The Christmas Party (17 page)

The staff, as one, turned and bolted as fast as they could for the free bar.

Tyler put the bottle of bourbon to his lips and tipped the burning amber liquid straight down his throat.

Chapter Nineteen

Josh and I finally get to the front of the queue at the bar. ‘Champagne, please,’ I say when he asks me what I’d like to drink.

With a bit more pushing and shoving, he gets a glass of fizz for me and a Coke for himself. Then we stand and look at each other in a slightly dazed manner, both shocked after the chairman’s bombshell.

‘Well,’ Josh says, perplexed. ‘That was a bit of a bolt from the blue.’

‘Completely unexpected. I don’t think Tyler knew anything about it either, from the look on his face.’

I know he won’t be happy about that. My boss likes to think he’s got his finger on the pulse.

‘I hadn’t heard a whisper either. As far as I knew all was well. I thought the announcement was going to be something good for the employees.’ Josh shakes his head. ‘I can’t even get drunk. I couldn’t do my job without a car, so I gave up alcohol years ago. But, right this moment, I’ve never felt more like downing a double brandy.’

‘Me too.’ If this is going to be my first and possibly last Christmas party with Fossil Oil, I’m going to make sure that I make the most of it. And currently that translates into joining the fray and drinking a lot of free booze. It seems as if most of the staff have come up with the same idea. And who can blame them? Like me, they probably thought their jobs were as safe as could be.

How will they decide who’ll go and who’ll stay? As one of the last to join the company, will I be the first to be shown the door?

‘I’m worried now,’ I admit. With having a decent salary, I was starting to make good inroads into my debts. I pay very little to Mum and Dad – at their insistence – so that I can use most of my salary to clear the outstanding mortgage. That could all crumble about my ears. With the sweep of a corporate arm, I could be right back where I started. ‘I thought I was going to make my career at Fossil. Who knows what’ll happen now?’

‘No doubt we’ll find out soon enough.’

‘How can a rich organisation like Fossil treat its staff so shabbily? It’s Christmas, for heaven’s sake. Couldn’t they have waited until January to tell us? At least then people could have enjoyed Christmas without worrying.’

The festive season will be spoiled by having this axe hanging over our heads. I’m quietly seething inside.

‘It’s the way of the world now.’

‘Well, it isn’t right,’ I grumble.

The dance floor is full again and the band is playing a raft of wholly inappropriate cheery Christmas songs. They seem to be oblivious, and no one else really seems to mind either.

There’s a strange air of abandonment among the staff. At the bar, the drinks are going down at a rate of knots. Normally staid members of staff appear to be exhibiting a wild recklessness that there’d been no sign of just a few moments ago.

‘If it’s any comfort, I’m sure we’ll be safe,’ Josh says. He has to lean closer for me to be able to hear him as the band is playing louder and louder. ‘There are a lot more people with their heads on the chopping block ahead of us.’

‘I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.’ But I do know that my heart is in my boots.

I glance up, in time to see Karen from Customer Accounts jump on to the stage. She wrests the tambourine from one of the backing singers and shimmies across the front of the stage, banging it against her bottom.

‘All I want for Christmas is you,’ she shouts out. She wiggles her bottom and points to various people in the audience. ‘You, you, you!’

If I’m not mistaken, she’s already had quite a few of these men.

‘You!’ The last person her gaze rests on is Josh. She waggles her finger determinedly at him. ‘You!’

He shifts uncomfortably, but seconds later Karen is off again, banging away with the tambourine.

‘Wow,’ I say, nodding towards her.

Josh laughs shyly. ‘I guess bad news affects people in different ways.’

The lead singer pulls Karen to him and she shrieks loudly down the microphone. I feel like covering my ears, but it seems impolite. Karen obviously isn’t going to let a little thing like looming redundancy spoil her evening.

Good for her. I wish I could say the same. I’m certainly not in the party mood any more. I actually feel like lying on the floor and weeping. Right now, I’d really like to ring my dad and tell him to come and collect me. But, having told him to put the car away and insisting that I could fend for myself, I don’t like to drag him out on this cold winter’s night. Besides, he’d wonder what was wrong and, if I can, I’ll try to put off telling them for as long as possible. They’ll be out of their minds with worry for me.

