‘What? If the client had been a man I’d have been on him like a rash. Not physically, and no sleepovers, obviously, but nothing wrong with using your womanly wiles to get what you want in life. Although it does pose a different kind of problem, if she’s into him.’
‘I’m not even sure she is. She strikes me as more of the loosey-goosey type. Into everyone for a little while. Give your flirtation tricks a whirl – you never know.’
Heidi rolled her eyes. ‘This job will be the death of me. But we’re not letting them get away with it. Too many jobs are on the line.’
Thirty-three
Monday 26th July
‘Ladies! How lovely to see you,’ Leo said, when he finally arrived for work at ten past ten. ‘Can I get you a coffee?’ We’d been sat in their empty reception for nearly two hours, listening to the receptionist repeatedly answer the phone with a sunny ‘Amplify, good morning!’ I needed more than a coffee. I needed a Valium.
‘At last,’ Heidi said, curtly. ‘Can we go somewhere private to talk? With Zach as well if he’s around?’
‘Sure. Follow me.’ Leo looked fresh and fit in charcoal jeans and layers of hoodies. Back to his non-client wear, although the Amplify offices reflected his sharp, cool vibe. The team had standing desks with walking treadmills, like hamsters on wheels; presumably being forced to generate their own power. With its slick jute flooring and huge paper lampshades it was like being inside an art installation. Leo led us into their boardroom, which overlooked St Paul’s Cathedral, and gestured towards two boucle chairs around a large black table. ‘Did you say yes to coffee?’
‘Black, two sugars.’ Zach appeared in the doorway, looking wary. ‘The Northstar PR team on the premises, no less. Here to congratulate us I presume?’
Heidi ignored him and addressed Leo direct. ‘We’re not here for coffee or pleasantries. Let’s cut the bullshit, shall we? It’s just the four of us now and we all know what happened.’ I couldn’t bring myself to speak just yet, so I sat with my arms folded, glaring at Leo.
‘What bullshit?’ Zach sneered. ‘We don’t know what you’re talking about…’
‘Talk us through what you think happened and let’s take it from there,’ Leo said, gently.
‘You stole our idea, you smug prick.’Eek.Heidi wasn’t pulling any punches.
Zach folded his arms. ‘Well, that’s something you’d know all about, isn’t it? You’ve got some nerve accusingusof that.’
‘Why would we steal your ideas when we had hundreds of our own?’ Leo added. ‘Including the one that won us the pitch.’
‘That was ours – you cheated.’ I couldn’t stay quiet any longer. ‘I literally said those words to Heidi.Unimaginable moments.They came from my brain.’
‘Yeah,’ Heidi chipped in from behind me. ‘It was a private conversation between the two of us.’
‘And yet Zach also said that very sentence to me,’ Leo countered.
‘Yeah, right,’ I said, rolling my eyes, although it did cause me to stop and think. Leo didn’t strike me as a liar. Was it possible Zach and I had come up with the exact same idea at the exact same time?
‘When?’ Heidi squeaked.
‘When, what?’ Leo frowned.
‘When did he say it to you?’
‘Don’t answer that.’ Zach marched over to the door and flung it open. ‘We don’t need or want your interrogation. We won the pitch fair and square, and that’s all you need to know.’
‘Hang on,’ Leo said. ‘I’m happy to have the conversation and resolve this. We’ve got nothing to hide.’
‘Mate, they aren’t the police,’ Zach scoffed. ‘Just a pair of sore losers. What’s the pitch score between us now?’
‘It was in Lisbon,’ Leo said, snapping his fingers. ‘You’d finally got a good night’s sleep, and we went to that hotel for thepastel de natabreakfast – the one you girls were staying in. You were delighted with yourself.’
Zach shook his head. ‘I don’t remember exactly when the idea came to me.’
‘Sounds like it wasin Lisbon.’ Heidi repeated, giving Zach a look. She stepped in front of me to confront him face to face. ‘That’s interesting timing, isn’t it?’
He shrugged then started fiddling with the coffee machine, fixated on making himself a flat white. The grinding noise filled the room, drowning out Heidi’s questions.
‘I happen to know Zach barely slept at all the night we stayed in Lisbon. He was awake for most of it, in fact,’ Heidi said. ‘Because he was in my bedroom, in bed with me.’
