by Penny Avis
The conference was being held in a large, modern conference centre on the outskirts of London. On arrival, Meredith followed the signs from the reception area and made her way to the long desk where the delegates were required to register. Several women dressed almost identically in black skirts and white shirts were standing behind a long desk covered in badges. Meredith wondered why badge handling never seemed to be a man’s job. After a few minutes of wandering around to get her bearings, Meredith headed to the coffee area and found a seat. There were several prominent speakers she was keen to talk to at some point. Plus Hazel had given her a list of delegates, all colour-coded into groups with typical Hazel efficiency. Meredith prepared a list of whom she wanted to meet and made her way into the first talk: ‘Market Opportunities, the Risks and Rewards’. It wasn’t the most exciting of talks, but she followed the textbook approach to getting noticed: she asked several, what she hoped were intelligent, questions making sure that they gave the speaker, who was the CEO of a large medical instrument manufacturer, a chance to show off his knowledge. She also wrote down some of his more notable comments, ready to play them back to him after the talk.
As soon as the talk finished, Meredith made her way straight to the front of the hall and introduced herself.
‘Hello, Peter. Meredith Romaine, Clinton Wahlberg. I have to say that I totally agree with what you said about the markets needing less regulation. Very insightful.’
As usual, her textbook approach worked like a charm. The combination of focus and flattery gained her a business card and a potential introduction to the board.
At the break, Meredith wandered off in search of a quiet spot where she could sit down and check her emails. She was sitting on a small two-seater sofa and typing an email reply to Alfred when she noticed someone hovering next to her. She looked up. It was Jamie, from the night of the team drinks in her first week. Meredith stood up in surprise.
‘Hello, I thought it was you,’ said Jamie. ‘Sorry, am I disturbing you? You look like you’re in the middle of something.’
In the wine bar Jamie’s eyes had looked almost black, but in the daylight Meredith could see they were actually more of a smoky grey. He was also much more handsome than she’d remembered.
‘No, that’s okay. I was just taking the chance to deal with some emails, nothing vital. What are you doing here? I thought you worked in IT?’
‘I do. But we’re pitching for a major IT project at a care homes business and their head of development is speaking today. They want our pitch to be “future proof”, so I’m here to listen to his talk. You know, hopefully pick up some tips. It might just put us one step ahead of our competition’ – he looked around suspiciously – ‘who thankfully don’t seem to be here.’
Meredith was impressed. That was some serious planning. ‘Wow, it must be a big pitch.’
‘It is, and quite frankly we really need to win it. So we’re pulling out all the stops, even if that does mean stalking the management team,’ said Jamie, grinning. ‘Anyway, how are you? I did try to ring you, but I must’ve written your number down wrong.’
Shit! Meredith had forgotten she’d given him the wrong number. She felt herself starting to go red.
‘Really? Oh, gosh, don’t worry. I guess it’s easily done after a few too many.’ Meredith picked up her conference timetable. ‘Is this the talk you’re after?’
Jamie nodded and looked at his watch. ‘I guess I’d better go and find a seat.’
‘Look, I know quite a bit about the care homes market. Why don’t I come and listen with you? That way maybe I can help you a bit with your pitch ideas,’ said Meredith, seeing an opportunity to make amends for how she’d behaved the last time they’d met.
‘Would you? That would be great. I tell you, we need every bit of insight we can get our hands on. It’s not going to be easy.’
‘I know how you feel. We just finished the first stage of a big pitch last week. Nearly killed me.’
They made their way to the large room where the head of development for Brightside Care Homes was speaking. Jamie started to sit towards the back, but Meredith ushered him down to some seats just four rows from the front.
‘It’ll be good if he sees you’re here; shows how much effort you’re putting in.’
‘But he doesn’t know me from Adam,’ said Jamie.
‘He will soon.’
