Mergers and Acquisitions

by A. E. Radley

“I told her.”

  “Good. Good, well done, Sophie.” Kate grinned for a moment. Then she looked at Sophie and shook her head. “I’m fairly sure I told you to burn that cardigan.”

  It wasn’t the first time that Kate had made a disparaging comment about her dress or her looks. In fact, they were becoming more frequent the more stressed Kate became. Sophie ignored them. She wasn’t about to change a thing about herself to appease Kate. And she was confident that she had the law on her side. Not that she would ever dream of going that far. She was sure that Kate simply employed the tactic as a power play, trying to push Sophie into place.

  What Kate didn’t seem to grasp was that she didn’t need to manipulate Sophie. While Sophie had made it clear that she disliked office politics, she’d also made her position clear. She would side with Kate. Kate was her employer.

  Getting closer to Kate had only served to reinforce Sophie’s opinions on the woman. Up close, Kate was just as impressive, intelligent, and creative as Sophie had imagined. Working alongside her, seeing how her mind functioned, was incredible. Sophie felt like a sponge soaking up knowledge and ideas.

  And the inspiration couldn’t have come at a better time. Matt had moved out, and the apartment was a lonely reminder of their sham relationship. Sophie had buried herself in work, taking home as much as possible and using it to hone her own creative instincts and design skills.

  Kate’s mobile phone beeped, alerting her to a schedule notification. She snatched up the phone and frowned.

  “Why do I have a facial booked for this afternoon? I don’t know what you were thinking booking it for today.”

  “But you asked—” Sophie attempted.

  “Why would I ask for it today?” Kate shook her head. “Useless,” she mumbled.

  Sophie flushed with anger. This wasn’t the first time that Kate had blamed her for something that obviously wasn’t her fault. She understood that Kate was under a lot of stress, but she didn’t acknowledge the assistance Sophie was giving her. Instead she took it for granted and continued to push her.

  “And my lunch isn’t going to deliver itself to my desk. Off you go.”

  Sophie glared at Kate for a split second before storming from the office. She grabbed her purse and headed over to the elevators.

  Sophie hated Kate’s habit of taking out her anger on the nearest person who was most likely to take it. Especially as that person was always Sophie herself.

  But even when Kate was at her very worse, Sophie still couldn’t bring herself to dislike her. Sophie felt a strange pull towards Kate. She had been her idol for many years. As soon as Sophie was old enough to understand how business and marketing worked, she had become fascinated with Red Door and Kate’s rise to power.

  And yet, Kate seemed to be doing her best to keep Sophie at arm’s length. Sometimes they would share moments, just the two of them in the office late at night, Sophie providing headache pills and the solution to a problem that had been bothering Kate. Kate would smile and tell her she was brilliant. All would be right in the world… until a moment later when Kate would realise what she had said and deliver a quick verbal blow, berating Sophie for something else entirely.

  Sophie found it infuriating. She was a woman in a male-dominated industry, working for a woman who had managed to climb to the top. To be treated so badly was frustrating. Especially when Sophie had so much respect for Kate.

  But Kate was completely consumed, worrying about Georgina and her plans. Kate spoke about Georgina like she was the devil herself.

  Which was funny when Sophie considered how scared she had been of Georgina that first day. Georgina’s reputation struck fear into the hearts of most juniors within the industry. Sophie had been sure that she would be eaten alive and spat out by Georgina within a few hours of her arriving at Red Door.

  Instead, she did her best to keep Sophie out of the office politics. And she was willing to help her get ahead. She’d looked at some of Sophie’s designs, spoken with her about her ideas. Georgina had been nothing but kind to her from day one.

  The elevator doors opened. Sophie stared into the empty elevator cart for a moment.

  Why am I saying no to an opportunity to learn from Georgina Masters? For Kate’s sake? It’s just a dinner. A chance to learn and better myself. To be better at my job. If Kate won’t give me that chance, then I have the right to speak with Georgina.

