The embarrasment - Short story- Fiction- chapter 2
Mary spent the whole day feeling very sorry for herself. Brian phoned her a couple of times, and she did not even bother to answer the phone. She did not want to speak to him or anyone else.
At the office things were going a bit hectic. Richard the CEO of the company was not impressed with what happened the day before and he blamed it all on Brian.
"This little blond bimbo that you appointed....she needs to be fired. Hell.... I need to fire you for hiring her! She is nothing but a pretty face, and she is not capable of doing her job."
Brian didn't even try to defend himself, but he was astonished at how judgemental his boss was about Mary. He didn't even bother to look at her qualifications and judged her purely on her looks.
The one thing that he was able to do, was to convince the boss of a second chance to find someone for the project. He would choose someone new to do a presentation, and he assured Richard that it would go far better than the previous one.
He had a plan, and he needed to prove a point.
That evening after work, he drove down to Mary's apartment. He wanted to discuss his plan with her, but he was sure that she wouldn't have a problem with it. He knocked on the door a few times, and eventually Mary opened the door after getting annoyed at the person who refused to go away.
"What do you want Brian?" Mary said, sounding absolutely miserable.
"Open the door Mary. You can't hide away forever."
Reluctantly she opened the door and let him in. She had her hair tied on top of her head, and she didn't even bother to put any make-up on and she was still in her pajamas. To Brian she's never looked more beautiful.
They sat down in the living room, and she didn't bother offering him anything to drink, because all she wanted, was for him to leave her alone.
"I'm not coming back to work Brian. I never ever want to go back again. People judge me too easily, and that is the reason why I failed yesterday. I'm just going to stay at home forever."
Brian laughed.
"You know you can't do that Mary. It's time to stop moping around. You have to show them that you are better than them. I've never treated you any differently than anyone else."
"I know, but people stare at me all the time, and they don't think I am capable. The want me to fail."
"You're right. They do judge you on appearance, but I think the girls are just jealous and some of the men might feel intimidated by you. Some people would have killed to get in on this project, but I believed and I still believe that you are the best person for the job. I have come up with the perfect plan, and it's going to knock them out of their socks."
Mary started laughing when Brian told her what he wanted to do. This was the best she had felt in the last two days, and she felt quite excited to see if his little plan was going to work. They only had to get Dave on board and then the plan could be put into action.
Brian told her to leave everything to him, and all she had to do was to show up for work the next day.
It was the first time in Mary's life, that someone looked out for her. She felt great when Brian finally left and she could hardly sleep that night because of her excitement.
Dave was a weird character on his own. He was close to retirement, but he was still involved with most of the projects. He was there when Mary made a spectacle of herself. When Brian phoned to suggest that he present someone else's work, he first didn't want to, but after Brian explained, he agreed.
Mary had mailed him her presentation the night before, and even if he said so himself, it was the best work that he had seen in years. He was very impressed, and felt ashamed of himself, for being so judgemental.
Mary was her usual self when she walked into the office. As usual, no one greeted her and the other girls ignored her as if she was an infectious disease. But for the first time since she started working here, she felt confident about herself.
The presentation was to be held in the conference room and she felt embarrassed to show her face there again, but she knew that she had no choice.
Richard even made a crappy remark when she walked in, and said that she should come and learn from professionals how things are done properly.
Dave set up everything as a power-point presentation and he literally only changed Mary's name to his name on the presentation. The whole presentation were absolutely perfect, and Mary felt proud when Dave finished.
Everyone applauded him on the great proposal, and according to Richard it was the best proposal that he had ever seen. After everyone quieted down, Dave asked if he could say a few words. Richard agreed, and he felt sorry that he was losing the best project manager he ever had.
"As you all know, I'm retiring next week. I have had many good years at the company, and I have been blessed, but I want to assure you that I will not be missed. I am leaving my position in very capable hands. It is time that people stop judging, and start seeing what they have right in front of them. I have a confession. Today's presentation was not done by me. In my years at this company I have not seen anyone more capable, and more driven than the person I am about to present to you. You should all be ashamed for not giving this person a proper chance. Mary, please come forward."
Mary could feel her legs shaking as she walked to the front of the boardroom.
"Ladies and Gentleman, if you have any questions about this project, you can direct it straight to your new project manager."
At the back of the boardroom, Brian started clapping, and reluctantly and VERY embarrassed the rest joined in.
- The End -
Created by @oscarcc89
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You came up with an interesting plot move. Obviously, this is the mainspring of the story. However, the psychological makeup of your characters is not complete and that’s why they come out somewhat wooden.
For example, it is not clear what Mary’s exceptional drive was, why Brian was so impressed? Yes, you have stated that this was so, but it would be better if you would show it rather than tell it. This way I as a reader would make my own conclusion.
Ok, then… it is not clear why did she mess up so badly? Obviously, her preparation was good as she did it together with Brian: numbers were solid, the projection equipment worked, PowerPoint presentation looked dazzling. What was her mess up? Was she too shy, inexperienced? Didn’t she do any other presentations in college?
Ok, that could be construed as having some defects, but not a complete failure. Again, the same problem, as a reader I cannot see what happened and have a judgment of my own. As if, you are holding my hand and say: “No, pupils don’t go there. This is only for seniors.”
Next, not coming to work, just like that, without stating the reason? That sound too unrealistic. A person can be fired for that. More likely, she’d call to work sick.
Next, it isn’t clear what was Brien’s true motivation. You are giving some hints as he likes her – she’s an attractive blond, no matter how she’s dressed. Maybe that was indeed the reason why he spent so much time with her. Hoping that eventually she’d appreciate his help and attention and become his girlfriend.
Yet, as an author, you deny this, stating that his interest was completely professional.
I think as an author, you should make up your mind, one or another. If it was a professional interest only, then no need to mention how cure she was in her pajamas, as this implies that he was moved by a romantic interest.
This is just a very brief review. If you want I can make a detailed one.
Good luck to you!
Upvoted because comments like these are much appreciated in the Steemit ecosystem. I think this brought a lot of value to the site. I apologize for the wooden comment, but I wanted to give this some praise.
Thank you! Much appreciated.
Nice story.
I think this is often the case with most of us-- we tend to judge people by their physical appearance, but people are more than what we see and its important we give everyone a chance to prove what they are capable of.
Mary had her opportunity and she proved them wrong.
So True! Thanks For Sharing!
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Love how this story puts age old human issues into a modern corporate setting. Thanks, following you!
That ended well. There's a lesson to learn in all your stories