How to Get Ahead Without Murdering your Boss (10 page)

"Paul!" Lou sank against the wall, her face drained of colour.

"Whoa, what's up?" Paul grabbed her and held her up. "What are you doing?"

Lou shrugged him off. "You scared me." She went outside and took a few deep breaths. "I came to check on Yasmin but she's not here."

Paul yawned. "Yeah well. It looks like the cyclone's moved away."

"Yes but we could still have trouble."

"Of course we do," he said with resignation. "Don't you ever give up?"

Lou started back towards the lodge. "Yasmin's gone now. And so has Clara."

"So Yasmin's gone for a walk and so's Clara. Didn't you tell me she goes every morning without fail?"

Lou stopped and looked at him.

"See? You're jumping to conclusions," said Paul, as they neared the back of the lodge. He saw her face fall. He put his arm around her shoulders and marched her towards the kitchen. "Come on, let's make some coffee for the troops and tell them the good news. They might be able to leave this beautiful place today and go back to their mad, important lives."

"But I was going to check Arnold's cabin," she halfheartedly protested.

Paul stopped her and looked her in the eye. "Do you really want to face that dickhead after last night?"

Lou smiled. "Scrambled eggs on toast with bacon?"

Paul rubbed his stomach. "The way to a man's heart…"

She was still smiling when they opened the door to the kitchen and saw Clara on the floor, sweeping up something. Judging from the jacket she had on and the mud on her boots she'd already finished her morning walk.

"Oh you gave me a fright," said Clara getting to her feet. "Some glass on the floor there." She turned to Paul. "Do you think you can try the generator again?"

"Well I've got my orders," said Paul. "I'll get cracking. Bit wet out this morning?"

Clara turned and looked down. "Oh I forgot I still had this on." She took off her jacket, shaking it out on the floor and hanging it up behind the door.

"Okay. Keys?" Paul turned to Lou who tossed the keys to him. "If I can't get it started soon it won't happen at all." He turned and went out the back door.

Lou started to get out some plates and cutlery for breakfast. Clara went to the cool-room and came back with some bread and cereal.

"Clara when you were out walking did you happen to see Arnold?" asked Lou. Clara started to slice the bread. "No I didn't see anyone. Is he missing again?"

Lou looked at Clara standing there with the breadknife in her hand and her heart started beating faster. "Well I haven't seen him this morning. I can't imagine he would take off again in the middle of the storm."

"Well maybe he needed to clear his hangover," Clara turned to the bench and started to bring out pots and pans.

Lou took down the plates and cups and placed them on a tray. "Clara how did you know Arnold had a hangover? We never said anything about what happened last night."

Clara slowly turned and placed the pans on the bench between them. "Well it was pretty obvious. A few bottles missing from the lounge. You and Paul looking pissed off. You don't have to be Einstein to work it out."

"No I guess not," said Lou. She pretended to count the plates on the tray and, trying to sound casual, asked, "So what time did you get up this morning?"

Clara stopped slicing and sighed. She looked Lou in the eye. "Why?"

"Well I'm just trying to work out when Arnold might have left so we know if we have to get worried again." Lou started to gather some fruit together.

"Well I went for a walk an hour or so ago and he wasn't about when I got up."

"Okay. Thanks. I might just go and see who's awake and ready for breakfast."

"Sounds like a good idea." Clara didn't look up.

19

Lou tried to shrug off a sick feeling in her stomach after talking with Clara. There was something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She was still mulling it over when she turned the handle to the lounge and was surprised to see everyone standing in a group. But they barely noticed her. Their eyes were fixed on Yasmin who was hysterical.

She turned, saw Lou and raced over to her.

"What did you say? Slow down Yasmin I can't understand a word." Lou tried to listen while the others gathered around them.

Kylie took command. "Yasmin, pull yourself together." Over the sobbing, she said loudly, "Yasmin says that Arnold's dead. Again."

