Executive Affair

by Ber Carroll

  She stopped halfway to admire the view: the curves of the Opera House against the perfect blue backdrop; the boats and ferries dotted on the glittery water; the sun, smeared and hazy, shining down. Up above her, brave tourists were climbing the steel of the bridge. She watched as a stronger wind flattened their baggy clothing. She waited until the group reached the top before moving on.

  Claire came off the bridge onto York Street and walked towards the building where Fiona worked. She checked her watch. It was too early for lunch. She sat in the lobby reading the Sydney Morning Herald.

  As lunchtime got closer, the lifts that opened in the lobby were fuller. The suits spilled out, brushing up against each other as they raced to the doors. Claire grabbed Fiona by the arm.

  ‘Hi, there … fancy lunch?’

  ‘Claire, where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you all morning.’ Fiona halted, almost causing a pile-up of the suits behind her.

  ‘Oh … I sort of took a walking tour of Sydney … Where will we go?’

  Fiona was short of time so she suggested a small café a few doors down.

  ‘So, what happened?’ she asked, leaning across the tiny table, bursting with curiosity.

  ‘Not much. I told David and he said he’ll keep me informed. Then I asked him if I could go home.’ Her answer was brief; she was suddenly too weary to go into any more detail.

  ‘And how did he react to what you told him? You know, when you said you thought Robert was involved,’ Fiona pressed.

  ‘He was very wary of me. David is usually supportive, he’s a nice man, but I think he may believe that I’ve got this all wrong …’ Claire’s lunch made her feel sick and she pushed it away, half-eaten.

  Fiona’s mobile phone started to ring. ‘It’s just James,’ she said, checking the number.

  ‘Aren’t you going to answer it?’

  ‘I can talk to him later,’ Fiona shrugged. ‘He’s just ringing to see if I’ve booked the flights.’

  ‘What flights?’

  ‘To Ireland. I’m going home at Christmas. He’s coming too.’

  ‘Bringing him home to meet the family?’ Claire gave her a teasing wink. ‘That sounds serious.’

  Fiona smiled and shrugged again. ‘Well, it is getting quite serious with us. James knows what he wants, unlike Den.’

  ‘What about what you want?’

  ‘I want someone I can rely on, as well as have fun with.’

  Fiona went back to work and Claire got the train home. The phone started to ring as she let herself into the apartment. She ignored it and changed out of her office clothes into a beach dress. She went out to the balcony with a book, shutting the patio doors to muffle the continuous ringing. She settled down on her lounger, her straw hat giving shade as she tried to read. The phone continued to ring at frequent intervals until late afternoon.

  The next morning Emma was concerned and curious about Claire’s unexplained departure the day before. She sat on the edge of Claire’s desk, looking at her closely.

  ‘Where did you disappear to yesterday?’

  ‘I wasn’t feeling well. I should never have come to work in the first place,’ Claire replied, her tone deliberately abrupt to discourage further questions.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t know what had happened to you.’

  ‘You were on the phone when I was leaving. I told Robert – I thought he would pass it on. And I’m feeling much better today, thank you!’

  ‘Sorry, I’m glad to hear that you’re better … it’s just that you’ve been acting very strangely the last few days.’

  Claire mustered up a grin. ‘I’ve always been strange. Didn’t you know that?’

  ‘Yes, now that you mention it … Well, better get back to work.’

  Emma returned to her desk and Claire was left alone. She wondered if Robert was in the office. Had David spoken to him yet? Would he be angry with her? She picked up the phone and called his secretary.

  ‘Hi, Samantha – it’s Claire – is Robert in today?’

  ‘No, he’s gone back to the States. I had to book an emergency flight for him yesterday afternoon.’

  ‘Oh … do you know how long he’ll be away for?’

  ‘Not really. It was all such a rush, I didn’t have time to ask him. I’m expecting him to call me some time today. Do you want me to pass on a message?’

  ‘No, it was only something small. Thanks anyway,’ Claire said and quickly hung up the phone.

