Changing Roles
By Julie Dawn Cole
Chapter 2

I was in total shock, and nothing was really sinking in. Usually in difficult circumstances for business I turned to George, and we’d talk things through, and we’d find a solution and make a plan. He had gone and I’d only just met Emily and we had no relationship. I detected that she felt I would still be loyal to George whatever she did but in my favour, she seemed to need my help.

Sally had always been loyal to me but right now I didn’t have a position to justify a secretary so either she’d be out of a job or moved to another job in the company. She couldn’t afford to lose her job either with 2 children to raise and her husband in part-time employment. I wanted to find a place where we could meet and talk in confidence so I sent her a message and asked her if we could meet outside the office at a convenient place of her choice. I said I didn’t have a car so somewhere close would be better for me. She responded with several angry emoji’s and suggested a small wine bar close by that was usually quiet at lunchtime.

I had detected some resentment towards me from both Jenny and Melanie, both of whom were ambitious and with better academic qualifications than me even though they lacked business experience. Had one, or both, leaked information about my private life to Emily since I’d bumped into both at a LGBT event? We never spoke and I’d been at the other side of the room so I had thought they’d not to recognised me. They had been with a group of girls I knew quite well who sometimes worked at the club so it was possible it was one of the girls who let my secret out.

Emily took me to the side office that had been the location of George’s secretary/assistant until she went on maternity leave. George had been using Sally to save expense. Did that mean I was meant to sit there replacing his secretary and what of Sally? I wasn’t a secretary, nor anybody’s assistant and I’d reached a high position through hard work.

It came like a shot from a gun. ‘Jules, I want you to move your belongings here and then you are close at hand and you can take all my calls and decide which are important and which you can deal with without me being interrupted. I trust you know how to handle and transfer calls and keep a diary. I may be away from the office quite a bit so I’m relying on you to find me if anything urgent crops up. We’ll sit down every morning I’m here and decide my priorities for the day. I may get you to sit in some meetings and take notes.’

‘But this is Georges secretary’s desk not a General Managers.’

‘Yes, but I need you close at hand, and I’ll handle the duties you had under George and the rest will be undertaken by Jenny and Melanie. I’ve already spoken to them and given them new employment contracts with salary adjustments. Both are on board 100%.’

‘So, you’ve promoted them and I’m demoted?’

‘Look at it that you’ve been moved sideways for now until we reorganise the business and responsibilities. Bear in mind that both are now senior management so please treat them accordingly. You will have to come to terms with them being elevated above you and you are being compensated. I’ve already said your salary package will stay the same.’

‘But what about my car and fuel expenses and other Senior Staff conditions?’

‘The car goes at the end of the month so I suggest you buy or rent a run-around and that shouldn’t be too expensive to run.’

I felt like bursting into tears, but I gritted my teeth, so she didn’t see any weakness.

‘Come on then Jules I have a meeting at 10am and I want you to notify senior staff it will be in the Boardroom. We don’t need the junior staff and administration people and it shouldn’t be a long meeting. Let’s say about 30 people so some can sit, and the rest can stand. You can sit alongside me and note down any questions and answers. Please check the boardroom is arranged properly. I have a couple of calls to make. Oh, and before you go, please make a pot of coffee and bring me some cups and saucers. Keep it fresh through the day and tidy dirty cups away as necessary.’

‘Emily please this is degrading. I’m a senior staff member at Director level.’

‘Jules my style is different to what you were used to under George. We are all in this together and as for the chores you must get used to the change. The days of using female staff for mundane tasks have gone.’

There was no point arguing or my situation would get worse. Emily clearly had a personal agenda, so I decided to stay silent and wait for my opportunity to reclaim my status un the Company. My alternative was to resign but I needed to leave on my terms.

I accompanied Emily to the 10am meeting and we were joined by Jenny and Melanie neither of whom could look me in the eye. Everybody stood up as we entered the room until the four of us were seated. Jenny and Melanie sat either side of Emily and I had a seat a yard or so behind the three of them with a notepad to take notes. All my staff looked at me and I am happy to say they seemed puzzled and sympathetic. They all appeared as shocked as I had been when I’d met with Emily on arrival to the office. Sally made a point of waving and showing her disapproval of the change in my status and was clearly uncertain about her own position.

Emily didn’t pull any punches and she announced that she was taking over from George with immediate effect and that he’d left the company by mutual agreement. I knew that wasn’t the truth but nobody was asking questions at that stage. Then she said that I’d agree to stay on as her personal assistant to ensure a smooth transition and that her target was to change working practices and return the company to profit, Jenny Isaacs and Melanie Baxter had been given non-executive roles by George and had now been promoted to Executives and since they had been groomed to take over for the two current incumbents they would take the positions of James Austin and Harry Whitaker who had been relieved of their duties by telephone and told to stay home until called to the office. Everything was happening at break-neck speed, so no wonder rumours had been scarce.

