Yours Unfaithfully (27 page)

At ten o’clock Melanie was outside John Higgs’ office. She knew that him keeping her waiting for five minutes was part of the corporate game; it was done to make her feel inferior, to emphasise the difference in their status. He would know that she was here to say yes; no one of Melanie’s intelligence would wash away a lifetime’s career for the sake one business trip. She’d made her protest, that was permitted under the rules, the unwritten rules that was, but by the time set by him, she must be back, ready and willing to do as she was told, and if that involved leaving the bosom of her family for a month then so be it. The phone rang and the secretary answered it, “You can go in now, Mel, Mr Higgs is ready for you.”

I bet he is, she thought. I’d love to see his face if I told him to stick Poland and stick his job, but I can’t and he knows that. He’ll have checked our joint account, he’ll know what our standing orders are each month, and our earnings, he’ll know precisely why I have to do as I’m told, but I doubt if he’ll know how bloody angry I am about it.

“Mrs Fisher, good morning. How did it go with your husband last night? I hope you explained to him the importance of your role in this project?”

“Yes, I did and he was most supportive, as I knew he would be.”

“Good, he’s a sensible man, that husband of yours; I’ve heard a lot of good things about him. In fact, I shouldn’t really tell you this, but I had an e-mail from Simon Stonewood first thing this morning. He’s very pleased with him, says the bank did him an enormous favour in recommending him. That’s another feather in your cap. The fact is, if you pull off this Polish project successfully, your future is made. You’ll go into a very small group of Senior Account Managers who are recognised for their special ability at Head Office in London. You are on the verge of becoming a name within the bank, and that’s something very few of us ever achieve.”

“So, when do I leave? I’d like to know a bit more about the project and what I’m meant to secure for the bank.”

“Don’t worry, as of now your normal duties will be assigned to someone else. I’ve convened a special meeting for twelve, over lunch. I will chair the meeting. Securities will be there as well as Internal Audit. Mark Standish from our overseas office in London is already on his way down here. We should finish by five. By then you will know what you can lend, against what security and at what rate. Once in Poland you will be ‘The Bank’ but don’t forget I’m at the end of the phone if you need to talk any part of the deal through with someone. I’ll give you my direct number after this afternoon’s meeting.”

Melanie noticed the shift in his tone, the change in his manner towards her; suddenly she was getting respect where before it had been curt instructions. She had already been promoted in the minds of the bank’s hierarchy. In spite of her reluctance to take the project on, she liked the new feeling of respect, she was already comfortable with the knowledge that while she sat through a five hour meeting on the top floor, her mates downstairs would be churning their way through the boring everyday paperwork, and one of them would be saddled with hers as well. This new sensation of power was something you had to experience before you could describe it, like a drug, powerful, satisfying and something you definitely wanted more of. Back downstairs Melanie had just two hours to clear up any last bits of paper and to tell them what was happening. She was the centre of attention in the office. The rumour mongers had worked overtime since yesterday’s meeting, after which she had gone straight home.

She’s been sacked, she’s had a mental breakdown, she’s been transferred to London. Only Jo, the Office Manager, knew the truth, but true to her position she had said nothing. Now Melanie told everyone where she was going, and why. Someone produced a bottle of sparkling wine and a toast was proposed to her success in Poland. She loved working with these guys and probably the only downside to her future was the knowledge that she would have to leave them behind when she returned to take up her new position upstairs. Randy took control of affairs and insisted that Melanie make a farewell speech.

“I’ve been very happy in this office and you’ve all been wonderful to work with. I’ve had good days and bad days, but never a day when I didn’t enjoy the friendship of every one of you. I shall miss you if I move upstairs, but if I cock up this Polish adventure I might be back with you yet, so please wish me luck.”

Randy cheered and raised his glass. “Good luck to Melanie in Poland, and here’s to a successful project. Who knows? If she makes the bank enough profit on this deal we may all get a rise.”