  He’s gone. What does that mean? Has he been fired? At least I don’t have to worry about bumping into him …

  She jumped when her phone rang.

  ‘Claire, David here. Can you come around to my office, please?’

  His voice was unquestionably strained and she suddenly didn’t want to hear what he had to tell her. She passed Robert’s office on her way to David’s. The door was shut. Through the glass window she saw his chair pushed neatly into his desk. The files he kept on the desk were tidied away. There was an undeniable aura of finality.

  There was a man with David whom she didn’t recognise.

  ‘Sit down, please,’ David said briskly, indicating the only vacant seat with an impatient gesture.

  ‘I don’t believe I’ve met you before,’ she said to the sombre stranger as she sat next to him. He had a moustache that matched his grey-black hair. His suit and tie were quite old-fashioned.

  ‘Claire Quinlan, this is Lee Murray. Lee regularly represents Amtech Australia in local legal matters and will be witnessing our conversation on behalf of our legal department in the US,’ David said.

  He wasn’t meeting her eyes and Claire started to feel uneasy. His hands shuffled the papers in front of him unnecessarily, betraying an anxiety.

  What the hell is going on? What needs to be witnessed? she wondered in confusion and she moved her chair back from the table so she could see both men clearly.

  ‘Claire, I am sorry but the company has made the decision to let you go,’ David began.

  ‘What do you mean “let me go”?’ she asked shrilly, looking at both of them for clarification.

  ‘Your employment with Amtech is being terminated.’

  ‘Why?’ Shock was strangulating her voice. ‘What have I done?’

  ‘To be quite honest, I don’t know the reasons. I’m just acting on instructions. Now, moving on … I have here two cheques for your termination payment. One gives you your statutory entitlements, which isn’t a lot of money as you’ve been with the Australian subsidiary less than a year.’ He finally looked at her, his face expressionless, before continuing, ‘The other cheque is for $100,000. A non-disclosure document comes with it. By signing you are agreeing not to disclose to any other party the payments to DC Solutions or the circumstances surrounding your termination of employment with Amtech. If you accept this cheque and, at a later stage, we find out that you have not abided by the conditions, Amtech will sue you for breach of contract. Lee will be able to vouch in court that the conditions of the payment were explained to you in full.’

  Claire glanced at Lee, who still hadn’t opened his mouth to speak. There were a few moments of loaded silence as she desperately tried to organise her chaotic thoughts into concise sentences.

  ‘David, I don’t feel I can accept either cheque as I don’t understand what’s going on … I don’t want to leave Amtech …’

  ‘This isn’t negotiable. You’re leaving Amtech today, regardless of how much we pay you. At the moment I’m treating your termination as a retrenchment, but if you persist in making this difficult I will handle it as dismissal due to negligence.’

  His threat wasn’t lost on her; she had thought about that possibility herself. She squirmed in her seat, a light film of perspiration all over her body. She badly needed some fresh air.

  ‘What has happened to Robert? Has he been fired?’

  ‘Robert has gone back to his position in California. His wife is having some problems so he had to leave urgently,’ he explained, ig
noring her sceptical expression.

  Claire felt a surge of anger. ‘So he keeps his job and I lose mine?’

  ‘As I said previously, I am not privy to the reasons behind your termination. But, you must admit, $100,000 is a very generous pay-out and I think you are doing quite well,’ he said, a smug smile playing on his face as he leaned back in his seat. She had never seen this side of David.

  It is a lot of money … and I don’t think I want to work for this screwed-up company any longer, she thought bitterly. I’m going to need this money while I look for another job … that’s if I can manage to get another job after all this.

  ‘Will I get a reference?’ she asked him.

  ‘I have a written one here and if you ever need a verbal, direct the person to me and I will be happy to oblige.’ He smiled again, obviously sensing victory.

  ‘What are you going to tell my staff when I leave out of the blue without even saying goodbye?’ she asked, not concealing her bitterness.