"Well I won't be going out in the rain to find another dummy. Not after what he did to us yesterday," said Nathan.

"Cheers to that mate." Paul had just entered the lounge and was quickly catching up on what was happening.

Lou looked from one face to another and realized if she was going to set out after Arnold it would be on her own. She made a decision. "I understand your reluctance but Arnold is one of my guests, and it is my responsibility to ensure that you are all safe. Come on Yasmin." She turned and then paused at the door. "Breakfast will be ready shortly for those of you who aren't coming with me." With that she left.

Paul looked at the others, sighed and shook his head. He followed her out and caught up with her as they trotted off to Arnold's cabin. "Hey wait up." But Lou powered on. Paul decided for once to keep quiet and just walked along beside her. In the silence they heard voices behind them and realized that the Medivalue team had followed them. Paul noticed a small smile on Lou's face. "You're quite the motivator, aren't you?"

"This way," Lou yelled over her shoulder as she followed Yasmin down the path to Arnold's cabin, set back from the others near the base of the cliff. As she neared the clearing she pushed through the surrounding trees to see Yasmin kneeling beside Arnold's body. It was sprawled in an awkward shape at the bottom of the steps to the cabin. Paul reached the body just as she did. Lou pulled Yasmin to her feet and tried to comfort her while Paul dragged the body over on to its back. Arnold's pale white face stared glassily up at them. Paul looked at Lou and shook his head. "He's dead."

"What?" Kylie had joined them. Ed and Nathan appeared, breathing hard.

"I told you! I told you!" Yasmin screamed at them. Lou turned just in time to catch her as she collapsed.

20

It seemed to Lou that in the hour or so following the discovery of Arnold's body, she was working on automatic pilot. Even in death Arnold had a way of dictating her movements. After arranging for Paul to cover the body and keep everyone away from the area Lou made the unpleasant call to the Cairns police to let them know that in fact there was now a dead body. They said they would send their launch and a detective and rescue team as soon as possible. No sooner had she put down the receiver than the radio crackled into life again. The ferry captain was calling to say that the ferry had survived the rough seas but he couldn't make the trip until the following morning to pick up her guests.

Lou returned from the office to find that everyone had departed to their cabins. Suddenly she was at a loss and wandered from room to room, opening shutters and checking for damage. She opened the door to the training room to find Kylie sorting through some papers. "Oops, sorry to disturb you."

"That's fine, no trouble," said Kylie. "I was just collecting my notes."

"I guess there will be a lot of changes now in the company? With Arnold gone I mean," said Lou. She crossed to the windows and opened the curtains.

"Yes, I hope so," said Kylie. Lou saw her hesitate. "Thank you for all that you've done this weekend. You have performed above and beyond what could be expected."

"Really? I think that in business the customer always comes first so I just follow that philosophy."

"Well it shows."

"Thank you." Lou turned to go.

"I hope to make Medivalue the sort of company that has that philosophy."

"You can do that as HR Manager?"

"No, but I can as CEO."

Lou looked puzzled. "I thought Nathan…"

"Yes but Nathan doesn't want it. We've already spoken and he is going to support my nomination to the board. He'll be a great deputy." Kylie snapped her briefcase shut and picked up her laptop.

"I'm sure," said Lou. She thought quietly herself. Not dead half a day and already they were dividing up the kingdom. Perhaps Nathan wasn't quite as sincere about his sea-change as he said.

"I guess it's all worked out for you then," said Lou.

Kylie turned and stared. "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing, just that with Arnold no longer around, it looks like you have been handed your dream job."

"I haven't been handed anything. I've worked my way into a position where I'm an obvious choice for CEO. I would have been chosen even if Arnold was still around. Mrs Strong and the board were getting sick of Strong's management style. Not to mention his extra curricular activities."

"Sounds like you know Mrs Strong pretty well." Lou's fishing had worked well on the other Medivalue staff but Kylie's face remained impassive.

