by Penny Avis
‘We’ll have to. It’s a massive opportunity. And well done, by the way, for getting the lead on it.’
‘Hmm, it feels a bit more like a hospital pass right now,’ said Meredith in weary recognition of the hideous two days that lay ahead.
The two days turned out to be every bit as bad as Meredith had imagined. She, Alfred and Jackie, one of the analysts in the team, worked until three a.m. the following morning and then right through the night the day after. Meredith only went home to shower and grab a couple of hours of sleep and then headed straight back into the office, surviving on a mixture of caffeine and adrenaline. But as Alfred had predicted, by five p.m. on Friday the presentation was ready.
‘Just shows what you can achieve with teamwork and sheer bloody mindedness,’ said Meredith. ‘We should be very proud of ourselves.’
Alfred and Jackie, slumped in chairs in her office, both nodded in weary agreement.
Meredith sent the email containing their submission and the three of them cheered, causing most of the people sitting outside to turn around in surprise.
‘Right, home, both of you. Get some sleep,’ said Meredith, shooing them out.
She fully intended to crawl home to bed too, but when Daisy rang to see whether she wanted to come for a drink, Meredith changed her mind. It wasn’t a great idea to go to bed at teatime; she’d be better off trying to stay awake for a few more hours and then grabbing an early night.
‘I’m meeting a couple of my contacts from the gallery,’ said Daisy. ‘Arty types, but as long as you don’t mind that, it should be a laugh.’
‘Quite frankly you could be meeting Attila the Hun and I’d still join you. I’ve just worked forty-eight hours straight on a big pitch and I really need a drink,’ said Meredith.
She agreed to meet Daisy in a small wine bar not far from the gallery. When she arrived, she found the sign over the door was faded and peeling, the hanging baskets were drooping through lack of water and the rather tacky, twinkly lights around the windows were missing several bulbs. How typical of Daisy to have picked a total dive. Meredith pushed the door open and headed inside. She immediately saw Daisy sitting with two others at a long trestle table.
‘Shove up,’ said Daisy to the girl sitting next to her. ‘Guys, this is my lovely friend, Meredith.’
Meredith smiled at the assembled faces and sat down.
‘This is Julie and Leon,’ said Daisy to Meredith. ‘Julie is one of the other artists who show in the gallery and Leon is a writer with an art magazine.’
Julie had red frizzy hair and a round, smiley face with huge dimples. Leon was tall and rangy, with long brown hair tied up into a rather matted ponytail. They were both dressed in jeans, causing Meredith to feel rather overdressed in her black-and-white-checked dress and patent heels.
‘Hi, lovely to meet you,’ said Julie. ‘How do you two know each other?’
‘Our fathers are friends; we grew up together,’ said Daisy, putting her arm round Meredith and giving her a hug. ‘We’ve been friends for years.’
‘Would you like a drink?’ Leon asked, getting up from the table.
‘Glass of white wine would be lovely, thanks,’ said Meredith.
After a couple of minutes, Leon returned, carefully carrying a large glass of wine.
‘Wow, that’s huge,’ said Meredith. ‘Thank you.’
‘What do you do?’ Julie asked.
‘I’m an investment banker in the healthcare sector,’ said Meredith.
Julie and Leon both looked at her blankly.
‘We advise companies on buying and selling businesses.’ Meredith didn’t really expect them to be overly interested in her line of work, and sure enough, they weren’t.
‘Oh, I see,’ said Leon, not looking particularly impressed. He changed the subject: ‘Did you see my piece about the Allworth Art Prize?’ The question was directed at Daisy.
Meredith sat quietly, sipping her wine, as the others engaged in an animated and sometimes heated debate about the merits of the shortlist for a contemporary art prize that she’d never heard of.
‘I’d like Seth Wallis to put some of his pieces in the gallery,’ said Daisy. ‘He’d be a great addition to the portfolio.’
‘Ooh yes, you should approach him,’ said Julie.
‘He’ll probably be inundated with offers now he’s on the shortlist. You’ll have no chance,’ said Leon. He rolled his eyes at Julie, making it clear he felt Daisy’s suggestion was pretty hopeless.
