keep it professional - r. taylor

1

~October 1971~

Fridays were always my favorite day of the week. The closeness of the weekend, the giving up on work an hour before my shift is up, and the thought of sleeping in the next day. Personally, I feel like almost everyone else feels the same way because everyone else seems to be in a chipper mood as well. At least they do in my office.

Leaning back in my chair, I began to think about what my plans for the weekend are. There was one side of me that wanted to go out and drink until I could forget my problems, while the other side of me wanted to wrap up in a blanket and watch old movies while eating buckets of popcorn.

My internal battle was cut short when I heard a knock on my door. I sat back up and focused my attention to whoever was at my door. "Oh, Mr. Reid. Good afternoon!"

"Please, Elizabeth, call me John."

"Of course Mr. Re... I mean John." Yes, my boss was John Reid. The John Reid. The man who manages Elton John. And he had found something in me, I'm not quite sure what, that interested him enough to bring me on board with his company. It was a dream come true. Ever since I was a little girl, I told myself that I was going to be famous. I would always have my mother put on her records in our living room, and I would dance around and perform as if I was in front of hundreds of people.

Once I grew up, I realized that I didn't really have the talent to make it big in the business. But I didn't want to give up on my dream, and turned to the next thing in line. Management. When I told my parents, they were elated, thinking that I wanted to become a manager for a major corporation. However, managing a music group was much more appealing for me.

After graduating from college, being one of the few women in the management major, I applied for job after job. Hearing rejections left and right left me hopeless, and almost inspired me to quit the job hunt entirely. But, there was some voice in my head that told me to try one last time for EMI records. One phone call and interview later, and Mr. Reid offered me a position in his office.

I was elated, of course. I accepted the job right away, no questions asked, and got right to work. I moved into a flat closer to my office so that the drive wasn't as bad. I didn't even care that it was crumbling to the ground when I moved in. I was working my dream job, meeting amazing people, and getting to do what I love. It doesn't get much better than that.

Mr. Reid walked over towards my desk and took a seat across from me. I made sure that I was sitting up straight, and smoothed out the wrinkles on my skirt. Any time he would come by, I would make sure to look done up, even though he didn't care.

"So Elizabeth, I hate to do this right before the weekend, but I need to ask you to stay a little bit later than usual tonight. I promise, it'll only be this one time occurrence. It's just we need someone to help train the new kid Paul, and you're the best fit for that."

Although I was flattered that Mr. Reid held me in that regard, I glanced over to the clock, noticing that my one hour until work was over would turn into a few hours. "Um, sure..."

"Great! Thank you so much Elizabeth! To make up for it, don't worry about making it in on time on Monday. You can come in a little late!"

"Oh really? Well, thank you... John."

"Of course! I'll see you Monday!" He shot me a quick wave before heading back towards his office. I guess volunteering to help out the new guy wasn't such a bad thing after all. The only thing I hate more than staying late on a Friday is having to go back to work on Monday.

Before I could continue on with my work, my telephone began to ring. I reached over and picked it up, giving my generic hello that I've been trained to recite. "Hello, this is Elizabeth Holmes of EMI Records. How can I help you today?"