Sindy Hunter
Planetoid
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2023
- Location
- UK
Robyn Alcock ended the phone call and gave a sigh of relief. She had just been given an appointment for a job interview, a position she had applied for just one day ago. Robyn had been applying for a least ten jobs a day since she had moved into town with her two teenage daughters, Lucy and Jasmine. Robyn was desperate to find employment, her only money was her savings, and she had almost spent all of it.
Eight years ago, things were very different for Robyn. She was married to Jeff Lester who she had met at college. They were both enrolled in a business studies course and soon became romantically involved which led to marriage when they were both aged twenty-two. On completion of their college courses, Robyn went to work as a project administrator while Jeff continued his studies and became a forensic accountant. Both had successful careers, Robyn became PA to one of the directors of the company at which she worked, and Jeff was taken on by a large financial institution.
As time went by the only interruption in their careers was the birth of their two daughters, born a year apart. Robyn gave up her job for a couple of years but was soon lured back to work by an offer from a competitor of the company she originally worked for. Jeff continued to climb the corporate ladder and became the head of the investment department of an international finance house. Life seemed perfect, they had a big house, luxury cars, and the girls attended the best private schools.
Then one day Jeff was visited by the federal police. He was handcuffed, taken from his workplace and held for several hours. Robyn was shocked and completely surprised, unable to believe her husband could be involved with anything illegal. When she next saw her husband, he told her it was all a mistake and everything would be OK, but over the next six months the authorities put together a watertight case and Jeff was charged with multiple counts of money laundering and embezzlement. Jeff chose to fight the charges and huge sums of money were spent on the best legal teams and the trial ran for almost three years, but ultimately, he was found guilty and sent to prison for a considerable time.
This is when Robyn's life imploded. People she thought of as friends abandoned her, her own employer made it clear that they didn't want to be associated in any way with the trial and pressured Robyn into resigning. Although the trial had ended there seemed to be no end to bills that continued to arrive for various legal costs and court charges. The press continually hounded Robyn, making claims that her husband had hidden a large amount of money into a secret account, despite that there had been no mention of any such thing at the trial.
Robyn tried to find another job, but nobody wanted to be tainted by the reputation of her husband. Eventually, due to being unable to find alternative employment and the constant rumours that she had been in some way involved in her husband's crimes, Robyn had no choice but to sell the house and move. The sale of the family home just about cleared the outstanding debuts and provided enough money to purchase a two-bedroom detached house in a town on the other side of the country.
Robyn took the decision to revert to her maiden name, not wanting any chance of her husband's crime influencing her new life. Her daughters were not keen on the move. Lucy was close to sitting her end-of-year exams and was worried relocation would ruin her studies. Lucy's sister Jasmine was annoyed that she would lose all her friends. Unlike her sister, Tabatha was only interested in having a good time. For her studying was at the bottom of her priorities, she used the school as a social centre, somewhere to meet up with her dubious friends, find out where the latest parties were, which bands were coming to town and a place to score alcohol, cigarettes and the odd bag of grass. For Robyn, taking Jasmine away from all those bad influences was at least one good thing to come out of the whole sorry episode. She hoped her daughter would settle down without the distraction of her loser friends.
Getting her daughters into the local school and setting up their new home had almost wiped out the last of Robyn's savings. Her employment search had been fruitless, the openings for administrators or secretarial positions were seemingly non-existent in the small town, and the response from all the other jobs she had applied for said she was too qualified. So, when she received the call to attend the interview Robyn was overjoyed. The appointment was early the following day, so Robyn spent the remainder of the day preparing and laying out her best business outfit. She wondered if it was too much for a small company but decided she needed to make the best impression possible.
At 10:00 the next morning Robyn arrived at the company's reception. The appearance of the company building was reassuring, if not impressive. It looked well-maintained and the staff appeared busy. Robyn hoped that her previous experience and skills would be transferable, her previous roles had mainly been in data management and finance, and she regarded her PA duties as something of an add-on.
