Glass Ceilings (4 page)

Claire clucked her tongue in fr
ustration.
F
or cryin’ out loud, she even passed
up
the great promotion that started all th
e hullabaloo! Not that it changed anything
. The wheels had fallen off by then, and had already rolled into another garage.
She sighed.
What more could Verity have done?
Everyone who knows them could see
it was David’s insecurity, and pathetic jealousy of
her hard-won success,
that
kick
ed
off
their downhill slide
. And of
course,
his
adultery was a bitter side-dish to the unpalatable main course.

She’d seen what the marriage breakdown had done to her friend, and knew
it would take a long time for
the emotional scars
to heal
... i
f ever. She
also
knew Verity
was smart enough to
learn from the experience—t
oo smart for her own good pe
rhaps. It seemed like she’d erected
permanent barriers to shield her
self
from being hurt like that again, and was determined to remain behind them
.

Verity’s voice
had
regained some of i
ts usual strength.
‘All the same, I don’t actually miss David any more, in fact I rarely think of him now.
He’s just a mem
ory, a face from the past that’
s gradually blurring away.
I guess I should thank hi
m for the painful lesson, one I
clearly
needed to learn.
’

‘
Verity—’

‘
So
enough of that.
’ Verity gave a brave
smile.
‘
At least I won’t have
to wait
long to
hear about this job
. The board wants a decision lickety-split so Clyde’s replacement can have some time with him before he goes.’

‘Oh, yeah. If ever a job needed a handover period, it’s that one.
’

‘
S
o, s
hall we do l
unch today? I’m free if you are. No midday production meeting for a change
, but I’m not going back to the mine until this
’
arvo
.
’

After
agreeing on their lunch arrangements,
Verity
went on towards
the shared office she used whenever at the refinery
.
But her mind lingered on the lesson she’d mentioned to Claire; the one she’d learned at great personal expense,
the one
that had
led
her
to
make a sworn
promise.
A promise she was adamant she would keep for the rest of her life
.

To never again
sacrifice
my
own
identity
and all
that matters to me, for the sake of
what
commonly
passes for
love
.

Chapter Three

In the outer office of the CEO’s chambers, Kerry Stowe greeted Royce with a cool inclination of her head, before announcing grandly, ‘Clyde has someone with him, so please take a seat. You’ll be asked to join them shortly.’

Her aloof manner didn’t disturb Royce. He knew it would evaporate completely at one word of encouragement from him. He lifted a lazy eyebrow in her direction as he turned to sit in one of the tub chairs outside Clyde’s door.

Kerry remained behind her desk staring at him, willing him to look at her again. Her lips stretched into a tight line when he ignored her, casually flicking through a brochure he’d selected from the stack on a nearby table.

At the buzz of her intercom, Kerry announced with exaggerated formality, ‘Mr Galloway will see you now.’

When Royce rose and nodded at her, he saw a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

What’s that all about?
he wondered, with a flash of irritation.
Having someone like Kerry privy to so many confidential matters is a bad idea ... another little problem I’ll fix as CEO. I wonder how she’d like a ‘promotion’ to the powerhouse control office.

His lips tilted upwards in one corner at the thought of Kerry having to share the often crowded administration centre beside RCL’s powerhouse. No plush office or private en suite there for a snooty little piece like her.

No doubt that self-important, slimy bastard Reardon would want to get in on it, as he does with every employee ‘realignment’.

His mouth tightened into a serious line again.

But I know how to fix his little red wagon too.

With a satisfied glint in his eyes, Royce opened the door and strode into the CEO’s office. He was surprised to see the chairman of RCL’s board of directors, Travis Hunter, sitting next to Clyde and making no move to leave.

‘Morning Royce, have a seat.’

‘Gents.’ Royce nodded the greeting at them both.

They watched as he lowered himself into a chair, opening his tailored suit coat as he did so. Sitting back, he stretched one arm along the back of the vacant seat beside his. The cuffs of his crisp business shirt peeked out from below his dark coat sleeve, and a stylish cufflink twinkled under the overhead light. A few strands of his slicked-back hair curled onto his collar, below his clean-shaven face. As usual, Royce looked every inch the successful young exec.

Although it was obvious Travis was sitting in on the meeting, he didn’t speak, and leaned back casually in his chair as though more a spectator than a contributor.

This is interesting
, Royce mused with a slight narrowing of his eyes,
I’ve a feeling we’ll be getting to the point quickly
.

As though he’d read Royce’s thoughts, Clyde sat forward in his chair and looked intently at him. His tone was brisk and business-like. ‘Royce, I’m sure you’re eager to hear the panel’s decision on the CEO appointment.’

Travis watched Royce as Clyde gave him the news, but his thoughts strayed to the other contender for the job, Verity Parker. In response to their latest summons, she would be sitting outside the door, waiting to join them.

Quick to form impressions, Travis considered himself a good judge of character. In their first meeting, he’d studied Verity carefully from the moment she’d entered the room. Dressed impeccably, she’d projected a composed and professional image. He’d been impressed, and not, he hurriedly assured himself, simply because of her looks. But the rating of all candidates, male and female, took into account not only what they wrote in their job applications and said in their interviews, but also their appearance, behaviour, attitude and interaction with the panellists. And Travis had to admit to admiring the ‘whole package’ Verity had presented.

