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I arrive at the office late. Well, late by my standards, which is still early. Earlier than Lycus has ever shown up that’s for sure. Why do women in marketing – hell, who am I kidding? Probably in every male dominated industry – have to work twice as hard just to be seen and given the recognition they deserve?
Morethan twice as hard. My boss is great, but even I know that if I’d been a guy getting the same successes as I do with the accounts I have, I would have been promoted a year ago. At least. It’s exhausting. Not having to work hard – because I love my job – it’s just exhausting trying to be seen. And as much as I’m all for girl power and not needing to be validated by a man, I, unfortunately, do need validation from my boss.
Which is why I feel sick to my stomach when he calls me into his office within five minutes of me arriving in the building. Work doesn’t even technically start for another hour, but when has that ever stopped us.
“Morning, Angelica,” Stacy, Mr Mortimer’s assistant says as I walk past her desk.
“Morning, Stacy.”
“Boss wants to see you straight away.”
My stomach drops. This is it. The big talk about how yesterday’s fuck up has ruined my life. I force a smile onto my face. “Of course, I’ll just drop my bag and jacket off.”
It’s cold this morning, not unusual for April, but by mid-morning it’s been lovely all week and I’ve been sneaking out of the office to have my lunch in the nearby park. Hopefully today I can do the same, if I’m not fired and immediately escorted off the premises.
As I walk down the short hallway towards Mr Mortimer’s office, my mind races with scenarios of what he could possibly want to speak to me about. Did I forget to send an important email? Did I accidentally offend a client on the phone yesterday? Did he find out that I’ve been sneaking out to the park for lunch? My thoughts are interrupted as I reach his door, which is already slightly open. I knock and step inside, feeling like a prisoner being called into the warden’s office.
“Angelica, please take a seat,” Mr Mortimer says, motioning to the chair across from his desk. His tone is calm but serious. I try to read his expression but his face is inscrutable.
“Is everything okay?” I ask tentatively.
Mr Mortimer takes a deep breath before responding. “Angelica, I have some good news and some bad news. I was hoping to share this with you both, but as Lycus is off sick today, I’ll have to catch him up to speed later.”
My heart sinks. This is it. The end of my career. I brace myself for the worst.
Wait…what did he say about Lycus? He’s sick? I try to ignore the relief that floods through me at the news of Lycus being absent and instead focus on what Mr Mortimer is about to say.
“Okay…” I say, urging him to continue.
“The good news is that our client, Mr Alpine, was extremely pleased with your pitch yesterday, the water incident aside. In fact, he’s so impressed that they – him and his business partners – want you to head up their account with most of the ideas you put forward.”
I’m stunned. This isn’t what I was expecting at all. I try to process the news, but my brain is still in shock. “Wow,” I manage to reply. “That’s amazing.”
“Yes, it is,” Mr Mortimer says, a small smile appearing on his face.
“And the bad news?” I ask, still waiting for the other shoe to drop before I start celebrating.
“Well, with this account comes a slight catch. The client has requested that you work alongside Lycus. They think you both have great ideas which will combine well together into one cohesive vision for their brand.” My face falls and dread floods me. I knew it was too good to be true. But I wasn’t expecting the bad news to bethat bad.
“But…how will that work?”
“You’ll both be in charge of the project and will work together closely to make the company’s vision a reality.”
“Two leads?” I shake my head. It’ll never work. “But…I always work alone.”
“Not anymore, Angelica. Not for the amount of money this client is offering. Hell, if they wanted the two of you to get married to make this happen, I’d officiate the ceremony myself,” he jokes. I almost vomit across his polished glass desk at the thought.
“Can’t I choose my own team?”
Mr Mortimer shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Angelica, the customers were very specific. It has to be youandLycus.” I sit there and let the news sink in, but Mr Mortimer ignores my shell-shocked expression and continues. “What’s more, they’re looking to expand their business under your watchful eyes and would like to offer us a second account, run exclusively by the two of you.”
“What? At the same time?”
He nods. “Yes. So the account you pitched yesterday would actually be small fry compared to the secondary account. They’re confident they want the two of you running both, but want to see how you get on working together on the smaller account first.”
My head is spinning with all the information Mr Mortimer is dumping on me. Two accounts? Work alongside Lycus in a partnership? What the hell?
