Mergers and Acquisitions

by A. E. Radley

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I’m going to continue to work on Yannis. He was upset today, shaken by this investor situation. He wants to circle the wagons, have a defensive net built up to answer any investor questions. Once this blows over, and I’m sure it will, it will be easy to convince him that our productivity will improve by returning to New York. At the moment his priority is speed, he wants to show he has a commercially viable product as quickly as possible. Once we impress him with the contents of our business proposal, I’ll tell him that efficiency requires us to work from New York.”

  Georgina took a sip of wine. She hoped she could follow through. It made sense to her, but Yannis was a unique individual. She’d never worked with anyone quite like him.

  “You really think you can convince him?” Michael asked. “He seems very opinionated, doesn’t like to listen to reason.”

  Georgina chuckled. “That’s definitely true. I’m not sure how Kate puts up with him.”

  “He and Kate seem pretty close,” Michael pointed out. “It makes me wonder whether we have a chance to take the Atrom contract from Red Door at all.”

  He plucked a menu from the holder on the table and looked at it.

  “They are close,” Georgina agreed. “But that won’t last if his beloved sports car project is put in jeopardy.”

  Michael lowered the menu and picked up his glass. He took a sip of the lager, and as he placed the pint glass back on the table, his eyes were distant. He looked thoughtful, hesitant.

  “Out with it,” Georgina said.

  He smiled. “I’m just wondering if all this is worth it.”

  Georgina knew it would be coming eventually. Michael was loyal, but he was also a good businessman. He’d happily gone along with her plans to snatch the Atrom account, he’d seen the dollar signs and the opportunity.

  But things were changing. Being away from the office for such a long time wasn’t ideal. Yes, there was an effective system in place while they were away, but there was nothing like being there yourself. They’d intended to only be away a couple of weeks, now it was an open-ended trip. They were at the mercy of Yannis’s mood, a prospect that Georgina wasn’t comfortable with.

  Michael slid his beer to one side and leaned forward. “I know the Atrom account is worth a lot of money. But can we really split Yannis and Kate? They’ve been working together for a long time. And, even if we did, do we really want to work with Yannis? He’s unpredictable, flighty. One minute he wants one thing, the next it’s something different. Is all of this worthwhile?”

  Georgina picked up her wine glass and took a small sip. She enjoyed the sweet dryness in her mouth. She had wondered how long it would be before Michael started to have doubts. She couldn’t blame him; the same thought had crossed her mind once or twice.

  “Especially,” she said, “as all of this is a somewhat… personal vendetta?”

  Michael shook his head. “It’s not that exactly. I felt the loss of the Pink Blossom account as keenly as you, maybe more so. I worked on that account, and when we lost it… I don’t mind admitting that I felt personally hurt. What Kate did was underhanded.”

  “It was,” Georgina agreed. While Pink Blossom wasn’t the biggest account that Mastery had lost, it was one of the more visible. The Pink Blossom brand was well-known. All the trade magazines had reported on the loss, citing numerous reasons for the account leaving Mastery.

  The damage to the Mastery brand was far more than any damage to the company’s bank account. Georgina had slaved away at building her brand; the company was her baby, even shared her name. Defending the company reputation had hurt.

  On top of everything, Kate Kennedy had never even acknowledged the matter. Despite the silence, Georgina had always considered it a snub. A silent I won.

  Georgina hadn’t specifically set out for revenge. But she’d always kept her eyes open for any opportunity. A chance meeting with Yannis had been it. She’d pulled out all the stops and schmoozed the man to the very best of her ability, cutting her profit margins and promising the world to land the account. Sadly, she’d only landed the opportunity to work with Kate Kennedy.

  It was a start. It had brought her into Red Door. She knew she was perceived as the fox in the henhouse. Her presence had ruffled feathers and was presumably giving Kate sleepless nights. She had to admit, she enjoyed being such a disruptive force.

