Ayesha At Last(26)

CLARA reminded herself to breathe when she knocked on Sheila’s office door at nine that morning. Her boss had called her upstairs for an update on the “Khalid situation.” Clara rehearsed what she wanted to say in her head again.

Sheila, I think you would benefit from some sensitivity and diversity training. Have you considered visiting a mosque or maybe talking to other Muslims? Clara frowned. She doubted Sheila would take kindly to that suggestion, especially since she had lived in Saudi Arabia, a majority-Muslim country, for a few months. Though it sounded as if she had lived in some sort of sheltered compound full of expats.

Maybe she should tell Sheila that Khalid went to a bar last weekend. That might help. She knocked and opened the door, pasting a friendly smile on her face as she approached Sheila’s massive shiny desk.

“Good morning!” she singsonged. Sheila looked up from her monitor, frowning.

Dial it back, Clara told herself. Sheila needs to see you as an ally, not a scolding teacher. Working in HR meant constantly navigating a tightrope of competing interests. Her clients were management as well as employees, which often led to uncomfortable conversations. Ultimately, she knew that her role was advisory at best; her boss didn’t have to listen to her.

“That’s a lovely pin,” Clara said, indicating a bright-red jewelled scorpion pinned to Sheila’s shoulder, matching her red-and-white dress.

Sheila gave her a thin-lipped smile. “I have a collection of them. Snakes, spiders, scorpions, sharks. I like to give people fair warning.”

Clara laughed uneasily, but Sheila’s face remained impassive.

“You wanted to see me?” Clara said.

“I wanted to give you an update on our little problem. Khalid showed up late for a meeting this morning. They’re not terribly important clients, but he showed a lack of professionalism and was completely unprepared. Is that enough of a reason to fire him?”

Clara sighed and opened her laptop. “Who were the clients?” she asked, taking notes in the document she had created.

“WomenFirst Design. They make lingerie for . . . larger women.” Sheila stopped and bit her bottom lip, smiling. “I guess everyone can dream, right?”

“I’m sorry?” Clara hoped she had misheard.

Sheila’s smile was wide-mouthed, teeth tiny points of white behind red lipstick. “Can you imagine? Saggy flesh encased in lace.” She shuddered delicately. “They wouldn’t leave me alone. They want a new website and they kept calling and calling, even when I told my assistant to get rid of them. So I’ve set them up with Khalid. I’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”

Clara’s typing slowed. “I’m sorry?” she said again.

Sheila looked up, eyes sharp. “This is business, Clara. There is no room for squeamishness. Livetech is ready to take the global stage. We need to be associated with young, edgy, popular clients. Not someone like the Large Ladies Lingerie company.” Her laughter rang out, and all the colour drained from Clara’s face.

Sheila didn’t need sensitivity training. She needed to be muzzled.

“That’s not very . . . You shouldn’t be speaking about women like . . . Khalid isn’t . . .” Clara floundered for something to say.

Sheila’s laughter cut off abruptly and she leaned forward. “I’m giving him a chance to prove himself,” she said to Clara. “They’re a small company, barely worth our time. If he can’t handle them, he can’t handle anything.”

“But Khalid is the e-commerce manager. He doesn’t design websites.”

Sheila shrugged. “He can quit if he doesn’t like it. He can go back to the Middle East where he belongs.”

“He’s Canadian, Sheila. He belongs here.”

There was a knock at the door, and Dev Kanduwallah, the CEO of Livetech, walked into the office. Sheila immediately stood up and strode over to give her boss a friendly hug.

“Dev!” she cooed. “What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Seattle.”

Clara joined them, curious to meet him. Dev was originally from Bangalore, the tech capital of India. He was a tall man in his late fifties, well groomed in an expensive grey suit and Italian loafers, his skin a warm russet. His intelligent brown eyes missed nothing, and he nodded politely at Clara. “I was in town and thought I would drop by and see how you were settling in. I hear you had an important client meeting scheduled for this morning.”

Sheila looked puzzled. “All of our clients are important.”

Dev laughed, his voice a rich tenor. “You always know what to say. But then, some are a bit more important than others,” he said, tapping the side of his nose. “WomenFirst Design for instance. I’m sure you are aware they cleared twelve million dollars last year in revenue. The plus-size lingerie market is ripe for the taking, and with their new online business, they’ll probably make over twenty million this year. Congratulations on setting up the meeting.”

Sheila had an excellent poker face, Clara had to admit. Her body froze only for a moment before she laughed merrily alongside Dev. “You know me! Always on the lookout for emerging markets. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got my very best resource on it.”

Dev squeezed Sheila’s shoulder, hand brushing the jewelled scorpion. “I expect nothing but the best from you. Keep me updated on this one. It might open up a whole new design platform for us.” He smiled again at Clara and left.