“No, no, don't go all self-loathing on me. You obviously need cheering up and I'm the right person, and I do appreciate the fact that you called me. Let’s have some coffee and maybe a liqueur and see how we feel.”
Peter realised the trap he had fallen into and sighed again. If only he could get used to being slightly nastier with his girl “friends”, he wouldn't get in nearly so much trouble. Now, looking over at this gorgeous girl sitting opposite, he realised that the last thing he wanted to do was to stay in her company. However, he could not bring himself to end the evening so prematurely, and he smiled and nodded.
“You're right, I'm an idiot. I'd love a brandy. Are you going to have one too?” Peter raised his hand to attract the waiter and gave the order.
“So why are you so distracted Peter?” said Elise. “Anyone would think you are in love or something. Well, that's all right.....as long as it’s with me, that is. Well? Are you?”
“In love? Don't think so,” said Peter, responding a little too quickly. “Anyway, who would have me? I work all day. I'm a total pig when it comes to relationships and hopeless at the big C.”
“That's why we all try and convert you so hard. Don't you see? The harder you run thataway, the faster we women try and catch up. Look at you! Rich, good looking, single, but hopelessly immature when it comes to relationships, if you don't mind me saying. You're a wonderful project for anyone.....and just look at the potential prize.”
Peter looked at Elise with fresh eyes. What she said was true, but the lifestyle he led and the position he had gained within the computer industry had not prepared him for any sort of closeness or intimacy with the opposite sex and, as he knew, it was one thing to have relationships, but it was entirely another to have a special relationship. Suddenly, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt vulnerable and he hated the feeling. He turned away from Elise's gaze and starred out of the window of the restaurant. Elise reached out for him.
“And I have the distinct feeling I'm not the one who is going to win the prize, am I?” she said. “Still, it doesn't mean we can't enjoy the rest of the evening does it?”
Peter smiled at her gratefully.
“No, of course not, and I'm sorry again for being such a wet bag. Let’s finish this drink and then go for a walk.” Peter drained his glass and called for the bill.
After paying they walked out and down onto the embankment of the Thames. Elise linked her arm through his.
“So do you want to talk about your issue, or problem, or whatever it is? Or shall I just shut up and try to woo you into bed?”
Peter laughed.
“After that invitation, how could a man possibly refuse!”
“To be honest, I did meet a girl and yes, she did have an effect, but I'm kind of past it now, and I'm pretty sure she is. Well, she has said as much anyway. So there you go, that's it. Not so big news after all.”
As he said the words, Peter felt a wave of guilt. Katie had said nothing of the sort, although he felt that perhaps it had been better for both of them if she had.
“She must be special to even have an effect on you. God knows I've been trying long enough. I wonder what she has?”
“Oh, please Elise. You have more men hanging on your every word, then I'll ever have women, so don't give me a sob story. Who is it that’s just broken up with one of the richest men in France? Who is it that's in the top 20 most desired women in London?”
“Ah, but not desired by you though…..and that's the problem.”
Her last comment silenced Peter and they walked on for about a mile and then turned back to head home. They strode in silence. Peter looked out over the river and, not for the first time that week, wondered how he had got himself in this situation.
As they arrived back at the entrance to Elise's apartment block, Peter imagined that she was going to try and tempt him in for a last drink and maybe more. He smiled to himself. He was becoming a self-centred, arrogant pig and, in the next moment, she confirmed his thoughts.
“I won't even try and ask you up.....as much as I would like to. Your mind is elsewhere and, to be honest, I'm not going to compete. My ego is not that big you know.” Elise smiled ruefully and put her arms up around Peter's neck to kiss him on the cheek.
“Goodbye Peter. Sleep well.”
With that she turned and, without a backward glance, disappeared through the door.
Peter turned and made his way back home. He felt his life was suddenly changing and, for once, he did not feel in control. It was not a feeling he liked.
After a restless sleep, Peter arrived at his desk at 7am the next morning and immediately started working on an investor presentation initiated by his business development director. Ever since the company went public two years ago, more and more of his time was taken up with these sorts of activities and, whilst he appreciated the opportunities that arose as a result of the listing, he also hated the time he had to devote on paperwork and compliance.
His financial director, Andrew Miles, knocked on his door and walked in.
“Morning Peter.” he said. “I wanted to go through these projections with you if you have a moment”.
“Sure, pull up a chair. Coffee?”
“That would be great. Cappuccino please.”
Peter buzzed Nancy and relayed their order. He sat back and looked at his colleague.
“How's the family Andrew? All well?”
“Yeah, great thanks. Children happy at the new school, Sue's new business is doing really well. Yes, things are fine thanks. And you? Well, not how's the family, but are you well?”
