by Latham, D
There was a stunned silence in the room. None of them could believe that Ivan would just fire the entire board that quickly. They had probably hoped that the duplicitous ones would be fired, and the rest would keep their cushy jobs. Ivan nodded to us, and we followed him out of the room and back to his office.
"Did they think you would only get rid of the ones who lied? Sacrifice three to save the other's jobs?" I asked, curious. Ivan grinned.
"Got it in one. They were all arguing amongst themselves in there, blaming the finance guy, and the two in the limited company. They all knew about it though, they had all been complicit."
He pulled out his mobile, and spoke quickly in Russian to someone, before cutting the call and turning to Lewis and I. "Ready for a drink? The two of you just saved me approximately what I'm going to be paying your company this year. I think you deserve champagne." He pressed his intercom, and jabbered something in Russian. A few moments later a flunky appeared with a trolley holding an ice bucket, a bottle of Krug, and three glasses. We toasted our success, and I took a long sip of the delicious drink.
"I like having you on my side, Elle," said Ivan, "I think this will be a profitable partnership."
"I hope so too," I said, glowing slightly with his praise. I drained my glass, and noting the time was nearly seven in the evening, said goodbye and left Lewis finishing his champagne.
James dished up a casserole as soon as I got home, and pushed a large glass of wine across the island to me. I sat on the bar stool and watched him, as he ladled out a delicious smelling beef stew onto large plates, followed by a heap of mashed potato he had stashed in the warming drawer. My mouth watered.
"You had a good day?" I asked.
"Yeah, just cleaned the flat really. Done a bit of the schematics for next week, got my clothes ready for packing, that kind of thing, you?"
I told him about my day, omitting my lunchtime assignation. I regaled him with an impression of Ivan terrifying a board of directors, doing my best impression of his heavy Russian accent.
"Serves them right for trying to pull a fast one," James said, "oh by the way, Oscar was looking for you, he knocked on the door earlier. Said he'd been trying to call you all afternoon." James pulled a face, and I was glad I hadn't told him about my knickerless escapade at lunch.
"I've had my mobile off. Anyway, I don't really want to speak to him. Apparently I'm only going as his 'friend' this weekend." I did air quotes with my fingers around the word friend. James scowled slightly.
"There really is something wrong with that man, he should be falling at your feet, not behaving as though he's ashamed of you. I don't blame you for not wanting to go. Staying at a castle is not exciting enough to compensate for being treated like that."
"Castle? How do you know he has a castle?"
"Google. His country seat is Conniscliffe castle. Don't you google people Elle?" James pulled open his laptop, and quickly typed one handed while he forked casserole into his mouth with the other hand. Impressive James!
"There you go," he said, turning the laptop to face me. It showed a picture of a beautiful castle, surrounded by formal gardens. I clicked onto the blurb, and read it had been built in 1265, had taken forty years to build, and had been in Oscar's family for three hundred years. It wasn't open to the public, was stuffed full of priceless art, and had two hundred rooms. Suddenly, I wanted to see it.
I pulled my mobile out of my handbag and saw straightaway that I had ten missed calls from Oscar. I opened the text from him.
*sorry I upset you. Please don't ignore me. Call me Oxxx*
I placed my phone on the counter, and went back to my dinner. James was staring at me.
"Did something happen with him today?"
"We had lunch." I wasn't going to share more than that, so I changed the subject. "What's on the agenda tonight?"
"Well, it's shit on the telly. Fancy a film? I have maltesers."
I laughed, "you really know how to tempt a girl." James waggled his eyebrows, and grinned. I cleared up and made coffee while James scrolled through the film menu, calling out suggestions. We settled on 'Avatar', which neither of us had seen. I flopped onto the sofa, and stuffed a pillow under my head, while James shared the chocolate between two bowls, plonking mine down in front of me.
Shortly after the film began, my mobile rang. Seeing it was Oscar, I ignored it, and switched my phone off, praying he wouldn't come up and knock on the door.