‘Don’t be so miserable,’ said Julie. ‘It’s worth a go, don’t you think, Daisy?’
‘Yes, I do. The gallery could do with a boost like that. Meredith’s been helping me look at ways to bring in some new business, as it happens,’ said Daisy, drawing Meredith back into the conversation with a warm smile.
‘Really?’ Leon looked astonished. ‘What can she add?’
‘Quite a lot, I hope,’ said Meredith. She forced herself to keep her tone pleasant; after all, she’d only just met him.
‘You bankers, you think you know everything,’ said Leon, sitting back in his chair and looking at her impassively.
‘That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?’ Meredith asked.
‘Not really. You spend half your time stuffing your offices full of expensive art that no one gives two hoots about, and the other half buying expensive collections just to show off to your friends, pricing everyone else out of the market,’ said Leon.
Daisy and Julie both looked mortified at this outburst.
‘Leon, that’s a bit unnecessary. Meredith’s input has actually been really useful,’ said Daisy.
‘And don’t you think that’s a bit of a ridiculous generalisation,’ Meredith added.
‘Not as ridiculous as the amount of money you earn,’ Leon retorted.
‘You don’t know the first thing about me,’ said Meredith, her eyes flashing with anger.
‘I don’t need to,’ said Leon. ‘You’re just a bunch of overpaid parasites sitting in your ivory towers while the rest of us struggle to make a decent living.’
Daisy gasped. ‘Right, that’s enough, Leon. Please apologise to Meredith right now.’
Meredith felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. She wasn’t going to let him get away with that.
‘Well, you’re just ignorant and prejudiced. You have no idea about me, my background, or how I got here. And what right do you have to assume that I’m overpaid? Do you know how much value I’ve created for my clients? No. Or how we help them become even more successful? No. And who benefits the most from that success? Consumers like you. Successful companies innovate, bring you new products, increase competition, create jobs; all things that drive the economy. That’s hardly the role of a parasite. What a load of crap. You have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘It’s not crap. It’s what’s wrong with this bloody country: rewarding people like you for taking massive risks with other people’s money.’
‘Well, for a start I’m not a trader, I’m an adviser. There’s a big difference. So if you’re going to use sweeping generalisations, at least try to make them accurate. And secondly, we’re rewarded strictly on the results we get for our clients, nothing else.’ Meredith glared defiantly at Leon.
He shrugged indifferently. ‘That makes no odds. You and these big corporates are all in it together. It’s the little guys like us that end up suffering.’
‘Suffering how exactly?’ Meredith asked incredulously.
‘Look, shall we finish this conversation? We’re meant to be here to have a quiet drink and relax.’ Daisy stared icily at Leon.
‘Yes, let’s. With the week I’ve had, I could seriously do without this shit.’ The exhaustion of the past few days was taking its toll. She took a deep breath and got up from the table. ‘Excuse me.’
She made her way over the bar and ordered a glass of water. A few moments later, Daisy followed her.
‘God, I am so sorry,’ said Daisy. ‘I’ve asked him to leave. What an arse!
I don’t know him that well. I’ve only met him a couple of times before and he was perfectly pleasant then. And I thought he might be a useful contact, which is why I invited him. You know, maybe help me with some PR for the gallery.’
Julie joined them a few moments later, carrying all their bags and coats.
‘Meredith love, are you okay?’ said Julie, her ruddy face creased with concern. She clucked around Meredith and Daisy like a mother hen, ranting with outrage at Leon’s rudeness at the same time:
‘What a horrible, ignorant man, fancy picking on you like that. Totally unnecessary.
Meredith felt a rush of warmth towards Julie. ‘I’m sorry, maybe I overreacted a bit. I’ve had one hell of a week and I think it’s showing. I’m not normally quite so sensitive,’ she said.
Daisy squeezed Meredith’s hand. ‘You’re not being sensitive. He had no right to have a go at you like that; he’d only known you five minutes.’
