Chapter Text
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Sat. August 4, 20:37
Subj: Update
Do not interpret this email as an indication that you have not been sacked, as I honestly have no idea. I am (for reasons unclear even to myself) reaching out to tell you that things are going OK in your absence. John Ross has been in touch with the investors, and there has been no need to let anyone else go at present. I’m not clear if you will receive this email before the 15th, but if so, you should know that Edward Little will be attending the Manchester conference in your stead. I have every confidence in him.
James Fitzjames
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Mon. August 6, 15:11
Subj: RE: Update
Fitzjames,
Received. Thank you.
FRMC
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From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 6, 18:39
Subj: RE: Update
Wow.
The pleasure was all mine.
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 6, 18:52
Subj: RE: Update
You know what Francis, you are on involuntary leave and I am sticking my neck out here to tell you this, the least you could say is something sincerely grateful. For all I know Barrow and Ross are meeting to sack you as we speak, so you could even try apologising, if you’re so moved???
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 6, 21:16
Subj: RE: Update
Francis—don’t bother responding to that email. I shouldn’t have sent it.
Just delete it and pretend you never saw it.
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 13, 01:09
Subj: Greenhithe File Location ????
Francis—I am not quite sure of the advisability of what I’m doing, but I am desperate—do you know where Sir John kept the Greenhithe file? I have torn the office apart, I have a meeting with Jane Franklin in eight hours and I cannot find it. She is setting up a charitable trust in Sir John’s name and there’s important info in the fucking Greenhithe file for some reason?
If you know where it is call me immediately.
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 13, 07:44
Subj: Some help you are
(No message)
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Mon. August 13, 15:04
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Fitzjames,
I don’t have unfettered access to my email at the moment.
I wouldn’t know where Franklin kept his files. Hoar might. Fairholme would have, before he left. You could try ringing him.
For all my difficulties with Jane she is not an unfeeling woman, and she knew John. She should understand why it might be difficult to lay hands on any particular file of his.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 13, 16:41
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Francis—to my astonishment you were correct. She was quite understanding. She cared very little about the trust. She seemed mostly to want to talk about Sir John.
She sends her well wishes, by the by, from her and Sophia.
Fitzjames
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Tues. August 14, 15:22
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Fitzjames,
Received. Thank you.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Tues. August 14, 17:41
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Does this establishment charge you by the word? Or are you kept too busy to allow you time to type entire sentences?
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Wed. August 15, 15:39
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Fitzjames,
I have access to the internet one hour per day, Monday through Friday, in a big room surrounded by 30 strangers all clicking away. Not exactly an environment conducive to lengthy correspondence.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Wed. August 15, 16:41
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Well for how much longer? You’ve been gone for nearly a month, I would have thought you could be trusted with your own email account.
For that matter, what if there’s an emergency? A real emergency, mind you, not Jane Franklin. Between Sir John, Blanky’s medical leave and you off in Oxfordshire, it is all but impossible to keep the business solvent.
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Thur. August 16, 15:08
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Fitzjames,
Jopson can always reach me in a true emergency.
Since you’ve asked, I qualify for two hours of computer access at the end of my third week. As I did not enter the facility until the 30th of July, that’s Friday.
If it’s not too much trouble, can you tell me how Little did in Manchester? Unless it will get you sacked of course.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Sat. August 18, 11:29
Subj: RE: Some help you are
I cannot tell you how much it comforts me to know that the fate of this company rests upon me and Jopson’s mobile phone.
Little did alright. He did better, perhaps, than we might have expected. Not that you would know it from his report—his self-confidence is in tatters. He did botch his remarks, I am told, but they were written for you and it wasn’t a complete disaster.
How many weeks in total is this programme? Again, I have no information regarding whether they intend to force you out or not, but if they meant to, surely they would have done so by now. Jopson is being very circumspect to protect your privacy, which is honourable of him but very irritating for me. I would sleep easier knowing when you might be returning.
Fitzjames
PS—Congratulations on reaching your 3rd week—enjoy your two hours of internet access per day.
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Mon. August 20, 15:21
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Fitzjames,
Received, thank you.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 20, 15:42
Subj: RE: Some help you are
You’re a bastard, did you know that?
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Mon. August 20, 16:02
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Fitzjames,
Sorry for the attempt at a joke. Rehab is not nearly as interesting as it seems in films. Even the therapy is dull. Drunks are all unhappy in the same ways.
