Clara Bounces Back

by Lacey London

  ‘We don’t have any more time, Janie!’ I yell, resisting the urge to scream out loud. ‘You used all the time we had. If you didn’t think you could do it, why the hell didn’t you say something sooner?’

  ‘We know why!’ Dawn says furiously. ‘Why would she waste her time trying to save her son’s business when she could be getting down and dirty with a billionaire? Typical Janie. Always out for what she can get.’

  I wince at Dawn’s sharp words as a look of hurt flickers across Janie’s face.

  ‘I’ll take that as my cue to leave.’ Janie whispers, reaching for her handbag.

  Panic rises in my throat as I realise our only way out of this is about to leave the building. ‘Please don’t go. You can still salvage this situation. All it takes is that one signature. Please, please talk to Stelios before tomorrow morning. It’s not too late to turn this around and walk away from this mess a hero.’

  Holding eye contact for a moment too long, Janie responds with a tiny nod of the head before slipping out of the apartment, leaving the rest of us wondering if she has taken our future with her...

  Chapter 27

  All morning I’ve had my eyes glued to the door, silently praying that Janie is going to walk through it, but deep down, I know she’s not coming. We all know it, we just don’t dare say it.

  Resting my elbows on the desk, I squeeze my stress ball and try to block out the sound of Marc tapping his foot impatiently. Despite having the guys back at work, the office is quieter than ever. You would think the addition of two more voices would improve the atmosphere, but you could hear a pin drop in here today.

  Letting out a yawn, I press a few keys on my computer and look around the room. Lianna and Vernon are nervously hovering by the whiteboard, Hugh is frantically composing an email and Marc is perched on his desk, with his gaze fixed firmly on the clock. Thankfully, Oliver made it clear that he didn’t want to part of this and decided to stay in the studio, which means one less miserable face to look at.

  ‘That’s it.’ Marc announces suddenly, dropping his calculator onto his desk with a thud. ‘Time’s up.’

  Snapping to attention, I shoot him a questioning look as he picks up his phone and sits up straight.

  ‘From this moment on, Janie is off the project. I’m in control and I call the shots.’ Turning his focus to Hugh, he clicks his fingers. ‘Get Stelios on the phone. I need to meet with him at his earliest convenience.’

  Not moving from his position by the window, Hugh raises his eyebrows cynically. ‘I strongly advise against that. Stelios is a very particular man. He won’t take kindly to being pushed onto someone else.’

  ‘I don’t care.’ Marc growls fiercely. ‘I want him on the phone right now.’

  As Hugh hesitantly disappears into the lobby to make the call, I carefully make my way over to Marc.

  ‘Why don’t you go home?’ I say quietly, bracing myself for his response. ‘No one would blame you if you wanted to take a few more days to… fully recuperate.’

  ‘Go away, Andrews.’ Glaring up at me through his glasses, Marc shakes his head furiously and I take that as my cue to back off.

  It’s very rare that Marc loses his temper, but when he does, absolutely nothing will calm him down.

  Catching Lianna’s eye, I walk to the stationery cupboard and wait for her to follow me.

  ‘He’s going to blow.’ I whisper, watching him throw his pen across the room angrily. ‘I don’t think speaking to Stelios right now is going to help things.’

  ‘It won’t help things, but you try telling Marc that.’ Li replies, pulling out her bobble and letting her hair fall around her shoulders. ‘I should really slip out and tell Hugh not to make the call.’

  ‘It’s a bit late for that…’ I murmur, watching Hugh march back into the office glumly.

  Coming to a stop in front of Marc’s desk, Hugh folds his arms and forces himself to smile. ‘You’re in luck. Stelios and his team are having a brunch meeting at Ashford House. He can be here within the hour.’

  Without saying a word, Marc nods and turns to face his computer as Hugh skulks back to his own desk. Feeling the atmosphere in the room darken, I open the stationery cupboard and quickly pull Lianna inside.

  Waiting until the door closes, I perch on a pile of printer paper and groan.

  ‘Marc’s making a massive mistake.’ I whimper, looking up at the ceiling in dismay.

  ‘I know.’ Rubbing her temples, Lianna sits down beside me. ‘You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.’

