Sally stood shaking in front of his desk, and stared at him in disbelief. Benson must have been right all along. ‘It’s that girl, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘What was her name? Sharon?’ Sally paused before adding, ‘So that’s why she hasn’t been in to see me.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ shouted Armstrong. ‘I simply feel that...’
‘You know exactly what I’m talking about,’ snapped Sally. ‘You can’t fool me after all these years, Dick. You’ve offered her my job, haven’t you? I can hear your exact words. “It will solve all our problems, darling. That way we’ll always be together.”’
‘I said nothing of the sort.’
‘Used a different line this time, did you?’
‘I just feel that I need a change,’ he said lamely. ‘I’ll see that you’re properly compensated.’
‘Properly compensated?’ shouted Sally. ‘You know damn well that at my age it will be almost impossible for me to find another job. And in any case, how do you propose to “compensate” me for all the sacrifices I’ve made for you over the years? A dirty weekend in Paris, perhaps?’
‘How dare you speak to me like that.’
‘I shall speak to you in any way I like.’
‘Carry on like this and you’ll live to regret it, my girl.’
‘I am not your girl,’ said Sally. ‘In fact I am the one person in this organization you can neither seduce nor bully. I’ve known you far too long for that.’
‘I agree, far too long. Which is why the time has come for you to leave.’
‘To be replaced by Sharon, no doubt.’
‘It’s none of your god-damned business.’
‘I only hope she’s good in bed,’ said Sally.
‘And what do you mean by that?’
‘Only that when she temped here for a couple of hours, I had to retype seven of her nine letters because she couldn’t spell, and the other two because they were addressed to the wrong person. Unless of course you wanted the prime minister to know your inside-leg measurements.’
‘It was her first day. She’ll improve.’
‘Not if your fly buttons are undone the whole time, she won’t.’
‘Get out before I have you thrown out.’
‘You’ll have to do it yourself, Dick, because there’s no one on your staff who’d be willing to do it for you,’ she said calmly. He rose from his chair, red in the face, placed the palms of his hands on the desk and stared down at her. She gave him a big smile, turned round and walked calmly out of the room. Fortunately he didn’t hear the ripple of applause that greeted her as she walked through the outer office, or several other employees might have ended up having to join her.
Armstrong picked up a phone and dialed an internal number.
‘Security. How can I help you?’
‘It’s Dick Armstrong. Mrs. Carr will be leaving the building in the next few minutes. Do not under any circumstances let her drive off in her company car, and be sure that she is never allowed back on the premises again. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Yes, sir,’ said a disbelieving voice on the other end of the line.
Armstrong slammed down the phone and immediately picked it back up again, then dialed another number.
‘Accounts department,’ said a voice.
‘Put me through to Fred Preston.’
‘He’s on the phone at the moment.’
‘Then get him off the phone.’
‘Who shall I say is calling?’
‘Dick Armstrong,’ he bawled, and the line went dead for a moment. The next voice he heard was the head of the accounts department.
‘It’s Fred Preston here, Dick. I’m sorry that...’
‘Fred, Sally has just resigned. Cancel her monthly check and send her P45 to her home address without delay.’
There was no response. Armstrong shouted, ‘Did you hear me?’
‘Yes, Dick. I assume she is to receive the bonuses that are due, as well as the appropriate long-term severance pay?’
‘No. She is to receive nothing other than what she is entitled to under the terms of her contract and by law.’
‘As I’m sure you’re aware, Dick, Sally’s never had a contract. In fact she’s the longest-serving member of the company. Don’t you feel in the circumstances...’
‘Say another word, Fred, and you’ll be collecting your P45 as well.’ Armstrong slammed the phone down again and picked it up a third time. This time he dialed a number he knew off by heart. Although it was answered immediately, nobody spoke.
‘It’s Dick,’ he began. ‘Before you put the phone down, I’ve just sacked Sally. She’s already left the building.’
‘That’s wonderful news, darling,’ said Sharon. ‘When do I begin?’
‘Monday morning.’ He hesitated. ‘As my secretary.’
‘As your personal assistant,’ she reminded him.
‘Yes, of course. As my PA. Why don’t we discuss the details over the weekend? We could fly down to the yacht...’
‘But what about your wife?’
‘I rang her first thing this morning and told her not to expect me home this weekend.’
There was a long pause before Sharon said, ‘Yes, I’d love to spend the weekend on the yacht with you, Dick, but if anyone should bump into us in Monte Carlo, you will remember to introduce me as your PA, won’t you?’
Sally waited in vain for her final paycheck, and Dick made no attempt to contact her. Friends at the office told her that Miss Levitt — as she insisted on being called — had moved in, and that the place was already in complete chaos. Armstrong never knew where he was meant to be, his letters remained unanswered, and his temper was no longer mercurial, simply perpetual. No one was willing to tell him that he had it in his power to resolve the problem with one phone call — if he wanted to.
Over a drink at her local pub, a barrister friend pointed out to Sally that under new legislation she was, after twenty-one years of unbroken service, in a strong position to sue Armstrong for unfair dismissal. She reminded him that she didn’t have a contract of employment, and no one knew better than she what tactics Armstrong would employ were she to serve him with a writ. Within a month she would find she couldn’t afford her legal fees, and would be left with no choice but to abandon the case. She had seen these tactics used to good effect on so many others who’d dared to retaliate in the past.
Sally had just arrived home one afternoon from a temping job when the phone rang. She picked up the receiver and was asked, over a crackling line, to hold on for a call from Sydney. She wondered why she didn’t simply put the phone down, but after a few moments another voice came on the line. ‘Good evening, Mrs. Carr, my name is Keith Townsend and I’m...’
‘Yes, Mr. Townsend, I am well aware who you are.’
‘I was calling to say how appalled I was to hear how you’ve been treated by your former boss.’
Sally made no comment.
‘It may come as a surprise to you that I’d like to offer you a job.’
‘So you can find out what Dick Armstrong has been up to, and which paper he’s trying to buy?’
There was a long silence, and only the crackling convinced her that the line hadn’t gone dead. ‘Yes,’ said Townsend eventually. ‘That’s exactly what I had in mind. But then at least you could take that holiday in Italy you’ve made the down payment on.’ Sally was speechless.
Townsend continued, ‘I would also make good any compensation you should have been entitled to after twenty-one years of service.’