‘Won’t be much longer,’ she says, glancing up at Jack through her eyelashes.
Jack mutters something under his breath that I suspect I don’t want to hear. How do women find this man attractive?
It isn’t long before she’s back, struggling to totter one foot in front of the other in her over-tight pencil skirt. ‘Mr Jones, Miss Heath. This is Mr Lawrence and Mr Williams.’
Jack and I step towards the door. I shake their hands, consciously making my grip firm but not overbearing. Mr Lawrence has warm hands. His face is soft but his manner professional. He reminds me in some ways of my dad, although a slightly younger version. I imagine he has two personalities – Mr Lawrence the businessman and Mr Lawrence the teddy bear. Mr Williams smiles as he takes my hand but his fingers squeeze mine uncomfortably. He must be over six feet. His broad shoulders, sea-blue eyes and dirty-blond hair make him look like a surfer trapped in a grey-checkered suit.
Jack is right. The first thing we do is sign non-disclosure agreements. Once the formalities are complete, I breathe easier and the mood in the room seems to lighten. I’m excited, ready to get going and hear about the new deal. It must be big, the way they’re dramatising the meeting.
‘We must apologise,’ Mr Lawrence begins. ‘Our CEO is tied up on a call at the moment. He’s the driver behind deals of this size and he’ll be the one to fill in the blanks for you.’
Oh. My excitement wanes.
‘He’ll join us if he can,’ Mr Lawrence continues, as if reading my mind. ‘In the meantime, he’s delegated to us to decide whether you’re the firm for the job.’ He pauses for a sip of water. ‘I know it’s difficult to give quotes without much information but our main criteria is that we need to know we’ve got the best team. The rest we can negotiate.’
The room falls deathly silent and it becomes clear that Jack isn’t going to pick this up. Taking a subtle breath, I rise from my seat and distribute a rushed capability statement I put together last night.
‘Gentlemen, I can assure you that we are the right team for you,’ I begin, with my most winning grin. ‘If, or should I say when, you decide to go with us, Mr Jones and I will be your lead contacts.’
I turn from the table and move in front of the vast window, making myself appear much taller and confident than I feel inside: a trick I read in a book called Climbing the Ladder. Excitement starts to build in me again with the thrill of pitching.
‘As you’ll see from our capability statement, Mr Jones has a wealth of experience in the M and A market.’ I somehow manage to summon a smile that says, I’m so incredibly proud to work for this brilliant man, and quickly glance back to Mr Lawrence and Mr Williams to avoid registering Jack’s reaction. ‘Mr Jones has worked on some remarkable deals and as a team, we have particular strength in the technology sector.’ Words leave my mouth almost instantaneously with my thoughts as I work the room, maintaining enough eye contact to be sincere but not so much I appear arrogant or intimidating. Mr Lawrence and Mr Williams are responding well to my pitch. They’ve relaxed a little. Mr Williams unbuttons his blazer and leans back in his leather chair.
The boardroom door opens, the same receptionist interrupting me. I want to scream, What? I’m on a roll here!
‘Mr Ryans for you,’ she says, stepping into the room and holding the door open wider to let the CEO enter. My torso constricts, pushing the air from my body.
My stomach flips and acrobats perform in my lower abdomen. Mr Ryans’ navy suit lines his tall, broad but athletic body, resting perfectly on top of his crisp, white shirt and matching blue, silk tie. His dark hair shines in the sunlight that bursts through the office window. He’s clean-shaven but I can’t help imagining his face with a faint line of stubble – his off-duty look. He’s younger than I could have possibly imagined. He can’t be over thirty, yet the air around him oozes confidence and power.
His entrance silences the room. I’m vaguely aware that my lips are parted, my jaw dropped loose. His eyes fall on me, the centre of attention, illuminated in front of the window. They lure me in as if pulling on a rope tied tight around my waist. He pauses, probably to allow me to gain some composure. I’m suddenly extremely nervous again and my heart starts pounding in my chest.
Breathe, a voice in my head calls.
I take a deep breath and begin to return to my point of equilibrium. Mustering a polite smile, I step towards him, my legs weightless.
‘You must be Miss Heath,’ he says, very matter of fact.
My cheeks flush under the heat of his dark-brown irises, rich and intense like espresso, as he holds out his hand, staring into my eyes. I return his handshake and greet him professionally, hiding the fireworks exploding from every nerve ending in my body.
He turns his attention to Jack, greeting him in a voice decorated with just a hint of South African accent. The interruption gives me time to get back into the zone. Do not fuck this up!
I give a brief overview of my pitch so far, partly for the benefit of Mr Ryans, mostly to re-centre my thoughts. I continue where I left off but my nerves catch every time I glance at the CEO. I resolve to look anywhere other than at him but his gaze burns through me as he listens intently to what I have to say. He maintains a poker expression until the pitch concludes.
Jack gives my knee a subtle nip when I take my seat back at the table. I know he means to tell me I did a good job but I’m uncomfortable and unable to hide my flinch. I glance at Mr Ryans, who’s looking at me without giving any indication of his thoughts. He leans back in his seat and folds his hands into one another, placing one index finger on his bottom lip.
As if taking a signal, Mr Williams glances from his CEO to me and then to Jack before he says, ‘Miss Heath, Mr Jones, we’d like to work with you on this deal.’
Whoop! I mentally high-five myself. Outwardly, I nod at the three men on the other side of the table. It would be both a tad uncouth and massively uncool to actually pat myself on the back or do a little twerk.
‘You’ve made a good decision, gentlemen,’ Jack says assuredly.
The CEO shuffles and takes his phone from the inside pocket of his perfectly tailored jacket. ‘Excuse me,’ he says, inclining his head to the phone and exiting the room. ‘Ryans,’ he snaps into the receiver as the door closes behind him.
Mr Williams leans forwards, bracing his palms on the table. ‘Mr Ryans has a lot to do today, some of which was unexpected, so we apologise. He’ll brief you fully in relation to the deal at a later date.’ I think I detect anxiety in his voice.
‘It was a pleasure to meet you both,’ Mr Lawrence adds as we rise from the table and politely shake hands. We make idle chit-chat as the four of us walk towards the lift. Stepping in, Jack and I turn to face the doors, my laptop and documents clutched to my chest. Just before the metal doors draw, Mr Williams calls to me, ‘Good pitch, Miss Heath.’ He flashes a smile I would’ve never expected, forcing me to beam back at him.
I’m on a high. I know I did well. I love my job.