  ‘Exactly!’ I shake my head and reach out to straighten a stack of ink cartridges. ‘What is Marc planning on doing? Sitting on Stelios until he agrees to sign?’

  Not bothering to respond, Li turns her back to me and holds her head in her hands. Leaning to the left, I’m shocked to see that she’s crying.

  ‘Don’t cry!’ I exclaim, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. ‘It’s not worth crying about…’

  ‘Are you kidding me?’ She squeaks, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. ‘We didn’t move back from Barbados for this. We’ve given everything we have to Suave and now we are going to lose it.’ Sniffing loudly, Li turns to face me. ‘How are you so calm about this? You will lose everything, too.’

  Shrugging my shoulders, I remove a smear of mascara from her cheek. ‘I guess I’ve just come to terms with the fact that we’ve done our best. There’s no point in torturing ourselves when we know we’ve given it our all. If it’s time to say goodbye, it’s time to say goodbye.’

  Staring up at me with panda eyes, Lianna forces a tiny smile and rests her head on my shoulder. ‘When did you become the sensible one?’

  Before I can answer, a loud bang from the office catches our attention. Looking at one another in confusion, we jump up and poke our heads out onto the office floor. The identical looks of panic on Hugh and Vernon’s faces immediately signal that something is wrong. Following Vernon’s gaze, I gulp loudly as I see Stelios marching into the office.

  Wearing a black suit with a huge red collar, he clicks his fingers twice and his two burly security guards appear behind him. Dragging Lianna out of the stationary cupboard, I stand next to Marc’s desk as Hugh steps forward to approach Stelios.

  ‘I’ll take it from here.’ Marc says firmly, ushering Hugh to one side.

  Widening his eyes, Stelios keeps his gaze fixed firmly on Hugh. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Stelios, this is Marc Stroker.’ Hugh rubs a bead of sweat from his brow and attempts an awkward laugh. ‘He’s one of our partners here at Suave.’

  Giving Marc a fleeting glance, Stelios nods before turning back to Hugh. ‘You said it was urgent. So, here I am. Let’s talk.’

  ‘Thank you for coming at such short notice.’ Marc says loudly, heading to the boardroom and beckoning Stelios to follow him. ‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, I’ve been out of the office while the initial negotiations took place. I understand that the agreed time frame has now passed…’

  Realising that Stelios hasn’t budged, Marc coughs loudly. ‘Mr Christopoulos?’

  ‘Who is this spotty man?’ Stelios demands, his moustache curling up in disdain.

  Stumbling over his words, Hugh swallows repeatedly. ‘Stelios, I do apologise that you aren’t meeting our partner in better circumstances. Let me fetch you a drink and we can sit down and discuss the proposal.’ Hugh says carefully, obviously mortified by Marc’s bold behaviour.

  ‘No.’ Stelios replies resolutely. ‘I do not discuss business with this spotty man.’

  Marc’s raises his eyebrows furiously at being labelled spotty twice in as many minutes.

  ‘I’m afraid I am now the main and only point of contact in this proposed collaboration. Now, I believe you were initially happy with the figures…’ Heading back to his desk, Marc pulls a copy of the contract from his filing cabinet.

  ‘I ask you once more, who is this spotty man?’ Stelios says to Hugh, completely ignoring Marc’s words. ‘I only work with my beauti
ful rose. I work with Janie. That was the arrangement.’

  ‘The arrangement was also that you would sign the paperwork within seven days.’ Hugh bravely mumbles, much to Stelios’s horror.

  ‘I sign the papers when I say so! You want my money, so I decide when and I decide where!’ He roars, stamping his feet in an almost comical fashion. ‘Two more days with Janie and then I sign.’

  ‘Not a chance.’ Marc thunders, the vein on the side of his head visibly throbbing. ‘Janie does not represent this company. Janie is nothing to do with this deal…’

  ‘She’s everything to do with it!’ Stelios yells, his collection of medallions swinging around his neck as he bounces up and down.

  ‘I’ve had enough of this circus. You know the figures. You know it’s a fantastic deal.’ Holding up the contract, Marc flips to the crucial page. ‘There are no more negations, no more Janie meetings and no more delays. You have until the end of the day. Take it or leave it.’

