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I’m shocked. It never occurred to me that this was how she saw me.
‘I was just trying to help,’ I say.
‘Of course you were, but you ended up with all the glory – “Aren’t you lucky, Emily, that Sophie was passing by.” I could have fixed it, you know, but you never gave me the chance.’ She’s starting to cry now.
‘So, when I came back…’ I prompt her, a little more gently.
‘I couldn’t believe it. There you were, as if nothing had ever changed. I might as well have gone straight back to being an office junior, while you and Lucy and Annabel swanned around exactly like you always used to. It was sounfair.’
‘So, you decided to try to make me look bad, in order to make yourself look better. Is that it?’
‘Well, it sounds horrible when you say it like that, but basically yes. I thought if you screwed up an event, maybe I’d be the one to fix it, and then Annabel would be telling you how lucky you were that I’d ridden to your rescue. I never did anything serious, just little things that would take the shine off. Only you always spotted them or managed to work round them somehow.’
‘Okay. I understand what you’re saying, and I’m really sorry I made you feel like that. It was certainly never my intention. But can’t you see that what you were doing wasn’t just damaging me? If something had gone seriously wrong, it would have damaged the company, which means it would have affected you too. We’re not in competition, you know, we’re supposed to be on the same team.’
‘That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one running in circles just trying to keep up.’
‘Did it never occur to you that you might not be running in circles so much if you put as much effort into your own work as you obviously have done trying to subvert mine? What am I supposed to say to Annabel about this?’
Her face is a mask of horror. ‘You wouldn’t, would you? Please don’t say anything to her, she’ll fire me on the spot and I really need this job!’ The tears are falling fast now.
‘I won’t say anything, but I have two conditions.’
‘What?’
‘One, this stops. Now. If I even suspect you’re trying to undermine me again, I’ll go straight to Annabel. Do you understand?’
‘Yes.’
‘Two. Let us help you. It doesn’t make you look bad if we help. It makes you look like you want to learn. Annabel, Lucy and I might look as if we’re on top of everything, but you’ve had a taste of it now, and you know how much hard work it is. We’ve all been doing this job for years and we’ve got a feel for what works. So, rather than trying to bring us down, let us bring you up. Let me give you an example.’
‘Go on.’ She’s looking incredibly relieved, if a little snotty from the tears, and I really hope I’m going to be able to trust her from now on.
‘Cucina Italia,’ I say to her.
‘What about them?’
‘Okay, here’s how it works, or at least how I do it. I choose the companies I work with very carefully. If they’re too big we won’t be an important enough client to them, and they’ll muck us around when someone bigger than us comes along. Then, when you try to get hold of someone to complain, you just get passed from pillar to post until you lose the will to live. Does that sound familiar from your experience with them?’
She looks interested. ‘Yes, that’s exactly what happened.’
‘So, I steer clear of the really big firms. However, if they’re very small, like a one-man band, then they will love you for ever, but you’re absolutely stuffed if someone gets sick, because they’re too small to have any backup. You’re at risk again, but for a different reason. Okay?’
‘Yes.’
‘I learned to pick very carefully, and I always ensure I choose companies that are small enough that our business matters to them, but not so small that they can’t adapt if circumstances change.’
‘Cucina Italia is one of the best-known firms in London for Italian food, so I thought I’d chosen well.’
‘Exactly, but they’re massive. So, as soon as something more interesting than your little corporate event came along, they dropped you like a hot brick and left you in the lurch.’
‘Are you saying you’ll share your contacts with me?’ she asks.
‘Not exactly. My contact book is like my book of spells, but I’ll certainly help you build up a good list of contacts of your own. Also, if the nonsense stops, I’ll see if I can persuade Annabel to let you help me with some of the big events, with a view to stepping up yourself when you’re ready.’
‘And you’d do that, even after what I’ve done?’
‘What’s the alternative? Let you stew in your own juices making the same mistakes we’ve all made but without anyone to guide you and pull you out of the mud, getting more and more resentful until you do something that makes Annabel fire you? Who wins there? If we do it my way, everybody wins.’
