A Fantasy About Love

by Opal Cole

  My stomach reminded me that hunger was one of the prime movers of mankind, and I sat down at the table. She had prepared a salad and a veal cutlet with a crusty sauce, and had opened a bottle of Pinot Noir. I tried to talk to her, but whenever she moved, her breasts moved, too, and they were winking at me, diverting my attention. Finally, I pulled myself together, finished the excellent meal, helped her clean up and led her to the sitting room.

  "Let me know first what happened with your mother, and then I'll tell you what occurred in the office."

  "My love, I arranged Mother's stay at the spa -- there was no problem at all. We had a long conversation last night; there was a lot of crying and embracing, but at the end, we were almost happy again. She cancelled all her appointments for this week and when I left her at the spa, she seemed determined to make it work. I also checked with her doctor; you know that she had taken medicine for her depression all these years? James, she had mixed up her medication, and the doctor said that it could have become very serious if she would not stop this immediately. Thank God that he told me this -- I'll observe her from now on! ¨

  Her serious face became lighter and she started to grin.

  "We also decided that we would marry in ten weeks' time, and that she would organize the event in Brisbane. This will give her something different to do, and she'll do it willingly and perfectly. Do you agree?"

  "Do I have a choice?"

  "No!"

  That being resolved (and what happened to the idea that I was their lord and master?), I told her about the day in the office. I did not expect chaos or panic up to and during the visit from HQ, but the situation would not be very far away from it. Unfortunately, it would also mean that I was covered again in work way over my head and could not pay much attention to her. In fact, I had brought work home and would have to stay at least another two hours going through my files. And tomorrow I had an important meeting at 8:00, so she had two choices, stay with me in the sitting room and sleep here on the couch (but please away from me so that I could actually accomplish something), or go to bed and sleep there.

  She chose to stay with me, got a blanket, gave me a gentle kiss and arranged herself on the coach. She blew me another kiss and closed her eyes. It was touching to see the total trust she had in me, but that did not resolve my problem.

  I dove into my files and tried to develop the logic of an important presentation as I was certain that I would be tested in front of my superiors, and to prepare the backup answers to all the pertinent or stupid questions I would be asked. On top of this I had to think about the meeting with our customer: the information I had received was very superficial. I closed my files at midnight, woke up Maureen who had not moved and occasionally smiled even asleep, and we went to bed. I did not forget my goodnight kisses and she continued to sleep with a smile on her face.

  The next morning, I woke up still tired; Maureen had already gone to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I showered, put on my executive suit with the Hermès tie, polished my shoes, and entered the kitchen. Maureen was waiting for me, dressed in just a little apron and the table was already set with fruits, yoghurts, bread and jam, and strong coffee. She smiled at me.

  "Sleepyhead, wake up. Here is coffee, and you've to eat something to last until lunch. You have 15 minutes, so sit down., but first do your duties and say good morning!" and she bent and presented her breasts for my kisses. It was a habit that sounded ridiculous, but it gave us enormous pleasure. The 15 minutes passed rapidly, and I had a car waiting to take me to the customer.

  The meeting was far less urgent that was said to me; they had a software problem that I had encountered already in the States with another customer, and we resolved it rapidly.

  At the office I tried to pull all my data together into a logical and convincing presentation. Something told me that this was another test for me, and I better was prepared for it. It took me the whole day, and frequently I called one of my people for more information or clarifications. At the end, I was quite satisfied with myself.

  Coming home late Maureen was waiting for me at the door; she also felt the presence of my soul as I felt hers. She was dressed again in her slinky grey gown that left nothing to the imagination and her kiss was reviving my spirits. She had prepared drinks and a light supper, and afterwards I had the pleasure of holding her in my arms whilst I was telling her about the day. After making wonderful and deeply satisfying love, we fell asleep in each other's arms.

  The week passed rapidly, and, on the weekend, we rented a sailboat and Maureen showed me how to run sails up and down. When we arrived at the quay, she offered me the chance to tie it up and I jumped on it; unfortunately, my effort was quite disastrous, but the boat was only slightly damaged. Maureen forgave me, but the owner wanted payment. I tried to forget business and it was wonderful as I could concentrate on pleasing my love and she responded with enthusiasm.

  On Monday my staff gave me their input; it was a job well done and helped me to focus on my presentation. Wednesday the fun started. A bit before noon my presentation was finished and fine-tuned, and I walked over to Peter to see how he was going. He was ripping his hair off and almost yelled at me to help him. His presentation certainly needed help and I asked Mary Ann to get sandwiches for us and we started to revise the document. I told her that I would go first, and Peter would finish.

  Frank and Sir Allan were waiting for me and Frank asked where Peter was. I said that he was finishing his presentation and that I preferred to start.

  It was a good presentation: A short overview of Australia and its industry, a breakdown of prospects by industry, a more detailed breakdown of our customers by industry, and finally, a definition of the area I was responsible for: Large Customers and big computers. Then I went into details and showed the overall progress (or lack thereof) during the last two years, the current situation and our forecast for the next two years, including goals set and resources requested. At the end, I went into NT, the biggest sale that my company had made in its history and showed the timeline from the first contact to the final sale. I finished with what I expected to happen with this company, its potential growth (with more sales for us) and what we could use from our knowledge of the data and processes of this specific company for other prospects.