‘Exactly. He needs to know me for at least an hour before he can have a go at me like that.’ Meredith smiled at Daisy.
‘That’s better,’ said Daisy, laughing. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
Meredith got back to her flat with Leon’s words still ringing in her ears. She knew that someone like him would never understand what she did. She worked hard and was good at her job, and that was nothing to be ashamed of.
Chapter 11
Meredith arrived at work late on Monday morning feeling agitated and grumpy. She walked up to the desk of the secretary she shared with others in the healthcare team.
‘Morning, Hazel. Sorry, have you been trying to get hold of me? I had a couple of missed calls. Bloody tube was a nightmare this morning.’
Hazel was in her fifties with curly brown hair and large green-rimmed glasses. She was one of those stoical people who seem to be entirely unruffled by anything going on around her; an oasis of calm in the middle of an often manic office. She was also a brilliant source of gossip which, as the resident new girl, Meredith found very useful. According to Alfred, she also had a fearful temper, so Meredith was being very careful to keep on the right side of her.
‘Morning. Charles Sutton from the Beau Street Group rang for you. I tried to put him through to your mobile but you didn’t pick up. He’s going into a meeting at ten thirty, so asked if you could call him back before then,’ said Hazel, handing Meredith a message slip with Charles’s mobile number neatly written on it.
‘Okay, great, will do,’ said Meredith. ‘Anything else?’
‘Nick wants several of you to go the Annual Healthcare conference. So I’ve put the date in your diary; it’s next week. Is that okay?’
‘Yes, of course I’ll go,’ said Meredith, remembering Nick’s comment about wanting them to do more networking. ‘Could you get me the list of speakers, and ideally attendees, as soon as you can?’
‘Already on the case,’ said Hazel.
‘You’re just too efficient,’ said Meredith, grinning at her.
Hazel waved Meredith away from her desk with mock distain. ‘Away with you,’ she said. ‘I have work to do.’
Meredith hurried off to her office to ring Charles, anxious to hear what he had to say. He told her that the rest of the management team were keen to explore Equinox’s offer and would allow them access to Beau Street’s financial records. He also explained that they were going to hire legal and financial advisers to help them pull together the information Equinox wanted. That way Equinox could be happy that the information was accurate and unbiased.
‘We like to tell it how it is,’ Charles reminded her. ‘Can you come and see us tomorrow?’
Once she had finished the call with Charles, Meredith put the phone down and stared up at the ceiling. That was it; there was no way back now. She had a live project on her hands that would either kick-start her new career or, if she carried on seeing Ryan, potentially get her fired. Was he really worth the risk? When she was away from him, she could easily imagine herself calling it off, but she knew that the second she saw him, all those sensible thoughts went straight out the window. Still, there were a hundred reasons why the deal might fall over, so she might as well find out whether the Beau Street business was any good before she did anything drastic.
She grabbed Alfred and Jackie, the junior analyst, from their desks and shut her office door behind them.
‘Right,’ she said, ‘I’ve just heard that the Beau Street deal is moving to the next stage. I’ve agreed with the CEO that we will head out there tomorrow to meet their finance director, so we can get the information we need to start preparing a valuation of them.’
‘I’m out with Rupert at another client tomorrow,’ said Alfred, looking disappointed.
‘I can come,’ said Jackie enthusiastically. Jackie was a quirky character who tended to lurch between bounding optimism and blind panic depending on the task at hand.
‘Okay, you and me it is then,’ said Meredith. ‘Alfred, could you run the valuation model once we have the information?’
‘Absolutely,’ he said.
‘Charles said they’d be giving us plenty of data, so that’ll be right up your street,’ grinned Meredith. ‘Jackie, why don’t you and I sit down and put our heads together this afternoon, ready for tomorrow, and we can catch up with Alfred when we get back – does that sound like a plan?’
After a productive afternoon, Meredith and Jackie arrived at Beau Street’s office shortly after lunch the following day.
‘Meredith Romaine and Jackie Whitman from Clinton Wahlberg to see Tom Duffy,’ said Meredith to the bored-looking receptionist.
‘Have you been here before?’ asked the receptionist.