Peter smiled at the slip and suddenly felt a pang of loneliness. It was only fleeting and was gone as soon as it had arrived, but Peter acknowledged it for what it was.
“Very good. Well no, not really. I'm getting grumpy in my old age and everything seems to annoy me. I'll be on that TV programme soon - you know the one.”
Andrew smiled.
“Yes, don't watch it but know it. And how is the famous Peter Jarvis love life.....anything bubbling there? You need to get a move on, otherwise you'll be left on the shelf. Sue keeps saying to me when is Peter going to find someone special, as opposed to all these part timers you always hang around with.”
Peter looked sharply at his colleague but did not detect any specific reference.
“Mmmn, well, you know me. Nothing special at the moment. But let’s move on shall we? Where are those figures?”
Andrew smiled and took the hint. Ever since he had taken up the position as FD, the subject of Peter Jarvis' love life had evoked a mixture of interest and a little bit of pity. Whilst just about any man would like to have glamorous women hanging around them, it seemed a pity that Peter never had a soul mate to actually share his life with. To Andrew, who valued the relationship he had with his wife greatly, this was sad.
Still, it was unlike Peter to reflect like this and he mentioned his thoughts later to his assistant. She immediately latched onto to this as affirmation that the CEO of the company was getting broody, a point that would not go unnoticed at the water coolers and local pubs.
CHAPTER 11
After a hugely disappointing French trip that had started out like a dream come true and ended in a nightmare, Katie returned to the UK disillusioned, unhappy and mad, all in equal measures. On the one hand she felt totally used and abused in the worst possible way (at least in her mind) but on the other she did not believe it possible that a human being, albeit a man like Peter Jarvis, could possible share the kind of emotional, and physical, coming together with someone else without it affecting them.
Sure, she knew of Peter’s reputation and she had come across a few men like him, but she still did not believe that he did not feel something for her and what they had.
She recalled the anger and hurt that had welled up inside her after she had finished her meeting with Logistics France. It had gone well and Katie had been filled with longing to see Peter again and share another
evening with him. When the receptionist had told her that he had already left for the airport (without even leaving a personal message) she had been devastated and filled with misgivings in equal measures. Had she totally misjudged him? Was he only trying to get her into bed and, now he had, he was off - just another notch in his bedpost?
Katie could feel the distaste rising up in her and she spent the rest of the evening wandering aimlessly around Cannes, alternating between bittersweet memories and total contempt, both for him and for herself for falling for his chat. She kept trying to come up with plausible explanations as to why he had done a runner, and, as each one became more and more outlandish, she realised that, whatever the emergency, he would have left some sort of message if he had wanted to. God, he had only needed to lift the phone to his ear and that would have been enough.
When she finally retired to bed, sleep did not come easily and the hurt she felt combined with her growing anger and an acute sense of loss resulted in a very restless night.
To make things worse, she found herself at her desk back in the office the following day with the distinct feeling that everyone knew about her tryst with the boss. True, that would not have been possible unless someone had seen them (in which case it would have been very obvious) but no, that was very unlikely, so she tried to push her fears to one side.
Still, she felt awful and started to fret about her job, refusing point blank to go for a coffee in the afternoon with a close colleague in the office fearing it would lead to questions and comments.
She need some emotional support and so rang Josie.
“Josie, hi, it’s me, are you around tonight? I need a chat. Great, thanks. No, I'll tell you when I see you. Usual place? Fine.”
She knew that a good session with her friend would make her feel better and, with that in mind, she settled down to tackle the mound of papers on her desk, brought home from France.
At that moment her telephone rang and she glanced over to see who it was on the screen. Unusually, the number had been withheld so she picked it up and cradled it in the crook of her shoulder as she continued to look through her papers.
“Hello, Katie McGovern.”
“Hi Katie, my name is Mary Hansome. You don't know me but I would like to have a chat with you. Is now convenient?”
“Well, it depends what you want to chat about, Mary,” said Katie, her attention distracted by a flowchart in front of her.
“Your work has recently come to the attention of a client of mine and they would like to speak further with you.....at a time that suits of course.”
Katie suddenly twigged the purpose of the call and her mind cleared quickly. It was not the first time she had been rung by a head hunter but it was a rare occurrence and, like most people, she always paid attention to what they had to say.
“I'm really busy at the moment but I could meet after work…..maybe 5.30?”
“That would be fine. Do you know the Carshalton Hotel, near Berkeley Square. Shall we say in the lobby then?”
“Yes, that's fine. I'll see you there. Thanks for ringing. Goodbye.”
