onia's and Lola's employers' reactions to their resignations were very different to Mike's. Unlike me they were valuable employees whose bosses knew very well their importance to their respective companies. They were put under severe pressure to reconsider their impulsive decisions. Tonia's boss went ballistic and she spent over an hour in his office with the door closed while he harangued her about how she was throwing her life away. He hinted heavily that her promotion to partner was all but a done deal and the course from there to senior partner would be plain sailing. Tonia had heard this sort of talk before and was well aware that he was very big on hints and innuendos but very poor on firm commitments so she was able to resist the vision of the rosy future he painted. He wanted to know where she was going. Of course she couldn't say and the more she remained silent the more convinced he became that she was moving to one of their rivals. He demanded to know how much they were offering her or, more correctly, what they had bribed her with. He questioned her health and state of mind and tried to set her up with an appointment to see the company doctor. When she refused, the promises turned to threats and, in the end, she was forced to sign a statement guaranteeing that she would not work for a rival and she could not approach any of her existing clients for two years. Lola was outraged when she found out and said that Tonia should sue them for constructive dismissal or something.
While Tonia had no problem signing their bit of paper, she was extremely upset by the way she'd been treated. This, of course, just made her even more convinced that she'd made the right decision. By nature, accountants are steady people who like things to be organised and predictable and Tonia was no exception. Even though she knew she had made the right decision, deep inside she harboured a few lingering doubts and that made her even more upset. Most of her colleagues treated her as if she was insane and not a few of them came by her office to try and pump her for information under the guise of giving her good advice. As she suspected that some of them had been set up and anything she said would be reported back to her boss, she simply stuck to her story that she was tired of accountancy and wanted a change of career.
The only highlight was that Harry sneaked into her office to offer her sympathies and support although it was most definitely not the done thing for a clerk in one department to visit a senior accountant in another. Harry offered to resign, too, in sympathy. Tonia took her to lunch and they had a heart-to-heart talk. Harry told her that she had meant what she had said; that, whatever Tonia and I did and wherever we were going, she wanted to be part of it and she was sure Debbie did, too. Tonia was very touched and promised that neither of them would be left behind.
Lola's experience was different but no less upsetting. Her superiors' immediate reaction was one of surprise and shock, which was hardly surprising. They offered her a pay increase and, when that didn't work, a better car, improved medical insurance a subsidised mortgage and a number of other benefits. The option of promotion was noticeable in its absence and she had no hesitation in rejecting these attractive red herrings. Her immediate boss took her out to lunch and had a long and relatively friendly talk with her. He wasn't angry, just surprised as she had never given any indication of being unhappy with her work. He was full of praise for her abilities and also painted a rosy picture of the future. At this point Lola, who had consumed more alcohol than usual, decided enough was enough.
"Richard, look at me. Tell me what you see," she demanded.
He started to spout the familiar platitudes about how her talents could take her far. Lola stopped him short.
"Sorry, Richard, that's bullshit and you know it. I'm black and female. Are they really going to make me a partner? Be honest."
"Well, I don't know anything for certain of course and you know I can't make you any promises, but…"
Lola held up her hand. "We've known each other for seven years and I know you're a good man and honest, as far as any lawyer is," she grinned to take the sting out of her words. "So, cut the crap. You know as well as I that it'll never happen."
He sighed and covered her hand with his. "If this ever gets out, I'll deny this conversation ever took place," he said ruefully. "You've one of the brightest minds in the company and your knowledge of corporate law is second to none but you know it isn't just intelligence and ability they look for in a partner."
Lola grinned. "That's the nicest way anyone's said no to me. Richard, I knew this. That's why I'm getting out. I don't want to end up an old maid in twenty years time still sitting at the same desk."
"Old maid? Did I mention you're also the most attractive woman in the company?"
"Are you making a pass at me?"
He sighed again. "If I was twenty years younger, no even ten years younger, and wasn't happily married, I would be. You wouldn't be able to shake me off."
She laughed. "And if you weren't happily married I'd take you up on it and never mind the ten years."
"I shall miss you. That's not just flattery. There's a spark about you that's rare in our profession and you've been a good friend to me over the years."
"You're not going to make me an offer I can't refuse, throw a few more juicy titbits in my direction or threaten me?"
He shook his head then grinned. "Threats are not my style and you've already turned down my best offer so, no. I'm honest enough to admit that you're probably right. Now's the time to go. Go down to London. They'll welcome you with open arms and the whole set-up is much more flexible down there."
"Thank you, Richard," she said huskily, dabbing the tears from her eyes. "I shall miss you."
"Keep in touch. Please." He glanced at his watch. "Now, I suppose we'd better get back so I can report that you're a hard-hearted bitch and utterly immune to my charms."
"Hardly that," she laughed.
Tonia's leaving do started out a disaster and ended up a roaring success. The way she was feeling about her treatment, all she wanted to do was say a few quiet farewells and leave. That suited her bosses and a number of her colleagues down to the ground. As far as they were concerned she was a traitor and they wished she would just go away. Her boss copped out of her presentation by finding a business meeting that he just couldn't avoid on the day she left. The evening before he had shaken her hand and stiffly wished her good luck. The sincerity of his good wishes was matched by the sincerity of her thanks. The actual presentation was done by one of the senior partners who barely knew her. It was short and formal. Her own speech was also short but she couldn't resist parting swipe. Her final comment was to the effect that, although she had enjoyed her time here and had considered many of her colleagues friends, her treatment in the last few weeks had shown the true colours of a number of them. This was greeted with gasps of shock and the applause was short and perfunctory.
