Chapter 6
“Let’s cut right to the chase” Peter said impatiently in the small meeting room that overlooked the beautiful canal in London’s financial district. A circular, white table surrounded by 5 chairs and a large monitor on the wall decorated the modern room.
Melissa raised her eyebrows at the brashness of this cocky young man. She was unaware of his family connections to the head of the company but was clearly instructed to give Peter an in depth breakdown of his responsibilities within the company. She was another of the many attractive young, females hired by the company to carry out secretarial and administration roles.
“Welcome to Winchester Bank, Mr Michaels. As you may know, it is the oldest and largest Investment bank in the world. My name is Melissa Williams and today I will be giving you a breakdown of your roles and responsibilities in the new technologies mergers and acquisitions department.” Melissa was used to the attitude shown by some of the male staff at the organisation and had learned to adapt and maintain professionalism. She had obtained a first class history degree at Oxford University and was merely working at the bank to earn some money while she looked for something more suited to her academic achievements.
“You know I think your hair would look better, if you tied it up” said Peter, completely ignoring the introduction and pointing to her wavy, black hair.
Melissa blushed in embarrassment slightly before regaining composure. “Thank you, Peter. If I need a fashion stylist I’ll be sure to look you up. Now, you will be working on the 38th floor. Your manager will be a Mr John Woodward, who has been with the company some 15 years and is one of the star players in the industry. You, however, will be reporting to a Mary Phillips who will be giving you your day to day tasks.”
“MMM, Mary, sounds divine. You smell kind of pretty for someone surrounded by men all day. What perfume do you wear?” asked a dismissive Peter.
“It’s eau de ‘out of your league’ by get a life. Now... you will be adhering to certain rules and regulations and will be bound by strict confidentiality as to the nature of your work. Insider trading and any illegal leaking of information will be sanctioned and you will be immediately removed from your position and investigated by the Financial Services Authority.” Melissa was also accustomed to being hit on and casually harassed by the bankers on a regular basis, so had developed a second nature defence mechanism to swat away those unwanted pests.
“Oooh, I’m wearing ‘Don’t Flatter Yourself’ for men. Of course, I could totally understand why someone like you would get mixed signals.” Peter sensing his last arrow had hit the target was waiting for Melissa to show some weakness before moving in for the kill.
“Hah, you’re going to be here even less time than I thought. I’ll do you a favour by carrying on and not reporting you to HR but I’m sure it won’t be long before you meet someone not quite as tolerant as me.” Melissa had managed to steady her ship and was now making Peter look infantile with his efforts. “If you survive long enough, you will be entitled to a bonus at the end of the year based on your performance and value you have added to the business through new clients and contracts. Your basic annual salary will be £45,000 which will be paid to you on the 25th of every month and you are entitled to 28 days paid leave per annum. I would highly advise you use that time to learn some people skills”.
Peter smiled and nodded in respect of his female adversary. Peter had always enjoyed a challenge, whether it was from females or anything related to his beloved hobby of technology. He had once built a fully functional, prototype, miniature helicopter just for fun at the age of 12. He had also won numerous science fairs for innovatively, mind blowing inventions such as the kinetic powered pogo-stick which had the potential to propel an individual 5 feet in the air and still land safely, before repeating the process. In IQ tests, he consistently measured in the top first percentile among his age group from childhood up to the age of 18. Peter was a naturally gifted individual, despite being distracted by things of a more carnal nature at times.
“You are entitled to other benefits as well such as subsidised private health care, dental care and child care. As a member of the front office team, you will also be allowed free, full and unrestricted access to the health and fitness facilities located on the second floor” Melissa said, returning to full professionalism assuming Peter would now back off.
“You look like you could do with some work in the gym Melissa, how about I show you how to do some of those squats to help you firm up?”
“And finally” Melissa raising the volume of her voice slightly to assert authority “you will be required to sign confidentiality and conflict of interest agreements that state that any of your activities and innovations are the property of the bank and you will not hold shares related to any of the deals you are actively involved in.”
“You seem like fun” Peter said nonchalantly
“Please sign these documents and return them to the HR department at your earliest convenience. It’s been a pleasure meeting you Mr Michaels. Good luck in your time here. You will definitely need it”.
Melissa got up from her chair and was about to exit the room when Peter said “Don’t I get a handshake at least?”
Melissa paused.
Peter then got up and made his way over to her. He extended his hand, looking directly in to her eyes but maintaining a poker face. Melissa hesitated but realised there was little he could do to her in a room with CCTV. She accepted his handshake. Peter moved closer to her until he could smell the fragrance of the strawberry flavoured shampoo on her head. He then slipped his hand in to his left pocket, taking something out and slowly placing it in to Melissa’s right pocket.
Peter then relinquished his grip and winked at her. Melissa gave the faintest of smiles back and exited the room.
Peter returned to his seat, casually flicked through the pages of the contracts and other agreements without paying much attention to the fine print and signed page after page, signing his immediate future away to Winchester Bank without a care in the world.