It is a six week programme. Assuming I am still employed at the end of it, I presume I will return in mid-September.
I am aware that running the company is a thankless task and I am grateful that you are there to do it. Don’t be too hard on Little. Since his hiring he’s been condescended to by Franklin and ignored by me.
If I can be helpful from here, I will be.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 20, 20:03
Subj: RE: Some help you are
What I require most is 10 more hours in the day. Maybe 18, so I can finally get a good night’s sleep.
Although I cannot single out any particular crisis, I am barely managing to keep above water. I’ve given up on cleaning my flat or doing the shopping. I am living off Pret sandwiches and caffeine. I haven’t seen a living soul not employed by the company since your leaving. Worst of all—and I’m not trying to offend here, but there’s no gentle way to say this—I don’t understand how you were doing all this work while drunk half the day.
I don’t think I realised just how much you were doing. Actually I know I didn’t, because I would not have stayed on if I had. I have no idea how you managed without the entire company falling to shit, even for a short time. In fact I spend too much time thinking about it, wondering why I can’t manage as well while sober. And I’m wasting valuable time sending you these bloody emails when I should be sorting out Sir John’s mess.
You can see why it is imperative that you return as soon as possible.
If I think of anything specific you can assist with I will be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I hope you are having a pleasant time hiking and doing therapy or whatever else they do in rehab.
Fitzjames
PS—I was surprised to hear you speak so highly of Edward Little—I didn’t think you liked the man.
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Tues. August 21, 15:38
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Fitzjames,
Well if you are looking to save time, you can try replacing most meals with drink. This should free up several hours a week. Of course you may end up in rehab in Oxfordshire, so take that recommendation with a grain of salt.
You have a very charming view of rehab but it’s not accurate. The place is OK, but it reminds me of an NHS clinic. If you have never used the NHS, I don’t want to know. I have a private room at least. The walls are mint green, like a dentist’s office. There’s no hiking. You can go for a walk, if you like. We sit in group therapy and talk about family histories and patterns of disordered thinking. And then of course there’s the two hours’ access to the IT lab. Thrilling stuff.
I don’t say this to be cruel, to Franklin or to you, but you cannot undo the problems with the company in one month. No one could. If you and a team of people sat down with the books and records for half a year straight, you might get somewhere. Let the accountants sort that out. You have enough to do.
Keep your chin up. There’s good people among the staff who you can rely on. Whether I come back or not, you should be alright.
As to your final point, I don’t dislike Edward. I’ve just had no use for him while I’ve been busy feeling sorry for myself.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Tues. August 21, 16:07
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Francis—of course I’ve used the NHS. I was a student, for heaven’s sake.
I know you enjoy being pessimistic but they wouldn’t sack you now, not after all this time. (And I never really thought they’d sack you—who’d replace you? It’s not as if James Ross is going to come back and run the company again. Would he even let them sack you?)
So you’ll just have to stop feeling sorry for yourself.
Also if you leave me to sort this mess out by myself I’ll send someone out to Oxfordshire to drag you back by the hair if necessary.
Fitzjames
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Tues. August 21, 16:41
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Fitzjames,
I certainly won’t leave of my own choice. Those few weeks between Franklin announcing that he had cancer and his death weren’t nearly time enough for me to be ready to take on the entire company, and I’ve worked at RE for a quarter century. Despite our disagreements, I wouldn’t do the same to you. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I assume Jim will put in a good word for me but he’s easy to ignore when he’s out of the country half of the year. And busy with fatherhood besides. I suppose we’ll wait and see.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Tues. August 21, 22:29
Subj: RE: Some help you are
Francis,
Well—that is a relief to hear. Let us hope our majority owners are clever enough to realise how badly the company needs you back.
Fitzjames
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Fri. August 24, 12:17
Subj: Second Update
Francis—I don’t know if anyone will have told you, but Thomas Blanky was discharged from physical therapy last week. His first day back is Monday.
He seems to be doing well.
Fitzjames
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Fri. August 24, 16:34
Subj: RE: Second Update
Thanks.
FRMC
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Mon. August 27, 15:26
Subj: RE: Second Update
Fitzjames,
I feel I should explain. I don’t blame you for coming to the conclusion that Thom and I’ve not spoken. If I were in his place, I’d have told me to go to hell a long time ago. But Thomas and I have been friends for twenty years, even though I’ve been a shite friend for most of that time. Despite what I’ve done, we seem to still be friends. God knows why.
