The Duffys

"Mr. and Mrs. Duffy, Matilda," you greet the visitors. "I just wanted to say that young Cynthia has a simply delightful voice."

"Oh, thank-you," Mrs. Duffy replies, continuing the pretence that this is a chance meeting. "Please, call us Art and Carol and our daughter here is Tilly."

"Jack," you indicate yourself with a smile. "Pleased to meet you. Wasn't Tilly one of Dr. Blake's girls?" She was, indeed and it was Sharon Blake who put the Duffys in touch with you to arrange this little ambush.

You exchange small talk until the choir is ready to resume, then casually suggest that you take Tilly to see her former tutor whilst her parents listen to their other daughter.

"Sharon would never forgive me if I let you slip away without saying hello," you add.

"That's an excellent idea," exclaims Art Duffy, perhaps a little too effusively, although his girl doesn't seem to notice. "Go on, Tilly; we'll meet you outside, say, at lunchtime."

"Um, okay, I'll see you later, then. Thank-you, er, Jack. I'm sorry, it feels weird to call a tutor by your first name, even after all this time!"

Conversation then becomes impossible, due to the volume of the choir, so you gesture for her to accompany you and hold the door for her to leave the chapel. Once outside and able to hear each other once more, you tell her she'll get used to it and lead the way to Dr. Blake's room. You ask what Tilly's been doing since she left university, although her parents have fully briefed you via email.

"…and so I was offered the branch manager position, but I've decided to defer the promotion, at least until I'm thirty. I feel too immature to take on such responsibility right now," she finishes. Of course she does: it's one of the first rules you made with the Rulebook.

"How long is it?"

"A bit over a year, but who knows? I might need longer to develop the necessary maturity and then I'll have to wait for another management position to open up, so it might be a while. That's better than taking the job before I'm ready, though."

"You'd have plenty of support, though, wouldn't you? I mean, there are plenty of older men at work who'd keep an eye on you and I'm sure the customers wouldn't hesitate to take you over their knees if you made any mistakes."

"Yes, but that's really the problem. How could the employees respect me when I'm baring my bottom for a strapping every five minutes? I'd rather just wait a few years and not have the threat of spanking hanging over me."

Now you've reached the reason the Duffys asked Dr. Blake for help and she in turn asked you. They've been trying to persuade their daughter not to let her fear of failure hold her back, to no avail. Now it's up to you.