  “It’s not ideal,” Georgina said. “But you must admit, seeing that little vein in Kate’s forehead growing bigger each day is enormously satisfying.”

  Michael laughed. “It is, it is.”

  “We’ve had awkward clients before, we’ll have them again. Yannis is no different,” Georgina explained. “If we win the Atrom account, wonderful. If we don’t, then let’s make sure we stress Kate out as much as we can in the meantime. Maybe neither of us will end up with Atrom. At this point, I don’t care. I feel like I’m finally able to throw a wrench into Kate’s world, and I want to make sure it causes as much trouble as possible. It took us a year to recover from the bad publicity following the Pink Blossom fiasco. A few weeks of us pressing Kate’s buttons is fair compensation.”

  “That’s true,” Michael acknowledged. “As you say, Kate doesn’t seem to be coping too well with our presence.”

  “Absolutely. Less since she caught me holding Sophie Young.” Georgina looked at him meaningfully over the top of her wine glass. She knew she shouldn’t mention it, but she had to. If only to share news of Kate’s fury.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Georgina,” he asked teasingly, “whatever have you done?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing like that. The girl was in distress. I offered a shoulder to cry on. But you should have seen Kate’s face. She was furious. Ordered me away from her.”

  “Interesting…”

  “Very,” she agreed.

  “But, best to stay away, for your own sake,” Michael added.

  “Of course.” She picked up a menu and looked it over.

  “Georgina,” he warned.

  She looked up at him with a shrug. “What? I agreed.”

  “Yes, but I know that tone. That’s a very noncommittal tone.”

  She picked up her wine glass and took another sip. “Let’s eat,” she said, quickly changing the subject as she regarded the menu in her other hand.

  Michael regarded her for a moment before shaking his head and picking up his menu.

  Chapter 17

  Georgina picked up a random folder from the stack Michael had put on her desk.

  “How did you get this?” she asked.

  He chuckled as he leaned forward and plucked another folder from the stack. “Their strategy to put my desk out of the way, so I wouldn’t overhear what they were doing, backfired. They put me in a corner with several filing cabinets that contains printouts of their old presentations.”

  She smiled and flipped through the folder. “So, the motto is, don’t trust you near an unlocked filing cabinet?”

  “Definitely not,” he drawled.

  “Do we know what people Kate is putting on The Bolt project?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing has come my way. She’s playing things very close to her chest.”

  “Not surprised.” She turned the page and shook her head. She flipped it over for Michael to see. “Look at the lighting on this photo shoot. What were they thinking?”

  He turned over the presentation he was reading and showed her. “I can beat that. Three separate serif fonts, anyone?”

  She looked at the banner and winced. “Are you sure you didn’t find the filing cabinets with the rejects in them? Maybe they saw you coming and these are the decoy presentations?”

  “I wish,” he sighed.

  A knock on the door caught her attention. She saw Sophie through the glass and gestured for her to come in.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Sophie said. She handed over a stack of papers. “You asked for the colour palette and the font assets for the last Atrom campaign.
”

  “Oh, wonderful. Very efficient, thank you, Sophie,” Georgina said. She took the papers from the girl and placed them on her desk. “How are you feeling today? Better, I hope?”

  Sophie awkwardly adjusted her glasses and shifted from foot to foot. Georgina knew she should leave the girl alone, but she couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t get Sophie out of her mind. Knowing that her interacting with Sophie infuriated Kate just made the act all the sweeter. Although, with Kate out of the office at present, Georgina knew her excuse was flimsy at best.

  “I’m much better, thank you,” Sophie mumbled.

  “Good, I’m very pleased to hear that.” She dragged her eyes down Sophie’s form. “You’re looking lovely today, that cardigan certainly suits you.”

  Sophie cheeks flushed a deep red, and she stumbled out an acknowledgement.

  Michael looked at Georgina and raised a warning eyebrow towards her.

