Vantage Point (The Point Series Book 2)

by Georgia Hamilton

  Overthinking is better than any sleeping tablet, Monday morning comes around and I am on autopilot getting ready for work.

  I switch my phone back on – 4 voicemails

  Rayne: Hey, need to run something by you call me when you get this

  Rayne is only ever formal when it is work related. I make a note in my diary to call her when I get to the office

  Martin: Hope you’re not avoiding me Leilani. The pictures and videos will be going out there this week. It’s not an idle threat. You owe me the money and I will do whatever I have to, to get it back

  Nice. Love that kind of a message

  Elliot: Missed you at dinner, just seeing if you are feeling any better. Love you

  Make another note to call him when after I have called Rayne. I need his help with Martin and I am running out of time

  Dad: Leilani – call me when you are up and about, it’s not like you to get wiped out. Your mum thinks grandchildren are on the way. If you are pregnant, please come and talk to us. It’s ok, we will be there for you.

  My Parents are pretty damn amazing. Let’s just hope they remain that way when they hear about the videos and some of the other things I have done

  I make my way to the office and get hold up in meetings for the best part of the day. I had the contracts sent over to Miami for Johan’s transfer. He has been kicking back in my office since 10am with his wife. We’ve looked at some houses online that I think they liked. I arranged flights for us to go and check some of them out. Relocating a family is always tricky but this one is more complex. I have schools to get reports on, cars to organise. I have another client who might rent their current house from them, which is one less thing to worry about. Coordinating this will be a nightmare but it’s what I do and I love it really. We got the deal agreed at 3pm and it’s all over sky sports news which is on in my office. You’d think I work in the stock exchange the amount of screens we have but deadline day is huge for us, Sky sometimes gets the heads up before I do. My veins pump as I think about what this deadline day will mean for us this year. We were big players in January so August can’t come soon enough.

  I try Rayne when Johan finally leaves. She’s on her voicemail. I leave her a quick message asking for her to come around this evening.

  My next call.

  “Hi Dad”

  “Leilani. How you feeling today?”

  “Better thanks, and for your information, I am not pregnant, not even close, so Mum doesn’t need to take up knitting just yet”

  He chuckles, and I remember where I get my laugh from

  “I think you had better have that conversation with her, when are you coming over this week? It’s not the same without you”

  “Maybe I will pop in after work?”

  “I won’t be in until late, I have a surgery due in at 4pm”

  Damn it, I need Dad to be there

  “I can come over tomorrow evening if that’s ok?”

  “Ah, I have a medical board meeting tomorrow, come Wednesday”

  Wednesday. It will all be too late on Wednesday.

  “Ok” I say barely holding back the tears. “I will see you then.”

  I rest my head on my desk. Wednesday.

  I text Martin. I tell him he will have his money on Thursday. Dad will give it to me I know he will. All I have to do is ask right?

  My clients this afternoon cheer my mood up. I have a Spanish League 1 player, 17 been offered deals from the EPL and is ready to take a step up, only he needs me to hold his hand. I love clients like this, when you get them so young and you take care of them they stay loyal. Loyalty is a massive thing in this game, It’s the reason you are either successful or you are not.

  My receptionist buzzes me to tell me that I have had some packages delivered. I love packages, usually it means contracts. My stomach falls thinking about contracts. If they are legal documents, that means Guy as our legal ‘department’ will also have copies, meaning I will have to speak to him. I don’t have to be nice, I just have to speak to him.

  I ask her to bring them in. Honestly, I need a PA like Raynes, Paige is a dream, she knows everything, does everything and is everything. We need to clone her asap.

  I start to open some of the letters.

  Two new client briefs that I requested. A female golfer who is chomping at the bit to have me sign her. She’s Britain’s answer to Lexi Thompson. I don’t know much about golf, I have played a few times at charity events, so I need to swat up before we meet. I email to set up a date for next Monday. A week is plenty of time to see what I can do for her. I will ask Rayne to attend as I know full well that female golfers are few and far between, we need to get her out there in the mainstream spotlight. The more attention she garners the bigger the deals I can attract. I email Rayne and Paige, checking the diary for next Monday and also seeing what events are coming up. I will ask Rayne to run through them with her. If she bites and she is willing to work my way then we can have a deal, if she isn’t then she can find some stuffy old man to handle her. I don’t do gimmicks, but I will get my clients noticed for the right reasons. I won’t send them to the opening of an envelope, but I would send her to a children’s movie premiere for example. Lots of families and kids around, we need to build a whole profile for her, a fan base that can grow.

  One of the packages is an actual parcel. It’s addressed to me directly and not to the office.

  Given the issues with Martin, I am a little cautious.

  I open the box and find a jewellery box inside. Pulling it open there is a beautiful gold chain with a gold coin hanging from it. In the centre of the coin is a single diamond solitaire. My birthstone.

  The has my initials L.C.B on the front not many people know C is my middle initial and not G. The G in my company name stands for Goddamn as in Leilani goddamn Barros has done it again.

  A peace offering.

  Sorry

  Guy

  I throw the chain back in the box and slam it in my drawer. A peace offering? There is no peace to be offered. You screwed up. Now you’ve been found out, you want to buy my friendship? No chance.