Robyn entered the building and reported to the reception desk. A woman, who looked to be in her fifties, greeted her. When Robyn stated she was there for the interview the woman at the reception desk grinned and looked at Robyn more closely. The woman then asked her to take a seat. Shortly, after a crackled message from the intercom, the receptionist looked up and asked Robyn to go through to the room where the interview was being held. Robyn stood up, took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and strode purposefully into the room. Giving a warm smile when she saw the man waiting, Robyn introduced herself. "Hello, Mr Simon. I'm Robyn Alcock. Nice to meet you…"
Eight years ago, things were very different for Robyn. She was married to Jeff Lester who she had met at college. They were both enrolled in a business studies course and soon became romantically involved which led to marriage when they were both aged twenty-two. On completion of their college courses, Robyn went to work as a project administrator while Jeff continued his studies and became a forensic accountant. Both had successful careers, Robyn became PA to one of the directors of the company at which she worked, and Jeff was taken on by a large financial institution.
As time went by the only interruption in their careers was the birth of their two daughters, born a year apart. Robyn gave up her job for a couple of years but was soon lured back to work by an offer from a competitor of the company she originally worked for. Jeff continued to climb the corporate ladder and became the head of the investment department of an international finance house. Life seemed perfect, they had a big house, luxury cars, and the girls attended the best private schools.
Then one day Jeff was visited by the federal police. He was handcuffed, taken from his workplace and held for several hours. Robyn was shocked and completely surprised, unable to believe her husband could be involved with anything illegal. When she next saw her husband, he told her it was all a mistake and everything would be OK, but over the next six months the authorities put together a watertight case and Jeff was charged with multiple counts of money laundering and embezzlement. Jeff chose to fight the charges and huge sums of money were spent on the best legal teams and the trial ran for almost three years, but ultimately, he was found guilty and sent to prison for a considerable time.
This is when Robyn's life imploded. People she thought of as friends abandoned her, her own employer made it clear that they didn't want to be associated in any way with the trial and pressured Robyn into resigning. Although the trial had ended there seemed to be no end to bills that continued to arrive for various legal costs and court charges. The press continually hounded Robyn, making claims that her husband had hidden a large amount of money into a secret account, despite that there had been no mention of any such thing at the trial.
Robyn tried to find another job, but nobody wanted to be tainted by the reputation of her husband. Eventually, due to being unable to find alternative employment and the constant rumours that she had been in some way involved in her husband's crimes, Robyn had no choice but to sell the house and move. The sale of the family home just about cleared the outstanding debuts and provided enough money to purchase a two-bedroom detached house in a town on the other side of the country.
Robyn took the decision to revert to her maiden name, not wanting any chance of her husband's crime influencing her new life. Her daughters were not keen on the move. Lucy was close to sitting her end-of-year exams and was worried relocation would ruin her studies. Lucy's sister Jasmine was annoyed that she would lose all her friends. Unlike her sister, Tabatha was only interested in having a good time. For her studying was at the bottom of her priorities, she used the school as a social centre, somewhere to meet up with her dubious friends, find out where the latest parties were, which bands were coming to town and a place to score alcohol, cigarettes and the odd bag of grass. For Robyn, taking Jasmine away from all those bad influences was at least one good thing to come out of the whole sorry episode. She hoped her daughter would settle down without the distraction of her loser friends.
Getting her daughters into the local school and setting up their new home had almost wiped out the last of Robyn's savings. Her employment search had been fruitless, the openings for administrators or secretarial positions were seemingly non-existent in the small town, and the response from all the other jobs she had applied for said she was too qualified. So, when she received the call to attend the interview Robyn was overjoyed. The appointment was early the following day, so Robyn spent the remainder of the day preparing and laying out her best business outfit. She wondered if it was too much for a small company but decided she needed to make the best impression possible.
At 10:00 the next morning Robyn arrived at the company's reception. The appearance of the company building was reassuring, if not impressive. It looked well-maintained and the staff appeared busy. Robyn hoped that her previous experience and skills would be transferable, her previous roles had mainly been in data management and finance, and she regarded her PA duties as something of an add-on.
Robyn entered the building and reported to the reception desk. A woman, who looked to be in her fifties, greeted her. When Robyn stated she was there for the interview the woman at the reception desk grinned and looked at Robyn more closely. The woman then asked her to take a seat. Shortly, after a crackled message from the intercom, the receptionist looked up and asked Robyn to go through to the room where the interview was being held. Robyn stood up, took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and strode purposefully into the room. Giving a warm smile when she saw the man waiting, Robyn introduced herself. "Hello, Mr Simon. I'm Robyn Alcock. Nice to meet you…"