I realize that this could be the last time I stand in this room as a Leary employee. If Guy knows, we could be escorted from the building never to return. I suddenly feel really attached to this dismal office block. I?ve worked here for five years, and it?s sort of a home away from home. I take in the pink floor tiles, the white board on which someone once wrote ?Technological advances? in black pen and underlined it three times only to find out that they?d used the wrong pen and it wouldn?t come off. They can?t make me leave, I think to myself. I belong here. I?ve even snogged Gary in IT, for God?s sake. Nigel is combing his hair to one side. He looks truly dreadful. I realize that if I do get the sack, I will even miss him in a funny sort of way. I?ll have no more stories to tell my friends.
We take the lift up to the fourth floor in complete silence. I feel like we?re on our way to a really important exam or something. The fourth floor is nothing like the rest of the building. For one thing, the carpet is really thick so it?s a lot quieter. And for another, there are no open plan areas, just offices with secretaries outside. The secretaries never smile at you. Guy?s is particularly fearsome?I?ve been to see him a few times now and she always gives me this piercing look as if to say ?I know you?re a time waster? and I automatically feel like I have no right to be there at all. Like when I go to the doctor, I?m always convinced the doctor thinks I?m wasting her time. The moment I sit down I forget what my symptoms are, and end up apologizing and leaving, only to remember that I?m almost dying of food poisoning.
Luckily Guy?s secretary isn?t here today. His door is open and we enter in silence. So silently, in fact, that Guy doesn?t seem to have noticed that we?ve come in.
I clear my throat and he looks up from some papers on his desk. I scan the room quickly for any sign of the printouts or a pink flowery envelope, but can?t see either.
?Nigel, Georgie, thanks for coming up. We?ve got a slightly tricky situation on our hands.?
Nigel and I exchange glances as Guy gets up to shut the door of his office. He looks at us long and hard and says nothing for a minute or two. I can almost hear Nigel sweating.
?Okay. I need to know if I can trust the two of you to do some work for me.?
Nigel and I look at each other and both turn earnestly to Guy with ?you can trust us? looks on our faces. Guy grimaces.
?Some information has come to me,? he continues. ?Information about HG that could only have come from within HG. I need to find out if it?s genuine.?
?What information?? I ask, trying to sound as innocent as I can.
?Personnel records, stuff that we shouldn?t have.?
?Gosh!?
Nigel shoots daggers at me. I know what he?s thinking. Use the wordgosh and Guy will know we?re guilty. I mean, who says ?gosh? these days? Mind you, Guy should be used to me saying stupid things by now, surely. But he doesn?t seem to have noticed, which is a relief.
?The thing is, it appears that HG has a track record of decimating all the companies they take over. They are telling us a very different story, according to the board, and I need to find out what the truth is.?
He pauses again, then looks up at us earnestly.
?Look, would you mind just digging around a bit? Find out anything you can about HG and previous mergers. I?ve got a board meeting on Friday, and if there?s anything I should know, I need to know it by then. Otherwise it could be too late. Okay??
We both nod furiously and I mutter ?Absolutely,? but it doesn?t come out loud enough because my throat is kind of caught, so I say it again and this time it comes out really loudly. Guy looks at me strangely.
?If this gets out now, it could jeopardize the future of the company, as well as our jobs,? he says slowly. ?I need to know I can rely on your discretion.?
?Guy, you can depend on us. This won?t get out.? Nigel sounds amazingly calm, like an actor in a spy film or something. An actor with a really nasal London accent who sweats a lot.
Guy forces himself to smile as he stands up, but his forehead is creased in concentration. Personally, I?m grinning ear to ear. We?re not fired! Not only does Guy not suspect us of giving him the information, but he?s putting his trust in us to find out what?s going on! We are truly employees of the month!
Nigel is also looking visibly relieved. ?It worked!? he whispers as we wait for the lift. ?He didn?t suspect a thing! And now we?ve got the go-ahead to do somereal research.?
?Real?? I say uncertainly. ?You do mean legal, don?t you??
?Sometimes you need to bend the law to get the information you need,? says Nigel and his eyes are glinting. I wonder if Guy quite realizes what he is getting us all into.
Back at my desk I try to work out if there?s any way I can talk David round without having to steal the disk from him. But each time I think I?ve found the right words, I realize that by admitting that I know all about it, I?ll be revealing that I?ve been seeing Mike, and I just can?t risk it. If David doesn?t know I went to Rome to meet Mike, imagine how he?ll react if he finds out what I?ve been up to! It?s no good?I?m going to have to go through with it.
My phone rings and I answer it to find Nigel on the other line. Even though his desk is about five feet away from mine.
?Um, Nigel, why are you calling me??
?It?s quieter. Honestly, Georgie, you?re going to have to learn how to do this sort of work. Right, I?m going to dig around HG some more and see what I can find.?
As he talks I can see him shoving everything on his desk to one side. That is so unlike Nigel?he isn?t even labeling anything! I miss most of what he?s saying because I?m so preoccupied with his new approach to paperwork, but I tune back in to the conversation to hear him say ?What I want you to do is to find out more about Tryton. If they are involved in all the mergers, we need to know who they are?the people who run it, the investors, that kind of thing. Okay??
I think it?s okay. I mean, it?s not the sort of research I usually do?it?s not just a case of ringing up some accountants or lawyers and asking their opinion on something?but it beats having to think about the Zip disk and Mike.