So I did know. In fact he and Esther were the ones to drive me out to Oxfordshire in the first place. They come round regularly for visitor hours too. I forgot to mention there are visitor hours at rehab, but there are. Thom comes regularly. Told me it’s not my fault, that being a drunken prick in the passenger seat didn’t cause the accident, and that it’s egotistical of me to blame myself. Don’t know that I agree with him on that point, but oh well.
The bastard’s quite enjoying the prosthetic. He said his new party trick was going to be drinking champagne out of his leg, and that he’d do it at the next staff party, but he got told off for talking about drinking in the visiting room at rehab. So that’s the last we’ve discussed it.
Anyway. I’m not sure if you should be emailing me this news while I’m on involuntary leave, but I do appreciate it. If no one had told me, I don’t know how I would have coped.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Mon. August 27, 18:01
Subj: RE: Second Update
Francis—you didn’t need to explain yourself. It’s really none of my business.
But I will confess that I was taken aback by the brevity of your reply (though I really shouldn’t be, when you’re always brief). So thank you for satisfying my curiosity. Now that you’ve explained everything, I can rest easy.
Not that I am resting. As if my time weren’t precious enough, I have decided to throw a party for the staff—an end of summer, thank-God-we-survived, please-don’t-anyone-else-quit party. So now, in between trying to decode Sir John’s particular version of accountancy and manage all the day-to-day crises of the company, I am also party planning. Mostly I have delegated to Dundy, who was a reliable host of decent parties back in university. Since you hate my stories, I will refrain, but know that there was a good one with a Christmas party and a wild cat. Not a stray cat, mind you, but some sort of exotic semi-feral pet that Dundy won in a card game and I smuggled into the halls. If I said much more it would count as a story, but know that I ended up in hospital with a sizable laceration to my lower back. (The cat, unfortunately, was seized by the RSPCA.)
Not that there will be any cats, wild or otherwise, at this party. Just catering and maybe a DJ. And booze—I suppose Blanky can drink champagne out of his prosthetic and delight the assembled crowds. But rest assured, I can arrange to hold the party before you return to work. Only, morale is terribly low, and I can’t think how else to raise it. Bonuses are out of the question, and I can only say “Good job, everyone,” so many times before it starts to ring hollow. If possible, I would like to see everyone having a good time at least once before the end of the fiscal year.
If it wasn’t obvious from me blathering on about my student days and sending you confidential employee information, I don’t actually care if this conversation is entirely aboveboard. If anyone ever does their due diligence and works out that Sir John frittered away two years of gross revenues on his passion project while the company dissolved around him, I doubt that this email chain will make much of a difference. Besides, I need someone to complain to. Forced out on leave or no, you’re the only person who understands what a mess we’re in. So we are stuck with each other as confidantes, I’m afraid.
Though, to be clear, I expect them to announce your return date any day now. In fact I bet you’re the one holding things up—are you on track to be done in six weeks? I know that’s an invasive question, but I’m desperate, so indulge me.
Fitzjames
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Tues. August 28, 15:29
Subj: RE: Second Update
Fitzjames,
Brief? I’ll have you know the last time I wrote this many words to a single individual was when I had a penpal in primary school.
I’m ignoring the bit about the cat in your student lodging, but I don’t object to the idea of a staff party, if you were asking my advice. It would be better if there were funds for raises or bonuses at least, but there isn’t. So we make do.
I’m sure LeVesconte is capable, but you should feel free to ask Jopson. He’s extraordinarily resourceful in a pinch. More importantly I have been asking far too much of him for a long time and it would be good for him to do something with moderate stakes. And if you’re still wondering how I managed while blind drunk for most of the last year, it should be obvious that Jopson was also very helpful.
Also I’m not sure you can say good job too many times, so long as you mean it and the staff believe you.
The question may be invasive but I know that your interest is strictly professional, so I’ll allow it. I am on track to complete next week, but I have already communicated that to Barrow and John Ross. So we shall see. All that I have going in my favour is that my replacement would have to be a masochistic idiot to take the job, and they know that.
If they ask me back, you may throw your party whenever you wish. I don’t need to attend or even want to. And eventually they have promised me I will be able to be around alcohol without wanting to poison myself with it, so hopefully someday I won’t affect the scheduling at all.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Tues. August 28, 20:49
Subj: RE: Second Update
I would have assumed you’d written more to Jim Ross than to me, what with him disappearing off to exotic lands for months at a time. For that matter, if you’ve written more to me than to Sophia Cracroft, I shall feel very badly for her.
