by Penny Avis
‘What happened to our plan?’ Meredith demanded. ‘You just went off on one and did your own thing. What was the point of us practising?’
‘Look, I didn’t want to practise in the first place,’ said Ryan, ‘and I just got the feeling he was a pretty straight sort of guy. Turns out I was right, huh? Elevator pitch worked like a charm.’
‘You were lucky,’ said Meredith. ‘He might have decided that you were a brash American and run a mile.’
Meredith caught sight of the security guard looking at them through the glass pane to the side of the revolving doors. The last thing she needed was for it to look as though they were arguing.
‘Look, I need to go. I’ve got to fly by the office and then I’m off to meet, err, a business contact,’ said Meredith.
She was going to talk business with Daisy, so it was at least vaguely true. Why she didn’t just tell Ryan the truth she wasn’t sure; perhaps it was because she still felt in ‘client mode’ with him.
‘I need to get to the airport anyway,’ said Ryan. ‘My flight to Amsterdam is at one p.m.’
‘I thought you were going back to the US?’
‘No, not until Thursday. I’ve got a couple of business contacts to catch up with too.’
Ryan used his fingers to put the words ‘business contacts’ in imaginary speech marks, mimicking Meredith’s description of her meeting with Daisy.
Meredith laughed. ‘Alright, I’m meeting my friend Daisy, okay? She runs an art gallery that’s not doing so well. So I’ve agreed to have a look at it for her, see how she might turn things around.’
‘Very noble,’ said Ryan, slightly dismissively. ‘I’m catching up with a couple of our Dutch suppliers. Right, I’d better run.’
He leant in to kiss Meredith, who jumped back in horror.
‘Not here!’ she hissed. ‘Someone might see us.’
‘But I don’t know when I’m going to see you next,’ said Ryan.
Meredith had to agree; it was hardly an ideal goodbye. But she was still feeling irritated with him for cutting her off in front of Charles and they were standing right outside the Beau Street office. Seeing that nurse Audrey had been enough of a shock. There was no way she was going to take any more risks.
‘Look, call me when you get back to the US,’ said Meredith. ‘If Charles comes back with a positive response, we’ll be seeing plenty of each other.’
‘What if he tells us to take a hike?’
‘Then you’ll have to work out whether I’m worth your own money.’
Ryan looked slightly taken aback by the directness of her response. ‘Of course you are,’ he said.
‘So, I’ll see you soon either way then,’ said Meredith. She held out her hand. ‘Bye, take care. Call me soon, okay?’
Ryan reluctantly shook her hand, giving it a discreet rub with his fingers as he did.
‘It’s taking all my will power not to drag you into the nearest alleyway.’ Meredith tried to ignore the forbidden tension that was darting between them.
‘I have to go. I’ll see you soon,’ she said, then turned and walked away in search of a cab.
It was shortly after lunch by the time Meredith arrived at Daisy’s gallery. She was feeling pretty flat. She should have been pleased with the way the meeting had gone with Charles Sutton, but what with the nightmare start to the day, Ryan’s off-piste approach to their meeting and their rather awkward goodbye on the pavement outside Beau Street’s office, she just felt grubby and depressed. And looking at the gallery’s front windows did little to improve her mood. In one window was a painting made up solely of black and red squares and in the other was one of a woman’s distorted head that narrowed at the top, as if it was being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, her face anguished with pain. Meredith thought it looked creepy and miserable. Who on earth would want that on their wall? No wonder Daisy wasn’t selling anything. She pushed open the door and stomped inside. Daisy could sense her mood as soon as she saw her.
‘Shit day?’ Daisy asked.
‘Like you wouldn’t believe,’ said Meredith. ‘Actually quite a successful day, work wise, but crap in every other respect.’
Daisy gave Meredith a welcoming hug, her bright-orange wool jumper leaving bits of fluff on Meredith’s jacket.
‘You look like a giant tea cosy,’ said Meredith, picking the bits of fluff from her jacket.
