manager
and I am sure that he will find me something to do until you need
me again. ” Charlotte smiled and thanked
him, not wanting to leave him but knowing that she had to get to
work. Gosh roll on home time, she thought with excitement. With any
luck we will get a flat tyre and have to spend the night huddled up
in the back of the car to keep warm. Seeing his amused expression
she realised with a start that she was day dreaming again and
flushed with embarrassment. Thanking God that the Thought Police
were a mere fabrication of George Orwell, she hurried inside.
Charlotte entered the stadium and took in the vast reception area
that sprawled before her. Pictures of past and present players were
everywhere amid the scattering of seats, with tables housing
magazines and promotional literature. There was a big desk at which
sat a smart looking receptionist who stood up as she entered.
Before she could speak the receptionist said, “ Miss Dawson, it is a pleasure to meet you. Please take a
seat and I will let Miss Baker know that you have arrived. ”
She smiled and
Charlotte smiled back thinking what a different experience this was
with this receptionist, compared to the bored look from the
previous one. She sat down on a nearby seat and thought that she
had better look at the folder again. Oh no I hope that they
don ‘ t test me on it! She suddenly thought
with alarm, she would fail before she had even started if that was
the case.
It
wasn ’ t long before Elsie Baker
appeared. “ Charlotte its good to see you
again, come with me and I will show you to your office. ” Oh my God thought Charlotte, my own office!
Suddenly the realisation began to set in; she was here to do a job
and a demanding one at that. Of course she would need her own
office. They came to a door on the second floor and Elsie opened
it. Inside was a large room with a desk and two chairs on one side
and one on the other. There was also a settee and a low table.
Cupboards were along one wall and a water cooler was next to a
coffee machine. It was fairly spacious and modern and looked out
over the pitch. She thought that it must be fairly near to the
boardroom as the view was almost identical. “ This is your new home, ” Elsie
said. “ We will make a start filling in
the necessary employment paperwork and then we ’ ll go through your schedule. You have a meeting at 10am
with the board. Can I get you a drink before you get
started? ” Charlotte asked for a tea
gratefully and then sat down to complete the necessary forms. She
soon finished them and looked at her watch. 9.30am, she had half an
hour before the meeting.
Looking around the
room she took in the enormity of what she had agreed to. She
shouldn ’ t be here, the job was not really
hers, it was a total sham and she would be found out and publicly
humiliated. She thought about her parents, what was she going to
put them through? Maybe she hadn ’ t really
thought this through. She started to feel hot and bothered and
wondered whether she should say that she couldn ’ t continue, she could feign an illness and say that she had
to go into quarantine for six months, like her
cousin ’ s dog had to after a trip to
France. Then she thought about Max, and once again felt a shiver of
excitement. If this job was worth anything it was knowing that she
would be spending a lot of time with him. Getting to know him would
be the biggest adventure by far.
There was a knock on
the door and Elsie came in. “ It ’ s time for your meeting follow
me. ” Charlotte followed her to the now
familiar Board room. On entering she saw the Maloney brothers,
Luke, Ronnie, Geoff and two new people that she
hadn ’ t previously met. Mitchell stood up
as she entered and said, “ Ah, our
gorgeous new manager. Let me introduce you to Colin Ruane our
assistant coach and Mark Griffith our physio. Men this is Charlotte
Dawson your new boss. ” Charlotte went up
to each man to shake their hands. They looked bemused
Stephie Smith
Kailin Gow
Ali Smith
Cate Cameron
E.J. Stevens
Hermann Hesse
Charles Williams
Mike Read
Christopher Smith
George G. Gilman