10. Audrey
Ifelt nervous. It was like flying on a plane for the first time, where you didn’t know if you’d land safely, or what it even felt like to be up high in the sky, drifting over the clouds. Then feeling turbulence, and thinking you were about to die a cruel death, plummeting to the ground.
Ava wasn”t the one who had my skin prickling with goosebumps. Instead, I was nervous about what ‘the new project’ meant for me, and for my place in the company. I worked at an eCommerce marketing firm, where we took on anyone and everyone who thought their product was ‘the next big thing’, but being brought to London for a single client put a lot of pressure on my shoulders. Especially when he dabbled in marketing himself, though mainly in event planning. He was planning the business event of the year, and it was up to me and Ava to make it a hit, both in person and online.
I adjusted my oversized blazer, allowed a bit of the light from my white undershirt to be seen through it, and let out a cough before I entered her office. “You wanted a chat?”
“Audrey, yes.” She nodded, as if reminding herself what this meeting was about. “I was just wanting to talk about where things are going after the Atkins project.”
“When I go back home?” I prompted, before sitting down on a boucle-styled couchette. I was familiar with the timeline of my stay. After all, my life plans depended on it, and in some way, so did Lucy’s. She wanted to settle in London, and that’s why she’d been so adamant on getting me to change.
“Well, about that.” Ava crossed her arms. “I don’t think I’m really in a position to let you go.”
My posture straightened. “You’re wanting to extend my contract?”
“Exactly—I’m sure it’s a bit hard to be away from family,” she suggested, though I frowned in disagreement. She’s respectful enough not to ask why. “But we’re in need of your talents, and it’s within the interest of the company that you stick around.” I opened my mouth, ready to add my two cents, but she jumped in again. “If you’d be willing to stick around, that is.”
Finally, I understood. The company was shifting, and it seemed my dreams of Paris might be put off again. A longer stay meant a longer contract in London specifically—and that wasn’t something I would let myself do. “And how long are you thinking?” I pressed.
Ava took the moment to nervously brush through her honeycomb curls, hitching her breath before she turned back to me. “Three years.”
“Three years?”I repeated in shock. “I agreed to a three month stay. And now you want me to suddenly put everything on hold for three years?”
She cleared her throat, knowing the request was a little out of line. “Um, not me… but the company? Yes. That’s exactly what they expect.”
I stood up, needing to release the sudden tension. Ava must’ve thought I was walking to the door, because she quickly stood to block it. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime, Audrey! So many would kill to be in your position right now.”
I hated that she was right—usually meetings like these would be filled with distaste only when someone got fired, or their hours were cut. I was here being told they wanted to keep me on the books for another three years,and I thought the world was falling down around me. The new contract would probably have perks, too.
Wait a minute. “Are there benefits?” I asked, before the thought left my mind.
Ava looked like she struck gold, as if I was two bonuses away from signing the new contract. “Free gym membership,” she listed, and I shook my head, showing I wasn’t interested. “An equity grant,” Ava added, fidgeting when she noticed I wasn’t impressed. “And an allowance for travel!”
Now that was when I started thinking this could work. Until Ava mumbled, “But only in business approved areas, and for yours, that’s strictly for England and Scotland.”
“Jeez.” I sighed. “Can I at least think on it?”
Her nose twitched, as if she hated what she was about to say, but as I held my glaring stare onto her meek, bright eyes, she surrendered. “Sure,” she spoke hesitantly. “But I’ll need the answer by the end of the gala project.”
“Deal.” I held out my hand to shake on my promise, and after her manicured fingers let go, I put on my game face. “Let’s go meet this new client.”
I followed Ava to our board room where all of our higher-end meetings took place, and as the gala was the business event of the year, George Atkins deserved no less.
“You seem to have settled in well,” Ava jested, seeing George make his way through our board room’s snack bar. Beside it was a mini-fridge with alcoholic beverages for our more casual meetings, and there were even some upholstered futons that helped break away from the standard office experience.
“I felt like my blood sugar was a little low.” He grinned cheekily, putting another piece of chocolate into his mouth. His name was fitting—a typical George Clooney type, with salt and pepper hair, and a gorgeous face despite his age. And while catching him gorging on the pleasantries, it wasn’t often you snuck up on a successful businessman as a woman, immediately earning the upper hand. But it didn’t feel like George took it personally. He’d hardly said a word, yet I was already looking forward to working on this project with him.
“Nice to meet you, George.” I reached out my hand. “I’m Audrey Clarke.”
“One of our best and brightest, from Australia,” Ava added. I always wondered why Ava thought that was a relevant piece of information to add. Maybe she wanted to parade my accent around like an exotic animal in her posh, strait laced office… or maybe it was a way to warn the clients that my stay would be temporary, and one day I’d be leaving for home?
