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Owen did as I asked, closing my door with a soft click, crossed the office, and sat in the chair Bill had just vacated. He had been my best friend since we’d joined the company at ground level, fresh out of gaining a business degree at university—Mine from Sydney Uni, Owen’s from Macquarie Uni.
“What the fuck is going on down in data? This company needs to operate at maximum efficiency. If I don’t have the manufacturing and output figures, I can’t see where potential problems are so I can put a stop to them before they become major issues. You know this, yet the figures have been late all this week.”
“For weeks I’ve been telling you we’re two people short. My staff is pulling ten-hour days and they’ve had enough. Much more and you won’t need to fire anyone, they’ll quit. The company has expanded with three new divisions added but the staff numbers in data have remained the same.”
“I thought you knew to go ahead and hire the damn staff. Get it done and make sure those figures start getting to me on time.”
“I’ll arrange interviews and get them hired to start immediately. You know, it would be a lot easier for me to email the figures to you instead of having someone walk paper copies up here.”
“I prefer the numbers on paper, they seem more real.”
Owen stood, deciding not to call me on my well-known dislike of computers. “Drink at Flaherty’s?”
“Eight?”
“See you there.”
Owen turned to leave but when I spoke his name, he spun around. “If we need staff in the future, hire them. You’re my closest friend, my general manager, and have been here for fourteen years. Long enough to know what we need. I trust you to do what’s best.”
“Got it, Boss.”
I grinned as he left. Owen was a damn good man, more like a brother than a friend, and I hadn't hesitated to put him in charge of the data division. I'd also promoted him to General Manager and given him a ten per cent interest in the corporation when I'd taken the reins four years earlier. It sounded like a lot of work, but his role with data was supervisory and didn't require a lot of his time, until recently. I was toying with the idea of elevating one of the others to the position to reduce Owen's workload. I needed my general manager by my side, and lately, he was spending more and more time down in data to keep it running. We'd discuss the proposition before any decision was made.
***
The figures were excellent, there was nothing to be concerned about, and the company was on track for a record profit.
Glancing at my watch, I saw it was ten minutes to eight, and Flaherty’s was a fifteen-minute walk in the direction of Circular Quay. After hurriedly securing everything in place in my office, I pulled on my suit jacket, shoved the mobile phone from the desk into my pocket, and headed for the lift.
The lift door opened as soon as I hit the illuminated disc on the wall. I stepped inside and pressed the button for the ground floor which was the catalyst for the door to slide shut. The car was whisper quiet as it descended to the lobby from where my office was located on the twentieth floor. Reaching the destination, it came to a stop with the barest of bounces.
Stepping out onto the black and white marbled flooring of the entrance lobby, I saw it was deserted, as expected, considering the time of night. Only two young security guards were seated at a desk off to one side. When they saw me, one stood, hurried to the glass entry door, unlocked, and held it open for me to step out. After thanking him, I stepped outside into the warm, balmy air of Sydney City. It was rare I used the front door. Usually, I left via the garage, where a car would be waiting after I called my driver. Tonight though, I had called Devon to say I was headed out for a drink and would call him so he could collect me from the bar once I was done.
As I strode to Flaherty’s, my long legs eating up the distance, I released the tie strangling my neck, shoved it into a pocket of the jacket, and plucked open the top two buttons of my shirt. When I entered the foyer of the exclusive, members-only bar, soft music surrounded me and the young lady on the desk waved me inside.
Spotting Owen, I headed in the direction of the bar and claimed the vacant stool beside where he sat with a Great Northern longneck beer cradled in his hands.
The barman, Ken, approached me immediately. “What can I get for you, Hudson?”
“A Great Northern and another for my friend, thanks, Ken. I’ll also have a large bowl of fiery chicken wings.”
I worked out in my home gym every morning before work and sometimes at night if I couldn't sleep. Normally, I ate healthily but every now and then, I enjoyed a bit of junk food. Since I'd worked straight through lunch and dinner and was famished, I felt no guilt in indulging in the best wings in the city.
"I held those Zoom meetings after I left your office and hired two new employees."
“How the hell did you make that happen so fast?”
“I contacted Work for Me Employment and they gave me a couple off their books they thought might be a good fit.”
“You certainly didn’t waste any time.”
“I couldn’t afford to procrastinate, and HR was busy, so I handled it myself. If you want those numbers on time, we need staff. They’re both young with no experience but they have qualities I think will suit the company and they can be trained.”
“Who are they?”
“A young man fresh out of university with a business degree—Murphy Green. He attended Sydney Boy’s College and then Sydney University. Clean cut and seems well-mannered. He reminds me a lot of us when we first started.”
“Same age?”
