by Latham, D
He stared at me for a moment. "You are a bloody genius at times. That's actually a brilliant idea. Would you be prepared to be a part of something like that?" I thought about it, it would almost certainly mean delivering the Conde Nast work for Pearson Hardwick, give me all the kudos of a major non exec position on my CV, and a combined 'super board' was unlikely to be quite as heavily influenced by the Russian contingent. Plus, of course, Oscar would be there.
"Yes, I'd sit on a board like that." Ivan looked delighted.
"How's your schedule today?"
"No meetings planned. I'll be helping the others out I should think, as most of my current projects have either completed, or are in progress."
"Good. I'm booking you today. We can sound out some of the directors of Conde Nast, and draw up a planned super board. Structure it the way we want. I want to look at cost savings that can be gained by fully merging Conde Nast and Retinski."
"I'd keep the names separate, but that's easy to do. Set up a huge umbrella company, and list all the others as subsidiaries, feeding revenue through to the parent company. I did a similar set up for Paul Lassiter's firm. Should save a fortune in both tax and admin."
"Sounds like a plan. Can you be ready by ten to eight? I want you to join me at this meeting with Paul, then we can head over to Vogue house. I'll need to book you Monday as well, for meetings with the American directors. I'll pull them over here this weekend."
"Ok." I cleared away our cups, and made sure everything was immaculate, ready for James. Ivan left to get ready at his own apartment, and I jumped into the shower.
He picked me up at ten to eight, and we drove over to Smollenskis. Paul was already there, sitting in a private booth, to one side of the restaurant. Ivan ordered our breakfasts, and I sat and listened while he outlined some of our plans to Paul, asking him to source an international finance director with particular expertise in Russian finance. Paul listened intently, before also suggesting looking at the Conde Nast board first, and aside from the finance director, using his company to fill any gaps. It was going to become a vast multinational company, so he advised Ivan to put at least twenty on the new board, listing out the areas of expertise that would need to be covered. I recorded the conversation on my iPhone, so I could make notes later. There was way too much information to memorise.
After my second latte, I excused myself to go to the ladies. I left my bag with Ivan, and tried not to take too long, as I didn't want to hold up the conversation. When I returned, Paul seemed to be looking at me rather strangely. I smiled back, and noticed he didn't seem to want to look me in the eye. Intrigued, I decided to listen to the recording I'd been making, as soon as possible. We finished our meeting, and Paul shook my hand. "Nice to see you again Elle, you be careful now."
"And you. Hopefully see you again soon." He nodded, still avoiding my puzzled gaze. My phone had been partially hidden by my bag, so I shoved it in, and trotted along behind Ivan, surreptitiously switching off the recording. We headed over to Vogue house, where the British directors were waiting for us.
I watched Ivan command the boardroom. He was confident and powerful, as he outlined his plans to form a closer integration between his companies. The other directors sat up a bit straighter at the prospect of joining a super board to oversee the management of a vast and varied conglomerate.
I observed the other directors, making copious notes, and watching the way they interacted with each other. Ivan asked each of them to submit a detailed CV to him, listing their areas of expertise and experience, so that he could make his choices. The directors not chosen for the umbrella company would remain in control of the operations of the Conde Nast brand, with extra areas of responsibility, and extra money to go with it. All in all, Ivan was dangling some juicy carrots. I could almost see the people round the table salivating at the prospect of promotion and higher pay and perks.
We headed back to Canary Wharf for a quick lunch, before Ivan had to return to his own office to organise the American directors meeting on Monday. "I'll zip up to my office, and do some research on the correct structure for this umbrella organisation." In truth, I was itching to listen to the recording to find out what had unnerved Paul Lassiter so much.
"Ok, can you come up to Retinski about threeish? We can discuss the other directors, form a clearer idea where we're going with this."
"Sure." He pecked my cheek before I got out of the lift at my floor. I went straight to my office, declining Laura's offer of a cup of tea. I closed the door, got my phone out of my bag and pressed 'play'.
