Leo: There you are! I’ve been worried. You disappeared. What’s going on?
Me: Working hard on the pitch.
Leo: Yeah, us too. Back to business as usual then, is it?
Typical narcissist, making me feel guilty for breaking it off when he knew exactly what he’d done. I didn’t mind pretending to be the bad guy if that’s what had to happen. I’d seen him leaving Brooke’s suite with my own eyes, and there was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t deserve another second of my consideration. I one-word replied.
Me: Yep.
Then deleted him.
Thirty
Wednesday 21st July
The cab pulled up outside Excalibur Cruises head office and Heidi turned to me.
‘Remember when we’re in there: we’re a team and we back each other up. Nobody knows this account like we do – and we are going to WIN THIS PITCH.’
‘You said it, boss,’ I said, holding my hand up for a high five.
‘Let’s hope I’m still saying it this afternoon,’ she said, handing the driver a twenty and opening the door. I took a deep breath and channelled my inner Bryce to manifest a win.Act as if the deal is already done.The brain doesn’t know the difference between words and the truth. But the bank does. And there was the small matter of ‘doing the work’ in the middle – and how the hell would Bryce know, anyway? He was ten thousand miles away in Australia somewhere, knocking out podcasts in a tin shed. Oh God, I was unravelling. Nonetheless, I tried to envisage us as the winners. We’d worked so hard on the presentation anddone everything we could. The deck was slick, and the ideas were sharp and ambitious.
I bundled out onto the pavement after Heidi, with the laptop and the boards, like her personal packhorse. I was wearing stockings under my red Azorean dress for secret sexiness, and it felt freeing and exciting. Barbie Queue would be proud. I smiled to myself; this pitch was ours to lose.
Leo and Zach were already in reception drinking coffee. Of course they were. They’d probably stayed overnight so as not to be late.
‘Morning,’ Heidi said into the air, without looking at them.
‘Morning,’ they chorused.
‘Hello, Kat,’ Leo said, looking wounded.
I ignored him and half-smiled at Zach in his yellow, surfing T-shirt and white jeans, with a tailored jacket to smarten himself up. His tiny specs were nestled in his woolly hair and he looked like an affable cartoon character. Leo was the total opposite in an uber-fashionable blue suit and crisp white shirt, with shiny brown shoes. The classic PR man with his creative sidekick.
‘May the best man win, eh?’ Zach smirked at his own joke.
‘Good luck,’ Leo said quietly. ‘Hope it goes well.’
I looked straight through him. Sleazebag.
‘And for you,’ Heidi said with a chuckle. ‘Break both legs and all that.’
There was a high-pitched squeal as Brooke appeared through the swinging doors in a bright pink power suit, her hair tonged into ringlets.
‘Howdy there, friends!’ She hugged Zach then Leo with a beaming smile. ‘And here are my girrrls,’ she said, giving me and Heidi exaggerated air kisses.
‘Exciting day,’ I trilled, enthusiastically, my game face firmly on.
‘Sure is! Can’t wait to see what y’all have got for us.’
I waggled my boards. ‘Plenty of ideas in here.’
‘Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get goin’!’
The four of us trooped through the security turnstiles and followed Brooke down a maze of corridors, eventually landing outside the boardroom. Greg was sat at the head of the table, flanked either side by officious-looking women, one blonde and one brunette – both with clipboards.
‘Good morning,’ I said, smiling at them all and walking over.
