by Penny Avis
‘Hmm, maybe we should factor that into our pitch somehow… ’ Meredith stopped mid-sentence and looked at Lars. ‘If this is another attempt to derail us then all bets are off. I’ll get IT back on the case, truce or no truce.’
Lars looked genuinely offended by her suggestion. He reached over to his in-tray and flicked through it until he found a small bound report.
‘Here, read this. It’s a sector report from one of the top analysts published only two days ago. It says the same thing.’
‘Okay, thanks. And sorry. You can’t blame me for being suspicious. And by the way, that’s twice I’ve apologised in this conversation.’ Meredith put her hand behind her ear and leant towards Lars expectantly, a gesture that finally seemed to break the ice between them.
Lars grinned at her. ‘I’m sorry too.’
‘Apology accepted,’ said Meredith, standing up. ‘And thanks for the tip-off.’
‘No problem, and good luck on Friday,’ said Lars. For once Meredith thought he might actually mean it.
Once she was back in her office, Meredith picked up the phone to Daisy and filled her in on the briefing meeting she’d had with the rather bonkers Vivien Sherwood. Not surprisingly Daisy was utterly thrilled.
‘I can’t believe it. That’s totally brilliant! You star!’
‘Steady, you haven’t got the work yet,’ said Meredith.
‘I know, but the fact that I have a chance is enough.’
‘One of my team has offered to help too. He’s a bit of a rocket scientist who loves his art, so he tells me. And luckily he’s a bit more clued up on Clinton Wahlberg’s brand values than I am. I don’t think I’ve been here long enough for them to be permanently tattooed to the back of my head.’
‘Okay, great. The more help we have, the better. When do they want our proposal by?’
‘End of next week. I’ve got a big pitch on Friday, so I’m maxed out before then, but if we get together this weekend that should give us time to help you pull something together.’
‘How are you feeling?’
‘A bit like I’ve been run over by a train, to be honest. And I still feeling like a complete idiot.’
‘Hardly. You should be celebrating that you found out now, rather than later on.’
‘True. At least now I can eat in decent restaurants without being humiliated. I never thought he was going to be the love of my life or anything. But I’d still rather he hadn’t been seeing twenty other women at the same time.’
‘You don’t know that for certain. It could’ve just been all talk.’
‘Well, the talk I saw was bad enough, and anyway, never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Not that I plan to be telling many people.’
‘I think you need to get back in the saddle, find yourself a new man. Is there anyone interesting at your office?’
‘Not so far, particularly if you exclude those working for me and those who hate me.’
‘Well, you’d better get yourself out and about. Meet a few more of those business contacts you keep talking about.’
‘You sound like my boss,’ said Meredith, but her mind turned to her last conversation with Jamie. It had been at least two weeks since they had spoken at Daisy’s dinner party and she had promised to call him.
‘Shall we meet at the gallery on Saturday morning?’ Meredith asked.
‘Yes, that works. Finn will be in, so he can cover while we plot,’ said Daisy.
Meredith ended the call with Daisy and then selected Jamie’s number from the contacts’ list on her phone. Her fingers toyed over the keys as she debated whether to call him. Her natural instinct was to send him a text message, but she knew that would probably come across as a bit cold after such a long silence. For God’s sake, get a grip, she told herself. Just ring him. Meredith stood up and pressed his number. It went straight to voicemail.
‘Er, oh, hi, Jamie, this is Meredith Romaine. Just wondering how you are and whether you might be about to meet up for that drink sometime. I’ve got that big pitch coming up and I could do with all the help I can get. Anyway, hope you’re well. Let me know. Um, yeah, thanks, bye.’
Meredith grimaced as she hung up. That was hardly the most sophisticated message she’d ever left. But she’d barely even put the phone down when Jamie rang back.
‘Sorry about diverting you. I was just on the other line when you rang. How are you?’
‘Great, thanks. Did you get my message?’