“Quite the trip. Have you been here long?” George asked politely, as we took our seats around the circular table. It made me think that our business today revolved around plotting England’s future—that George was King Arthur and we were his faithful subjects sitting at the round table. I felt like Ava would be the Lancelot type. On the other hand, I felt like Gaheris, where Lancelot took me out by accident and I was forever stuck in the clutches of death, or worse, London.
“Not long at all,” I admitted. “Though as soon as I got word of your project, I just had to take it on.” This part was a lie, since I’d barely heard anything about the project itself, only that Ava needed staff fast. Ava smirked approvingly, knowing the main goal was to schmooze clients like these; the ones with fat wallets and lots of money to burn. Marketing was a thieves’ game, and somehow, Ava and I became the best at playing it to our advantage.
“Sounds like this will be a fascinating start to your time here,” he said. “To get straight to the point, the annual gala is coming up fast. I’ve got my team in charge of general events planning, but we’ve learnt from last year, and are here for your help to not make the same mistakes.”
I looked at Ava quizzically, and she bent forward, ready to fill in the context. “Last year’s business gala was a hit, but on the media front, it was a bit lacklustre.” Her voice was filled with caution, finding an appropriate way to describe what happened.
“No need to be delicate here, Ava,” George interjected. “Let’s just say we spent a lot of money, but not a single person outside of our business circles heard about it. Of course, we do these events for the business folk, but the PR is what makes it worthwhile. Yet we didn’t even tap into the local newspaper.”
“George told me they’ve already scrambled to sell out of all the tickets for the gala, but our marketing efforts will make next year’s sales a lot easier for them,” Ava explained.
“Right, so we’re basically wanting to fill out the tickets with a new demographic around London, as soon as the gala is over.” I rehashed my understanding, earning nods from George and Ava. “I’d be more than happy to help with that. And while I’m in marketing now, I’ve had my fair share of time in tourism and events to help you out with any other tasks you need.” I thought back to those days in Australia when I ran around running endless tours and events after Henry’s daughter was born. It wasn’t my favourite time, but I learnt a lot, and I knew how to add value in these situations.
George slumped back into his chair in relief. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
“I’m glad to be the messenger.” I laughed. “So, when do we start on this?”
Ava pulled out a diary from the pile of books she’d brought from her office, and a sparkly pink pen. “George will be coming into our office sporadically over the next month leading up to the event, to make sure everything’s on track.”
“Great, I’ll start gathering some media contacts as soon as this meeting ends.” I jotted the task down in my notebook.
“Looks like I’ll be leaving this in capable hands,” George spoke surely. “Shall we wrap this up, then?” My eyes widened, not knowing how easy this was going to be. In fact, the in-and-out meeting made me like George even more, knowing he wasn’t going to be the project manager that breathed down your neck all day long. That showed he was a good leader to his own staff, too. And nothing was better than working with someone who had a team that admired them. It made people actually want to do their jobs.
“Sounds great to me.” Ava nodded, like she was used to these brief meetings by now.
Noticing the time, I looked around, wondering the politest way to exit. “Does anyone feel like grabbing some coffee?”
George shook his head politely, but Ava was more vocal. “I’ve just had my teeth whitened, so no coffee for me for the next week at least.”
“That’s a condition?”
“Well, it does make them last longer.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t help that after one week, I have a coffee with every meal.”
“I’m having a temporary detox for the same reason,” George said, shining his pearly whites again. I almost felt disappointed that his beauty wasn’t completely natural. Where were we, Los Angeles?
“Ah, well it looks like it’s worth the effort,” I said. “I’m going to indulge anyway. It was lovely meeting you, George!”
“Likewise.” As soon as he left the board room, his phone buzzed, as if it were perfectly matched to his schedule. We couldn’t be more unalike, the way I spent every hour feeling five minutes late, no matter what. I could only wonder what kind of people he chose to spend his personal time with, and whether they were just like him; perfectly planned, and most likely gorgeous as well.
I made my way down the elevator to the lobby, where I noticed a coffee cart was set up on my way into the office this morning. But before I got near the line, my feet stopped in place. It wasn’t that I changed my mind, or that I was confused… it was because I saw something—someone—and my throat dried up in an instant.
They were leaning back on the grey-panelled walls of the lobby, lazily sipping from a cup of coffee at the very same place I was about to purchase from. And as I took in their well-fitted suit, dark brown hair, and light-hearted expression, I realised the exact person that I’d been hoping to avoid, had suddenly shown up right in front of me. “Theo.”