It has been 2 weeks since the M&A successful acquisition and 2 weeks since I’ve been thinking of Lawrence and how I stole his “idea” with no credit. We haven’t exchanged much words after that, I just carried on like nothing happened and I was glad he didn’t say anything either, it would’ve made things awkward.
I’ve come to think how these instances have been normal in the corporate world. I know a lot of great women who climbed up the ladder and achieved great success on the shoulders of hard-working men. There was a saying I used to love a lot: “Behind every great woman, there’s a great man”. And it was true. Behind every great woman in the office, there was a man waiting for her at home with cooked meals, taking care of the babies. However, the office world was much more brutal; you had to fight your way to the top.
I turned around in my chair, thinking of our evolution and great quotes, when I was suddenly interrupted by a pair of shy eyes peeking through the door:
“Hi Ofelia. Do you have a minute?”
“Oh Lawrence! Sure, how can I help?”
He stepped inside the office, with a small leather agenda in his hands and approached the chairs, facing me. I took my black stilettos off the desk and adjusted to a more serious position.
“We have our 1:1 now. Am I interrupting?”
Oh yes. Your 1:1.
“Not at all. Of course, I didn’t forget. What’s on the list?”
“Well, I’ve completed most tasks, I’ve shared the gdocs with you. There’s nothing pressing at the moment”.
“That’s fantastic. Well done! I should give you more work then” I started laughing, then I quickly stopped. It was not the time to make a joke.
“However, there’s…something else on my list. I wanted to ask you…what else can I do to improve my performance for my future development in this company?”
I raised my eyebrows, oscillating from a shocked expression, to a “pretend-your-serious” expression, going back between the two. It was these conversations I was purposely avoiding.
“I think you’re a valuable employee. You’re always on time with every deadline. Everybody loves working with you.”
“So, when can I expect a promotion?”
I shifted my position in the chair.
“Lawrence, we value you and what you bring to the team, and to the company. I value you. But, unfortunately, there’s not the time for a promotion. We can revise this for Q4”.
He smiled politely and nodded his head.
“Thank you, Ofelia.”
I smiled back, a compassionate smile, while I turned to my monitor to check my emails.
“Oh, Lawrence - are you coming to the team’s drinks this evening?”
“Sure.”
I nodded back and continued scanning through some new emails with the subject line “Urgent!”
**
“Oh c’mon, you guys have to choose. Would you rather lose your arms or your legs?” Tamara from Invoices started shouting in the middle of the pub. She was 3 Gin & Tonics down, handing each one of us another round.
“I’d rather lose my legs. You can walk in your arms, you know?” Elizabeth, our Financial Director responded. She had this aura about her, you either loved her or hated her. I didn’t love her.
“What do you think, Lawrence?” I turned around and put the spotlight on him. He turned around to me:
“I would say the same. Arms are more helpful”. We all laughed, as we painted a more thorough picture of his answer.
“Oh God, no way. Lawrence?”
We all turned around from our little circle, to face a relatively young lady with auburn hair and pink blazer, staring at us. Or at Lawrence. She looked like she worked in Marketing. Or a “creative” field based on the colorful tone her clothes possessed.
“Oh hi…”
“Do you even remember my name?”
We all looked at each other, realizing what was actually happening.
He panicked. I could see his upper lip trembling slowly as he rushed his hand through his dark curly hair. His face started turning red, I could see his side profile.
“Laurie! You never told us you’re seeing someone!” Tamara opened her mouth in shock, looking at them like the next gossip subject in the cafeteria.
“I’m not, this was not..it’s just..”
“Yes, Lawrence, what is it? Not very nice of you to not text me after we’ve spent the night together, don’t you think?” the small lady in pink furrowed her eyebrows, while she sipped from her cocktail. Her nail polish was chipped.
“Lawrence, we didn’t know you had it in you! Where did you guys meet?”
“I think it’s enough, Tamara, there’s clearly a tense situation”. I turned to her to make this ordeal stop.
“We met on Bumble, and we’re not seeing each other”. Lawrence spitted, quite annoyed now at the situation.
The woman turned around and rolled her eyes, while Lawrence sighed in relief.
“You like when men make the first move, Lawrence? I didn’t picture you as the assertive one”.
“It’s just a dating app..” he responded timidly, being attacked by a group of hungry hyenas.
“Are you looking to settle down? It’s almost time for you, no? I heard men now settle down much later, which causes a big problem for all of us”. Tamara continued sipping on her, now, 4th Gin tonic.
“Oh please, cut him some slack. At least he's putting himself out there. And getting some. When was the last time you had sex, Tamara?” Elizabeth fired up the question, which made Tamara jaw fall.
I could see his eyes getting watery, which was unusual. The conversation shifted in the wrong direction, and it seemed that everyone had their 2 cents to give.
“Well, exactly, Elizabeth. I haven’t gotten some in a long time. So, Lawrence, what do you say?” she winked at him. All the group started laughing hysterically, like it was the funniest joke ever told.
Lawrence adjusted his tie and smiled politely.