Page 22 of One in Three

Tina turns puce, and I think AJ’s going to choke onhis caramel frappé. We spend the next hour and a half going around in circles, but Tina’s on the losing side, and she knows it. Challenging her relevance to the next generation was a winning move on Patrick’s part. There’s a reason he’s the CEO, even though, at fifty, he’s an archaeological curiosity in the ad business. He knowspeople, and that’s what this game is all about.

But my victory is Pyrrhic. I may have won this battle, but I’m still stuck working with Tina. She’s going to fight every pitch I make tooth and nail on principle. The next six months of my life are going to be a nightmare. I can feel a headache coming on at the mere thought of it.

Patrick shows Tina back to the elevator, and I grab a couple of paracetamol from my desk drawer and swallow them dry, then retreat to the bathroom and lock myself in a stall. I love my job; I’ve worked hard to get to where I am. I started here five years ago knowing next to nothing about advertising, having spent the first three years of my career in PR. But I listened and learned; I put in sixteen-hour days and seven-day weeks, and didn’t take a holiday for the first two years I was at the agency. Client servicing is demanding; agency heads want more billing; creatives want more time, quick approvals and minimal changes; clients demand everythingyesterday. Despite the Tetrotek fiasco, Patrick’s entrusted me with some of the company’s most important clients. I refuse to let Tina Murdoch sabotage everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve.

I open the cubicle door, and jump when I see Tinaleaning against the washbasins waiting for me. ‘What do you want?’ I ask coolly.

‘I want you off this account.’

I turn on the tap. ‘That’s not going to happen. You heard what Patrick said. He wants me on this.’

She reaches across me and turns the tap off again. ‘You may have Patrick wrapped around your little finger, but you don’t fool me,’ she says. ‘Take yourself off this account, or you’ll regret it.’

I lean on the washbasin as she slams out of the bathroom, my heart thumping in my ribcage. I practise my breathing the way my therapist taught me, trying to calm myself down. I can’t let her get to me. I know what I’m doing, and I’m good at what I do. I can handle this.

My pulse finally stops racing. I straighten up, and smooth my hair back from my face. AJ is waiting right outside the bathroom when I come out, and I mentally resolve to make time next week to get to the bottom of what’s going on with him. He’s the most loyal man I’ve ever met, and he deserves a little kindness. There’s no way I’d survive going toe-to-toe with Tina Murdoch if I didn’t have AJ to watch my back.

‘So,’ he says, as I head briskly back to my desk. ‘Do you have a plan?’

I always have a plan.

ANGIE LARK

PART 1 OF RECORDED INTERVIEW

Date:- 28/07/2020

Duration:- 41 Minutes

Location:- Kingsbridge Police Station

Conducted by Officers from Devon & Cornwall Police

(cont.)

POLICE

And you are Caroline Page’s best friend, Ms Lark?

AL

Source: www.allfreenovel.com