by Lara Swann
Anything else became impossible when he became my boss.
“Nothing except the fact you’re flying out to New York City on Monday.” She pokes me with another grin, and my mood lightens immediately. “Even without banging your boss, that’s something to talk about.”
I laugh again, the reality of it still not quite sinking in.
“Yeah. Yeah that’s definitely something to talk about.”
“God, I can’t believe you’re going to be out on Broadway while I’m stuck studying for this exam.” She shakes her head again, squeezing me. “You’re going to have to tell me everything, Ava, everything! I want to know about every last moment!”
Somehow, I don’t think I’m going to get the chance to forget. I’m pretty sure she’s going to be texting me the whole time.
And I can’t wait to tell her all about it.
Chapter Ten
Damien
Our plane lands into New York City at an ungodly hour of the morning and by midday, Katy and I are already walking into Prestige Trust’s impressive looking building in Manhattan. If all goes well, the design team will be following us tomorrow to begin work with Prestige.
Located on Wall Street in a plush high-rise with gleaming glass and metal everywhere, it only reinforces what she’s already told me about them. When we get to their floor, the elegant green-and-gold embossed logo stands out to us from behind a dark wood reception desk. I can’t see much further into the office space, but I’m already getting exactly the impression they want me to have.
Old. Distinguished. Sophisticated.
I glance over at Katy beside me, not sure whether I feel on edge because the superiority-complex behind it irritates me - or because I actually do feel a little like a young upstart in the face of a business that’s been around for so much longer than mine.
Yeah, Katy was right. Not my kind of people at all.
I shake it off easily enough, my usual charming smile making its appearance as I approach the reception desk and let them know about our appointment with Mr. Thompson. Apparently, it says something that he’s handling this initial meeting himself - Katy was pleased, anyway.
As far as I’m concerned, the less games we end up playing here, the better. I’m here to do business and make a deal that could bring huge benefit to both of us - not to fuck around.
We’re led into a boardroom that makes mine seem the size of a small office, with a long marble table in the middle and large screens all along one wall. I quirk an eyebrow in Katy’s direction, but don’t say anything as the secretary who brought us here leaves. I’m not quite sure how many people you’d have to have in a meeting to fill this room - or what on earth you’d ever get done in that meeting - but I’m guessing that’s not what the point of it is.
“Think we should take a seat?” Katy asks, and I can tell from the tone of her voice that she’s nervous.
I give her a quick smile. “Let’s wait for Thompson to arrive. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
“I hope so.” She chews at the side of her mouth again, resting the folder she’s carrying on the table to flick through it one last time. “I really do like these designs, Damien.”
I nod. “They’ve done good work.”
Especially considering the timescales involved - being able to give me prototypes of what the app will look like with the new design in time for this meeting is perfect. I think I’m lucky that Tina has been in the business for so long - she seemed to understand exactly what was important here.
It’s like Katy said. It’s all about showing Prestige something that will convince them. It doesn’t matter if it takes a little longer to actually implement the change.
“And I don’t think anything was missing from the proposal we sent over, or the documents we’ve exchanged so far. I had a look last night and…”
She trails off as I give her a shake of my head. I know she’s just running through the mental list she’s got, checking everything off to reassure herself, but we’ve been over this a dozen times already and I’m acutely aware that we’re in Prestige’s office now. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were cameras in here - and either way, Thompson could appear at any moment. I’d rather they not think we’re worried about this meeting.
I don’t think I am, either. Despite the obvious luxury here and the fact Thompson seems to want to keep us waiting, I’m getting that familiar buzz of adrenaline and interest. I’m looking forward to meeting him - and to negotiating the game-changing deal for the company I’ve built for years.
I give her another reassuring smile, then start walking around the room, curious about all the different gadgets and state-of-the-art technology.
The door opens a few minutes later and we both turn toward it as an older man walks in. His hair is gray and thinning, and the small round glasses on the top of his hook-nose give exactly the impression I was expecting. I have to fight not to shoot a look over in Katy’s direction at that.
He’s alone, and I have no idea whether that’s supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing, but I walk toward him with a smile.
“Mr. Thompson?” I ask. “I’m Damien Blake - and this is my partner, Katy Morgan. It’s great to meet you.”
He nods, but doesn’t say anything as we shake hands and he takes a seat at the head of the table.
Of course.
I sit to the side, with Katy beside me, and our documents in front of us.
“I’m really glad you could meet with us in person today.”
He looks over at me. “I always assess these things in person. Prestige may be a large trust fund, but a deal of this sort deserves my personal attention.”
His tone is mild and I can’t read his expression at all so, again, I have no idea how he intends that to come across. I just take it in my stride, nodding. These things have never bothered me.
“Of course.” I glance at the empty space in front of him, and that’s the first thing that actually makes me pause, before meeting his gaze again. “Did you get a chance to look through the documents we sent over, with our proposal for how this deal could work?”