  There was a potential conflict of interest in contacting other companies in this industry sector (and we had had already some feelers from two), but if we were very careful to use only general and not specific data, and to analyze processes and not NT's secrets, I was certain that we could enter this market and perhaps even other sectors where management of big data flows was essential.

  It took me almost an hour and when I sat down, Sir Allan looked at Frank and nodded.

  ¨This is what we need, Frank. Well done, James, but where is Peter?"

  He asked his secretary to call Peter once more, when the door opened, and he entered.

  "My apologies, but I had to redo my presentation after James reviewed it. It is much more decisive now."

  Sir Allan and Frank both looked at me, then at each other. Sir Allen nodded as if satisfied: I had seen him nodding a lot recently when I was around him. Good or bad signal?

  Peter made his presentation and it was not bad, but it could have been better. Frank said that it was OK, but he would suggest that Peter and I would sit down still this night and redo it once more. We agreed and were politely dismissed. We went back to Peter's office and spent the next two hours redoing it at least twice until both of us were satisfied. Peter was grateful: he promised me his second-to-last Grange Hermitage!

  At home Maureen had again prepared a light supper since she knew that I was too exhausted to pay respect to her culinary skills. Tomorrow was the day, so I went to bed early and quietly.

  Chapter 19: The Promotion

  The next morning I arrived at the office early and Mary Ann brought me coffee: hot, strong and sweet as I liked it to wake me up; she had learned how I preferred my morning to start. For a moment I
thought about how she had changed during the last months, becoming a competent member of my staff. If only she would think about her own appearance (somebody should really tell her how to dress!), but I had other priorities at this moment. I looked through my presentation once more and then worried about other customers. I made some calls, talked to some of my staff and they were all a bit uptight knowing who was visiting us, and waited for the afternoon to arrive. Then Peter and I were called to meet the visitor.

  "This is Mr. Bill Cunningham; he is the General Manager of the Asian Region (as if we did not know this already) and we'll have two hours for the marketing presentation."

  I welcomed the exalted visitor. "Pleased to meet you again, Mr. Cunningham." and he nodded to us. He was a very senior executive, well dressed and did not show any effect of the jet lag. I was lucky: I almost had selected the same tie he was wearing, and I did not know how this would have been taken. He had the professional smile that these people seemed to practice every morning in front of the mirror, but his eyes were cold. I had met him once in NY and knew about his reputation as a tough and usually fair manager, so I was prepared for anything. Our Director of Finance was also present. He was not a friend but did not seem to be antagonistic to my plans.

  Frank had some talking points prepared, most of them copied from my presentation, and went through them at a fast pace. He finished saying that Peter would now present the small customer base and that I would do the large customer part. Peter was nervous but handled it well and his presentation was competent. Then it was my turn.

  I went through the initial part a bit slower than Frank had done; after all, these facts defined my work. Then I got to the juicy part: large customers and prospects. I had gone through this so often I could have done it in my sleep, but considering the audience in front of me, I put extra emphasis on the key points. Answering a lot of questions -- and I was grateful that I had prepared all these backup charts -- it took me close to 90 minutes to finish. I wanted their support for the additional resources I had requested; without it my ideas had to be curtailed drastically.

  Sir Allan thanked me, and Mr. Cunningham complimented me of the thoroughness of the data and the conclusions. Then we were politely dismissed, but at the last moment Sir Allan said that the financial presentation would be the next morning at 9:00 and that I should participate. After all, I had asked for a significant increase in marketing expenses, and it might be a good idea to be present and to defend my ideas. Obviously I agreed and we left.

  Peter looked at me and asked what I thought about the meeting. I told him that it went well and to calm him down, I said that his presentation seemed to be well received. He smiled and said that he could not have done this without me, and I could collect my bottle of Grange on Sunday.

  My people were waiting for me with anxiety in their eyes and voices. It had not been only my work, but a joined effort of all of us and if our plans were accepted, there would be an upward move for some and a very positive evaluation for most of them. And there was that other question: the money? I told them that I had made a proposal to Frank and he had been in touch with the Financial Director of NT and we should have an answer tomorrow afternoon -- just in time to spend money at the pubs!

  I went home and wondered what could be asked of me in the financial meeting. Maureen was very understanding and after a few kisses and caresses, she lay down on the couch and watched me manhandling spreadsheets. What if I got the resources I requested? What was the probable return? What if I got half? What if I got none? I fine-tuned my numbers and considering possible, but not too optimistic assumptions, I would bring in a lot more profit than doing our normal business. It looked good to me and I wondered what they would think of it. At least I was prepared.

  The next morning, I was early in the office and called Peter. "Look, you know that I'll participate in this morning's financial meeting. I did not plan for this, and I want you to know that there are no plans I know of to do something drastic or go over your head."

  Peter looked at me and smiled.

