“Yes. Some did.”
He waits.
The waiting is becoming a problem.
“Not necessarily cruelly,” I say. “Not everyone who resists change is a villain. Some had been here years. Some wanted the role. Some didn’t know me. Some only knew I’d come from Manchester and Josh backed me. That was enough for opinions.”
“And being the first woman watch manager made those opinions louder?”
“Sometimes. Sometimes people were careful because of it. Sometimes they were kinder than they needed to be. Sometimes they were worse. Most people were just people.”
“That’s generous.”
“It’s true.”
“What won them over?” he asks.
“Work.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s most of it. Showing up. Knowing the job. Making decisions. Admitting when I needed information. Not pretending. Backing people when they deserved it. Challenging them when they needed it. Taking the rubbish shifts, doing the boring things properly, not acting like I was above the place because I’d come from a bigger station.”
“Josh helped?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He made it clear I had the role because I’d earned it, not because he was making a statement. Then he stepped back enough for me to prove it.”
AJ’s pen pauses.
“That’s hard to do,” he says.
“For Josh?”
“Yes. Back someone publicly, then not crowd them.”
I look at him. “That’s a very management-aware observation for a man who made a note yesterday that said ‘do not move biscuits’.”
“That was an important note.”
Despite myself, I smile.
A small one.
He sees it anyway, because apparently noticing things is his whole professional issue.
“Can I ask something more personal?” he asks.
“No.”
He smiles. “Excellent.”
“AJ.”
“I’ll ask, and you can refuse.”