Meredith sat listening intently to the talk and took plenty of notes. She handed Jamie a note with a question on it, with Don’t forget to identify yourself scribbled on the bottom. Meredith was really impressed with how Jamie handled himself. He dealt with the question and the subsequent exchange with the speaker with a confidence and ease that belied his lack of experience in the sector.
After the talk, they made their way back to the reception area of the conference centre.
‘Would you like to grab a quick sandwich and compare notes?’ Jamie looked at her enquiringly as they filed out of the conference room.
‘Yes, okay, why not?’
‘Well, he certainly knows who you are now,’ said Meredith once they had sat down in the conference centre’s rather unimaginative canteen. ‘Did you get what you needed?’
‘I think so. They’ve got a massive growth programme planned, so their new IT systems will need to have plenty of capacity built in.’
‘I wonder if they’ve got any businesses in mind,’ said Meredith, staring into space. Maybe there was a lead for her somewhere.
‘Oh yes, definitely. Word on the street is that they want to take out at least two of their smaller competitors.’
‘Really, where did you hear that?’
‘It was in an industry magazine that I read. I’m not sure which one; I’ve read so many over the last couple of weeks.’
‘Blimey, you have been busy.’
Jamie shrugged. ‘Can’t leave anything to chance. We’ve got to live, breathe and sleep care homes if we want to blow their socks off.’
Meredith’s mind began to race. This could be a great opportunity for Clinton Wahlberg too, especially if Jamie won the IT work; it would give her a great contact on the inside.
‘Would you like me to have a look at your pitch document before it goes? See if I can add anything?’ Meredith offered.
‘That’s very kind, but I probably can’t share it outside the company.’
‘Yes, fair enough.’
‘But maybe I could give you a ring or drop you an email, if there’s anything that I’d like to chat through? If I can write the details down properly, that is,’ said Jamie, smiling.
‘Sure, good idea.’ Meredith took out a business card, wrote her real mobile number on the back, and gave it to Jamie. ‘Keep in touch, won’t you. I’d love to know how you get on.’
‘Maybe we could, you know, have a drink sometime?’ Jamie asked, smiling enquiringly.
Meredith searched for a response. Her immediate reaction was to tell him she had a boyfriend. But was that really how she saw Ryan? Before she could reply, Jamie seemed to sense her hesitation.
‘Sorry, that was a bit, well, inappropriate,’ he said, shifting uncomfortably. ‘Anyway, thanks for all your help. Fingers crossed it’ll make the difference.’ He got up to leave.
‘No problem, best of luck. And do please ring me if I can help,’ said Meredith, suddenly feeling guilty all over again that she was treating him badly. He was a decent guy and a potentially useful contact. She stood up and smiled. ‘Can I have your email address too, just in case anything springs to mind?’
Jamie took a business card out of his suit pocket and gave it to her. She was about to put it straight in her bag but then she noticed his title: Jamie Spencer, Founder and CEO, Sunpart Systems. She looked up at Jamie in amazement. He couldn’t be much more than thirty.
‘You’re the CEO?’
He grinned at her. ‘It’s a young company.’
‘But you’re pitching for such a big project,’ said Meredith, feeling very embarrassed that she
’d been treating him like a trainee.
‘We’re system designers. An ideas engine room if you like. It doesn’t actually take that many people. If they buy our design then other IT companies will be brought in to supply all the equipment. We’ll just project manage it.’
‘Well, I’m still very impressed,’ said Meredith.
‘Don’t be,’ said Jamie, laughing. ‘I’m still just the guy you gave the wrong phone number to.’
He raised his eyebrows at Meredith in amusement. Meredith smiled back sheepishly.
‘Will you let me know how you get on?’
‘Yes, I will. Second time lucky,’ said Jamie.
After the conference ended for the day, Meredith headed back to the office feeling rather pleased with herself. She’d spent the rest of the afternoon working her way meticulously through the list of people she’d wanted to meet. She had a pocketful of business cards, and had several good leads to follow up on, particularly if Jamie won his pitch to put in the new IT systems at Brightside Care Homes. They were planning a big expansion programme – right up Meredith’s street. She carefully copied all the information from the business cards into her contacts directory and created diary reminders to follow them up. A good day’s work.
