Tiffany's, Guilt Presents And Payroll; Leaving Ex Bosses Behind

Day 252 - 258 of The Andie Chronicles

Day 253

There wasn’t a chance to marvel at the Monday morning hustle surrounding 101 Collins Street before Sophia accosted me. As I approached the entrance, she shooed me away from the building and into one of the cars waiting out the front. I immediately recognised the car; it was one of Douglas’ fleet.

It was unlike Sophia to have a monopoly on one of these cars, except when she had to scout for something for Highway. And considering she was dragging me along with her, I guessed this was one of those fishing expeditions.

No point in fighting it, I thought. And it's better than spending time in an office near my ex-boyfriend. 

As the car pulled away, I looked at Sophia seated next to me, fretting in the backseat. She was more panicked than on Friday during the meeting in GG's office. “Talk to me, Sophia,” I beckoned. “Where are we going?”

“We're headed to the warehouse. This is the only one that Douglas approved. But it's all the way in Werribee.” 

“Werribee? That's where we landed?” Surely, one of the retail-heavy inner city suburbs would've been better than the hour's drive away to Werribee, which was known for the open plain zoo over anything else. Even if the warehouse wasn’t perfect, if we went with Collingwood, at least we could get there by public transport if we needed to.

“I swear our boss does not think about logistics with these things. When I worked in skincare, we never had anything like this to deal with.”

Sophia wasn’t bragging; there was a reason I wanted her in my business. She was good at her job, heading up a team of buyers, taking control, and being a savvy and trusted retailer.

“As a buyer, I wasn't worried about the warehouse. I had a proper team in charge of logistics. Now I feel like some underpaid gopher doing grunt work.”

“What would've happened if we hadn't gone with Douglas? We would've had to do all this stuff yourself, you know.” 

“Oh yeah, totally. But I wouldn't be complaining then. It's what you have to do when you're starting a business. We're not starting a business, though. We are working for someone. Someone who has a lot of money can pay for things to be done properly. And he's not doing that.” 

It was interesting listening to Sophia unleash. It was frank honesty, and I was enjoying it. Not because it was trashing my ex. It was because she had finally seen what I had been saying all this time; what Douglas made look too good to be true was indeed too good to be true. I had been so used to my friend since primary school, constantly sitting on the fence during every argument, unwilling to rock any boat. 

I always wondered what would be the thing to push her over the edge, take a side. Could this be her catalyst? 

“Is this warehouse at least big enough to house everything?” I wondered out loud as we approached the West Gate freeway. 

“Yes, it's enormous. Probably too big. But I probably shouldn't say that because he'll increase the volume numbers and need more space sooner rather than later.”

I thought about the numbers. “Do you think we're going to sell what we have in the warehouse?”

“That's what I'm trying to estimate today. These are the final samples, apparently. We have to approve them. For some reason, though, we couldn't get a courier to bring these to us. We had to get them ourselves. Another thing that is driving me bonkers.”

After a few hours, we returned to the car again with a boot stuffed full of samples. Neither of us was any more optimistic about what would happen next. It seemed like after this trip, we were taking a step back.

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Day 254

I wish I could see the wall of my office, but with the clothing rack lining every inch of my space, I’ve submitted to my new situation. Tapped out. Put in the proverbial headlock.