James' presence must have put him off, as he didn't bother me for the rest of the evening. I must have fallen asleep, as the next thing I was aware of was James picking me up, and carrying me gently to my room. I was barely aware as he laid me down on my bed, removed my high heels, and covered me with the duvet before softly kissing my forehead, and tiptoeing out.
I awoke the next morning with my skirt round my waist and my blouse twisted and digging into my armpit. Realising I was still fully dressed, I quickly stripped off, and changed into my gym gear. I headed into the kitchen to make tea. James was already there, looking bleary.
"You were out cold last night. I hope you didn't mind me putting you to bed," he said.
"Thank you. I would still be on the sofa otherwise. It must have been the wine, champagne and tension knocked me out." We sipped our tea in companionable silence. "I'll try and get home earlier tonight so we can have a proper evening before you leave."
"Great. I'll do a roast," he replied. I quickly sorted my gym bag, and headed off to the gym.
I was right at the end of my workout when Oscar walked in. I'd never seen him there early before, as he had made it plain he wasn't an early riser. He strolled over to the treadmill I was on and stood right in front of me. I slowed it to a stop, and took a swig of water.
"Hi Oscar, what can I do for you?" I asked in a sarcastically sweet voice.
"Didn't that flatmate of yours give you my message last night?" He asked with his usual scowl.
"Oh yes, James told me you dropped by. I fell asleep after dinner, hope you understand, but I was exhausted last night." I smiled.
"I see. So you're not ignoring me then?"
"No. Why would I do that?"
Oscar leaned towards me, and whispered in my ear, "because I'm an ass, and because I fucked you, then in the same hour basically told you that you were just a friend. Terribly bad manners I know, I just hope you can forgive me." His warm breath caressed my ear, sending a little shiver down my spine. I looked into his eyes, trying to read his emotions. He looked contrite, and a little sad.
"Of course, really don't worry about it. In actual fact it answered my question as to whether or not you expected exclusivity." I stopped to let the statement sink in, and smiled brightly as he scowled some more.
"Has Ivan asked you out?" He snapped. I did my best to look affronted.
"No, I'm his lawyer, not his girlfriend. It's strictly business with Ivan. I'm surprised you think anything different."
"Hmm. Who then?"
"That's none of your business Oscar. I don't ask who you're seeing."
"For gods sake Elle, I'm not seeing anyone else. I seem to spend half my time chasing around after you."
"Do you normally chase after your friends?" I asked before I sauntered over to the changing room. I heard him curse as I walked into the safety of the ladies showers. Elle 1, Oscar 0
I made it into my office by 7.45, and immediately checked my emails to find one from Ivan requesting an early meeting at eight in the same place we had breakfast the day before. I let Lewis know, before hot footing it down in the lift. I got there about a minute before Ivan, who immediately ordered coffees. As soon as we had chosen our breakfasts, Ivan got to the point of the meeting. He had placed an interim manager in the engineering company, so needed a contracts for him drawn up, plus all the TUPE rules for the employees had to be followed, so their old contracts needed checking, rewriting for the new company, and new HR systems introduced.
"I don't want my legal team bogged down with it, there are o
ver a thousand employees. It's basic employment contracts that interns can draw up, and I need it done fast."
"Ok. Let me talk to the managing partner and find out how many trainees I can have, so I'll sort that first thing. Does your team have standard employment contracts they use? I'll need a copy. Same for the interim. I'll need access to the HR records for the staff." I made copious notes as I talked.
"I have some bad news," said Ivan, making me stop and look up.
"Oh?"
"The current system is paper based only. It's a complete mess. Some records are incomplete, some are inaccurate, and I suspect some have been faked."
"You're joking, right? A thousand staff, and a manual system?"
"Yes, the interim manager practically laid an egg. My IT teams are in there today setting up a computerised system, the one all my companies use, but the information needs to be verified before its inputted."
"Ok, where is this company?"
"Sussex, not far from my home. I can put you and your team in a hotel, or you can stay at my house, I'm not there during the week."
