Mergers and Acquisitions

by A. E. Radley

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “For what?” he frowned in confusion.

  “I… I just stood there.” She sat in the visitor chair beside his bed. “I just froze. If you were relying on me, you’d be dead by now.”

  Jonathan chuckled. “Well, I wasn’t relying on you. I was relying on that large team of professionals who deal with that kind of thing every day. Don’t worry. Accidents happen. I’m okay, really.”

  “I still feel terrible,” she confessed. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but she couldn’t forgive her inaction. She’d never felt so useless in her life.

  That afternoon, Kate had sent out a company-wide email, assuring all staff that Jonathan was recovering from his injuries. But then she had dived back into work, seemingly unaffected by Jonathan’s accident.

  Sophie had subtly suggested that she would hold the fort while Kate visited Jonathan in the hospital. Kate had been quick to shoot down the offer and announce that she would not be visiting anyone in hospital, ever. Sophie knew she had no right to judge, but Kate’s behaviour had annoyed her. Jonathan was a human life support machine for Kate, and Kate had barely registered his departure.

  Sophie had been still more surprised to receive a text message from Jonathan asking her to come and see him that evening.

  “You’ll be feeling even worse soon,” Jonathan was saying, “which is why I asked you to come here.”

  “Am I fired?” she asked.

  He smiled. “No, you’re promoted. You’re going to have to take over my work. There’s no one else we can spare. Everyone else is tied up on the audit, and Kate won’t have a temp in her office. It will have to be you.”

  “Me?” Sophie heard herself squeak. “I mean, why me?”

  “There’s no one else. She knows you. Well, she can put the correct name to your face about seven out of ten times, and that’s as good as knowing you.”

  “She called me Stephanie, like, yesterday,” Sophie pointed out.

  “That’s most of the right letters, she used to call me Steve. Anyway, if someone doesn’t look after Kate tomorrow morning, she’ll be out of control. Especially with all the extra stress of Georgina. It will be much worse for you if you don’t take over for me.”

  “What does Kate say about this?” Sophie hadn’t been working at Red Door for long, but she knew that Kate was extremely particular about things. And by things, she meant everything.

  Jonathan laughed. “Kate doesn’t say anything. Kate expects her office to be running no matter what.”

  “But you’re in hospital,” Sophie pointed out.

  “I know, but Kate will still expect things to run normally.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “No,” Jonathan assured her. “It isn’t. She’s not heartless, just practical. Red Door operates as a well-oiled machine. If anything jeopardises that smooth running, it could be a disaster. Not being able to provide a client with what they need at the right time could cost us a contract. Which would cost us money. Which could put jobs at risk. Kate expects that everyone is replaceable, even herself. If she were in this bed instead of me, she would want to know that the business was running smoothly without her.”

  Sophie opened her mouth to reply but slowly closed it again. She had to admit; it did make sense. It seemed horrible to just go on as if nothing had happened when Jonathan was injured, but she understood that it was for the greater good, even if it didn’t necessarily feel that way.

  “What do I need to do?”

  “You might want your trusty notepad for this.”

  She opened her satchel and took out her notepad and a pen. She found a fresh page and waited for his instructions.

  “Kate gets into the office at eight o’clock, you’ll have to get there around fifteen minutes before then. Fresh flowers are delivered every morning. They come in prepared arrangements by Kate’s florist, you just need to put them in the vases in her office.”

  Sophie scribbled down notes. She wasn’t about to make a mistake and get herself fired.

  “Make sure her fridge is stocked with bottled water, not the plastic bottles that are in the staff room. There are extra black-label glass bottles in the storage cabinet by the photocopier if you need more. She needs three clean glasses on her desk, upside down and on disposable paper coasters. That’s really key. Make sure they are clean as well. Sometimes the dishwasher in the staff room doesn’t leave them sparkling. Make sure the cushions on the armchairs are fluffed up and adjust the air fresheners so they are up to level six first thing in the morning, lower them to three in the afternoon.”

  Sophie slammed her pen down onto her notepad. “Seriously? Fluffing cushions and air fresheners? Is this so essential to the running of the office?”

  Jonathan shifted a little, obviously trying to find a more comfortable position. “Yep. Kate likes things just so. When you get to be the founding director of your own marketing agency, then you can request whatever you like in your office.”

  Sophie wondered if she would ever reach those kinds of dizzying heights. Was she only ever going to be junior administrator? The idea of getting to the top of her career seemed about as likely as winning the lottery.

  “She’ll want all the newspapers on the sideboard in her office. They are all delivered first thing and will be with reception. Don’t fan them out in a circle, she hates that.”

  Sophie quickly picked up her pen and continued jotting down notes.

  “Get her green tea with vanilla for when she arrives, get it from Simpsons in Hatton Garden. Large. Make sure it’s hot or she’ll send you out again. She’ll have another tea around midday when she’ll let you know what to go and get her for lunch. Then in the afternoon, she’ll want coffee. Plain, black coffee. Get it from Brewers in Kirby Street.”

  “Okay, sounds easy enough,” Sophie said.

