Confessions of Carol

Carol was the best.  She was already a manager and by the end of the year she was going to be a senior manager.  She knew it would happen. She was brilliant at her job, kind to her staff, smart, funny, charismatic. An all round alpha. 

Nothing was going to stop her from reaching the top.

She put on a second layer of red lipstick, swept up her long blond stresses into a bun and walked into the office.

She might be obviously confident and outgoing but she was careful to act a little unsure at times, so that she could fit in with the rest of them and she was especially careful to be sweet. None of them, the others in the office, could know what she really thought.  It would break the spell. 

They loved her. They all clambered around to please her and each one thought she was their favorite. That was how she made people feel. Carol gave each of her colleagues such special attention, be that guidance on love, career, finances or advice on dealing with delicate issues, she made sure they could never sense that she had very little interest in their lives. She loved their adoration and they should never figure out how little they meant to her.

Today she wore a short red skirt that rested mid-thigh.  Though she was their manager she was still so young and God she didn't want to look like an old woman. Her best features needed to be on show. Her legs.  She was slightly overweight. Well more slightly than she would like to dwell on, but that only made her more likeable.  Curvaceous women were more relatable.  They drew people's sympathy and compassion, so she knew it was actually an advantage.

Carol smiled at her team and greeted them cheerfully.  "Good morning everyone", she said in a sing-song but authoritative voice, "I hope you are having  a lovely day. I have brought doughnuts for you and have kept them in the kitchen. Please do help yourself."

She placed her coffee cup on the desk and sat down. 

There was her team. A skinny blonde girl, Charlotte, who was so easy to manipulate Carol didn't need to try. A tall dark haired girl, Mary, the serious and overly stressy type.  A brown haired, peppy, Spanish girl. Gina.  Gina was in her own world and followed Carol's lead without realising.

"Morning Charlotte," Carol said, "l hope you and Dirk had a wonderful date night". Charlotte confided in her about her boyfriend Dirk,  and though Carol wished Charlotte would actually develop a personality beyond her relationship with Dirk, she couldn't upset her pet and indulged in asking questions about him.

"Mary how is your new girlfriend?" She asked. Mary was as dull as a doormat and annoying with her coin collection and high-strung personality but the girl managed to somehow find a girlfriend despite this. 

Carol wondered why she was the single one when these two were in relationships. Well she didn't care. She had her devices and her batteries and that's all she needed as she liked to tell them all with a giggle.

"Gina, how are the family?" she asked.  Gina's parents and sister were supposed to be visiting from Spain that weekend. Gina was someone who thought she was a strong and independent feminist, but actually swayed towards a natural leader like Carol without hesitation. 

And then there was the one male on her team. Michael. He was so quiet. She could put up with him. 

"I hope you had a great weekend Michael." Carol said finishing her greetings. Michael would do anything Carol told him to. In fact she didn't need to say anything, he waited for her indications. If only they knew how indifferent she was to them.

However, there was one in the office she found extremely difficult to be nice to. 

She caught Carol's eye as she glided to her side of the office without greeting Carol.

Giselli.  She was South American. Slim, brown skinned and stylish.  Carol couldn't stand the sight of  her. She had an enviable figure and a pretty face.  Giselli didn't see how attractive she was to men, either that or she didn't care.  It was one of the reasons Carol found her irritating, but what bothered her more was that Giselli was indifferent to Carol.  She didn't seem impressed by Carol.  She didn't think she was funny like everyone else and she made no effort to please Carol like the others and Carol didn't like anyone being unbothered about her.

Giselli was friends with the only good looking guy in the office and she didn't notice him. James. He was Carol's junior and normally that would have stopped her from admiring him because he wasn't equal to her, but his beautiful face was difficult to ignore.  He wasn't very bright and Carol loved to mock him and laugh at his mistakes with Charlotte and Mary, while secretly she admired his looks.

James, however, spent his days chuckling and chatting to Giselle.  He clearly liked Giselle but she didn't notice. 

Carol simply wanted men to notice her.  Carol was better than them all.  James, Giselli, they were  her juniors yet when any of the senior managers came in,  all male of course, they were all smiles and flushed when they spoke to Giselle while she behaved perfectly normally.  Carol wondered if Giselle was aware of her affect on men or if she truly was so innocent.

"I love what you are wearing Giselli," she said. "It makes you look good", as she went to the stationary cupboard for an envelope.  She liked to drop compliments in small doses. It kept people oblivious to how much she disliked them.  Carol wanted to wear what Giselli wore but it didn't suit her body, and right now she hated her own red skirt which she had picked with such confidence this morning.

If Giselli wasn't going to come to Carol of her own accord Carol would ensure she was forced to do so.  Carol could see Giselli and James were close friends. She knew she had to do something.