She had cleared her desk, under the watchful eye of security, and was heading for the door for the last time when she was intercepted by one of the few who had stood by her. Without giving her time to object, he had hustled her down to the mail room. She stopped dead in the doorway and stared in astonishment. The mail room was decorated with balloons and streamers and banners wishing her good fortune. Trestle tables had been set up along one wall, laden with bottles and cans and plates of food. Over thirty people were there, all with cans or glasses clutched in their hands.
A cheer went up when she was spotted and Harry dashed out of the crowd to drag the reluctant Tonia into the party. Through misted eyes, Tonia noticed that, other than her few close colleagues, the group was made up from juniors, clerks and support staff.
"But… But…" Tonia stuttered as Harry tugged her towards the make-shift bar.
"You didn't think we were going to let you go without a proper send-off, did you?" Harry said, thrusting a glass of wine into her hand.
"But I don't understand…"
"Whatever the ar… so-and-sos upstairs might think, you've got pals." Harry waved her bottle around at the group.
"I'm overwhelmed. I hadn't realised." Her eyes narrowed. "This is your doing, isn't it, Harry?"
Harry looked at the floor. "Well, I might have made a few suggestions," she said sheepishly.
Tonia laughed. "Harry, you're a proper menace, you know that. And you're a true friend."
"A bit more than that," Harry said, suddenly shy.
Tonia looked at her sharply. "A good deal more than that," she agreed with total sincerity. Harry blushed.
Putting her glass down, Tonia clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "I just want to say," she announced when there was, at last, something approaching quiet, "that I'm completely gobsmacked and utterly overwhelmed. Until ten minutes ago I felt that I'd been tipped the black spot." There was the inevitable cry of 'Arr, Jim, lad' from some wag at the back. "You've gone to a lot of effort to organise this and I really appreciate it. Thank you." Loud cheers greeted this. "But I have to say an even bigger thank you to you all, each and every one of you, for your support. It's a pity it's taken eight years for me to find out who my real friends are. There's not much I shall miss about this place except for you. Thank you, one and all. Now… before I burst into tears and ruin my mascara… let's party!"
She said later that it was the best party she had ever been to. She talked to people she barely knew, people she dealt with in the course of the working day, and found that they not only liked her but also respected and admired her. For the first time she met the people without whom her job would have been intolerable, if not impossible. In them she discovered wit and wisdom and warmth; a great deal more, indeed, than in the upper echelons of the organisation she used to frequent.
When, after several hours, the party began to wind down she found herself mucking in with all the rest to remove all traces of their unauthorised activities and return the mail room to its proper function. They eventually trooped out into the night under the broad grin of Davie, the night guard, who hoped that all the late working wouldn't spoil their weekend. He didn't let the fact that he had joined them for half an hour after the last senior partner had gone home spoil a good joke. To her surprise, she found herself agreeing to go drinking and dancing with some of the younger and more energetic of the group. It was getting on for two in the morning when she finally staggered up the stair to her flat and collapsed on the bed.
Lola's parting was more amicable, more formal and much less fun. She had a huge send-off with most of the staff crowding into the conference room to hear Richard give her valediction. He was a gifted public speaker and genuinely fond of Lola. As a consequence, his words were witty, scurrilous and only loosely based on the truth. He somehow managed to turn even the most innocent and trivial incident in her past into a mountain of embarrassment. It was one time Lola was glad her skin was the colour it was although she sure everybody could feel the heat radiating from her face. As she looked around at the friends and colleagues who had gathered to wish her farewell, she began to have serious doubts about the wisdom of leaving.
There was the usual collection and presentation. Her friends and colleagues had been particularly generous and there was a mixture of humorous and serious gifts. It said a lot for her relationships that one of them was a bottle of fake tanning lotion. However she was moved to tears when she opened the main present. It was not widely known that she loved boats and it was one of her dreams to own one, not a sailing dinghy but a real ocean-going boat. Somehow, she couldn't imagine how, they had managed to obtain a scale model of a fully-rigged ketch, its sails bellied as if running before a good, stiff Westerly. It stood on a wooden base which had a brass plaque upon which was engraved 'To Louise: may her dreams one day come true'. As she stood with the tears streaming down her face, she vowed that, one day, they really would.
It was traditional that executives who were leaving the company of their own volition were taken to dinner by the senior partners. So, rather than the after work booze-up with her work-mates that she would have preferred, she spent the evening in a very up-market restaurant followed by a visit to an exclusive night-club. She had to admit they did their best to make the evening special but, to her bosses, she was an enigma. They could not understand why she was willing to throw away a good career in pursuit of some unspecified wild-goose chase. If she had said she was moving to London or another local company on promotion they would have understood; they wouldn't have liked it but they would have understood it. But to throw everything away to go chasing a vague dream was beyond their comprehension. They were solid, material, worthy men and women, clever in their own way, but they thought in terms of profit and loss, gain and benefit, and without tangible evidence of either, they were, like Lola's toy boat, adrift in an ocean of uncertainty. Their efforts at light conversation were sincere but stilted and she spent most the time in the company of Richard and a few close friends. She made another vow that, when she returned from Spain, rich she hoped, she would throw the party to end all parties for her other colleagues and work-mates.