Malice: An Afterthought

Teeth crunch inexpensive plastic as Daniel gives the figures one last read. The pen lid folds without resistance, much to his satisfaction. Leaning back on the chair he sighs almost in synch with the noise of the seating itself. Were it not for the mutual understanding of his colleagues and the fundamentally mature attitude to the working environment surrounding him, Daniel may have expected the noise to provoke a ripple of laughter throughout the room. Alas, after four long and tedious years in the company he has resigned himself to the fact that this juvenile humour was far from in fashion in this realm.

“Proof read complete” he mutters in a robot-like manner, giggling slightly. Sucking in a restrained breath he pushes the plastic beneath his fingertip and a file sails across the ether.

The moment of realisation that followed proved to be both terrifying and liberating to degrees Daniel Lesley had yet to experience at the tender age of 24 years, 3 months and 9 days. The emotion would be later referred to as “hitting him like a train” although as he had not yet been hit by a train, this was merely speculation.

The face of adversity was prettier than Daniel had first imagined. This was a welcome surprise given his frequent flirting with said aspect. The time had truly arrived for Daniel to willingly relinquish his role as a chartered accountant or have the title forcefully removed by a higher power (within the company, although one could argue that this situation was an example of divine intervention ushering our protagonist from his current purgatory to the job centre).

Pushing his desk and therefore wheeling backwards with some vigour, Mr Lesley began to see the world in a different light. Sure, it was quintessentially rose-tinted due almost entirely to an intense hit of adrenaline and stress but somehow every bone his body began to feel uncontrollably alive. Daniel is now aware that in giving him a new lease of life the realisation hitting him “like a train” was undeniably ironic.

Now freed from the shackles of his desk, both metaphorically and literally (the low-budget mouse wire had lovingly embraced his footwear for the four-hundred and seventy-third time) Daniel ceremonially removes the striped silk noose from his neck that had gifted Tie Rack the sum of £14.99 just three days prior.

Leather triumphs over laminate with each stride towards the door. The handle, cold in his grasp, turns reluctantly. The following seconds will stay with Daniel forever. A silhouette can be so ominous but a visible scowl often all the more so.

“You’re looking smart today Dan”

The sarcastic sentiment echoes from the cornflower white partition as a top button hits the floor. In his haste, Daniel flicks what is colloquially referred to as “the Vs.” Accompanying these with plenty of verbal expletives Daniel launches his ten-minute tirade boss-wards with the kind of execution the French revolutionaries would be proud of.

“Well, if that’s how you feel...”

A murmur rumbles on as Daniel makes with haste his escape. A ripple, not of laughter but of stunned silence engulfs the office.

In hitting rock bottom, Daniel has found himself in the rather powerful position of being effectively invincible within his current environment. On the one hand, each of his peers is significantly better off with the benefit of financial security cushioning them from the real world. On the other, Daniel is the only person of the 678 employees of McCauley Incorporated with the power to choose what becomes of tomorrow.  Mr Lesley lives the dream.

In truth, there were few people at McCauley that Daniel would miss. Theresa, the secretary that Daniel would often exchange somewhat convoluted pleasantries with would be the main casualty in his eyes. This was largely down to her aesthetics but she was easy enough to talk to.

As Daniel leaves the building for the final time, he feels as free as a bird. Little does he know how free he will become...