‘Is it relevant?’ Rachel asked. ‘I mean, is he also going to be informed that I went to St Agatha’s Roman Catholic Comp in Stoke-on-Trent?’
Greg suppressed a grin, but Jack didn’t bother to hide his. ‘I suspect not, though more fool him for not being interested,’ he said. ‘I get the point: the fact that I’m an “Old Harrovian” has nothing to do with whether we’re capable of delivering good work. But the idea that Humphrey will find it interesting gives me a read on him before we even meet. It’s useful to know.’
‘Precisely,’ said Isaac. ‘Humphrey has fired the last two agencies who worked for him, so it’s fair to say he needs careful handling. We need to ingratiate ourselves with him however we can – and from everything I’ve heard, Jack is the man for the job. Given their track record, we’ve negotiated with British House and Garden Heritage that they’ll pay a one-off fee for the work you do over the next month or so. That way, if Humphrey throws his toys out of the pram and doesn’t want us to actuallydeliverwhat we recommend, we won’t be thousands out of pocket. Having said that,’ Isaac continued, ‘if we were to end up with BHGH as a longer-term client, it would be a massive win for us. For you two, in particular.’
‘Challenge accepted,’ Jack said, smiling and apparently undaunted. Rachel stared at him.
‘It’s not going to be easy,’ Greg said, his voice testy. ‘It’s a tough first assignment. You’re going to need to charm the pants off him. Not literally, though … Based on my brief meeting with him, I think it’s fair to say he’s quite homophobic.’
‘Dear God,’ Rachel said, but Jack grimaced and then smiled again.
‘Yet more useful intel. Thank you, Greg.’
‘I’ll send over everything we have on the client so far,’ Isaac said. ‘I have some of the stuff their previous agencies have done, plus the client’s brief and my notes. That should be enough to get you started with brainstorming ideas. We can chat again in a day or two, and we’ll get a desk move sorted as well – seat the two of you with me and the rest of the pro-social team ASAP.’
Greg rushed off to his next meeting, then Isaac got to his feet and made for the door – only to turn back at the threshold with an embarrassed look on his face.
‘Just one more thing. Humphrey tends to get my name wrong. He often calls me Abraham, and he’s the type of character who’d think I was being impertinent if I corrected him. So if an Abraham is ever mentioned, you know he means me.’
Rachel sighed as Isaac sailed off into the office, ignoring the sound of Jack’s muffled laughter.
‘This guy sounds like an absolute nightmare,’ she said with her head in her hands. ‘Thiswhole thingis a nightmare.’
‘Not at all,’ Jack said brightly, and when she looked up he was grinning. ‘Between us, we’re going to nail it.’
Rachel shot out of her seat, strode past Jack and shut the meeting room door, sealing the two of them in.
‘Am I missing something?’ she asked. ‘What could youpossiblybe smiling about?’
Jack’s face fell, but only a fraction. ‘Rachel, I know this isn’t ideal,’ he said, ‘but it’s the hand we’ve been dealt. I think we have to play it.’
She scowled at him. ‘This isn’t a game, Jack – but how veryyouto think of it that way. This is my job, mylife– which up until recently was going okay.’
He sighed, stood up as if to try to soothe her, then clawed at his carefully dishevelled hair as he decided against it. ‘I didn’t mean to sound glib. I’m just being realistic,’ he said. ‘I know that what happened – what I did – was totally, monumentally shit. I’ve apologised before and I apologise again, unreservedly. But it was ten years ago, Rachel. I’m not the same man.’
Rachel sank back down into her seat. ‘I thought I could do this, but I can’t,’ she said, her voice thin but resolute. ‘I can’t work with you. Not on winning round Sir Humphrey Horrorbag. Not on anything.’
‘What? Are you going to quit? Hand in your notice?’
‘Why should I do that?’ Rachel cried, incredulous. ‘I was here first!’
‘Whoa, there, what are we – twelve?’
Rachel felt her face flood with colour.
‘We are two people who will never work well together,’ she said after taking a deep breath. ‘Surely you can see that?’
He sat down opposite her, then raked a hand through his hair again. ‘I can see that this is very uncomfortable for you. But the thing is, Iamhere – and this’ – he gestured at the space between them – ‘is a professional relationship now.’
Rachel threw him a withering look.
‘I transferred here because I wanted to help develop the pro-social side of the business,’ Jack went on, his voice slightly harder than before. ‘And there’s absolutely no way I’m stepping back from that. If you’re determined not to eventryworking with me, you’ll have to ask for your old job back. Or hand in your notice. I think either might seem odd, though, given you said yes to this position last week and only started it an hour ago.’
He lifted his chin a little so the sunlight streaming through the window bounced bright across his cheekbones.God damn him and his fucking perfect bone structure.
‘I can’t just leave,’ Rachel said through gritted teeth. ‘But you could. You could just stay in the job you already had in Manchester – cancel your move. Then we can forget we ever knew each other.’ She sounded surly now, like a moody teenager, and she hated herself for it.
‘That’s not an option,’ Jack said flatly. ‘And not just because it’s unreasonable for you to ask. I can’t be in Manchester any more; I didn’t just want this transfer, Ineededit. Believe it or not, I have as much at stake here as you do.’
