Parisian Nights

by Louise Bay

“If I was there, I’d hit you.”

  “If you were here, I wouldn’t say it.” I laughed. “Is everything okay?”

  “Of course, it’s fine. Stop fussing,” she said.

  “I’m not the one calling.” As much as my sister accused me of being overprotective, she was made the same way. “I’ll be home early, though, and I can tell you all about it. Unless you’ve got plans?”

  “Nothing other than a House of Cards marathon. I’ll see you later. Try not to break any hearts before you get home.”

  “No promises.”

  “Loser.” It was her typical sign-off.

  “Likewise,” I replied.

  I hung up and went to find Haven. I didn’t have to search very hard. She was in the cubicle next to mine.

  “Sorry about that. Did you want to talk?” I asked.

  She kept her eyes on the computer screen. “I don’t want to interrupt any emergency you’re having, so please, in your own time.”

  I couldn’t help but grin. She had clearly overheard my telephone call and was being a little bitchy because she thought I was prioritizing my personal life over work, which I was. Beth would always be top of my list. “My emergency’s over, so if you want to talk, you know where I am.”

  She pressed her lips together and turned. She looked at me, narrowing her eyes, and paused as if she was deciding whether to say what was on the tip of her tongue. “Okay, let’s go into the small meeting room.”

  “Lead the way.”

  As she had done when she came into the earlier meeting, she set her pad, pen and drink on the table in front of her and smoothed down her hair before she started speaking. I wondered if she ever wore her hair down. Was it long? And did she always wear those turtlenecks?

  “Are you American?” she asked. I hadn’t expected that.

  “Yes. From Chicago. But I went to college over here.”

  She put her hand up as if to stop me from revealing any more information. “So, as an American, you won’t be offended if I speak frankly?”

  Jesus, this girl. I wasn’t sure whether I should laugh or shake her. She needed to loosen up. I shook my head. “Please, go ahead.”

  “I understand you’re friends with Robert, like most of the rest of the world. And I get that this is no big deal for you, and that you’re probably playing at photography until the next part of your trust fund pays out, but I need this job and I really want this feature to be a success. My job is important to me. I work hard and I’m good at what I do. I really can’t have you mess this up for me.”

  “You think I’m going to mess this up for you?” I stared at her, not quite believing what was coming out of her mouth.

  “I know men like you. You’ve probably never had a real job, have you? You’ve done a series of so-called freelance jobs at friends of Daddy’s companies. And that’s fine. Good luck to you. I just need you to take this feature seriously. Please. I need you to turn up when you say you’re going to. I need you to be available to discuss the article, not constantly on the phone to whichever poor girl you’re shagging this week.”

  It wasn’t the first time people had made assumptions about my background and character. I was used to it, being an American living in London, and normally I didn’t give a shit. For some reason, Haven’s outburst got under my skin. “Wow, you’re a bitch.”

  She opened her mouth and there was a split second of hesitation before she hit back. “So I’ve been told. You’re a spoiled, entitled rich boy. We all have our crosses to bear. If you want to tell Robert that you don’t want this assignment, I’m sure we could find someone else.”

  I was pretty sure that there was no way Sandy would be doing this feature with Rallegra if I hadn’t said I was going to be the photographer. But I wasn’t about to tell Haven that. She’d find out soon enough, and I was going to enjoy the expression on her face when she did.

  “Maybe you should tell Robert that you don’t want the assignment if you think I’m going to be such a problem for you.”

  She blushed, and for a moment she seemed stumped. “Robert isn’t going to bump me from this article. I’m really good at my job.”

  “Well, guess what, sweetheart, so am I.” Frustrated, I pushed my hands through my hair and stood up to leave.

  “Don’t ever call me sweetheart. How dare you? And where are you going? I’m not finished.”

  “Well I am. If you decide you want to be polite and professional, I’ll be around. But you’re not my boss, not now and not ever. And if you were? I’d resign. Get your shit together.” I really didn’t need more drama in my life, especially from a job that I was doing as a favor to a friend. Anyone would think Haven was on the brink of curing cancer, not planning an interview with Sandy Fox.

  Two

  Haven

  Bollocks. That wasn’t how that was supposed to have gone. I was just so fucking angry that he’d waved me off while he took a call from his girlfriend. Who did he think he was? This was his first day at Rallegra. I wouldn’t do that to a colleague, and I’d been here years. It might not be the Times but we had the highest weekly readership of any magazine in the UK. This was a great gig for him.

  I hated people who didn’t appreciate the charmed life that they had, particularly when it was handed to them on a plate. There must be a million people gagging for his job, but because of his connections he’d waltzed into it and therefore had no regard for it, or any of us that had worked our way up to get here. Life was just too easy for some people.

  But at the same time, I hadn’t set out to have an argument with him. I just couldn’t hold my tongue. Why hadn’t I been more patient? I had enough enemies in the office and I didn’t need to make new ones.

  I had to get some air. I grabbed my coat and purse and headed to the stairs that only I ever used. I never took the lifts if I was on my own. Six floors up and down. That and running were the only two bits of exercise I did.