‘Thanks,’ said Daisy cheerily. ‘So tell me, why the long face?
Meredith told Daisy about her late start and the nightmare at the dry cleaner’s.
‘They knew immediately that I hadn’t been home,’ said Meredith, putting her head in her hands. ‘And then when I saw that man watching me getting changed, it was so embarrassing.’
She looked up at Daisy, who was pinching her lips together to stifle a laugh.
‘It’s not funny,’ said Meredith.
‘No, you’re right. Not funny at all. Well, maybe just a little bit funny?’
Meredith frowned and shook her head. ‘It’s right there, you know, just below the surface, this lack of confidence thing. Just as I think I’ve got it sorted, something like this happens and it’s like my cover’s been blown.’
‘It was always going to take a while,’ said Daisy gently. ‘We’ve talked about this a hundred times. Having bigger boobs and a smaller nose was never going to be a magic bullet. A step in the right direction? Yes. More confidence in the bedroom department? Definitely. But it’s is going to take time to build up the sort of unshakeable confidence you’re talking about. In fact, I’m not sure that even exists. Underneath most of us are total basket cases, just waiting for someone to shout ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ at us when they work out that we don’t, in fact, know anything.’
‘I know, you’re right,’ said Meredith, shaking her head. ‘I think my only option is to stop behaving like a tart and make sure I get home at night. That way I can emerge calm and swanlike, ready for the day ahead, instead of changing my knickers in the corner of some scruffy dry cleaner’s.’
‘What a lovely image,’ said Daisy, laughing hysterically.
Meredith finally found that she could laugh too, and she burst into fits of giggles.
‘Bugger the lot of them,’ she said, about no one in particular. ‘Shall we get going? Have you got all your books ready?’
Daisy nodded and they both headed to the small office at the back of the gallery. Every surface was covered in piles of papers. There were endless to-do lists posted around the place: on Daisy’s computer screen, on the pin board, on the front of the filing cabinet. There was even one stuck on the telephone handset. Several half-drunk cups of coffee were scattered around the room and the bin was overflowing with old catalogues, more coffee cups and scrunched up bits of paper.
‘Blimey, it looks like a bomb’s gone off in here,’ said Meredith, looking around.
‘I know it’s a bit of a mess, but I know where everything is,’ said Daisy.
‘I’ve no idea how. Right, where shall we start?’
Meredith pulled up a chair next to the one already beside Daisy’s desk. Daisy sat down and grabbed a bulging folder from the back of her desk.
‘These are our monthly accounts,’ she said, opening the file. ‘They have a summary of all our sales and expenses each month. They’ll be a pretty good place to start. There’s also a list of all the pieces we sold that month, and their prices at the back.’
Meredith flicked through the file. ‘Okay, I’ll start looking through these while you get the coffees. Preferably fresh,’ she added, looking pointedly at the empty cup mountain.
By the time Daisy had returned with the coffees, Meredith was deep in thought. She was scribbling notes and figures onto a pad of paper and tapping away on Daisy’s calculator.
‘Do you have a tape measure?’ she asked.
‘What for?’
‘To stir my coffee with. What do you think?’ said Meredith impatiently.
‘Alright, keep your hair on. I was only asking.’
Daisy found a tape measure and handed it to Meredith, who stood up and started measuring the walls of the gallery and counting the paintings on each wall. Daisy sat drinking her coffee, looking both bemused and amused by Meredith’s antics.
‘Can you give me a hand with this?’ Meredith asked, handing one end of the tape to Daisy. ‘I need the distance between these two windows.’
After ten minutes of concentrated measuring and note taking, Meredith finally sat down.
‘So what have you concluded, oh queen of the tape measure?’ Daisy asked.
‘It’s not good, I’m afraid,’ said Meredith. ‘This is the amount your rent will go up to once your discount period finishes, is that right?’
Daisy looked at the figure on Meredith’s sheet of paper and nodded.
‘Well, to cover it I reckon you need to increase both the number of pieces on the walls and the amount you sell by about a third.’