  "First, do not worry about me -- I know my place and am happy, I still have a private life and anything farther up the management ladder would take the fun away. You, however, my friend, are different. You are ambitious, driven, and utterly competent. There are rumors floating around that might surprise you. I won't say anything since these are only gossips, but I believe that something drastic is about to happen. Good luck, my friend. You deserve it!"

  With this remark he left, and I stared after him. What did he want to say? I knew I was not into the rumor mill, but I should have heard something at least! There was the call from Sir Allan, and I packed my laptop and a few supporting documents I had copied. Mary Ann looked at me and smiled: "Mr. Winter, the best of luck!"

  What did she know? Even Sir Allan's secretary, Irene, looked differently at me. What was going to happen?

  Sir Allan, Frank and Mr. Cunningham were already waiting, but I was not the last. Just after greeting them and sitting down, our financial staff entered. The meeting went well until the question of resources came up. Mr. Cunningham mentioned that they were worried in HQ over a general overrun of expenses and that new money would be extremely rare. It would need a detailed justification to even start to think about it.

  "This means, Mr. Winter, that I liked your presentation and am certain that your execution of it would give us growth in sales and profits, but I do not see at this moment how we can afford it. Sorry. Perhaps you have some final thoughts?"

  "Mr. Cunningham, I know that this is not the moment to throw money around. Let me show you some numbers I prepared last night. They are not as exact as I would like them to be (I did not sleep a lot during the night), but they'll give you an idea about the options I see for our company in Australia."

  Thank God I had prepared myself and when I finished my 20 minutes of financial and marketing analysis, I looked at them and waited for a response.

  Sir Allan and Frank nodded and smiled satisfied, and Mr. Cunningham looked at our financial people: "Do you see anything wrong with these numbers?" Our Financial Director shook his head and said that the logic was impeccable and the assumptions a bit aggressive, but yes, it could work, provided that new money was available. Long term it would be a significant increase in revenue and profit -- if I managed to make it happen.

  "Mr. Winter, you have thrown more ideas into this scenario than I can process without some input from NY. We'll talk after lunch."

  Before I left the room, I looked at Frank: "I've to talk to you for a moment, and it has to be now. Could you give me five minutes?" Sir Allan decided on a coffee break and Frank took me into his office.

  "James, I thought that you could not surprise me anymore, but you did it again this morning. When did you do this financial analysis?"

  I replied that it had cost me the major part of the night, but I knew that there would be restrictions on new money, so I was prepared for Mr. Cunningham's words; but that was not the reason I wanted to see him. How would we distribute the money from NT? I had checked with our legal staff and as long as everyone declared the bonus to IRS it was OK. Perhaps not 100%, but they were certain that if it were challenged, we would win whatever action would be brought against them. And it would give a huge boost to the morale of our people.

  "I sent you a note on how I thought it should be distributed. Did you read it?"

  "Yes. I did and I agree. I spoke with NT about their people who were in your team and they are happy about that, too. The only thing I don't understand was why did you not include yourself in this list?"

  "Frank, I'm the bloody manager, not the person who sweated day and night. Let them have the money!"

  "James, both NT and I do not agree. Without you, there would not have been a project, and there would not have been a bonus. We decided that you'll get the same amount as everybody else; at least this will pay for the lunches and dinners you paid out of your pocket for your people, and I was told the dinner was excelle
nt and probably very expensive. Take the money and accept it with our thanks. Here's your list and you can tell everyone. The numbers changed a bit since we included you, but basically, your proposal is approved. Now I have to go back to the meeting -- wish me luck."

  I went back and Mary Ann looked at me expectantly. "Anything happened, Mr. Winter?"

  I was probably the only manager in the company who after more than seven months in the company, was still called Mr. Winter as it was just difficult for me to leave my German habits.

  "No. Why? What did you expect?"

  "Nothing specific -- there were just some rumors floating around that changes would happen."

  "Could anybody please explain to me what rumors are floating around? Peter mentioned something similar, but he did not tell me."

  "Well, Mr. Winter. They are just rumors and probably not very substantial, but good luck in any case."

  This was getting crazier at every moment, but I did not want to be disturbed by it.

  "Mary Ann, please call everyone into the meeting room in 10 minutes and I would like you to be present, too."

  When everyone was assembled the tension was almost visible. I wondered whether I should draw it out, but decided against it.

  "Ladies and Gentlemen, I had submitted a proposal on the distribution of the bonus and it has been accepted. Let me explain briefly what I proposed. Basically, the amount is shared evenly by all people involved in the final proposal. Management decided to give the team leaders a 20 % extra share, and I insisted that our administrative staff would get a share also. NT is already excluded from the money available to you and you don't have to worry about them, they are covered. I had excluded myself from the pool, but Frank told me that they put me back in. This means that all the lunches, sandwiches, burgers, drinks and that wonderful dinner I paid for out of my pocket are covered, thank God! I do not have the information how to distribute the administrative pool. I expect you to come to an agreement that's fair to everyone. If I hear any complaints, I'll be seriously upset! One last note: You will have to see how you declare this to your income tax people. For this specific payment, I have asked tax to help you if necessary, and they agreed. Have fun tonight!"