  “I-I’m heading out to get lunch for Kate,” Sophie said. “Can I get either of you anything?”

  Georgina looked at her watch. “Time has flown this morning. What time is Kate due back?”

  “In around an hour.”

  Plenty of time to go through these presentations, Georgina thought.

  “I think we’re okay for lunch, we were heading out,” Michael told Sophie, interrupting anything Georgina might have been about to say.

  “Oh, okay,” Sophie said. Her eyes drifted towards the desk, eyeing the folders with a puzzled expression. “I’ll go then, if you don’t need me?”

  “I have your number if I do.” Georgina winked.

  Sophie let out a strangled chuckle before rushing out of the office.

  Georgina watched her through the window. The girl really was adorable. All blushed cheeks and nervous gestures.

  “You should leave her alone,” he said. He picked up another folder and leafed through the documents.

  “It’s just some entertainment,” Georgina reassured him.

  “Entertaining for who?” Michael asked. “Are you genuinely interested in her, or are you just doing it to annoy Kate? Or are you rebounding? What I’m asking is, is it fair to Sophie?”

  “I really don’t know,” Georgina admitted. She picked up a folder, hoping to distract his attention by returning to the task at hand.

  “Have you called Jessica?” Michael asked, clearly not dissuaded.

  “And why would I do that?” She turned the ad campaign she was looking at to one side and studied it intently.

  “Well, I don’t know,” Michael said. “Maybe because she’s the best thing that ever happened to you and you’re miserable without her.”

  Georgina snapped her head up to look at him. “If she was the best thing to ever happen to me, then she wouldn’t have left.”

  He ignored her gaze, instead poring over the presentation papers he held up as a semi-barrier to her anger. “So, you argued. If you’d apologise, as you know you should, then she’d come back to you.”

  Georgina lowered her own folder. “I will not apologise,” she said defiantly.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Your loss.”

  She fixed him with a piercing glare before picking up the folder again.

  “Lucinda’s gain,” Michael muttered.

  “What’s that?” She looked at him again, rage starting to bubble within.

  He looked up at her and let out a sigh. “Come on, Georgina. You know that Lucinda Waverly has been sniffing around Jessica ever since you two got together. She’s bound to act now that word of your split is everywhere. You know how she can be, dog with a bone springs to mind. And Jessica is too sweet to say no. You know as well as I do that Jessica will end up going out with her just to be polite.”

  Georgina felt her nostrils flare in anger. “I really don’t know why you’re telling me this, Michael. As if I have any interest at all in Jessica’s love life.”

  He sighed again and leaned back in his chair. “I’m telling you because you are condemning me to act as your new assistant. Why am I here, Georgina? You could have brought anyone, but you brought me. And you won’t hire a new assistant, which means I end up doing the work instead.”

  It was true. Not that she’d for one moment admit it. She’d brought Michael along as a friendly face, someone she could speak to and confide in. Only now he wanted her to speak to and confide in him. And she wasn’t ready.

  “Well, if you’d not been so insistent on our dating in the first place, then you wouldn’t be here now.”

  Michael’s jaw dropped. “You’re blaming me for this? You’re actually blaming me for your break-up?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I’m blaming you for the relationship ever even starting. As you say, I’m to blame for the break-up. But without your interference, neither of us would have found ourselves in this situation.” She held up the folder and tried, once again, to change tacks. “The font choice on this menu is truly appalling.”

  Michael shook his head. “Jessica was a saint to put up with you,” he said.

  That was true as well. Georgina knew she had treated Jessica badly. The girl deserved so much better than her. One of the reasons Georgina hadn’t fought for their relationship, aside from her stubborn nature, was her firm belief that Jessica could do better.

  Now she just cursed the fact she’d ever been in a loving relationship with her assistant. If she’d never lowered her defences and let her in, she wouldn’t be so miserable and lonely now.

  “And that is the last time her name will be mentioned,” she said.