"We women in business have got to stick together, haven't we?" Kylie smiled and picked up her bags. "For instance, I know that it must have been tough for you trying to start this business by yourself without investors."

"Yes, it was," said Lou.

"So I know how attractive it would have been to ask Arnold to step in and help out."

"What are you saying?" Lou started to feel her face getting hot under Kylie's stare.

Kylie put her briefcase down on a table and leaned in close. Her voice was low and intimate. "All I know is that Arnold had a reason for choosing this resort, way out here. I know that he liked to go into business with young women. And that he could be ruthless when it came to collecting his… benefits."

"Really?" said Lou holding firm under Kylie's stare. "Lucky for me that I don't have Arnold as a partner then, isn't it?"

"No one has Arnold as a partner anymore, do they?" Kylie smiled. "Someone's done us all a favour."

Lou frowned. "So you think someone killed him?"

"Whatever happened, I think we can all move on now, can't we?" Kylie straightened and headed towards the door.

"Thanks again for your hospitality Lou. I'll make sure you receive a bonus for looking after us this weekend."

"Thank you. And good luck." said Lou, shaking hands. She closed the door when Kylie left, leaned back against it and sighed. This weekend couldn't finish quick enough for her.

21

"She did it."

David's outburst caught Paul off guard. "Who did what?"

"That HR woman, Kylie. She killed Arnold, didn't she?"

Paul smiled and scratched his chin. "What makes you think it was her?"

"Well she had the motivation. Arnold was going to send her to Darwin and push her out of the company." David started to warm to his theory. "And she had the opportunity — alone in her cabin all night — and she was very strong and ambitious. She had the guts to do it." David toasted himself triumphantly and sat back.

"Hmm. All good points. She is a woman of action. A for ACTION actually."

David's face fell. "Another letter?"

Paul nodded. "A for action and reflection. There's no point in going through the other stages if you don't actually make any changes. But you have to systematically go through options and reflect on the possible outcomes before proceeding. It's about taking responsibility for your career."

"Just like Kylie did?" David hinted, trying to wheedle out the answer.

"The book's about getting ahead without murdering your boss, mate. Do you think my wife's suggesting homicide as a career option?"

"All right then, so who did it?"

"Let me finish," said Paul. "We have one letter to go."

Summary

Action and reflection

Now that you've identified who you are and considered the practical aspects of careers, you can put your current career options, and any that arise unexpectedly in the future, through a reflective process to check their viability:

• Will this option give me job satisfaction?
  
• Will this option lead to more opportunities?
  
• Is it aligned to my values?
  
• Does it utilise my skills and strengths?
  
• Will it meet my financial requirements?
  
• How can I test this option out before making an irrevocable commitment?
  

22

Just after Sunday lunch, Lou met the police launch. A burly man dressed in blue strode down the walkway, followed by a figure swamped by an oversized police spray jacket. They reached Lou and the larger man reached for her hand. "Hello Lou. Been meaning to get out here for months to look at your place. Sorry it has to be like this." Detective Samuel's hand enveloped hers in a friendly crush.

"No problems John. I'm sorry to pull you away from town when I'm sure you have enough going on with the cyclone." Lou squinted into the spray that was being blown over them. "No air/sea rescue then?"

"Not in this weather. Their safety first you know." He indicated the friendly face peeking out of the hood of the jacket behind him. "This is Dr Chen. He's going to do the medical exam for us." Lou reached for a thin hand extending out towards her. "Pleased to meet you. Are you new to town?" Dr Chen's grip was surprisingly strong and his voice clear. "Yes I am doing a locum at the coroner's office." He pushed the hood away from his face and shielded his eyes against the spray. "I always wanted to see this part of the country."

"Well you're not seeing it at its best," said Lou. "I hope you come back in better circumstances."

Samuel was clearly already getting tired of the small talk and turned back to the boat. "What the hell is that kid up to now?"