You know, when I first came aboard I assumed Sir John had hired Jopson. Don’t take this as an aspersion on Jopson’s character—I know he is the soul of professional decorum and ability—but he has a quiet, unobtrusive usefulness that Sir John found attractive in his employees. Jopson always seemed a better fit match for him than Hoar, or Bridgens for that matter—those tattoos must have given him fits. I concluded that you must have either poached Jopson from Sir John, or had him foisted upon you in an effort to smarten you up.
I admit that I also concluded he’d been shouldering more than his fair share of your work. Not the technical side, obviously—I know you are a more gifted engineer in your sleep than we mere mortals fully awake. But yes, I had worked out that you were not doing your own reimbursement requests or typing your own reports. For that matter, your shirts were always properly ironed, which obviously was not your doing. He’s as skilled as you say, though—he’s the only person around here who doesn’t seem to have too few hours in the day. But I cannot waste his valuable skills on party planning. Even though I’m sure he’d be perfectly equipped to hire a decent catering company.
Point noted about the date of the party. Dundy is still working on logistics, but I think it will end up being before you are back. If it isn’t, then it’s simply an issue of timing, and not further punishment.
I think what you say is true—you have them over a barrel and they know it. I don’t know how we’d fill your position without exposing the scale of Sir John’s ineptitude, which I imagine neither Barrow nor Ross would care to do. But I don’t think it’s your only advantage—surely your friendship with Jim Ross will be a point in your favour?
Fitzjames
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Wed. August 29, 15:05
Subj: RE: Second Update
Fitzjames,
You can assume what you like.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Wed. August 29, 15:42
Subj: RE: Second Update
Francis—did I strike a nerve? I didn’t mean to offend when I said I thought you’d poached Jopson. Or when I said he was enabling you (though he was, as you yourself admitted).
Maybe you’re just busy doing whatever it is one does at rehab. If so, ignore the first half of the message—and tell me when your return date is.
Fitzjames
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Fri. August 31, 15:06
Subj: RE: Second Update
Fitzjames,
September the 12th.
FRMC
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From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Fri. August 31, 23:17
Subj: RE: Second Update
Received, thank you.
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Mon. September 3, 15:52
Subj: Return/Transition
Fitzjames,
Forgive me for being rude. It is hard to be pleasant and conversational, even over email, while detoxing. Or while negotiating a return to work with damn John Barrow. I don’t mean to take my frustrations out on you.
No I did not poach Jopson. I hired him twelve years ago. One of the finest decisions in my career and I did it because I was tired of conducting interviews. Of course he was enabling me, if he wasn’t I’d have been sacked for gross incompetence. Or dead, presumably.
I have been let back into my Ross inbox in preparation for my return and so I am being buried alive under emails. I am impressed by what you and the team have done in my absence, but I am also having a hard time following along. You are not allowed to print out all your emails at rehab you see, and I seem to have a thousand emails just from Dr Stanley. So if my replies are brief this coming week, it’s because I am back reading the last six weeks of correspondence on a computer screen.
Or let me know if you would like to limit all communications to our work email. That would be fine as well.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Tues. September 4, 00:03
Subj: RE: Return/Transition
Good lord Francis, how delicate do you suppose my feelings are? I have managed to go three or four days without an email from you in the past, and I suspect I will survive if it happens again.
Besides, rehab is time consuming, presumably, even if they don’t let you all go off hiking. A shame, as there are some very beautiful parts in Oxfordshire, and isn’t viewing nature supposed to be healing? Restorative? Certainly better than fighting your way through old emails.
Speaking of which—are you sure you want to return? I am not trying to talk you out of it, mind you. But as I am sat on my office floor at quarter to midnight on a Monday, trying to reassure myself that Sir John’s investment decisions were merely ill-advised, not criminal, I cannot help but question why anyone would want to do this job. This is not the glamorous life I had envisioned for myself, you know. Though you’ll be pleased to know I had Jopson in here with me earlier, helping me sort through years of handwritten notes. (Unfortunately he can’t read Sir John’s handwriting any better than I can.)