I made notes up until the point at which I went to the ladies.
"I'm just going to the ladies, watch my bag please Ivan."
"Sure."
Pause.
"So you and her an item now?"
"She thinks so."
"You hate Golding that much?"
"Jammy bastard gets everything he wants. I enjoy rubbing his nose in the fact that I'm fucking her, and he isn't. I'll keep her out of his reach until he gets bored."
"What if he doesn't get bored?"
"He will. She's nothing that special. Bit prissy and Miss Perfect if you ask me. Not sure why Golding's so dopey over her."
"He thinks a lot of her. You still seeing that actress? I've forgotten her name."
"Penny Harrison? Yeah. She's one dirty bitch I tell you. Thankfully, lawyer girl isn't too clingy, and I get plenty of time to go over to Penny's place. Makes it easier to put up with the uptight and vanilla I'm getting at home these days.
Laughter.
"Maybe Elle'll get bored with you, if she's only getting vanilla."
"Nah. She's ecstatic just to be getting a bit of Russian sizemeat. She won't go anywhere."
"Shh, she's coming back."
Pause, chair scraping noise.
"That's better, now, where were we?"
I paused the recording, and sat trying to take it all in. I felt sick with the sheer humiliation of it. I pulled myself together, and emailed it to my work address, to make sure I didn't lose it, and pondered what to do for the best. I quickly googled Penny Harrison, and found out she was a model, turned actress, who had appeared on a couple of TV dramas. I clicked on images, and dozens of pictures of a sultry, brunette beauty filled the screen. She reminded me a little of Dascha. Straightaway, I was transported back to being the little, dowdy, brown mouse. Hearing the two of them laughing at me, and my lack of sexual experience, cut me to the quick, but rather than crumble, I made the decision not to cry over Ivan yet again, I'd cried over that man way too much. I'd move on, with my head held high. If I ever felt like wavering, I'd listen to that recording again.
I was jolted out of my reverie by my phone ringing. It was Paul. "Hi Elle, forgot to ask, did you get those books on reading body language?" Where's he going with this?
"Yes I did. Very interesting reads thanks. We should discuss them sometime."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Did you record all of our conversation this morning?" I remained silent. "So you did then. Have you listened to it?"
"Yes I have."
"I'm sorry. You needed to know."
"You did that on purpose didn't you? Drew that information out of him, knowing I was recording so I could make notes later."
"Like I said, you needed to know. Choices should always be informed ones." With that, he cut the call. Now what do I do? I glanced up at the clock. It was only two. I still had another hour before I needed to be at the Retinski offices. I called Oscar.
"Hi Oscar, got a bit of an issue, and I'd like some advice. Are you free now?"
"Not right now, I'm at the Lords. Is it urgent, or can it wait till later?"
"It can wait. Are you going to Sussex tonight?"
"No, in the morning. I'll be at a function here until about ten tonight."
"Ok, is it alright if I pop down in the morning?"
"Sure. Not too early though. I'll see you tomorrow."
I said m
y goodbyes, and ended the call. I made the decision to say and do nothing. I wasn't seeing Ivan that evening, due to James' return, and could probably avoid him all weekend if needed. It didn't solve the problem, but it did push it down the road for me to deal with another time.
I concentrated on getting the information ready for setting up the umbrella company, sending it up to the slimy ratbag's email address. I headed up at five to three, plastering my professional smile onto my face. Galina showed me into Ivan's office, where he was staring intently at something on his screen.
"Hey baby, thanks for getting that information over. Every single one of those directors we saw this morning has sent their CV's over already. They must be keen. I spoke to the Americans, they are arriving Monday morning, so we'll have the initial meeting here at ten."
"No problem." I pulled out my iPhone, and added it into my schedule. I took a file from my bag, "Here are the notes from our meeting with Paul this morning, with his recommendations." He didn't look away from his screen, so I placed the file on his desk, and sat down opposite.
