21-07-2020, 08:58 PM
Late night at the Office
"Shruti, where's that report? It has to be on the Manager's desk first thing tomorrow. I thought you'd have it ready by now."
"Ah, what report?" asked Shruti, confused. This was the first she'd heard of any report being required.
"The report I asked for on the sales figures across regions. I requested it yesterday. All the data was in the folder. All you had to do was combine it and prepare the report. How could you forget it?"
"Ah, I wasn't here yesterday, Mrs Jyothi. I was at the dentist, remember. You didn't ask me for the report."
Mrs Jyothi gave her a killing look. Then a memory tapped her.
"Oh. You're right. I gave it to Andrea. She was supposed to pass it on to you first thing this morning. Don't tell me she forgot."
"Um, I don't know if she forgot or not but she hasn't turned up for work today. She rang in sick."
"Stupid girl. Why couldn't she get sick after passing on the request? You'll have to check her desk and find the folder. That report has to be available first thing in the morning or the whole department will look slack. Get it done."
Shruti sighed. "But, Mrs Jyothi, if that's similar to the report I prepared last month it will take several hours to put it together. There's no time."
"Yes there is. You'll have to stay back and work on it. In this instance I will authorise over-time. We need that report."
Shruti groaned, silently. Still, it wasn't as if she'd had something planned for that night. Just coffee and TV. The over-time money would be useful, as well. She headed over to Andrea's desk to find the folder with the required information. Why couldn't the regions enter the data on a spreadsheet and send it in? Then all she'd have to do would be to consolidate the spreadsheet. She was so going to push for that change to procedure. She'd even design the relevant spreadsheet.
She'd been correct about the amount of time it would take to prepare the report. Hours. Mrs Jyothi had stopped past on her way home to encourage her.
"I had the manager on the phone asking where the hell his report is. I guaranteed him that it would be on his desk when he arrived in the morning. There won't be anyone here to check it when you're finished so you'd better be sure it's right. When it's done, run up and put it on his desk where he can't miss it."
‘It wouldn't kill you to stay back and check it’, Shruti thought. She got on with working on the report.
The cleaners had been and gone by the time Shruti had finished. The building was dark, everyone gone apart from security, and everyone knew that the guard never budged from his desk. He'd just sit there, playing cards and keeping one eye on the monitors. At least, he knew she was there.
"Shruti, where's that report? It has to be on the Manager's desk first thing tomorrow. I thought you'd have it ready by now."
"Ah, what report?" asked Shruti, confused. This was the first she'd heard of any report being required.
"The report I asked for on the sales figures across regions. I requested it yesterday. All the data was in the folder. All you had to do was combine it and prepare the report. How could you forget it?"
"Ah, I wasn't here yesterday, Mrs Jyothi. I was at the dentist, remember. You didn't ask me for the report."
Mrs Jyothi gave her a killing look. Then a memory tapped her.
"Oh. You're right. I gave it to Andrea. She was supposed to pass it on to you first thing this morning. Don't tell me she forgot."
"Um, I don't know if she forgot or not but she hasn't turned up for work today. She rang in sick."
"Stupid girl. Why couldn't she get sick after passing on the request? You'll have to check her desk and find the folder. That report has to be available first thing in the morning or the whole department will look slack. Get it done."
Shruti sighed. "But, Mrs Jyothi, if that's similar to the report I prepared last month it will take several hours to put it together. There's no time."
"Yes there is. You'll have to stay back and work on it. In this instance I will authorise over-time. We need that report."
Shruti groaned, silently. Still, it wasn't as if she'd had something planned for that night. Just coffee and TV. The over-time money would be useful, as well. She headed over to Andrea's desk to find the folder with the required information. Why couldn't the regions enter the data on a spreadsheet and send it in? Then all she'd have to do would be to consolidate the spreadsheet. She was so going to push for that change to procedure. She'd even design the relevant spreadsheet.
She'd been correct about the amount of time it would take to prepare the report. Hours. Mrs Jyothi had stopped past on her way home to encourage her.
"I had the manager on the phone asking where the hell his report is. I guaranteed him that it would be on his desk when he arrived in the morning. There won't be anyone here to check it when you're finished so you'd better be sure it's right. When it's done, run up and put it on his desk where he can't miss it."
‘It wouldn't kill you to stay back and check it’, Shruti thought. She got on with working on the report.
The cleaners had been and gone by the time Shruti had finished. The building was dark, everyone gone apart from security, and everyone knew that the guard never budged from his desk. He'd just sit there, playing cards and keeping one eye on the monitors. At least, he knew she was there.