to stay long to the party. I’d like to relax a little again like we did last weekend. I might even take you to Harrods if you like. Have you spent much time in London?’

‘No just a couple of short trips on business. Well maybe four altogether when I think about it. On one occasion we attended a luncheon for the Institute of Directors since George was speaking. I was there for moral support I suppose. We ended up at a Gentlemen’s club for drinks with some customers then went on to Soho and they were buying drinks for hostesses that seemed inappropriate, so I left and went back to our hotel. I wondered why George suggested an overnight stay instead of taking the train home that evening.’

‘Well that’s why some men like business trips. They get away from their wives and behave like overgrown schoolboys. My uncles says I shouldn’t let it get to me but it does. I am pleased to hear that you didn’t approve and that you ducked out. By the way have you had a girlfriend. Or do you have one should I say. Or even I should have asked if you are in a relationship.’

‘None of those. I never had time or much of an inclination I suppose. I have been a loner most of my life. I got on more with the girls than the boys at school. I suppose they felt sorry for me in a way.’

‘Well, we both seem to have free time on our hands at the moment at weekends. I’d like to spend some time with you if you get bored. Maybe you can introduce me to your family, so they know that you are in good hands. Did you tell them about the changes?’

‘Not much point as they are all three in a poor state and hardly know where they are or what’s going on around them.’

‘So are you satisfied with what I’ve told you about my plans for the future and that Melanie and Sally had the wrong end of the stick.?

‘Thanks I doubted that they were right. So for this afternoon didn’t you have a meeting scheduled with the new CFO, Mrs Parkinson?

‘Yes but she has an urgent meeting at her current company so I’ve arranged to meet her this evening for dinner. Would you like to join us? ‘

‘Thanks but I shouldn’t as I ought to visit mum and dad. We are out in Manchester tomorrow evening. If it’s important for me to meet Mrs Parkinson then of course I’ll come.’

‘OK I fully understand. Of course you could leave work early if you’ve done what is urgent and collated and issued all the management reports as I asked. I assume that you contacted travel department and reserved seats on the train for London at the weekend? We travel first class by the way even though it’s not a business trip. I’ll sort out the cost at the end of the month. We don’t travel economy at our level.’

‘Yes I’ll ensure that everything is arranged. How are we getting to Manchester. Are you driving or do you want me to drive?’

‘I want you to book a car and driver please as we might have to take in a few drinks to get the information we need from Jack Waterton. It could be a late night. Can you take a drink? I hope so as I don’t want you to be ill. It’s part of the job and I always ensure I drink a lot of water over the course of the night. It means more trips to the bathroom but better to empty our bladders than our stomachs.’

I managed to get everything done by the time that Mrs Devlin arrived and happy to say she was 15 minutes early. What a beautiful woman and no sign she’d had a baby. She looked tall and slim as if she exercised regularly. She was probably around the same height as Emily and equally as attractive. Slightly red hair that I supposed was to be expected for an Irish lady. What a beautiful accent. As I collected her I was aware that in her heels she was slightly taller than me and she had a firm handshake. I thought she might have just left a salon she looked so good. She said she was pleased to meet me and that Emily had told her all about me changing roles from MD to her PA. I felt myself colour up but she said that Emily had spoken well of me and had been impressed with my commitment and support.

When we arrived at Emilys office Emily shot out of her chair and they hugged like long lost friends. I sorted out some water and some tea for both of them and then excused myself. Since I was now committed to meeting Emily and Ms. Parkinson later, I had little time to call home to change so I decided to let mum and dad meet me as I was dressed and hope that they weren’t too confused. I figured it was best to let the manager see me and let them know this would be the new me and seek their advice and co-operation in dealing with mum and dad.