If he didn’t, it will be a pain to take him through it all here, but I’ve dealt with worse before. It’s the thought that he might have a reason for not bringing any of that along that concerns me.
He nods, though, and I just wait as he draws out whatever he’s about to say.
“Yes, I did, Mr. Blake—”
“Please, call me Damien.”
The slight narrowing of the eyes tells me he didn’t appreciate the interruption, but screw it, being called Mr. Blake only makes me think of my father.
“I looked at your documents.” He continues brusquely, ignoring my comment. “As far as I can tell, they all seem to be in order - but before we discuss that, I have to say, I have one major concern here.”
I nod again, my heart speeding up as excitement takes me. If it’s one major concern, it’s probably exactly what we’re already dealing with, and I have to stop the wave of triumph that wants to surge through me.
Not too fast, Damien.
“There’s no doubt your technology is good - somehow, your simple household investing app seems to have stumbled on a way of executing trades that would be very useful to us.”
I have to fight the amused smile that wants to tug at my lips at the deliberate attempt to downplay what we’ve achieved. He’s admitting he wants our tech - that’s good enough for me - but from the serious way he’s looking at me, I don’t think he’d appreciate thinking I’m laughing at him.
“But I’ve had a look at your…app.” He continues when I don’t say anything. “And I have some serious concerns about your image and presentation. It’s, for lack of a better word, basic - and not something that fits with our long-standing brand or history at all. I simply can’t advertise the advantageous new execution platform to any of our customers when it looks like that - and even for our traders, having to use something so…so…base…”
He doesn
’t quite shudder, but I think he wants to, and I have to stop myself from laughing again at how ridiculous this all is.
Instead, I nod easily - and I try not to glance over at Katy, who would be at serious risk of shooting me an ‘I told you so’ look if I did. Not that she doesn’t deserve it.
Yeah, thanks for saving my ass here. Again.
“I completely agree.” I say, and he blinks. “The design we use at the moment - and, indeed, our whole branding - has needed updating for some time now. I’m sure you can understand that when we first started this app we had to put our focus into more practical matters, but now that it’s come this far - and with the potential association with Prestige Trust in its future - it needs something a little more…well, distinctive, I think.”
He’s still looking slightly skeptical, and I wonder how many people he comes across that just agree with him automatically. According to Katy - who has her information from his underlings - it’s what works, even if it does make me want to roll my eyes.
“It’s something we’ve been working on for a while now - and while it’s usually best to keep these redesigns confidential until they’ve been finalized, I brought along a few examples in case you were interested.” I say, acting like this has been far more than a two-week effort so far.
To be fair, Two-Bit Designs initial mock-ups are good enough that they don’t look like two-weeks worth of work. I get the impression that’s how these agencies work, though, using their expertise to speed up a process that would have taken us months internally. It’s why they charge so damn much.
I open the folder in front of me and slide the prototype designs over to Mr. Thompson, who glances down at them through the thin-rimmed glasses on his nose - and then picks them up for a closer look.
That seems promising, at least.
He doesn’t say anything for a long moment, but I just lean back in the chair, content to wait. I know that Katy beside me isn’t faring quite so well, but at least she’s keeping the way her hands are fidgeting concealed under the table. I want to give her another reassuring glance, but we’ve worked out we don’t do well with silent communications in these meetings. It just distracts the both of us - and here, I need to be sharp.
His mouth twists in consideration as he looks between the designs and back at me, but there’s a hint of something more genuine in his eyes now. I get the sudden impression this meeting might have been designed as a brush-off - though I’m not sure what the hell the point of that would have been when we’ve come all this way, except as some stupid power game - but either way, I think we have his attention now.
“These look a lot…more appropriate.” He acknowledges, nodding. “I hadn’t realized this was something you were already working on, but of course, considering the current state of your…app…that only makes sense.”
He seems to struggle with the word app, and I can’t tell whether his obvious distaste is just affected for us or a genuine aversion. Surely he uses apps? Though from what I’ve seen so far, I wouldn’t put the hypocrisy past him.
As much as he seems to be thinking this through now, I can still sense the hesitation in him too. So I pull out the trump card, grateful again for the idea of bringing Two-Bit Designs with us…whatever might have prompted it.
“We’re using a design agency in our hometown of Fresno.” I say, as if he won’t have heard of them. Two can play this ridiculous acting game. “Two-Bit Designs. So far, I’m very pleased with the initial designs they’ve created, but I’ll also admit to my inexperience in this area. I know how strong your branding is and the marketing team you must have in-house, and I wondered whether it might be helpful to have them look these over and collaborate with our design agency, especially for the new platform designs, since that will be a joint venture between us?”
He blinks again, and this time I can tell I really have surprised him.
“We could have them fly out tomorrow if you think it might be helpful.”
I sound a little too obsequious for my liking - but I’m also aware that it seems to be working, just like all my research said it would. Old, important guys who own old, important firms like deference, it seems. Idiots.