  She turned away from the elevator and walked across the office. She took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on Georgina’s open office door.

  “Georgina?” she asked softly.

  Georgina raised her eyebrow in curiosity.

  “Is that dinner invitation still available?”

  Chapter 21

  In all her years at Red Door, Kate had never been distracted by the view of the city. She’d often used it to impress clients, as real estate in Farringdon didn’t come cheap. But the view had never preoccupied her. Until now.

  Now, she was happy to stare at the blend of old and new buildings that made up the London skyline. Anything to take her mind off what was happening within her office.

  She’d be the first to admit that she had no idea working with Mastery would be quite so demanding. Of course, she had known that it wouldn’t be easy. She knew from the start that Georgina was there to try to acquire the Atrom contract.

  Now, Georgina was making her presence felt every single day. Her ideas, whispered in Yannis’s ear, threw Kate’s plans into chaos. Georgina’s staff were taking up valuable desk space, and Georgina didn’t think twice about ordering Kate’s own staff to complete small jobs for her.

  Normally, Kate wouldn’t have held back, but the situation was fraught. Yannis was on edge, and that made everyone on edge. He demanded more and more each day, effectively sending both Mastery and Red Door into a frenzy to try to provide for and anticipate his needs.

  Georgina had nothing to lose. She didn’t need the Atrom account. Stealing it away would obviously be a coup for her, but she didn’t need it to survive. On the other hand, Kate needed Atrom. And so, her job was twice as hard.

  Instead of just being able to focus on the work of creating a campaign for Yannis, she had to manage Georgina as well. She had to investigate and second-guess everything. She had to keep in touch with Yannis, seeking out any information he may be willing to impart about his relationship with Georgina.

  Of course, Yannis was oblivious to the all-out war that was happening between the two women. As far as Yannis was concerned, he was building a car and had employed the services of two expert marketing agencies to help him.

  On top of everything, Jonathan was out of action, and she was having to manage with Sophie Young as her new assistant.

  For some reason, Kate couldn’t get Sophie out of her head. She found herself thinking about her, even staring at the girl as she sat at Jonathan’s desk. It didn’t help that the girl was gleefully leaping over invisible boundaries. Somehow, Sophie knew exactly when to offer headache medication, deliver an extra coffee, book in a massage. It was almost as if the girl knew what she was thinking.

  Jonathan was a wonderful assistant; he did everything that Kate asked of him. But Sophie seemed to know the things Kate didn’t ask. She knew when a late night was on the cards and to order food to be delivered. She knew when the persistent headache required a change in schedule to give Kate some breathing time.

  Kate found it disconcerting. She wasn’t used to someone predicting and fulfilling her every need. And so, she pushed Sophie away. She didn’t want to become reliant on her kindness. The sooner she could push Sophie back into her nervous role as a junior, the better. But nothing seemed to work. She’d called the girl every name beginning with S under the sun, and Sophie just ignored it. She insulted her clothes, her hair, told her to stop smiling, to smile more. Anything to get a reaction. But nothing worked, and Sophie kept up with her self-appointed job description of being Kate’s champion and her caregiver.

  Kate was caught in a
dilemma. She’d considered moving Sophie to another role within the company, somewhere far away from her. But she felt greedy; she wouldn’t tell anyone, but she wanted more of the girl’s soothing compassion. She was stuck in a circle of promising herself just one more day of care before finally sending Sophie away.

  She pressed the intercom button on her phone. “Sophie, come in here, please.”

  She had to snap out of whatever it was that had her in its grasp. Staring out of the window wasn’t going to help her get the campaign back on track.

  “Yes, Kate?” Sophie asked as she entered the office. She stood in front of Kate’s desk, poised with her notepad and pen, as usual.

  “I need you to book the function room in the Winter Garden for the soft press launch. Yannis wants it as soon as possible, like tomorrow. I’m trying to explain to him that if he does that, then no one will come. Not everyone is as excited about his new project as he is. And they presumably have lives.” Kate rubbed at her forehead tiredly. “We need to find a compromise.”

