Changing Roles
By Julie Dawn Cole
Chapter 5

‘Now then Jules let me look at you please. They made a good job of the uniform don’t you agree? Turn around please let me see you from the back. I hope you like it. It looks snug and comfortable. No bumps or VPL to be seen. I don’t think you need to bother changing the trousers to a men’s cut. I recommend you keep that style and fit.’

I blushed and stuttered some sort of a response along the lines that it did feel quite comfortable, but I had been mistaken for a female employee on my way in. I said it would be better if I was re-issued with trousers like the rest of the male staff.

‘But a good fit that suits you is a good thing isn’t it not a bad thing?’

‘Not exactly because I know it makes me look androgynous that causes embarrassment. I was stopped from entering the men’s room so ended up doing my hair in the ladies’ bathroom. It was awkward when I was confronted earlier so to avoid making an issue and to keep a low profile I quickly went in out of the way until he’s gone. Luckily it was early with nobody around and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I could see why the mistake was made. My hair needs cutting, and I should have tied it back at home.’

‘I like you better with that look but why not higher your ponytail a little to show it off more. Then the blond streaks will stand out. As for your outfit the more casual look is much better on you and your men’s suits seem far too big. They bury you. They don’t seem to go with your figure that is very slim for a man. You have a very narrow waist and a cute curved bum that your jackets obviously covered in a suit.’

‘Is that why you called me Julie because I look feminine? It is not right.’

‘Well, that can just be between us if you like. You do like dressing in female clothes, don’t you? I just assumed that would be your female name.’

‘I don’t dress in female clothes except on special occasions. I admit that I’ve always liked the feeling when I dress because the materials used in womens clothes are much nicer. I do sometimes dress in private or to go out with girlfriends but never at work though. Nobody knew I did this but obviously somebody must have recognised me somewhere when I was out with friends and leaked the information. Gossip mongers with nothing better to do.’

‘Or maybe they saw you if you joined in any of the transgender protest marches around here.’

‘I only joined the Gay Pride march that was two months ago and I did dress appropriately but I can’t have been recognisable. I had a long wig and make-up.’

‘Well, make-up just accentuates your feminine features it doesn’t hide anything like a mask for example.’

‘I was wearing a mask when we set off but I was persuaded to remove it.’

‘Well, none of that is relevant and what’s done is done. Just give it time and I think you will become braver. I don’t have a problem how you want to appear outside work as long as you do the job that I need you to do.’

‘But I was in charge here before with only George as CEO as my direct superior. Now it seems like I’m secretary level and I’ve lost all respect from the workforce.’

‘Don’t worry we’ll soon sort that out. You are not secretary level I made you my PA. That’s a powerful position in any organisation.’

I nodded meekly and took a sip of coffee that was getting cold. I had to accept the situation for now and it could have been much worse. My priority was keeping the pay cheque, paying off my debts and supporting my family.

‘Right Julie let’s crack on please. You can call me Emily by the way, but I prefer Ms Waterton when we are with customers or in board meetings where you can take notes and help me get to understand the business.’

‘It will take time but after that what happens to me?’

‘Nothing planned it’s up to you. I will always need a PA and you can travel with me sometimes. I hope that won’t be a problem for you. I want to really expand the business and find new customers who value our support. Ones that pay and keep coming back. You should highlight the customers who have females running the company or in positions of power. They will be the most loyal and trustworthy.’

‘We have just a few like that. A handful really.’

‘We’ll soon change that. Didn’t you ever access Company reports that disclose this sort of information?’

‘I left that to our finance department, but they focus on the company’s ability to pay rather than the Owners and Directors.’

‘We’ll be changing that. We need to get to know the customers at all levels and build relationships. No wonder getting paid has been a problem.’

‘It was my job to build customer relationships.’

‘It’s a team effort. George was too lax then. I think we’ll have to run through some of the bad debts and go meet the culprits. I bet they all drive fancy cars. Can you bring your list, and we’ll highlight some priorities?’

‘Are you saying that I cost George his job?’

‘Not directly but you were a team, and he should have been more diligent. We all have a role to play, and we watch each other’s backs. Women are always better looking after the purse strings. We’ll be appointing a new CFO and I have someone ready to step in.’

‘But what about Andrew Frobisher? He has been with us for almost 20 years.’