  I bit back the tears of frustration that formed. I seemed to have an amazing ability to sabotage anything good that happened to me. I didn’t want him going to Robert to tell him I was a bitch, and that he wouldn’t work with me. I couldn’t lose this feature. I might be good at my job, but that wouldn’t matter if I pissed off one of Robert’s friends. Jesus, why couldn’t I have sewn my mouth shut? I found it difficult when people brought their personal lives into the workplace, because I tried to keep my life inside and outside the office separate. I didn’t understand why everyone didn’t do the same.

  Once I was outside, I called my brother—one of two people in my life I could rely on. He and my best friend Ash were my people. The ones who I let see all of me. They saw the good and the bad and loved me anyway. Luke was always on my side, and right then I needed to be the whole Haven and not focused, driven, work Haven. “Hey. Am I interrupting?” I asked.

  “No, sweets, what’s going on?” Luke replied.

  “Oh, someone just called me a bitch.”

  “A bitch?” He wasn’t asking me to confirm what I’d said. He was asking me if it was justified.

  “Yeah. A bitch,” I replied sheepishly.

  “And? Were you?”

  I took a deep breath and tears began to trickle from the corners of my eyes.

  “Perhaps a little bit.”

  “You know people don’t get to see your beautiful heart if you do that. What brought that on?” Luke always said exactly the right thing.

  “I didn’t want to be. It’s just I found out I got the Sandy Fox interview and I want to do a really great job on it.”

  “That’s amazing. Well done, you deserve it.”

  “I’m not sure I do. Anyway, Robert will probably give it to Emily now I’ve upset his friend. I just got stressed because if I do a good job, it will help my chances at the promotion I told you about. I want it to be perfect. I want it to be the best celebrity interview we’ve ever done. I have to work with a new photographer, and he’s not taking it seriously. I lost my temper with him.”

  “Do
you want me to kill him for you?”

  I laughed, and it broke through the self-pity. “Yeah, come down and fight your little sister’s battles for her.”

  Luke laughed with me. “I will though, if you want me to. Alternatively, you could apologize.”

  “You’re right. But it’s hard. I want him to care about this as much as I do.”

  “No one is going to care as much as you do about their job. You can’t hold everyone to your high standards, or you’re going to spend your whole life disappointed. So do what you’ve got to do and apologize.”

  I nodded, then realizing he couldn’t see me, gulped “Okay” into the receiver.

  “Are you coming over next weekend? Emma’s on call so she might not be around,” he asked, changing the subject. Emma and Luke lived together, but as she was a doctor, she was gone a lot and we normally arranged to see each other when she was at work. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, it was just that I wasn’t sure anyone would be good enough for my brother. Anyone except maybe Ash, my best friend since before I could talk. Ash, Luke and I had grown up together, and Emma didn’t fit when it was the three of us.

  “I told Ash she could come over. But we could both come to you. I know she’d love to see you if Emma’s not around, probably because she can flirt outrageously with you.”

  Luke laughed again. “You’re such a pain. Ash just likes to joke around, and she’s known me a long time. She’s like another annoying little sister to me.”

  “Whatever. She’s been in love with you since she was five and she first saw you naked in the paddling pool.”

  “Stop it, Haven. I’m hanging up.”

  I laughed and pressed cancel before he could hang up on me.

  Speaking to Luke always improved my mood. It was good to be reminded that outside of work, I had people who knew and loved the whole me. I marched purposefully toward the coffee shop on the corner and returned to the office, a latte in each hand. Buying Harry a coffee might be a good start at an apology.

  Thankfully he wasn’t around when I got back, so I scribbled a note on a Post-it, apologizing if he thought I’d been a bitch, stuck it on one of the lattes and placed it on his desk quickly before he came back.

  I heard him return, but I didn’t glance up from my computer. I hoped I’d be forgiven. I’d overreacted and if we were going to be working together, I needed him not to hate me. My body clenched as I waited for him to say something.

  He didn’t react at all, just packed up his laptop, put on his coat and headed out of the office, taking his coffee, sans Post-it, with him. I guess he was a man who held a grudge. My stomach started churning. How was I going to make this right? I’d have to try a different tactic, but now I needed to be buried in work to take my mind off it.

  “Jenny,” I said as she walked past my cubicle. “Can we go through the Sandy Fox research?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  “Five minutes in the conference room?” I suggested.

  She nodded curtly, clearly not happy to be working with me. I wasn’t a tyrant. I sighed.

  “Okay, this is exciting. You must be pleased all your work won’t have gone to waste?” I asked Jenny as she sat opposite me. I wanted to try to motivate her. She could really help with the prep for this interview, and I knew she was a hard worker.

  “Sure,” she said tentatively.

  Okay.

  “So, do you want to run through the main parts, highlighting things you think might create a good angle? We’ll go from there and identify areas that we can dig into during our time with her.”

  “Well, she’s twenty-four. She’s had three number one albums, sold twenty million records and was the youngest female Brit award winner when she won Best Female Artist for the first time.”

  This was all stuff I knew, but I didn’t hurry her along as I usually would have done. Instead, I nodded encouragingly. Sometimes I felt like this job and I were oil and water. I didn’t get the people, and they didn’t get me.

