Chapter Seven Fire In Her Eyes

Headed back downstairs now, I got down to the first floor and the den of iniquity that was a stationery cupboard – and heard a click clacking of footsteps on the stairs behind me. In an otherwise silent atmosphere the sound reverberated, and a voice called out. I turned – it was Ms Bright. In her recently re-heeled shoes.

She asked if she could have a quiet word about company business. I followed her into an office down a little corridor and she asked me to shut the door.

Had I been given ‘ the Manual’ yet? She would have known from the perplexed expression that I wore that, no, I had not been issued with this bulging file that looked as if it could do battle with War and Peace – and win! I questioned the necessity of my having a copy if all I were doing was packing light fittings in the warehouse. She became quite agitated and told me that obviously there was room for a move up the career ladder for those employees who showed promise. But – and we seemed to say this at the same time – only if they took the course that showed them how to work at height! We both grinned and I felt some of the former ice chipping away, she appeared to be much more at ease with me and told me that there had been enough messing about in this place. Some shady business was going on and she had been asked to get to the root of it.

She thought I might be the one who could help her.

Did I know that Deano was her nephew and that the company had been originally founded by her grandfather, now in a nursing home down by the sea. He would find the whole thing preposterous and since she had been given an opportunity to shine, she had taken the business on board, putting her personal life on hold while she did so.

She started to say something else but then said that no, I had to find out for myself. But to please respect her family’s privacy, it could not become public knowledge. The information I would need would only be accessible online at certain points and for limited periods. Then it would become encrypted before disappearing until the next allotted time.

Just as we were about to leave the office she asked me about the children in what sounded a wistful tone. I asked if I would need to take the manual at that point, not sure if it would fit in the locker. She grew quite alarmed and said to put it in my car now, but be as discreet as I could. People at Brightsparkz were not noted for their discretion.

On no account must it be anywhere near the tearoom or locker area – people have spare keys you see. I had to keep it to myself. So I took it off her – and left her in the room, all the time wondering how I would get this mighty tome to my car without someone seeing what I was up to. It was housed in an A4 file, not something you could pop into your handbag.

Just then, a shrill alarm sounded and Ms Bright came running out of the office, putting away a mobile as she did so. Yelling to me to be quick there was a fire, leave quickly through the nearest Fire Exit – she pointed to a door at the opposite end of the corridor as she ran, now almost breathlessly, as she reiterated all I had been told by Deano on my first day. But then she said in a calmer tone – but strangely more alarming – that I would be alright if I went to my car first.

All of a sudden people I hadn’t known existed came running out of offices and made a surge for the Fire Door and concrete staircase – our Emergency Exit from this apparently burning building. I was carried along with them and somehow managed to keep my footing as we all gathered in the carpark, and waited for the fire services to arrive.