He looked up. "Right, here's how I see it so far, on the board for the umbrella company will be myself, as managing director, you, as company secretary, and legal, Oscar, as our banker, Ranenkiov as HR director, Andrea Mills as director of administration, Andrei Orlov as sales and marketing director, Jacqueline Martin as director of information technology, and Vladimir Sutin as director of real estate and property. That still leaves me with at least another eight places to fill, most importantly a finance director. The Conde Nast one is a woman," he looked at his notes, "Gail Hayward. She seems efficient enough, but...." He trailed off. Sexist bastard.
"You don't need to make any decisions until you've met the Americans. There's no big rush. Anyway, it may take Paul a while to come up with the right people."
"Yes, of course. What do you think about appointing Oscar as chairman?"
"You'd have to sound him out about that, he might not want that much involvement, I mean, it's not like you two are great friends is it?"
Ivan shot me a look, "we're friends, why would you think otherwise?"
I just shrugged, and changed the subject. "What about Joan Lester?"
"I think she's best placed to continue as MD at Conde Nast. I don't want to completely strip them of their top management. She runs it very well. I saw that their advertising revenue has grown in the last three years. Quite some feat in this climate." I nodded in agreement. "I think then that we'll meet the Americans on Monday, then make our choices. I'll book Lassiter on Tuesday morning when we have a clear idea of the skills that this new board needs."
Outwardly, I was listening to him drone on. Inside I was trying to come to terms with his total lack of respect for me, and his contempt for our sex life. Suddenly, he didn't seem so pretty anymore. I noticed the unattractive sneer of his lips as he spoke of women in business, and the unpleasant way he chewed his biro when he was thinking. I was jolted back to the present when he asked me a question. I stared at him rather blankly. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that."
"You're about a million miles away. Come back to the present." He clicked his fingers in front of my face, smiling as he did it. Do that again lover boy, and you'll end up with broken fingers.
"Yeah, I'm struggling to concentrate today."
"I noticed. Excited about seeing your friend I expect?"
"Yes, yes I am.”
"Look, why don't we wrap up for today? I need to get back and see the girls, get them ready for the drive down to Sussex. You can get back and see your flatmate." And you can spend the evening with Penny Bloody Harrison.
"Great. I'll speak to you soon." I grabbed my handbag, and left. If he was perplexed that I didn't kiss him goodbye, he didn't say anything. In truth, I couldn't bear to be that close to him.
The lift couldn't come quick enough, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I stepped out of the tower. I needed to form a plan to extricate myself from him, without massively damaging my career. As I walked home, I thought about different ideas, including calling the headhunter who had approached me a few weeks back. Changing law firms might be a solution to the problem.
I stopped for some fresh milk, and had just finished paying, when Paul approached. Oh great, just what I need. "Hello Elle, have you got time for a quick coffee?"
"Umm, I was just on my way home."
"It won't take long." He took my elbow, and steered me into Costa, sitting me at a table, before going to get two lattes. He put mine down in front of me, and sat down. "I dropped a bit of a bomb on you today," he said.
"Yeah well, serves me right for listening I suppose."
"Have you spoken to him about it?" I shook my head. I didn't particularly want to dissect the grisly detail with Paul, who was, after all, a client. "Are you going to speak to him about it?"
"Oh yes. I don't ever plan on going within six feet of the man ever again. At some point, he might notice, but then again, he might not." I paused, "why does he hate Oscar so much?"
Paul shifted in his chair. "He doesn't hate him, he's jealous of him. If you notice, he tries to emulate him in a lot of ways, the immaculate suits, fancy restaurants, that type of thing. Oscar was born into it, it's all second nature to him, his 'normal' if you like. Ivan's hangups come from being the son of peasants, shot like cattle, and his arrival in the UK as a poverty stricken immigrant. He can never have what Oscar has, no matter how wealthy or knowledgeable he becomes. Oscar was born with a title, a bank and a castle."