‘No, sorry, I just saw your number come up and rang you back.’
‘That’s probably a good thing. It was a bit rambling. I was just wondering if you wanted to have that drink sometime? The deal I’m working on is quite close to completing, so I’m beginning to get my head above water again.’
‘Yeah sure, that’d be great. Have you done that pitch yet, the one that someone in your team thought you wouldn’t win?’
‘No, it’s on Friday,’ said Meredith, impressed by Jamie’s memory of their conversation. ‘I’ve been stealing some of your ideas actually and have been successfully stalking the management team. Well, one of them anyway.’
Jamie laughed. ‘I could meet you tomorrow evening, if that works? How about the wine bar where you had your team drinks that time? That’s close for both of us.’
‘Sounds perfect. See you then.’
Meredith couldn’t help smiling as she came off the phone, although she wasn’t sure why. It was just a work drink and with someone she barely knew. But there was something about Jamie, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Chapter 25
After lunch, Meredith and Alfred headed back out to Beau Street to try to wrap up the couple of final negotiating points. They were in their project room mid-discussion on the best approach to take when there was a knock on the door. It was Linda, Tom and Charles’s secretary.
‘Charles has asked to see you, Meredith. There have been some developments that he’d like to talk to you about.’
‘Should someone from Equinox join me?’ Meredith asked.
‘No, he’d like to see you on your own in the first instance. Are you free now?’
‘Yes, of course. I’ll be up in five minutes.’
Linda shut the door and Alfred and Meredith looked at each other in alarm.
‘Oh no, it didn’t work. Audrey’s told them I was a patient,’ said Meredith.
‘Maybe it’s something else,’ said Alfred.
‘What else could it be? Shit. They probably want me taken off the project.’
Meredith paced anxiously around the room.
‘They probably just want to agree something on the valuation, or the funds flow, something like that,’ said Alfred, trying to sound reassuring.
‘So why do they want me on my own, then? It doesn’t make sense,’ said Meredith, frowning. She got up and picked up a pad of paper and a pen. ‘I guess I’ll just have to go and find out.’
Meredith made her way up to Charles’s office, resigned to her fate. Her best option was to keep the discussion short and to the point, and then get back to the office as soon as possible to let Nick sort it out. She knocked tentatively on the door.
‘Come in. Ah, Meredith, do sit down,’ said Charles, smiling at her warmly. ‘I must say that the negotiations are proceeding apace and hopefully we’ll have a deal to agree soon. As I’m retiring I won’t be around to see it, of course, but the rest of the team are hugely excited about the prospect of working with Equinox. It will be great for our patients to benefit from their expertise. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for introducing us to them.’
Meredith looked at Charles in surprise. That hadn’t quite been the start she was expecting.
‘Thank you, that’s very kind. But don’t forget we only approached you because your business came out of our analysis so well. Beau Street was at the top of the league tables in most of the metrics we looked at, and that’s down to you and your team. I might make the introductions, but it’s the management tha
t makes the business worth buying.’
‘Well, whatever the reasons, here we are,’ said Charles.
Meredith waited for him to continue.
‘There have been some developments in Lloyd Cassidy’s investigation.’
Meredith nodded, steeling herself for what was coming next.
‘And the reason I wanted to see you on your own is that I’d like you to tell your client without their Rottweiler of a lawyer present. What’s his name, Wickens?’
‘Yes, Warren Wickens.’
‘Well, we’ve done a deal with Lloyd and Wickens is bound not to like it. So I thought it would be a good idea for Lawson and Ryan to have a bit of time to reflect on it first.’
‘I see,’ said Meredith. ‘What sort of deal?’
‘He’s going to leave the business and forgo his share of the sale proceeds in return for us not reporting him to the police. You see, the thing is, to make any case stick we would need these celebrities he was operating on to co-operate with us. And they’re highly unlikely to do that. The whole reason his scheme was successful is that they didn’t want anyone to know that they were having cosmetic surgery. They’re not exactly going to be running in to give us a statement now, are they?’