No I don’t need you emailing me at my work address. First of all I’ll never find your emails, let alone respond to them. Second, I’m just not that worried about it. I have too much to be getting on with—like planning this damn party. Which, as I am sure you know if you’re in your work inbox, is scheduled for this Friday. I understand you’re working towards being able to be sober in a room full of drunken idiots, but I thought it would be easier this way, as you wouldn’t have to choose whether to make an appearance or not. And there wouldn’t be as many questions. The staff know you’re coming back, by the by, but not the reason you were out. I mean, I’m sure they do know, but officially there is no reason. Harry Goodsir is either trying to spread it around that you’ve gone to Northern Ireland to rest and recuperate, or he genuinely believes it’s true. So maybe brush up on your stories about the motherland before you return?
Since I’m still acting head of the company until next Wednesday and you can’t overrule my decisions until then, I’ll tell you now that we’ve gone all out for this one. A real DJ (even though Freddie DeVoeux swears he’s qualified), off-site location, partners invited. I was extremely tempted to make it fancy dress but then Little went on and on about the theme being casino royale and the expense of it all. He had half a point there—the budget allowed for it, but only barely. But when was the last time we had something to look forward to around here?
I’d like to talk to you about Edward, by the way. The man needs a holiday or something. He skulks around like a depressed teenager most days, as if he thinks we require a voice of doom whenever you’re absent. Next time there’s a conference in Spain or anywhere sunny, we must send him.
This missive is quite a bit longer than I intended, but it’s this or the paperwork, and you don’t have to read it, I suppose. It does sort of cheer me up, imagining you reading this at an ancient desktop in your big IT room, getting told off for trying to print out a month and a half’s worth of emails. (You do realise you need reading glasses, don’t you?)
I think I’m crazed with lack of sleep. I’m not rereading this to make it less inane, so if you are busy back-reading your work emails, just send me something banal so that I don’t feel like an idiot rambling to no one.
James
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Tues. September 4, 16:26
Subj: RE: Return/Transition
Fitzjames,
I understand why you didn’t send that particular email from your work address, but that’s not what I meant. What I meant was that I would understand if you wanted to keep things strictly professional.
But the staff must be told for god’s sake. I’m not pretending to have spent a month in Ireland resting. It would be demeaning as well as pointless.
I do read all your messages by the way. Not like I’ve had anything better to do, but thank you for sending them nonetheless.
The party sounds like it will be a great success. Hope everyone enjoys themselves. Looking forward to hearing about your triumph upon my return.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Tues. September 4, 18:40
Subj: RE: Return/Transition
Yes, I know what you meant—I was breezing past it, obviously. Anyway, the issue will soon be moot, since we won’t have any need to email back and forth like this once you return.
And you needn’t flatter me—I’m aware it’s just a party. But if it buoys up morale through the end of the year then I shall count it as a great success.
If you want to tell the staff I think that’s your prerogative, but I would advise running it past legal all the same. That sounds rather hateful of me, but it isn’t meant to be. I admire you, in a way (although I am shocked that someone as relentlessly private as you would freely volunteer medical information). My main concern is that you do everything by the book—you cannot be sacked.
At least not yet. Give me six months to secure a position elsewhere, and you can do whatever you like.
But for now I shall back your play, however you’d like to approach it. The senior staff will too—Thom Blanky returning to work without complaints has greatly put their minds at ease. And Jim Ross would vouch you for any day, and they know that. And the ones who were here long enough to have worked under you and Ross have never been disloyal to you. You can probably win over the rest of the staff by showing up to work sober, so long as no more disasters happen.
Are you done with rehab on Friday, then? Is there a ceremony? And how are you getting back from Oxfordshire?
Fitzjames
+++
From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Wed. September 5, 15:19
Subj: RE: Return/Transition
Fitzjames,
I am done on Friday. There is no ceremony. What ceremony would there be? It’s not a graduation. It’s a bunch of sad old men getting into minicabs and being driven to the train station.
I am finished with Oxfordshire for the present. If there is a conference scheduled here in the next twelve months you can send Little in my place. It might not be Spain but it’s better than nothing. Maybe he can go hiking, like you are always suggesting.
I categorically refuse to consult with the legal department as I will be telling the staff with or without their say-so. As you have pointed out many times, I’m unlikely to be sacked now. And if they didn’t sack me for assaulting a subordinate, I am not afraid of being sanctioned for being honest.
Regarding your party, you have totally misread me. When have I ever flattered you? Or anyone for that matter. It was a good idea, and I think it will be good for the company. Even if you don’t intend to remain for much longer, the instinct was sound.