‘Shit! Really, are you sure?’ Daisy grabbed the file and stared at the pages of numbers, as if a different solution might just jump out of them.
‘Look, you’re hardly making a profit now, are you? The rent goes up by twenty per cent and it’s your biggest cost, so something’s got to give.’
They sat in silence for a few minutes as Daisy absorbed the bad news.
‘What’s your average customer like?’ Meredith asked.
‘My average customer? I have no idea,’ said Daisy, shrugging.
‘Well, how local are they? Are they buying for the standard “picture above the fireplace”? Or are they buying for offices? Men or women? You know, that sort of thing.’
‘I’d say about sixty to seventy per cent are women, and yes, most seem to come from around here. I think they’re generally just buying for their own homes. Some even come in with colour swatches.’
‘Ooh, that’s an idea,’ said Meredith. ‘Maybe you should get a local interior designer to come and look round; check you’re reflecting the right colours, sizes, that sort of thing. Make sure you’re bang on trend.’
Meredith got up and walked around the gallery. Daisy followed.
‘Look, I’m no expert, but it seems to me quite a lot of these pieces are just too big and, well – how can I put it? – ugly, to fit in with a collection of contemporary art targeted at your average suburban type.’
‘But I love the darker pieces. They’re so atmospheric.’
‘Do they sell well?’
Daisy thought for a moment. ‘Probably not as well as the others, to be fair.’
‘You need to be your customers’ favourite local gallery, with a choice that suits what they’re looking for and in a price range that they expect,’ said Meredith. ‘There’s nothing more annoying than making the effort to go to a shop that you hope has what you need, just to find it’s changed its range. Yes, push the edges a bit. Keep them interested. But if you can’t see the piece in your average customer’s living room, it’s not for you. And if you switch to smaller sizes then you can also have more pieces on display, giving you a double benefit.’
‘I guess I could rebalance the portfolio…’ said Daisy.
‘Great. That’s settled then,’ said Meredith, ignoring the reluctant note in Daisy’s voice. She thought for a moment. ‘You could also renegotiate the rent.’
‘I can’t,’ said Daisy. ‘It’s all tied up in my rental agreement already.’
‘I bet you can. If your landlord understands that you won’t make any money and will have to close then there’s a good chance he’ll negotiate. I’ll help you put the arguments together. The last thing he’ll want is for this place to be empty for a couple of months. That’ll cost him a lot more than your rent increase.’
‘God, I hope so. Otherwise I’m stuffed. I’ll have to go back to painting in my bedroom,’ said Daisy with a sigh.
‘That’s not going to happen,’ said Meredith resolutely. ‘What about local businesses? Do you have many contacts? Most companies buy art for their office buildings. Clinton Wahlberg seems to buy truckloads of the stuff.’
She was on a roll now.
‘Some,’ said Daisy, ‘but they’re mostly my suppliers.’
‘That doesn’t matter. It’s another area we can work on. If the people won’t come to you… ’ Meredith waved towards the front door of the gallery with a flourish. ‘… then you shall go to them.’
‘I hope we’ve got enough time,’ said Daisy, looking rather overwhelmed by Meredith’s plan.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll sort it out,’ said Meredith, giving Daisy a hug. As had been the case many times in Meredith’s life, she was acting more confident than she felt.
Chapter 10
Meredith arrived at the office the next day still puzzling over Daisy’s dilemma. But all thoughts of the business dynamics of art galleries were quickly put to one side once she checked her diary. She had a leads tracking meeting with the rest of the team at ten a.m.; the usual horribly competitive show-and-tell session of what jobs everyone had in the pipeline. Meredith had got off quite lightly at these meetings so far but her honeymoon period would soon be over.
Meredith collected her thoughts on what to say. She had good news on the Beau Street job, obviously, but did she have anything else? One of the directors at the German private hospital group had finally returned her call, and although she hadn’t actually spoken to him, Meredith decided that it was a good sign. She jotted down the company details in her notebook and wrote warm next to it, circling the word in red pen a few times. Meredith frowned anxiously; that wasn’t going to be enough for Nick.
