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14
The next morning I dash into the office meeting late and slightly dishevelled. Having slept through my alarm, thanks to that extra glass of wine I knocked back last night, I didn’t even manage to have breakfast let alone comb my hair. I almost cry out in delight when I spot the croissants and freshly brewed coffee laid out on the frosted aqua glass table. A rare treat. Raymond must be in a good mood.
“Morning, Audrey,” he smiles, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I clumsily sit in the empty seat next to Callum, our SEO expert. I don’t know where Raymond gets his energy from but I wish he’d give some to me.
“Sorry, I’m late, everyone,” I murmur, dropping my handbag by my feet and pushing my dark shades onto my head. Callum raises an eyebrow, tapping his pen lightly against the yellow file in front of him. “Bus was late,” I lie, glancing at Fearne’s friendly face. She always has my back.
Raymond pulls at the cuffs of his chequered grey flannel jacket in readiness, smile fixed on his face. “Right, now that we’re all present,” he begins.
His voice hums in my ears as the brilliant sunshine streams through the tall, glass window of the fourth-floor building making my sore head feel ten times worse. I rub my right temple which is throbbing like an annoying low bass beat. I hate facing the window during our board meetings on sunny days, but, having turned up twenty minutes late, the good, shady seats were already snapped up.
“Do you mind if I lower the blinds, boss.” Callum stands up, using his hand as a sun visor, “That sunlight is blinding us two over here, and poor old Audrey looks as if she’s nursing some kind of hangover from hell.” He gives me a feeble smirk, “So I can imagine how she must be feeling.” Goodness, do I look that bad? I desperately need a shot of caffeine. I help myself to a cup from the silver jug on the table with a slight tremor, resisting the urge to lower my sunglasses. I must look hideous.
“So,” Raymond goes on to the hiss of the blinds unfurling. “We’ve got a new client on board, and it’s a biggie too.” He rubs his hands together. “Multiple pages, images, logo illustration and full whack SEO contracted for three years. Stacey, are you taking notes?”
“Yes, Raymond,” Stacey beams, crossing one long limb over the other, her black mini-dress riding up her thigh. Stacey has a thing for Raymond, everyone knows it, even though she’s got a fit security guard boyfriend who works the door at one of London’s top celebrity nightclubs. But Raymond doesn’t seem interested in her, or anyone else for that matter. Raymond is married to his job. Blue Media always comes first.
“He’s a big noise in the market.” Raymond turns a page noisily, “And has promised more work and referrals if we deliver. So let’s make sure we do a fantastic job, yes?” We all nod and murmur in agreement.
“What line of business, Ray?” Fearne asks, scribbling onto her notepad like a top secret agent.
“International Property and investments. But not only residential, these guys also cover retail, offices, and leisure complexes. I had a meeting yesterday lunchtime with one of
the partners, discussed requirements and…” At this point of the briefing, I lose interest and start thinking about what I’m going to have for dinner tonight. It occurs to me that I’ve forgotten to do a weekly shop. I wonder if I should pick something up from Sainsbury’s on my way home tonight. I could grab one of their ready-made meals and stick it in the microwave. Vicky said that their chicken tikka is to die for.
“And this is all thanks to Audrey.” The mention of my name whisks me back to the board meeting.
I start shuffling papers. “Oh, really…” I mutter. I look at Fearne for guidance but she’s busy tapping away on her iPad. Oh God, what’s he on about? What’ve I done that’s so wonderful? “I…er…” I clear my throat. It must be the project I worked on with Fearne. Raymond must’ve included it in his PowerPoint presentation. Perhaps the client was so impressed that he signed on the dotted line. Farfetched, I know, but I’m panicking.
“Come on, Audrey, don’t be shy.” Raymond holds his chin and looks at me above his large, square, black rimmed glasses, a lopsided grin on his face. “Your referral?”
“Referral?” I croak, leafing through the papers in the file in front of me like a bank cashier counting notes. That’ll teach me to daydream about food during a staff meeting. “Erm, what referral was that, Raymond?” I curl my hair behind my ear nervously.
“The Theodore Group,” he says gleefully. I look at him with a blank expression, face tingling. “Ms Theodorou?” He squints at me quizzically, trying to nudge my memory. But I’ve no bloody idea who he’s talking about. He must’ve made a mistake. This is probably someone else’s referral.
My pulse quickens, my face is on fire. Jesus, I’m never going to get out of this one. Raymond will never let me near another new client again. Shit, shit! Why wasn’t I listening?
Raymond thumbs through his paperwork and pulls out a sheet of paper. “And her partner. Mr Taylor.” He glances at the contract on the table, then looks up at me again. “Nice chap, said he’s a family friend.” It takes a while for my mind to process this new piece of information. Taylor…Taylor. The name definitely rings a bell. And then my mother’s words shrill in my ears, ‘Daniel Taylor, darling, and of course not, he’s a happily married man’.
Every hair on my body stands on end. “Ooooh, DANIEL.” I wave a hand. So, he really was interested in setting up a website, then. I thought he was just making polite dinner conversation. “Yes, the Theodopoulos Group,” I nod eagerly, pushing my sliding spectacles back into position. This contract’s probably worth thousands of pounds. I can’t believe he gave us the gig so quickly. Securing a client usually takes weeks of buttering up and pampering, sometimes months. “They’re old friends of my parents.”
“Theodore Group,” Raymond corrects, glancing at his file.
“Yes, that’s what I said.” A little barky sound slips from my lips and the room falls silent. Four faces stare at me. I want to curl into a ball and crawl under the table.
“Theodore, Theodopoulous, what does it matter,” Fearne says reassuringly, “It’s a brilliant gig.” A collective buzz of approval ripples around the table and I sit upright, bold and proud.
I mouth ‘thank you’ at Fearne and she winks at me. I owe her – big time.
Raymond gives me a miniscule frown then says, “Well, congratulations, Audrey. Nice work.”
“Yeah, well done, mate.” Callum taps his fingers lightly against his palm.
“So, Audrey is employee of the month,” Raymond announces briskly, adjusting his jacket.
“What? You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Callum’s jaw almost hits the floor as the rest of the crew congratulate me. “What about all that work I did on the Collins and…”
“Well, if you stop pissing about on Twitter,” Raymond snaps, “and get some proper, decent leads for us you might be in with a chance.” Callum’s face reddens as he shoots me an angry, suspicious look.
