‘It’ll come around soon enough,’ Hanne said, going back to her screen. ‘Switch to decaf after this one.’
He grinned and headed to the kitchen.
Lotta was still in his apartment that morning. Her flight back to London was tomorrow, so they had another night together. She was meeting Oda today to see some options she’d been working on for the collaboration, then she’d be back in London for a couple of weeks.
‘I nearly resigned today,’ he told her as they sat on his balcony sipping steaming cups of tea after they’d eaten dinner.
‘That’s what your plan is, anyway. What difference would it make?’ It wasn’t a rhetorical question; she was genuinely asking.
‘It might mean a few hundred thousand kroner less for the hotel.’
‘But you wouldn’t have to stay in Oslo after your apartment sells, so you’d save money on travelling and rent.’
‘True.’ But that was a drop in the ocean compared to what he was paid. ‘But I wouldn’t see you when you come here.’
‘Don’t factor that in, Mats,’ she said gently. ‘It was always going to be a short-term thing, me visiting Oslo, so we’d be up against this problem soon anyway. It won’t change anything.’
He sighed. ’It’s far too soon to think about leaving. I’ve used up almost all of my savings, so I need to be smart about when to do it, otherwise, I could find myself with a cash-flow problem.’
‘You’ll know when it’s the right time.’
‘I wish it was the right time every Monday after a weekend in Bergen.’
She smiled. ‘I know what you mean. It was idyllic.’
‘It was. Until Fredrik turned up,’ he laughed.
‘I didn’t mind that at all. Emil is fun to be around.’
The following day, Hanne said good morning and told him his boss, Oskar, wanted to see him. He had no idea what it was about, so he headed upstairs to the floor where Oskar’s office was, as well as the conference rooms and corporate hospitality areas. It was all a lot nicer up here than it was downstairs, with upholstered furniture, softer lighting and spongy carpet rather than the utilitarian office carpet that ran everywhere else.
He greeted Oskar’s assistant, and she waved him into the inner sanctum with a smile.
‘Mats. Thanks for coming up. How’s the work going for the new client you closed in London?’
‘Yes, okay, thanks. They seem pleased with what we’ve done so far.’ This was odd. Oskar hardly ever checked in with him like this.
‘This is awkward,’ Oskar began. There was suddenly a weird atmosphere, putting Mats on edge.‘There are going to be some changes that I can’t go into right now, but ultimately it means we’re restructuring and your post is being made redundant.’
‘What? I don’t understand. I’ve done the entire strategy for that client. You just said it yourself — the one I closed in London.’
‘It’s Ole’s client.’
‘With the greatest respect to Ole, he did not close that deal. And he has had no input into what I’ve worked on since.’
Oskar looked uncomfortable, but Mats let the silence continue. He’d stated hard facts that were difficult to argue with. And it seemed Oskar was struggling to come up with a response.
‘It’s his client, Mats. We’re making some changes and Ole is going to head up strategy.’
‘Are you joking?’ He stood up and walked over to the window. It was difficult to stay calm, but he took a couple of deep breaths before he turned back to Oskar. ‘Look, this is a terrible time for me to be out of a job. Is there anything I can do?’
‘It’s a delicate situation. You’re not the only person this is going to affect, but I’m not in a position to say anything else at the moment.’
‘If this is part of some wider plan, why are you telling me now before it’s announced?’
Oskar sighed. ‘This can go no further.’
Mats gave a curt nod of assurance.
