Chapter Fourteen
Ella
It was approaching six, and most of the staff had left, but Zola and Katy stayed behind, helping me set up the conference room.
Andrea was still lurking around her office while I prepped my pitch, hoping to secure a venue for the exhibition in one of Philip’s grand hotels.
All of the while praying that Andrea would leave me to take the lead and stay far away; the idea of her coming through and calling me Ella or asking too many questions about how we met, or just her intimidating, strident presence gave me crippling anxiety.
I was completely caught up in a web of lies, but I had no way out, other than continuing to roll with it all.
The only thing I cared about right now was keeping my job, which meant landing a venue – and, realistically, Philip Khan was my only solution.
*
Katy rearranged the plate of salted caramel cookies for the fourth time while Zola loaded up my PowerPoint, ensuring no technical issues – like my recent Japanese bondage search – would appear on the screen.
I didn’t have time to change, so I remained in my black pencil skirt with a white shirt.
My hair was waving loosely down my back, and I opted to wear my black-framed glasses, even though I only require them for long distances and driving, but I thought they added a more professional sophisticated element to my appearance.
A few minutes before six, the elevator door pinged open, and my friends stood up straight.
‘That’ll be him.’ Zola grinned widely, showing all her teeth, then grabbed her coat and bag from one of the chairs. ‘Message us as soon as you get out, yeah?’ she whispered, although unless he had ears like Isa, there was no need to speak so quietly.
‘I will,’ I said, gulping down my nerves.
Katy waved excitedly. ‘Good luck, Ella! Will we go greet him and send him in?’ she asked, swerving towards the door.
‘Yes, please. Thanks. Try to be quiet, though. I don’t want Andrea storming in mid-pitch.’
‘OK, we will!’ Katy whispered back.
My two friends left the conference room to greet Philip and bring him to me. I repositioned my laptop, making sure it was completely symmetrical, then inhaled a long, deep breath. I’ve got this.
Suddenly I could hear the high-pitched hyena laughter of both my friends coming closer as they approached the conference room, followed by a deep familiar voice.
So much for keeping the noise down, girls!
I stood up and straightened my skirt as Philip entered the room. He was wearing a light grey suit with a black shirt underneath, open at the collar. His dark eyes fell on mine, and a smile appeared on his face.
‘Good evening,’ he said brightly.
‘Hi, Mr Khan.’ I reached out to greet him. ‘Or do you prefer Philip?’
He turned to Katy and winked. ‘I do like it when you call me Mr Khan, but Carol here can address me as Philip.’
Wow, his ego was even bigger than I remembered. I watched Katy’s face contort as she quickly remembered our little espionage game.
‘Very well. Please, take a seat,’ I replied, keeping my tone as professional as possible. There was no way I was contemplating being taken in by the easy flattery of this man.
‘We should go, was so great to meet you, Philip!’ Zola said, raising a brow to me.
‘Yes, totally. It was lovely seeing you again, Philip.’ Katy blushed hard as she headed out the door, mouthing OMG to me as she shut it.
‘You too, Carol! See you, Zola,’ he said, oh so smoothly.
The boardroom felt small, with a large-screen projector on one wall and a huge table taking up the majority of the space. Philip walked past a few seats, then plonked himself down in the middle chair of the row, ensuring he was sitting right next to me.
‘OK then.’ I cleared my throat, feeling extremely claustrophobic at how close he was all of a sudden.
‘So, I’ll get right to it,’ I began. ‘Firstly, thank you for taking the time, Mr Khan, especially at such short notice. I am one of the senior marketing and PR associates here at Smart Reputations. We’re one of the fastest growing companies in the UK. My job is to primarily—’
‘I know what a marketing company does,’ Philip interrupted, crossing his arms. ‘Oh, please tell me you haven’t prepared a huge speech about how I should do something and partner up – a la-di-da type thing. Can we cut to the chase?’ His voice was so relaxed and matter-of-fact that I was taken aback.
‘Right.’ I paused. ‘So .?.?.’ The prick had taken me completely off guard. I’d memorised my whole pitch, and now I could feel my head scrambling, trying to get back on track. My fingers hovered over the mouse on my laptop. ‘Erm .?.?. just to clarify. You don’t want the PowerPoint then?’ I asked.
Philip shook his head, now resting his elbows on the table as he continued to stare at me with his deep, dark eyes. ‘God, I’ve had a long day, please no fucking PowerPoint.’
I cleared my throat. His eye contact was so intense that I struggled to look back without feeling nervous.