  ‘That you were offered a job you couldn’t resist with a competitor and we were unable to allow you to work out your notice.’ His answer was immediate, perfectly rehearsed and infuriatingly reasonable.

  ‘Can I have a few minutes to read the legal document and the reference?’

  ‘Of course,’ he confirmed.

  Her innate sense of caution would not allow her to sign something she had not read. It was the last thing she wanted to do, with two hostile pairs of eyes scrutinising her as she tried to concentrate on the blurred words. She signed her name and David escorted her as far as the lifts. They miraculously didn’t meet anybody on the way. As she handed over her access card, she wondered what Emma and the others would think. When she got outside, she took the cheque out of her bag. Soft drops of spring rain freckled it in seconds. It was signed by David and Steve Ryan. From her knowledge of company policy, the cheque would have to have been approved by the head of Corporate Treasury; discretionary payments on termination were outside the authority limits of local management. She wasn’t sure if she had been fired and felt foolish for not knowing this basic fact. The cheque confused their motives.

  The girl at the bank gave her a curious look when she saw the amount of the cheque. Claire half expected it to bounce but she was given her lodgement advice as normal.

  The train station was almost deserted and the next train wasn’t due for fifteen minutes. She waited in a daze. The train came along and she robotically got on and chose a seat. Tears gathered in her eyes as she gazed blindly out the window. All her previous doubts were gone. Robert was guilty.

  Why else would he have me terminated? I would have believed anything I was told, I didn’t need to be kicked out. He must be a lot more powerful in the company than I gave him credit for. Not only did he manage to keep his position but he got permission from Corporate Treasury to pay out the informant. What a bastard!

  The train stopped and started and stopped and started but she was hardly aware. She saw her face reflected in the window; pale and indistinct, it felt like it belonged to someone else. This hadn’t happened. Couldn’t have happened. Because after Michael, she’d vowed she would never again get involved with someone she worked with.

  ‘Ma’am, this is the end of the train line – you have to get off here.’

  The gruff voice of the guard brought her back to reality. It was her face in the window. She hadn’t learned her lesson the first time. She’d had a relationship with her boss and now she’d lost her job. And she had only herself to blame.

  Chapter 22

  Robert tried Claire’s extension from his mobile as the taxi sped away from the terminal. It was ringing through to voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message. He needed to talk to her – leaving a message would be futile. The taxi driver turned in his seat to ask for an address. Robert didn’t want to go to the house. He didn’t want to stay there even with Julia away. He checked into a hotel close to the office, the mirror in the foyer confirming that he looked terrible. His eyes were an angry bloodshot, his face grey from the stress of trying to figure out how he was implicated in this debacle. The room was expensive and predictably bland. He dropped his bags at the door. The phone was by the window.

  ‘David, it’s Robert,’ he said with a sense of relief at being able to talk to someone. It had been twenty-odd hours since he last spoke to David, and he was even more confused now that he had the time to think.

  ‘Robert. You’ve got there okay? Seen Donald yet?’ David’s voice sounded weary but friendly.

  ‘No … I’m literally just off the plane. I’ve been trying to call Claire since I landed – where is she?’

  ‘She’s gone, Robert,’ David said solemnly. ‘Donald’s orders.’

  ‘What? Are you saying Donald fired her? What the hell did he do that for?’ Robert heard himself yelling. He rarely raised his voice. It must have been the utter shock.

  ‘I don’t know. I’m just the messenger here. I was the one who had to tell her.’

  David’s tone was sympathetic; it went some way to defusing Robert’s anger.

  ‘Christ, she must be devastated … what must she think?’ Robert sat on the bed, resting the tightness of his forehead against his palm.

  What a mess! What a goddamned mess!

  ‘Yeah, she was stunned, then angry. She probably hates me now. I was as tough with her as possible. Donald’s instructions were to get her out without answering any questions. She had a lot of questions.’ David’s laugh was ironic.

