‘Right. Right.Umm, that really is a nice dress.’ Nina had to risk it. She needed to know what Himari knew about her.
‘Thanks, it’s a Colombian designer…’
‘I know.’ Nina couldn’t help interrupting. ‘Did,umm, did Luke ever talk about me?’
Himari blinked at her, probably thinking she was a bit odd, maybe even detecting the smell of whisky on her breath – not something she wanted to get back to Seamus and Luke.
‘If he did, I don’t remember.’
Nina let this sink in. Himari was definitely telling the truth. She’d been flown in to New York, settled in to life at the office and West End Avenue, and now she was here, just doing her job.
Nina couldn’t help asking, even though it made her wince and her pride begged her not to say it. ‘Did you,um, did you have a nice Christmas?’
‘I did, thanks. It was my first in New York.’
The picture of professionalism, Nina clearly wasn’t going to get any painful, horrible details from this woman. She resolved to leave her in peace. Would Himari end up being passed over eventually too? Nina found herself hoping that wouldn’t be the case.
‘You seem nice,’ Nina gulped, ‘and good at your job.’
‘Okay… thanks,’ Himari replied, accepting Nina’s words the way a senior colleague accepts the gushing adoration of a young intern with stars in her eyes hoping one day she’ll be in her position. Himari didn’t know anything about Nina’s demotion, that much was clear.
Himari looked over her shoulder at Mr Cor. ‘I’ve called a taxi for him. I’d better make sure he gets in it.’
‘Of course.’ Nina said, feeling her shoulders fall after the effort of maintaining her dignity. Crestfallen, she told her it had been nice to meet her and she congratulated her on making the deal.
‘Thanks,’ Himari replied, stepping away. ‘Shall I give Mr Casson your best when I see him tomorrow?’
Nina wanted to cry there and then in the wake of Himari’s elegant, retreating form, but she held it together until Mutt approached her. Only he heard her say, ‘No, don’t do that. I already gave Luke my best. He’s not getting anything else.’
Chapter Thirty-one
The End of the Night
She’d only cried for a few minutes, but it had been a howling torrent, enough to thoroughly surprise Mutt and to wreck what was left of Nina’s end-of-the-evening make-up. Mutt had pulled her all the way back to the clan chief’s chamber to be sure Himari wouldn’t witness the scene and he’d held onto her the whole time.
They’d slumped by the bedside once more. After she’d blown her nose and got her breathing back under control she’d let the words spill out, and they were angry ones. ‘They liked my idea, really liked it, enough to fly her out and get it all wrapped up as soon as possible. And now it’s Himari’s account. I won’t get any credit for that whatsoever.’
‘How do you know?’ Mutt had consoled. ‘Your boss knows you scouted out that distillery, you came up with the idea, and you started the negotiations.’
‘Iusedto get the credit. I had some accounts of my own and I was going to be given my own brand to manage this year. Seeing Himari here just shows how far I’ve fallen. If they won’t let me have the whisky account, they won’t let me haveanyof the accounts I uncover here.’
‘Maybe if you work your way back up, they will? It won’t take that long, surely?’
With a wry smile Nina told him there was only one way for young women to get to the top at Microtrends. She could see that now. ‘I’ve burned my bridges there. I’ll be down in Creative for ever, if they let me stay on.’
Mutt had a bright flash in his eyes. ‘You told them about the whisky idea and they didn’t waste any time flying someone out here to grab that deal, right?’
‘Right.’
‘Then you need to keep yournextbig discovery under your hat until you’re face to face with your bosses. Tell them straight thatyoudiscovered it, and you want in on the account. It might be easy to take your ideas from you when you’re on the other side of the world but if you’re pitching in front of the entire executive board, there’ll be a whole pack of them to impress and someone amongst them will recognise your hard work and make sure it’s rewarded.’
Nina listened. ‘That’s not a bad idea, but what new discovery is this? I’ve nothing to take home, just a list of factories and workshops who already have all the business links they need, thank you very much. I can’t make headway with any of them. They’re already branded and networked to the hilt. And I’m realising that the smaller makers want to make and sell their products on their own terms, and honestly, who can blame them?’
‘You just need one good thing of your own to take back to New York. Just one really good thing,’ Mutt said. ‘I’ll help you find it. It must be right here under our noses.’
‘Who haven’t I spoken to yet?’ Nina shrugged.
‘Well, we’ve a whole village full of talent and crafting skills. Sure they may be small, and a wee bit eccentric on their own, but look what they’ve achieved by coming together: a whole crafting holiday collective.’