  “Reception fields most calls, but you’ll still get around twenty to forty a day. Take a message for all of them, never put a call straight through to Kate. No matter who they are. You’ll see messages on her desk from the last couple of days, use those as a template and make sure you write them in the same format. As soon as you get a new message, go into her office and put it on the edge of her desk. You don’t need to talk to her, just go in and drop off the message. She’ll decide if it’s important and if she wants to call them back.”

  Sophie was still panicking about the thought of twenty to forty calls a day. Calls for Kate were bound to be from important people.

  “She might want you to take notes in meetings, she’ll let you know if she does. Check her schedule and be prepared to join her, she’ll let you know literally on her way to the meeting. Keep your mobile phone on you at all times. Oh, and change her speed dial one on both her personal mobile and her desk phone to your mobile number.”

  “Speed dial one? Me? Even on her personal mobile?” Sophie questioned. Her heart broke at the idea of Kate having her lowly intern-turned-assistant as her primary contact. She knew Kate was divorced, but that was years ago. The media often photographed Kate on nights out. As it became more sociable acceptable, Sophie had noticed Kate was seen with more women than men. She didn’t know why that had stood out in her mind.

  “Yes,” Jonathan confirmed. “Work is Kate’s life.”

  Sophie swallowed. She made a note to make the speed dial change. She wondered if it was worth having everything if your speed dial one would be your assistant and not a loved one.

  “What about Georgina?” Sophie asked.

  Jonathan let out a small sigh. “I don’t know. Try to split your time between the two of them. As I say, there really is no one else.”

  Sophie looked at her notepad and started to wonder how on earth she was going to juggle the needs of the two women. Two women who were clearly beginning to shed the act of friendly competition.

  “Just remember, Georgina is only here for a while. Kate is your boss,” Jonathan said, as if reading her mind.

  “I don’t know h
ow I’m going to appease them both,” Sophie replied. She held up her notepad. “I mean, how am I supposed to do all of this and look after Georgina’s needs as well?”

  “That’s not even half the list,” Jonathan admitted. “You better get writing, I’m feeling these pain meds really kicking in.”

  Chapter 10

  Kate stepped from the elevator and strutted across the office. She kept her large sunglasses on to give her the chance to subtly look around the floor. Not many people were in, but the ones who did arrive early were the go-getters. The ones who wanted to be noticed.

  Not that it mattered. She’d heard one too many horror stories about women being overlooked for jobs because they didn’t work the same hours as their male counterparts. Often the woman in question had the equally important job of being a mother.

  While Kate had never had the opportunity to settle down and raise a family, she sure as hell wasn’t going to begrudge anyone who had. Progression at Red Door was down to a complex mixture of personality, experience, skill set, and ability. Not what time you got into the office in the morning.

  She walked into her office and removed her sunglasses. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone move. She stopped dead.

  “Oh, it’s you,” she said when Sophie gave her an awkward wave. She walked over to her desk and tossed her sunglasses down.

  “I’m going to be stepping in for Jonathan,” Sophie said. She held a takeaway cup in both hands. “He has explained everything to me.”

  “Good.” Kate shrugged out of her light summer jacket and hung it up on the coat stand in the corner.

  “He’s doing okay, by the way,” Sophie added softly.

  Kate smirked to herself while her back was to Sophie. Clearly, the girl thought her heartless. Between the rumours and Kate’s insistence on not going to the hospital, she couldn’t blame her.

  She turned around and looked pointedly at the drink. “I presume that is for me?”

  Sophie followed Kate’s line of vision. “Oh, yes, sorry.” She handed the drink over.

  Glancing at her desk, Kate placed her tea on the correct coaster. She nodded to herself; clearly Jonathan had given exacting instructions. Maybe the girl wasn’t so useless after all.

  “Any changes to my schedule?” Kate asked. She sat down and pulled her laptop from her bag.

  “Palmer’s have cancelled the two o’clock teleconference,” Sophie said.

  “As expected,” Kate mumbled. “Is the boardroom booked for my three o’clock?”

  “Yes, and food and drink have been ordered. There were two calls from the Japan office on the overnight voicemail, they are on your desk.” Sophie gestured towards them. “And… Georgina would like to see you this morning, if you have time.”

  Kate strongly suspected that the polite enquiry as to her availability originated from Sophie rather than Georgina. She leaned to the side to look around Sophie. Georgina’s office door was closed, indicating that the woman had yet to arrive.

  “I’ll see her when she arrives,” Kate said. She sipped her tea. “What’s she up to? Have you managed to find out any information?”

  “Information?” Sophie’s brow furrowed in confusion.

  She really is as naive as she appears, Kate thought.

  “Yes, information. Surely it hasn’t escaped your notice that there is something of a competition going on here for the Atrom contract.” Kate put her tea down and leaned forward. “What have you heard?”

  Sophie’s eyes widened with shock. “Um… nothing, really.”

  Kate pointed to the chair in front of her desk. “Sit.”

  Sophie quickly sat down.

  “I realise you are still new to working in an office, especially this one. But that thick tension you feel in the air? You’re not imagining it.”

  Sophie just stared at her, lost.