‘OK, I’ll get to the point then. I have a client, an artist. He creates the most wonderful portraits of celebrities and royalty and he is gracing Glasgow for one evening only in a few weeks’ time.
I have been tasked with planning an art exhibition to showcase his talent across the city, and I was hoping you would allow the use of one of your venues for it. ’
Philip tilted his head. ‘What about the Gallery of Modern Art? Too Banksy?’
I tittered a little: too fucking expensive, more like.
‘Well, we have to notify the council beforehand for that venue, I’m afraid; it involves permits.
’ I turned to him, feeling a rush of excitement at my vison for Alexander.
‘I’m thinking this show will be more like a party, not like a regular exhibition, but fun and lively as well as elegant. Consider it a function even.’
‘A function?’ Philip repeated, not appearing to get behind my vision.
‘Exhibitions feel very passive, to me,’ I said, lifting the energy of my voice. ‘They’re all about observation, walking around and looking, am I right?’
Philip agreed, raising his shoulders slightly.
‘But I want to really engage and draw people into conversations about the art. I don’t want to only cater to the art community either, but I want to break his work through to the everyday person.
Alexander is honestly the most amazing artist.’ I sighed.
‘I have paintings of his on the PowerPoint.’ I felt my hand drifting back towards the laptop, but Philip’s eyes gave me a warning stare.
‘Well, I can email you them across. Look, the point is, I want to create a completely unique experience here, not a regular exhibition. I want people to talk about him, to make TikToks and reels on how amazing the night will be. I am going to further publicise not only his name, but his brand, and of course the venue by extension.’
‘And Smart Reputations, of course,’ Philip added with a smirk.
I smiled. ‘Well, of course.’ There was a slight, brief silence in the room.
‘Hotels host these kinds of things all the time, right?’
Philip sat up in thought, crossing one leg over the other.
‘Yes. We host parties, but I’m thinking from a marketing perspective.’ He paused briefly. ‘If I were an artist holding some wanky art show in a new city, I’d want it to be lavish and in a grand, distinctive building. My hotels are grand, by the way, but they aren’t quite Glaswegian landmarks.’
I felt all hope wash out of me. He doesn’t want to do it. I am going to be fired.
‘Wouldn’t you?’ he asked.
‘Well .?.?. if I wanted a normal boring exhibition, yes. But I want to create something more here, Philip.’
He leaned back in his seat as if he disagreed. There was nothing more to say, I’d lost him. He didn’t get it.
‘Can I be frank with you, Philip? Apologies.’ I cleared my throat. ‘Mr Khan.’
‘Apology accepted.’ He smirked cheekily.
‘The main obstacle I’m facing is getting people up here excited about this exhibition.
Alexander Cambi is HUGE in Italy and central Europe, and he’s making waves in London, but the people of Glasgow don’t know him or his work.
If I could secure a smaller, more intimate venue, like one of your hotels, then .
.?. it would be more appealing to the everyday person.
It would be a less intimidating way to visit an art show, wouldn’t it?
It could bridge the gap between the art world and “real life” and create a bougie boutique experience.
And of course, I’m hoping that would also help keep costs within Alexander’s tight budget.
This partnership would generate great press for your hotel, it’s honestly a win-win scenario. ’
He hummed, sounding unsure of my proposal.
Jesus, what was there to question? I wondered.
‘Well .?.?. Honestly, I think you can do better.’
I felt like I had been punched in the gut.
‘Oh.’ I pulled back my shoulders. I’d really believed I had pitched well.
Philip leaned closer to me, his deep voice sounding somewhat softer. ‘I think you’re doing yourself a disservice by not believing you can spin this and make it huge. Forget a hotel venue; what you need to do is get the people of Glasgow excited about some fancy schmancy artist coming to town.’
I nodded politely, hoping to end this meeting and go home to cry under the covers. He thinks I can’t do my job, and the worst part is, I know he’s right.
Then the door burst open into the room, and Andrea strolled in. I was slightly taken aback by the sheer thickness of makeup she had plastered on her face – presumably a special glow-up in honour of Philip’s arrival.
‘When I heard Philip Khan was in the building, I just had to come and introduce myself!’ she announced. ‘I didn’t know your pitch had already begun?’ She side-eyed me and I felt my spine straighten up in an instant.
I managed to force a smile onto my face. ‘Oh sorry! I didn’t realise you wanted to sit in, my apologies, Andrea. Mr Khan, this is my boss, Andrea.’