August 2002 -- Part 1
It was 8am on Wednesday the 6th of August 2002. Jack had finished brushing his teeth and had straightened the hotel bed as best he could. The room had become almost a second home over the last 6 weeks. Even though he'd returned to his flat in London at the weekends, the hotel management had given him the same room each time he'd returned.
The hours were long and this particular client engagement was incredibly demanding. Sometimes he'd had under 3 hours' sleep. As a junior, he had little or no influence over where he went, what tasks he did when he got there, or which colleagues accompanied him. This job had seen a merry-go-round of juniors and part-qualified staff assigned to it, all working for Allison.
Allison had recently qualified as a Chartered Accountant and this was her first big job -- the first test of her mettle. Jack had been on the job for 6 weeks. Allison had been on the job for 6 weeks. The rest of the team had come and gone. This was the penultimate week of the engagement, and they were the only two assigned to it to tidy up and issue the final report.
Allison was 24 and didn't seem to like to have fun. She was incredibly driven, and career focussed. Her career advancement seemed to be her only challenge in life. Nothing else looked like it mattered. Jack knew that she lived with a guy called Neil, and they'd been together since the start of their training. He was slightly overweight, grey, and dull. She never seemed to mention him when they occasionally talked about their lives outside the firm.
Jack was 23, having started the graduate programme 2 years later than most. Allison gave him such a hard time and he never understood why. She bossed him about, nagged about everything and never seemed to have a positive word to say. They worked until she said it was time to call it a day, and she never said thank you. She must have liked some element of working with him, as she continued to select him, but this was never made clear or referenced in any of the post-client feedback received from her to him.
Today was going to be different. Jack smiled. Today she was going to lighten up and have a bit of fun. At 7am he'd taken a message from the CEO of the client that there would be an emergency board meeting today, and that no external visitors would be allowed on site until tomorrow. Effectively giving them a day off midweek.
Allison knocked on the door, 8am sharp, ready to head to the client site as usual. She had her car keys in her hand and her typically impatient expression glued to her face. There was a thin film of sweat on her brow consistent with not quite cooling down from her early morning run.
"Hey, morning, Allison. Bit of a change of plan today. Greg called. They're having an emergency board meeting and we need to stay off site. Come in."
She stepped willingly into the room and put her bag on the floor and put her car keys into the front pocket. Bending down to do so, he could just see the top of her thong riding above her skirt. Pink. He had thought carefully about how to phrase the next sentence and noted that she had stepped into the room willingly. She hadn't been in before. Usually, it was just a knock on the door before they headed off together.
"I have an idea for today. I've been thinking about this for a while now. Today is the perfect opportunity."
She was hesitant when she spoke, "What for? For work? We have still got a lot to do. I guess we can work on the report from the hotel lobby. I've got the most recent version on disk with me."
"Not for work. Not today. Today I'd like to give you some developmental feedback, on your performance. Just like we are encouraged to do by the firm. 360-degree feedback. You give me enough about the standard of my work. Today I'd like to spend the day with the two of us alone, redressing some of the imbalances between us that have arisen over the last however long it is since we've been working together."
"Go on, I'm listening." Her tone was sarcastic and semi-mocking. The difference between how she speaks to junior staff compared to the firm's partners was ridiculous, he thought. So cocky. Today would be a chance to level things out.
"I have something I need you to do for me for once. Call it a trust exercise. Close your eyes and turn around, 180 degrees, to face the door." He was quite surprised when she simply did as he said, no questions asked. She could easily have just left the room.
Her eyes remained closed as he walked towards the door, opened it to place the do not disturb sign on the handle outside in case the housekeeping staff knocked. He closed the door gently, quietly, and turned the latch to lock it from inside.
The blindfold was soft, but secure. He tied it around her head gently. It had Velcro straps at the back. She could see nothing. She didn't speak or resist. She remained completely motionless.