I couldn’t see the expressions on the faces of Jenny and Melanie, but I found out later from Sally that both had big smirks on their faces. They had let both George and I down by liaising with Emily directly and helping her with her strategy. Neither had enough understanding of our business nor the required experience to take so much responsibility. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Emily announced that the Company would be posting updates, but their priority was to shareholders who would be meeting herself and the Chairman the following day.

Sally spoke up and asked for clarification about her role since I had taken a new position that conflicted with hers. Emily said that she’d be taking the role of assistant to Jennifer and the current Manager of Sales, Charles Cameron would be assistant to Melonie.
. She then announced that Jennifer Issacs had been appointed as Executive Manager of Purchasing and Melanie Baxter appointed as Executive Manager of Sales and Marketing. Both had been given the responsibility to restructure their departments and help sort out the old boys club that had existed under George.

This was like a nightmare and there didn’t seem to be any logic in the changes. Sally was a first-class secretary and was my assistant. Charles was well respected in the industry with lots of contacts. He might just leave.

Then Emily announced that she wanted staff to feel prouder of the company and project a better image with no more casual days. She advised that Jenny would be issuing all staff below Executive Management level with a form of uniform consisting of company shirts and trousers to project a consistent image to customers and visitors and 2 sets would be issued. Jenny advised that they were due for delivery the following day and that the shirts had the company logo on the pocket and were white with trousers in black. Female staff no longer needed to wear skirts or dresses that should reduce their expense and allow a levelling up with male staff. All employees would have polo shirts in summer and long sleeve cotton shirts in winter months. Female staff would however be allowed to have a lightweight cotton version of the shirts and could wear a cardigan in winter months whilst male staff would have a sweater. Any women who preferred a sweater had that option. I was amazed that this was a priority action and since staff came in different shapes and sizes lots would complain. I remember thinking ‘good luck there.’

The rest of the morning was a blur. I seemed to be at Emily’s beck and call and hardly had chance to sit down and sort things out. She wanted a full list of all my business contacts and to highlight the top fifty. Her plan was to meet them all and for me to introduce them and explain that she’d taken over from George. I was pretty sure that her idea was to identify those who might be attracted to her fluttering eyelashes. She could certainly turn it on from when necessary, according to George so I was going to watch and learn. At least that was the general plan.

As if business in our industry could be won by flirting with the high-level staff. George and I trained staff to understand that it was a combined effort at all levels. I feared Emily might be too naïve to be successful and our chairman would soon find her out.

At lunchtime Emily headed out of the office with Jenny and Melanie that was a good opportunity for me to leave on time to meet Sally. She was already seated in a booth and had ordered 2 glasses of house wine and some nibbles. She stood up to greet me and we hugged for quite a while before she finally relaxed her grip.

‘Julian I’m so sorry. This is totally unjust and almost criminal. Surely you won’t accept this situation. I’d walk out and make them pay. I can find a good employment lawyer if you like.

‘It’s OK thanks I’m trying to decide my options and I’m not rushing into anything.’

‘But she’s promoted two unpopular members of your team who are already a pain in the neck as well as lacking experience. Just because they are women and fit her agenda I suppose. I’m ashamed, totally ashamed.’
‘Sally don’t get so worked up please. George is fine and he’ll easily find another job and when he does, he’ll call me.’

‘But that’s crazy. He built our business and lots of people benefited. Not just greedy shareholders but us employees. Who on earth made such a stupid decision?’

‘The shareholders and the Group Chairman. Emily is related to him. That might have influenced the decision.’

‘Well, I won’t be hanging around. As soon as I get chance I’ll be away. I liked working for you and I know how much effort you put into your job. You care about people and customers trust you.’

‘I suppose you are right, but I don’t have a say in the matter. I might have been an executive, but it doesn’t seem to count for much. Nobody consulted me or even gave a warning.’’

‘We ought to organise a walk out or a work to rule or something. Show the greedy devils that this is a business that was built on teamwork and trust. I’ve had it. Anyway, what’s wrong with your car. Why have you walked here?’

‘I was told I was going to lose it. Possibly I could keep it until the end of the month.’

‘What. You are mad? That’s part of your remuneration, Don’t let them bully you please. Take the afternoon off and go take some legal advice.’

‘I can’t. I have to handover things to Emily, I don’t want to give them any excuses and I’ve already shaken hands that I’ll take the new job with Emily.’

‘Come on Julian. It’s not just about you it’s the careers and livelihoods of all of us. This restructuring and the way they’ve dealt with key staff is probably unlawful.’

‘OK let me think about it.’

We headed back to the office, and I don’t remember eating or who paid the bill. I was still in a blur.