Then she turned her mind to Beau Street. It was time for a kick-off meeting with everyone involved. She rang Alfred; rather lazy, given that he sat only a short way along the corridor outside her office, but she’d had a busy day and her legs were tired.
‘Hey, how are you?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘Look, we need to get an all-party meeting sorted for Beau Street. Can you organise that for me?’
‘Sure,’ said Alfred. ‘Who with and when for?’
‘I’ve said we’ll try for Monday. Charles told us he’s appointed lawyers and accountants to help prepare reports for Equinox, so they need to be there. Plus the management team at Beau Street, and we need Ryan Miller from Equinox on the phone.’
‘Okay,’ said Alfred. There was a pause as he wrote notes. ‘Are you in your office?’
‘Yes,’ said Meredith, ‘but that’s about it really. Not much more to say.’
‘There’s something else I’d like to talk to you about, if that’s okay.’
Meredith was intrigued. ‘Yes, of course. Pop in.’
A few moments later Alfred appeared in the doorway to her office. He looked anxious and tired. Meredith waved him in and then got up and shut the door behind him. She sat quietly waiting for him to speak.
‘It’s about Lars,’ said Alfred finally.
Meredith just nodded and waited.
‘I’ve been helping him out on a few projects and, well, I think he’s not doing things exactly as he should, and I’m not quite sure what to do about it,’ said Alfred hesitantly.
‘What do you mean, “not as he should”?’
‘He’s trying to win a big project that he hasn’t mentioned at any of our leads meetings, or told Nick about.’
‘Why would he do that?’
‘I think he wants to make sure that none of the rest of you get a look in. He was pretty livid that Nick gave you the VuePharma pitch, so he wants to make sure he’s in the driving seat. I think he’s just planning to pull the rabbit out of the hat when the deal’s all sown up.’
‘What’s the project?’
Alfred scrunched up his face and said nothing.
‘You’ll need to tell me if I’m going to help you,’ said Meredith.
‘He’ll kill me. You saw his temper the other day when I missed his deadline.’ Alfred looked at the floor for a few moments. ‘If he wants to break the rules then that’s his lookout, but he shouldn’t get other people involved. That’s not fair, you know?’
Meredith nodded uncomfortably, thinking about Alfred preparing Ryan’s presentation for the board because she and Ryan had spent the entire weekend in bed.
‘I can’t do much unless you tell me what the project is,’ said Meredith.
Alfred rubbed his hands nervously on his trouser legs. ‘Okay. He’s trying to see whether he can get a meeting with any of the competitors of VuePharma. He’s hoping one of them will try to make a bid to take over Vue.’
‘Why would he do that? We’re already pitching to act for Vue and we can’t work on both sides,’ said Meredith, confused.
‘He thinks you’ve got no chance of winning the Vue pitch,’ said Alfred, quickly adding, ‘which is rubbish, obviously. So he thinks he’s doing the right thing by hedging our bets.’
Meredith was furious. Cheeky bastard. How dare he assume she wouldn’t win it!
‘Well, I’m pretty sure Nick wouldn’t agree,’ said Meredith. She got up and began pacing up and down her office. ‘He’s not thinking straight, that’s for sure.’
Alfred said nothing.
‘How far has he got with it?’ Meredith asked.
‘Not that far. I’m just pulling information together for him at this stage. He hasn’t had any meetings yet.’
‘Okay, good. But this is bloody ridiculous. I can’t be working on a pitch when someone else in our team is trying to bat for the other side. We’ll have to tell Nick, but we’d better get the facts first. Can you make some detailed notes – exactly what he asked you to do, when, that sort of thing. Then let’s decide what to do next. But if it looks as though he’s actually going out to meet people then shout straight away, okay?’
Alfred nodded miserably. ‘He’s going to be mad that I’ve told you. I hate this sort of thing. I don’t understand why people can’t just get on with their jobs as they’re meant to.’