"Ok, leave it with me, and I'll see what I can organise. It won't be cheap though, putting a legal team in a hotel for a week or two to get this done."
"Paying fake staff will cost more in the long term, so it's not an issue. I'll let you consult with your superiors, and see what Pearson Hardwick can rustle up.
"Ok. How many staff are you authorising the expenses for on this? Also how much room will we have to operate? It's no good taking loads of trainees there if they're all squeezed into one office."
"I'll commit two hundred thousand to this, and there is loads of room since I kicked out all the useless leeches. I won't be putting computers in every room, but there will be space for fifteen."
I took a deep breath. "Leave this with me. I'll call you mid morning, and if we're in agreement, we can begin tomorrow. I'll have to check how to get there by train, so could you include the address in your email please."
Ivan looked incredulous, "don't you drive?"
"No. I don't need to. I live round the corner." I blushed slightly.
"A car and driver will be put at your disposal. I would prefer you to have some security, so this will serve two purposes." Ivan said with a serious look on his face.
"I don't need security," I spluttered, "and I certainly don't need a full time driver."
"No arguments. You are going into a hostile takeover as my representative. You need protection, and you certainly need transport down there, rural Sussex isn't well served by public transport."
I rubbed my hand over my face, thinking about the enormity of the task ahead, and the potential problems I would face. "How were they paying employees without a computer system?"
"All done in ledgers, like something out of the dark ages. Monthly cheques issued, signed individually by hand." Ivan smiled, "can you imagine doing that every month? I have fifty odd thousand employees, I'd do nothing but sign cheques."
"Your biro would run dry," I sniggered. He laughed, a deep, hearty laugh at the absurdity of the idea. "I need to get back and crack on," I said, " I have a lot to organise."
Chapter 9
Back at the office, I went straight to Lewis and outlined the task. His eyes widened as I told him the budget. "Wow, he's not messing about. Let me get Mr Carey in."
Within minutes, the senior partner arrived, and sat as I outlined the task again. He contacted the city office, and spoke briefly with Ms Pearson, before addressing Lewis and I, "ok, 15 trainees are being sent over here this afternoon to be briefed. I suggest we also include several secretaries to assist with typing, data input and filing. Elle, you will be managing this case, with Lewis providing consultation as required. All staff requirements have been approved by Ms Pearson already, so if you need more once you get there, just speak to Lewis. Your PA will need to organise travel warrants and accommodation for everyone. Any resources you need Elle, we will provide."
"Thank you sir, I'll liaise with Mr Porenski's staff this morning and get up to speed on their HR system and processes, and get copies of their standard employment contracts. I'll spend the afternoon with the trainees, and brief them on the task. Mr Porenski is providing me with a car and driver, so I'll get down to Sussex early tomorrow morning to see what is there, what space we have, and decide how I'll organise it."
"Ok Elle, don't forget, whatever you need, just ask. Now lets get this done," said Lewis, banging his fist on the desk, which made Mr Carey jump.
Back in my office, I set Laura to work on the transport and accommodation requirements, while I called Ivan. "Hi Ivan. All systems go here. I have 15 legals and five support staff organised. I'll be briefing them this afternoon, so I need to speak to your head of HR to find out your protocols, and some sample copies of your employment contracts please."
"Fantastic. I'll have Mr Ranenkiov call you to organise all that for you. He is my director of human resources. When will you be starting?
"First thing tomorrow morning, if that's ok? Will your driver be able to pick me up early? I want to get there before the team to get the offices ready."
With the driver booked, I waited in my office for the call from Ivan's HR man. I didn't have to wait long. He arranged to come down to my office after emailing me the documents I'd need. Laura printed them off in between phone calls to hotels and the company we purchased travel warrants from.
Mr Ranenkiov was younger than I expected, with fair hair, strikingly pale blue eyes, and the squarest jaw I'd seen outside of a fashion magazine. His voice was less heavily accented than Ivan's, and his English just as impeccable. He shook my hand warmly, and accepted a cup of tea from Laura as we sat down.
