Tonight’s story begins late at the office. A junior manager has just finished toiling away at some reports dumped on him and required by the top floor right away. After sending off the file, he rubs his tired eyes, and shuts down his computer. As he’s locking his office, he hears muffled noises on the floor that’s supposed to be empty. Creeping around the corners, he spots a light on in a meeting room and more hushed sounds. Fearing a burglar, or worse corporate espionage, he slams the door open and shouts. Surprising the heck out of the company CEO and the secretary whose chest his face is buried in as she sits sprawled on the conference table. Apologizing profusely, he ducks back out of the room and races out of the building and down to his car.
The next day, he receives a call from his boss for a meeting. The boss explains that our lead did a fine job on the reports and has been doing good work overall. Maybe, in exchange for some silence about last night’s encounter so some wives or financial papers don’t hear about it and everybody stays happy, the CEO will authorize a promotion. Our lead is thrilled. Sure, he’d like to get promotions based on the merit of his work, but at a company this size, you take the advantages you can get. The two shake on it and the promotion will be ready in a few days.
Our lead looks over the paperwork for his promotion, which happens to leave out any mention of the boss’s late night activities. His promotion becomes a cushy job helping out the former company owner in exchange for an inflated salary. It’s an easy gig and he’ll have time to work on any projects he wants. The owner has long since retired, but she kept a major seat on the board, so it’s in everybody’s interest to keep the old lady happy.
On arriving at her estate, she looks at him, scoffs, and goes back to sipping an early morning mimosa. Another blank suit the company sent to keep her from causing trouble. Back in her time, managers had actual skill! He balks at this but doesn’t press it. Clearly her retirement wasn’t as much of a joyous new chapter in life as the company had announced in the trades.
His first few days are boring. Helping her on odd jobs, small tasks reviewing portfolios and managing her sizable investments and the sort. As she droned on with another tirade about how today’s workers don’t learn a damn thing in their fancy universities, he spaces out, thinking of his own research and of the money he’s getting paid every minute this rant lasts.
One day upon his arrival, she announces that she’s going to a meeting with her fellow former CEOs, the women that built the industry his generation doesn’t know a thing about running. He agrees and gets his keys out to drive her but she stops him and points to the guest room. He has to change first. Confused, he follows her in and sees the bed with a wig, blouse, jacket, skirt, and heels laid out. He backs away but she blocks the door. It’s a women’s investors club. And she won’t have them thinking she’s letting some man run her affairs or, gods forbid, has some himbo boy toy in her old age. He declines, offers to drop her off and wait in the car until she’s done, but he is not- She prods him in the chest and then angrily points to the outfit. She’s bringing him in disguised as a protege. Be in that meeting and maybe he’ll actually learn something about business. As she launches into another rant about how lazy workers are, he shouts in frustration and agrees just so he doesn’t have to listen to another speech.