‘January, it can stay here,’ he says, staring right through me, ‘but can you keep it under control.’
I nod. It?It?
Nadine pours the coffee and hands mugs round. If Jeremy were here we’d have talked about the weather by now and did anyone seeEastEndersorBorgenlast night.
‘Right, it’s good to meet you properly.’ Ward adjusts histie before Graham flies into the room eating a banana, half his shirt hanging out of his trousers.
‘Sorry, darlings! Acute chest pain this morning, and I was getting this bizarre tingling in my right hand.’ He shakes his hand in front of us. ‘So, I googled…’
Graham stops when he notices the hushed atmosphere.
Ward coughs. ‘Morning, Graham.’
Graham slams his briefcase and banana on to the table before shaking Ward’s hand. ‘Good morning,Boss.’Graham is in his mid-forties, freakishly thin given he eats all day, light-brown floppy hair, a wayward strand always getting in his eye. He looks as if he belongs in an artist’s studio much more than a boardroom.
‘As I was saying,’ Ward continues, ‘Jeremy has appointed me to get Sherwoods back on track.’
‘We’re not doing that badly.’ Graham frowns.
‘From the look of the financial spreadsheets I think you’ve taken your eye off the ball.’
Spud barks at the word ‘ball’. I glance at him relegated to sitting on the floor. He’s staring at me as if to say, why aren’t I on Jeremy’s knee being fed bacon?
‘Barker & Goulding, even Andersons are miles ahead.’ Andersons is another rival firm, similar in size to us, but recently they too have been performing better than us. ‘So, I’m here to look at our strategy moving forward and make some changes.’ Briefly I catch his eye and look away.
‘After the meeting I’d like some one-on-one sessions.’
Oh God! I stare at my pad of paper as Ward taps some keys on his laptop and a list of houses comes up on to the monitor screen.
‘First things first, let’s go through the current houses that are available for sale. Lucie, can you get the ball rolling?’
Spud barks, making Ward jump again. If he could just stop saying ‘ball’.
‘Absolutely. Well, we’ve got a couple of houses launched in Hampshire, one in Middle Wallop.’
‘The goldfish pond!’ Graham laughs, leaning back in his chair, only to be met with a stony look from Ward. ‘Sorry, Ward, it’s just I fell into it. It wasn’t quite the Mr Darcy white shirt moment, but the owner was delighted…’
I have tried to teach Graham the W.A.I.T. tip. Unsuccess-fully.
‘… and asked me to whip off my shirt and trousers, said she’d warm them on the Aga. Sorry, sorry,’ Graham says, finally picking up on Ward’s impatience.
‘The other is in Broughton,’ Lucie goes on, ‘a Georgian redbrick house, perfect family home. We have six viewings lined up this coming weekend, and someone looked at it yesterday.’
‘Good work, Lucie.’ I notice her blushing as Nadine enters the room with a plate piled high with bacon sandwiches.
‘Look, can we all focus?’ snaps Ward, who looks just as hungover as I feel. ‘Take them away,’ he orders Nadine. Graham’s face crumples with disappointment as he watches her leave the room. ‘If you’re getting acute chest pain, Graham, maybe you need to keep an eye on your cholesterol,’ adds Ward. ‘Any follow-up, Lucie?’
‘I’ll call her tomorrow.’
‘What’s wrong with today?’
‘Jeremy always thinks—’ She stops. I imagine she was about to say Jeremy thought potential buyers should be given time to sleep on it. ‘I’ll call straight after the meeting.’
Ward nods. ‘Get her feedback and mention there’s a lot of interest in the house. What else?’ He clicks his fingers at us.
Lucie and Graham take it in turns to reel off more properties we have on the market along with viewings, before discussing the houses that are under offer.
‘Has the survey taken place?’ Ward asks Graham.