We spent a fairly pleasant hour running through the procedures he wanted performed, the information he wanted collecting, and the way the data should be inputted. Each employee would be interviewed, identity verified, handbook issued, new contract drawn up and signed, everything cross checked against the paper records, and then inputted along with salary details in the new computer system. I took copious notes, referring to the documents he had sent, which, to be honest, walked us through the procedure.
"Their systems are non existent. It's a mess there. I don't envy you this task," he said, "there's a mad old woman in charge of it all right now, who guards it like a Rottweiler, and won't take kindly to computerisation."
"She won't get a say in it. If needs be, I'll begin a capability hearing with her. Mr Porenski can't run a company using ledgers and quills."
"Correct. I bet Mr Control Freak threw a fit when he saw it."
"Mr Control Freak?"
"Ivan is the ultimate control freak. Please don't tell me you haven't noticed?" He laughed, "I bet he's arranged a bodyguard for you already. He'll be reviewing your home security and doing a background check on your boyfriend next."
I laughed, "I think he's already done all that. It doesn't bother me, I quite like it."
We finished our meeting by half eleven. I sat at my desk reading through the documents, making further notes as I went. I was interrupted just before 12 by Laura, announcing the arrival of Lord Golding. Oscar strode into my office looking sheepish. He plonked himself down in the chair opposite me, and waited for Laura to leave.
"Hello again Lord Golding, to what do I have this pleasure twice in one day?" I asked. He smirked when I called him Lord Golding.
"Thought I'd take you to lunch while I grovel," he said, "I owe you an explanation, and I don't want to lose you."
"But I'm just your friend Oscar, you don't need to grovel for just telling me the truth."
"Come, let's go eat, and we need to talk."
We went down to the arcade, and Oscar led me to a small Italian restaurant on the ground floor. It was cosy and intimate, and smelt wonderful. We ordered our food, and made small talk until the waiter had poured our wine. When we were alone, Oscar grabbed my hand across the table, and held it firmly.
"I don't really know how to deal with th
is," he began, "there's so much I need to say to you, but I seem to excel in upsetting you."
"Ok, how about this, I won't speak for five minutes, I'll just listen."
Oscar took a deep breath, and seemed to compose himself. "My life is spent in the company of people to whom titles and stature are terribly important, you know, which family you're from, that sort of thing. I'm expected to marry a Rothchild, or similar, produce children, and carry it all on. It's accepted that I may not have feelings for the woman I marry, so it's quite normal to have a mistress as well. I've put off getting married for as long as possible, but my mother is beginning to put pressure on me. I knew if I took you home as my girlfriend, given that you don't have a title, she'd freak out, and try and make me see 'sense'. Plus my old Bullingdon pals will be there with their 'honourable lady' girlfriends. I thought if I introduced you as my friend, they would all be more inclined to be warm and welcoming." He scanned my face for a reaction. "You see, there's something about you, and I can't leave you alone. I know every man in the tower, including Ivan is salivating over you, and quite frankly I don't care that you're not titled."
He slumped back in his seat, watching my face for a reaction. I thought about what he'd said. "Oscar, how would feel if I took you to meet my friends, and was so ashamed of you, I introduced you as a friend? I felt like a fuck-buddy, and it's not a feeling I'm acquainted with, and I don't like it. I can't help where I came from, only where I'm going."
"I admire you for that," said Oscar, "to rise up despite no head start, it takes guts. The thing I can't fathom out about you is that you don't seem to care if you never see me again, most women are devastated if I leave them. You seem so self contained, and unimpressed. When you called me Lord Golding back there, it almost sounded like an insult."
"It was," I said flatly. "Titles hold no fascination for me. I told you that already. Like I said, none of us have a choice where we're born."
He stared at the cruet set, "I know. I feel like such a bastard for making you think you were, how did you put it? A fuck-buddy. I would never ever treat you like that Elle, you are far more to me than that."