Little Ms Cynical

1 - Ms Sylvia Coal

Hiya everyone.

So the first chapter of this novel is featured in a collection of short stories. "Underground Rivers" edited by Mike French. It's on Amazon, link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Underground-Rivers-Mike-French/dp/1782343172/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352144354&sr=1-1

                                                                 ***

“WHAT! These look like the drawings of an eight-year-old. My niece can do better than THAT and you call yourself a designer,” stormed Sylvia Coal at her personal designer. She dug her fingers into the paper causing her veins on the back of her hands to pop up bright red. She threw Eliot's work onto the floor, creased and crinkled. “Do these AGAIN and get out of my office before I throw you out!”

Well it was another bad day for Ms Coal. It was not Eliot’s fault, she knew this deep down, but there was another reason. Her younger sister Cynthia (happily married with two children) bugged Sylvia to join a dating club where she would sit down with a total stranger for five minutes. Based on those crucial five minutes she would judge if he was a possible Mr Right (or eligible to even go on a date) and that, my friend, in the English slang is called Speed Dating.

Yeah, what a stupid idea, thought Sylvia as she grabbed her black Louis Vuitton handbag and umbrella to call it a day. She glanced at the copy of Jude the Obscure on her table: a melancholy tale which she adored with all her heart. The date JULY 01 reminded her she had to return it to the library today before she received a fine from that one annoying, moody librarian. She decided Lucy, her personal secretary, should return the book on her behalf. So as she telephoned Lucy and realised she was on hold after five rings, she slammed the receiver. She absolutely hated to be left on hold for no more than three rings.

Sylvia brashly opened her office door and was greeted by her work colleagues who all eagerly avoided her glare. Unfortunately her snake like eyes rested on a young and frail woman, vigorously typing in numbers on a keyboard.

Sylvia swung the door behind and marched towards the soon-to-be unlucky woman.

“You – new girl. Where the hell is Lucy?” she demanded.

The new girl, Debbie, gulped, “Lucy – ma’am?”

Sylvia mimicked like a child, “My pet chiwawa. Gosh woman use your brain! My secretary.” She leaned closer to her face, “Where the hell is my secretary?”

The office was silent and no one dared to breathe let alone staple papers or scrape their chairs. Her colleagues stopped and stared at the new victim on the boss’s plate.

Debbie stammered as she pleaded with the others for a rescue, “I – I think she’s gone to the toilet.”

Sylvia huffed, and spoke in a patronising voice, “If Lucy doesn’t show up at her desk in less than a minute, so help me God, I will fire her. Do you understand, Deb – bie?”

Debbie nodded her head and blinked several times. Sylvia turned to see her workers. They appeared like statues in a museum. She rested her hands on her hips and moved suavely to the centre of the room, soaking the power with their undivided attention.

“Let this be a lesson for you all. I want discipline in my office. Discipline!” she sneered. “Don’t make me repeat myself from last week’s disaster and don’t just stand there like idiots. Get on with your work!”

This pretty much summed up the typical office day in Ms Coal’s life. She was unsatisfied with her employers’ ‘lack of discipline’ which translated to ‘you do not have a life outside of work when you are working in my company’ which also meant ‘you can’t daydream, leave work or pop to the loo whenever you feel like it’.