I might be out of a job in the new year but at least we can have a good Christmas. My heart breaks for Mia. I wanted to make her so proud of her mummy. Now it’s all up in the air again.

‘Chin up,’ Josh says. ‘There’s nothing we can do about it. We just have to wait and see what unfolds.’

‘Your sales figures are great,’ I remind him. ‘The best. I’m certain you won’t be on the hit list.’

‘And you’re Tyler’s assistant. He’s not going anywhere.’

‘You don’t know that. He might think about getting out and going to another company.’ Like a rat deserting a sinking ship. I’m sure the man has no morals. I wouldn’t put it past him. I don’t know Tyler Benson all that well, but I already know that whatever happens he’ll be sure to put his own interests first.

‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ he admits.

Inside I’m still reeling. ‘How can they make that much money –
seventeen billion pounds
– and still be cutting staff?’ I can’t even imagine what
one
billion pounds must look like.

‘Companies are like that now. They want more and more out of each employee. These days I’m doing the work that two sales managers used to do.’

‘How will they manage with fewer people then?’

Josh shrugs. ‘They just do. But the work gets done in a more slapdash manner. Customer service plummets. They push everyone to breaking point and then the staff that are there are always off sick or cave in with stress.’

‘That’s a terribly bleak picture.’

‘And this is the season that’s supposed to be jolly.’

‘I thought I could count on this job. I had no idea I’d still be in such an unstable situation.’

‘You don’t know what will happen yet. We’ll all have to wait and see. You never know what difference a day can make.’

‘That’s true enough. Yesterday, all I had to worry about was a boss who was groping me every five minutes. Now I’m thinking how I’ll tell my parents that I might be on the scrapheap again so soon after scrambling up off it.’

Josh frowns. ‘What did you say about groping?’

I realise what has inadvertently slipped out. ‘Nothing,’ I say. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘I’m thinking this is more than his usual over-the-top flirting?’

Then I realise that it
does
matter and that I really want to tell Josh. ‘Yes.’ Why should I keep this a secret? It’s not me who’s in the wrong. ‘Tyler’s been giving me a hard time, coming on to me, copping a feel whenever he can.’ I say it lightly and try to shrug it off.

His face darkens. ‘That’s wrong, Louise. You shouldn’t have to put up with that.’

‘My thoughts exactly.’

‘Have you spoken to anyone about it?’

I shake my head. ‘It’s my problem. I should be able to deal with it. The only upside of the SACKED programme is that I might not have to deal with it any longer.’ I try to laugh but fail. This has affected me more than I’d like to admit, shaken my new-found confidence.

‘In the new year – if we’re both still here – we’ll deal with it.’

‘Thanks. I’d appreciate that. But what can we do?’

‘I don’t know,’ he admits. ‘But I’ll think of something.’

‘I never thought working for a renowned corporation would be like this.’

‘Welcome to the cut-throat world of big business.’

I sigh. ‘You sound very pragmatic about it all. I wish I could feel the same. You’ve given so much to this stupid company. You said it even cost you your marriage. Yet they don’t give a second thought to dumping you, or any of us.’

‘That’s just the way it is. No jobs for life any more. It must be difficult if you’re over fifty though. I reckon they’ll be first on the list.’

‘How awful.’ It reminds me of my dad’s situation and how heart-breaking that has been.

He’d worked for the same small engineering company in Milton Keynes for years and, then, at the age of fifty-seven, was made redundant. Try as he might, he couldn’t find anything that used his skills. So he’s ended up working in Marks & Spencer as a security guard. He makes the best of it, but he’s not earning anything like he was. Though they do let the staff buy the food that’s about to go out of date really cheaply, which Mum gets a kick out of.

I wonder if this is what some of my colleagues have in store for them. I feel so awful for the people who are older and have been working at Fossil Oil a long time. What will they do in the new year? Everyone is chasing so few jobs that some of them might not work again.

What an initiation to the Christmas party! I don’t think this night could actually get any worse.

On the stage, Karen sings louder and we both look up. She’s staring right at Josh again. ‘Santa baby,’ she croons. My colleague scoops up her blonde locks with one hand and piles them seductively on her head. She licks her lips and wiggles her hips.