  Kate sighed and shook her head. “As liaison between the teams, I need you to keep your ear to the ground. Atrom is a very big, very important client. And I will not suffer the humiliation of losing them to Mastery.”

  Sophie continued to look confused.

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Kate mumbled. “Sally, let me explain this in a way you’ll understand. Your role here is to be a double agent. You are going to infiltrate the Mastery team and report every word back to me.”

  “I-infiltrate?” Sophie stammered.

  “Yes. You’re so bland and uninteresting I’m sure they feel comfortable talking around you. Whatever you hear comes straight back to me, do you understand?”

  Kate watched as Sophie caught up with the plan. The girl’s expressive facial journey was almost comical. From fear to realisation, then horror to understanding.

  “I’m not sure I can,” Sophie whispered.

  “Of course, you can. You make them feel at home. Try to weasel your way in.”

  “Weasel?”

  “Yes, make friends. You know, do…” Kate waved her hand towards Sophie. “…whatever it is you do to ingratiate yourself with people.”

  “I thought we were supposed to be working together on this project? Collaborating?” Sophie asked, seemingly appealing to Kate’s better nature. The girl still had a way to go.

  “Oh, we are. We’re just going to ensure that Mastery will never work with Atrom again as we do it,” Kate told her with a smirk.

  “But isn’t the whole idea supposed to be—”

  “Stand up.” Kate walked around her desk. She placed her hands on Sophie’s shoulders and turned the girl around. “You see that office?”

  Sophie nodded. Her shoulders were tense under Kate’s hands.

  “That office is full of employees. Your colleagues. If Georgina Masters takes the Atrom contract, I will be forced to make around thirty percent of them redundant.” Kate released Sophie. She folded her arms and looked out through the window contemplatively.

  The office was starting to fill up.

  “What do you think?” Kate asked. “Marie and Simon do the same job, one of them has to go. Who should it be?”

  Sophie flinched and turned to face her, before turning back to regard the office.

  “Come on, we can’t spend too much time on each decision. We need to cut staff by thirty percent, that’s roughly one hundred and twenty people. Time is money. Who goes? Marie or Simon?” Kate watched as Sophie panicked at the very notion of making that kind of decision.

  As cavalier as Kate made it sound, it was the hardest part of her job. Making staff decisions was something she never took lightly. Every day she felt the heavy weight of the responsibility to the four hundred staff she employed. It was something that employees never considered. They saw the boss, with their large salary and their fancy car and they wanted to live that life. They didn’t see the sleepless nights at the end of a fraught business day. They didn't feel the suffocating knowledge that a mistake at work could impact the lives of people you felt personally responsible for.

  “It’s not easy,” Kate murmured. “Being the boss comes with enormous responsibility. Every decision I make, every single day, becomes part of a series of events that means we either continue to provide these people with employment or we have to let them go.”

  She looked at the young girl. Light blue eyes scanned the office. A deep furrow in her brow showed the weight beginning to bear down on her.

  “Luckily for you, those are weights I carry. Decisions I make.” Kate turned around and walked back to her desk. “You, you can help by providing me with information I need in order to secure the working future of this company and the people in that office.”

  She sat down and booted up her laptop. As far as she was concerned, the conversation was officially over. She’d explained that Sophie’s role was essential to the business, not just a petty squabble between two grown women who should know better.

  She typed in her password, aware that Sophie still stood, silently gazing out of the window. After a few more silent moments, Sophie exited the office.

  Kate cha
nced a look up and saw the dazed girl take a seat at Jonathan’s desk. She wondered if her spy was up to the task. Sophie seemed just a little too sweet and innocent to be happy with the whole idea of spying on Georgina. She was perfect for the job as Georgina would undoubtedly trust her.

  Sophie would have information; it was just whether she’d be willing to share it. Kate would have to keep up the pressure on her. Sophie may end up hating her, but that couldn’t be helped. The business had to come first.

  Sophie glanced up, and they briefly made eye contact. Kate quickly looked away. She didn’t know why, but the thought of Sophie hating her sat uncomfortably. She shook her head and refocused her attention on her work. She didn’t have time to worry about such things.

  Chapter 11

  Kate should have known. In hindsight, it was obvious that Georgina would try to run the show in whichever way she could. The suggestion that they split tasks was a sensible one, but the way Georgina was proposing they do it was not.

  “Maybe I’m misinterpreting your notes here,” Kate suggested. She slid her glasses onto her face and picked up the presentation pack Georgina had provided. “It seems you’re suggesting we cover PR, copy, and video editing.”

  Georgina picked up her own pack and leafed through the contents. “Yes, that is what we suggest. Your PR connections are sensational. You’ve been working with the engineering sector far longer than we have.”

  Kate couldn’t help but feel that was a subtle dig at her age. There were only a few years between her and Georgina, but Georgina had clearly made a pact with the devil to retain her youthful appearance.

  “That is true,” Kate allowed. “But let’s be honest, you’re assigning us tasks that keep us behind the scenes. Anything that Yannis would appreciate and find truly exciting, you’re keeping for yourself. Website, landing pages, email marketing, social media… all Mastery.”

  “All of those assets you mention, they’d be nothing without your team’s stellar work on copy.”