  ‘Yes, Claire would … Damn, why didn’t she just come to talk to me in the first place and then none of this would have happened?’ Robert muttered, more to himself than David.

  ‘She did the right thing to come to me. And I did the right thing to bring it to Donald. I knew there must be a reasonable explanation but I was duty-bound to escalate it.’

  There was a silence as Robert absorbed and assimilated the facts. He had jumped on the plane only knowing the barest detail, acting on another of Donald’s instructions: to get back to San Jose immediately. He regretted doing it now. He should have stayed in Sydney – he had a better chance of finding out what had happened from there.

  ‘And Donald went off the deep end … too scared about the press to get the real facts,’ he said eventually, with an audible sigh of frustration.

  ‘Yes, it was a drastic reaction from him. Claire is the last person he should have fired,’ David agreed.

  David’s right. She didn’t deserve that.

  ‘I agree. If it was anyone, it should have been me.’

  David was quick to set the record straight. ‘I’m not saying that. I trust you, Robert. I’ve worked with you for long enough, and I’m looking forward to working with you again when this is all cleared up.’

  ‘Thanks, David, for your support … and I do understand that you needed to escalate.’ Robert was about to hang up when he remembered. ‘David, one more thing. I don’t have Claire’s home number. Can you get it for me?’

  David was happy to oblige. ‘Sure … hold on a minute.’

  Robert decided to search the house before going to the office. He had only one theory to follow up after twenty hours of thought. It had come to him on the plane. He didn’t doubt that Frank was involved. He had signed off the invoices and he had the motive – a nasty gambling habit. The question was, who had helped him?

  At some point I must have signed some documents to make me a director of this company, ARS. I know I didn’t sign anything in Australia, I’m certain of that. Whatever I signed, I signed in San Jose.

  In his role as a vice-president, Robert was director of numerous Amtech companies around the world. His recollection of the full list was hazy. It was another hazy memory that had led him to his theory. It was the memory of agreeing to be a director of a small company Julia had set up last year.

  The house had a stale, unoccupied smell. He opened the windows to let in some air before starting with the files in the study downstairs. He flicked through them,
not yet knowing what he was looking for. Julia had her own bank account. After discovering on their honeymoon that she was an alcoholic, Robert did not open a joint account. Her statements were neatly filed, the last one a month old. There were no unusual lodgements.

  Finishing with the study, he went upstairs. There was a light film of dust on the banister. The bedroom looked alien; it was hard to imagine he had slept here with Julia only a few months ago. He found the paperwork for Julia’s small company with her personal documents. The company was a year old. The paperwork looked as if it hadn’t been touched since it was filed.

  What I need is a current status on this company. See if it owns shares in any other company. I’ll ask Tom to check it out for me.

  He shut the windows downstairs before leaving. When he was less tired, he would come back and pack his things.

  Robert had never seen Donald so angry. If he hadn’t known him for as long as he had, he might have been intimidated as Donald simmered from behind his desk.

  ‘You’d better have a damned good explanation for this, Robert!’

  Robert sat down before answering. ‘I’m sorry to say I don’t. I know as little as you, maybe less.’

  Donald’s face darkened. ‘That’s not good enough. You’re a director of the company – you must know something about it. Don’t take me for a fool!’

  Robert met his glowering stare straight on. His tone was level as he replied, ‘I’d never take you for a fool. However, you of all people should know that being a director is not conclusive. You and I are joint directors of over thirty Amtech subsidiaries across the world. I can’t remember all their names. Can you?’

  Robert could see his point had hit home but Donald wasn’t going to admit it.

  ‘You’ve put me in a diabolical position. I’m worried about Cathair. You were so close to the deal that they’ll lose confidence at even a whisper of a slur on your name. Yet this is a matter that must be investigated by the police.’ Donald’s voice was appropriately sombre.

  Robert nodded in agreement. ‘I appreciate that. I will fully cooperate with any police investigation. I have my reputation, and my position, to protect.’