  Not daring to breathe, I watch the colour drain from Hugh’s face. What the hell is Marc doing?

  Stelios’s face trembles with fury before he snatches the contract and clutches it tightly. Shouting loudly in Greek, he spouts an array of colourful curse words at Marc and waves the contract in the air. With a final indecipherable screech, Stelios flounces out of the office in a cloud of rage with his security guards behind him.

  ‘This is bad.’ Hugh stammers, panic written all over his face. ‘This is so bad.’

  ‘He’ll be back.’ Marc snaps, watching Stelios jump into his limo from the window. ‘Don’t sweat it.’

  ‘You don’t know Stelios.’ Taking his phone and frantically tapping at the screen, Hugh paces around the office. ‘He doesn’t take kindly to being talked down to.’

  ‘He’s a businessman. He takes kindly to great deals and this is a deal he would be stupid to walk away from.’ Marc says surely, not flinching at our appalled reactions.

  ‘You’re not going to like hearing this, Marc, but I think you’ve just made a massive mistake.’ Lianna tells Marc candidly. ‘Since when was treating a prospective client like dirt a sales tactic?’

  ‘Just stay out of this, Li. Don’t dare criticise my methods in clearing up the mess you have all made.’ Marc spits viciously, keeping his gaze fixed on the streets down below.

  After initially opening her mouth to speak again, Lianna holds her hands up to admit defeat and grabs her jacket from the back of her chair. Watching her march out of the office, with Vernon hot on her heels, I feel my heart fill with sadness. This was supposed to be the biggest example of the amazing things that can happen when friends come together. No longer are we working as one to get through this, we’re tearing each another apart. If this was a test of the strength of our friendship, we’ve failed miserably.

  ‘Can we get back to work?’ Marc snarls, motioning for us to return to our desks. ‘It’s just a normal day and we will end it with a damn contract. Like I said before, he’ll be back…’

  Chapter 28

  ‘I think we should call it a day.’ I say to Marc, who hasn’t moved from his seat by the window for the past hour. ‘He’s obviously not coming.’

  ‘He’ll be here.’ Marc snaps, the same sharp edge to his voice that he’s had all day. ‘If you lot want to go so badly, just leave.’

  Looking over at Lianna, I watch sadly as she mutters under her breath and heads for the door. Since she returned from the office earlier, Li and Marc haven’t so much as looked at one another, which has just added to the unpleasantness in the room.

  Feeling torn between my desire to get the hell out of here and my loyalty to Marc, I slowly fasten my jacket as Lianna disappears into the lobby. My head is telling me to give up and head home to my son, but my heart can’t bear to leave Marc here. He’s made a mistake. He knows it and I know it.

  Just as I start to head over to him, I turn around to see Li running back into the office.

  ‘He’s here!’ She exclaims, quickly stripping off her coat and diving back into her seat.

  Without saying a word, the five of us snap into action and attempt to appear professional as an expressionless Stelios strides into the room. Without his hefty security guards by his side, he appears even smaller than usual.

  ‘I have made my decision.’ He proclaims seriously, making a beeline for Marc. ‘Now, we can talk.’

  Relief floods into Marc’s eyes as he stands up and shakes Stelios’s hand gratefully. ‘Yes, of course. Please, come with me.’

  Leading Stelios across the office, Marc holds open the door to the boardroom and the pair of them disappear inside. Immediately jumping out of our seats, the rest of us gather behind the door to eavesdrop on their conversation.

  Peeking through the tiny window, I watch Marc and Stelios pull out two chairs at the head of the enormous table.

  ‘After a great deal of consideration, I cannot deny that this is a great deal you have offered me.’ Stelios rubs his moustache thoughtfully. ‘This deal, I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else. That is for sure.’

  A twinkle plays on Marc’s lips as the rest of us watch the scene unfold in anticipation.

  ‘Plus, my history with the Romano family makes this so much more tempting…’ Holding one of his medallions to his lips, Stelios narrows his eyes.

  ‘I am so pleased you have decided to work with us.’ Marc begins, placing his hands palm down on the table. ‘You will not regret this. I have a whole team of people just waiting to pounce on this collaboration.’