After Alfred had left, Meredith sat at her desk feeling rather uneasy. It hadn’t taken much for Alfred to become suspicious of Lars and speak up. One short conversation and they were now preparing the ground to tell Nick about Lars not following the rules. What if someone found out about her relationship with Ryan? It didn’t bear thinking about. Mind you, Lars was being incredibly devious and she was still livid at his assumption that she wouldn’t win the VuePharma pitch.
Meredith tried to console herself with the thought that she hadn’t meant the Beau Street deal to happen. Unlike Lars, who was actively out trying to make things happen by breaking the rules. How was she supposed to know that Equinox would think their crazy takeover story was a good idea! It was meant to be just a cover for Ryan’s trips. Now he was a client, she had a full-blown deal on her hands and a relationship that was getting complicated.
Chapter 15
Later that evening, Meredith met Daisy for dinner and told her about her dilemma.
‘So I know what I should do, but it’s not that simple. I can’t just turn Ryan off like a tap. I’ll be working with him all the time and I know what he’s like. He’ll be trying to persuade me to change my mind every five minutes and he never takes no for an answer.’
‘He does seem really keen on you,’ Daisy agreed. ‘But that’s a good thing, surely, if you can just work your way through this deal?’
‘Yes, it is. And I really like him too. Well, except for when he’s being an uncultured, over-excitable show-off, that is.’
Daisy laughed. ‘You’re hardly the queen of culture yourself.’
‘At least I eat food with sauce on it,’ Meredith protested.
‘Fair point,’ said Daisy. ‘I suggest you bin him immediately.’
Meredith laughed too. ‘But seriously, though, Daisy, of course it’s great that he’s so keen on me. But this Lars situation just made me realise what a big gamble I’m taking. I really need to stop seeing him. It would only need to be a temporary thing, just until the deal is over. I’m sure he would understand.’
‘I bet you anything he wouldn’t,’ said Daisy. ‘In my experience, men just don’t think that logically, especially where the opposite sex is concerned.’
‘Thanks for your support,’ said Meredith.
‘I’m just trying to be realistic.’
Their conversation was interrupted by the food arriving. They were eating in a small gas
tro pub a few minutes away from Meredith’s apartment that seemed to pride itself on its huge portions. Meredith’s fish in beer batter was so big that both ends hung over the side of her plate. Daisy’s sausage and mash dish was equally generous: three fat pork-and-leek sausages were perched wigwam-like on top of a mountain of creamy mashed potato.
‘Ryan asked me if he could stay with me next time he was over,’ said Meredith, stuffing in a huge mouthful of fried fish.
‘Really? What did you say?’
‘I told him it was too soon for that, but then I let him come and stay for the night five minutes later. What a pushover I am!’
‘So do you think he might be, you know, The One?’
Meredith shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so. He’s a nice guy and everything, but it’s probably all a bit too long distance to be that serious between us.’
‘Well, maybe you should just finish it for good instead then?’ said Daisy. ‘That might be easier than trying to have some temporary break. What’s the point if you know it’s not going anywhere?’
‘Not every relationship has to be “going somewhere”,’ said Meredith. ‘We’re just having fun together, that’s all. It’s alright for you. You and Dougie are so well suited to each other; your names even go together perfectly. I’m still trying people out for size.’ She knew her logic probably wasn’t very sound, but it was how she felt.
‘Maybe you just need to widen your horizons a bit. Take the pressure off,’ suggested Daisy. ‘I’m having a dinner party next week, probably on Wednesday evening. Can you come?’
Meredith checked her diary. She was initially tempted to say that she was busy, but with Ryan back in the US, her week was pretty much devoid of any social events, so she changed her mind.
‘Yes, great. At your place?’
Daisy nodded. ‘Julie’s coming, you know the artist you met the other day, and Finn from the gallery. Dougie will be there, obviously, and I haven’t quite decided who else.’