‘I can tell. He is not doing a very good job. I had a chat with him and how he survived I’ll never know. A good CFO is one who gets involved. We don’t want bean counters in that role. That’s my impression of Andrew.’

‘He’ll be devastated. He works long hours and he’s the one who turns off the lights.’
‘
‘Well wait until you meet Pam Parkinson. You’ll soon see the difference. I already let her take a look at some of the financials. She highlighted the key actions in less than an hour.’

‘So when does she start?’

‘Next week. I paid a fee to her employers, since she was smart enough to have a release clause It will be money well spent just wait and see. The department has plenty of hard-working female staff. They just need leadership, and we’ll soon win their loyalty.’

‘George and I identified our main debtors and it’s true that they caused us headaches and we tried to take them to court but auditors made us write off huge sums until we had settlements in place.’

‘Order book is important but as I said this business needs a woman’s hand at the tiller for a while. Men are too soft. I’m going to show you how to run a business where profit and cash in the bank counts more than order book.’

‘Why waste your time with me if we are weak?’

‘Based on my assessment you are more likely to take on board these new policies than the macho men you’ve employed in the past in the company. I haven’t much time for old fashioned styles of management in male dominated companies.’

‘But why remove all my authority? You must have decided I’m not capable of doing the job.’

‘Julie, I make judgements of people regardless of gender and you have lots of empathy and sensitivity that are important. I think we could develop your personality if you follow my advice. I rely a lot on my initial instincts about people and you have potential in the right job. Now come on we have work to do. Tell me the company who failed us the most and fix up a meeting please. Here in my office is best for us, so please insist. If you need my help, then just transfer the call through to me.’

It was my chance. I’d soon find out if she was as good as she thinks she is. Emily is a strong personality with fixed views about men and she was so sure of herself I felt she was dangerous. I could show her up and she would be embarrassed. However on the upside she did seem to want to retain my services but as for teaching me anything or changing my ways in line with her ideas I didn’t think that was necessary.

As I thought about the last few years with George in control as far as I was concerned, we had proven ourselves and built the company, but shareholders just seemed greedy. I decided to go to my desk to do as she had instructed and report back to her as soon as possible, I knew who was top of my list of customers we needed to sort out, and I smiled to myself as I thought about how they would react to a woman in charge, especially one like Emily. Decision made.

The company was run by an arrogant Indian businessman, Devenah Viraj Rao and his son Shivay was his deputy. Their family had arrived in UK and set up a business that Rao fully controlled. We had had supplied them with a whole production line that cost several million pounds and was financed by our banks. We only received about half of what was due. They had argued the equipment was not as they specified and didn’t produce the products fast enough for them to reduce the labour force in line with their plans.

Rao was always very rude, especially to me and he called me Hijra that was embarrassing. He made it clear he considered me ineffective and that I was doing a job that needed a strong more masculine leader. I couldn’t resolve the disputes between our companies, so George had eventually become involved. The perfect opportunity for Emily. Rao would put her in her place, and he had made it clear he had no intention to pay. Their parent company guarantee was worthless because they were based in New Delhi so taking them to court was likely to be expensive and time consuming.

Emily instructed me to set up a meeting to introduce her as our new CEO who had replaced George. I was to tell them that because of their job I had been demoted so I knew Rao would want to come and gloat as well as to show off to his son. It would be a good test of her true ability to make her realise this was a tough job in a male dominated industry beyond her skill set. I decided not to disclose Emily’s gender.

I went back into Emily’s office with a file, and she immediately set it aside and said she had read Georges reports and was aware of the outstanding monies owed. She smiled and complemented me saying this would be the perfect opportunity to prove her capability to shareholders.

I contacted Shivay who agreed to a meeting the following day but at their office rather than ours because we were the supplier. I convinced Emily and since they were about 100 miles away, she said she would drive and pick me up from home.

I made a list of a few other difficult customers and started writing a summary report to issue to Emily and she made a few phone calls and then called me back into her office to dictate a few letters. I was no secretary, but I scribbled notes as fast as I could. Emily seemed to be enjoying herself. We were interrupted by a call that was for me related to a quotation we had submitted. She insisted on the call going onto loudspeaker and introducing herself as the new CEO and that I was now her PA. The customer went a little quiet whilst Emily talked about herself, and her qualifications and she told them that George had resigned rather than the truth.

