Page updated  21-08-2024-RL

The Longest Day                        
(Published in Southwell u3a Newsline September 2024)
 
On waking, my mind as usual began arranging the day into some sort of achievable schedule. I allowed myself the luxury of a few minutes’ justification of any decisions I was about to implement.
 
I was, after all, at the top of my game, as the head of a successful organisation which owed me a huge debt of gratitude for its present prosperity. You would think, therefore, that all my colleagues would be, if not in awe of me, at least grateful for the financial security my talents have afforded them, but no. There is, in my experience, always someone snapping at the proverbial heels, someone discontented with their lot. I have dealt with many such contenders over the years, eager little whippersnappers, biting off more than they could chew, thinking they could outwit me. This latest thorn in my side is no different from the others. I will concede he is smart. I have watched his progress up the corporate ladder. He now sits on the Board. Yes, this one is smart. I, then, will have to be smarter.
 
Arriving at my office, I implemented my plan of action. Janine, my Secretary/Mistress entered the room. She is, even to the most puritanical observer, a sensual, beautiful woman. She has a way of commanding attention without seemingly making any effort whatsoever to do so, something I have always admired about her.
 
As my secretary she is exemplary. As a mistress she is exciting, exhausting, in short, every man’s wildest exotic dream. Most men would envy me this particular pleasure. Also, Janine has an intrinsic part to play in the eradication of my rival.
 
I called a Board Meeting, to be held at five p.m., an unusual time. as Board Meetings are normally held at nine-thirty a.m. but this particular meeting was special; I planned to expose my rival for insider trading.
 
With the help of Janine, I’d been feeding Mr Smarty Pants information to which he should not have had access. Information he could use to ruin my reputation, if it were true, which it is not. And I can prove it, making him look a liar. Thanks to Janine’s obvious charms, the false information she fed him will enable me to remove this particular thorn in my flesh. I told Janine to convince him that today’s board meeting would be the perfect opportunity to bring me down.
 
Don’t you just love it when a plan comes to fruition?
 
I needed to win. This has always been the case, even as a child I couldn’t cope if I didn’t win. “A sore loser” my mother used to call me. Well, maybe she’s right; losing has never been something I could endure. I pride myself on being one of life’s survivors, as indeed the crucial Board Meeting would prove. Cutting someone down to size, crushing them, has always given me a considerable amount of pleasure. My colleagues may not like me, but they do respect me, and respect is what I demand.
 
At one p.m. I took Janine to lunch, not in the office restaurant but in a rather chic one, away from prying eyes. I needed to ensure she fully understood her role in bringing down my opponent and being seen out with such a beautiful woman cannot do a man’s ego any harm. Assured all of my ammunition was in place, I relaxed, relishing the battle for supremacy which lay ahead.

The twelve members of the board duly assembled, and I opened the meeting. There were only two women on the board, both of whom I had great respect for.  I appointed them myself, so I naturally expected their loyalty.  My eyes briefly rested on the remaining Directors. Several were approaching retirement age, and as such would vote for an easy life.
 
The others were, in varying degrees, open to persuasion, particularly when their own security was threatened, so I was confident this would all go my way.
 
I came to the item on the agenda where I had planned to give Mr Smarty pants his opportunity to expose me. I nodded to Janine to bring me the appropriate papers, and she placed them before me. I glanced at them, confused. These were not the papers I expected. These were transcripts of every conversation I had had with Janine regarding my ploy to destroy my rival. All the lies and devious strategies I had employed, in gruesome detail. I looked around me as each Board Member read their copy and shrank before the expressions of disbelief and disgust on their faces.
 
I turned to face Janine. She returned my gaze with what I can only describe as a look of cool triumph. As she handed Mr Smarty pants a file, her hand lingered a second more than was necessary on his shoulder.
 
I was, as they say. ‘Hoisted by my own Petard’.
 
This turned out to be the longest day of my life.

 
© Jeannie Freeman 18. 6 .24.
 
 



 

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