MY BOSS CALLED ME “LUCILLE” DURING THE PRESENTATION, BUT THAT’S NOT MY NAME
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MY BOSS CALLED ME “LUCILLE” DURING THE PRESENTATION, BUT THAT’S NOT MY NAME
I nearly choked on my coffee, staring at Mr. Henderson like he’d sprouted a second head.
He always called everyone by their correct names – he prides himself on it. The air conditioning was blasting, making the hairs on my arms stand up; the fluorescent lights hummed overhead, a soundtrack to my confusion. It felt like everyone in the room was staring at me now.
“Lucille, your insights are always so… illuminating,” he’d said, a crinkled smile plastered on his face. My name is Bethany. It’s ALWAYS been Bethany. Who the hell is Lucille? I wanted to scream, “Do you even know who I am?”
Except, the intern, CHLOE, kept glancing at me with this weird, knowing look… and whispering into her phone. And then the fire alarm started blaring.
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MY BOSS CALLED ME “LUCILLE” DURING THE PRESENTATION, BUT THAT’S NOT MY NAME
The chaos of the fire alarm provided a convenient escape. I stumbled out with the rest of the team, the icy blast of the outside air a welcome relief after the oppressive heat of my bewilderment. As we gathered on the sidewalk, I saw Chloe approach Mr. Henderson, her expression a mixture of excitement and concern. They huddled together, murmuring, and Chloe kept pointing at me. My heart hammered against my ribs.
“What the heck is going on?” I muttered to Mark, a colleague.
“No idea,” he replied, scratching his head. “Henderson’s acting weirder than usual, and the alarm seems to be a false one. They’re probably just checking everything is safe, then we can get back to the presentation. Though, I don’t think anyone is going to remember it after that ‘Lucille’ moment.”
I decided to confront Chloe. “Chloe, what was that about in there?” I asked as I walked towards her.
Chloe jumped, startled. “Oh! Bethany… sorry, Lucille! I… I didn’t know you could hear me.” She fiddled with her phone, her cheeks flushed. “It’s… well, it’s a long story.”
“Try me,” I said, my voice tight.
She took a deep breath. “Okay. You see… there was a memo sent around last week. A company-wide memo. Regarding a new initiative, about using alternative identities for creative project, a new, secret initiative from headquarters. It said that everyone will be assigned alternative codenames. We got a list of the codenames and there real names.” She paused. “Yours… is Lucille.”
My jaw dropped. “Lucille?! They think I’m Lucille?!”
Chloe nodded. “It was supposed to be top secret. Apparently, Mr. Henderson is the project leader. But the list was sent to everyone at the same time and maybe some people are not taking it seriously. He’s probably just trying to show he’s with the plan and he probably didn’t want to make it too obvious.”
Just then, Mr. Henderson approached, his face still etched with a peculiar mixture of embarrassment and… something else. “Bethany… Lucille,” he stammered, “about the presentation…”
I cut him off. “So, I’m Lucille now? For a ‘creative initiative’? Is this some kind of joke?”
He sighed. “No joke, I hope you’re not upset because I’ve only just started!” He rubbed his temples. “Look, I need you to embrace this… Lucille persona. It’s crucial for the project. Chloe, take Bethany back inside and give her the documents.”
I followed Chloe back into the office, the fire alarm now silent. As she handed me a thick packet filled with complex diagrams and cryptic phrases, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. The “alternative codenames,” the secret memo… the weirdness was becoming a little less weird. The initiative must be about this, whatever “this” was.
I opened the first page of the documents. The headline read: “Project Phoenix: Phase One – Rebranding.” Below that was a sub-heading: “Codename: Lucille.” And suddenly, I knew I had a new project, and a new name.