Servant of the people

“I need three people to help me hoist the mainsail. It is quite heavy so I need three strong lads for this, and we will need to work together. Who’s in?”

              This was the second time captain Julius had used sexist language since they had sailed on their department teambuilding activity. Normally, Helena would have “educated” him, but today she had other priorities, mainly her career. It had been two years since Helena had joined the business consultancy department of a large multinational company that prided itself on being one of the “Top 5”. When she asked during her interview “Top 5 in what”, she got in response” everything”. However, this simple answer concealed tremendous amounts of pressure. The workload was astronomical, and competition was cutthroat. Higher-ups would constantly abuse the newcomers for their own gains, or just for their own delight. Coming from a religious family, based on very strict morals and ethics, this new environment made her sick. It wasn’t uncommon for her to take a break in-between meetings just to go cry in the bathroom or throw up in the café’s bathroom next door. Every weekend she would swear to herself she would quit first thing Monday morning. She would make elaborate scenarios of how she would storm into Mr. Marcus’ office and explode, let it all come out, how she didn’t actually find him funny at all, especially not his “millennial jokes”, how obvious it was for everyone that the lady-friend that visited him multiple times per week was more than just a friend and how embarrassing this was for his wife when she visited, how he obviously didn’t understand half the stuff said in the catch-up meetings but asked questions anyway to sound smart. She fantasized about how this outburst might make her go viral online, or at least make her the department hero. However, this also meant she had to change careers. Consultancy is all about connections and while Mr. Marcus could not understand graphs that well, he did know everyone worth knowing. The only thing that kept her in the game were the clients. Helena loved interacting with and helping companies, especially if it came to avoiding firing people. She had declared herself the servant of the small to medium cap companies’ employees and it gave her the necessary energy to continue.

              Austin, one of the few colleagues that would not literally stab Helena if it meant a promotion for him, approached her with a glass of red wine.

              “How is the networking going? Any new connections yet? I managed to talk to one of the guys from sales, but I still don’t know what he is selling. Everyone is so secretive around here.”

              “Not yet. I am waiting for Mr. Marcus to ask him about a possible promotion. He went downstairs with the others for lunch. They are having lobsters, shrimps, champagnes, everything the company can afford while we are up here freezing our butt-cheeks off. They call it “team-building” since we are also raising the flag”.

              “It’s called a sail” corrected Austin. He gave Helena a side look. “Are you ok? I mean you have always been down, but never this cynical.”

              “I am realizing day-by-day that this is not my environment. Most of the department always looks forward to this. Like an important event in their life. I always hope these would change something but seeing these people outside work makes me sick. Excuse me.”

              She rushed down the stairs. Tears started forming in her eyes and a heavy weight fixed in her stomach. She was starting to feel the taste of metal forming in her mouth. “Great”, Helena thought. “Another thing they can use against me. Throwing up during our team-building session. If only they knew it’s because of who they are as actual human beings, and not the sea.”

              However, she decided she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. Helena started opening doors randomly. Before leaving she had checked the ship’s blueprint, all the emergency exits and bathrooms, but now she couldn’t remember anything. All the doors opened to small bedrooms or kitchens. The stomach was starting to bother her more and more. Defeated she made her way back upstairs.

              Back on the deck, it seemed that everyone was gathered around one spot. “Perfect.” she thought. “If I sneak around to the other side, I might be able to eject without witnesses. Maybe blame it on a pigeon if I miss or if anything sticks to the sides”.

              “Helena! There you are!” a voice from the crowd made her freeze. Even the foul taste seemed to disappear as blood rushed to her head. She turned around slowly to a horrific scene. The whole department was smiling at her, with Mr. Marcus proudly standing on a small, improvised stage in the middle, parting them. He biblically extended his arm, inviting her to join him. She was waiting for an excuse, looking for a way out, but it never came. Accepting her faith, Helena walked through the middle of the crowd which started clapping in unison. Austin returned her the red wine, which Helena immediately chugged. The crowd gave a roaring laugh.

              Mr. Marcus rose one hand, and everyone went silent simultaneously. Helena felt like everything was a distant dream. The constant motion of the boat, the cold autumn wind, the third glass of red wine, and now the abrupt silence.

              “We were just talking about you, Helena,” said Mr. Marcus forming a full smile. That scared her. She never trusted full smiles. No one ever smiles fully. “A person would start laughing way before reaching a full smile”, she thought.

              “Austin here was telling me that you have become somewhat of a hero in your department. You are a servant of the people as some may call it.” Somehow his smile became even larger, making his face contort in gruesome ways. Snickers accompanied the remark from the back of the crowd. “Oh, the pleasures of being young and naïve! You might have heard stories about the 80s, but they were way crazier than you think. I used to go to the other departments with my mates and tell the girls that we go pro-bono in our free time for small-cap sustainable companies. That was a literal panty downer!”. This time the laughs were deafening. Helena looked around. The people that she would meet for coffee or lunch just a couple of days ago seemed complete strangers now. No. Complete enemies.

              “Although I do enjoy your enthusiasm, you must understand that our company focuses on profit. That is why we are a Top 5-er. Companies come to us to make money, not save people. Now, I am not a monster. The economy is tough but that is something people should consider when they sign up for college. Newer generations seem to have lost touch with reality.”

Helena looked at Austin for a sign of support and understanding in this complete aberration. Austin avoided her glance. This was the final blow. The heavy taste of metal rushed back to her mouth. Her legs became heavy, and a cold sweat suddenly materialized all over her.

“Helena, are you listening? One of the main tenets of consulting is to be able to listen.” Mr. Marcus’ voice managed to cut through her sickly daydreaming and yank her back. She was still surrounded by the same group of people, staring her down.

“Yes, Mr. Marcus, I am listening. I want to say something, to propose a small toast”

“Normally I don’t give smaller positions the permission to toast me, but you seem like you do need a drink”. Again, roaring laughter around.

“Could someone please record it?” asked Helena firmly. She looked specifically at Austin, but again, he avoided her look. “That was it for my “networking” here I guess”.

“Kids and their social media”. This time the remark didn’t bring as much laughter. Most of the employees were active on various platforms and took this as a personal attack. Nonetheless, the cameras started rolling, accompanied by various hashtags and filters. 

“I just wanted to thank you all for the support and help you have given me during my time here. It has been an experience. That I can say.” She could feel the cold water splashing her left cheek as the waves crashed against the port side. The shivers went up her spine and made her stagger and grab the railing, which gave Mr. Marcus ample time to walk into the frame.

“Now, now, no need to get teary-eyed on us. Somehow every time a woman gives a toast, she feels the need to cry. Men always make some jokes and move on. People always accuse me of discriminating but imagine working with people that feel the need to whine all day… WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!?!”

Helena had grabbed Mr. Marcus and wrapped herself around him. Initially, he did not react. By the time the realization came, they had disappeared below the foamy waves.