‘No, I guess not,’ said Meredith. That much seemed obvious.
Charles patted a large pile of papers next to him. ‘And there’s another thing. The accountants have managed to prove that Audrey Fox was helping Lloyd.’ Meredith flinched at the mention of Audrey’s name. ‘They can’t show that she took any money, but she was certainly involved in keeping the manual records. It’s all here, you see.’
Charles took the top document from the pile of papers and passed it over to Meredith. It was a report from the accountants explaining how they had proved that Audrey was involved. Attached to the back of the report was a long list of the sample records that they had looked at. Meredith drew breath sharply when she realised what it was.
‘Oh, yes, I see,’ she said. She hovered over the front pages for a few seconds, pretending to read the findings. ‘I can see they’ve been very thorough,’ she said, using that as an excuse to scan through the report and turn to the list at the back. Her heart pounded as she scanned the list: Roberts, Roman, Rosin… no Romaine. Her name wasn’t there. Meredith checked again just to be sure. No, definitely no Romaine. Her name wasn’t there. Not there, definitely not there! She looked up, trying hard to conceal her delight.
‘What will happen to Audrey?’
‘She’s been suspended too. Our security team are just helping her clear her desk. Initially she kicked up a bit of a fuss, making all sorts of threats and accusations. We were quite worried that she might go the papers or something, and we could do without that. But when she realised that the police could be involved, she eventually agreed to go quietly and say nothing more about the matter.’
‘Do you think she’ll stick to that?’
‘Yes, I’m pretty sure she will. We could make life very difficult for her otherwise.’
Meredith felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. She couldn’t believe her luck. It was the first bit of good news she’d had in days.
‘So, I don’t want a big row with Equinox about it. Well, with their lawyers anyway. It was the right decision for the business and hopefully they’ll see that,’ said Charles.
‘I’m sure they will,’ said Meredith, certain that she would be able to talk Lawson and Ryan round. ‘And anyway, it’s really your decision, not theirs.’
‘You’re right, it is. But in the spirit of our new working relationship, I’d rather they were happy with it,’ said Charles.
‘I’ll talk to them as soon as can,’
‘Thank you.’
‘Was that everything?’
Charles nodded and showed Meredith out of his office.
Meredith practically skipped her way back to the meeting room.
‘Well?’ Alfred asked the second she walked in the door.
‘You won’t believe it. They’ve only gone and suspended Audrey. Apparently they were able to prove she was in on Lloyd Cassidy’s little scam, and bang, that was it. Out she went. And what’s even better is that she hasn’t said anything about me. She agreed to keep her mouth shut in return for the police not being involved. I think Charles was worried about bad publicity.’
‘That’s great news!’ said Alfred.
‘Yes, and they’ve done a similar deal with Lloyd, except he’s also giving up his share of the deal proceeds.’
‘That’s a big number. He was probably in line for a couple of million pounds, maybe more depending on how much debt he owed.’
‘Maybe. But who knows how much he’s taken in the past? They’ll never get all those celebrities to own up to how much cash they paid him.’
‘True. So why did he want to see you on your own?’
‘Charles wants me to explain what’s been agreed to Lawson and Ryan without Warren Wickens there. I think he’s been making such a nuisance of himself that Charles was worried he would throw a spanner in the works.’
‘I think a celebratory coffee is in order, don’t you?’
‘With cookies; I need the sugar,’ said Meredith, slumping down onto a chair.
After she’d finished her coffee, Meredith went to find Lawson and Ryan. She greeted them both with brisk professionalism and explained her conversation with Charles. As she expected, Lawson was relaxed and pragmatic about Charles’s decision on how to deal with Audrey and Lloyd. His years of experience in the business and a newly acquired respect for Charles meant he knew when to let things lie.
