Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
T his might be the craziest thing I’ve done in my entire life.
I hadn’t intended to impersonate Amelia Crook, but that’s what happened, and now I was in too deep.
Responding to that email had triggered a chain of events that ended with me here, standing in the corridor outside the boardroom on the twentieth floor, clutching a stack of printed reports, about to present a media report to the COO and an unknown number of other staff members.
I’m so dead.
Through the transparent glass wall into the boardroom, I saw two people sitting at the long, rectangular table—David Green and a brunette woman beside him. He caught my eyes and gestured for me to come inside. I couldn’t turn back. I couldn’t run away. I had to face my fate, surrender to the inevitability that at least one person would recognise me for the imposter I was.
I sucked in a deep gulp of air before stepping into the boardroom. The table dominated the space, with a whiteboard at one end of the room and a large-screen TV at the other. On the external wall, large windows overlooked the city centre.
David and the woman stood when I entered. I avoided their eyes, certain they’d be looking at me with suspicion.
“Amelia Crook?” David asked.
He sounded polite. After all this build-up, he still thought I was her. He must not have met the real Amelia Crook before. I dared align my gaze with his.
“It’s Amelia Cross, actually,” I said.
Outright stealing her name was a step too far. At no point had I lied about my identity, and I wasn’t about to start now.
He wrinkled his brow. “Cross? Why did I think it was Crook?”
“There was someone else called Amelia Crook who used to work here. That would be why.”
“Ah. My mistake. I’m David Green, and this is my assistant, Aroha Williams. We’re taking over from Greg due to the reshuffle.”
I had no idea who Greg was, but I nodded along.
They took turns to shake my hand.
“Please, set yourself up.” David gestured to the screen. “The others won’t be long.”
Others. I swallowed a lump in my throat. “How many are we expecting to join us?”
“Just two. Neil can’t make it.”
I prickled. “Neil Kingston?”
“That’s the one. He has another commitment.”
I hadn’t even considered that he might attend. Thank goodness he wasn’t going to.
“Oh, here they are now,” Aroha said.
A man with salt-and-pepper hair and a blonde woman, both dressed in corporate attire, entered the room.
“Amelia, this is Cindy and Howard from operations management. They’ll be overseeing the whiteware portfolio from now on,” David said.
I shook their hands and introduced myself as Amelia Cross, with emphasis on the “Cross.”
We exchanged vague pleasantries, neither of them questioning me beyond how my day was going.
The group of four sat down. I took it upon myself to pour each attendee a glass of water from the chilled glass jug in the centre of the table. Next, I distributed the printouts I had brought with me.
While David and the others engaged in light chitchat, I set up the presentation on the provided laptop and connected it to the TV. I brought up the first page of the document, and everyone turned their attention towards me.
This is it.
I was either going to fool them and have to continue my charade, or fall flat on my face in a spectacular fashion. I wasn’t sure which outcome was worse.
Over the last few days, I had spent countless hours preparing for this presentation, learning the ins and outs of each line of every table, the meaning behind each chart, and the definitions of all the terminology. With four pairs of eager eyes watching me, I mustered a sense of pseudo-confidence, cleared my throat, and began. “As you’re aware, the dishwasher advertising campaign ran?—”
Clunk.
The boardroom door opened.
Everyone’s focus shifted from me to the late arrival.
In stepped Neil Kingston, clean-shaven, razor-jawed, dressed in a three-piece suit. His stare hit me like an icy blade. His impenetrable black eyes narrowed, and I felt like a deer in headlights. I could tell he was thinking, calculating.
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach.
Did he remember who I was? I recalled the meeting in his office, where we had talked about my position in the company. However, he had met so many other employees over the course of a few short days, it would be understandable if he, too, had muddled me and Amelia Crook.
“Ah, Neil. So glad you could join us after all,” David said.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Neil didn’t lift his searing gaze from me.
“This is Amelia Cross.”
“We’ve met.”
I tried to wrangle my sense of panic before it could reveal itself through my body language.
He knows. He definitely knows. Is he going to say something?
“Take a seat,” David said.
Neil stalked to the back of the room and sat down, resting an elbow on the table and his chin on his knuckles.
I waited for him to speak up and expose me, but he didn’t say a word. He wasn’t going to bring it up. No, he was going to watch me squirm like a fly caught in a spider’s web and derive some weird sense of pleasure from it.
“Please, continue,” Neil said.
My mind had gone blank.
Where am I up to?
My heart rate escalated. A cold sweat broke out on my hairline.
I can’t do this. I have to confess.
The expectant eyes watching me turned a shade sceptical. Or was I just imagining it?
I tried to shake myself out of my funk.
Get a grip! I’ve come this far. Even if I break down and admit everything afterwards, I should at least present the report and show them how capable I am.
Mind made up, I refocused on the task at hand.
I’ll just start from the beginning.
With a deep breath, I reeled off the words I had drilled into myself. I didn’t leave any gaps for questions, hoping that would deter anyone from asking.
I somehow made it through the entire presentation without slipping up. But now came the hard part. If someone was going to ask a question, now would be the time.
I didn’t ask, “Any questions?” but I couldn’t just stop and leave. I waited for someone to speak.
“Thank you, Amelia,” David said. “That was very comprehensive.”
Is it over? Did I survive?
I made a beeline towards the laptop to close the presentation, but Neil spoke up in a manner which conveyed, “Not so fast.”
“I have a question,” he said, eyes glinting.
Of course you do.
“ Yes?”
“Page four.”
I scrolled to the aforementioned page.
“There, in that table,” he said. “Could you explain something to me? I would like to know why we invested more on programmatic banner ads than social media, even though social media performed with a much higher conversion rate.”
Oh crap.
His question stunned me for a second.
This is a test. He knows the answer. He just wants to trip me up.
“Good question.” I stalled for time.
Come on. I should be able to answer this. Don’t let him win.
I cleared my throat, buying myself another second to think. “There could be several factors,” I said.
Thinking back to what I had studied to prepare for this presentation, I fished up an idea and ran with it.
“I think the main thing to remember is that banner ads function as an awareness medium. People don’t see a banner ad, then immediately go out and buy a dishwasher, but it might make them more aware of our brand and product.”
Murmurs of agreement arose from everyone except Neil.
“That doesn’t mean it’s a waste of money,” I continued. “Without brand awareness, people are less likely to engage with social media ads in the first place.”
“So, one can’t work without the other,” Cindy said.
“Exactly. It’s a synergetic relationship.”
David, Aroha, Cindy, and Howard all looked pleased with my explanation and my use of the buzzword “synergy.” Neil, on the other hand, scowled, the angry vein on his forehead throbbing.
“Did that answer your question?” I asked.
“Yes,” Neil said. “It did.”
“Then, if that’s everything, shall we end here?” David asked. “I’m sure we all have busy schedules to attend to.”
Everyone apart from Neil got up, thanking me as they did so. I turned off the TV and closed the laptop as they left the room. Neil continued to sit, arms folded, watching me.
I quickly made towards the door, trailing behind the others.
“Amelia,” Neil said.
Uh-oh.
I stopped in my tracks. “Yes?” I squeaked.
“You stay here. I want to have a little word with you.”