The Christmas Bonus

Late in November, after the hubbub of the large event had died down things had returned to normal in the team.They were working on a Christmas event that had been in the pipelines for some time and needed little more than the basic overseeing. Phillip came to him with a look of concern.

"Look Nick, you know me. I don't care what people do in their down time or anything outside work," he began and Nick could feel a problem in the making from his tone. Phillip was on the executive track and rising fast because he was a workaholic. Single minded and dedicated.

"Yeah, so who is the problem?" Nick was abrupt. He didn't have time for rumour and gossip, and he was surprised that Phillip of all people had come to him with a conversation that started as it had.

"Belinda Moore," Phillip said in a deadpan voice.

"Come again?" Nick was more than a little stunned that Phillip would have a problem with the hard working woman. There were few women in this firm aside of the assistants, and she was one of the few who he thought could hold her own against the corporate climbing men. "I thought she did a good job on that last campaign."

"Look Nick, I am a big enough man to admit when someone else is an asset to the team, and she is," Phillip admitted.

"So what's the problem then?" Nick was confused now.

"I heard her talking to one of the other guys on the team this morning. She thinks she has the Inspiring Young Women's bonus in the bag now," He looked around and lowered his voice. "I've been on this team long enough to know that anyone who wins that award never comes back. They quit or get transferred almost immediately." Nick stayed silent but began to drum his fingers on his desk. "Look," he began again with a deep breath, "You realise she makes the rest of the team look good right?"

"She brings a lot to the team yes," Nick said noncommittally.

"Then you have to fix this, make them take Stacey, for fucks sake the girl is a moron!" Phillip stated the obvious.

"You don't normally care about this sort of stuff, why this time?" Nick sat back in his chair studying Phillip.

"Making the team look good and enhancing our client's prestige isn't enough reason?" Phillip sidestepped the question.

"Like you said, I know you, Phil," Nick's fingers began their incessant drumming again.

"I like her," he shrugged. "She doesn't just coast along on everyone else's work like newbies usually do. She helps everyone on the team out, sometimes to her detriment. You see the way she handles the air head, does half her work for her too." The fact was Belinda had covered for him more than once when he was called to his son's school when he wife was out of town on business, and it was the nanny's day off. She was thorough too and caught mistakes before they made it to Nick's desk negating the usual ear bashing and reworking of files that would usually fall to him. As far as he could tell the whole team liked her, and that was a hard feat to accomplish.

"I dunno what to tell yah, Phil. It's not my decision," Nick said mirroring the other man's shrug. "Tell her what you think, that the bonus is a one way ticket outta here."

"Ben tried. They had a bit of an argument about it," Phil admitted not sure if he should have said anything at all now. "Look, we all know Stacey should go, and good riddance," Phil rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying Belinda doesn't deserve a bonus. If I weren't sure it would mean we would lose her from our team, I would be in here telling you to give it to her. You know as well as I do how these things workout every year."

"I dunno what you're talking about," Nick hedged. He was a senior associate because he learned long ago to just ride the tide and ignore the less than savoury practises of the senior partners. "Phil you'll probably be a junior associate next year and leave the team yourself, why do you care what happens to a junior in the firm? Or is there more to this story than you're telling me?" Nick raised his eyebrows.

"Shit no! Not that I don't think she is attractive. She is a darn sight better looking than half the bimbo's that get placed in our team, but it's not like that. I'm married. I have kids for fuck's sake. I don't have the time to mess around with anything like that." Phil was indignant, and Nick believed him.

"Look Nick," Phil knew he was pushing his luck now harping on at Nick. "Ask anyone on the team they will tell you the same thing. Just think about it. You don't want to lose both of us next year," he said with a chuckle and left the room.

Nick had kept a close eye on Belinda since she put together the proposal for the IMA function. Everything Phil had said about her was true. He also knew that she covered for members of the team from time to time and had begun to mentor Stacey so that she looked a lot better at her job that she was in reality. She was an asset not just to his team, but the firm and would, he had no doubt, climb the corporate ladder despite the glass ceilings imposed on women here.

