Thread: Trouble in the Vortex (Mr Quixotic and darjeeling)

Damn it. David Myers slammed down the phone after the connection at the other end went silent, then leaned back in his chair, and lifted his piercing blue eyes to the door of Felicity Milton's office, which lay in line of sight of his cubicle. Another potential client had pulled out of negotiations, and it was that bitch's fault. Damn it. He repeated the phrase, this time to himself, as he imagined how she'd react when he relayed the bad news. Intuitively, David was aware that Felicity wasn't to blame, it was just how things were. The competition between Vortex and their largest rival meant that potential clients knew if they played the two off against each other for long enough, one was more likely than not to eventually meet their asking price. However, that fact wasn't going to stop David from cursing his immediate superior, or justifying the anger directed at her. Wasn't it Felicity's responsibility to convince Upper Management to increase their budget, so that business wouldn't be lost? What the hell did she do all day? If Delton had still been here this wouldn't have happened. If David had been in Felicity's position, this wouldn't have happened. Six months ago, with no warning, David had come in to the office to find Delton gone. No warning, no rumours, no explanation. Delton's desk and personal possessions had been cleared out, and the smarmy bitch, as most of his male colleagues now thought of Felicity, had been introduced as his replacement. David had been robbed of his opportunity. He'd joined Vortex directly after graduating from College with a Marketing Degree, and at thirty-three years of age, had given ten years loyal and dedicated service to the Company. Andrew Delton had assured him that he was the next in line for promotion. However, not only did David never receive an opportunity to apply for that promotion, the job had apparently been handed to Felicity on a silver platter, and the staff hadn't even been advised of who had made the final decision, or why. David had found the whole experience - to be first overlooked, then expected to take orders and directions from someone his junior, both in age and experience - humiliating. Many of his colleagues who'd committed themselves to the company, just as he had, felt the same. And to top it off, she was a woman. Who'd she sleep with to get the job? was the first question which had come to most of his male and some of his female colleagues minds, and was one still often asked six months later, out of Felicity's earshot. What worsened matters was that David found her looks appealing, and Felicity a woman he'd love to bed, if only to show the bitch who was boss. At 61, with short-cropped sandy-brown hair, piercing deep-blue eyes, and a runner's body kept slim and toned by regular exercise, it wasn't David's moderate good looks which were the cause of any success with the ladies, but instead his arrogance, and refusal to take no for an answer. However, as much as David was not a man used to being denied when it came to the opposite sex, neither was he stupid, and the situation with Felicity was different than any he'd encountered previously. She held the upper hand, and if he attempted anything untoward, his job would be at risk. All David could do was deal with things as they were, and hope that he'd be there to one day witness Felicity receive her comeuppance. Little did he know that by the close of day, he'd be able to see light at the end of that particular tunnel. Felicity. David jumped from his seat as she stepped into sight, preceded by rumblings and murmurs of those in the cubicles which surrounded his. Without preamble, and in a tone which suggested accusation, David Myers followed her to her office. We've just lost another frigging account. Holograph Industries has ended negotiations, and gone over to the dark side. When are you going to do something about having our budgets increased? You could have heard a pin drop as everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing to eavesdrop on the conversation.