Trapped

EIGHT

When Marianne was called up to Jerrold Manley's office later that afternoon, her mind was on the jewel thief. Somehow Manley must have heard about it.

She wasn't sure how though. Esposito would have kept his mouth shut, spoke to no one but his men. And Marianne had only mentioned it to Renni. That left Kappelmann. And he wasn't above going over their heads. Maybe he didn't think she and Esposito took him seriously. And now she was going to get a tongue lashing, and not the good kind.

She wondered why her, if Esposito was head of security, for it was a security issue. Or maybe he had been talked to already. She also wondered why this couldn't have been done over the phone.

But she found it hard to believe that Manley would care about security issues in the mall. That was a Kupper & Dietz problem, and she was face of their firm for this building. If anyone should have been worried, it was her.

She got off the elevator and listened to her heels echo across the marble floor as she approached the receptionist's desk outside of Manley's office. She passed a luxurious waiting area where two businessmen sat and conversed.

Receptionist hardly suited the image of the gorgeous young woman sitting behind the desk. Executive secretary seemed more like it. She had a look that said sophistication, that said well-educated, that said money.

Marianne had heard that Manley liked to surround himself with attractive women. He took young business majors under his wing as interns and prepped them for high-paying positions in the company. But he chose qualified women, no mistake.

Say what one would about the man, he knew what having an image meant. There was no ulterior motive when it came to hiring these women. Marianne knew that any possible thought of impropriety on Manley's part was overshadowed by the threat of scandal and/or lawsuit. He chose women that would never go for any funny stuff. It was all business. Strong, attractive, educated women were very good for business. Very good for public perception.

Marianne liked to think of herself as checking a few of those boxes off when it came to her own role in the building. Kupper & Dietz, of course, was responsible for her hiring, but Manley would not have signed off on a facilities manager with whom he was not comfortable. So she hoped she was in line with his image for the company. Even if all these other women were younger than her. Prettier and perkier too. The kind her husband left her for. For all her education and career accomplishments, Marianne couldn't help but feel threatened.

Something happened to her when she hit thirty and that light, real or perceived, went off. Every day she looked in the mirror and every day she looked more haggard. Whatever could have caused it—the death of her parents, the divorce, simple aging—she didn't like it.

It was a young person's world in general. A very young person's world. Just watch the television commercials and listen to the popular music, see to whom the advertisers and promoters are all catering. Marianne simply had to come to terms with it.

Still, she remembered high school and college, the hope that was there. Back then, things only ever looked up. When you're young you believe the lies your parents and guidance counselors tell you. That you'll flourish, accomplish great things, leave a great legacy. And maybe that's true for a few people. But not for most of us.

One day Marianne woke up feeling like the world had passed her by. Like until then she had been keeping pace with it, ahead of it at times even. But then one day it broke full sprint ahead of her and she could never catch up, like she had missed some memo. And she realized that this is what happens to old people. You realize your day is gone and so you try to turn the tables, get stuck in your ways, treat your day like it was the greatest day there ever was, your generation the last great one before it all went to shambles. That becomes your pride, while meanwhile life keeps moving on in front of you, never looking back.