FRMC
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Wed. September 5, 21:03
Subj: RE: Return/Transition
Francis—good to see rehab has not dampened your natural tendency towards irritability. I was joking about leaving. Well I was and I wasn’t—it will be a miracle if Ross Enterprises still exists five years from now, whatever we do, and I’m neither foolish nor blind about my career prospects since Sir John’s death. But I am not a rat scurrying for a lifeboat, either. I see things through to the end where possible.
Maybe you don’t mean to flatter me, but maybe the assault upon your subordinate has coloured your judgement of my decisions? (Though I hardly consider one drunken punch to be an assault.) Maybe you are trying to placate me, knowing you will have things in hand soon enough, so what does it matter if I make a fool of myself in the interim?
I find that it is easier not to be angry at you through email. If you were here, blustering at me, I would probably be irate; but over email, I have the luxury of considering that you are sitting in your communal IT room, responding to me in between checking your Facebook page and reading the dozens of emails Jopson must be firing off to you hourly. And that you haven’t had a drink in several weeks, and that you’re doing therapy, which you must hate, and for entertainment all you’ve got is me to talk to. That makes it much easier not to rise to your provocation.
So I shall just say this—you can do what you like. But it would be smart to let MacDonald review the wording before you blast an email announcement off to the entire company.
At the very least, warn me before you do it. Ideally on Sunday, because I will be enjoying myself tomorrow and will need at least twenty-four hours to recover before you make any rash decisions.
Congratulations on your non-graduation,
Fitzjames
+++
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Fri. September 7, 12:53
Subj: RE: Return/Transition
Fitzjames,
Thought I was naturally melancholy, not irritable? But you made several good points, and I’ll respond to each of them.
First I don’t need or expect you to remain at RE if you would like to leave. I know you joined because of Franklin. Even if he hadn’t died, I don’t imagine you would have wanted to stay at such a small company whose best days are behind it. If a better opportunity comes along, I’d encourage you to take it. Not just you either. I don’t expect loyalty to a company that may well be a sinking ship.
It was an assault. Plain and simple. Being sober requires you to look honestly at yourself so there’s really no point in glossing over it. Even though I was too drunk to hit you properly I did hit you. At work and in front of people. I’m sorry. I regret it deeply.
I like to think I can be honest though, at least about the company. I admit that I have found plenty of faults in your decision-making, but not in this. I would tell you if I did. I have told you in fact. You have received my emails at your work address disagreeing with your decision to allow Tozer to transfer departments, so why would I be honest there and not here? You often have good ideas.
You are right to picture me miserably reading my emails in the IT room. Or you were right, as I was allowed to leave at lunchtime and I’m now sitting in the train station waiting for my train. You were wrong about Facebook, as I don’t have a Facebook or any other social media. Useless shite.
You were probably right about MacDonald, too. I will speak to him next week about how to phrase it. Despite my behaviour for the past year or so, I have no desire to get myself sacked. I won’t do anything rash before Monday.
FRMC
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From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Fri. September 7, 16:47
Subj: RE: Return/Transition
Francis—it seems a bit barbaric to just turf you out into a cab and trust that you’ll make it home okay. Shouldn’t they require someone to come pick you up?
You are melancholy, and irritable, and a massive prick. But you are also less disagreeable than I ever anticipated. We shall see if this continues when we are face-to-face again next week, but I have found over the course of this correspondence that you are almost… likeable? Certainly I am less confused by your long friendship with Jim Ross and Thomas Blanky, or, for that matter, Jopson’s unending devotion. When Sir John first hired me on, I felt I had gone mad—half the staff worshipped the ground you walked on, the other half thought you were an insufferable git. (No need to say what you thought of me—I assure you, I read it clearly in your face.) I can at least glimpse that alternate version of you now.
I appreciate the apology, but honestly, let’s both agree never to discuss that night again. I’m not interested in punishing you for it—and if I was, what punishment could be worse than our present circumstances?
For example, I let the office go at four so they could all prepare for the party, and I somehow find myself still glued to my computer. This is what you’re coming back to, you know—sixteen hour days and mindless exchanges with the accountancy department. And you don’t even get to come to the carnivale. (That’s what the staff have been calling it—it was meant to be casino royale themed, but it seems to have transmuted into a Venetian thing instead. Don’t ask how.) Actually, I bet you prefer being stuck in some rural train station to being social and pretending to enjoy modern music. God knows you’ve never enjoyed yourself at any office party, unless you secretly like skulking by the kitchen and frowning each time someone speaks to you.
