I've just returned from a remote part of Scotland. The whiskey was good and the wi-fi was bad, so no posts for a few days. The wind was from the north-east, too much for my thin southern coat. I was clearing up a mess made by Forbes-Brown, one the partners in a commercial law firm we act for. It reminded me of how private matters sometimes collide with public events, often with disasterous consequences.
Like when Caroline was on a work jolly in the South of Spain. The pretext was that her company, Monsaint, were committed to developing the next generation of business leaders. This meant lavishing a lot of money on a few chosen ones, letting them eat good food and drink vats of wine in exchange for having their heads filled with the latest business theories, or mumbo-jumbo as it is called a few years later.
Caroline had had a hard day's introspection, trying to work out, with her seven colleagues, what it was that made them special. What would give them the dynamic edge to propel them to the very summit of an organisation?
The answer, according to the tutor, former chief executive Melody Bigger, was desire. They had to want it more than anyone else. So they had to explore their desires in small groups.
Caroline's other group member was best-friend-at-work Antonia (the blond one I mentioned before). Antonia has a one-track mind. Why not? She's single and not even burdened with a cat. So Antonia was adamant that Caroline needed to explore her secret desires without delay.
Caroline told Antonia things that women tell women, things she thinks about but doesn't usually speak about. Antonia said she should go for it, so after a few glasses of wine before, with, and after dinner, Caroline waited until everyone had gone to bed, stripped off, and tiptoed down to the hotel pool. Hard to imagine at this time of year, I know, but do your best.
The water, she said, was lovely and warm and the stars shone brightly above the hotel courtyard. She closed her eyes and acted out her secret desire. She thought no one was watching.
But there was.
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