Although she was young as far as executives went, she was also obviously capable and highly intelligent. She had proven herself worthy of promotion, but he still had some niggling doubts....

With an effort, Travis focused his attention on the matter at hand.

For the second time that day, Verity found herself sitting outside the door to Clyde’s office. It occurred to her that this would be the new CEO’s inner sanctum, and she took a sharp intake of breath. Suddenly, the intercom on Kerry’s desk squawked and Verity suppressed a startled jump. It felt like all the excitement had super-charged her nervous system. She was buzzing.

Kerry pressed the intercom button and listened for a second, before turning an impassive face to Verity and saying, ‘Please go in, Miss Parker.’

Verity made herself rise casually. She took a second to smooth her suit, taking a deep breath to settle herself, and walked with outward calm into the office. Her step only faltered when she saw Royce sitting with the other two men.

Clyde and Travis smiled their greetings and Clyde indicated the vacant chair beside his. As she eased herself into it, Verity risked a sideways glance at Royce. For the briefest moment, she glimpsed traces of disbelief and disappointment on his face, until a shutter came down and his expression became unreadable. But she knew he’d be reeling at the knowledge he’d been beaten to a position that he, and everyone else, had assumed he could simply reach out and take.

With a swift turn of his head, Royce fixed cold eyes on her and mumbled a greeting.

Verity shrank inwardly from the barely masked dislike on his face, but immediately felt anger coming to her aid. Her eyes flashed and she felt like saying,
hey buddy, don’t vent your spleen on me. It was their decision, and who said you had sole rights to the job anyway?

Sensing the unspoken tension between the rivals, Clyde went on to say, ‘Royce, you deserve further explanation as to why your excellent application was not successful.’ He glanced at Verity and then at Royce. ‘Verity should be aware of this too, that’s why we asked her to join us.’ He passed Royce a copy of a very official-looking document. ‘This report was presented to the Federal Government in April.’

Verity read the title on the front cover, ‘Enterprising Nation’.

Clyde sat back and threaded his fingers together over his ample and, to his dismay, growing ampler, waistline. ‘It highlights that the future competitiveness of Australia’s commercial sector is at risk because of a thickening “glass ceiling”. This isn’t a new concept, we’ve all heard the term before, but now it’s officially regarded as a serious issue.’ He pointed at the document in Royce’s hand. ‘This provides case studies and statistical data on the under-utilisation of the skills and talents of women in senior levels of business management, and concludes by recommending all progressive companies take steps to manage the risk.’ Clyde frowned. ‘Unfortunately, some of the questionable corporate behaviours and cultures showcased in the report, are also evident at RCL.’

Royce passed the report to Verity without looking at her. He was staring at Clyde with a mixture of annoyance and scepticism. ‘I don’t see the relevance of that report to this meeting? And since when has RCL been bothered by these types of issues?’

Verity was horrified when an involuntary snort escaped her. She hurriedly lowered her eyes, fixing them on the report in her hand, and cleared her throat to try to cover her indiscretion. She cringed inwardly, certain the others would have heard, but their faces gave no sign. In fact, she had the distinct impression Royce had decided to ignore her completely, for which she was actually grateful. Travis’ carefully averted face made her wonder though. Was it possible he was hiding a grin?

Clyde carried on undeterred. ‘Since when? Since our joint venturers—in particular
Miss
Sharpe—have forced the issue and asked what we’re doing about it. And I think that answers both parts of your question.’

The three men shifted uncomfortably in their seats at the mention of Microbelle’s resident representative. Although they’d never admit it, they were all a bit in awe of Brenda Sharpe, or ‘Miss Sharpe’ as she preferred to be known. She wielded a lot of influence with the board of directors, and was notorious for championing issues despite, or sometimes because of, substantial opposition. Her notoriety spread throughout the organisation and increased with every new challenge she spearheaded.

Royce nodded slowly. ‘I see. So this is your response, to appoint a female CEO.’ He looked from Clyde to Travis and back again. ‘Gender. That’s what it’s come down to.’

All three heard the resigned note in his voice, but Verity also sensed a stronger emotion, directed only at her, which he couldn’t disguise.
Could it be loathing?
She shivered.
What a horrible thought
.

Clyde frowned and leaned forward. ‘Royce, it’s important you understand that the selection panel adhered strictly to the recruitment process, and chose a highly qualified professional who meets all the criteria of this position. The final decision was not based on gender.’ He sat back again. ‘It was simply fortunate we had a suitable candidate who also happened to be a woman. There aren’t many of her calibre out there. This report only serves to emphasise that it was the
right
decision. And it’s a positive step for the company to take, don’t you agree?’

Clyde and Travis watched Royce carefully.

He sighed and his broad shoulders seemed to droop a little as he
nodded begrudgingly.
He was obviously finding it an effort to hide his incredulity, and every inch of his body language pointed to an e
agerness to end the discussion.

Knowing they’d said all there was to say on the matter, Clyde drew the meeting to a close. ‘Well, unless you have further questions, I have a ten o’clock I shouldn’t keep waiting.’ He shuffled some of the papers on his desk.