  Raising his eyebrows, Stelios kisses his medallion before letting the chain fall back down. ‘I’m afraid I cannot work with you, Mr Stroker.’

  Marc’s jaw visibly drops open and I feel the others freeze in shock.

  ‘I’m sorry?’ He stammers, clearly thinking he has misheard him.

  ‘I cannot work with you.’ Stelios repeats slowly, in a voice that makes his words crystal clear.

  ‘But you just agreed that it’s a fabulous deal!’ Looking completely floored, Marc’s face pales to a deathly white.

  ‘It is a fabulous deal and I have no doubt that it would be very profitable for both parties.’ Stelios explains to a flabbergasted Marc.

  ‘Then what’s the problem?’ Obviously as confused as the rest of us, Marc struggles to get his words out. ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.’

  ‘I only have one rule in business and that is to never mix business and pleasure.’ Stelios says calmly, offering Marc a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. ‘Now that I have developed a relationship with the beautiful Janie, I simply cannot work with Suave.’

  Pushing himself up, Stelios starts to make his way towards the door when Marc jumps in front of him.

  ‘Stelios, I can categorically reassure you that Janie is nothing to do with this company!’

  Pausing with his hand on the door handle, Stelios looks up at the ceiling and frowns. ‘Janie is the mother of one of your investors, no?’

  Marc’s smile falters as he stares back at Stelios. ‘Yes, but…’

  Raising his hand to silence him, Stelios shakes his head firmly. ‘You have answered my question perfectly.’

  My heart drops as I see the realisation sink in on Marc’s face.

  ‘I am sorry, Marc. You have a great vision here. In any other circumstances, I would be delighted to work with you.’ Placing a consoling hand on his shoulder, Stelios flashes Marc a wink. ‘I wish you all the luck in the world with your future ventures.’

  With a final handshake Stelios opens the door, causing the rest of us to spring away from the wall. Not sticking around to speak to Hugh, Stelios simply gives him a polite wave and marches out of the office, leaving the rest of us feeling completely deflated in his wake.

  Watching our last hope walk away, we turn around in unison as the boardroom door squeaks open once more.

  ‘That’s it.’ Marc whispers, his voice barely audible. ‘It’s time to call it a day…’

  * * *

  Slippi
ng my shoulders beneath the surface of the water, I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Throughout my time on this planet, I don’t think I’ve ever felt a bigger sense of failure than I did today. After months of fighting to turn things around, we have finally admitted defeat and agreed to throw in the towel. Despite knowing that we have exhausted every possibility, I can’t shake the feeling like we haven’t done Suave justice.

  Letting the warmth of the water soothe my aching muscles, I tip my head back and allow the ends of my hair to soak through. They say that love makes the world go around, but in business, the world stops spinning without money. Without coins in your pocket and numbers in your bank account, the whole company grinds to a halt. We have the passion, the drive and the determination to work through this, but without the cash coming in, none of that matters.

  Blowing a cloud of bubbles off my shoulder, I slip my wedding ring off my finger and hold it up to the light. The diamonds shimmer brightly, giving me a glimmer of hope that someone, somewhere could turn this around. I have so many ifs, buts and maybes running through my mind and I don’t have an answer for any of them. None of us do.

  I did try to call Janie in the hope that she could possibly talk to Stelios, but not surprisingly, she didn’t pick up and no one has heard from her since. Her absence from today’s proceedings has done nothing to help Oliver’s mood, or anyone else’s, for that matter. Li and Vernon sloped off to their apartment in silence, Hugh left early claiming he didn’t feel too good and Marc hasn’t breathed a word since Stelios left earlier. He simply shook his head and remained silent as he joined Oliver and I for the short journey home. It’s almost as though it’s not only our business that has hit the rocks, it’s our friendship, too.

  I haven’t spoken to Eve. Although she insists that she doesn’t care about her husband’s investments, I just can’t risk Owen finding out yet. I’m nowhere near ready for him to know that we’re prepared to give up. That will make it real and it’s too soon for that. Not that I’m in denial, I simply need a few days to accept the situation before it becomes… official.