But curiosity over what Mark had to say propelled her from her desk. She wondered if Chloe could be right. Was Rachel about to be publicly sacked? After all, the last time Mark had summoned them together like this out of the blue was to tell them that Gill was leaving and Rachel was taking over. She caught Charlie’s eye and he stretched the corners of his mouth down in a ‘don’t know, but it’s unlikely to be good news’ face. At least he was acknowledging her again.
‘Right,’ said Mark when they were all gathered around. He was half sitting on the edge of Paula’s desk so that one black leather, slightly pointed shoe was firmly planted on the floor, while the other dangled inches from the ground. He raised a hand to rub his nose, revealing an inch of tanned wrist, scattered with freckles and fine golden hairs against which gleamed a silver watch so chunky it might have been intended for a larger man.
‘I’m not going to beat about the bush. I think we’re all aware the atmosphere in this office isn’t all it should be. The weekend away was supposed to get you working together properly as a team, but instead it just seems to have highlighted the divisions between you. Now I understand many of you were loyal to Gill and may have found the transition period difficult, but you are professionals and your loyalty must first and foremost be to the company that pays your salary. Rachel was brought in for a specific reason – to raise this department’s productivity levels and boost profits, bringing it in line with the rest of the company. Do you think this is a charity?’
When he threw out the surprise question, Mark was looking directly at Chloe, who started as if she’d been slapped, her mouth falling open in a perfect ‘o’ of alarm, closing again only when his stern gaze abruptly altered direction, panning around the assembled company who shifted uncomfortably, gazing down at their shoes or at a point just above Mark’s head, anything rather than meet his eyes and be obliged to answer his challenge. Sarah felt herself shrivel as his eyes passed over her.
‘Rachel and I have had a long chat and we both agree that it is untenable for her to implement the changes she was brought in to effect unless she has a supportive team behind her giving her one hundred per cent loyalty and dedication. I don’t intend to single individuals out here and now, but there are some members of staff who have been at best obstructive, at worse destructive – and let me be very clear, such behaviour will not be tolerated. Rachel is a highly skilled executive with an exemplary track record who has been brought in to do a job and we are very lucky to have her. Anyone who has an issue with that might be advised to start looking for employment elsewhere.’
Again he allowed his eyes to sweep across the gathered staff members and again Sarah felt herself shrinking under his gaze. Was she the one he was accusing of being obstructive, or destructive?
Finally, when Mark seemed satisfied that he’d made his point, he continued: ‘Now, I came down here yesterday determined to make sweeping changes, but Rachel has persuaded me to give this department one more chance to get its house in order. She believes, and I support her in this, that what’s needed is a clearing-of-the air session, somewhere neutral, away from the office. To that end, she has generously offered to host a meeting tomorrow morning at her own home, which is not far from here. I wouldn’t normally allow an entire department to be absent for a few hours during the working week, but I think these are exceptional circumstances.
‘After the débâcle of the weekend, I very strongly suggest you all take the rest of the day and this evening to think about areas where things have been going wrong and ways in which you can make improvements. I don’t want this to turn into an excuse to vent grievances. I want to hear positive suggestions for how to best introduce changes so that this department starts pulling together and brings its performance up in line with the rest of the company. But there will be no more chances. If you cannot reconcile your differences, there will need to be significant restructuring.’
Mark glared around one more time and then strode from the office with the gait of someone much more powerfully built. Sarah found it hard to reconcile the man who’d gamely launched himself across the rope bridge and offered himself up for comparisons to a flower and a pet animal to this tough-talking executive. She turned to see Rachel’s reaction to the managing director’s speech, but caught a glimpse only of her retreating back before she closed the door of her office behind her. Now she sought out Charlie, but Charlie was staring down at his arm, scratching at the deep cut that had been concealed by a plaster all through the weekend and was now scabbed over with beads of dark dried blood. As she watched him, Sarah shivered, not because of the fresh blood that appeared where he scratched the old away, but because of the look on Charlie’s face, the way his features appeared wiped of all the things that made them his, as if he’d been put back to factory settings, as he gazed fixedly down and scratched and scratched until the new blood was smeared in crimson streaks against the pale skin of his arm.