It takes him a moment to respond and I get an excited burst of adrenaline that always comes just before I secure a deal. Even before it’s settled and done, some part of me recognizes when I’ve got him.
“I know Two-Bit Designs, actually. I like their work.” He seems to be dragging this out, as if he’s surprised by the outcome of this meeting. “And a collaboration could be a very good idea indeed.”
I smile. “I’ll have them join us out here tomorrow then.”
He nods and pauses for a moment longer before finally giving me what I want.
“I’m pleased with the obvious effort you’re making for this deal, too. I’ll have another look at the documents you sent over and get back to you with any queries my team have.”
Aand…sold.
“Can I take these with me?” He gestures to the designs in front of him.
“Of course. And if you have any suggestions, I’ll be sure to forward them to Two-Bit Designs.”
He nods again, then stands up without ceremony, bringing the meeting to a close.
This time, when he holds out his hand to shake mine again, he does say something.
“It was good to meet you. Damien.” He turns to Katy, nodding. “And Ms. Morgan.”
“Katy.” She says with a smile, even though I get the impression he’d be rather stick with formality - which is only confirmed when he doesn’t offer his first name in return.
He guides us back to the elevator and we part with a promise to put our design teams in touch tomorrow - and meet later in the week to work out some of the details of this deal. No doubt depending on the results that come from the design teams, but I’m not worried - judging from Two-Bit’s work so far, I don’t have anything to be worried about.
Katy and I last all the way until we’re out of the office and a decent way down the road before she finally turns and flings her arms around me.
“Oh my god, Damien. Oh my god, oh my god. We did it. You did it. Oh my god.”
I laugh as I hug her back, just as thrilled myself and squeezing her tight.
“We did.” I breathe, the whole thing not quite settled in my stomach yet - adrenaline still rocking through me, disbelief still at the edges of my mind.
When I finally let go and pull back from her, grinning, I can’t help teasing.
“You’re thrilled enough that you’re not even going to say ‘I told you so’ or claim it was all down to you?”
She laughs, shaking her head as she throws an arm around my waist and turns back to continue walking.
“Nah - I’m not going to lie, before today I thought I’d been the one doing all the work for this. But, damn, meetings like that always show me how much I need you.”
She shudders and I laugh, squeezing her close to me again.
“He wasn’t that bad. Just a bit of an ass.”
“Didn’t you see the way he was looking at us? How skeptical he came in? And, my god, the things he said…I was surprised you didn’t lose it.”
“When have I ever done that?” I say innocently enough, even though I’m sure there have been times. Not for a while - I’ve gotten better at this deal-making thing over the years.
She gives me a sidelong look, shaking her head. “Well, I’m just glad you picked this time to keep it together. And held your nerve.”
“He wasn’t that bad.” I repeat.
“Mm, maybe. I don’t know. When it comes to a deal this big…I can’t think about anything else.”
I nod. That’s always been the difference between us - for me, it just makes it more exciting. Playing with bigger stakes is more fun.
“C’mon.” I say. “Want to get a drink to celebrate?”
She stares at me, then bursts out laughing.
“It’s the middle of the day!”
“Doesn’t
seem to be stopping them.” I say, nodding to the group of professional looking guys through the window of a nearby restaurant - engaged in animated conversation and obviously in the middle of a very nice meal, complete with cocktails and wine.
Katy just raises an eyebrow at me.
“Alright, alright. Drinks later - but this is our first time in NYC and we don’t have any work to do until tomorrow. Let’s explore, at least. Maybe we can catch a show? What do you want to do first?”
She laughs at my obvious enthusiasm, giving me another half-hug.
“Okay, okay, let’s explore. It is a day to celebrate, I’ll give you that.”
She looks up at me, her grin matching my own, and I can’t help my excitement as we walk down Wall Street together. Yeah, maybe I was right about the whole travel thing. I haven’t done enough of this in my life.
Score one for this trip.
Chapter Eleven
Ava
New York is amazing.
I think it’s the best trip I’ve ever been on in my life - and New York itself is only part of that.
No, at least half of it is that within the last few weeks, I’ve gone from working by myself on little jobs to collaborating with two professional design teams. Just that experience is incredible - and then being here, in a totally different place, with a nice hotel room and fancy meals every night…god, if this is how important business people live, maybe I did pick the wrong career.
I’m lying on my stomach in the hotel room, poking around at my laptop to play with one of the ideas Amanda from Prestige’s design team sent through and trying to make it work with the designs we already have. It’s a challenge that was nagging at me all day, and even now that I’m back here, I can’t quite resist continuing.
It’s amazing just having my own space here, too. I mean, sure, it’s a hotel room - but it’s mine.
My parents aren’t around the corner to ask if I want anything or fuss over me. Vicki isn’t here to constantly distract me with questions and offloads about whatever is going on with her.