Page 10 of Greed
“Yes?” Griffin smoothed his tie.
“It’s time for the morning meeting. If you’d like to follow me, I’ll take you there.”
“Yes. Thank you.” Griffin put his hands in his pockets, hoping to dispel the residual tingling left by the invisible magnetic pull of his new ability. He’d deal with that later.
He followed Fred the Editor through the hallway to a meeting room filled with a long, oblong board table and Cardinal Copy staff sitting in chairs. Seemed as though he was the last to arrive. He stood behind Fred at the head of the table. The sense of greed gently pulsed at him, and Griffin took a moment to acquaint himself with each person—aligning their greed signature with their face. The brunette man at the end of the table held the strongest greed. Casting his eyes over the man, Griffin couldn’t see anything synonymous with strong. The man was tall, in his early forties, slim and soft. His jaw was pointed. His eyes were a shrewd washed out blue.
A light pressure on his arm made all the greed seep out of the room. The strange notion had Griffin turning in time to catch Lilo as she squeezed by. Greed filtered back as she removed her light touch. It had been mere minutes since he’d last seen her, but his body reacted as though it had been years apart and they were long lost lovers. Every hair stood to attention. The blood in his veins ignited. His body craved her, he couldn’t deny it.
“Good morning everyone,” she said in a sing-song voice as she placed a tray of baked goods on the table. “I picked up scones from the bakery downstairs. And, yes, Peter. I added a few donuts.”
A gray-haired man with round spectacles grinned from big-ear to big-ear and immediately reached in to retrieve a chocolate covered donut.
Peter the Donut-Eater. Easy to remember.
Lilo shot Griffin a nervous sideways glance before taking the last remaining free chair at the end of the boardroom table. It was next to the tall greedy man which made Griffin curious. Why did she grimace and lean away as though there were a bad smell on his side, and why had his greed flared to new heights when she arrived?
“Right, well, if we’re all here, let’s get on with the meeting.” Fred plucked a donut from the tray and dropped into his chair. He suddenly realized Griffin was left standing. “Is there a chair somewhere for Mr. Lazarus?” he asked the table in general.
Nobody put up their hand or offered to get a seat.
“You can have mine if you want.” Lilo piped up from the end. “I’ll just get a new one from the office.”
Griffin flinched. Did she really think he would let a woman give up her seat for him? In fact, did everyone else? He cast a glance across the mostly male table and not one person offered their seat in Lilo’s stead. Not that he needed it, but it was the principle. Chivalry was not in this building.
“No, thank you. I’ll stand. It will be easier to see me while I speak.”
“Great,” Fred said, addressing the table. “Everyone, this is Griffin Lazarus. He has been employed to increase the efficiency of this newspaper by analyzing our productivity and working out what tasks can be mined to the new automation software coming in soon.”
A few murmurs washed over the table.
“Mr. Lazarus. The floor’s all yours.” Fred went back to nibbling his donut, clearly not fussed about the new situation. Probably thought his job was safe.
“Thank you, Fred.” Griffin opened his blazer and put his hands in his pockets. “As Fred mentioned, I’m here to assess your jobs and work out which tasks can be automated by the program. Theoretically, this will leave you all time to hunt more important stories. If you’re a person whose job consists of fifty percent or more dispensable tasks, then you will be made redundant and roles will be merged. I will analyze data on record to see how your stories come into the system, how they are delegated, and the process on getting them investigated, researched, written and then put online. I will also be spending time with individuals from each department to account for data errors so I can adjust my recommendations accordingly. Any questions?”
Silence.
Tall Guy lifted his hand. “Yeah, who died and made you God?”
Griffin narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps I’ll start with you first. Mr.…?”
“Doppenger,” he replied, still with a smug smirk on his face. “Donald Doppenger. My friends call me Don, or Donnie if you’re really close.”
With that, he winked at Lilo who wasn’t even looking. In fact, she still seemed to want to get as far away from the man as she could.
Griffin stared at the man while he chewed the name over in his head with appropriate associations. He wore dark clothes, his greed was deep, but the easiest connection Griffin could pull was: Demanding.
“I’m not here to make friends,” Griffin said.
Doppenger scowled.
Sensing the change in room dynamics, Fred stood up. “Ah… Perhaps you can start with someone else. Don prefers to work alone.”
Griffin arched a brow. “No one is exempt, Donald. For your information, the CEO of your newspaper hired me directly.”
“Stories can’t be automated by a computer, man!” Donald growled. “It’s hard, thankless work. I should know. I’ve been nominated twice for a Pulitzer.”
“Nominated. So you didn’t win.” Griffin knew he shouldn’t have said it the moment the words came out of his mouth. The temperature in the room dropped to arctic. He tried to recover. “This company doesn’t run on nominations. It runs on dollars and cents, which are currently hemorrhaging from every department.”