We never got around to finding out why the customer had called. Emily didn’t seem to realise this had happened and it seemed she felt so pleased with herself to have made a business contact who she would develop a relationship. After the call ended, she asked me to quickly formulate a key contact file that she could access and to transfer contact information from my own files.

I asked if she wanted any meetings in the afternoon as I wanted to get my car sorted out and insured but she told me we had too much to do and that she wanted me to arrange a working lunch in the boardroom with her new management team starting at noon with a break for lunch at 1pm. I’d no time to do much and no idea where to start so I panicked a bit before I decided to call Sally for help. She offered to assist but told me to book the boardroom first and contact the attendees personally as they might have other arrangements. She would organise the caterers and meet me to confirm the lunch items. This was crazy. Too many things to do as well as taking Emily’s calls.

I managed to speak to everybody but had no idea of the agenda so there was no preparation expected. Some were a little shirty, especially the 3 men, Jack Roberts, Bill Nightingale and Warren Atkinson who were all attending production meetings that would have to be cut short.

I met Sally in her office, and she gave me the contacts at the caterers and a choice of menus for future reference. Then she took me to the kitchen alongside the boardroom that I’d never seen before, and we checked that we had clean utensils and crockery which we transferred to the boardroom on a side table.

‘Don’t we have staff come in for this sort of thing Sally?’

‘Didn’t you see us do this before in your meetings. Secretarial staff always sorted these things out and then you helped yourselves.’
‘Well, I hope Emily doesn’t expect to act as waitresses. We are not lackeys. We have our own jobs, and I haven’t done anything yet this morning that was on my to-do list.’

Sally was most helpful, and I was so glad that I’d always treated her kindly and built a relationship. I guessed she felt sorry for me and knew about my personal circumstances with my family in care homes. She was trying to ensure I stayed on the right side of Emily who was testing me and pushing me to my limits.

Whilst I was updating her about mums’ health condition Melanie appeared in the doorway of her office.
‘Ah Jules I thought I heard your voice can you pop into my office a moment. Sorry to break up your chatter Sally but can you ask Charles Cameron to join us please. He should be in the office this morning before he heads off to Poland,’

I followed Melanie into her office, and she closed the door Looking me up and down and smiling. She had obviously invested in a new outfit, and she looked taller and slimmer in heels. Copying Emily’s style.

‘Please sit-down Jules. You look smart in the Company uniform. It suits you.’

‘Thanks, but I’m not sure it is the right style for me. These pants are giving people the wrong idea about me. I need to change them for men’s pants.’
‘They look fine to me, and they fit well. You should keep them.’

I didn’t much want to prolong the meeting, so I just gave a weak smile. I couldn’t believe Melanie had been given this position and that James Austin and Harry Whitaker had been relieved of their duties. Both were in their fifties and close to 60th birthdays but they had lots of experience and I was in no doubt that George would be in contact with them. Melanie was good but not ready for leading the Sales team.

‘Now then Jules you seem to be settling into your new job and Emily seems satisfied with you, but I don’t want you interfering in sales because that’s my job. I understand you might be visiting key customers with Emily, so I want you to give me regular updates. She won’t have time to go out securing new business and that’s my job. So, keep in touch please and By all means Sally can help you settle in to your job. I only want to ensure Emily gets full support to turn the company around and I fully expect George to be competing with us at some time in the future. I will be keeping a close eye on you as I don’t want you behaving as an insider passing information.’

‘I have no contact with George, and he may well just retire since he can afford it. He was grooming me as his successor, and we hired fresh blood like you and Jenny to eventually move to senior positions.’
‘Yes, I understand but we weren’t progressing fast enough but Emily has given us the opportunities we wanted. So, the wheel has turned Jules and so take care not to cause any ripples and hopefully you’ll survive.’

‘I am being careful.’

‘Good. Now I have an update on the car. It will be ready tomorrow. You’ll be able to collect it with all the documentation sometime after lunch.’

‘But I might not be back from our meeting.’

‘What meeting is that?’

‘Emily asked me to set up a meeting with Rao’s company who owe us a lot of money and then to set up another meeting with a key customer to try to close a deal.’

‘Who might this company be? They are they my customers.’

‘It’s not for me to say or I’ll get into trouble.’

‘Never mind I’ll ask Emily myself. Either I’ll go with her instead of you or all three of us will be going.’