  “Would you like me to tentatively ask the Winter Garden for their availability, and then ask some of the attendees the same thing?” Sophie offered. “I could scope out the nearest date that the space is free, as well as a date when people would be able to attend.”

  Kate smiled and nodded. “Yes, that would be perfect. This is only a soft launch, just some industry insiders to get thoughts and feedback. It doesn’t have to be a big deal; an afternoon event would do if time is an issue. You have the list of attendees.”

  Sophie scribbled some notes down. Kate looked at her and felt a pang of guilt for the comment she had made earlier about her attire. Sophie didn’t deserve that. But Kate simply couldn’t stop herself from lashing out.

  “Will we be providing food? Should I call the caterers?”

  “Yes, Yannis wants this as soon as possible, so he can pay for it. Free food and drink should get a few more people to come along, maybe even cancel existing arrangements.”

  Georgina walked in through the open door. “Wonderful idea,” she said, not concerned about admitting to her eavesdropping.

  “I’m glad you agree,” Kate said.

  “I was literally about to suggest the same thing,” Georgina replied. “And I’m afraid I have to cancel our meeting this evening.”

  Kate couldn’t say she was unhappy to cancel the meeting. A little less time with Georgina was a welcome thing. She accessed her schedule. “No problem, how is tomorrow at eleven for you?”

  “I believe I’m free.” Georgina sauntered over to the sideboard to look at the pictures on display. “Send me a request, and I’ll accept it if I can.”

  Kate sent an invite, eager to get it done so Georgina would leave. She hated how the woman strolled into her office uninvited, how she would touch her personal effects.

  “It’s quiet in the office, so I’m leaving now,” Georgina said, still looking at pictures. “That is, if you can spare Sophie?”

  Kate looked from Georgina to a blushing Sophie with confusion. “I can spare her, but why would you need her?”

  “We’re having dinner,” Georgina said. She looked at Kate with an almost wicked smile.

  “O-oh, I see.” Kate hated the shock in her tone. “Well, yes, we’re done here. You can go now, if you wish,” she addressed Sophie.

  Sophie looked from one woman to the other and then gestured towards her desk. “I’ll… just…” she mumbled before rushing out of the door.

  Georgina watched her leave. She looked over her shoulder at Kate. “I hope you don’t mind?”

  Kate did mind. She minded very much. But she knew to voice her displeasure would simply give Georgina more ammunition, and Lord knew the woman didn’t need any more. There was also the chance that she was simply stringing Sophie along because she knew it would annoy Kate. If she acted indifferent, then maybe Georgina would let Sophie go sooner.

  “No, it’s fine, obviously.” Kate waved her hand with feigned boredom and returned her attention to her laptop.

  “Good, we’ll see you in the morning.” Georgina walked out of the office.

  Kate pretended to focus on her screen, but her eyes drifted to Sophie’s desk. She watched as Georgina waited for Sophie to gather her things. Together, they walked across the office towards the elevators.

  “‘We’ll see you in the morning’,” she repeated Georgina’s words in a mocking tone. “Who does she think she is?”

  Chapter 22

  Sophie nervously fidgeted her hands in her lap. They were in the back of Georgina’s car service, heading back to her hotel. Georgina was busily answering emails on her iPhone.

  Accepting the dinner invitation had been a moment of madness. One minute Sophie was thinking about how Kate’s moods were irritating her, and the next she was saying yes to dinner with Kate’s mortal enemy.

  She wasn’t even sure what kind of dinner it was. When Georgina first asked her to dinner, they’d spoken about Sophie’s career in the sector. Georgina was willing to provide guidance and mentoring. But Sophie wasn’t that naive. She had caught the wicked smile on Georgina’s face.

  And of course, she knew about Georgina’s previous relationship with her ex-assistant. After the first dinner invitation, Sophie had decided to conduct a little online research into Georgina, to see what she might be getting herself into.