He hadn't been bothered that she had joined his team to win the Christmas bonus. He knew she wasn't typical of the past winners, for starters she was far too smart to sign any waiver precluding her from talking about what happened on Bedarra Island with the senior partners. She read the fine print on everything and had found several issues that could have become large ugly issues for the team before they got out of hand. Still he knew some incredibly intelligent people who had run into bad situations because they thought they knew what it entailed, but indeed didn't.

He looked out of his glass fronted office at the cubicles that housed his team, or at least the most junior members of his team and watched Belinda. There was something about the woman that drew him to her. His mind began to wander again, and he pulled it back with a shake of his head. She wasn't the typical ballsy type of woman who usually made it in this firm, in fact, to look at her one would think just the opposite. Rather than corporate suits and pants of the typical female executive in tis company, she wore an older style of dress more reminiscent of the fifties or sixties, maybe even earlier he mused. It was a look from that era of tight bodices and full skirts. Demure and feminine was an apt description for her style. Not that he followed the fashion, it was more that being in public relations was good at knowing a person by how they dressed and spoke, what they liked to eat and by the friends they had.

He searched for one word to describe the girl, and all he could come up with was pleasing. Lovely went too far, inoffensive not far enough. Each time he wrangled with a one-word descriptor he came back to pleasing. Could she be pleasing enough to come to the notice of the senior partners rather than the obvious candidate Stacey? He didn't think so but obviously Phil did and from the sounds of it several other members of the team did too.

Perhaps he had been too cavalier in his dismissal of the notion, in which case Phil was right he should do something about it. He didn't usually interfere in this sort of thing, but this time he admitted to himself he cared just as much as Phil seemed to.

*****

Belinda returned to her desk after a particular boisterous team meeting where difference of opinion were tabled and debated by the team. Once again, she had found herself playing peacemaker and finding common ground between the opposing sides as Nick leant back watching her with that self-satisfied lazy smile of his.

If she didn't respect him so much, she could easily see herself hating the man. Everything she had said about him was true, his attention to detail, social skills and connections saw almost everything he touched turn to gold. He groomed his team accordingly, gave them all chances to shine in their own right and was unscrupulously fair when they brought their ideas to the table. She had found that out after the IMA event when she received a small bonus cheque and an invitation to apply for the executive track next year.

He wore his success with an arrogance born of a man who knew he was the best at what he did. It was that arrogance that rankled her and in her private thoughts she imagined one day wiping that smug smile off his face with her own brilliance. She gave a soft snort of derision knowing that day was a long way off yet.

When she left the meeting, she had found her mail sat in the centre of her desk. She looked through the envelopes noting a simple hand written address with no sender or company stamp to be seen. She ripped it open and pulled out the single page of typed information her mind reeling as she read it.

2004 Inspiring Young People Award: Angela Cane: Resigned, Married, Unresponsive to contact 2005 Inspiring Young People Award: Susan Stace: Resigned, Married, Unresponsive to contact. 2006 Inspiring Young People Award: Anna Rotondo: Resigned, Married, Unresponsive to contact. 2007 Inspiring Young People Award: Maggie Vella: Resigned, Married, Unresponsive to contact. 2008 Inspiring Young People Award: Celia Bartoli: State mental health facility, 2010 -- current. 2009 Inspiring Young People Award: Lucy Hill: Transferred in-house. Whereabouts unknown. 2010 Inspiring Young People Award: Rebecca King: Transferred in-house. Whereabouts unknown. 2011 Inspiring Young People Award: Ashley Cork: Transferred in-house. Whereabouts unknown. 2012 Inspiring Young People Award: Kathy Nagy: Transferred in-house. Whereabouts unknown. 2013 Inspiring Young People Award: Lydia Musso: Transferred in-house. Northern State Office. HR File as at June, 2014. I dare you to find Lydia or the others in any of our offices yet she is still being paid by the company as are the other transfers on that list.

There was no signature, no further information just the list of names and the dare. Belinda screwed it up in a ball and threw it in the bin assuming that one of the others vying for the bonus was trying to psych her out. Belinda opened the rest of her mail unaware that she was being watched by several sets of eyes. She was glad it was almost time to leave for the day. She felt like she was coming down with a cold and just wanted to curl up in a blanket in front of TV with a mug of hot soup.