As far as my employment goes, I have no intention of leaving at present. I may dust off my C.V., but I’ll be sure to update you if my plans change.
I had better sign off, because I promised Dundy I would say some words of welcome at the start of the carnivale. Despite what I said in my last email, I won’t let things get out of hand.
I’m looking forward to having you back in the office next week—and there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.
Be speaking to you soon,
Fitzjames
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From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Fri. September 7, 17:38
Subj: RE: Return/Transition
Fitzjames,
They didn’t pack me off in a cab by myself, my sister Jane came and met me. I don’t know if you could go off on your own after rehab, but it doesn’t seem in the spirit of the thing. She’s spending the weekend with me. In terms of punishment, attending your carnivale couldn’t hold a candle to my older sister criticising everything I’ve done in my entire life.
I’m happy not to speak of that night, if you are. But first let me say, thank you again for not pressing charges. Or insisting I be sacked. I am aware that I owe my job, at least in part, to you.
Have a good time tonight, and have a drink on me.
FRMC
From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Sat. September 8, 03:19
Subj: Aftermath
Francis,
You will hear about this in the morning, I assume, but I want to be the one to tell you first: Stephen Stanley gave notice last night.
He gave notice halfway through the staff party, after announcing to the entire company, and several people’s mystified partners, that we are drowning in debt because Sir John was a fantasist who couldn’t read a simple Excel table properly.
It was an unmitigated disaster. People were demanding answers, swarming me, asking if more people would be made redundant—and Stanley went round the room, shouting his head off that it was a foregone conclusion that the company would fold before the year is out. There was very little I could do—maybe I should have shouted back louder. I don’t know.
It was chaos. Dundy tried to rally the senior staff to speak to their teams, but most people were several drinks in and didn’t feel like listening. The research division seems to be on the verge of mutiny already; I would be shocked if Stanley hasn’t been whispering in their ears for weeks. People were in tears, Francis. Someone asked me if they’d still be employed at Christmas. All I could do was mumble nonsense about doing our best.
It was the worst night of my life. It started out OK, though—it was a nice party, even if it was in a budget hotel conference room. George Hodgson supervised the decorating, and he didn’t stick to the Venetian carnivale theme, or even casino royale, just put up big swags of silver material and turned the lights down low, but it worked. People were having a nice time. And then I heard shouting from the back of the room.
When I came to investigate, I realised it was Stanley. MacDonald was trying to persuade him to step outside, but he was incensed—he kept saying that RE was ruined and we’d be in receivership in weeks. Said he’d given his life to this company and his life’s work was down the drain and when it folds he won’t be able to send his daughter to university.
I know you have been reading his emails, so I don’t need to explain to you that he is aware of the investments Sir John pursued; what I didn’t realise, and you may not have either, is that once Stanley learned about the investments, he kept digging. He uncovered all the emails between Sir John and Jane, talking about his goals of entirely replacing the British power grid with renewable energy—the ones that make him look cracked, basically—and all the promises he made to John Ross that we’d see 400% returns in the Canadian market. He’s spent the last three weeks marinating in the worst of Sir John’s most ludicrous ideas, and it seems to have shattered him. I nearly called 999, his behaviour was that unsettling.
Instead, I did nothing.
If that all isn’t bad enough, Stanley wiped a significant portion of the projects he’s worked on off the servers. I don’t know how. Peddie tried to explain his theory to me but you know I don’t know anything about computers, or science, or even how to throw a damn party. And the worst part is that I kept staring at the stupid hors d'oeuvres that no one had eaten, adding up how much it had all cost and how much we’d wasted on a party that was over before nine o’clock.
I should probably have emailed John Ross, not you, but I couldn’t do it. I thought if I tried, I might end up typing my resignation letter. I might yet. I don’t know. If I didn’t feel I would be saddling you (and the rest of the senior staff) with a mess of my making, I probably would have resigned already.
Assuming I don’t quit, I suppose I’ll speak to you tomorrow. I know you’re technically still on leave, but I don’t see how they can avoid bringing you in to deal with this clusterfuck.
Fitzjames
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From: Francis Crozier
To: James Fitzjames
Sat. September 8, 07:09
Subj: RE: Aftermath
James, I’m awake now. do you want to get a coffee and talk about this?
FRMC
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From: James Fitzjames
To: Francis Crozier
Sat. September 8, 07:31
Subj: RE: Aftermath
Francis,
Desperately—where?