  “Fine, fine. But I’d keep an eye on Sophie. You may think she’s sweet and naïve, but she probably saw these presentations. She might report them back to Kate.”

  “I’ll deal with it,” Georgina said. “Now, let’s get back to work.”

  Chapter 18

  Sophie hunched over her keyboard. The muscles in her shoulders throbbed. She knew it was a reaction to stress. Any time she felt stress, her shoulder muscles hardened into concrete. And what she was doing now was certainly stressful.

  Kate had ordered her to spy on Georgina and Michael. She’d been very clear that Sophie’s continued employment rested on her doing what she was told. When Sophie had seen the old presentation files on Georgina’s desk, she knew she had to report it to Kate.

  Luckily, Kate was on the phone, and so Sophie had the opportunity to take the coward’s way out and email what she had seen. She hated the tension in the office, the spying and the reporting back. Kate was becoming more and more stressed, and she was taking it out on anyone in her path. Sadly, Sophie’s new temporary role as Kate’s PA had her right in the crosshairs.

  She glanced up at Kate through the glass windows looking into her office. Kate seemed to be deep in conversation. Sophie hoped the conversation would last the rest of the working day.

  “The presentations were on her desk…”

  Sophie jumped at the sound of Georgina’s voice in her ear. Her heart rate spiked. Georgina was standing behind her, leaning down and reading her screen. Reading the very email that she was writing to tell Kate about Georgina’s actions. But, for some reason, Georgina was smiling.

  “This all sounds very serious,” Georgina whispered with a nod to the screen. She turned and sat beside the keyboard. “What do you think will happen to me? Off to the tower?”

  “I-I…” Sophie stammered. She was mortified at having been caught in the act.

  “It’s okay, Sophie. I know you’re just doing your job.” Georgina turned to look at the screen. She pointed her finger to the middle of a sentence. “I’d add a comma here.”

  Sophie could feel her cheeks heating up in a deep blush.

  Georgina turned to look at her and chuckled. “Really, Sophie. It’s fine. You’ve been asked to do this, I get it. I’m a big girl, I can take responsibility for my actions. But it’s probably better for you if we pretend that I didn’t see it. We’ll call it our little secret.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Sophie quickly
added in the comma and sent the email to Kate. She checked her screen to see if there was any other incriminating evidence to be found.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s not something I want to do. I don’t agree with it. I wish everyone could just get along.”

  Georgina smiled. “That’s adorable. But that’s not how business works, I’m afraid.”

  “But it should,” Sophie argued. “I hate all of these office politics.”

  Georgina nodded. “I can see it’s not your strength. But we have to do what we have to do, to get ahead.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Still feels horrible. I want to get ahead, but this isn’t the way I want to do it.”

  Georgina folded her arms and looked down at her. “Well, you’re not going to get ahead until you can show your worth. You’re a little on the quiet side, and that’s fine. But if you really want to get ahead then you have to make yourself heard.”

  Sophie had heard it before. At school, at university, and at work. Everyone told her she was quiet, meek even. People had been telling her to speak up her entire life.

  “I know,” she admitted. “I don’t really get much of an opportunity to make myself heard. And even if I did, I’m worried that my ideas are no good and I’d blow it. I don’t want to take a risk and shout out my ideas, just to find out that they are stupid and I’ve blown my chance.”

  “I’d be more than happy to listen to your ideas,” Georgina offered. “It doesn’t have to be about Atrom, that’s a little infected at the moment. We can have a more general discussion, and I can give you feedback. If you’d like that, that is?”

  Sophie couldn’t imagine passing up the opportunity to get feedback from Georgina Masters. She looked nervously towards Kate’s office, relieved to see she was engrossed in her phone call.

  “That does sound good. Great, actually,” she confessed.

  “Wonderful. We could discuss it at my hotel, maybe over dinner? It’s a little more private than the office, and less noisy than a restaurant.”