  “Toxic Love will be her first film, but she’s a stage-school kid, so it’s not like she’s never acted before. People say she’s pretty good,” Jenny said. Her shoulders dropped, and she sat back slightly. She was starting to relax.

  “What about her personal life? She went out with that Justin Bieber wannabe for a while, didn’t she?”

  “From what I gather, that was all a publicity thing. They share the same manager.”

  “Oh, right. How bloody cynical is that?”

  “That’s show business,” Jenny said as she smiled. I grinned back at her.

  “I guess. Okay, what about other boyfriends? Drugs?”

  “There were rumors going around about her and her manager. She seems very anti-drugs. She’s spoken quite publicly about it. I’d be surprised if there was anything there.”

  I sighed. “You think she has a thing for older men?” I asked.

  “Perhaps. I can do a bit more digging if you like? Speak to some of her old friends from stage school?”

  “Yes, that would be great. Good job, Jenny. I think we’re going to make a good team.” I was relieved that she was going to be working with me. I needed someone good backing me up.

  “So, we’ll work together on this?” Jenny asked.

  “Of course, unless you don’t want to?”

  She nodded and grinned. “Yes! I really want to stay involved. I thought you’d kick me off the piece when you got it.”

  I smiled at her, but didn’t respond. What could I say?

  “I heard Harry is going to be involved too?”

  I raised my eyebrows at her.

  “Don’t worry, he’s hot, but not my type. Not enough of a loser.”

  I laughed at her confession.

  “I heard he’s not a proper photographer though,” Jenny said. I liked that she was opening up to me, sharing information that she didn’t strictly need to.

  “What do you mean? Who said that?”

  “Something Robert said to Emily. I think he’s a keen amateur and is just passing time here. I’m not sure he needs to work. He’s loaded apparently.”

  I bloody knew it. No wonder he didn’t respond to my apology. A spoiled rich kid living off Daddy’s money.

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I get the go-ahead from Robert. I can’t promise that I’m going to take you to the interviews, but if I get the opportunity I will.”

  “Okay, that would be awesome. I’m just happy to be involved, I wasn’t expecting to get to meet her or anything.”

  Jake

  “You’ve lost your first mover advantage, Jake.”

  “Hal, you and I both know that there’s no such thing. Apple has made a business of letting everyone make their mistakes first and then swooping in and doing it better. That’s exactly what I’m suggesting here. We’re going to do renewable energy better. The initial results of the simulation are incredible.”

  This lunch meeting wasn’t going as well as I’d expected. I’d made a lot of money for Hal in the past. Apparently, that didn’t count for much. If I’d known that our conversation was going to be this tricky, I would have chosen a different restaurant. The tables were close together and there seemed to be a million waiters buzzing around, filling our water glasses, bringing us bread, then drinks, then food. It was never ending.

  “But renewable energy is such a long-term game.” My gut twisted at his negativity and my mind started to race, thinking of ways I could break down the science so Hal really understood the potential here.

  “Yeah, but it’s a means of spreading your risk and saving the planet at the same time. I bet you don’t get offers like that every day.” I tried to sound calm and confident, but my palms were beginning to sweat. I should have investigated getting funding elsewhere. I’d been complacent, assuming Hal was going to hand me a pile of cash.

  “I don’t care about saving the planet, and everyone who’s met me knows that. I don’t get offers like this because I don’t want them.”

  I paus
ed while the waiters interrupted again to clear our plates away. Shit. I could go to other investors, but it would be a long road. I’d thought Hal would come through for me. I thought he trusted me.

  “We can always go down route two, which means selling out to a Shell or BP at year five. Take a look at the proposal. I think you’ll like it,” I said. I’d done my homework on this technology. If my initial tests were right, we could become a real alternative energy source.

  “You don’t think the oil giants have this capability in house already?”

  “I know they don’t. They try it, but ultimately they’re crap at the entrepreneurial stuff, which is why they go around buying companies like Elemental Energy once it’s proven. I know this industry. I’ve seen the results of the testing and I know it will work.”

  “And what are you putting in?” he asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin and placing it on the table. Was he about to leave? My heart started to race.

  “I’m contributing thirty percent of the funding up to year five,” I replied.

  “Fifteen million?”

  I nodded. Would that make a difference?

  “You’re committed, I’ll give you that. I’ll look at it, speak to some people and get my guys to crunch the numbers. No promises.”

  “Good. Thanks. I know you’ll like it.”

  I felt like I’d been in the ring with Tyson when I put a slightly inebriated Hal into his car and started to walk home. I’d been working on this business plan for eighteen months since the sale of my first business, Energy Trade. But Energy Trade had been simple in comparison and hadn’t required anything like this amount of start-up capital. We’d just needed phones, computers and office space to start operating. With Elemental Energy we would need lab research, computer expertise and a much longer lead time before we were making any money. I didn’t want it to fall apart now. Energy Trade had made me money, but Elemental Energy, as well as being profitable, might actually do some good. It could be a legacy.

  “I’m home,” I shouted into the apartment as I closed the door.

  “Hey,” Beth replied. “How did it go?”