‘She definitely has the hots for you,’ I point out. Karen’s is not a subtle attempt at seduction.

‘That’s a very frightening thought,’ he says.

‘She is
so
going to regret this in the morning. Do you think I should get her down from there?’ I feel quite protective of Karen as she’s the only colleague I’ve become at all close to.

The song ends with a big flourish and, without warning, Karen launches herself off the stage as if she’s leaping into a mosh pit.

‘Good grief.’ My heart is in my mouth. Now I’m worried for her safety.

She’s held aloft on a sea of arms, Christmas-party crowd-surfing.

Next to me Josh laughs. ‘I think she’ll be OK.’ Then, gently, he lays a hand on my arm. I turn to him and am surprised by the warmth, even tenderness in his eyes. ‘I think you will be too, Louise.’

Chapter Twenty

Kirsten watched open-mouthed as Lance left the stage with Tyler and Melissa. She thought they’d come straight back to the table, but instead they disappeared into the depths of the manor. Perhaps Tyler had persuaded Lance to go straight home after his announcement. It was a wonder the staff hadn’t turned into a lynch mob and strung him up to the glittery disco ball with some tinsel.

She was sure Tyler hadn’t known anything about this; he must be reeling. This was the moment she needed to step up to the plate and support him, not just roll her eyes and think that it was so very typical of Fossil Oil.

Now she didn’t really know what to do with herself, sitting here alone, just waiting. She fiddled with her glass, straightened the candelabra, ripped her
Merry Christmas to One and All
napkin into tiny shreds. Just as she was tempted to get out her Christmas cracker penknife and play with it, Simon reappeared in front of her.

‘Can we find somewhere to have five minutes alone, Kirsten? There are too many flapping ears here and we need to talk.’

She scanned the marquee anxiously, looking for Tyler. ‘I don’t think it’s a very sensible idea.’

‘Since when has being sensible been any fun?’ Before she could protest, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. ‘I won’t take no for an answer.’

‘The past should stay in the past, Si.’ She avoided his gaze. ‘There’s no point raking it up. I have nothing to say to you.’

‘Then you can just listen.’ A waiter passed them and Simon grabbed two empty glasses and a bottle of fizz from the tray he was carrying. ‘I have plenty
I
want to say to
you
.’

He guided her through the crowd of revellers, still holding her hand tightly, and out of the marquee. Feeling both anxious and thrilled at the same time, she trailed in his wake as they made their way through the opulent rooms of the manor house. Many of them were in darkness now, some lit only by candles. Every sofa they came across appeared to be occupied by a couple in a passionate embrace. Kirsten didn’t know all that many people at Fossil Oil, but even she realised that most of them weren’t with their usual partners. There would be some sore heads and red faces in the office tomorrow, that was for sure.

Undeterred, Simon walked on, threading his way through the bodies.

‘This is hopeless,’ she said, looking for an excuse to turn back. ‘All the quiet spots have been occupied. We should return to the marquee.’

‘Oh, no,’ Simon said. ‘I don’t give up that easily.’

It was a trait she remembered well about him.

‘We’ll be missed from the party.’

‘That’s the least of my worries,’ he replied as he snatched up a throw from one of the sofas, threw open the French doors ahead of them and led her outside.

‘It’s freezing!’ Kirsten protested as a wall of icy air hit her. She clutched her bare arms.

‘Then we’ll find somewhere warm.’ He stopped to gently drape the throw he’d purloined around her shoulders, wrapping her as if she was something fragile and precious.

He’d always been so kind, so caring. She hadn’t forgotten that either. With Tyler she could have frozen to death and he would have scarcely noticed. Oh yes, Simon was a different kettle of fish altogether. He was compassionate and thoughtful where Tyler was bullish and brash.

His fingers lightly brushed the sensitive skin on the back of Kirsten’s arms, which made her shiver. Simon looked down into her face; his eyes were filled with tenderness and a river of emotions flowed over her. It was too much to be so close to him again. How could she possibly bear it?

The night had turned mind-numbingly cold. The mercury in the thermometer must be plummeting fast. A hard white frost sparkled on the trees and ground like icing sugar. A few flakes of snow drifted lazily in the air.