"Hungry for Success" by English Professionals. EPISODE 15 : Out of my depth

Tim is on his own and is feeling out of his depth

Transcript

Hungry for Success

Episode 15 : Out of my depth  

“You can trust me” replied Derek

The words hung in the air. Neither man spoke. Tim fixed his gaze on Derek but Derek remained impassive. Tim could hear his own heartbeat. For just a few moments the world around them seemed to stop.

“How do I know that?” said Tim quietly 

“I guess you don’t …. for sure” replied Derek unhelpfully

“but” he went on, “who can you trust ….. Sue, Steve ….. that smart wife of yours?”

Derek’s voice had changed.  Gone was the chatty gossipy tone that he always used. Instead slow, determined, serious.

Tim once again not for the first time in the week, felt himself way out of his depth…. slowly drowning

“Let’s say I trust you, Derek” whispered Tim - he wasn’t sure why he was whispering since there was nobody near enough to eavesdrop.

“What part do you play in all of this”?

“You mean who’s side am I on” interrupted the older man

“Not theirs” he said answering his own question

“Theirs meaning Macrosoft’s?” asked Tim

“Theirs meaning James and that woman”? retorted Derek

“Libby Jones” said Tim finishing the sentence,

At the mention of her name he shivered involuntarily. 

“Exactly” said Derek

At that moment Tim’s deskphone rang and he picked up the receiver unconsciously The ring tone told him that it was an internal call but he didn’t bother to look at the display to see who was calling 

 “Tim here, How can I help” 

“I need to talk to you … it’s urgent” said Sue

….but not here. Do you know the park just off the main road past the river. Meet me there in half an hour”

Sue hung up abruptly. Tim turned back to his assistant but Derek had vanished.  He felt a pounding in his head - he didn’t know what to do. He certainly wasn’t feeling quite so hungry now. Hungry for success  seemed less and less a suitable description for his state of mind. If anything a quiet boring career seemed ever more attractive. He reached for his mobile and dialled one of his contacts.

“I’m afraid Rebecca’s out at a client’s at the moment, Tim. Would you like me to give her a message when she gets back”. Rebecca’s secretary was unable to offer anything further.

So, it’s down to me thought Tim. How did I ever get into this. I just want to do my job - is that too much to ask? I’m not made for all this cloak and dagger stuff.  Well, like it or not, Tim realised that he had absolutely no choice. The train had left the station and it was too late to get off. Good grief - he was sounding like Steve again. 

Tim stood and took his jacket off the back of the chair. He needed some fresh air. He strode purposefully towards reception (which was the quickest way to exit the building) hoping that nobody would ask him where he was going. He was sure that he couldn’t think of a suitable answer off the cuff. Thankfully he made it to the carpark without being waylaid by anyone. In fact his colleagues seemed oblivious of the turmoil in his head even though it seemed to Tim that there must be a huge sign on his back telling everyone who cared to look that he was up to no good.

He reached his car without incident and opened the driver’s door. Simultaneously Derek opened the passenger door and sat down beside him.

“I’m coming with you, boss” said Derek

Tim didn’t even bother to ask how Derek knew. Enough surprises for one day. He simply started the engine and drove quickly out of the carpark heading towards the main road.

NOTES

Tim is desperate to know what is going on. The situation seems to be more and more out of control. Now it seems his assistant Derek knows everything …… but can he be trusted?

Words don’t actually physically hang in the air but this expression means that after the words were spoken, there was silence - as if literally the words remained floating in the air instead of disappearing after they were spoken. Everyone is frozen - reflecting the impact of what was said.

If you fix your gaze on someone it means that you stare intently at them. In Tim’s case it’s an attempt to try and work out whether he can trust Derek or not. He is hoping to see something in Derek’s expression that will tell him what’s going on in his mind. Unfortunately Derek’s expression can’t be interpreted by Tim or anyone else because he remains impassive. If you are impassive it means that you are not showing any feeling or emotion - therefore it’s impossible to know what you might be thinking. Poker players often try and master an impassive expression - in this way their opponent is unable to work out whether they have good cards or not. 

Tim feels himself out of his depth and drowning. This expression alludes to being in water which is too deep for you and hence the link with drowning. In practice it describes being in a situation which is beyond your expertise to deal with or resolve. 

Tim is worried about the risk of someone eavesdropping. Eavesdropping is secretly listening to someone else’s conversation.

As we said before our hero is starting to feel more and more out of his depth. He doesn’t like cloak and dagger stuff. This expression refers to things which typically involve spying, mystery, and secrecy. Tim feels he would rather just get on with his normal routine work. Unfortunately it seems that he has no choice but to continue whether he likes it or not. As Steve might say “the train has left the station and it’s too late to get off”. In other words Tim’s already too involved and it’s far too late to change his mind - even if he had a choice.

We learned earlier that Tim always likes to be prepared. If he gives a presentation or speaks in public he likes to have organised what he is going to say beforehand. If you speak “off the cuff” it means that you decide what you are going to say at the moment you say it. Since Tim doesn’t have any idea how he can explain leaving the office he knows that he will be unable to think of something to say if asked. Fortunately nobody waylays him - which means stops him to engage in conversation or detain him in some other way. 

Whether trustworthy or not, Derek decides to take matters into his own hands and joins Tim in the car. How Derek knows about the meeting with Sue in the park is unclear. 

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