As ever, the meeting started promptly at ten. People were still rushing into the room as Nick began speaking.
‘Morning, everyone. Right, I think we all know the form by now. I’d like to go round the room, one by one. Can each of you update me on what you’ve been up to over the last couple of weeks?’
Meredith listened nervously to the long lists of potential projects that all the others seemed to have on the go. Why didn’t she have more to say?
Before it got to her turn to speak, Alfred slid Meredith a piece of paper. On it was a table containing company names, action lists, dates and next steps. Several of the entries said emails exchanged, meeting setup in progress. Meredith looked at Alfred in surprise.
‘Are these your leads?’ she whispered.
‘Our leads,’ said Alfred. ‘They’re based on the research you asked me to do. You were right: quite a few companies you suggested are in play.’
‘Are you going to talk about them?’
Alfred shook his head. ‘No, you should. Nick will take it more seriously coming from you.’
Before Meredith had time to object, it was Alfred’s turn to speak.
‘Meredith and I have been working together on most of our leads, so it’s probably best if she starts and I’ll chip in as needed.’
‘Okay, no problem,’ said Nick, nodding. ‘Meredith?’
‘Well, the cosmetic surgery business I came to see you about, Nick, that’s going well. We’ve had the initial meeting with the CEO and he’s taken our client’s approach back to the rest of the management team. Assuming they’re positive about it, I think it will move forward.’
‘Sounds good. Just remind me, where do you know the American buyers from? Have you worked with them before?’ Nick asked.
At that moment, the room seemed to fall silent and Meredith felt herself starting to blush.
‘Err, no, I’ve not worked with them before. I had a contact there from before I joined Clinton Wahlberg. We met at, um, a healthcare conference.’
Nick nodded approvingly. ‘Conferences are great networking opportunities. We should do more of that. What else?’
Meredith went on to run through Alfred’s list.
‘Sounds like you two have been busy. Good work; I’m impressed,’ said Nick.
After the meeting, Meredith grabbed Alfred.
‘Thank you for sharing your leads. Why didn’t you tell me how far you�
��d got with them?’ she asked.
‘To be honest, most of it only came together over the last day or so. And besides, you really helped me out, you know, the other day.’ Alfred shifted his weight uncomfortably and looked at the floor. It was obviously his way of saying ‘thank you’ to her.
‘Well, you’ve really helped me out too, so we’re even,’ said Meredith. ‘And let’s work a bit more closely on this from now on, shall we? I think we make a good team.’
‘Sure,’ said Alfred, looking happier.
As soon as Meredith got back to her office the phone rang. It was Nick.
‘Look, Meredith, a big pitch has just come in that I didn’t want to discuss in front of the whole team. VuePharma are on the acquisition trail and want to hire a bank to help them. It’s the start of a major programme that will run for the next three years, and the first acquisition is a French business. We’re up against all the usual faces, so it’s pretty competitive. But I think we’ve got a good chance and I’d like you to lead it.’
‘Wow, a three-year programme – that could be huge,’ said Meredith.
‘Yes, it could. Maybe I’m taking a bit of a risk, but I’ve been impressed with what you’ve achieved so far, and your experience in France is obviously very relevant here.’
Meredith was hugely flattered and excited. What an opportunity!
‘Of course, I’d be delighted, and thank you for asking me. What do we need to do?’
‘The first step is for us to send in a short presentation outlining our credentials and experience in the sector,’ said Nick.
‘Okay, that makes sense. When’s the deadline?’
‘Friday at five p.m.’
Meredith’s face fell. ‘That’s two days away!’
‘I know it’s not long, but we’ll just have to do the best we can.’
After Nick had rung off, Meredith went and got Alfred. The email brief she had received from Nick setting out what was required ran to three pages.
‘That’s a pretty long list,’ said Alfred, surveying the pages.
‘Do you think we can do it?’