Katie put the phone down - her heart beating a little bit faster. True, this call would probably not lead anywhere but she just could not believe how her life seemed to be changing at an incredible rate.
A mere week ago she was but a minor sales executive of a large company with a relative mundane love life and now she’d had a fling with the boss, almost lost her job as a result and maybe, just maybe, was about to be offered another one. She smiled to herself and, for a moment, the dark gloom that had been resting on her momentarily lifted.
After a quick glance at her watch, she returned to her work. She wanted to get as much finished as possible in order to leave bang on time.
At 5.32pm exactly, she strode purposefully through the swing doors of the plush Carshalton Hotel and walked into the lobby. She had spent a few minutes in the rest rooms at work to touch up her make up and brush her hair and, although Katie did not realise it, she received several admiring stares from the scattering of businessmen who always seemed to be loitering around in the lobbies of large London hotels.
At that moment her phone rang.
“Katie, Hi. It’s Mary. Would you care to join me in the bar? I'm sitting in the first booth on the right, wearing a black jacket and nursing a gin and tonic.”
“Fine, see you in a sec.” Katie replied as she turned her head to look for the bar. Seeing it on the far side, she made her way across the carpeted floor and walked through the entrance.
Seconds later she was shaking the hand of a woman in her mid-forties, well groomed and immaculately dressed.
“Katie, Mary Hansome. So good to meet you. Please sit down. What can I get you to drink?” She signalled to a waiter as Katie sat down.
“A glass of white wine, please. House would be fine…..a Sauvignon or something like that would be great.”
The waiter nodded and retreated back to the bar and Katie looked at Mary expectantly.
“Sorry about all the cloak and dagger stuff. It’s just that we head hunter people have to be very careful about how and when we approach potential candidates. I'm sure you understand.”
Katie nodded as she took the proffered business card and examined it. It did not yield much information, merely stating that Mary Hansome was a partner at Briggs and Hudson, whoever they were.
“Let me start by introducing my company. We are a head hunter specialising in IT and Logistics and one of our clients has been looking for a young and energetic sales person who is ready to move up a rung in their career to take charge of a small team. The company in question is a competitor to Shire, so I have to speak in complete confidence and, at this stage, won't be revealing the name of the client. I'm sure you understand.”
Katie smiled and then looked up as her drink arrived. She took a small sip and savoured its taste as it slid down her throat. Irrespective of what the job actually entailed, just sitting here talking about it filled her with confidence and excitement.
“Of course. May I ask how you got my name?”
“Well, that's confidential as well, but let me just say it was from someone who respects both you and your work.” Mary smiled and Katie suddenly had the thought that Peter had been ringing these people up and suggesting her name. As soon as the thought struck, she was filled with anger again and the dark cloud that seemed to be constantly hovering above her descended once again. Inwardly she cursed.
“Well, that's nice. I wonder who that was…..”
Sensing a change of tone, Mary looked at Katie carefully before continuing.
“As I said, my client is looking for a team leader and, judging from your career to date, you seem to fit the bill. The reason for this meeting is, of course, both to sound you out on a possible job move and to hear from you about your time at your present company and your aspirations for the future.”
“Well, I'm very flattered to be asked Mary and, of course, if the job was right, I would look and think very carefully about it. To be honest, I was not actively looking to leave but who knows?”
Mary smiled.
“Why don't you start at the beginning…..tell me about school.”
Katie launched into a history of herself and career to date and, by the time she finished, she felt she had built up a good rapport with Mary.
The latter nodded.
“That's all very interesting. You have achieved a lot in a relatively short time. Now let me tell you about this job. You are OK for time?”
Katie nodded, her attention fully focused now, listening closely, and then almost fell off her chair when a salary at least double hers was mentioned. She managed not to look too surprised lest they reduce the offer.
“From what you have said, I feel I would be very well suited to the role…..and the salary is in line with my expectations.” She added, somewhat cheekily.
Mary smiled again and Katie realised she knew exactly how much was earning. She shrugged and returned
the smile.
“What would be the next step?” she said.
“My client is very anxious to fill this vacancy and they would like to meet you tomorrow morning, here again if possible, for breakfast. Say 8am?”
Katie gave it a quick thought. She could say she had a doctor's appointment or something.
“No problem. Who am I meeting?”
“You'll be seeing John Barrington who is head of sales at this company. I'll give him your number so you'll have no problem seeing him. Thanks ever so for coming Katie. I'll speak to you again after your meeting.”
With that Mary stood and Katie realised that the interview was over. She shook the proffered hand and, thanking Mary for the drink, she collected her bag from the seat and walked out.
The Lethal Encounter Page 11