Around 4pm Emily called me into her office to ask that I clear my car and hand over the keys before I left the office. I didn’t care anymore what they did to me, so I did as instructed and just handed over the keys. I was welling up inside and had to dash to the bathrooms and find a cubicle where I stayed until I had calmed down. What had I done to deserve this treatment? I was again almost on the point of resigning and walking out as Sally had suggested. I called George instead and he calmed me down and told me that he needed me to stay there so we could get our jobs back and correct any damage done. So, I stayed silent.

I left the office at 5-30pm that was unusual, but without transport I needed to catch a bus home and I’d no idea of the service I needed or the schedule. Emily did tell me that she had a car sorted for the following day if I was interested to buy it. It turned out that my car was being handed to Melanie and she was prepared to sell hers to me at a knock down price. I said that I’d think about it but it was humiliating and I was sure that Melanie was enjoying every moment.

At my apartment I threw my things across the room and let out a loud scream. I was surprised that neighbours didn’t come running to see if I’d been murdered or something. I had no appetite, and I needed a drink, so I poured a large gin and tonic and half of it disappeared in seconds. Two refills were consumed before I decided to shower and dress and go into town to take my mind off work. It helped and I soon found myself outside the Cat’s Club where friends of mine hung out.
I don’t think any of them knew me other than as Julia or Jules and I’d never met them away from the club. At least we could chat about other things and after two more drinks work was the last thing on my mind. I rarely consumed alcohol so I was feeling a little drunk and it was only 9pm. There were several guys in the bar who were on a business trip, and they approached us to check us out. I wasn’t prepared to get too involved as it was not my scene, but Cathy was turned on and Karen was encouraging her. I just needed to escape as soon as possible before I made matters worse. It was bad enough being found out by Melanie or Jenny without somebody else seeing me with a guy.

Luckily the guy’s lost interest when the drag show started, and I took the opportunity to leave. I excused myself and took a cab home. I needed to sober up and eat something, so I ran a bath and made myself a sandwich.
I had a better night’s sleep thanks to the G&T’s, and I woke up early with a surprisingly clear head. I felt calmer than I had the day before and I had a cooked breakfast before getting ready for another nervous day at the office. I’d only eaten a third of my sandwich the night before, so I was ready for something substantial inside me to soak up the alcohol and luckily, I had some eggs and bits and pieces to make myself a large omelette.

I took the bus that was much busier than I expected and arrived at the office at around 8am to find Emily already in her office checking her messages and reading some of my most recent reports.

‘Ah Jules good morning. Do you mind getting us some coffee and joining me? I want to go through your recent reports with you and make an action plan.’

I headed for the kitchen to make a fresh jug of coffee and before long I was surrounded by other staff members keen to fill their cups and scurry back to their seats.

The next hour or so was spent explaining about the key customers in my reports and who were important and who paid on time as well as those who placed repeat business and had a history with our company. The upside was that Emily complemented me on my reports and said that I clearly knew the business and the competition so my role in her support was important, so we achieved the goals she had promised to shareholders. At least it seemed like I had some value and a role to play going forward if I could tolerate being cast aside.

We were interrupted by a call from Melanie who advised that the new outfits had arrived and that she was about to arrange for staff to collect them. By the time I left Emily’s office most had been allocated and those that were left in the men’s section were much too large for my small frame.

Melanie couldn’t resist telling me that I’d be better to try outfits from the womens area that were similar and that I looked to be a similar size to her that was a common womens size. I let her see how angry I was, but it didn’t seem to faze her. ‘Just take them and go and try them on. You’re a bit light up top but I think they seem to be the right size. You just see.’ I was sure she was doing this on purpose because she knew about my cross dressing.

The trousers were clearly a different style to my own, but they did fit. I was experienced enough to tell that would be the case even without Melanie’s advice. One of her staff was giggling in the background as I left the changing area that had been set up, so I knew they were nothing like a men’s fit. They were higher on the waist and fitted snuggly back and front. The trousers were boot cut and slightly long in the leg. The polo shirt was like the men’s version but with opposite hand buttons, but the size was about right. Melanie said I’d look better in a blouse like the other secretarial staff and handed one for me to try on. I gave her my best black look saying this was stupid and I coloured up as I took the blouse from her.

‘Wow you look great. Must be all the practice you’ve had and your diet. I suggest a low heel rather than shortening the trousers that I think fit perfectly. Just turn around. If you wear some of your feminine undies, they’ll look even better.
‘But there are no pockets and I’ll have no jacket, and this is clearly a feminine uniform.’
‘Don’t make such a fuss. Staff know you’re out of work interests so what’s your problem. Emily will be impressed. I bet you’ve loads of shoes that you can wear with those so why not pop home at lunchtime as you are close enough? You can use a small bag for your belongings. I bet you have plenty in your closet that would be adequate. You can change from your business suit and be one of the first to adopt the new style.’

‘What about you? Why aren’t you wearing this outfit?’

‘It doesn’t apply to senior management. I’ll be wearing business suits from now on same as Emily. We do have you to thank for our opportunity with Emily. You hired us,’