"I can understand all that, what I don't get is why he was so vile about me. I can understand that I'm not his cup of tea, but why say all those terrible things?"
"I think that's more complicated. I suspect it's more to do with his own overblown ego than anything else." I looked quizzically at him, he went on; "He knows that in many ways, he can't compete with Golding, and has no real idea why you left him. I think he's assumed that if you walked away from Oscar Golding, you'll walk away from him too. It's human nature isn't it? To push someone away before they walk of their own accord. I also suspect he was trying to ensure that I wouldn't be interested."
"You sound as though you're trying to apologise for him. It doesn't explain Penny Harrison though."
"I'm not apologising. It must have been horrible listening to the man you love speaking about you like that. I just felt that I should explain it a little, as I figured you must be quite hurt about the whole thing." I nodded, not wanting to admit to Paul that I was, in fact, devastated. "As for Penny Harrison, I don't know if he is or isn't still seeing her. Again, that could be ego or bravado talking. He wanted to paint you in a certain light, and making out that you were dull in bed to the point of having to see someone else, well, that's all part of it, don't you think?"
"I don't know what to think to be honest Paul. Now, there is something I'd like to discuss confidentially with you."
"Go on."
"I'd like to discreetly look around at other law firms. I think it may be the only way to get away from Ivan and Retinski without anybody losing face."
"How do you think your boss would feel about that? Surely they'd rather support you, and keep you, rather than lose you, and probably Retinski as well?"
"I don't want to leave, I really love the firm I work for, but I don't want to be tainted by being 'the girl who lost the Retinski contract'."
"I see. I can certainly sound out a few people. You have a stellar reputation. Are you set on being in Canary Wharf? Or are you happy to go back into the city?"
"I'd prefer the city if possible. Then I'd be completely away from it all."
"I'll see what I can come up with."
"Thank you, I'd appreciate that, now, I don't want to be rude, but I really have to go." We said our goodbyes, and with a growing sense of anticipation, I headed home.
Chapter 5
I walked into the flat, to be greeted with the smell of roast beef in the oven. I dumped my handbag on the island and called out, "Hi, I'm home." James bounced o
ut of the laundry room.
"ELLE! I'm so glad to see you. Feels like I've been away forever."
I stood staring at him. He looked like an entirely different person. "You look so different, great, but like a different person." He pulled me into an awkward hug.
"Still the same, just less hair. You look a bit thin. Have you not been eating properly?"
"Not really," I admitted. "Let me look at you." I stood back to get a better look. "James, you are seriously hot. I bet the ladies went nuts for you in America." He pulled a face.
"Not terribly keen on American women, whiny voices and all that. Now, first things first. Glass of wine? Dinner's going to be a little while, and we need to catch up." I watched him as he sorted the wine. His curly brown hair was cut fairly short, not clipper cut short, but enough to look tidy. His jaw was strong, quite sharp, and had a hint of a cleft on his chin. He looked tanned and fit, which seemed to make his twinkly blue eyes even more pronounced. In short, he was drop dead bloody gorgeous.
While our dinner was cooking, he told me all about his time in the States, the friends he'd made, and the work he'd done. Reading between the lines, it sounded as though he'd been a bit lonely and homesick.
During dinner, I told him an edited version of leaving Oscar, my work at the factory, getting together with Ivan, losing mum, and finally, the events of earlier on. He listened to the recording, and cringed. “Penny Harrison’s not a relation of yours I hope?” I asked. He shook his head.
"Sounds like it's been rather eventful. Seems like you need this holiday. Only a week to go, are you excited?"
"I truly can't wait. I bought a kindle, some new bikinis, and I brought a lovely sundress back from the south of France." I thought of all the beautiful clothes left behind at Ivan's houses, including my red ballgown and rubies, and felt a little sad. There was no way I was asking him for them though.
"Well, hopefully this holiday will make you forget all about that rotter. A bit of drinking and sunbathing will do you the world of good."
