Read Online Victoria Line, Central Line by Maeve Binchy - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Maeve Binchy
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These I think you should take home with you or else return to my personal file. We don’t want them seen by anyone else.’
Sara nodded her thanks. Suddenly she felt overwhelmed with gratitude for this strange girl who was behaving not as a new secretary but as if she were an old family retainer blind with loyalty to the young Missie, or a kindergarten teacher filled with affection and hope for a young charge.
She felt almost unable to express any of this gratitude because Eve didn’t seem to need it or even to like it.
‘Are there any, er, major projects you see straight away?’ she asked.
‘I think you should look for an assistant, or a deputy, Miss Gray,’ said Eve.
‘
Eve
, you can’t go, you can’t leave me now!’ cried Sara.
‘Miss Gray, I am your secretary, not your assistant. I certainly shall not leave you for a year. I told you that. No, you need to train someone in to do your job when you are not here.’
‘Not here?’ Sara looked around her new office which she was beginning to love. ‘Where will I be, why won’t I be here?’
‘Because you will be away on conferences, you will be travelling abroad to see the places the company is promoting, and of course, Miss Gray, you will be taking your own vacation, something you neglected to do last year I see.’
‘Yes, but that’ll only be a few weeks at most. Why do I need to have an assistant, a deputy? I mean it’s like empire building.’
‘You’ll need to train an assistant to take over when you get Mr Edwards’ job at the end of the year. One of the many reasons why women fail to get promotion is because management can say that there is nobody else to do their job on the present level of the ladder. I suggest you find a bright and very young, extremely young man.’
‘But I can’t do that. They’d know I was plotting to get Garry Edwards’ job.’
Eve smiled. ‘I’m glad you are calling Mr Edwards by his first name at last, Miss Gray. No, you need an assistant to do your work for you while you areaway, of course. Otherwise, if this whole office is seen to tick along nicely without you in your absence, people will wonder why your presence is so essential. If on the other hand, it turns into total chaos, they will blame you
in absentia
. So you need a harmless, enthusiastic, personable young man to sign letters which I will write and to postpone anything major until your return.’
‘Eve, why do you have to go away in a year?’ Sara said suddenly. ‘Why can’t you stay and together we’ll take over the whole place. Honestly it’s not impossible.’
‘Oh, Miss Gray, there’d be no point in taking the place over. It’s not what either of us want, is it?’ asked Eve, accepting naturally that it would be perfectly feasible to take over the largest travel company in Britain if she put her mind to it.
‘You never tell me what you want,’ Sara said, impressed by her own daring.
‘I like to see women getting their work recognised. There’s so much sheer injustice in the business world – I mean really unjust things are done to women. I find that very strange. Men who can be so kind to stray dogs, lost strangers, their own children, contribute generously to charities and yet continue appalling unfairness towards women at work.’
She stopped suddenly.
Sara said, ‘Go on.’
‘Nothing more,’ Eve said firmly. ‘You asked mewhat I wanted. I want to see that injustice recognised for what it is, and to see people fight it.’
‘You should write about it, or make speeches,’ said Sara. ‘I never even saw it in my own case until you came. I do agree now that I’ve been shabbily treated and now I’ve got a bit of confidence to demand more. And that’s only after ten days with you. Think what success you’d have if you were to go on a lecture tour or on television or something.’
Eve looked sad.
‘No. That’s just the whole trouble. It doesn’t work that way, damn it. That’s why it’s going to take so
Sara nodded her thanks. Suddenly she felt overwhelmed with gratitude for this strange girl who was behaving not as a new secretary but as if she were an old family retainer blind with loyalty to the young Missie, or a kindergarten teacher filled with affection and hope for a young charge.
She felt almost unable to express any of this gratitude because Eve didn’t seem to need it or even to like it.
‘Are there any, er, major projects you see straight away?’ she asked.
‘I think you should look for an assistant, or a deputy, Miss Gray,’ said Eve.
‘
Eve
, you can’t go, you can’t leave me now!’ cried Sara.
‘Miss Gray, I am your secretary, not your assistant. I certainly shall not leave you for a year. I told you that. No, you need to train someone in to do your job when you are not here.’
‘Not here?’ Sara looked around her new office which she was beginning to love. ‘Where will I be, why won’t I be here?’
‘Because you will be away on conferences, you will be travelling abroad to see the places the company is promoting, and of course, Miss Gray, you will be taking your own vacation, something you neglected to do last year I see.’
‘Yes, but that’ll only be a few weeks at most. Why do I need to have an assistant, a deputy? I mean it’s like empire building.’
‘You’ll need to train an assistant to take over when you get Mr Edwards’ job at the end of the year. One of the many reasons why women fail to get promotion is because management can say that there is nobody else to do their job on the present level of the ladder. I suggest you find a bright and very young, extremely young man.’
‘But I can’t do that. They’d know I was plotting to get Garry Edwards’ job.’
Eve smiled. ‘I’m glad you are calling Mr Edwards by his first name at last, Miss Gray. No, you need an assistant to do your work for you while you areaway, of course. Otherwise, if this whole office is seen to tick along nicely without you in your absence, people will wonder why your presence is so essential. If on the other hand, it turns into total chaos, they will blame you
in absentia
. So you need a harmless, enthusiastic, personable young man to sign letters which I will write and to postpone anything major until your return.’
‘Eve, why do you have to go away in a year?’ Sara said suddenly. ‘Why can’t you stay and together we’ll take over the whole place. Honestly it’s not impossible.’
‘Oh, Miss Gray, there’d be no point in taking the place over. It’s not what either of us want, is it?’ asked Eve, accepting naturally that it would be perfectly feasible to take over the largest travel company in Britain if she put her mind to it.
‘You never tell me what you want,’ Sara said, impressed by her own daring.
‘I like to see women getting their work recognised. There’s so much sheer injustice in the business world – I mean really unjust things are done to women. I find that very strange. Men who can be so kind to stray dogs, lost strangers, their own children, contribute generously to charities and yet continue appalling unfairness towards women at work.’
She stopped suddenly.
Sara said, ‘Go on.’
‘Nothing more,’ Eve said firmly. ‘You asked mewhat I wanted. I want to see that injustice recognised for what it is, and to see people fight it.’
‘You should write about it, or make speeches,’ said Sara. ‘I never even saw it in my own case until you came. I do agree now that I’ve been shabbily treated and now I’ve got a bit of confidence to demand more. And that’s only after ten days with you. Think what success you’d have if you were to go on a lecture tour or on television or something.’
Eve looked sad.
‘No. That’s just the whole trouble. It doesn’t work that way, damn it. That’s why it’s going to take so
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