  The gossip columns all had different stories, ranging from Georgina having a midlife crisis to Jessica throwing herself at her wealthy employer. Sophie was surprised to read that Jessica stayed Georgina’s assistant throughout most of their relationship. Jessica had even consented to the odd interview. In one she was quoted as saying she enjoyed working with Georgina. They had managed to separate their work and home lives and were happy in both, despite spending so much time together.

  She wondered exactly how that would work. How was it possible to live and work with the same person and not want to kill them? Her own working environment with Kate was similar to Georgina and Jessica’s. She pictured working a full day with Kate and then going home together. Suddenly, her mind drifted in a direction she was unfamiliar with. A mental image of Kate in a decidedly non-work-related scenario caused her breath to catch.

  “Are you warm?”

  Sophie turned to Georgina and frowned. “I’m sorry?”

  “You’re flushed,” Georgina commented. “I was wondering if you were a little too warm?”

  “N-no.” Sophie shook her head. She had no idea where the sudden graphic images had come from. She was supposed to be having dinner with Georgina, and suddenly her brain was having an unexpected adventure of its own. Without her permission. She felt her cheeks flush hotter.

  “Sorry, um… yes, maybe a little warm,” she replied. Her choices were warm or blushing, and she didn’t want Georgina quizzing her on that.

  Georgina wordlessly adjusted the heating controls in her door panel. Slightly cooler air started to fill the car.

  Sophie sucked in deep breaths as quietly as she could. It was clearly all the stress; her brain was finally having a meltdown. Yes, she admired Kate. But she didn’t think of her boss like that.

  “I thought we could order room service in my suite?” Georgina suggested. She returned to looking at her iPhone screen. “It will give us an opportunity to talk in private. I’m afraid I’m still paparazzi fodder after my break-up. I wouldn’t want you to be dragged into all of that.”

  Sophie nodded. She looked down at her hands and continued to nervously fidget them. A small voice in the back of her mind had been wondering if Georgina intended to use dinner with her to somehow make Jessica jealous. Having seen some of Georgina’s tactics at the office, she certainly wouldn’t put it past her. Dinner alone in her room would be terrifying, but at least it put the fear of journalists snapping her picture to rest.

  “Sophie?”

  Sophie looked up. She realised Georgina hadn’t seen the nod. “Oh, yes, sorry. Yes… yes, that’s fine. Thank you.”

  Georgina til
ted her head and regarded her with a soft smile before returning her attention to her phone.

  Sophie looked out of the passenger window and shook her head. She sounded like an idiot. She just couldn’t get her nerves under control. Every time she tried to calm down, her brain reminded her that she was on a date with Georgina Masters. At least, she thought it was a date. They would be alone in Georgina’s hotel suite. That sounded like a date.

  Suddenly, Sophie began to really worry how much of a date it was. Would Georgina try to kiss her? Would she expect more from her? She could feel herself beginning to panic. The heat welled up in her cheeks again, and she struggled a little to breathe.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Georgina reach out and adjust the air conditioning once more.

  Chapter 23

  “What are you doing here?” Jonathan asked.

  Kate blinked in surprise. “Is that any way to greet someone?”

  “You hate hospitals,” he said. “And you have an autoimmune disease.”

  Kate rolled her eyes and walked into the room. She placed a plastic bag on the side of his bed and began to unload its contents onto the bedside table.

  “Yes, thank you, I’m quite aware of all that. But I’m here to see you, so at least pretend you are happy to see me.” She placed a bag of grapes on the table. “I don’t know if you like grapes. I don’t know if people actually give people grapes when they are in hospital or if that is a myth perpetuated by some conglomerate of grape farmers.”

  “What’s going on?”

  She looked at him for a moment before returning her attention to the plastic bag. She’d bought half the shop. As much as she tried to convince herself it was kindness, it was actually just a stalling technique.

  She licked her lips and then sat on the edge of the visitor chair beside his bed.

  “You’re good friends with Sophie, right?”

  “Sort of close,” he replied.