The question caught Meredith by surprise. Why did she want to know that? ‘Err, yes, I have,’ she said, quickly adding, ‘I had a meeting with Charles Sutton last week. This is Jackie’s first visit.’
The receptionist peered at her computer screen. What database was she looking at; surely it wouldn’t show patient visits?
‘Right, yes, here you are,’ said the receptionist, printing off a visitor’s badge and handing it to Meredith without any hint of a reaction. Either she hadn’t seen anything or her heavily Botoxed face was no longer capable of expression. Meredith wasn’t sure which, but either way, she needed to stop thinking everyone was trying to catch her out. The receptionist typed in Jackie’s details and printed a badge for her too, and they both went and sat down in the waiting area.
Jackie looked around the immaculate reception area with interest. ‘Cool place,’ she said to Meredith in a low voice.
Meredith nodded in agreement.
After a few minutes Linda, Charles Sutton’s secretary, came down to get them.
‘Hello again,’ Linda said to Meredith. ‘I also look after our finance director, Tom Duffy. He’s expecting you – come on up.’
Meredith and Jackie followed Linda up to Tom Duffy’s office.
Tom was sitting behind a large pedestal desk reading some papers. He stood up as they entered the room.
‘Hello, I’m Tom Duffy, do come in.’
His eyes creased with a warm smile and Meredith liked the look of him immediately. Tom was in his early fifties and a sporty type, judging by the paraphernalia in his office.
They all sat down at the round table in his office and finished their introductions.
‘I understand from Charles that you’re here to collect some financial information, so you can help Equinox with their valuation of us. Is that right?’ Tom asked.
Meredith nodded. ‘Yes, that’s right.’
Tom got up and went to the filing cupboard at the side of his office. He pulled out several bound documents and brought them over to show to Meredith and Jackie.
‘Will this sort of thing do?’
Meredith looked at the open page he placed before her. ‘More than enough,’ she said, looking at Jackie, who nodded in agreement.
‘There’s a bit more information in these packs than you need, so I’d rather just give you
extracts, if that’s okay.’
‘Of course.’
‘Okay, great. I’ll get Linda to print out the relevant pages for me. It shouldn’t take long. Would you like a coffee while you wait? There’s a machine at the end of the corridor, if you don’t mind helping yourselves.’
‘Thank you,’ said Meredith, standing up. She looked enquiringly at Jackie. ‘White without?’
‘Yes, please,’ said Jackie.
Meredith left Tom’s office and made her way to the small kitchen that housed the coffee machine and the photocopier. The regulation boxes of paper that were neatly stacked next to the photocopier seemed to have become a home for unwanted coffee cups. Several waifs and strays lay festooned on the topmost box right underneath the ‘Please keep this kitchen tidy’ sign, which made Meredith smile.
Meredith was peering at the coffee options when someone came into the room behind her.
‘Well, hello,’ said a silky female voice.
Meredith turned around and took a sharp intake of breath. It was Audrey, the nurse. Her neatly coiffured blonde hair, delicate silver jewellery and rather high, strappy sandals seemed somehow at odds with her clinical white jacket.
‘I thought I saw you the other day. How are you? You look well, I must say,’ said Audrey.
‘Oh, err, yes, I’m fine, thanks,’ Meredith stammered, lost for anything else to say.
‘What brings you here? We don’t usually see patients up in the offices. Not unless they’re suing us,’ said Audrey, initially laughing and then frowning. ‘You’re not suing us, are you?’
‘Gosh, no,’ said Meredith. Her mind was racing. What on earth should she tell her? She could hardly tell her about the Equinox deal. She didn’t know who in the company knew about it yet; probably only the senior team. But she needed some sort of plausible reason to be there.
‘I work in investment banking, in the healthcare sector as it happens, and I’ve come to see whether Tom Duffy or Charles Sutton would like to speak at a conference we’re involved with,’ Meredith said, feeling rather pleased with her rapid thinking.
‘Oh, I’m sure one of them will. They love all that sort of thing,’ said Audrey. ‘When is it?’