I turn round in my chair. ‘Seriously, what are you doing here? Ward says—’
‘Oh, Ward says does he?’ Spencer strokes Spud. ‘What does Ward say?’
‘You can’t just turn up when you feel like it. You need to make an appointment.’
‘Well, that’s very unfriendly.’ He’s tickling Spud under the chin now. ‘Where is everyone? It’s hardly busy round here.’
Graham has gone to do a viewing. Ward is accompanying Lucie on a pitch. ‘They’re all out,’ I say, ignoring his goading.
‘Out where?’
‘None of your business.’
‘Touchy. Why are you buying yourself flowers?’ He glances at my computer screen just as the telephone rings. Nadine sings down the line, ‘Good morning, Sherwoods! Nadine speaking, how can I help you?’
Spencer glances at my scribbled note to send flowers to Mrs Lewis. ‘Why are you sending her flowers? In case you didn’t know, we won the pitch.’ He perches himself on the corner of my desk, glances at a piece of our headed paper. ‘We’ve got the photographers going round there tomorrow. I think Ward seriously undervalued it.’
‘Ward was being honest.’
He gets up, walks away. ‘Drinks later, J?’
‘Can’t. Hang on,’ I stop him. ‘How did you know what Ward valued it at?’
He turns to me with that megawatt smile. ‘Let’s just say your new logo stands out beautifully and I have a canny knack of reading upside down.’
Later on that afternoon I knock on Ward’s door.
‘Come in.’
‘Have you got a minute?’
Surprised, he looks up from his computer screen. ‘Take a seat.’
I picture Jeremy tucking into his packed lunch or playing with Spud, but then stop myself. As Ward pointed out, we can’t go back to the old days.
‘About the meeting this morning,’ I begin. ‘I’m sorry I, you know, lost it.’
‘I lost it too, January.’
‘The thing is, the thing is…’ Restless, I hop up from my seat.
‘What’s the thing?’
I pace the room. ‘You’re right. We have become stuck in a rut and we do need you to help us get out of it.’
Ward takes off his glasses, gives them a wipe.
‘I hope you like a challenge,’ I say, sitting down again.
He raises an eyebrow. ‘Graham is quite a challenge.’ He puts his glasses back on.
‘I can’t pretend sharing an office with him is easy.’
‘He’s never in the office, January.’
‘His working methods are different,’ I admit, ‘but he’s not shopping and eating fancy lunches. He’s networking.’
‘Ah, that’s what he calls it.’