They all laughed and joined in the good wishes. Melanie wiped her eyes, aware that nothing like this had ever happened to her before. She reflected on how a month ago she had felt despair at her apparent inability to remain in control, she was close to losing her marriage and was convinced she was a total failure. Now her marriage was the best it had ever been, her husband had a fantastic job and she was at the pinnacle of her career, swamped with success. What a difference a month made. She spruced herself up and re-did her make up. She had to look the part for the twelve o’clock meeting. She would be observed by people who, until today, had never heard of her. She was to be the star of the show and, she told herself, “At twelve I’m going to make my big entrance and by five I will have to have given the performance of a lifetime. In four weeks time they’ll be writing their reviews on me and I’m going to make certain they’re the best.”

John Higgs wasted no time as he introduced Melanie to the four others in the meeting. Now she was Melanie, what a change from yesterday when she had been Mrs. Fisher. The others were comfortable on first name terms, but for Melanie board room meetings were breaking new ground. She struggled to call him John, thinking instead how she would prefer to address him as Higgs. One day, maybe?

“Some of you may know, he started, a few weeks ago Melanie was asked to provide a report on a seminar given by a senior partner from Osborne Melsose Law, a highly respected firm of lawyers. Clearly it was a stunning report because that same firm have now requested, I should say insisted, that Melanie represents the bank in negotiations for a major client of theirs, a firm you will all know, Stellar Haufman plc. This requires Melanie to work at the negotiating table in Poland for the next four weeks and, if successful, we will be writing a very substantial amount of business. In addition, we look likely to win the Osborne Melsose account itself. The delegation to Poland will consist of Mr Rattani Naziree, Mr Hugh Ballantyne, Major Projects Executive of Stellar Haufman plc and our own Melanie Fisher. They are booked into the Park Hotel, Poznan, where most of the negotiations will be held. Whilst there they will visit the production facilities of Praza at a number of locations. Praza is the former state-owned information and communications technology company that Stellar Haufman is seeking to buy for a client. Because of the continuing problems caused by Air Traffic Controller strikes you will be leaving from Waterloo on Friday Morning, to Brussels where you will take the connecting train to Cologne. There you will board the German ICE train, on which you will have lunch during the five hour trip to Berlin. From there you take the Berlin-Warsaw express to Poznan. The hotel mini bus will be waiting to take you and all of your baggage to the hotel.

Melanie was struggling to absorb the vast amount of information that was being crammed into this five hour session. In the centre of the table sandwiches sat in neat little triangles, minus their crusts, on a silver platter. French pastries overflowed from another and there were jugs of coffee and fruit juice. This was life on the top floor, better get used to it, she thought.

One by one they set out the requirements of their departments in the making of the deal. She was given top secret numbers for contacts at Head Office who could advise on any aspect of the deal at pretty much any time of the day. Melanie was given details of her expenses account and told to use it however she saw fit in order to keep the delegation happy.

When Melanie confirmed that she was happy with the details, she was told to take the rest of the day off as well as Thursday. “This will give you time to pack and to spend a day with your children,” John finished. “If you need to buy clothes for the trip please do so using your expense account. We must have you looking your best.”

That evening Melanie handed over her home responsibilities to Trudy. She told her what date the kids started back at school and went through a list of the things they would need for the new term. There was a lot to think about; four weeks was a long time in a household with three school children and Melanie couldn’t go until every detail was written down for Trudy to follow.

What instructions should she give in respect of Tim? Feed him once a day, wash his clothes but leave everything else for me to sort out when I return. Deep down she still wasn’t entirely happy at leaving them to share the house together.

On Thursday night she cried bitterly, and wished she hadn’t agreed to go, convinced that the house, the kids and Tim would all be gone in four weeks’ time. Tim was good at times like this and his big arms enveloped her as he whispered gently, “You’ll be fine, we’ll be fine, and in four weeks’ time you’ll have loads of stories to tell us about your trip. We’ll miss you, of course we will, but you can phone us every night, the bank can pay for that, and a month will pass in no time at all.”

