Tessa’s smile dropped at the reminder of never having had the chance to smooth over the differences between her father and herself. She would never forget the expression on his face when she had asked him to fire his secretary and hire her instead. She couldn’t bear the thought of that same look in Coty’s eyes.
“You know I’m your friend,” Didier fingered the Chinese letter opener on the desk, “but I have to say, if this is what you’ve got in mind, in many ways it would be best if you went before you encounter his wrath.”
“You know I’m your friend,” Didier fingered the Chinese letter opener on the desk, “but I have to say, if this is what you’ve got in mind, in many ways it would be best if you went before you encounter his wrath.”
“Don’t joke like that,” Tessa gently rubbed her sleeve, “It really was only a passing idea! Why would I want to leave when I love working here?”
But she had vocalised the thought and now that she had, the glimmer of possibility felt its way around the room, under chair legs, between the books on the shelves, slipping around the curve of the desk and into the weave of the curtains. There were only the two of them in the room, but already it felt as though many voices were whispering along the corridors and halls, filtering through the stone walls, under the cracks surrounding doorways, billowing and meandering until her distorted words reached Coty’s ears.
“You know what this place is like,” Didier straightened his cuffs, “You have to be extremely careful about every word you say.”
“You know what this place is like,” Didier straightened his cuffs, “You have to be extremely careful about every word you say.”
“Thank you,” Tessa raised her hand to terminate the conversation.
“Never forget,” said Didier, “This isn’t a family company so there is no safety net. Once you do something the grand patriarch doesn’t like, you can be sure you will be out in the cold before you have time to catch your breath.”
Tessa’s hands froze over the cloud of roses as she grasped for the first time how vulnerable they all were. In the tone of Didier’s voice she heard the harsh reality that the company she considered being her family, replacing her flesh and blood, did not offer the security she assumed it would. Flushing as she felt her stupidity blazon across her face, she swallowed hard. She and Didier had joined the company at the same time, both keen, both eager, both with nowhere else to go. She wondered how well she knew him, how well she really knew any of her colleagues and which one it would be who would manipulate her words, coating them in the concrete that would bring her down. She knew in that instant that even though she hadn’t been serious about leaving Coty, someone could force her to be by insinuating that she wasn’t the person Coty believed.
She suddenly felt sick at how easily innocent words could take on an entirely different tone and meaning in the mouth of someone else. Didier’s questions had seemed so harmless, but she now knew that her answers would be extremely damaging. It had begun as an innocent conversation between friends. As she carried the vase of roses in to Coty’s office, Didier had followed her as he asked why she had given up the man she loved to work in Paris. She had answered without hesitation.
“Because he didn’t see me as his equal,” she had thrown the words over her shoulder, “and Mr. Coty does.”
Didier had laughed, but she now realised the reaction that this rashly spoken comment could ignite.
She suddenly felt sick at how easily innocent words could take on an entirely different tone and meaning in the mouth of someone else. Didier’s questions had seemed so harmless, but she now knew that her answers would be extremely damaging. It had begun as an innocent conversation between friends. As she carried the vase of roses in to Coty’s office, Didier had followed her as he asked why she had given up the man she loved to work in Paris. She had answered without hesitation.
“Because he didn’t see me as his equal,” she had thrown the words over her shoulder, “and Mr. Coty does.”
Didier had laughed, but she now realised the reaction that this rashly spoken comment could ignite.
