"It could've been late morning. You were in Manchester else I'd have discussed it with you straight away. It is such a good idea, isn't it?"
"I thought so. When I spoke with Vanessa about it on Monday evening I thought it was an excellent idea. We went through the charities my father had supported over the years and the ones we were involved in now. That was Monday night." I watched her face drop and her bottom lip start to shake. I never knew quite what to do with crying females, especially ones that I had made cry. I rubbed my face. "Look, Kirsty, I know you've found it difficult working with Vanessa..."
"I don't get why she's here! I mean, I'm doing my job. I'm good with clients, I have a good list of contacts. Why wasn't I asked to oversee the rebrand or the retirement ball? Bringingherin makes me look like I'm incompetent!" She started to cry, large tears dripping down her cheeks.
"It's common practice for companies to bring in an outsider for something like this as an impartial view gives a fresher approach. I'm sorry that you've feel you've been sidelined but this is a perfect opportunity for you to learn from someone who's been in this field for some years and has been incredibly successful. What we do need you to do is show what impact you being good with clients and having good contacts is having, as I'm not seeing justification at the moment for the lunch meetings you bill expenses for or how our client base has grown since you've been working for us," I knew I sounded harsh but I wasn't the most patient person when dealing with someone who had just blatantly lied and tried to take credit where it wasn't due. I passed her a tissue.
"Honestly, I'd feel so much better if I can have some time with you. This evening would be perfect. It'd stop me from having a shitty weekend," she wiped her eyes, smearing mascara. I decided I wouldn't point it out, it'd give something for Mandy to say when Kirsty left my office.
"I'm afraid I am busy straight after work, it's just not in the diary. Like I said, email me your thoughts and we'll discuss them next Wednesday. If it makes you uncomfortable, we won't have Vanessa here, but be aware that she is being employed as an advisor so I am likely to be discussing them with her." I fixed my eyes on my computer screen as a hint for her to go.
She stood up and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Sure. I'll email you this evening. I'd prefer it if we can have a conversation before Wednesday. I think you can imagine I feel very insecure and stressed right now and that's not good for my mental health."
It wasn't good for mine either. No employer likes to hear the word 'stressed'. "I'll recheck my diary and email you when you've sent your ideas. I don't need this right now as I probably won't have a chance to look at them in any depth until after the weekend. You should spend your weekend enjoying yourself. You still have a job; just remember you're still learning and having someone like Vanessa working here is a perfect opportunity for you to expand your skills base."
"No worries." She turned around and headed for the door, her hips swaying and I got the feeling that there was another agenda for suggesting tonight after work.
"Fuck." I left my office and headed for Maxwell's. My older brother did not deal with staff, other than to yell at his secretary or delegate to his team. He was academic, far more so than me, and loved the law and arguing. But he had a decent pair of ears and more than an average portion of common sense.
"You busy?" I asked, standing in the doorway. His head was down and he looked focused, so clearly, he was busy.
"Always. But I always have time to pass on my sage advice to my inept baby brother," he said, looking up.
"Seph's not here," I said, closing the door behind me. He laughed. I filled him in quickly on what had gone on with Kirsty.
Maxwell shrugged. "Record the conversation and your advice. She's out of her depth in that role and I suspect she's lied at interview. Let's get HR to have a good check as if she has falsified anything its grounds for dismissal. You know she's been after your ass since she started though?"
I frowned at him. "Seriously? I'm a good few years older than her to start with."
"Seriously, brother. But you're not ugly – you couldn't be, you're related to me although God knows what happened with Callum; you're the figurehead for this place; girls dig bodies like ours and you're loaded. Besides, Amelie overheard her discussing you with one of her friends in the café a few months ago."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"For fuck's sake, Jackson. It's not the first time it's happened and you don't need a bigger ego than what you've got already. I'd just be a bit careful though." He looked back down at his papers.
"Why's that?"
"Vanessa."
"Come again?"
"Many times. The ladies for sure. No, you and Van have chemistry; you sent flowers for her on Wednesday which Van loved by the way and everyone cooed over. Thank Ghaving od Claire told you not to put your name on them – genius woman. As soon as Kirsty notices she'll make it harder for Van," Maxwell said. "I'd speak with Van about it. She'll have some idea as to how to handle it."
"Cheers, bro," I left him to it and returned to my office, emailing HR so the conversation went on record. I'd wait until later to let Vanessa know; no point distracting her when she was busy enough. It was only a few hours until I'd surprise her by being at the event she'd organized to launch a new restaurant opening in Mayfair. Sometimes it helped to have a few connections of my own.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Chapter Twelve
Vanessa
I had been working on the launch of Mount Street Social for nine months since the chef Simone Wood had decided to open up another restaurant and wanted to get the publicity right from the start. It had almost been a labor of love: I liked Simone, I like what she was trying to do and I really liked the food, which meant I was incredibly invested. The branding had been straightforward; sleek, sophisticated and artistic. I'd worked with a really good photographer as soon as the restaurant was furnished to get the atmospheric shots we'd wanted as a background for the website and other media and then we'd gone to town with getting the word out, ensuring that the clientele for the opening night would set the tone for the restaurant. Simone was already fully booked through until the end of September; enough quiet, tasteful publicity generated so that the extremely expensive a la carte dishes would be served to full restaurants of discerning clientele. Tonight was about creating a buzz that would ensure the restaurant would be full for all of October and November, although Simone had assured me that I had a table waiting for me whenever I wanted.
"Everyone's ready?" Simone said, wearing a simple black dress and pearls, black kitten heels as much as she could muster given she was accustomed to flats in the kitchen.
"Everything is set. All has gone according to plan," I smiled. Events like this were plentiful enough that me and my team could do them in our sleep, especially Alice, who was in her element, particularly with the finer details. Now was my time to step back and allow my well-trained team to take over. I could speak with future clients, evaluate the evening and be there in case of absolute emergencies. "Champagne?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely," Simone said, taking a glass and downing half of it. "This is the second time I've done this and I'm even more nervous. What if the critics don't like it as much as the first restaurant? What if they question the validity of my star? I shouldn't have done it. It's too much."