She wished she could be sure that he was right, but at least it was nice to have him giving her so much attention. How ironic, she thought, that just as their marriage was back to where it should be they were to be separated. She woke up twice during the night and spent long periods trying to get back to sleep while thinking of all the things that might go wrong in the next few weeks. What if one of the children was ill? What if they had an accident? What if...? When the alarm went off it was as if she’d never been to sleep. She got up, showered and made breakfast, for she was determined to remain in control until the minute she left. When that moment arrived, the kids all kissed her dutifully and then Tim took her in his arms. “I love you, we all love you, be safe, call me every day, and come back soon, love you forever.”

She kissed him but words were out of the question. Tim placed her two large cases in the taxi and closed the door on her. His last view of her as she drove off was with a tissue covering her eyes. Only then did he succumb to the tears that had been beneath the surface since he awoke.

They got through the day thanks to the mobile phone. “I’m on the train”, “I’m in Brussels”, “I’m in Cologne”, “we’re having lunch on the ICE train, it’s fabulous Tim, like a five star restaurant travelling at a hundred a fifty miles per hour”, “we’re almost at Berlin; I’m frightened, I wish I was back home; we’re on the Warsaw Express”. “Tim, we’re crossing the border at a place called Frankfurt Oder, across the girder bridge that was the scene of so many battles in world war two, I recognise it from those old war films.” And then, “I’m at the hotel, it’s dark now so I didn’t see much of Poznan, but it’s a lovely hotel, my room looks out onto a huge lake and there are lights, hundreds of them reflecting across the water. In the morning I’m going to get up early and go down to see the lake before breakfast. I’m tired, I love you Tim and I miss you so much, goodnight, kiss kiss.”

Tim went to bed as exhausted as Melanie. He felt like he’d travelled half way across Europe, but now he had to try and sleep in an empty bed and that would be hard. He always reached out for her before he went to sleep. She’d say, “move your arm, I’m too hot,” or she’d turn away to get more space, but he knew she’d find it just as hard as he would to sleep alone.

In her hotel room, Melanie put her clothes into the cupboards. It was like she was moving in, she thought. Thank god it was a nice room and a nice hotel. Four weeks in a grotty hotel would have been a nightmare. She finally climbed into the double bed and pulled up the covers. Maybe it was that she hadn’t slept the night before, or maybe it was the excitement of the journey, but within seconds she was fast asleep until the sun shining through the curtains woke her. There was no better awakening than to the brightness of the summer sun. It washed away the fears and tears of the darkness and made everything perfect. Her mood was still happy as she showered and prepared for her first day of business. She hadn’t said ten words to the other two on the journey, there was no need. They’d been deep in conversation and she was too busy watching the scenery and phoning home.

Today she would have to face them, and in particular Rattani Naziree. If he thought dragging her a thousand miles from her home and her loved ones was going to make her friendlier towards him he was in for a nasty surprise. She arrived in the restaurant to find the most fantastic array of food imaginable. Cold meats, cheeses, breads, cakes, jams, the huge centre table was awash with mouth watering dishes. To one side was a hot covered pan with scrambled eggs and sausages. At its side were fresh oranges and a juice machine. Coffee, tea and jugs of fruit juice were lined up ready for the morning’s diners. All she had to do was eat, what a wonderful way to start the day.

The view from the picture windows was of the lake. Dozens of people were already out exercising on foot, on bikes and on roller blades on the six kilometre path that surrounded the lake. She hurried her food so that she could get outside in the sun and take a closer look at this huge park with its lake. Once on the path at the water’s edge she turned right and could see in front of her a dry ski slope and a toboggan run constructed on a huge purpose built hill. That had to be investigated, she thought and within five minutes she was at the foot of the ski slope. A couple of food bars and gift shops were preparing for a busy day, while on the slope men were working on the chairlift. The whole thing was so exciting, so unlike anything she had expected that she found herself falling in love with the place. On the lake teams were rowing encouraged by a trainer in a motor boat. Was she watching their Olympic team in training? A couple of motor coaches arrived and emptied upwards of a hundred young children into the park; a sea of happy faces, they at once turned her thoughts to home and her three offspring. They would be getting up about now. Would Trudy take proper care of them, making sure they had sun cream on before she let them out? Get a grip, Melanie, she told herself, they’ll manage just fine, you just make sure you do the same.