  Whatever made him think that would be a good idea. Call me buddy. Let’s have a conversation you know.

  My 3pm is here and there is no time to dwell, I head down to the boardroom – this is an existing client, so a housekeeping visit.

  I stroll into the room, smile wide, eyes bright. The sooner this is over the better for us all.

  Martin is sitting in the chair next to my client.

  “Good Afternoon Miss Barros, I hope you don’t mind me joining this meeting. Only Claude is a great friend of mine and I am now his business associate. He asked me to come.”

  I look at Claude. A low-level racing driver, with formula one taste. He looks perfectly relaxed, so I take my seat.

  “Not a problem for me”

  I pull up his file on my iPad. “Shall we go over your existing terms Claude and then we can look at a new contract.”

  I reel off the terms he has with his current team. He wants to go up to F3 and become an F1 test driver, so his contract needs to allow for this. Open clauses are notoriously difficult. Teams want loyalty, they want you to earn every shiny dollar they pay you.

  “Claude, you need to understand that this is not straight forward, the larger teams are going to want long term commitment, they won’t offer you the money you have stated for a short-term relationship, can’t you see that?”

  “Pardon me for interrupting but shouldn’t there be a solicitor here to add these terms in a more concise fashion? All I see is a young, albeit smart girl sitting here playing legal dress up. What are the ramifications if he signs long term and leaves?”

  I stumble over my words. That is not an option. We all get paid as a buy in. If he goes short term so does my contract. I could lose him as a client and worse, 19.5% of the signing fee.

  “Claude?” I ask him hoping he will tell Martin to shut up and go play with the traffic.

&nb
sp; “I agree Leilani. I need to be earning big money and soon. I can’t play around, this is short career at best and being tied up for years is not an option”

  “Understand. Well let me have a look.”

  “No, Leilani, the main reason for coming here was to see if we had any hope of getting something agreed, it looks like that is not an option and as my existing contract is now on notice so are you.”

  I have never been fired by a client. EVER.

  “Who, may I ask is going to represent you?”

  I direct the question at Martin, I know he has something to do with this.

  “Oh, Leilani, there is something I failed to mention at the beginning. Your old pal Dominic was looking for an investor and I agreed to work with him, we will have our deal finalised on Wednesday SORRY I mean THURSDAY this week. Just cashing in some old stocks to get the capital”

  “You fucking Cu...” I fly out of my chair ready to launch at him.

  He grabs my hand mid air

  “Ah! No Leilani. That’s is not a very ladylike word and you are not currently acting like a lady. Although we all know your just a little slut deep down” He says the last part quietly so only I can hear. Claude is shocked by the little show and so I am.

  I regain a small amount of composure, swallowing down the tears that are threatening to erupt.

  “Claude. I wish you all the best. We will get your last royalties bound up and sent across, minus our fee of course.”

  “See yourselves out safely now won’t you gents”

  I don’t wait for a reply. I take one step for every three and almost run back to my office.

  I can’t stop the tears now.

  The hot tears are burning down my face. I can’t stop them. This office, this business is my life. If Dom starts to take my clients because he has the pulling power of Martin and now Claude, it will only be a matter of time before they all leave.

  How was I so stupid? How did I get to this point?

  If I tell my family, one of them if not more will single handily kill him and then everyones world will turn upside down.

  I call Guy, I mean he is my legal man Friday, but I also want someone who knows my family.

  “You’ve reached the voicemail of Guy Pearce Morgan, I am unable to get to the phone right now, please do leave me a message or if it is of an urgent manner, please call the office and press Option 2”

  I hang up and try his office.

  “Pearce Morgan, Jacobs and Kohn”

  “Hi, can I speak to Guy please? It’s Leilani Barros from LGB Management”

  “I’m sorry Guy is in a meeting for the remainder of the day, can I put you through to his voicemail or take a message at all?”

  “No, that’s ok. I will try him again tomorrow”

  I click the handset to disconnect the call. I need to speak to someone, Rayne still hasn’t called me back.

  I dial the only other person I know who can help

  “Trent Fitzgerald”

  “Hey Trent, it’s Leilani, I have a bit of an issue and I need some help”

  “Are you in any danger? What’s happened?”

  “No Trent, no danger, I just need advice on a situation”

  He sighs a deep sigh of relief.

  “Over the phone or face to face”

  “Face to face if you can?”

  “Absolutely, come over here and we can talk, Rose is about to start dinner, won’t you please join us?”

  Now, Ma Rose, is an amazing cook, she throws down plates like nobody else I know.

  “Try and stop me. I am leaving shortly, see you soon”

  I hang up on Trent, throw my things into my handbag and grab the one file that hasn’t seen the light of day on years.

  On my way to the house that was as much my childhood home as my parents, I know for a fact that I have to tell Trent the whole truth. As embarrassing as it will be, he needs to know it’s the only way I can get out of this mess.

  “Leilani, come in” Trent sees me into the house and through to his office. Ma Rose pops her head in to say hello.

