Floozman: First Episode
|
Table of Contents |
| Part 4: The Old Consultant’s Slumber |
Back in his room, the old consultant hesitates. Some of the bright light of the Swiss sky seeps in around the thick curtains, but he does not open them. What a disappointment! He finally approaches Fred Looseman, ex-Chief Risk Officer at Worldwide Credit (578 billion in net banking profit for the previous fiscal year), and it turns out the man has become an alcoholic! He crashes down staircases even before he has a chance to talk to him seriously about his business!
But he, too, has drunk too much at the buffet. He doesn’t want to attend more sessions... This is bad, but it’s only a nap. One must know when to take a siesta... It’s good for personal productivity.
This seminar ($1,500) will be of no use to him! As he grabs a bottle of sparkling water from the mini-bar, he thinks, in spite of himself, of the red dress of the director of the Financial Crime Study Center. He hears golden bracelets tinkling, and remembers women’s intimacy.
The bottle and the mountain landscape on the label, the small white napkins and all this polished wood... He thinks of his parents. Is he going to feel sorry for himself? Hasn’t he always been capable of bouncing back? And what’s with Looseman? What’s wrong with him? Shouldn’t he simply recognize that Fred’s career was brighter than his own? Intellectual honesty is key in management. Isn’t that what he teaches whenever someone is willing to pay him to train junior executives? And yet why is his heart so heavy?
He drinks a glass of water and lies down on his bed without switching on the TV. “A SWOT, I must make a SWOT and redefine my strategy,” insists a worn-out node in his mind, failing to impart any burst of energy to the rest of his being. Still, in the field of awareness, a portion of his will-power repeats:
- Strengths:
- I have strong management skills.
- I am well organized.
- Weaknesses:
- I am old (but this is also a strength).
- Opportunities:
- Human expansion into space increases the need for advice from financial institutions.
- Threats:
- Young graduates and new consultancy houses are already in position.
- Death...
And gently, with the remembrance of work and men’s esteem, with his knees curled up, the old consultant falls asleep and blends in with his surroundings.
Time passes by. The wind restlessly and constantly stirs the pine trees. The traffic flows on the highway. Then the hubbub of a protest demonstration grows and comes closer. Police sirens and helicopter engines are heard. Footsteps in the corridor. Something is happening...
Don’t regain consciousness, little man. Don’t wake up, for here come the redeemers guided by none other than the ghost of Friedrich Engels.
The sound of a lock opening. A hoary old chambermaid enters, treading softly.
“There is someone... Asleep... He is alone,” she whispers.
“Let’s not waste time looking for another room overlooking the parking lot. The old guy will serve us as a hostage,” says a stout man in a rubber raincoat.
“OK. Let’s go and get Appleseed,” says the ghost.
* * *
To be continued...
Copyright © 2005 by
Bertrand Cayzac
Dépôt S.A.C.D. 174 627