‘I just want this deal done and to get on with what we do best, which is keeping our patients happy. I’m pretty much done with this negotiating bullshit,’ said Lawson. He looked at Ryan. ‘I think I might fly home and leave you to finish off. After all, it’ll be you in charge soon enough.’
‘I might come with you,’ said Ryan. ‘I’m sure that the lawyers can cope. All the big commercial points are agreed now.’
‘I thought you wanted to stay at least another week? What was all that stuff about needing time to acclimatise?’ Lawson asked, completely unaware of the sensitive nature of his questions. Had Ryan been planning to spend that time with her? Meredith didn’t know and really didn’t care.
As Meredith got ready to go out later than evening, she tried to pretend to herself that she was feeling totally blasé about meeting Jamie, but after her fourth change of clothes, she finally had to admit that wasn’t true. Her first instinct was to wear something quite formal, almost work-like. After all, that she was meeting him for a business reason: so he could thank her for helping with his pitch. But each time she put something like that on, it didn’t feel quite right. In the end, she opted for a pair of skinny red jeans, black ankle boots and an oversized t-shirt.
The wine bar was quiet when Meredith arrived. She couldn’t see Jamie anywhere, so she got a drink and sat down at a table away from the windows, hoping that the dim light would make her look a bit less tired. He arrived a few minutes later, dressed, to her relief, in a pair of grey jeans and a casual grey-and-white-striped shirt, which made him look even less like a CEO than before. Meredith wondered whether that was how he dressed for work or whether he’d changed to meet her.
She stood up to greet him and there was a moment of awkwardness as neither of them knew whether to embrace or shake hands. Jamie broke first and held out his hand.
‘Hello, nice to see you again,’ he said.
‘And you. Can I get you drink?’
‘That’s okay, I’ll get it.’
Jamie disappeared to the bar and returned with a pint of lager. They both sat down.
‘So how have you been?’ said Jamie.
Meredith reflected on the week she’d just had and opted for the heavily watered down version of events.
‘Not bad; a bit up and down with work, you know. I’ve been trying to close a transaction for an American client of mine, but true to form, it’s no
t exactly been plain sailing. There’ve been quite a few issues for us to deal with, but I think we’re getting there. You sound like you’ve been pretty busy too.’
‘Too busy. It’s been mad, actually. But that’s what happens when you’re a small company: less people to delegate to.’
‘Clinton Wahlberg is huge and I don’t seem to fare any better,’ said Meredith. ‘All my friends think I’m bonkers to work such long hours. I don’t think they have any clue why I do it.’
‘Few people do, in my experience,’ said Jamie, looking rather wistful. Meredith wondered whether there was a more personal story lurking behind his comment.
‘So, are you ready for Friday?’ said Jamie.
‘I think so. Apart from the fact that my boss has decided that we’re going to do the introduction in both French and English.’
‘Who’s doing the French part?’
‘I am. My father is French and I spent the last four years working at an investment bank based in Paris. I only moved back here a few months ago.’
‘Sounds like a clever idea to me, assuming that at least some of the people in the room will be French.’
Meredith grinned. ‘Yes, otherwise it would be a bloody silly idea.’
‘Quite,’ said Jamie. ‘And I could do that, provided that your introduction only involves asking the way to post office. That’s about all the French I can remember: Bonjour, madame. Où est la poste?’
Meredith laughed at his terrible accent. ‘Exactly the sort of thing someone’s bound to ask us.’
‘Well, I’m a bit of a pro.’
‘So I can see. What are your top tips for success then?’
‘God, seriously what do I know? You look like a natural to me.’
‘You’d be surprised,’ said Meredith, smiling at her own irony.
‘Well, I always just think that you should approach these things as if you’re talking to your mates in the pub. Keep things simple and to the point, otherwise you’ll lose your audience. Smart people don’t need things over-explained to them.’
‘I’m sure that’s right,’ said Meredith, making a mental note to have another look at her rather long script before Friday.