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Irene took a deep breath; she might as well get it over with, she thought. “Hugh, have you got a second?”
“Sure. Take a pew.” He waved her to a chair.
She took off her coat and dumped it on the other chair, then sat down. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” she said, “and I’ve decided to put in for retirement.”
English blinked in surprise. “How long have you got in?” he asked.
“Twenty-seven years.”
“Then you’re fully vested in your pension, I guess.”
“I guess I am.”
English sat back in his chair. “Irene, I just can’t imagine the place without you. I mean, you’ve been in this office with me for as long as I’ve occupied this chair, and we knew each other a long time before that, didn’t we?”
“Yes, we did, Hugh. Better than twenty years, anyway.”
“I’ll probably have to assign two people to do your job.”
“Thank you, Hugh, but my shoes won’t be all that hard to fill.”
“I’m not going to count on that. What are you going to do with yourself?”
“Funny you should mention that; I was on the Internet last night, looking at houses in the Caribbean.”
“Where in the Caribbean?”
“I’ve heard good things about St. Thomas and St. Barts.”
“St. Thomas was looking overgrown, last time I was there,” English said, “but St. Barts is very nice.”
“It seems a bit more expensive than the other islands, but I’ll take a harder look at it.”
“Twenty-seven years,” English said, shaking his head. “I’m coming up on thirty, myself. It’s probably time I got out of here, too.”
“I can’t see you in retirement, Hugh.”
“Well, it’s become clear that I’m never going to get the top job, unless Kate Rule Lee drops dead, and I’m not going to count on that. When do you want to go?”
“I guess as soon as I can break somebody in,” she said.
“You got some ideas on who that might be?”
“I think either Bergin or Masters,” Irene replied. “They’re both good men; I suppose you should pick whomever you like best.”
“You can’t think of any women for the job?”
“There are a couple a level down who are comers,” she said, “but you need somebody with more field experience I think. As much as I’d like to see a woman in the job, I think you’re going to have to make do with Bergin or Masters for the time being.”
“Or both of them,” English said. “Okay, I’ll try and make a decision today, and you can start working with him.”
“Thanks, Hugh. It’s been fun, and I appreciate all you’ve done for me.” He had done fuck-all for her, she recalled. She was only in this job now because Kate Rule had wanted a woman high in Operations.
“I was glad to do it,” English said benevolently. “You deserve a happy retirement.”
Irene got up and walked to the door. “I’ll take care of this,” she said, holding up the memo. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Hey,” English said, “maybe Mary and I will join you in St. Barts.”