  You’d be forgiven for thinking that Rose Fitzgerald, nee Sinclair was your typical housewife. She’s far from it. Dressed in a pair of beige cropped trousers, a crisp white shirt, open at the neck exposing her string of beads she looks ready for a luncheon. She’s seriously petite, I don’t think she reaches 5ft, her hair is an auburn shock of curls, not as crazy as Raynes but you see where she gets it from.

  “Drink Leilani?” Ma asks

  “Please” I smile but it’s hard. The nerves have kicked in.

  Trent sits on the small armchair adjacent to the sofa I’m on.

  “Tell me what’s wrong Leilani”

  I take a deep breath and expel the air.

  “I always knew Sports Management was what I wanted to do, it was something that I grew to love as I got older and after University, I knew that it was exactly what I was going to do. It wasn’t easy finding work experience, nobody wanted to hire me even for free. I was working on the desk at dads medical centre and I wanted out. Martin was Alex’s best friend, with his parents overseas he had lived with us through most of high school. His house was being renovated and he was back staying with us, we got closer, a relationship developed, and I thought I was in love with him. He gave me such encouragement and suggested that if I couldn’t get into a company, I should just take one over. We scoured business after business until we found Scots. He set up all the meetings and off we went. They were receptive to the idea, not having their own legal department meant they were falling behind the other agencies, which you know because I asked you to keep us on retainer”

  Trent supportively nods, both acknowledging that he remembers and asking me to go on, all at the same time

  Ma Rose comes back in the room with a tray. A decanter of whisky and a jug of water

  “Now, both will quench your thirst but only one will ease the pain.” She holds up the whisky and I nod.

  The burn of the alcohol helped the lump in my throat subside.

  “Stay please Ma” She sit’s next to me on the sofa, accompanied by her own drink

  “Anyway, Scots told me they wanted a buy in of £5m, we got it down to £3m with some attachments and they agreed. Martin had moved back to his house and things were weird with him and Alex. I didn’t want to tell my family that Martin had been helping me because I thought they would talk me out of it. I asked Dad for his help and he said he couldn’t. They had all their money tied up and he didn’t want to raise funds against their property in case I got bored. He thought I was a little school girl. I was so mad, I went to Martin’s his friend Dominic was there, Dom worked for a talent agency and said he would show me the ropes. Looking back I was so stupid. We started drinking and Dom offered me a pick me up, I said I wasn’t about to snort anything up my nose and he handed me a small pill. I remember feeling free, and in control after taking it. Dom went home shortly after, leaving me and Martin. We went to his room and Martin made me strip for him, I say made, he asked me. Whatever I had taken made me feel good. I did as he asked, I mean he had seen me naked already. We then made love – huh. I was so naïve. Instead of falling asleep after he grabbed his laptop. He had recorded us; his room was fitted entirely with cameras. He said he had a friend who would pay good money for the video. I didn’t think anything of it, you couldn’t see my face and it wasn’t prostitution or proper porn because it was me and my boyfriend. A few days later, he asked me to meet him in a café and he handed me a cheque for £100,000. He said for another few videos with some specific things happening, we could make enough money for the takeover.

  He had a contract drawn up and I signed it, as long as the images didn’t show my face”

  I don’t finish my sentence because I am ashamed that I was so stupid. I thought he is going to film it anyway and at least if we make the money that’s all that matters. It was going to give us the start we needed. I got a kick out of it, knowing that people were going to be watching
us, made me feel like I was in control.

  I take sip of the whisky, it doesn’t burn through the lump this time. No this time it gets stuck, it mixes with the rise of bile and I choke on my own disgust. I spent years fighting against those who treated me like a piece of meat, I was the outspoken one. If someone had told me that they did what I did? I would laugh in the face of the fool. Serves you right.

  The hot tears are now scalding my face, there is no let up. It’s a free for all.

  Ma Rose takes my hand providing comfort.

  “What would do if you were your client Leilani” It’s a strange question from Trent

  “I did what I would do, called my public relations manager but she hasn’t called me back and I did call my lawyer, but he is tied up all day apparently” The sarcasm drips off my voice as I say that last part.

  “Ah yes, I am partially responsible for Guy being tied up at the moment, I gave him some files to check. Has he not told you?”

  “He hasn’t told me anything, why would he?” I say, slightly on the defensive.

  “No real reason, I just thought he might” Trent seems uncomfortable, like he has said something he shouldn’t.

  “To top it off that witch of a woman, setting him up like that” Trust Ma Rose, she is there to rescue a surprisingly bumbling Trent

  “Well that probably hasn’t made his day any easier. I know Rayne asked me for help to get the stills from the Harbour Club. You can see it was a set up”

  My blood runs cold for a second. If I hadn’t been so caught up in myself and let him stay on Friday, he wouldn’t have been at the gym on Saturday and this wouldn’t be happening. It’s my fault, I am the reason he is dealing with all of this. He even had time amongst all of that to send me a gift and I all I give a shit about the “crap effort he put in my saying nothing at all on the poxy free gift card.” This is sounding like a pity party and maybe it is, I don’t deserve anyone. It’s my own fault. They always told me I would be nothing more than a set of boobs. After my deadline passes that’s all I will have.