At five on the dot and feeling feverish, Belinda gathered her things and stood to leave for the day. She felt a little light headed and hung onto her desk for a moment until the dizziness past.

"You okay?" Ben asked seeing her sway slightly as she stood.

"I'm just getting a cold, I'll be fine," she smiled. "I'm heading home to bed now anyway."

"Wait up, and I'll give you a lift," he offered seeing how pale she looked. "You can't catch the bus like that.

"I'm not getting on the back of your bike either," she laughed. "I'll be fine honestly, see you tomorrow."

"I'll call you a cab then," Ben said, "You look like you're about to keel over."

"Problem?" Nick asked seeing the two of them arguing quietly as he was leaving for a meeting with a client.

"Nope, everything is just fine," Belinda said quickly with a smile. Nick looked at Ben and frowned.

"She's sick. She could barely stand up a moment ago. I was telling her not to take the bus, but she won't accept a lift on my bike and was arguing about taking a cab to be safe," he explained. At that moment, another wave of dizziness made Belinda sway, and she sat back down heavily.

"I'll be just fine in a moment," Belinda said. "I just haven't eaten much today."

"Call HR and get them to text me her address. I'll take her home," Nick said calculating how late he could be this meeting. "Come on Miss Moore, let's get you home." He took her arm and found her skin was hot to touch she was obviously running a high fever.

"I'm fine," she said again as she got to her feet and swayed unsteadily.

"Yes of course you are," Nick said sarcastically. "One foot in front of the other now. Do you have any paracetamol or something to get rid of your fever?"

"Yes but they make me drowsy," She complained.

"Drowsy would be an improvement at this point don't you think? Nick shook his head. "Stacey grab a bottle of water from my office would you and meet me at the elevators."

"Sure," she scurried off as Nick supported the unsteady Belinda as they walked. Ben caught up to them and took her arm on the other side.

"I feel like I am being escorted from the building," Belinda continued to complain.

"You are," Nick said easily, "And you won't be welcome back until you are well again. Find your cold tablets," Nick said taking the bottle of water from Stacey.

"I don't know where they are. Honestly, I will be just fine if you would all just let me go home and rest," Belinda became frustrated as she dug around in her bag. Who did Nick think he was ordering her around like a child? She was embarrassed by the way everyone was carrying on.

"Belinda, honey," Stacey's high piping voice cut through her frustration. "Let me help, I am sure I can find them for you. You don't look very well at all, and we are your friends, let us fuss a little it's what friends do." She took Belinda's bag from her and kept talking. "Remember that time you told Ben to go home early and makeup with his girlfriend because he was so grouchy and then covered for him, well he owes you one," she winked at Ben. "Ooh and remember that time you..." she stopped talking as Nick cleared his throat. "What I am trying to say is you are always helping us out now it's our turn, and you have to let us." She pulled the packet of tablets from Belinda's bag triumphantly, "Here you go."

"Thank you, Stacey," Belinda leaned against Nick's chest as she freed her arms from her captors and took two of the plain white tablets with a mouthful of water. "I feel better already," she smiled. "Thank you Ben for caring and yes please Nick, it seems I could use a lift home." She took her bag from Stacey and walked into the elevator gripping the handrail to steady herself finally admitting to herself that she really was unwell.

Nick keyed her address into his GPS and drove silently watching the woman beside him doze in her seat as the tablets took hold. She lived in an older suburb where the timber houses were constantly being knocked down to be replaced by modern concrete monstrosities that passed for homes these days.

Pulling up at the address he had been given he looked at the quaint little cottage style house that had been subdivided into duplexes and shook his head, "You gotta be fucking kidding me!" This girl was the definition of fifties and sixties style kitsch. He dreaded to imagine what it looked like inside but found his curiosity was such that he had to find out.

"Miss Moore," Nick shook her gently, "You're home." Belinda mumbled and blinked groggily. "Wait there, and I will help you, do you have your keys?" He got out and walked to her side of the car opening the door and helping her to her feet. She leaned on him, and he helped her towards the house.

A young woman of a similar age to Belinda came out of one of the duplexes, "Oh gosh, Bindy, what happened?"

"She's come down with some sort of bug that seems to have got worse as the day went on," Nick explained. "Can you find her key for her I don't think she is making much sense between the fever and the cold medicine?"

"Of course, follow me," she took Belinda's bag and headed towards the duplex on the right side of the cottage digging through the bag on the way. At that point, Nick bent down and picked up the drowsy young woman and carried her the rest of the way and inside to the living room laying her on the couch awkwardly.

"I'm Pam, by the way. Bindy is my cousin," she introduced herself as Nick stood up.

"I'm..." Nick began and held out his hand, but she stopped him.

"No let me guess! No wedding band, so you're not Phil. You're not young enough to be Ben," she went through the list of the team members aloud discarding them all, and then looked at him with a smile. "That means you must be Nick the team leader."

"You are correct," he acknowledged as he looked around the small duplex. Everything was perfectly ordered and looked like an early TV sitcom had thrown up its entire set into her living room. From the glass bowl of fruit on the kitchen bench to the coloured glass vases full of fresh flowers on the small tables, it was exactly what he had imagined from the outside. "She talks about work a lot does she?"

"Yeah, I guess. Probably so she doesn't have to listen to me talk about mine," Pam laughed. "You're not quite what I expected, but then no one ever is I guess."

"I have a meeting to get to. Tell her I said I didn't want to see her back at work until she is feeling completely better," Nick had to get out of this time warp he smiled to himself. If he left now, he could still make the meeting. "You'll look after her won't you?" Concern touched his voice momentarily.

"Bindy was right. You're a good guy. That why she chose your team in the end," Pam smiled. "She said you were fair. She likes that you have no hidden agenda's or favourites unlike where I work. I wish I liked my boss as much as she likes working for you."

"Don't believe everything you hear about me," Nick chuckled. "I'm sure she has just as many unpleasant things to say."

"Just one," Pam smirked but kept it to herself. "Thanks for bringing her home, this cold has been coming on for a few days but she wouldn't admit it."

"Nice to meet you Pam," Nick said and left the apartment hurrying to his car and heading back into the city faster than he should have been going.

*****

The following days at work seemed to be stilted as the team worked towards the next event without Belinda. Nick rode the team hard to pick up on the shortfall once he realise how much Belinda did not only on her portfolio but to help the rest of the team out. Stacey surprisingly seemed to have a good handle on what she was doing, and Nick gave her credit for attempting to help out the others though most dismissed her without even listening to what she had to say.

Nick called a meeting on the third day to check on the progress but if he was honest with himself he had wondered if anyone had heard when Belinda might be returning. Unsurprisingly Stacey had been in constant contact which made sense to Nick. Stacey had obviously been keeping her informed of what was happening here, and Belinda had been guiding her via the phone.

"She has pneumonia or pleurisy or something like that," Stacey said. "She will be out for the rest of the week probably. She gets breathless when she talks to me, so she's still not good."

"I called her as well," Ben volunteered. "She thinks it was just that she got run down, and a few bugs got her all at once like a super form of flu."

"That's what I said," Stacey frowned at him, "Didn't I?" She looked up at Nick who nodded.

The rest at the table murmured, and Nick spotted Phil rolling his eyes, but he thankfully said nothing. The event was on track and any issues that might arise on the evening seemed to have been dealt with already. With the lead into Christmas occurring around them at the same time, his team had been given the unenviable task of organising the company Christmas party this year. He tabled the idea and invited suggestions and proposals from the team.

"There is that party boat that cruises the river called The Island," Stacey lead the conversation. We could make it a beach theme. It is summer after all and I am so sick of those pseudo winterish parties. Santa could be wearing his boardies, and we could have white boomers, it could be a lot of fun."

"Girl's volleyball team could be interesting," Mark mused from the far end of the table with murmurs of assent from male voices around the table and a grin from Stacey.

"What else?" Nick asked.

"People book these things months in advance. It would be hard to get in anywhere like The Island I am sure," Phil grumbled.